Reaper

[norwich36]

I actually got home at 10 tonight, so I got to watch Reaper. And while Ray Wise is no John Glover, I basically liked it.



It's not going to be must-see TV for me, or anything--I expect this is more likely to be a show I watch if I happen to be at home--but I thought it was enjoyable and kind of funny.

I really did enjoy Ray Wise as Satan. I really enjoy "cheerfully evil" in shows like this, and he does a good job with that. The fact that he bought a lot of crap so Sam won the ham cracked me up. And Sam was very personable, for a slacker--I liked the vibe he had going with his friends, even if I am COMPLETELY sick of the "ordinary-looking slacker dude gets the hot girl" trope. It's not that I don't like Andi, I just wish they'd switch it up once in a while and let the slacker (or nerdy or overweight) girl get the hot guy for a change.

I did think some of the bits were really funny--especially how Sam's weapon was a dirt devil that needed to be recharged, and the DMV as a portal to hell. And I liked Sam's parents a lot, especially how they had a really hard time bringing themselves to tell Sam what they had done, and how they justified the deal to themselves in the first place.

Because yes, I am a religion geek, I was happy they addressed the problem with having someone *else* sell your soul for you, and made it clear that Sam is really an indentured-servant-for-life so his mom doesn't go to hell, not actually damned himself.

Overall, not very substantial, and not side-splittingly funny, but I probably will tape at least the next couple to see if I want to keep up with it.

Comments

[bzoppa.livejournal.com]

And while Ray Wise is no John Glover

Brimstone?

Brilliant show. Damn, it only filmed 13 eps.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I'm talking as if I've ever seen it, but I haven't--I've just read a lot of Brimstone fic, since I'm a huge Glover fan. Do you know any place I could actually get it from?

[bzoppa.livejournal.com]

Do you torrent? It's available on mininova.

http://www.mininova.org/get/564364

(feel free to delete this comment if you don't want a torrent link on a public post)

Hmm.. I could've sworn the DVDs were released but I'm finding nothing on amazon. There are other ways to get it, feel free to email me at livejournal . com and we can discuss if you're interested. It's a great show and should be appreciated.

John Glover really made an awesome devil. Sometimes he'd be "nice" and helpful, but at the end of the day he was the devil and could really f**k with his head. Some of the situations he put Horton in were horrible.

It's one of the shows that breaks my heart it only got 13 eps. The other is The Inside, aired on Fox 2005.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Thanks, but I can't actually torrent since I'm on dial-up. I may email you.

[mskatej.livejournal.com]

Yes. I really enjoyed it although I do wonder if I will get sick of it pretty quickly. The best friend is actually the character who made me laugh the most, and I agree that Ray Wise is priceless as Satan.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the best friend is a classic slacker character--I loved the bit where they "suited up," too. But I can see easily getting sick of it. The only reason I might keep watching is that I don't have any shows I must see on Tuesday, so if I'm home (which I probably won't be--I have regular meetings until ten most weeks) I'll probably watch, but I don't think I like it enough to tape it. Maybe next week's, just in case there's more to it.

[mobiusklein.livejournal.com]

There are a few fairytales where the father unknowingly gives his child to the devil that reminds me of Reaper. The demon says "Give me the new thing your wife got while you were gone" or give me the first thing that greets you when you get home (the man usually has a dog but this time it's his kid). One example is Silver Hands.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, sure, I'm familiar with those--but in those cases it's the kid's life and/or service being traded, not their immortal soul. It's fairly well-established in religions that actually *believe* in the devil that only the individual involved can sell their own soul.

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

I liked it, too and my reactions to it are practically identical to yours (especially on the whole "nerdy guy getting the hot girl" trend, probably because it reads so much like wish-fulfillment that it's distracting). I'm definitely going to see how it fares in the next two weeks or so before I fully commit.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Yeah--it's pleasant, and has potential, but I want to see if they're going anywhere with it. Of course, the horror that was Wednesday night TV (god, I'd heard the Bionic Woman pilot was bad, but didn't think anything with Katee Sackoff could suck so much) means I may have openings in my "number of shows I can seriously tape and actually end up watching them" slots, so the likelihood I'll keep watching Reaper just moved up a bit.)