"Profit" (1996) TV series

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

8 April 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Jim Profit works for a multinational company, and isn't above using any means necessary to get ahead...

Plot Keywords:

Computer Cracker | Revenge | Black Comedy | Child Abuse | Falsely Convicted

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Adrian Pasdar	...	Jim Profit (8 episodes, 1996-1997)
Lisa Darr	...	Gail Koner (8 episodes, 1996-1997)
Lisa Blount	...	Bobbi Stakowski (8 episodes, 1996-1997)
Jack Gwaltney	...	Pete Gracen (8 episodes, 1996-1997)
Allison Hossack	...	Nora Gracen (8 episodes, 1996-1997)
Keith Szarabajka	...	Charles Henry "Chaz" Gracen (8 episodes, 1996-1997)
Lisa Zane	...	Joanne Meltzer (8 episodes, 1996-1997)
Sherman Augustus	...	Jeffrey Sykes (7 episodes, 1996-1997)

Runtime:

45 min (7 episodes) | 90 min (pilot)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

New World Television

Trivia:

Profit's exploration of Gracen&Gracen's interface is done through a 3D-image rendering interface, which represents the entire company as a building with a series of offices. This is VRML (Virtual Realilty Modeling Language) which was, at the time, believed to be the way that future websites would be built.

Quotes:

Jim Profit: [voice-over] When a crisis hits, the key is, never be afraid to improvise.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cement (1999)

If it had been on HBO it would have buried anything on TV

People often go on about the death of network television and wonder why networks like HBO are simply crushing network TV, and I can point to Profit and say here is a primary example of why Networks can't compete.

This show is simply shocking, revolving around perhaps one of the most evil main characters to grace network TV, with a very dark past, and an even darker present. Fox simply got cold feet because it was just too much for 1996 and the majority of the Bible Belt went nuts over the concepts in this show and just crushed it. It was too smart for Fox which is really unfortunate, but if it had been on HBO two or three years later and they would have been allowed to truly get into the dark angle of this show that only cable networks seem to be able to do, we would be discussing how many Emmy's Adrian Pasdar had won.

I never watched it on TV, and the DVD was my first chance to really get a look at it, and it was simply light years ahead of its time.

-Z