Three Inches

Three Inches is an American action with science fiction made-for-television film, intended to serve as the pilot episode for a new series.  Created by writer-producer Harley Peyton and directed by Jace Alexander it aired on Syfy on December 29, 2011.  The show follows a group of people with superhuman abilities, focusing on Walter Spackman, played by Noah Reid, an underachiever who develops a telekinetic ability after being struck by lightning. 

The movie received favorable reviews, but failed to spawn into the TV series. 

Plot
On the same day that 26-year-old Walter Spackman confesses his love to the non-reciprocating Lily, he is struck by lightning.  He awakens from a coma to discover that he has gained the ability to move objects with his mind up to a distance of three inches.  The mysterious Troy Hamilton recruits Walter to join his team of superheroes and Walter joins in the hope of helping to improve the world. 

Walter's first mission is to recover a package on behalf of an unknown client.  The "package" turns out to be a young girl named Cassie, who has a set of superhuman abilities.  Deeply troubled, Walter quits the team but returns to headquarters with teammate Watts, best friend Macklin and Cassie's sister to rescue the girl.  The next day Troy tells Walter that he had no idea that the "package" was a person.  Upon learning the truth, he counted on Walter's sense of decency to lead him to quit and, as a "disgruntled former employee", rescue Cassie while giving Troy the "plausible deniability" he needed.  Walter rejoins the team. 

Cast
 Noah Reid as Walter Spackman
 James Marsters as Troy Hamilton
 Kyle Schmid as Brandon
 Stephanie Jacobsen as Watts
 Naoko Mori as Annika
 Julian Richings as Ethan
 Craig Eldridge as Todd
 Antony Del Rio as Carlos (The Human Smell)
 Andrea Martin as Belinda Spackman 
 Brandon Jay McLaren as Macklin Sportello
 Alona Tal as Lily Theroux

Characters

Main characters

 Walter Spackman (Noah Reid) is an underachiever who develops a telekinetic ability after being struck by lightning.  He can move objects up to a maximum distance of three inches. 
 Troy Hamilton (James Marsters) is an ex-Army intelligence officer who investigated psychics, got so interested in people with gifts, leading him to form his own team.  He is the group's organizer and has no extraordinary powers of his own.  
 Brandon (Kyle Schmid) is the field leader who is Troy’s son.  He wears body armor and displays tactical finesse.  He has no extraordinary powers of his own. 
 Watts (Stephanie Jacobsen) can alter people’s emotional states when she is near them, making them feel happy or sad. 
 Annika (Naoko Mori) can mimic sounds she hears, so she does perfect imitations of people. 
 Carlos (Antony Del Rio), a.k.a. " The Human Smell," is the youngest member of the team who can emit a pungent gas through his pores.  He often talks about himself in the third person. 
 Todd (Craig Eldridge) has limited clairvoyancy, and gets stronger headaches the further into the future he looks.  He has the power to see up to two minutes into the future. 
 Ethan (Julian Richings) is an entomologist who can communicate with and control insects. 

Supporting characters
 Belinda Spackman (Andrea Martin) is Walter's quirky mother. 
 Macklin Sportello (Brandon Jay McLaren) is Walter's friend.  He works as a sous-chef at a bistro where several scenes take place. 
 Lily Theroux (Alona Tal) is Walter's crush. 

Development
Syfy initially planned to develop Three Inches as an hour-long drama.  Syfy announced the project in March 2010, and the network ordered the pilot in October.  The pilot was delivered to the network at around the same time as the pilot for Alphas, another series with a similar premise.  Syfy executives liked both pilots but felt that Alphas had better potential as an hour-long series.  The network began exploring ways to reformat Three Inches, including possibly making it into a half-hour sitcom. 

Critical reception
Brian Ford Sullivan of The Futon Critic gave the pilot a generally positive review.  He found that the show has "an inherent cleverness" and was fun to watch.  He particularly praised the performances of Reid and Marsters.  However, he found the show's mixing of tones, from Walter's "slightly wacky home life" to the gloominess of his daily existence to the camaraderie with his fellow heroes to the dark possible consequences of their mission, to be uneven. 

Notes

External links
 Three Inches at the Internet Movie Database

Category:2011 American television series debuts
Category:Syfy original films
Category:American television pilots
Category:Television pilots not picked up as a series