As the major studios have been rushing to get comic book related material onto silver and small screen alike they have lost track of the reasons we like comics, the stories and characters.

I recently acquired Aquaman: The Pilot and I can see why it wasn't picked up by a network.

The concept of Aquaman is cool enough. Aquaman, played by Justin Hartley, is the last remaining prince in hiding of Atlantis and the big bad guys from below have caught up to him. Of course he doesn't know he's the last prince of Atlantis and his mother Atlanna (you're kidding right?), played by Daniella Wolters (NOT Annette O'Toole like I previously stated thanks to IMDB being incorrect), is taken before she can tell him. His adopted father, played by Lou Diamond Phillips,of course doesn't know. So Aquaman, obviously, gets an all-knowing mysterious mentor (in the form of Ving Rhames). Saw that one coming from 20,000 leagues away hey?

The locations are spectacular and the background scenery is fantastic. Too bad the actors look and sound like two-dimensional puppets through most of the show. The worst, I think, being the monotone and unemotional Ving Rhames. Now I would never say Mr. Rhames was an outstanding actor, but in this show he outdoes himself and goes far below his normal acting standard to the point of it almost being painful when he is on screen. Lou Diamond Phillips, LA BAMBA!, gives a decent performance for his limited time on screen and might do the role some justice. As for the majority of the other cast, they at times had all the stage presence of a pack of cucumbers.

The writers of the show have obviously been reading far too many "How to use every cliché in one episode" books because, they manage to use so many I almost turned it off halfway through.

The big, dark, mysterious mentor.
The young, blonde, tanned hero.
The brunette friend and possible love interest.
The attractive female pilot, another potential love interest.
The over-eager, aggressive federal agent.
The blonde evil woman who seduces the hero.

I know, you're groaning even now, so was I.

The dialogue in the show is sorely lacking and at times almost seems solely for the benefit of getting the actors some 'face time' instead of actually moving the story along.

Even some actual scenes made me say 'that's pretty damn stupid.' For example, in one scene a Siren (played by Adrianne Palicki) is towing the unconscious bodies of Aquaman (Hartley) and McCaffery (Rhames) behind her in a boat as she takes them to Atlantis. But earlier in the film we saw Aquaman grab a person and swim at an astounding speed for some length of time. So why didn't the Siren just tie them together and drag them behind her underwater? Because then they wouldn't have had anywhere to FIGHT of course!

Overall I think the concept is a good one and if done right it could be a good show. Hell I didn't really like Blade: The Series until I got to around Episode 7 I think. But Blade did more in the first episode than I think this show would do in the first month, if it ever gets picked up by a network, which I doubt. The show was originally named Mercy Reef, I wish they would have had some mercy and done the show some justice.

If, after all this, you are still interested in seeing this show it is available on iTunes.

Show website Aquaman TV.
IMDB page Mercy Reef.
Site listing all upcoming comic adaptations Comics 2 Film.