Been a while, huh folks?
So what is it about? Ichabod Crane wakes up in the present day, how or why isn't exactly clear, but becomes clearer as the pilot progresses. Although he may be in the present day, bumbling his way around all the inventions that seem truly insane to him, he's actually dragged the past to the present with him as a Headless Horseman (who turns out to be the personification of Death itself, with a nasty allergic reaction to sunlight) runs around town, cutting off heads with a magical axe. And of course, as always, nothing is quite what it seems, and there is something much bigger than anyone could comprehend at play here.
Honestly, the pilots plot fills me with a lot of confidence, it shows a lot of balls (perhaps that will turn to arrogance as the show progresses) that the show literally starts with a plot centred entirely around the apocalypse itself. Shows like Supernatural waited until they were truly spiralling the drain before throwing in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the End of the World, so I'm interested to see if the show is able to stand under its own weight, starting at probably the most epic point of a narrative they can do. Pilots in their very nature exist to convince networks to pick up the series. And so although not always the case, it's difficult to judge things like the acting or the action or whatever on the pilot alone, as they may not bother to fire on all cylinders or throw as much money at their episodes, when they've confirmed they have x episodes to play with. As such, I took the pilot's impressive action sequences and visuals with a grain of salt, as to not end up as disappointed with the show as I was with shows like Arrow. It's hard as well, because everything about this pilot makes me excited, establishing a world and a series of narrative hooks which doesn't promise, but at least hints, that what is to come is going to be exciting and epic, all wrapped in stylish visuals, stunningly directed action and balanced with a wicked sense of humour. I just have to keep reminding myself that Arrow promised the same, and look how that turned out, just gotta keep myself grounded, can't let the pilot suck me in....
Tom Mison is no Johnny Depp, for sure, but his version of Ichabod Crane is still fun enough, as he is depicted as a sort of urban fantasy Captain America, minus the shield (they even make this reference themselves at the end) and Mison adds a lot of charisma to some excellently crafted dialogue. Sadly, the woman alongside him, Abbie Mills as played by Nicole Beharie is far less interesting. She may be a black, female police officer, which is certainly fascinating to Crane but her performance and her characterisation leaves a lot to be desired. Especially when sharing a scene with Crane, who steals every scene he is in, through copious amounts of scenery chewing and apparently loving every second he's in character. I guess she is there to balance, and ground Crane, but she just sucks the fun out of every scene, as she has to constantly amass a wall of sass at everything, like being alive is a nuisance for her to click her fingers at.
Speaking of that dialogue, well crafted writing is probably the one thing that truly holds this pilot together. It works, despite being totally ludicrous, because it never picks a side. It's never that show that knows its stupid, so it just plays it all for laughs and it's never that show that ignores how stupid it is, and plays it all straight either. Instead we get some incredibly dry humour, that will be hilarious to the right audience (probably the best example is when we see Death put down his magic axe, pick up a bunch of guns and go full on Terminator) but it balances those hilarious moments by reminding us that there are still stakes here, that we are in a real world, where this stupid headless dude with a shotgun really can hurt people and does. We see three people die in this pilot, two of which are probably the biggest names in the whole thing. And because of how well crafted it all is, the way the show moves between tones and genres is effortless and each aspect balances the last, there is never a moment of tonal whiplash, it just...works, like all the best urban fantasy stories should. So yeah, overall, if you're an urban fantasy fan, have a dry sense of humour or simply love good television then this pilot is a must watch. Just take your enjoyment with a grain of salt, overstuffed, high concept pilots like this usually work fine in themselves and then lead on to absolutely awful full seasons... For now though, what a great watch!
Pros;
- Crane was awesome.
- The action was great.
- The visuals were excellent.
- It had a great sense of humour.
- Huge amounts of confidence.
- It was well directed.
- Stunningly written.
- I really didn't care for Abbie.
- What you doing killing off Clancy Brown AND John Cho in your pilot?
- There is no indicator here that fills you with any confidence that this can work over a full season.
Think About It!
-Locke
No comments:
Post a Comment