Reaper (CW, Tuesdays at 9pm)Bret Harrison (“Grounded for Life”) is the lead in this teen fantasy comedy—I really don’t even know how to classify it. He plays Sam, a college dropout who works at a warehouse department store (just like "Chuck"). Poor Sam learns on his 21st birthday that his mom sold the soul of her first born to the devil in exchange for a cure to his father’s illness. Even though they were told his father was infertile, they had him. Sure enough, the devil (Ray Wise from “24”) appears to Sam at the most inopportune moments—not that there’s any particularly good time to appear when you’re the devil—and tries to explain to him what his fate brings. Instead of dragging his pathetic slacker soul to hell, he wants Sam to capture the ones that escape to cause trouble on Earth. Sam doesn’t adjust to this new destiny too well, but once the devil threatens to take his mother’s soul if he refuses to comply, he obliges. Luckily, he has two good friends—one with common sense, Ben (Rick Gonzalez from Rollbounce), and one who’s a hyper imbecile, Sock (Tyler Labine from “Invasion”)—to watch his back and help him along the way. They’re like his cheerleaders, telling him “You are Neo. You are the one,” making him yet another king of geeks for this fall season.
To be perfectly honest I didn’t think a show about a 20-something grim reaper was going to be any good. But it actually one-upped both "Chuck" and "Journeyman" in one aspect. All three characters are given responsibilities that any normal human being would lose sleep over and abandon at a moment’s notice. However, Chuck seemed to accept his fate too easily, considering it involved national security in a time where the #1 terrorist who threatens America is still at large, and Dan barely questioned the origins or purpose for his time travel, considering how unlikely and bizarre the scenario would seem to any sane human being. Sam, on the other hand, actually spent more than 5 seconds pondering his fate, why he was chosen, whether or not he was willing to do it, and why he ultimately wants to. Thus, making a, of course, completely illogical scenario seem perfectly understandable.
The underlying theme drilled into the viewers head—by the devil no less—is that even though Sam dropped out of college and has no ambitions to do anything with his life, this is the one responsibility he cannot flake on. It will teach him a life long lesson and make him a better man. Now, that’s great and everything, but how long can they keep giving us stunts and original plot lines? With the addition of a crush, Andi (Missy Peregrym from “Heroes”), there’s extra content to tune in for, but will it last? It doesn’t have the creep factor that draws teens in for Supernatural, but its quirkiness just might win the audience over.
I'll be watching the next show.
To be perfectly honest I didn’t think a show about a 20-something grim reaper was going to be any good. But it actually one-upped both "Chuck" and "Journeyman" in one aspect. All three characters are given responsibilities that any normal human being would lose sleep over and abandon at a moment’s notice. However, Chuck seemed to accept his fate too easily, considering it involved national security in a time where the #1 terrorist who threatens America is still at large, and Dan barely questioned the origins or purpose for his time travel, considering how unlikely and bizarre the scenario would seem to any sane human being. Sam, on the other hand, actually spent more than 5 seconds pondering his fate, why he was chosen, whether or not he was willing to do it, and why he ultimately wants to. Thus, making a, of course, completely illogical scenario seem perfectly understandable.
The underlying theme drilled into the viewers head—by the devil no less—is that even though Sam dropped out of college and has no ambitions to do anything with his life, this is the one responsibility he cannot flake on. It will teach him a life long lesson and make him a better man. Now, that’s great and everything, but how long can they keep giving us stunts and original plot lines? With the addition of a crush, Andi (Missy Peregrym from “Heroes”), there’s extra content to tune in for, but will it last? It doesn’t have the creep factor that draws teens in for Supernatural, but its quirkiness just might win the audience over.
I'll be watching the next show.
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