Reaper: Pilot (series premiere)

It's not unlike Buffy The Vampire Slayer in that regard. I can still remember the look I got from my roommate when I told her that we were going to watch Buffy the night it premiered. But some of the best television often comes from some of the strangest places. You can certainly draw parallels to other shows as well. I couldn't help but think of Fox's short-lived Brimstone when the Devil started talking about escapees from hell. Perhaps what Ezekial Stone really needed was for someone to turn on a light or two and give the guy a wisecracking sidekick.

Anyway... on with the show. The cat was let out of the bag a long time ago by the promotions department over at CW. So, it's a credit to the show that even though we all knew what was going to happen for the first half of the episode, it was still well worth watching. We kicked things off by learning just how bleak Sam's situation is. He's a guy with a considerable lack of direction and ambition. He went to college, but it made him tired. To his credit, he does question the path he is on when he asks Sock about the possibility that they will still be working at The Work Bench in five years, but he doesn't seem to be able to do anything about it.

As Sam's big day progressed, things just got weirder and weirder. It all built up nicely with the shopping cart, his pre-occupation with the fire on the television, the dogs, and the air-conditioner incident. By the time the Devil made that first appearance in the car, he was in a place where he could accept the absurdity of it all as being real. It was a perfect introduction for the Devil too, as he played the A/C thing off as doing Sam a favor.

I think that was my favorite part of this opening episode, the almost life-coach like relationship between Sam and the Devil. It's interesting to watch as he pushes Sam along the path, pumping him up when he needs it, and making with the threats when encouragement isn't enough. The big twist to the story ends up not being that his parents sold his soul to the Devil, but that the Devil was just the person he needed to get some direction in his life, as we see in the closing scenes. He finally feels like a grown up, like he has responsibility. Sure, the Devil has his own ends to pursue, but in a twisted way, Sam is better for it.

I'm also a huge fan of the Sam and Sock dynamic. Bret Harrison and the scene stealing Tyler Labine are a great team. Sam's reaction to Ben getting hurt in the initial go at the arsonist was understandable. But clearly, as much as this was something that he wanted to do on his own, to protect everyone else, it was going to have to be a team effort. And that team is what is really going to make the show good moving forward.

In this first case, tracking down and capturing the arsonist, we get a good look at what it's going to entail. It's not going to be the most skilled operation, and it's not going to be done with the greatest of precision, but sheer will and persistence is going to deliver results, along with more than a few laughs. I was actually quite impressed with the effects once the battles got underway as well. That is one of the difficulties faced when battling demons and things of that sort. So far, it looks like the show is up to the task.

The one part of the show I don't have a solid bead on so far is Andi. I get it, Missy Peregrym is gorgeous, and Andi brings that object of desire/confusion into Sam's life. I'm just not sure which way that's headed. It's something that we have seen a number of times and is probably the aspect of the show that offers the most potential for a stumbling block. That's not to imply that anything is wildly wrong with the show at this point, just that there are questions and possibilities down that road. It stands out because I think they got the rest of it so right. Sam and the Devil, Sam and Sock, and even the supporting characters in the family and at The Work Bench all feel solid, after just one episode. It's clearly a show that is put together very well.

Which leads us to the big question. How is this one going to do? In a perfect world, it would get spectacular ratings and there would be talk show appearances, magazine covers, all the trappings of bigtime TV success. But we're living in the real world, where things are a little different. I think the initial buzz is going to get it off to a good start. While being on CW brings its own set of problems, and will limit the ratings the show can ultimately aspire to, the silver lining is that the bar for success is lowered. The network doesn't exactly have a truckload of hit shows out back, so Reaper has a real shot at putting it's mark on the new season. I'm certainly looking forward to more.