'Worst Enemy' gets wildly mixed reviews

NBC's fall keystone show "My Own Worst Enemy" premieres tonight and critics are really all over the map on this one.

Metacritic features review scores ranging from an ugly 30 ("There isn't a series here; just the pitch meeting for a very expensive, very loud, very dopey action movie" -- Alan Sepinwall) to a perfect score of 100 ("Far, far, far and away NBC's best new pilot of the season and one of the best new shows of the season, on any network -- commercial or cable" -- Newsweek), and everything in between. Why ... it's almost as if the show is about two different people.

My early review was similar to THR's Ray Richmond's take, mixed-to-positive, that this is a pretty enjoyable pilot episode if you can keep your brain locked in a neutral gear. It's like being a cartoon character running off a cliff, the moment you look down the spell is broken and gravity takes hold. Given such mandatory suspension of disbelief, there may be no better lead-in for the show than "Heroes," whose kitchen sink mythology this season makes the logically loopy "Enemy" look like "60 Minutes."

Question is, how much of a lead-in will "Heroes" be able to give the new show? The way "Heroes" ratings have fallen each week, I'm betting NBC wishes it launched "Enemy" a couple weeks ago rather than first trying to give life to "Life." (For those who missed Bill Carter's "where's '30 Rock'?" piece, I'm not the only one second guessing NBC's scheduling today, but I suppose it's always easier for us to do these things with hindsight).

UPDATE: "My Own Worst Enemy" premiere ratings...