I mean, how many headless puns can you make in four minutes? And who on earth was asking for a weird re-imagining of Sleepy Hollow with funny cops?
But then I heard buzz that it was actually good. And I am totally powerless in the face of buzz. If something is supposed to be good and I am not watching it makes me crazy. So I decided to give it a go on Hulu.
And it was awesome...
Did you watch? It was fantastic. Here's the premise: (and if you were a history major, please take your dumb pills before reading the next few sentences.) Ichabod Crane, and English man living in colonial America, has decided he sides with the Americans during the revolutionary war. He is tasked by General George Washington to kill a man with a brand on his hand, which he does by chopping of his head (no spoilers - this all happens in the first 3 minutes.) He is also injured in the fight and wakes up more than 200 years in the future. And the man with the brand on his hand is there too, but he doesn't have a head. Pretty simple. But then the mythology starts to go crazy. There are witches, secret covens, demons from another realm and the Apocalypse. My friend Kacy describes it as "re-imagined Ichabod Crane in present day participating in supernatural cop-buddy X-Files procedural that foretells of the apocalypse National Treasure-style and takes place kind of on a Hell Mouth."
Tom Mison, who you've probably never heard of unless you are a Brit, plays Ichabod Crane and is funny with the an appropriately level of British snark, but is also appropriately heroic enough to be a leading man. And Nicole Beharie plays Abby Mills, a police officer who believes Ichabod's story of a 200 year nap, immortal headless men, and conspiracies. She's got personality and is interesting without being too plucky or sassy. The pilot is insane in the best way. At one point, the Headless Horseman is shooting a sawed-off shotgun at two police officers. There are more twists and turns in the pilot than...something incredibly twisty and turny. A rigatoni noodle? Lombard Street? I don't know...
We shall see. Next week will tell us if it either going to be a fun, slightly campy version of Lost, with a rich mythology and a "must see TV feel." Or it could become totally ridiculous and unwatchable. Did you watch? What did you think? I'm praying for a keeper. My fall TV schedule is looking pretty bare, so I need a hit here.
