Reaper- The WB Monday 7:00
pm: “Gilmore Girls” is over (sigh). Dittio “Arrested
Development”. “Scrubs” isn’t on yet. That leaves “The Office”, “Law and Order
SVU” and “Heroes” as my entire TV viewing list. I saw an ad for “Reaper” and vaguely remembered
that there was some sort of decent buzz related to it, so I set the Tivo to
record the premiere (along with “The Bionic Woman”; more about that later)
and promptly forgot about it. Apparently I had a little more time to relax in
front of the tube than usual this weekend, ‘cause come Sunday night I’d
watched all my shows. Oh wait. Here’s that “Reaper” thing. I guess I’ll watch
that… Woah!
This is different- edgy, funny, imaginative, unpredictable… how’d this
get on TV? I suppose credit for it’s being green lighted at
all must go to the current popularity of genre television (Supernatural,
Heroes, Ghost-Whisperer, Bionic Woman). Credit for its quality goes to director
Kevin Smith (“Chasing Amy”, “Clerks”, “Dogma”, Silent-Bob of “Jay &
Silent Bob” fame), who brings his laid-back personal style and slacker
sensibility to the project. Smith is not afraid to use a few clichés: the
comical Jack Black-esque sidekick (Tyler Labine), the nice guy and down to
earth beauty that are “best friends”, but everyone else knows are in love,
Satan as a smooth-talking, well-dressed, charming rogue; clichés yes, but
they are not used as a short cut to avoid being creative. These are the conventions
Smith sets his oddball story against. It is the combination of the
familiar and the different that makes this material work. If
you’re still with me, by now you’re probably asking “Just what the hell (pun
intended) is this thing about?” Sam
Oliver (Brett Harrison),, an unremarkable but nice enough employee of the
local Work Bench (“The Bench”), upon reaching his 21st birthday,
learns his parents have a little, uh… secret. It seems that when they
were young, foolish, and deep in debt, they struck a bargain with Beelzebub:
he’d get them back on their feet again, and they’d forfeit the soul of their
1st born son on his (you guessed it) 21st birthday.
But, as they sheepishly explain to their doomed offspring, they had a plan to
out-smart John Barleycorn- they wouldn’t have any children at all! But, as we
all know, Jack Scratch is a pretty sharp operator. He bribed a doctor to tell
the young husband that he was infertile, and… the die was cast. A son was
born. And now the time has come to pay up; Sam must do the devil’s bidding.
And what exactly is the job description? Sam will do Satan’s bidding by
chasing down damned souls escaped from the bowels of Hell. So, in a clever
twist, he will be returning evil souls with bad intentions from whence they
came, thus providing a service to humanity while serving Satan. I suppose we
can all live with that! And just how will an altogether ordinary young
slacker accomplish this mission? Every week Satan will provide a new vessel
to contain the lost soul; a vessel commensurate with the abilities of the
young bounty hunter. In week one, he was given (wait for it)… a Dirt-Devil.
Get it? Devil? Smith’s
influence is felt most obviously in the scenes of easy camaraderie amongst
the employees at “The Barn”. They hang out, they banter; they are obviously
happy and comfortable in each other’s company. A lesser director may have
rushed these scenes to get to the action and effects, but Smith has always
understood that these scenes from ordinary everyday life make his characters
more endearing and real, thus making the story more satisfying and
believable. The
cast is able and agreeable. Missy Peregrym ("Heroes") is fresh and appealing as the object of
Sam's unrequited love. Tyler Labine, as Jack-Black style uber-slacker
"Socks" Wysocki, gets off some great lines and keeps things from
getting stuffy. And although Satan, as played by Ray Wise, doesn’t really
explore any new territory, he hits the right combination of charm and menace,
keeping things lightly comedic but not frivolous. The cast is rounded out by
the well-meaning but clueless parents, and assorted wise-cracking friends and
associates. Smith’s ability to create a well-defined social circle is what
ultimately makes this material stand out. The
material itself is rife with possibility, both emotional and intellectual.
Can a person’s soul even be sold by another? The director of “Dogma” is
unlikely to ignore this question (it was alluded to in the opening episode).
