nessaniel: (surprised raph)
nessaniel ([personal profile] nessaniel) wrote2013-10-02 05:23 pm
Entry tags:

British Captain America follows redcoat with a machine gun

I just watched the first episode of "Sleepy Hollow", the new magic-mystery-train wreck of a show Fox decided to spring on us this fall.


The following will contain spoilers for the whole pilot so proceed with care.


Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) gets killed in 1781 by courtesy of the Headless Horseman - who has been headless for all of two seconds thanks to Icky but that doesn't stop him from giving Crane a boob window of death.
He 'dies' and wakes up almost 250 years in the future, right when young police woman Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) witnesses her colleague and father figure getting beheaded by the ... oh you know who.
Well, what a lucky coincidence.
Crane is picked up by the local police force, but Abbie believes he might be more than a crazy British guy and they try to solve the mystery of the skull-missing rider who turns out to be one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Huh. Whodda thunk it.

The series is ... adorable. I have no other word for it.

They took the silly concept of a man with no head killing people - and ran with it! Like full front against the fourth wall, repeatedly pounding their head against it.
In the pilot alone we have
- glowing axes swung by men without heads ("Put your hands behind your... what the hell?" - "Can he even hear us? I mean he has no ears?")
- General Washington probably being a witch
- Crane's crazy-ass red headed dead wife also being a witch
- ominous symbolism with white trees
- actual demons with actual horns speaking in actual tongues (probably Latin)
- children getting visions of said demons
- John Cho being killed in the funniest way since Castiel exploded on screen
- red glowy horse eyes of evil and doom
- a priest mastering witch craft and doing fancy chain kung fu (I am not making this up)

Oh my God, I was laughing my ass of all the way through the episode. It was very rushed and had lots of plot holes and the whole "YES MAGIC IS REAL AND SO IS THE HORSEMAN WITH HIS ORC HEAD!"-angle isn't really doing it for me (and let's not talk of some of the really trashy and campy camera work xD) - but the characters! Oh my God, the characters are soooooo great! Ichabod is crazy, pouty, has a stiff upper lip if there ever was one and is basically every social justice warrior white girl ever ("I'll have you know that I was a supporter of the abolition of slavery!" he says to the black police woman who is trying to be friendly to him) but he's also very likable in the ways he tries to explore the future.
Abbie is wonderful. She is fierce, ambitious, headstrong, determined and takes none of Crane's bullshit - she doesn't treat him like an idiot either and grabs the opportunity to actually find out what craziness plagues her town which he provides. Their banter is amusing, quick-witted and they make for a great team.

I'll probably stay with the show, it's a fun ride so far and Ichabod is easy on the eyes (and Abbie looks downright lickable in her dress uniform xD). Fans of "Grimm" and "Once upon a time" should find it enjoyable (basically the same premise of mixing supernatural elements with police work), and if you wanna see a dude with no head on a horse crazily fixated on a posh English traitor - go for it. ;D

[identity profile] asthenie-vd.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I was going to make a new post asking whether any of the new shows (SHIELD?) are worth following, but you just sold me on this!

her colleague and father figure

I love her already and wish to add her to my collection of sweet badasses with daddy issues. ♥

Also, demonic horses = yeeeeeeeeees. ♥ Ruin & Despair approve.

[identity profile] noctuabunda.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Sorry for butting in like this, but yeah, the Shield Pilot was okay - though really, just okay, nothing more. But then again, Whedon's series tend to grow quickly.

[identity profile] asthenie-vd.livejournal.com 2013-10-03 12:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Sounds like it can wait, then. Thank you!

[identity profile] nessaniel.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
As for SHIELD - yes, it was okay. I liked but not as much as Sleepy Hollow, mostly because they are just silly and AoS tends to take itself a tiny little bit too serious and I really don't like the main character-dude - BUT! But they have Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) and holy God is she awesome. Asskicking femme fatale extraordinaire and she is so frigging hot, Looooord. So yeah, I'd recommend it if one is suffering from Avengers-withdrawal. xDD

her colleague and father figure
I love her already and wish to add her to my collection of sweet badasses with daddy issues. ♥

Not gonna spoil the fun but watch the second episode for exactly this. It is adorable and heartbreaking and wonderful and silly and awwww.
And John Cho has the fucking worst/best role ever. Just... I never thought I'd see something like that apart from 90'ies-cartoons. XDD

[identity profile] asthenie-vd.livejournal.com 2013-10-03 11:59 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, Shield can wait a while then, until I have immeresed myself in apocalyptic horseman fiction. ^^ (note so self: finish bloody Darksiders 2 already!)

and AoS tends to take itself a tiny little bit too serious

OMG that abbreviation is terrible! So much confusion if that catches on. I already need that letter combination for my navy boys!



