…I hated it back when I saw it at SDCC…It’s padded. Not at all original. The only reason to watch it is for the scenes with the Devil.
::snarky::
The DMV is portal to hell…That’s hilarious.
I didn’t get the half-hour-stretched feeling. Actually, I thought the time passed pretty quickly, without much filler.
I liked it, but I don’t feel compelled to watch regularly. There’s plenty of funny but no tension.
First thing I’ve seen Ray Wise in since Twin Peaks.
I liked it, but not so much as to be Must See TV. “Sock” is a bit of a cliche, but having two hot chicks makes up for it.
I TiVo’d and watched it last night. I liked it a lot. I thought is had just the right amount of crazy humor, and I heart Ray Wise since Twin Peaks. It’s going into my season pass list, which is more than I can say for Bionic Woman.
I think it was an interesting premiere, which was actually pretty subversive and dark between the decent comedy bits. I was surprised it was an hour long show, though it didn’t seem too stretched out. I’ll watch it until it’s canceled.
I liked it. And for whatever it was worth, I thought the Dirt Devil was inspired, but I can’t say why. Even my husband liked it, and he is vehemently opposed to “any of the new garbage they’re putting on this year, there’s already enough garbage on the TiVo.” Of course, he’s also really into “Gossip Girl,” so I don’t know.
I agree that it felt padded.
If it’s going to slant so heavily with the comedy, then we really don’t need scenes like the guy’s getting the fat guy’s ex-girlfriend to look up police records for them, for instance. That kind of stuff was cool on Buffy, but I think this kind of show would be better served by being more kinetic and less formulaic.
Most of the first ten minutes of the show were pure Shaun of the Dead. I was expecting someone to tell the protagonist that he got red on him.
Yikes, this sounds really negative so far. I really did like the show quite a bit and will totally sick with it. Like others have said, the best stuff had to do with the Devil. I liked that while he would generally turn up and act like Wacky Uncle Satan, he can remind you in a second that he’s the Price of Lies and all that (the guy in the Zamboni, for instance). I like that the protagonist (what was his name? Sam maybe?) has to do this or else the Devil gets his mom’s soul.
If nothing else, the main character is really, really cute. And that’s all I need.
Does anyone else think that something’s going to come of what the protagonist’s co-worker was saying to him when he first explained his predicament? The thing about it being impossible for anyone to own your soul?
He is, isn’t he? Not just cute, but likable.
Casting is critical, isn’t it? I’ll watch Boston Legal for Spader, Supernatural for Ackles, Journeyman for McKidd, etc. As well-written as some other shows might be, if somebody in the cast isn’t captivating and interesting, the show is hard to watch. I couldn’t stand Sarah Michelle Gellar but the others made up for her in Buffy.
I don’t know about the cute part, but I was a big fan of his as Brad on Grounded for Life. The Brad character was a brainy nerd, whereas his Reaper character is supposed to be an idiot slacker. (600 on his SATs?) I think the actor (whatever his name is) plays a much better nerd than slacker, but he’s likable in either role.
My first thought during the opening scene was “Hey, it’s that guy! He should’ve been cast as the lead in Chuck.”
I am just the opposite, well sort of. I want a show with good writing, nothing too trite, and decent casting. But, I will watch a show that doesn’t quite have all these things if it has someone great in the cast: House, Criminal Minds, Boston Legal (too, and it has several “greats”, yes, I like Bill. 
).
Re the padding–the review screener runs 43 minutes and change so–maybe.
I loved the sidekick, I saw him as pure Nick Frost from Shaun of the Dead but without an English accent. The SO is a total sucker for characters of that type and laughed himself sick in a couple of places. The banter between the main character and the sidekick was pure Kevin Smith–and I’m a sucker for the Smith-style banter.
Was I the only one who kept seeing the main character as Ben Affleck’s fuzzy little brother–even down to the constantly slightly open mouth? Do they have to breathe that way or what? It’s become the main reason I can’t watch Ben Affleck, I keep screaming at him to shut his fucking mouth!
Ray Wise is the bomb, best devil ever! He’s one of my favorite character actors. Death by Zamboni, so cool.
I’ll watch it until it’s cancelled–I’m just that easy…
I don’t think he’s supposed to be an idiot, so much as having never tried. That’s why this devil thing is good for him.* It’s the first time in his lif he’s doing something, not just coasting.
*See the irony? It’s subtle, like a blow to the head. Just like I like. I don’t have to work too hard.
The one (two, I guess) line from the show that I did think was quite funny was when the main character’s mom says something like, “Your brother did try college. It just made him sleepy.”
And then when the main character relates to his friend that he should go back to school, he says something like, “You can’t do that; it made you sleepy!” 
I enjoyed it. My husband fell asleep halfway through. Probably not a good sign.
Totally.
Here’s my theory.
The Devil makes this deal with Mom and Pop. Kid is born.
When he’s born the parents feel so terrible, they pretty much pamper the kid. Let him do whatever he wants. Eventually he learns to coast because he never really has to apply himself to anything.
Then the Devil shows up. The Devil can’t really take his soul, but Sam doesn’t know that. Which is good for the Devil. If it had been anyone who really tried - anyone who applied himself to solving problems - he might have been able to figure this out. But Sam doesn’t do that. So he just does whatever the Devil forces him to do.
Eventually, by doing all this stuff, Sam will learn to apply himself to his problems and figure out that the deal is really a scam. But by that time the Devil will have gotten several years of service.
I loved the episode. I was drawn to it because of Kevin Smith. But like people have mentioned the pilto sets the tone and if they can keep the tone close to the pilot then this show is going to rock.
Oh good, I’m glad I’m not the only one. The relationship between Sam and Sock very much reminded me of the relationships of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Spaced, Shaun and Hot Fuzz.
!@#$ They blacked out the channel that I recorded. It is broadcast on 19 and 20 in my area and when that happens they black out 19. I forgot this and so I didn’t get to see the premier. I’ll have to wait until next week! :mad:
I liked the show, it felt more like “Dead Like Me” meets “Mall Rats” than “Buffy” to me.
Speaking of “Dead Like Me”, the DMV lady was the office boss* on “Dead Like Me”. I love the connection, seems like the kind of casting joke that Kevin Smith likes, I wonder if he watched “Dead Like Me”.
The 5 young characters had a good chemistry with each other right of the back and the Devil was excellent. I will be watching more of this show.
The sidekick was the best part of the show so far.
Jim
- The character was Delores Herbig played by Christine Willes
Ha, we loved it! Not the deepest thing, maybe it’s not up to Whedon standards, but it was a lot of fun.
That said, I have to note that the plot is 99.99% a ripoff of Brimstone. Two differences: the way the bounty hunter gets forced into the job, and the tone. But the tone is so fun, I’m down with it.
I liked his report to his dad about his day: “. . . and I got carjacked by the Devil!” Which of course gave his dad the perfect opening to come right out with it.
I too like the ironic idea that Satan is forcing him to buck up and make something of himself.
The other thing I liked was that I’d think of an objection, and a second later, the show would bring it up and address it. Like the coworker telling him no one can sell someone else’s soul. But even better was the bit with the recharger. As the quick-action montage showed them grabbing a new Dirt Devil box, I thought, “Oh brother, like you can just charge something instantly,” - cut to them sitting and waiting.