How’s a guy supposed to maintain or initiate relationships while in the
service of Satan? What new devilish devices will be supplied to corral lost
souls in the weeks ahead? Here’s
hoping Smith stays with the series, and is allowed to continue to imprint it
with his personal brand of slacker sentiment, Catholic street theology, and
comic-book style mayhem. I, for
one, have set my Tivo to “record series” to find out!
UPDATE 10/22/07: Well, Kevin Smith only directed
the one episode, and it almost immediately devolved into something very
ordinary. Oh well. Other notes from the young
TV season: The Office: Kind
of a bland start to the season- the hour long premiere was two episodes
pasted together, creating a somewhat disjointed viewing experience. Although
there were plenty of fun bits from the skilled ensemble (Kevin’s never-ending
innuendo regarding Jim and Pam’s dating status, and the death of Angela’s cat
“Sprinkles” at Dwight’s hand spring immediately to mind), there was a dearth
of genuine belly laughs. Combine this with a lack of the genuine human
emotion that is usually present when the show isn’t going strictly for
laughs, and the first episode finds the gang from “The Office”a tad off their
game. Ryan’s frustration with Michael from his NY office adds nothing, and
Jan’s mental breakdown and living with Michael is something of a bust (pun
also intended) as well. However… this show’s confidence and patience is it’s
strength. The fact that the writers are willing to take the time to set
things up and explore these characters in depth is what makes this the best
comedy on TV. They are content to hit singles and get a few men on base-
then, when they do hit the long ball, it really brings them home. Another
note from the bravery department: the writers have officially entered the
“fulfilled unrequited love danger-zone”, as it has been revealed that Pam and
Jim are indeed dating. Only one show in TV history has successfully pulled
off this feat (Cheers). So, as the writers courageously forage down the same
deadly path that doomed Mattie and David, Niles and Daphne, and a host of
other bantering unrequited couples, I tip my hat to them and wish them good
luck. I think they can pull it off, but it ain’t gonna be easy. The Bionic Woman: Honestly,
I only made it through a half hour of this. It seemed pretty run-of-the-mill.
The set-up was pretty preposterous (not from a sci-fi or fantasy
point-of-view, which would be fine, but from a human behavior point-of-view,
which is not): girl friend of Doctor working on top-secret project has her
rushed into the top-secret compound when she’s maimed in a car accident. He
has no trouble getting an entire staff of medical specialists to agree to
perform the experimental surgery their all working on as a weapons
application on her to save her life. Now she’s a loose cannon, the second one
it turns out. Of course the first one turned out horribly wrong and is now a
homicidal maniac, so the man responsible for creating her wants this second
one eliminated. This is all related in a deadly serious manner, and there was
nothing remotely interesting or imaginative in the half-hour I could afford
to waste watching it. It could get better, but I didn’t really see much room
for growth. You may have heard that the actress playing the murderous cyborg
is terrific and steals the show; that would appear to be true. Heroes: Heroes
seems well poised to avoid the sophomore pit-falls
that befell 1st season sensations “Lost” and “Desperate
Housewives”. Whereas both of those shows seemed unplanned and written from
week to week, the season premiere of Heroes wasted no time in setting up key
situations for some main characters and tying them together. This show
clearly has a story to tell and knows where it is going to be at the end of
the season. I’m guessing near the top of the ratings board. Law and Order SVU: Another season of SVU
began with a sharp performance by Cynthia Nixon (“Sex in the City”)
as a murderess with multiple personality disorder
(I would have never dreamed she could pull off “sexy flirt”). There are
probably better dramas on TV (I wouldn’t know, I’m not a fan of TV drama),
but SVU is consistently engrossing and well acted. Although series stars
Mariska Haggerty and Christopher Meloni carry the load, the diverse ensemble
does do some of the heavy lifting (unlike franchise partner Criminal Intent,
where hot dog Vincent D’Onfrio is the whole show), particularly detectives
Munch and Fin, Richard Belzer and Ice-T. I don’t make a point of catching
every episode, but when I’m in the mood for over-wrought police melodrama,
it’s nice to know it’s there, taking care of business. Disagree?
Something to add? E-mail me and I’ll post your responses! |
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