This reveiw is legit.
The television show 'Brimstone' lasted only thirteen episodes,
and was cancelled by Satan himself, aka Doug Herzog.Yet it managed
to claim a small but loyal band of fans to its offbeat presentation
and message. Below are two reviews that I wrote for various websites.
The reason they are posted here is because 1) You can still catch
late-night reruns of this unique and wonderful show and, 2) the
producers Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff actually *read* my reviews
and commented favorably upon them. It was such a thrill for me,
and very gracious of them.
Review One
It appears 113 damned souls were miffed with the accommodations
and escaped back into the world while the Devil was laboring elsewhere,
perhaps with writing VCR instruction manuals. In order to get
his boarders returned to their proper home, he enlists the aid
of another involuntary guest, Ezekiel Stone, a former cop who,
for the past fifteen years, has been enjoying the somewhat rigorous
devices of perdition. If Zeke will hunt down and return Satan's
ungrateful human trophies, he will, in some unexplained and nebulous
manner, be returned to life on earth.
The premise is simple, and can be explained in just a few sentences. Which is exactly what happens during the opening credits. Kudos to star/producer Peter Horton for making his show accessible to any curious newbie who might choose to pop in. Also cheers to the choice, range, and abilities of the supporting cast.
Albert Hall portrays Father Horn, Zeke's somewhat bemused living mentor, who finds his faith ironically restored by an agent of Hell. Lori Petty perkily plays Zeke's landlady Maxine, a slightly dense but energetic punk-rock enthusiast who, when asked by Zeke for the perfect metaphor for the eternal battle between good and evil, recites the plot of 'Touched by an Angel'. It was hysterical. And Horton's real coup was in snagging the flawless John Glover to play the Devil. He is perfection itself, and I will spare you the hosannas in order to encourage you to tune in every week and see this master of the acting craft at work. Can you say 'seriously upstaged'? Yet, Horton doesn't seem to mind, and plays Zeke with just the right touch and combination of regret, sardonic wit, intensity, resolve, and the appropriate resignation.
Even the doomed and footloose souls are not one-dimensional, but are complex and tortured characters of depth, with different motives, objectives, powers, and perspectives. Each one presents a different challenge for Zeke, though the denouement is always the same. He doesn't merely dispatch his prey, but learns a little more about life, death, choices and their consequences, shades of grey layered and inherent in making a reluctant, but unwavering deal with the Devil.
Here arises the beautiful and elegant conundrum of the theme: It is not enough for Zeke to vanquish evil back to where it belongs. The Devil demands that he enjoy it, crave it, feed off of it, and lust for rage and hatred, just as does he. That Zeke stoically maintains his compassion and an unassailable core of humanity ticks Satan off to no end, and this is a source of some delightfully humorous repartee between the two. Watching the interplay of demand and demurral, control and resistence gives this show an intelligent sparkle, illustrating the real-life dilemmas of the daily alternatives we are presented with.
Incendiary dialogue is the only source of radiance in this show, aptly filmed in moody greys and blues, with a gothic and almost oppressive tableau of society in the grip of uncertain and ominous portent. As Zeke scours the hidden world of discarded mankind for his targets, we are reminded that evil does not flourish in a world of vital and hopeful conditions, which is certainly good news for us all. Also breathtaking is the cinematography, each scene posed with tension and presented with subtlety skewed angularity that could serve as evocative still-photos in a gallery of both human depravity and possibilities.
But Zeke's weekly search and destroy mission seems almost incidental to the heroic interplay of emotions as one lone man struggles to maintain his identity, virtue, forbearance, and nobility, even as the forces of darkness muster to crush them. Methinks there is a lesson here, but it's also just good television, and if quality entertainment is your only desire, hell yes, the show's got that, too.
Review Two
John 'The Devil' Glover is one of those beloved and ubiquitous
character actors we all recognize, and has spent his cinematic
career portraying 'third-bad-guy-from-the-left' in just about
every movie and tv show ever made. We all know him, but, dang
if we could remember his name. If Brimstone is a ratings success,
Mr. Glover will become a household name, just like Lance Henriksen
has become with the advent of Millennium.
He's beautifully cast as the head demon because, no matter how
cheerful, how smiling, how kind, generous, or gentle the guy tries
to be, he's just too darn creepy. Even in repose, Mr. Glover oozes
energy and intelligence from every pore that slashes over the
entire screen. I doubt he's ever been upstaged by anyone. No one
could compete with his gleeful and awesome, yet laid-back, intensity.
Heck, just thinking about him makes me wanna hire armed body guards.
Mr. Glover began his career on Broadway (received numerous nominations
and awards), moved into movies (numerous nominations) and now
to television (numerous nominations and awards). He lives in LA,
teaches theater at a college in Baltimore, but I can find no other
biographical data on him.
Unique among all shows this season is Brimstone's simplicity.
Even before the first show's opening credits finished rolling,
we knew exactly the sort of premise we were dealing with. Unlike
other creep-out shows, we are given all necessary info right from
the get-go, instead of having revelations doled out to us, grudgingly
in bits and pieces.
And the show wastes no time getting down to business. Bad guys
are hunted down and dispatched, boom. No fuss or mess. We know
the main character, his motivation, and his back-story, his objective,
the bad guys, where they all came from and why. Goodness, who
*wouldn't* want a 'get-out-of-hell-free' card?
But this doesn't mean that the show is without subtlety and dramatic
interest, tension or evocative themes. For example, each escaped
demon has an objective, and are fully-formed and complex characters.
'Father' Solinus (sp?) was intent on fabricating a complex ritual
that would gain him entry into heaven. Perhaps life back on earth
wasn't good enough for him. IMO, his massive and obsessive ego
would not let him accept his own evil nature, or the consequences
thereof, and he seemed convinced that he *deserved* heaven.
Gwen Debare's motives were simpler. Here was a woman consumed
by centuries of hate, both in life and in death, so that the concepts
of 'love' and 'forgiveness' were beyond her. Sad as her case might
have been, she illustrates the example of folks who reap what
they sow. Even Zeke had compassion for her, but comes to understand
that she is intent on the commission of serial evil deeds, and
there is nothing he can do for her, except hammer her back to
Hell.
So why was Zeke chosen for this doleful task? Another premise
of the show is that, the longer you stay in Hell, the badder you
get. Gwen had been Hell-bound for a very long time, and wasn't
a very nice person. The priest had been damned for less time,
and remembered enough of his humanity to at least appear kindly
to his victims. Zeke has been a guest of Satan for only fifteen
years, and still retains most of his former humanity. Which is
a good thing, since this allows him to interact with the living
and innocent characters on earth without killing them when they
inadvertently get in his way. He also possesses enough desire
and belief that he can still live up to the earthly virtues that
might free him from clutches of his unholy host, and this longing
is put in the service of perdition, even though the results are
beneficial.
The atmospherics are lovely, Peter Horton is a determined protagonist
with a minimum of whiney angst, thank goodness, and, so far, the
plots have been both thoughtful and entertaining. There is also
an interesting, and sometimes hysterical, tension between Zeke
and The Devil: Zeke is still 'good', and therefore, The Devil
can't completely trust him, because Zeke isn't evil enough. These
ethical flip-flops are what make the show so enjoyable.