Lee Majors also guest-starred in a Jake 2.0 episode called “Double Agent”, probably the best episode of the complete series. In the final scene of the episode, Jake and Fox are talking about cars, Fox (Majors) tells Jake he can run faster than a Mercedes, up which Jake says: really? When we go to the end credits we hear the bionic sound from the Six Million Dollar man, a nice nod to the Six Million Dollar Man, the final scene as well as the bionic sound. It is as if both shows exist in the same universe.

Characters:

Besides Jake, played by Christopher Gorham, there is Diane Hughes, played by Keegan Connor Tracy. She is the NSA doctor and also Jake’s doctor. To her, Jake is more than a colleague, she is a bit smitten, which Jake at first doesn’t even realize. He recently met up with Sarah Carter, played by Marina Black, whom he knows college. After episode eight Sarah Carter does not return and to be honest, I didn’t mind that. There was no real chemistry between these two characters, perhaps why she didn’t return. Diane Hughes was one of the most interesting characters, on a regular basis I got a lump in my throat, because of how Keegan Connor portrayed this character, especially when Jake was on a dangerous mission. Jake’s direct boss is Kyle Duarte, played by Philip Anthony-Rodriguez, and he has to answer to Lou Beckett, played by Judith Scott. Tyler Labine played Seymour, a Nerd who works in the basement of the NSA, who has a special way of finding out information. Because he cannot stop talking, no one is eager to pay him a visit in the basement.

Interesting guest/recurring stars:

More than a few actors I recognized from other genre shows, that is always fun to see. Most important one I already mentioned: Lee Majors, as also Tyler Labine (Invasion; Reaper). Jim Byrnes (Highlander, the series); Laura Harris (Defying Gravity; Dead Like Me); Missy Peregrym (Reaper); David Nykl (Stargate Atlantis); Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica); Steven Williams (The X-Files; Stargate SG-1); Martin Cummins (Dark Angel; Kyle XY); Mark Sheppard (Supernatural; Firefly; Battlestar Galactica, many more); Terry Chen (The Expanse; Continuum); Rob Stewart (Killjoys; Painkiller Jane; Defiance); Paul McGillion (Stargate Atlantis); Erica Cerra (Eureka; The 100); Rachel Hayward (Harsh Realm; Highlander; First Wave); Miranda Frigon (Primeval: New World; Sanctuary) and most likely I’ve missed a few.

The Premise:

 Jake Foley (Christopher Gorham), a brilliant but socially awkward computer technician working for the National Security Agency (NSA). While working at a high-security NSA facility, Jake is accidentally exposed to a virus of experimental nanobots designed to heal injuries. Instead of killing him, the nanites infect Jake, turning him into a living computer and an enhanced human being, essentially the "ultimate human upgrade". The nanites give Jake enhanced strength, speed, heightened hearing, razor-sharp vision, and the ability to instantly heal. His most distinct power is the ability to directly interface with electronic devices, computers, and digital networks with his mind, allowing him to hack, send messages, and manipulate technology wirelessly. Realizing his potential as an "untested asset," the NSA elevates Jake from a tech-support worker to a field agent, placing him at the core of a specialized ops team to handle high-stakes technical and physical threats. Not everybody is happy with this upgraded secret agent, Valerie Warner, played by Rachel Hayward, from the board of directors, thinks Jake is a potential danger to her and the NSA and she has her own agenda regarding Jake, which is not very favorable to him. This was also a very interesting story-arc, the internal politics within the NSA, how it is all about power, scheming and lying, just like in the real world!

Cancellation:

Jake 2.0 was cancelled after 12 episodes, 4 more episodes were produced and when I check my grades, starting from episode 8, “The Middleman”, I only graded one episode lower than an 8/10. This is often the case, especially with genre shows, the story has to be build up, so the first bunch of episodes often are okay but not as exciting as you would like them to be. So when the episodes finally step up from being okay, a show like this gets cancelled! Before I saw this also with shows like Terra Nova and Primeval: New World. This is a shame, in the 90’s and before that, it was different, shows weren’t dismissed after 1-5 episodes by the audience, in that day and age they got more time to find its audience and built up the universe of the show in question. Take for instance the first seasons of TNG, DS9, VOY, the first season of the Highlander, or even the first season of Babylon 5, they all had their problems but they all became successful shows. A reason of course is because nowadays there are so many shows to choose from. In case of Jake 2.0, airing on the UPN was also not favorable because of its erratic schedule and that it had estimated audience reach of only 86%. Jake 2.0 had lots of potential, sadly we never got to see beyond the 16^th episodes because of its premature cancellation.

Final Word:

It had been 15 years since I last watched Jake 2.0. Just after it was cancelled, there was talk of a DVD release which never came up until 2019, when it was released by Visual Entertainment (VEI). For the longest time I wasn’t allowed to purchase it via Amazon from outside the US. I could purchase it via EBAY, where it was available but with steep prices. Last few years I was able to purchase it but till today I haven’t done it for various reasons, one of them the price, including shipping and taxes. And now that I have rewatched it again, I don’t feel the need to purchase it on short notice. If you got curious about Jake 2.0 and you never watched it before, please give it a little time, it gets better halfway through the season, it really gets interesting.

Screencaps: taken from Google Search. Very difficult to find good quality pics, sorry for that.