Was Tuesday 8:00 pm ET/PT

LEONARD NIMOY AND PAUL BERNBAUM BRING
HIGH-TECH ACTION TO UPN

Christopher Lloyd Returns to Series Television as the Evil "Jackal"

Bursting into the real world after an anti-matter experiment goes awry, these characters are programmed to destroy anyone or anything that gets in their way, including their inventor, Gus.

While his assistant Peter (Stephen T. Kay) desperately tries to reverse the process and get the villains back into the computer, Gus must confront the immediate problem of "playing" each round of the game to keep the bad guys from achieving their programmed goals, which include the annihilation of love, laughter and life on earth.

The supreme villain, Sebastian Jackal (Christopher Lloyd) and the Level One bad guy, Killshot (guest star Tom Rathman of the L.A. Raiders), are the first to emerge in a burst of smoke and blinding light. Since the game dictates that they initially kidnap "the girl," they leave in search of her, armed with all the incredible powers, and weaknesses, granted them by Gus in the game. There's only one hitch: in reality "the girl" is Gus' ex-wife, Lauren Ashbome (Cynthia Gibb). It seems that all the characters in the game are based upon key people in Gus' life, with himself cast as the hero, the "Cold Steel Kid."

In addition, since he still loves Lauren, he developed the action so that the "Cold Steel Kid" and "the girl" had to work together to defeat each level's villain. Without her aid, Jackal would win, and the earth would lose.

After thwarting the kidnap attempt and convincing Lauren that his incredible story is true, Gus prepares to do battle, armed with the odd weapons that he knows will affect his evil creations: a dirt gun to singe the fastidious Evil Shirley -- based on his fastidious former mother-in-law (guest star Shirley Jones in both roles); and to slow down Gus' boss from hell (guest star LeVar Burton), who is programmed to fire exploding pink slips at anyone who fails to live up to his psychotic expectations, the thing all bosses dread most... red ink. What, started out as a very imaginative game peppered with metaphoric mayhem has become the deadliest of realities, and now Gus, Lauren and Peter must each week battle the clock, Jackal and a new super-villain in order to save the world as we know it.

The Cast of Characters:

Dr. Gus Lloyd (James Calvert) - A brilliant young scientist, Gus' breakthrough discovery of anti-matter may earn him a place in history -- not as the recipient of a Nobel Prize, but as the guy who inadvertently unleashed pure evil onto the world. As a way of dealing with a painful divorce, Gus created a video game in which the villains look like people he has known and have exaggerated versions of their quirks and peccadilloes... but are far more deadly (in Gus' words, "It was a lot cheaper than therapy"). When an accident in his lab brings these bad folks to "life" and forces Gus into the unlikely role of hero, he must enlist the aide of his ex-wife and his lab assistant to maintain order in the world.

Lauren Ashborne (Cynthia Gibb) - Gus' beautiful ex-wife had almost made it to the altar again when his lab accident changed her life. Unaware that Gus had even created a video game, Lauren was extremely surprised to find herself cast as "the girl" -- love interest and loyal sidekick to Gus' "Cold Steel Kid." Once it sinks in that without her help, Gus is powerless against his evil creations, Lauren grudgingly submits. With one problem remaining: how do you explain to your fiancé that you missed meeting him for vital wedding preparations because you had to stop a maniacal football player -- armed with miniature football bombs -- from dropping a nuclear warhead on the L.A. Coliseum?

Peter Rucker (Stephen T. Kay) - As Gus' lab assistant, Peter must help Gus find a way to get his parade of villains off the streets and back into the game. A seen-it-all New Yorker, even Peter is amazed at the quality and quantity of his colleague's neuroses, as evidenced by his video game creations.

Sebastian Jackal (Christopher Lloyd) - Think Satan with a sense of whimsy. Jackal, dressed in immaculate white, is the quintessential bad guy. Always appreciative of a glass of fine champagne, nothing makes him thirstier than some well-executed death and destruction. His turn-ons include the ultimate control of life on earth, and he volunteers his time helping apprentice villains hone their craft. In the weeks to come, the person in Gus' life upon whom Jackal is based will reappear.

Deadly Games is produced by Viacom Productions for broadcast on UPN.

Air Schedule
Production Information

Biography

James Calvert

Cynthia Gibb

Stephen T. Kay

Christopher Lloyd

Paul Bernbaum

Leonard Nimoy