Christian Slater, of all people, makes a convincing leap to the small screen in a dual role as a secret agent and suburban dad, both occupying (and vying for control of) the same body in NBC's newest thriller, "My Own Worst Enemy".

The show, a Jekyll and Hyde, Jason Bourne-meets-James Bond surprise-athon which premiered Tuesday night, centered on the adventures of Edward Albright, a ruthless spy/assassin under the watchful eye of a shadow government agency. Albright is, after all, much more than your average secret agent hitman. He happens to have a hypnotically-induced split personality, the other half being Mr. Henry Spivey, an upper-middle-class suburbanite family man who works in a dull office and loves his adoring wife Angie (the stunning Madchen Amick).

The only problem is that Henry begins having very strange dreams, about sleeping with (and killing) strange women in Paris. And then there's the matchbook in his pocket from a Paris hotel. As Slater so craftily puts it, "you don't bring souvenirs home from dreams."

In other words, after years of happy, unknowing co-existence, the Edward/Henry wires are starting to cross. Edward first awakes during what is supposed to be "Henry time," which, among other things, complicates issues in the bedroom (Henry's glowing, staggering and elated wife treats him like a king in the morning, much to his confusion and eventual jealousy).

Did we mention that an Eastern European lunatic wants him dead? Yeah, Henry's unknowingly got that going for him as well, until the two personalities start leaving messages for one another. Hilarity and hijinks ensue in a high-stakes, high tech world of spies, dueling dual identities and special effects (nice gear they've got down at headquarters), as Edward's bad boy alpha male battles Henry's sensibilities and protectiveness over his family and normal life. The quick shots and clever dialogue keep things moving along at a nice clip, but we'll need to see a bit more fleshing out of the peripheral characters to give it all a bit more weight.

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out - it's a dream job for any actor to play the schizophrenic role, and certainly a fascinating pick for Slater in the lead. If they can keep it fresh and polish up the edges a bit, this one could be a keeper.