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I’ve Got A Fever, And The Only Cure Is More CW Hell!! Hercules Says Don’t Fear This REAPER!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
A winning supernatural action-comedy from writer-producers Tara Butters & Michele Fazekas (“The X-Files,” “Ed”), “Reaper” is about a college dropout who learns on his 21st birthday that he was long ago inadvertently sold by his parents to Satan. Satan gives the kid unholy superpowers and a job hunting down Hell’s escapees.
Ray Wise of “Twin Peaks” fame is hilariously avuncular as The Devil, and it’s hard not to love the way the fat friend keeps besting the devil dogs.
USA Today gives it three and a half stars (out of four) and says:
… a supernaturally amusing refuge in a season that otherwise threatens to be paradise lost. … rather than play the devil like a substitute dad, Wise and the writers make a much funnier choice, turning him into a sort of warped CEO who sees himself as a mentor. Sure, he can be scary, as when he shows Sam the risks of giving up, but more often he's encouraging. It sets up a witty give-and-take dynamic …
Entertainment Weekly gives it am “A-minus” and says:
… With his shock of salt-and-pepper hair and his handsome-bad-man face, Wise has taken on many villainous roles over the years, but he's a standout comic here, playing the devil as a rascal on holiday, perpetually pleased with his awesomeness. He cooks chicken-fried steak in Sam's kitchen, gleefully noting how lucky he is not to have arteries …
The New York Times says:
… Comedy is hard to sustain in an hourlong episode, but “Reaper” mixes supernatural derring-do with deadpan slacker humor. It works, in large part thanks to Mr. Labine, who steals every scene he is in as a Seth Rogen-like sidekick. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… it helps that the Devil (Ray Wise, from "Twin Peaks" and "24"), when he suddenly appears in the back seat of Sam's car, seems like not such a bad guy himself, more mentor than menace. ("Are you carjacking me?" "For this? If it was an Escalade -- maybe.") He is full of what might be called devilish good humor, calls Sam "Kiddo" and "Sammy," and will be the unexpected agent of Sam's maturity. … maintains a nice fairy tale tone even as it stresses the banality of the infernal. …
The Washington Post says:
… works on its own cleverly devilish level and proves one of the happier, snappier surprises of the season. It helps considerably that Sam is engagingly played by Bret Harrison and the Devil dexterously depicted by Ray Wise, who adroitly avoids the obvious and invests Old Red with more pizazz than he's usually had in movies, plays or other TV shows in which he's figured. … "Reaper" can be taken half seriously or only a quarter seriously and still be royally enjoyed -- a devilish good time, a helluva show, all that sort of thing, and a remarkably disarming lark besides.
The Boston Herald says:
… unexpectedly sweet, blessed with equal elements of comedy and action. … Wise has the time of his life in a role that calls for him to act both charming and menacing. His talents haven’t been put to such good use since he played Laura Palmer’s twisted dad on “Twin Peaks.” …
The Boston Globe says:
… All the details have color, and so do the characters, right down to Sam's guilt-ridden parents, with whom he still lives. And there are fleeting hints of drama in the scenario that will surely gain momentum and weight - if the show doesn't wind up in cancellation hell, that is. Now that would be an infernal shame. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… If you had made a drinking contest out of finding logical inconsistencies, you'd be in an alcohol stupor right about now. But why worry about all that when you can enjoy the unexpected thrills, the sweetness of Sam's crush on fellow box store worker Andi (Missy Peregrym), the occasional bits of devilish humor and Wise's silky smooth portrayal of Satan? The show is being bought and sold on its fun factor, and its future depends entirely on how much is put in succeeding episodes.
9 p.m. Tuesday. The CW.
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The best CW show since Gossip Girl!
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Er, I'd say he's more Jack Black, than Seth Rogen.
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someone just wants to seem hip.
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I wonder if they'll end up doing some sort of cross over with "Supernatural"
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hasnt been brought up yet.....
