TV Review: ‘Reaper’ Finally Returns From the Dead With Disappointing Season Premiere

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Television Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – I adored the first, underrated season of “Reaper” and was as puzzled as any TV viewer that the CW saw in their wisdom to delay season two until nearly ten months after the last episode aired. More than ever, television viewers operate in an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality and I don’t see how the delay and the brief season (just 13 episodes) could possibly do anything to build a following for this nearly-cancelled gem.

With all the time off and the anticipation over what is clearly the last chance for this clever program, I have the worst possible news about the second season premiere of “Reaper,” titled “Episode IV: A New Hope”. It’s not that good. In the history of the show, it’s below the median line when it comes to episode quality and I just don’t see how this is going to give “Reaper” the boost it needs to stave off a trip to TV Hell.

Bret Harrison, Rick Gonzalez, and Tyler Labine in Reaper. Photo credit: Jack Rowand/The CW

If you’ve never seen the show, Bret Harrison stars as Sam, a servant of the devil (Ray Wise) himself. Sam’s parents sold their only son’s soul to the big man down below and now Sam is forced to help Satan capture lost souls with the aid of his two buddies Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben (Rick Gonzalez).

Meanwhile, Sam has to deal with daily life at The Work Bench (where Sock and Ben also work and get into regular trouble) and his love for his old friend and co-worker Andi (Missy Peregrym). Love, work, friends, and the forces of evil - it’s a balancing act for “Reaper”.

The first episode of “Reaper,” directed by Kevin Smith, was great but the show dipped into a bit of a creative valley before coming back very strong at the end of year one, thanks in part to great guest turns from diverse actors like Patton Oswalt, Jamie Kennedy, Jessica Stroup, Ken Marino, and Michael Ian Black. Ratings never rebounded like they should have and the series didn’t get enough press, but it was one of the more consistently entertaining on the air in early 2008.

Eriko Tamura and Tyler Labine in Reaper. Photo credit: Jack Rowand/The CW

In the second half of the first season of “Reaper,” the writing was tighter, the chemistry of the cast was better, and the blend of episode-specific plotlines with the overall arc about Sam learning that he is truly the spawn of Satan was perfectly balanced.

So why does the premiere of season two, “A New Hope.” feel like such a step backwards?

The opening moments hint at a series reboot. Sam loses all his money, his job, his place to live, and his girlfriend. But, of course, we can’t lose Andi or The Work Bench, so that’s very quickly back and it kind of feels like the second half of season one never happened.

The episode features two plots - a generic demon-of-the-week bit in which Sam has to use a cattle prod to take down some angry men and a slightly funny but overdone bit with Sock having the hots for his new stepsister. Only the end of the demon-of-the-week plotline really grabbed my attention.

Yes, there are plot elements related to what happened at the end of last season, but the cast all look like they’re going through the motions, uninspired by a lackluster script. Even the show-stealing Ray Wise, robbed of a Supporting Actor Emmy nod last year, looks a little bored in “A New Hope”.

If “A New Hope” had been stuck somewhere in the middle of a season, it wouldn’t be disappointing, but the unusual situation that the show and its fans find themselves in makes me think the talented cast won’t have much longer on the air. There’s enough talent to save it, but the writers really need to understand the do-or-die pressure and deliver scripts better than “A New Hope”. (A second episode, “The Sweet Science,” that will air March 17th, was sent but not reviewed.)

Where does “Reaper” go from here? Harrison, Labine, Gonzalez, Peregrym, and Wise make up one of the most likable ensembles on television and the team behind the show has proven they can dig themselves out of writing holes in the past. The only question is will they have time to do so before the clearly misguided powers that be at The CW send them back to development Hell.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com