THE THIRD TWIN

Jason Gedrick times two 

THE THIRD TWIN (1997 two-part telefilm). Director: Tom McLoughlin. 

Dr. Jean Ferrami (Kelly McGillis) is exploring criminal behavior by doing research on twins. She meets a man named Steve Logan (Jason Gedrick), who is later accused of raping Jean's assistant, Lisa (Lisa Vidal). Lisa makes a positive identification of Steve, who insists he is not the rapist. There is a man who looks just like Steve, but he's been in prison for months. Falling for Steve -- with some admitted trepidation -- Jean determines to find out the truth. When she travels to a certain fertility clinic with Steve, he attacks her on the highway, but her landlord insists that Steve never left Philadelphia. Could there possibly be a third "twin" out there, but how could such a thing be possible? Jean's boss, Barrington Jones (Larry Hagman), may have the answers. Could these lookalikes all be clones, and how many of them are there? Worse, is Jean getting too close to the truth? 

McGillis and Holbrook

The Third Twin is a very entertaining, fast-paced sci-fi thriller which plays up the suspense aspects much more than the science fiction. Jason Gedrick gives an excellent performance -- or should I say performances -- as a variety of duplicates, all of whom have their own personal style and way of speaking -- a great showcase for a talented actor. Kelly McGillis can really do little than play off of Gedrick's intensity and sex appeal, and she's okay on that level, but this is Gedrick's show. Hagman does his usual variation on J. R. Ewing, Marion Ross is unconvincing as Jean's Alzheimer's-afflicted mother, but Hal Holbrook really scores in a terrific portrayal of Jean's lovable mountebank of a father. Based on a novel by Ken Follett, this is a little far-fetched but memorable.

Verdict: Slick and exciting telefilm. ***.