I haven’t written much about Reaper lately, mostly because I stopped watching the show awhile back, which really was soley because of a DVR conflict that forced it to record in the bedroom.
And I really don’t like sitting in there watching TV.
But a few restless nights kept me awake so I started watching them again. Didn’t take me long to realize how much I’ve missed out on.
This CW show sounds a bit cheesy at first. A comedy about a college kid who’s parents sold his soul to the devil as a child, and now he has to catch souls that have escaped from Hell.
Yet the writing is great, crisp and witty. The characters are good, especially the Devil himself, played by Ray Wise. He plays the role perfectly, with a big, evil smile, a guy who sounds like he’s on your side, but is so very not. Sam plays the lead, but it’s his friend “Sock” that ends up with a lot of the best lines.
The recent episodes have been great and the story has moved into directions I wasn’t expecting. It could easily have gotten stuck in the “catch a soul” every week rut, but it’s kept that part of the show different and not always the focus of what is going on.
It’s a hugely underrated show, but that’s mostly because it’s on The CW. That network (and the previous UPN/WB) gets such bad deal because the majority of their shows are targeted to young adults, but occasionally there are bright spots, like Veronica Mars, Smallville, Gilmore Girls and now Reaper along with Gossip Girl.
Too late to catch up on now, but it might be worth it to watch the repeats if The CW plays them over the summer.
