Saturday, September 29, 2007

THE DEVIL, YOU SAY

Describe the basic premise of 'Reaper' to somebody who knows their TV, and you should get this response: "That already was a TV show, called 'Brimstone'!"

There are a lot of differences, however. And the big one is that 'Brimstone' was too dark and depressing; 'Reaper' is light-hearted fun.

But even so, somebody might want to call out 'Reaper' as being a copy. But as Toobworld's Ambassador without portfolio, I'd say it's a continuation of the premise.

The Devil, as played by Ray Wise, is the same guy as portrayed by John Glover in 'Brimstone'. And the mission is still the same, just nine years later. Being the Devil, he can assume any visage he wants. Old Scratch probably figured the latter day Rat Pack look would make for a better mentor to Sam instead of that skeevy, long-haired look he sported while dealing with Zeke Stone.

It would seem that the Devil's problem with souls escaping from Hell is growing. Originally the number was 113. (And thanks to a suggestion by my "Iddiette" friend, Listener Mara, we can count the vampire 'Angel' among their number.) But now he's got so many loose on Earth Prime-Time that he's had to open branch offices and "hire" on more bounty hunters.

Miami and Dallas might make for interesting locations if Sam Oliver ever has to take his act on the road.... JR Ewing once had to confront his own personal demon, but I don't think that was a different guise for THE Devil. I think "Adam" used to be the personal Christmas Past for an Ebenezer Scrooge in some TV dimension. After Scrooge finally died, Adam needed to find employment elsewhere.

And the Devil probably has a couple of bounty hunters working around the clock in Cleveland. According to Rupert Giles, Cleveland was located right over a Hellmouth......

SHOWS CITED:
'Reaper'
'Brimstone'
'Dallas'
'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'
'Angel'
"A Christmas Carol"

BCnU!
Toby OB

No comments: