Sleepy Hollow: Epi 1:3 Triumph of Evil

I’m still enjoying this quirky little show, though this week had a couple of problems. The Critter of the Week was a “Mohawk dream demon”. My knowledge of Northeastern 1st Nations culture is microscopic, and no amount of internet searching this morning would find me any reference to any “Mohawk dream demons”. I am certain that this episode would have been better had they grounded their “sandman” legend in its original Northern European origins instead of trying to graft it onto a 1st Nations mythos, assuming that there is one. The used car salesman/shaman wasn’t your usual wise old grandpa stereotype, but he was another common nonwhite stereotype. Angry Red Man this time.

I was impressed by Icabod’s angry amazement that the peoples of the confederation who populated most of the northeastern American seaboard had been driven nearly to extinction. I was also impressed that Icabod mentions that the laws of the Iroquois Confederacy helped shape the U.S. government. Icabod’s reaction to various race and cultural issues could make or break this show for me. He was initially perplexed by a black, female lieutenant, but had more problem adjusting to her trousers than her race and never treats her as anything other than a competent colleague.  When his interaction with the Mohawk car salesman did not go well for him (“Drop the friend of the tribe schtick!”), he deals with the situation gracefully.

One of the things that I liked about the  Sandman myth was the way Abbie defeated it. Like with the Greek Furies, the key to salvation here was to acknowledge her wrongdoing and repent of it. This is unlikely to solve any of her problems with her sister, which are bound to continue to be plot complications as the series goes on. I’m conflicted by the treatment of Jennie as the mental health patient even as I admire the complex sibling dynamics.  Eventually we’ll get a show that treats mental health issues with thoughtfulness and decency. It’s early days. The show might pleasantly surprise me in that regard.

For now, I’ll enjoy the quirky storyline, the solid acting, and the wonderful squicky horror bits (exploding sand eyeballs, anyone?) Also, this show has a silly sense of humor that is used subtly to great effect. I hope it keeps that element for its full run.

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Sleepy Hollow

I’ve been trolling about the internet looking for interesting writer blogs to read, and as luck would have it I found Yvonne Nicolas’s blog with posts about that most rare of things– a tv show that I might actually like, Sleepy Hollow.  We don’t have any cable or tv reception which is fine by everyone in the house. We get most of the few tv shows we watch on DVD long after everyone else has seen them. Yes, I know about Hulu, but the first show I tried to watch on Hulu (Bunheads) bored me to death and the streaming kept lagging. I decided to give it another try and managed to successfully watch the first episode of “The Black List” with James Spader. I adore James Spader and that alone got me through the Black List pilot. It looks to be one of those crime drama/police genre shows that never manage to hold my interest, but maybe I will continue for a while just to watch James Spader.

Sleepy Hollow, though also part police show, looks to be something worth testing the strength of my internet connection for. The pilot was a fabulous mash up of headless horseman lore, New England witch cults, and Biblical apocalyptic doom. The twist is Icabod Crane has had a case of Rip Van Winkle and awakes in modern times, along with the demonic headless horseman. It’s fate.

Icabod’s partner is the lovely Abbie, who apparently will not be leaving to go to Quantico and the FBI after all.  Whoot strong and smart female lead! It’s wonderful that not only is she a PoC, the background cast has some diversity as well. I’m also thankful that while Abbie is strong and practical, she doesn’t have XFiles Agent Scully’s issue of being unable to believe Stuff That’s Right In Front of Her Face, Happening Like Now, just because it doesn’t seem scientific enough.

Great chemistry between Icabod and Abbie, but not too much too soon. And alas, Icabod has a spoiler in parentheses. (wife trapped in another dimension). Sad Face. Icabod has some great one liners that are wonderful comic relief. Plus he is super nice to look at. If you like paranormal stuff, try this show. Two episodes available on Hulu as of today.

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