Tuesday, September 17, 2013

'Sleepy Hollow' Pilot Review: The Fantasy-Horror Cousin of 'Fringe' Delights Instantly


Fox

Hudson Valley, New York. 1781. The scene: a battle rages on between the redcoats and the patriots. Ichabod Crane (a dashing Tom Mison) fights for his life against... that's not a regular redcoat soldier. Two hundred fifty years later, Crane awakens in a cave and to find himself alive in a very different world than the one he once occupied. Meanwhile, a routine police call turns into a double homicide perpetrated by the very same redcoat solider that should be dead but you can't truly kill the Horseman of Death headless or not. 

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So it goes for Fox’s latest genre entry Sleepy Hollow, a surprisingly engrossing occult apocalypse conspiracy tale woven around two main figures from that legend (Crane and the Headless Horseman) and police lieutenant Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) who's more than willing to believe as recent events involving both figures bring up dark days from her past while forever changing her future. After watching the pilot it would be impossible not to compare this show with quite a few others currently on the air (Elementary) or have since long ago left our screens (The X-Files). To me, it immediately established itself as a sort of horror-fantasy version of Fox’s most recent genre phenomenon that didn't get canceled after one season Fringe, which makes sense since Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are involved in both shows. Which is nothing but a compliment when a pilot is this  strong, well-plotted, and filled with disturbing imagery right out of the gate.




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It’s a comfort to know that even though the series immediately tries to persuade viewers it should stick around with the promise of a seven year battle for syndication, I mean Judgement Day, at least there’s a plan here to set our characters on a path in the first place. One of the biggest mistakes show-runners in a post-LOST world make is ever letting fans think that the people behind the scenes are simply making it up as they go along. It’s comforting to assume that the parts of the story may be interchangeable in the wake of what works and what doesn’t but the machine is still going to function correctly at the end of the day, (if the show gets to go the distance, Fringe barely made five seasons let alone seven so hopefully Sleepy Hollow won’t be stingy with time-jumps and burning through story quickly if necessary).

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For the sake of getting everybody on the same page, here’s where we’re at so far just after the pilot episode alone. Ichabod Crane and Headless both stir at the same time, mayhem ensues, several characters literally lose their heads just as we begin to realize how involved in this mystery they’ve become. Not to mention we get mentions of covens of witches (Crane's wife was one and she's also still around since witches are difficult to truly kill) and if you’ve been paying attention to the forthcoming television season then you know that witchcraft is the new black for genre entertainment. I’m a sucker for End Times mythology as well as tales of the Revolutionary War so this show knew what it was doing when it smashed them both together. The occult has constantly lingered on the edges of major historical events so it’s not entirely unbelievable to make that particular conflict a fictional battle for much more than freedom from tyranny.

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Aside from the immediate quest this story puts our characters on, Sleepy Hollow isn’t afraid to be fun and to poke fun at itself from time to time. Be on the lookout for a horse crossing sign that gets sliced up for an amusing visual gag. They understand that shows with a complex plot which immediately carry on filled with a grim sense of self-importance lose the plot of why we tune in for these wacky concepts in the first place which is to be entertained. It only took half of the pilot episode before I found myself hooked, and by the time Headless was firing a semi-automatic at  Abbie’s backup uniformed officers you knew this show isn’t afraid to be audacious or silly.

A large part of why the pilot works comes down to the two leads. One cannot speak enough
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as to how important it is in this day and age of fandom’s influencing the fate of a show (if you don’t believe me I have one word: Hannibal) to give fans characters they can attach themselves to as well as possibly ship. Ichabod and Abbie are two characters with screen presence together and, perhaps most importantly for a story that is concerned with both of their paths, separately. I find myself as interested in the mysteries of Crane as I do with Abbie’s backstory with her as yet unseen sister which put her destiny firmly toward Crane’s own as both characters prepare to navigate the trials and tribulations of a town that is set to be a possible battleground for the End Times.


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Both of the lead characters also get to be funny in their own ways and that sort of levity and camaraderie is going to be a welcome respite when things start as getting as nasty and disturbing as they’re meant to in future episodes. I particularly enjoyed Crane’s curiosity about the proliferation of Starbucks in the town (“Is there a law?”). There would be more to say about the supporting cast, but at this moment three of them from the pilot are corpses. Including Sheriff Corbin played by Clancy Brown, but here’s hoping on a show with flashbacks as a necessity to the machinations of the plot that we haven’t seen the last of characters that could help illuminate some of the mysteries surrounding the town. Brown’s character left behind several files and hopefully many hours of audio records as he served as a John Winchester type of character for Abbie as she took over his journey from the road so far. No one but Clancy Brown has quite the same vocal gravitas that pairs with the looming threat of Hell come to earth  so here’s hoping that we at least haven’t heard the last of him on this show.

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I’m already counting the days down til next Monday and that should be considered mission accomplished for the creators of this show. Not a single part of me wanted to fall so hard and so fast, but the first hour left me excited with the possibilities and instantly caring about the journeys of these characters. Hopefully, the show doesn’t get too bogged down in the procedural and keeps to its goal of Judgement Day and all the weird, dark, and twisted elements that surround such an event. Let’s also hope the series stays committed to keeping viewers on the edge of their seats as the no one is safe mentality is a very effective way to keep things thrilling all on its own.

What did you think of Sleepy Hollow? If you’re shipping the leads is a romantic ship or a brotp? What do you hope to see more of in future episodes? Did hearing Clancy Brown speak Apocalypse talk make anyone miss Carnivale really badly?

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