‘Black Scorpion’ lashes out with campy appeal

High-speed chases. Larger-than-life characters. Scantily clad women.

These are some of the trademarks of Roger Corman’s films, who returns to make his mark in the new millennium. Corman teams up with writer Craig J. Nevius to create “Black Scorpion,” which debuts at 8 tonight on Sci Fi Channel.

“Black Scorpion,” the adventures of a costumed crime fighter, shoots for the same loopy, campy appeal as the much-beloved “Batman” series of the mid-’60s. (Not surprisingly, Corman and company have hired the star of “Batman,” Adam West, to play a supervillain, in hopes that some of his kitsch value would rub off on “Black Scorpion.”)

The new show’s titular character is the alter ego of Darcy Walker (played by former Miss Kansas Michelle Lintel). Darcy is a second-generation cop whose father was murdered by the evil Breathtaker (West’s character). At night, she takes the law into her own hands as Black Scorpion, donning a black mask, a high- and low-cut black leather bodice and thigh-high boots (at least she can move in that clothing).

Darcy is partnered with Steve Rafferty (Scott Valentine), who has transferred into that Angel City precinct with the hopes of captur-

ing Black Scorpion. He’s such a sharp detective that he doesn’t notice the physical similarities between his comely partner and the superhero. Also in the squad room is a pair of buffoonish detectives and their doughnut-munching captain.

Darcy is aided by Argyle, a reformed car thief who has designed her Scorpion Mobile, a kind of Transformer Corvette, and equipped it with all kinds of Bondian gadgets. (Why waste his talents at some high-tech firm, hauling in big bucks?)

Black Scorpion will do battle with a string of colorful villains. In the opener, there’s Firearm (played by Martin Kove), a disabled former cop opposed to handguns who has a machine gun for an arm and dresses in bulletproof armor. Another villain in the same episode is the firepower-happy General Stryker. Later in the season, Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Soupy Sales, David Landers (Squiggy), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk) and a passel of Playmates will appear as villains.

Let’s give “Black Scorpion” the benefit of the doubt and assume that the producers were hoping to attain “Baywatch”-caliber acting and “Walker”-level plots. As a parody, “Black Scorpion” has a sting. If this is meant to be taken seriously, then this is one badly drawn cartoon. I’m betting on the former.