Techtite Feature Article!

"The real problem with any typical 'man gets a gift from aliens' story is simple: why?"

---from the article

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During the peak of X-Files fandom, FOX attempted just about every sci-fi series concept imaginable, to appease the "X-Philes" mania. Among the most amusing was an attempted modern superhero series called "M.A.N.T.I.S." Among the most flawed series ideas was The Visitor, which was about...well, to put it bluntly, it was about some guy who began his life as a military soldier, got abducted by aliens, and is now a sweet talking hippie. Man; that must've been some anal probe!

Here's the whole story: Adam MacArthur (Corbett) was abducted (or...something), only to return with a gift. What gift was this? Apparently, his gift was to be able to be happy with the little things in life. Love. Happiness. Mallomars. Papa Smurf. The Care Bears. That is what life is all about. Everyone he told this message to in the series seemed to listen to his every word. If only Adam's power worked on the average viewer.

Ask not how good this series was, to the ladies. Totally enamored with series lead John Corbett (of Sex and the City fame), they will cry to you why, oh why, could this series have ever failed. Indeed; it was very well cast...and not just Corbett, for that matter. Furthermore; its premise was not unlike a similar (yet more successful) series called The Pretender, where a gifted man is on the run from agents of some sort, helping innocent people along the way. Yet where Pretender succeeded this series failed, mostly because of the lead character's incessant preaching.

The real problem with any typical "man gets a gift from aliens" story is simple: why? Adam was sent to Earth for a reason. There just wasn't any clear indication as to what that was. Say what you will about X-Files, but from the very first episode, Mulder's mission was clear: to find out what happened to his sister, who was seemingly abducted by aliens. That was a quest worth joining. By stark contrast, Adam had a mission, and that mission was supposedly some great mystery. Did viewers care to learn said mystery? No. The series would be cancelled after all of 13 episodes...and not even "gifted" Adam MacArthur probably saw it coming.

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