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Ken Harrison: Botanist? Geneticist? Medical Doctor?
Ken Harrison does not appear in S1 of Mutant X until nearly the halfway point in production, in the episode “Dark Star Rising”-110. Ken Harrison is a delightfully wicked character, arguably more sinister and dangerous than Mason Eckhart. Harrison acts only to advance his own ambitions, while Eckhart is charged with protecting the greater society from the excesses of the Genomex mutants.
 When we first meet Ken Harrison, he is clearly a botanist, running a company called Tricorp Botanicals. As he says to excuse the less than stellar security at Tricorp, “We’re in the agribusiness.” [Nevertheless, security is tighter at an unnamed large multinational personal care product company than at Genomex…] By the end of “Dark Star Rising”, Harrison has run afoul of Eckhart, who strongly hints that Harrison is about to be podded indefinitely.
[Digression. There really are plants called Rafflesias, but they look nothing like the Rafflesia prop in the episode, which bore a close resemblance to a large, molded, gaudily colored gelatin dessert. Rafflesias are noted for their reek, which attracts flies and other insects to their doom.]
Sometime between “Dark Star Rising”-110 and “Double Vision”-112, a miraculous event takes place: Ken Harrison is no longer a botanist, but a “biogeneticist” [A nonsense word used in Mutant X. Since all of genetics deals with biological organisms, the bio- prefix is completely unneeded.] and possibly a medical doctor as well. He attempts to inject the captive Evil Emma with something nasty, hardly the duty of a botanist. Later, we see Harrison tending to Eckhart’s face, possibly applying a patch to his faux hide.
Partway through “Double Vision” there is a curious and funny scene between Eckhart and Harrison. Eckhart is clearly amused by the Evil Emma, and as she departs, he’s actually smiling. Harrison is not pleased with the release of Emma, and he glares at Eckhart, chasing the smile from his face.
This is fascinating for several reasons. Only Nicole Carter ever gets the better of Eckhart verbally and only Harrison gets the better of him without saying a word. Harrison would seem to be more than a subordinate to be able to get away with this conduct. Eckhart’s behavior reveals a human vulnerability we would not otherwise expect. A human being lies deeply buried in there…somewhere.
Unfortunately, Dr Harrison’s experiments fail by the end of “Double Vision”. While discussing the continuation of this research. Harrison asks if Eckhart has any expendable subjects in mind, and wordlessly, Eckhart looks at him. Harrison is visibly shaken. Clearly, these two are not on good terms.
Harrison next appears in “Lazarus Syndrome”-115. More than ever, he is portrayed as a medical doctor.
There is one telling scene in which Harrison is tending to Eckhart’s skill while a GSA agent reports failure. Harrison usurps Eckhart’s place in the questioning and comments, a source of irritation for Eckhart. This scene reflects what is reported in the faux website www.genomex.net, that Harrison is trying to bypass Eckhart’s authority, even compete with him.
The adversarial relationship between Harrison and Eckhart is the basis for the conspiracy leading to Eckhart’s podding in “A Breed Apart”-121. In return for operating Genomex, Harrison betrays Eckhart to Gabriel Ashlocke.
One would think that Mason Eckhart would think of little else than finding Ken Harrison after being depodded, but that is not the Mohanesque way. Eckhart never mentions his betrayer again, and we are never sure if Harrison is a PhD or MD.
Ken Harrison does return in S3, but he just is not the scheming Dr Harrison of S1. He is rather bland, and really could have been any character.
Ken Harrison was a wonderful character, and like Mason Eckhart, more should have been done with him. More should have been done with the two of them together, but as with so much that was good about Mutant X, such aspects can be pursued only in fanfiction.
Dark Mirage
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