You People Should Be Ashamed: Reaper
Another year and another great show falls by the wayside. Although rumors of Reaper’s impending cancellation began circulating months ago, the CW only confirmed the news recently, just before the season finale aired. It’s a sad loss as Reaper was one of the most creative, original, and entertaining shows on television.
I was introduced to Reaper through Kevin Smith’s SModcast. Smith served as a consultant for the show and directed the pilot episode. On an episode of SModcast, he went into great detail about the then new show and being a big fan of his films I decided to check it out. And boy am I glad that I did. Featuring Bret Harrison as Sam Oliver, Reaper tells the story of a young man who on his 21st birthday discovers that his parents have sold his soul to the devil. As a result, he now must work for the devil, capturing and returning souls that escaped from hell. Each week, Sam and his friends track down escaped souls and trap them using a different “vessel”, which can be anything from a dust-buster to a golf club. The vessel must then must be returned to one of Satan’s employees, who just happens to work at the DMV. Yes, the DMV is a gateway to hell.
The premise of watching Sam & Co. chase escaped souls and fight off demons every week is solid enough, but there’s so much more to the show. From the workplace shenanigans, romantic entanglements with sexy demons, and the courting of a hot new stepsister all play into the show’s many subplots. And it’s all pulled off brilliantly by the excellent cast. The highlight of Reaper is Ray Wise, who plays the Devil. Most known for playing Laura Palmer’s father on Twin Peaks, Wise’s Devil is at once charming, creepy, stern, evil, and incredibly likable. In other words: devlish. Aside from Wise, there’s Tyler Labine as Burt “Sock” Wysocki. You may remember Labine as the drunk Steeler’s fan from Zak & Miri Make a Porno. Sock is one of Sam’s sidekicks and coworkers at a Home Depot-like store called “The Work Bench”. While he plays the typical wise-cracking goofball, Labine does it with pitch-perfect dopey charm. Interestingly, the part was almost offered to Tenacious D’s Kyle Glass, but the network decided to go with Labine instead. While Glass would have added an instant audience of D fans, I think Labine was the better choice.
Many things worked against Reaper’s success. First and foremost: it was on the CW. Honestly, who watches that channel? If not for SModcast, I would never have even heard of the show. Combine that with the fact that the CW gave Reaper little to no marketing attention and you’ve got a recipe for obscurity. Secondly, Reaper isn’t the type of show that fits neatly into a category. It’s not a teen drama, it’s not a sitcom, and it’s not a CSI clone. The show is a comedy/drama with supernatural sci-fi elements like flying demons, deadly escaped souls, with a romantic twist thrown in for good measure. And while the show did a good job of bringing new viewers up to speed every week through a brief “here’s what happened, in case you missed it” bit, there were dozens of story threads to keep track of. From the gay, friendly demon couple to Sam’s zombie father living in the garage, there was a lot to keep track of. And if Reaper had one fault, it was that while we all knew the end was coming, the show seemed to explore multiple subplots with no regard for its impending demise. Viewers were left yelling, “Why are you bothering with this subplot about Ted the Work Bench manager when there are only two episodes left? You’re never going to finish in time!”
I haven’t had the heart to watch the season finale on my DVR yet. I just don’t want the show to end, especially on a cliffhanger. There are rumors about SyFy (what the hell is with that name change?) picking up the show, and ABC, who owns the show, is apparently shopping it for syndication. But I’ve been through this scenario far too many times to be hopeful. While Reaper is an excellent show and one of my favorites of the past several years, it may just be too quirky to ever find a solid audience. And for that: you people should be ashamed!
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Tags: bret harrison, cw, ray wise, reaper, tyler labine, you people should be ashamed
May 27th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Yeah Reaper was a funny show the few times I caught it, but I’m not really a big CW viewer. If I may be so bold, I would like to say to the people that never watched Pushing Dasie’s: you people should be ashamed! The best comedy on TV has once again been ignored by the gelatinous masses who chose instead to watch Two and a Half Men. SHAME!