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The man can get great comedic performances out of people. His camera work is static and is knowledge of symbolism seems to be nil, but GODDAMNED if the man can't have the performers make me laugh with an otherwise unfunny line. This show, along with Chuck and Pushing Daisies, is going to make this TV season a good one. I only hope Smith comes in to direct some more episodes (Ivan Reitman would also do a great episode of Reaper).
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...when it was called "Reaper".
And John Glover played Satan. -
It had great ambiance, even though the escaped sinners were strictly small-time. I kept waiting for Hitler and Nero to break out.
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I think I will watch it tonight though
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The boycott stills' stand. I'm glad that Wolfram & Hart dropped them as clients.
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not spectactular. just ok
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"the Devil dexterously depicted by Ray Wise, who adroitly avoids the obvious and invests Old Red with more pizazz than he's usually had in movies, plays or other TV shows in which he's figured." It's like nobody even saw John Glover in Brimstone, did they? Does anybody who saw him think he lacked pizzaz in Brimstone?
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It has been far too long without the awesomeness of Ray Wise. Kudos to the casting director for picking the best possible guy for the role.
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you knew exactly what i meant. i kept forgetting the name of THIS show, so i kept repeating it to myself over and over in my head and i think that's why i typed it instead of "brimstone".
"brimstone" was so good, it was even able to make up for the casting of lori petty in a horribly obnoxious role. (correction: "in a role". she adds the "horribly obnoxious").
sometimes when i can stomach a full episode of "smallville", i can see glover channelling his "brimstone" role.
take care, everyone -
all look like high concept fun, but how long can they stretch the concept? Sure, Buffy was high concept, but they had the high school/college backgrond to hang plot threads on. These all look like one season wonders to me...BTW, nice to see Harrison continuing to get work, I've thought he had good comic timing going back to Grounded For Life.
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is really reaching. But it did make me think..we've had Nicholson, Pacino, DeNiro, Keitel, etc. play the devil...I think 'ol Walken should give it a try..."Those eternal flames are HOT!! Woweewowee.."
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and I liked it a lot. It was actually pretty funny. I'll be watching it. I agree though, that it will be hard to make this a long lasting show. I guess supernatural has been doing it though though.
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i saw the pilot before missy peregrym came on board, so it'll be neat to see if she's better or worse than the old chick that was in this.
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Yeah, the motif has been done before several times over, I think that show Brimstone did it too. Supernatural kind of does that dance, and other shows and movies have had that "sending escaped souls back to hell" plotline. But this one does it was a genuinely comedic twist. In a way I'm reminded of John Hughes movies from the 80's. Don't get hung up on the been there, done that already aspect of the basic premise. I thought that too when I first read about it last spring, but this has a fresh take on it, seriously.
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Someone else cannot sell your soul to the devil. Only you can. That is why this premise is flawed.
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Anne Nicole sure sold her children's souls... so the series seems very plausible...
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...when it was called "Brimstone"! Probably last about as long too.
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Not a typo for "can't wait", because I'll have to catch it some time when it's not on opposite House and part of a 90 minute Boston Legal. Gotta get my Greg House and Denny Crane fixes. It's the devils you know versus The Devil you don't. I DO want to see Reaper but I have an old school VCR so I can only watch one thing and tape one other, not like you folks with the Teevoes. So, it will be on again later in the week, right? I mean, if Fox could show the first Wonderfalls three times, The CW ought to give this the push it deserves with a few extra plays, right?
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Such a good job on Twin Peaks. That Pennsylvania 6500 scene, his entrance into Ben's office in season 2, his scene the last time we see Maddy...
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Did I read that synopsis right?
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Enjoying all the smiling shots of Missy.
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Didn't answer it, but they did question it. Can someone say, series finale twist?
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I will have to put this one slightly above Chuck on my favorite new show list. I might actually make it a point to watch the CW or whatever they are calling themselves these days.
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I watched a bit of the show while putting the daughters to bed... watched the last 15 minutes...
It looks pretty good, the friends are funny...
And good god that chick is hot... who is she?
