Article published December 30, 2007
'Reaper' stands out in TV's Class of '07
By MIKE KELLY
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE
It's a shame that one of the most enjoyable new television series of 2007 happened to show up on the CW, a minor network that most viewers probably couldn't find in their cable or satellite listings.
But given the timid, cookie-cutter mentality of the major networks, where else but at an off-the-beaten-track outpost like the CW would programmers be willing to take a chance on a show that might not appeal to the widest possible segment of mainstream viewers?
The CW, in case you haven't heard of it - and plenty of people haven't - was created just last year with the merger of two other minor networks, the WB and UPN. Unfortunately, most of the new network's programming shows no more respect for its viewers than that of the major commercial networks, with an assortment of mind-numbing shows such as Beauty and the Geek, America's Next Top Model, and WWE Friday Night SmackDown!
But somewhere along the way, somebody at the CW decided that not everybody out here in Couch Potato Land was interested solely in dumb women and steroid-bloated fake wrestlers. So this fall the network rolled out a new series that's as original and enjoyable as anything I've seen on TV in years.
It's called Reaper.
The show is about a young slacker named Sam who learns on his 21st birthday that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born, figuring they'd never actually have to deliver on their end of the bargain. But they were wrong.When Lucifer shows up to confirm the unspeakable pact, he tells Sam that his new job on Earth is to capture fugitive souls who have managed to escape from hell - which apparently happens more often than one might think.
The show, which is billed as a comedy-drama, has faint whiffs of Ghostbusters and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to it. To be honest, though, its otherworldly special effects - demons bursting into flame and such - are pretty lame.
But that doesn't really matter. The real keys to the show's unexpectedly strong appeal are the actors who portray two of its main characters. Sam's best buddy is a goofball named Sock, played hilariously by Tyler Labine, a Canadian who could be Jack Black's crazier younger brother. When I found out that Labine has a background in improv and ad-libs some of his funniest lines, that made me appreciate him even more.
The other gem from Reaper is Akron native and former Kent State student Ray Wise, a veteran actor best known for playing wacko Leland Palmer in the cult series Twin Peaks. Here he portrays Satan as one cool and sophisticated dude, complete with impeccably tailored suit, gleaming white smile, and permanent suntan. The devil is a jaded and sardonic fellow, and he knows what's what in the world and how it will all end someday ("God wins"), but in the meantime he intends to hold Sam to the terms of the arrangement.
The 60-year-old Wise makes the ultimate Bad Guy into someone who is almost likable, although there's something just barely beneath the smooth surface that reminds you that you'd better not tick him off lest you find yourself suddenly cast into the fires of perdition.
And there would be no escaping the flames, either, or Sam and Sock would just hunt you down and send you right back.
Is Reaper the best new series of 2007? Probably not. The show has its share of flaws: its episodes are, for the most part, too formulaic; the special effects are, as I've already mentioned, weak; Satan and Sock don't get enough screen time, and with each episode an hour long, there's sometimes too much dead time.
Despite all that, the show has enough going for it to remind me each week that television can sometimes still be a wonderful way to waste time.
The Hollywood writers strike may end up snuffing out a number of new TV series before they're able to establish a foothold. If Reaper is among the casualties, that would be a sin.
A handful of other series that debuted this year also made me appreciate TV, to one degree or another. They included: Cane (CBS), Dirty Sexy Money (ABC), Aliens in America (The CW), The Riches (FX), and Saving Grace (TNT). There were a few other shows that I kinda liked too, but the networks apparently didn't agree - because they canceled all of them. The noble victims included The Black Donnellys, The Knights of Prosperity, Drive, and The Wedding Belles.
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