Tonight FOX kicks off their new season with Sleepy Hollow, a police procedural series with a time-travel/supernatural twist. Will it be a big hit or quickly cancelled? Is it worth you time?
Based on characters from the Washington Irving story, Sleepy Hollow revolves around Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison), a patriot from 1790. He dies while on a mission for General Washington but mysteriously ends up waking up in modern-day New York City.
Unfortunately, the Headless Horseman has ended up in the present as well and has started a killing spree. Ichabod and Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie), a newly-appointed African-American sheriff, form an uncomfortable alliance and work to stop the Horseman and other supernatural threats.
The cast also includes Orlando Jones, Katia Winter, Clancy Brown, John Cho, and Richard Cetrone.
Sound interesting? Here’s a taste of what the critics have to say about Sleepy Hollow:
LA Times: “It’s all great fun until, you know, someone loses a head. Actually, until someone finds a head. For reasons known only to its creators, the pilot for Sleepy Hollow seems determined to jam into one hour what could have easily, and more enjoyably, been spun out over several. Indeed, so much happens that by the end of the pilot, it’s not quite clear where the story is going to go next. It seems crossing Buffy the Vampire Slayer with National Treasure was seriously discussed.”
TIME: “Sleepy Hollow got my attention, but I’m not yet sure if it’s good, ridiculous, good but ridiculous, or good because it’s ridiculous. It could turn out, underneath all its DaVinci Code plot overstuffing, to be hollow. But it sure as hell ain’t sleepy.”
Washington Post: “Deliberate and thoughtful are not options here. Rather than observe the ways a man from the 1770s might grapple with the realities of 2013, Sleepy Hollow seems mainly concerned with quickly launching a Grimm-like romp through folklore and episodic crime-solving. It’s layered with hints of unfolding conspiracies — time-travel and secret brotherhoods and what-not. It’s all done with a cold efficiency and a gloomy, disinterested tone.”
NY Times: “Whether Sleepy Hollow can sustain this wry wink once Crane becomes accustomed to his new surroundings will go a long way toward determining whether the series stays as watchable as the pilot. Crane, unfortunately, seems to be an awfully quick study, so the gimmick may not hold. He adjusts to riding in a car and using the power-window button almost instantly, and automatic-weapons fire doesn’t seem to faze him as much as you think it might.”
USA Today: “The scenes between Mison and the equally likable Beharie are among the show’s best, from his delight at playing with her car’s electric windows to her slit-eyed reaction to his shock at seeing a black woman in pants carrying a gun. They should be surprised by each other, and their interactions often reflect a natural, time-travel shock.”
Boston Herald: “Unlike other serialized shows, you don’t have to wait years for the series’ mythology to be parsed out to you in bite-sized, sweeps-timed nuggets.
The pilot pretty much tells you everything you need to know, but gives Sleepy plenty of wiggle room to create mischief. Ichabod’s mission apparently was ordained in part by George Washington himself and Ichabod’s wife, Katrina (Katia Winter, Dexter), who reveals a secret of her own from the beyond. Mison could be one of the season’s breakout stars, assuming the show lasts long enough.”
What do you think? Do you think Sleepy Hollow is worth watching? Will you give it a try? If you’ve already seen it, will you watch again?
I watched it and will watch it again, but it was a little too maverick-cop slick and snappy dialogue, like so many other procedurals. It’s hard to see how much suspense they can cook up. They killed off so many people. The priest might have been an interesting continuing character, since he was also from the past, but no, he was quickly dispatched.
The Sympathy for the Devil intro surprised me; they must have a heck of a budget to get the rights to the song. I wonder if it also gives away the identity of the horseman.
Good points. The Priest was taken out way too early. They open with these nice little covert looks from a man of the cloth, just to end his stay when you are being allowed to realize his importance. Bad move! As for old “Tricky Micky” whom we all know is not overly generous with sharing his talents for less than a fat check, as soon as I heard the music I thought, “Gee, and how much did he get for that?” With the money someone is throwing around they could have used some to develop the opener better giving it… Read more »
I am going to give it a shot, but like so many other out there shows I am not holding my breath.