Is Reese back?

While watching the Olympics, I caught some of the commercials for Hawaii, one of NBC's fall offerings. I pretty much ignored the commercial until one voice cut through. It was male, snarling, and gritty. The unmistakable voice of actor Michael Biehn.

Who? You say, who's that? Michael Biehn aka Kyle Reese in the original Terminator, and Corporal Hicks from Aliens.He was in James Cameron's stable of actors, back when Cameron was still teamed with Gale Anne Hurd and produced movies that had heart, action and soul.

Of Cameron's lengthy filmography, I think his first two are the best and here's why: the female and male lead characters were in real relationships were they needed each other to survive. If one failed, both failed. If Kyle Reese never made it back to Sarah Conner, John Conner would never be born. They had to survive at least until the evening of conception--pipe bombs, anyone?

Hicks and Ripley needed each other to make it back to the Sulaco off of that alien-infested LV-490. Hicks taught her how to use an automatic weapon, but Ripley's calm, clear thinking paved the way for them to get out of there. They had a mutual respect for each other's talents and intelligence.

And here's the thing. All that mutual respect in the face of death-defying adventures generated real romantic heat. You want to root for people who seem like they'd be good together if they were able to survive the odds. And you're genuinely sad when things don't work out (like when one of them gets killed off in the third installation of the film, because the director wants to go in another direction and put his own stamp on it. Whatever, Fincher!)

So here's Michael Biehn now, on his own NBC series. After the Terminator became known as an Arnold vehicle. After James Cameron went big Hollywood on the popularity of the pap that is The Titanic. And after his own foray into B-actor territory. The series website doesn't give me much hope that this will last more than a few episodes. But what does give me hope is the sound of his voice on the commercial: cold, deliberate, and a little crazy. It's enough for me to tune in for the first episode.