In my Biography section, I mentioned a little known series that aired on Fox way back in 1996 called Profit.  The show was a soap opera, much in the same veins as Dallas, but with a much harder edge.  Jim Profit, the protagonist of the show, makes J.R. Ewing look like a choirboy.

Jim Profit is Satan in a suit.  He had an abusive childhood, and was raised in a cardboard box.  He is the Junior Vice-President of acquisitions at Gracen and Gracen, a multinational company.  He wants to run the company, and it does not matter what it takes to get the job done.

Adrian Pasdar played the role of Jim Profit to perfection.  If this show had been allowed to run for a full season, he would have received an Emmy Award for his performance.  The supporting cast was just as good.

The show – in my opinion only – was spectactularly written.  It should have been a hit – but it wasn’t.  The show was cancelled after only five episodes due to viewer uproar, especially in the Southern Bible Belt.  Apparently, these God-fearing people did not like the fact that you so wanted to cheer for the bad guy.  He was the perfect anti-hero.  It also did not help that Mr. Profit did not mind sleeping with his mother.

This show was ahead of its time.  Far ahead.  If the show had been developed for HBO or Showtime, it would likely be still running today.