Reaper – Season One (Lionsgate DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C
Extras: D Episodes: C+
Reaper
is essentially Dead Like Me for
families – a guy’s parents sell his soul to Satan and he has to go out and
collect renegade souls. What follows is far from revolutionary, but is
nothing that’s exactly inspiring either. I caught many of these episodes
during their original broadcast and after a few months of reflection, my
opinion hasn’t changed – Reaper is a
fun pseudo-sci-fi comedy that lacks the inspiration and drive of its better
cousin, Dead Like Me.
The pilot episode was
one of my favorite of that season. Directed by Kevin Smith, he brings to
the episode the skill of a director that knows what gags work when. Say
what you will about the guy, but he knows how to make gags work for his target
audience of which I’m a part. His episode is easily the best of the
season, establishing a more adult tone and a more mature sense of humor in
comparison to the more juvenile later episodes.
Perhaps the highlight
of the whole series is not in the show’s two leads, but rather in the portrayal
of the devil by Ray Wise. He brings a charming, fun, and appealing
personality to the prince of darkness that makes him more likeable than the
show’s whiny lead and his oafish sidekick. It sounds like I’m bashing
these guys a lot, but I don’t mean to – their chemistry is part of what makes
them believable as friends.
The extras on this set
are lacking. There’s one audio commentary, a gag reel, and a few deleted
scenes, but ultimately it’s nothing to hold onto.
Ultimately, Season 1 of Reaper is a show worth watching the pilot episode of, but
ultimately doesn’t hold its own through the majority of the season. It’s
curious to see what they’ll do with Season
2 because they have one hell of a concept (no pun intended) and can do a
bunch with it. In the time between seasons, check out Dead Like Me and read about its first
season on DVD at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1045/Dead+Like+Me+-+Season+One
- Jordan Paley
