Military Entertainment, Air Force Television, TV, Must See TV - Air Force Times

‘John From Cincinnati’ is like ‘Twin Peaks,’ only on HBO

After previewing HBO’s new “John from Cincinnati” surfing drama, one thing is obvious:

“John from Cincinnati” has nothing to do with Cincinnati. The reference is entirely accidental.

Austin Nichols (“Deadwood,” “Surface”) stars as John Monad, a mysterious stranger who stumbles into the lives of a dysfunctional Southern California surfing family.

Immediately weird things happen. Patriarch Mitch Yost (Bruce Greenwood, “Capote”) levitates. His son Butchie (Brian Van Holt, “Threshold”) suddenly feels fine without a daily heroin fix. A dead cockatiel comes back to life. A comatose hospital patient miraculously recovers.

In the premiere, nobody in the Imperial Beach surfing culture just north of the Mexican border associates the mystical events with John, an early 20s guy who gleefully parrots whatever he hears with childlike innocence.

That’s how John gets his name.

After addict Butchie befriends John, to get access to his platinum credit card, they have this conversation in next week’s show:

Butchie: “...You’re not from around here.”

John: “I’m not from around here!”

Butchie: “No? Or any other metropolis, for that matter. I’m feeling kind of a small town.... I’m feeling a little Cincinnati.”

John: “I am from Cincinnati!”

So where is John from? More importantly, who is he?

Nichols, in an interview, says that “some people in the press have speculated that he’s an alien, or Christ, or retarded. All I can say is he’s one of those things.”

Asked what John knows about Cincinnati, Nichols says: “He probably knows everything about Cincinnati, he just can’t articulate it. I’d be so bold to call him omniscient.” (In the first episode he declares, “The end is near!”)

Another hint, Nichols says, comes in John’s last name.

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines “monad” as “(1) something simple and indivisible; (2) any simple, single-celled organism; (3) a monovalent atom, element or radical; (4) an entity or elementary being thought as a microcosm or ultimate unit.”

Nichols plays John with an infantile charm. His newfound friends hold his hand, tugging him along. He mimics teenager Shaun’s (Greyson Fletcher) skateboarding footwork. From the back seat of a car, he imitates the driver’s steering.

The actor — a former competitive water skier — studied for the role by watching his infant niece back home in Texas. “All she does is watch people, and try to mimic them,” says Nichols, 27.

“This is my favorite [acting] job. Every other job I’ve done as an actor is so rehearsed and programmed. I just show up and watch the other performances, and do what they do,” he says.

John isn’t the only weird dude in Imperial Beach. That’s not unexpected, considering this 10-episode drama was created by eccentric David Milch (“NYPD Blue,” “Deadwood”), a former drug addict himself, from Kem Nunn’s surfing novels.

The population includes Butchie’s son, Shaun, a gifted teenage surfer/skateboarder being raised by his grandparents (Greenwood, Rebecca De Mornay); a lottery winner (Matt Winston, “Little Miss Sunshine”) who buys the rundown motel where Butchie lives; and Bill Jacks (Ed O’Neill), a neurotic retired cop.

At the heart of the drama is a conflicted family: Mitch recognizes his grandson’s surfing talent but doesn’t want him to turn pro and sign with the agent (Luke Perry, “Beverly Hills 90210”) who ruined his son’s life. The mystery and comic relief comes from John, dismissed by people as “a space cadet” or “harmless.”

The actor says John is supposed to be “perplexing, interesting and even confusing” to viewers.

“David Milch is very careful to intrigue the audience, and then satisfy. He is the Jedi master of television,” Nichols says. “It’s very different. People will love it — and might not understand why they love it.”

As with Milch’s “Deadwood” Western, the “F word” is uttered almost once a minute. This definitely isn’t “WKRP.”

On the tube:

What: “John from Cincinnati”

Where: HBO

When: Premieres 10 p.m. Sunday, June 10, after “The Sopranos” series finale. Moves to 9 p.m. Sundays on June 17.