Ooh, what a tease. Looking forward to Abbie's daddy issues! :)

Wait, isn't John Cho also Nu!Trek Sulu? One more reason to watch then.

and I just had the thought that this

he's also very likable in the ways he tries to explore the future.

reminds me of Nightingale (except he didn't die but holed up for a couple of decades because all his friends are dead). Fish-out-of-temporal-water syndrome can be so cute. ♥

[identity profile] nessaniel.livejournal.com 2013-10-03 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)
OMG that abbreviation is terrible!
Jap, as soon as I had finished typing that thought occurred to me, too. (AND I LEFT IT THAT WAY JUST TO TORTURE YOU MUAHAHHAHAH)... I'm pretty sure people on tumblr will go with just "shield" though or even with the full name. Or just "Coulson being cute" XDD

Wait, isn't John Cho also Nu!Trek Sulu?
Jap, he is! I'd say he got a downgrade from being Sulu but oh well, he is still highly enjoyable xDD

Fish-out-of-temporal-water syndrome can be so cute. ♥
OH MY GOD HURRY WATCH THE SECOND EPISODE. HE IS SO ADORBS WHEN LEFT ALONE IN THIS FLAT AND TRIES TO DO COME TO TERMS WITH ELECTRICITY AND all that stuff. And his constant flashbacks to George Washington and he is so gossip-hungry and ohh I love him for the idiot he is. <33

[identity profile] asthenie-vd.livejournal.com 2013-10-06 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
AND I LEFT IT THAT WAY JUST TO TORTURE YOU MUAHAHHAHAH
You are a horrible person!

Anyway, I have now watched all the episodes there are, and OMG that show is cute, with its silly jump-scares that are not scary at all, and John Cho's wobbly neck (OMG I laughed so hard when they had him run into the mirror!), and the horrible effects they use on the horses' eyes, BUT OMG I love it. That bit where Ichabod is chased through the woods by the four horsemen -- well, I squeed! They all look ridiculous, but I want to pet them. :D

Anyway Ichabod is lovely. Which has a lot to do with the fact that his actor has the best voice. Like, if you think about it, a lot of Ichabod's dialogue is a bit ridiculous, really, but thanks to his deep, deep voice and his posh accent YOU BELIEVE HIM.

And Abbie is so sweet and conflicted! And her poor, poor tortured sister! Like, how much does her life suck? I can't wait for hair to go after a demon with a chainsaw or something. ♥
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[identity profile] erynwen.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
If you watch Agents of SHIELD, make sure it's the second one - they take a page out of Snakes on a Plane's book and show how a plane crash doesn't work *gg*

[identity profile] asthenie-vd.livejournal.com 2013-10-03 12:02 pm (UTC)(link)
But, but, if I don't watch the pilot I won't know who all these people are. Also, I heard Maria Hill makes a best appearance and I just love Cobie Smulders. :D
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[identity profile] erynwen.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Second episode, that is ^^ (But really, Coulson is cute. That's basically it ^^)

[identity profile] snobantiker.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 05:59 pm (UTC)(link)
You know, I kind of liked the first episode for the same reason. Yes, there are plot holes (WHY DON'T THEY DESTROY THAT DAMN HEAD???) and yes the concept is totally silly. But the two main characters? Kind of awesome and their banter is really entertaining. So yeah, I will watch a couple of episodes, even though I think I will get bored with it quite soon...

[identity profile] nessaniel.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 09:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I'm afraid it will be the same for me, so that I get bored with the actual plot quite soon but I'll stay with the show for the characters. They are so adorbs, really. <333

[identity profile] nessaniel.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Eins der größten Plotholes übrigens: WIESO KAUFEN SIE ICHABOD KEINE NEUEN KLAMOTTEN XDDD Ich will mir gar nicht ausmalen, wie sehr der Kerl stinken muss, oh Gott oh Gott... xDD

[identity profile] snobantiker.livejournal.com 2013-10-03 10:13 am (UTC)(link)
Wir können froh sein, dass noch keiner das Geruchsfernsehen erfunden hat XD

[identity profile] nessaniel.livejournal.com 2013-10-03 10:17 am (UTC)(link)
Er duscht sich immerhin in der zweiten Folge (diese ganze Szene ist so unglaublich niedlich, wirklich xDD). Hoffentlich greifen sie es in der nächsten FOlge auf, so langsam wird es nämlich albern xD

[identity profile] noctuabunda.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 06:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Jaaaa! Ich liebe Sleepy Hollow - hab's mir runtergeladen, obwohl es so trashig aussah. Und es ist ne Farce, aber eine wundervolle. Es gibt so selten coole, dreidimensionale weibliche Charaktere. <3

[identity profile] nessaniel.livejournal.com 2013-10-02 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Nicht wahr??? Ich liebe Abbie! SIE IST SOOOOO COOL! Und ihre Schwester scheint auch ziemlich kickass zu sein, also wuhuuuuuu Ichabod wird gleich von zwei so coolen Weibern zur Schnecke gemacht XDDD
sunshine304: (ST Mrs. Lovett evil)

[personal profile] sunshine304 2013-10-03 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Saw the whole of tumblr go crazy about this one, likely because of the reasons you mentioned. *g* As far as I can tell everyone simply wants Crane to walk around an react to all the new stuff and historic developments.

Oh and what's cool is: actor Orlando Jones is on twitter and tumblr and breaks the fourth wall even more than the show ("Fan fic? bring it on!"). XD It's kind of hilarious. I'll likely watch it when it comes over here, I just don't have the patience to watch all that online.

[identity profile] nessaniel.livejournal.com 2013-10-06 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
Ohhhh seems I have to get a twitter-account XDD (Or rely on tumblr to bring me the goodies - and fanfic he can get muahahahahh!!!!)

[identity profile] pardotje.livejournal.com 2013-10-05 10:09 am (UTC)(link)
Ich hab mich schon gewundert, warum so viele plötzlich von Sleepy Hollow reden. Hatte schon Angst, es gäbe ein Remake vom BurtonFilm. Puh.

[identity profile] nessaniel.livejournal.com 2013-10-06 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
Ich liebe den Burton-Film trotz seiner Schwächen so sehr, das möchte ich mir auch nicht vorstellen o.o