Is ‘Sleepy Hollow’ the Best New Show of the Season?
There were a lot of candidates before the season started. Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD had great word-of-mouth coming out of Comic-Con, and Joss Whedon certainly has a track record of making great shows (and a great Avengers movie). The Blacklist looked promising, with its interesting premise and James Spader chewing the scenery in previews. Michael J. Fox and Robin Williams are both big stars with years of comedy under their belts. But one show vaulted over them all, doing well with viewers, many critics, and even picky genre fans like me: Sleepy Hollow is a hit, and deservedly so. Luckily, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have produced a series closer to Fringe than Transformers, and have received a grateful audience in return.
This is a take on Ichabod Crane that even a jaded fan/critic like myself can get on board with: a Revolutionary War soldier who beheaded a Hessian who happened to be Death of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and now finds himself resurrected in modern Sleepy Hollow thanks to a spell placed on him by his wife, who happened to be a witch. Throw in some police investigation of the supernatural and some great genre actors like Clancy Brown, and what I was afraid was another Once Upon a Time actually turned out to be my favorite new show.
Author Christopher J. Valin 