Having been a comic book fan for a very long time, I was gradually excited about the new Aquaman (Mercy Reef) series. But.... After seeing the pilot, I wanted to growl up, since this wasn't what I expected. Let me elaborate a bit... Reconceived as an environmentally-minded perpetual screw-up, A.C. is a well-meaning but callow young man who must learn to take responsibility once he is told of his Atlantean heritage. As dramatic as this sounds, that's more of a set-up for where the series might have gone. Throughout most of the pilot, A.C. comes across more like a smirky fratboy on spring break. At times, Hartley has the look and bland charm of Ben Affleck. Perhaps his upcoming turn as Oliver Queen on Smallville will better suit him. What's odd, though, is that A.C. knows he has superhuman abilities underwater and yet never once questions where they came from. It's one thing to know that you were adopted but to understand that you're amphibious should at the very least provoke some introspection. When you can swim fast enough to keep up with a fighter jet racing overhead and become stronger when exposed to water, you're going to respond with shock when told that you might hail from some place other than South Florida?! A.C. even has the audacity at one point to exclaim, "I'm a dive shop owner! I'm not the protector of the Seven Seas!" The boy just ain't right.<br /><br />Ving Rhames channels Marcellus Wallace in his performance as McCaffrey, bellowing such lines as, "The only way to kill those scaly bitches is to nail them between the eyes!" McCaffrey fulfills the Basil Exposition role necessary for A.C. to find out who he is, even admitting at one point, "You don't think I know how absurd this sounds?" What attracted Rhames to such a thankless part remains a mystery.<br /><br />Aquaman drowns in poor dialogue. Along with the aforementioned gems, the pilot contains atrocious lines such as, "Maybe someday the fish will have their revenge," the future campaign slogan "This is not a foolish crusade; this is a matter of national security," and McCaffrey's poignant, "Destiny is like a riptide. You never know it's pulling you in until it's too late."<br /><br />At least the special effects were serviceable, if not superior to some recent feature films (although is it really saying much to proclaim that it looks better than Catwoman?). Had Aquaman been picked up as a series, the combination of its effects budget and on-the-water filming surely would have made it one of the most expensive series on TV. That daunting prospect alone may have been a reason why The CW didn't pick it up.<br /><br />Ultimately, Gough and Millar had some good ideas for making Aquaman work as a TV show but it was the poor execution of them that made this mediocre pilot flounder.