I guess it must be at least a year since I picked up the M.A.N.T.I.S complete series DVD boxed set but I've only just this week started to watch it, as far as I can recall the series was never broadcast in my area however the TV movie pilot was released on VHS to rent so I did get to see the pilot but that was some time ago, at least 10 years ago and I suspect it was more like 15.
I could only remember a little of the pilot movie but I do remember really enjoying it at the time, the pilot was included in the DVD set but it hasn't aged well, either that or I've gotten fussy in my old age.
I did remember that the show featured a black superhero who was in a wheelchair when he wasn't fighting crime but when he donned his exoskeleton he became M.A.N.T.I.S and he stalked the streets of Ocean City fighting crime.
There were elements in the pilot that struck me as a little odd, now this film was made and set during the 90's and in this movie the various gangs seem to be ( mainly ) a black problem, in fact the pilot seems fixated on the fact most of it's cast was black and it clumsily tries to address what I guess were issues at the time, even the hero weighs in with an opinion on affirmative action ( it doesn't mean anything unless you earn it ), maybe the writers were trying to be sensitive to race issues but that just didn't work for me.
The pilot was written by Sam Hamm and Sam Raimi but after the pilot was aired they had a disagreement with the network about the direction the show should go in so they left the project and the show went into production without them, apart from the central character the show was a reboot with it's first episode serving as a new ( and inferior ) pilot with an altered origin story, new supporting cast, redesigned costume and based on the few episodes I've watched so far worse writing.
The movie's preaching about social issues was slightly annoying but when Bruce Zabel took over as show runner the show apparently became much more of a light-hearted romp that limped on until it's cancellation at the end of it's first season.
While the pilot movie was far from perfect I felt there was a lot of potential there for a good series and I just don't understand why the producers decided to change virtually everything for the TV series, I've really enjoyed some of Bruce Zabel's other work but so far his work on M.A.N.T.I.S leaves a lot to be desired, I truly hope the show improves over the course of it's first and only season, I've read a lot of mixed things about the show online but I live in hope that things will get better before the end.
