''Mr. Murder'' is a 1998 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

starring

Stephen Baldwin Stephen Andrew Baldwin (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor, producer and director. He has appeared in the films '' Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), '' Posse'' (1993), '' 8 Seconds'' (1994), ''Threesome'' (1994), ''The Usual Suspects'' ...

based on the 1993 book of the same name by

Dean Koontz Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an American author. His novels are billed as suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Many of his books have appeared on ''The New ...

. It was first broadcast in New Zealand on September 21, 1998. The first part then aired on ABC in the United States on Monday, April 26, 1999, at 9:00 p.m. and the finale aired on Thursday, April 29, at 9:00 p.m.

Synopsis

Father and Son Drew Oslett Sr.(

James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...

) and Jr. (

Thomas Haden Church Thomas Haden Church (born Thomas Richard McMillen; June 17, 1960) is an American actor. After starring in the 1990s sitcom ''Wings'' and playing the lead for two seasons in ''Ned & Stacey'' (1995–1997)'','' Church became known for his film work, ...

) are shadowy operatives who create assassins and now through pioneering genetically engineering and cloning intend to create a perfect untraceable assassin. After electrocuting their intended candidate to gain his DNA, the tissue samples are contaminated and replaced by those belonging to Marty Stillwater (

) who is a successful mystery novel writer. Seven years later his clone Alfie is genetically engineered to be a perfect soldier and has been conditioned to be a remorseless killing machine. But unbeknownst to his creators he has developed a

telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

bond with Marty along with

Remote Viewing Remote viewing (RV) is the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen subject, purportedly sensing with the mind. Typically a remote viewer is expected to give information about an object, event, person or location that is hidden ...

capabilities. The clone is jealous of Marty's life and family, and intends to replace Marty. This intention prompts the Osletts to take a hit out on all the Stillwaters.

Cast

as Marty Stillwater/Alfie *

Julie Warner Juliet Mia Warner (born ) is an American actress. She is best known as Danni on ''Family Law'' (1999–2001) and Megan on ''Nip/Tuck'' (2003-2006), Elaine in ''Mr. Saturday Night'' (1992), Michelle in ''Tommy Boy'' (1995), Micki in ''Wedding Be ...

as Paige Stillwater *

Bill Smitrovich William Stanley Zmitrowicz Jr. (born May 16, 1947), known professionally as Bill Smitrovich ( ), is an American actor. Personal life Smitrovich was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna (née Wojna) and Stanley William Zmitrowicz, a t ...

as Lt. Lowbock *

as Drew Oslett Jr. *

as Drew Oslett Sr. * Kaley Cuoco as Charlotte Stillwater * Brittney Lee Harvey as Emily Stillwater *

Don Hood Donald Harris Hood (born October 16, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in the Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1973 to 1983 for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, St. L ...

as James Stillwater *

K Callan Katherine Elizabeth Callan (née Borman; January 9, 1936) is an American author and actress known for playing Clark Kent's mother Martha in the ABC television series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Early years Callan was born ...

as Alice Stillwater *

Dan Lauria Daniel Joseph Lauria (born April 12, 1947) is an American actor, known for playing the role of Jack Arnold in ''The Wonder Years'' (1988–1993), Jack Sullivan on ''Sullivan and Son'' (2012–2014), and Al Luongo on '' Pitch'' (2016–2017). Ear ...

as Gen. Aames *

Don McManus Don McManus (born November 8, 1959) (sometimes credited as Don R. McManus) is an American character actor of film and television. He became better known after his performance as Duncan in the ''Seinfeld'' episode “The Race”. Born in San Dieg ...

as Carl Clocker * Dennis Creaghan as Gen. Greydon Lamont *

Bertila Damas Bertila Damas is a Cuban-born American actress. Career Damas began her career in Miami, where she worked in Spanish-language theater while in college. She was later accepted at the Circle in the Square Theater School in New York City. There, sh ...

as Det. Beatrice Del Rio *

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on '' Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory' ...

as John Wexel * Brandon Smith as Sen. James Ewald

Production

Koontz sold the film rights to ''Mr. Murder'' to Savoy Pictures after the book's publication. The adaptation was initially scheduled to be a big budget theatrical feature in 1996 starring

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

as Marty Stillwater and to be directed by

Uli Edel Ulrich "Uli" Edel (; born 11 April 1947) is a German film and television director, best known for his work on films such as ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' and '' Body of Evidence.'' His '' Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'' won a Golden Globe for ...

. However, this version never came into fruition. With the feature film unable to get off the ground, the rights were sold to a different production company that developed the project as a

on a much smaller budget. This adaptation was directed by

Dick Lowry Dick Lowry (born 15 September 1944 in Oklahoma) is an American director and film producer. Productions List films were all made for television unless otherwise indicated. *1975: ''The Drought (film), The Drought'' (theatrical film) *1980: '' ...

from a teleplay by Stephen Tolkin. The cast included

as Marty Stillwater,

as Paige Stillwater,

as Drew Oslett Jr., and

as Drew Oslett Sr., a character not in the book. It was broadcast in New Zealand on September 21, 1998, and was later broadcast in the United States on ABC on April 26 and April 29, 1999.

Reception

Ray Richmond of '' Variety.com'' gave the miniseries a negative review, writing that it did not make any sense and that the only difference between the identical twins was their manner of speaking.

References

External links

* {{Dean Koontz 1998 television films 1998 films 1990s American television miniseries 1998 crime thriller films 1990s science fiction films American crime thriller films American science fiction thriller films Crime television films Films about cloning Films about families Films about murderers Films about identity theft Films based on American horror novels Films based on science fiction novels Films based on works by Dean Koontz Films directed by Dick Lowry American science fiction television films American thriller television films Films with screenplays by Stephen Tolkin 1990s American films