I am noticing a ton of hot chicks on TV this year... NICE! -
Us Heroes fanatics remember her as the delightfully tasty light-bending Candice. "Do you want to shoot me again?"
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Sep 25, 2007 10:17:42 PM CDT
Devil must be called "Kyle" or "Stewart" at some point
by jimbojones123
PLEASE LET THERE BE MORE GREEN LANTERN REFRENCES. Maybe since he's a bad guy, they's have an offhand comment and call him Sinestro. I will laugh. About 6-7 24 fans crossing over to this GREAT show will also laugh. Then we can continue to be the nerds that we are and not be able to tell anybody about it because they just wouldn't understand. BTW, did anybody else find the "Hidden Mickey" in the Star Wars Tales comic? Yeah, I keep that one to myself in normal everyday life too.
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than in Heroes. As little as she did here, she was much more pointless on Heroes. I actually find her pretty, but that's just because she is playing likable I think.
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than in Heroes. As little as she did here, she was much more pointless on Heroes. I actually find her pretty, but that's just because she is playing likable I think.
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McG vs. Kevin Smith. Two very different styles. As it was I was more engaged with Chuck because it was faster moving, but I definitely like the lo-fi quality of Reaper. Tyler Labine finally found the perfect variation of the same role he always plays. Loved the Ghostbusters homage. We'll give it a chance.
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Really, can any side really win that battle? McG was cute for about 2-3 weeks when he made a few fun MTV videos and Charlie's Angels showed that you can make the least attractive of three girl work harder to make herself sexy. But Kevin Smith may be turning the corner. Jackoff Jokes kept to a minimum tonight. Kevin, I know you are reading this so thank you. The Episode was FANTASTIC! I'm not looking forward at all to the new Porn movie, we've already seen Orgazmo. But this was great. Mostly I get tired of 3 years of hype behind Kevin Smith with very little payoff and poor execution, but TV might be an AWESOME medium for you dude. Keep it simple -- and we have greatness like tonight.
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TV directors are just traffic cops. The real creative force in TV are the writer/producers. A monkey could have directed it.
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And I liked it. Leland was terrific as the devil. In fact, all the performances were good. It wiped the floor with Chuck.
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I thought "We Are Marshall" was pretty great.
That's all I got. -
...which was great by the way. Oh, and as cool as casting Ray Wise as Satan is, he still aint no John Glover. Still, I'll check it out.
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...I was Tivo'ing at the same... then there was a commercial break like every 5 minutes so that got really, really old FAST. anyone else notice the commercial breaks were being run every 5 mins?
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Kevin Smith should really consider directing more TV episodes, because the constraints of television actually improve him as a director/storyteller. Here, he has less time to pad the story with inane dick jokes and without characters saying "fuck" every third word, he has to actually be clever to get the laughs.
And yes, Ray Wise owned (or PWNED!) last night. The subtle menace he brought to Leland Palmer on TWIN PEAKS is definitely in play here as we hoped without being simply repetitive or derivative.
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Where just about everything seems to be an almost direct rip-off of another TV show. Why not simply bring back Angel, Brimstone, WKRP, Ouantum Leap, and Dallas? You're not fooling anyone.
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The reason was because they went like the first 20 minutes without a commercial. I think they wanted to make sure the viewer learned enough before commercial break, so they backloaded the commercials. I suspect next week the commercials will be more evenly placed.
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They should bring back Forever Knight.
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God, I miss that show....at least he's picking up a steady check for Bones.
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Congraduations The CW. You just spend millions of dollars, not to mention the countless money you spent to pay off Tv columnist to make this show was any good, only to premiere with worse numbers than Veronica Mars, a show you promoted so poorly you probibly forgot to even tell your family about. Add this your magazine shows with numbers so low they almost didn't register. If you had any sense you will get on your hands and knees and beg Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell to resuresct Veronica Mars: The FBI Years for next year because even without promotion it will get numbers as good as Reaper, that's if you can convince the fans you burned to come back.
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