Needs More Grim

Missy Peregrym as Andi on Reaper

I'll be truthful; when I first saw the ads for Reaper (E4, Wednesdays) I knew it wouldn't like it too much. I wanted to, I was excited when I first heard about it, but I could see that they'd got it wrong from the first moment. There was something about it that reminded me of Desperate Housewives, and for a show that had the potential to be fresh, dark and funny, that wasn't a good comparison to evoke. Four episodes in and sadly I haven't changed my mind. So far, Reaper isn't delivering, and ironically the reason is its lack of soul.

It's a decent premise. Slacker Sam finds out his parents sold his soul to the Devil before he was born and is forced to become a "bounty hunter for the Devil", capturing and imprisoning evil souls that have escaped from Hell, all the while trying to negotiate his unusual new duties with his personal life. It's like a ViewAskewniverse Buffy with the concentration on laughs. Fair enough. And there are nice moments: Sam and Sock have an authentic-feeling friendship, Missy Peregrym is thoroughly charming as Andi and Ray Wise does a decent job as the Devil. It's just not enough to fill the show though.

Comedy or not - and it's not even that funny, really - Reaper's massive failure is that it's completely lacking in any real drama. Despite the gravity of Sam's dilemma and the dangerous situations he always finds himself in, the show offers absolutely no tension. Its concentration on comedy means that the narrative tends to be pushed forward very lazily, everything comes far too easily and ultimately there's no real reason to care. For example, the new vessel - the object in which Sam is meant to imprison the escaped soul - is revealed each week as if it presents a great mystery, yet the show never bothers to explore it at all, safe in the knowledge that in the final scene Sam will suddenly realise how it's supposed to work and emerge victorious. Again, it's just all too easy, and when the status quo feels as unshakeable on a TV show as it does here, it tends to get very boring very quickly. And unfortunately I think it's because of flaws inherent in the show's set-up, so unless something happens in the near future to drastically realign the construct of the show it's hard to see much changing in terms of quality. It could get funnier, sure, but that wouldn't be enough.

I'll keep watching for now just in case it improves, but honestly, as it stands now, I'd be fine with seeing it cancelled. If the after-effects of the Writer's Strike or decent ratings offer it a reprieve, I hope the creative staff knows enough to make a change. If they don't, I imagine the Devil might have his hands on this show before too long anyway.