May 27th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I also heard about this from Smodcast. I have seen some Reaper but not really had a chance to get into it. I just want more Chuck.
May 27th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I’ll miss this show. Ray Wise was very entertaining as the Devil.
May 27th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Man what is with Producers this year?
Pushing Daisies = RIP
@ Leroy, what a FANTASTIC show! The final three episodes will air starting this week. Even better news is you can stream those shows on Netflix, so PLEASE log in and enjoy that show…
My Name is Earl = DEAD
I wasn’t suprised to see this show go as the writing had gone downhill and it wasn’t as clever as the first two seasons. But it was one of those shows that made me laugh, and genuinely feel good at the end of each episode.
The Sarah Conner Chronicles (T:SCC) = Way of the Buffalo
I ranted on this yesterday, but here again a great season finale that leaves me wondering what will happen. Right up there with the way the ended Farscape the first time…WTF?
Life on Mars:
Agaian a show just too smart for the average viewer. Sorry Harvey, I will miss you!
King of the Hill
Thank goodness there are still some episodes left. Very under-rated animated comedy
Boston Legal:
Quirky, intelligent, and it had Captain Kirk on the effing show…CMON!!!
Some that deserved to go…
Evereybody Hates Chris – See ya!
Deal or No Deal – T hat’s TWO shows you lost this year Howie!!!
Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader – Again too smart a show for most audiences
Don’t Forget the Lyrics – Please Forget this show!!!
Prison Break – Had enough by end of season 1
Hole inthe Wall – The Hole in my ass is more entertaining
Guiding Light – Ok flame away soap people, but we have too many
Harper’s Island – Same as above only this time with FEELING!
Knight Rider – Worst reboot of a TV show EVER!!!
Osbournes Reloaded – So bad it got cancelled before the premier aired. The five episodes may never see the light of day!
Shows that NEED to go:
Idol – Sorry, I’m too close to some very talented people who got pooped on by Fox Producers. The show isn’t about talent as much as it is about SELLING a story to us
The Bachelor – Hold on I just puked a bit in my mouth sorry…
Supernanny – Yeah I know, it’s still on
24 – Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Jack Bauer, but the show has gotten old and formulaic
Two and a Half Men – Too long and NOT funny
One of the CSI shows – I mean seriously, do we need three?
May 27th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
NO! Don’t mourn Reaper yet! Industry insiders confirm Hollywood Reporter’s article that ABC Studios is actively trying to sell Reaper. Syndication is a very real possiblity right now, but EVERYONE is recommending writing your affiliates! Help out! All details here: http://community.livejournal.com/reaperdmv/46875.html or visit us at http://reaperdmv.com for the most up-to-date info. The feedback we’re getting from the CW affiliates has been VERY positive.
May 27th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Thanks for the info, ReaperDMV. I just sent an email to my local affiliate and I encourage the rest of you to do the same. Hit the “livejournal” link above for instructions.
May 27th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Maybe it would have done better on an actual network.
May 27th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
The biggest “fuck you” to the American TV-watching public is the fact that Two and a Half Men has not only lasted one full season, but seven, while shows like this, Arrested Development, Veronica Mars, and the various Andy Richter programs were all killed off before their time. What a piece of filthy, unfunny garbage that show is.
May 27th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I’m not sure if it counts as a “fuck you” to the American TV-watching public as it is the American TV-watching public being idiots. I mean, 2 1/2 Men gets huge ratings. If it got shitty ratings, it probably wouldn’t be on TV. I mean, hey, According to Jim only just now got canceled. Seriously.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
We may have lost Reaper but we still have Breaking Bad, the best show on network T.V. if you guys haven’t watched it I highly recommend checking out a few episodes. It will hook you immediately. Season 2 Finale is this weekend WOO!
May 29th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Thanks John! Make sure if you get a positive response back to let us know. We want you to forward them to a specific person at ABC.