Dean Devlin, the creative mind behind Independence Day, Stargate, and Godzilla returns to weekly television with Almost Paradise. The new show is neither science fiction nor fantasy, but action-adventure – and it has the fingerprints of the geeking world all over it.
Almost Paradise stars actor-singer Christian Kane (Jake Stone in The Librarians, Eliot Spencer in Devlin’s Leverage) as Alex Walker, a former DEA agent forced into early retirement and now running a gift shop in the Philippines. Walker was hoping for a nice quiet life, but that obviously isn’t going to happen. The entire series has a feel similar to the Uncharted video game series, with a bit of Tales of the Brass Monkey thrown in for good measure. The series appears to rely heavily on Kane’s personal magnetism and on-screen presence. Fortunately, Kane looks to have plenty of both.
Devlin’s mother, actress Pilar Seurat, who guest starred in the classic Trek episode “A Wolf in the Fold,” was born in the Philippines. Almost Paradise is not only set in the Philippines, but filmed the first ten episodes there on location.
Christian Kane has often worked with actor/director Jonathan “Two-Takes” Frakes, who before becoming a director co-starred on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Cmdr. William Riker. It is not impossible that if the show lasts more than ten episodes, that Frakes will be hired to direct.
Almost Paradise also features Arturo Acuña as Detective Ernesto Alamares. Acuña appeared in Spirits: Reawaken as Badong Narvaez.
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Susan Macdonald is the author of the children's book "R is for Renaissance Faire", as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in "Alternative Truths", "Swords and Sorceress #30", Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, "Cat Tails" "Under Western Stars", and "Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid". Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio's web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions, Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.
