The Incredible Derek was tense and exciting and had the dubious honor of being the episode UPN liked the most of all the original 13. It was, in fact, successful on many counts, more theatrical and action-packed than the previous two shows, but with some nice personal touches as well, including a gently believable friendship between Tom and the young seer Derek.Tracing the jeep in the photograph to Tipton, Georgia, Thomas Veil meets a blind 10-year-old prophet who sees into both Tom's past and future. With his help Tom manages to avoid being captured by the army troupes that seem to be looking for him, but not before they destroy the army base that has some mysterious connection to the picture in Tom's negative as well as the small town where they've been staying.
The emphasis was definitely on action in this episode, but there was a wonderfully eerie sense of the organization's all-encompassing power. The scene where Tom, Derek and Bert return to the empty town was especially well conceived, as was the haunting screech of birds that cut away from the slaughter of the innocent soldiers. On a more personal level, Tom had several emotionally satisfying scenes -- his gentle pleasure in watching the staged "magic show" that turned to horror as Tom realized the blind boy was talking about his own life, the subtly touching moments between Tom and Derek in the trailer and again at the diner that created an unspoken trust between them, and the vastly amusing scene between Tom and the used-car salesman using the cigar motif for a very different effect. The episode was directed by former actor (and teen idol) James Darren and co-starred Bruce's buddy from Hardball, Mike Starr.
