Sleepy Hollow

Every autumn a tidal wave of the good, the bad and the ugly of new shows hits us. So, how to tell your “Blondie” from your “Tuco”? Well, Brenda has a bit of a ponder and thinks she’s found a gud’un – Fox’s “Sleepy Hollow”.

Fox's Sleepy Hollow

The past week and the weeks to come will see the return of some very popular series – Breaking Bad, New Girl, Downton Abbey, Homeland, Once Upon A Time, Love/Hate, How I Met Your Mother. As you can see quite the mixed bag, both in terms of content and quality (Downton and Homeland get a shout out here for their comical increase in absurdity). These shows are returning for at least their third series and their positions in the viewing schedule are well established. So, what about the new offerings?

Well, as happens every autumn, pilot season and the corresponding pickups are dangled in front of us by the network studios promising us the next BIG thing. It becomes a sea of arms in the air, waving and voices screaming “LOOK AT US – We’re the new Breaking Bad”, “HONESTLY, YOU WON’T REGRET IT. This is better than The Wire” and if all else fails “WE’VE GOT COOKIES”. In the middle of all this white noise how can you decide what you’re going to spend your (sadly) limited viewing time on?

I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. Personally, given that my quota of hard hitting dramas and sitcoms has been filled for the time being, I’ve been looking for something entertaining, something that doesn’t take itself too seriously and knows exactly what its audience wants.

Enter Fox’s “Sleepy Hollow” starring Tom Mison (Parade’s End, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) and Nicole Beharie (Shame). Taking the original Washington Irving story as its inspiration, we get the same general outline but with a modern twist.

I have to admit the idea intrigued me from the off. The Tim Burton/Johnny Depp 1999 collaboration of the same name has long been a favourite of mine and I consider it as one of their top 3 efforts, behind Edward Scissorhands but above Sweeney Todd. Therefore, to paraphrase Calvin Candie, - it had my curiosity but now it has my attention.

So what grabbed me.. Well, it’s as if the writers and producers (from Fringe and Star Trek) have put their heads together and created a formula based on what’s currently on trend. It goes something along the lines of:

•         Add 2 parts the male/female dynamic of Elementary/Dr Who;
•        1 part the obnoxious self-assuredness of Cumberbatch’s Sherlock (Crane’s long coat an aesthetic cue);
•       4 parts the tongue in cheek demonic presence from Supernatural;
•        A quarter cup of Whedon-esque sass and humour a la Buffy/Firefly/Angel;
•       A teaspoon of the “focused, independent woman” meets “man lost in time” element currently favoured by Emma/Hook in Once Upon A Time.
  

And hey presto! Voila! Bon Appetite.

To some this may appear to be a cynical attempt to hi-jack other shows winning traits but I personally believe Sleep Hollow manages to pull it off.

From the very beginning the show knows exactly what it wants to be and aims hard and fast for it – basically, leave your brain at the door and buckle in for the ride.

                                                               The Set-Up

Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane

The prologue introduces us to Ichabod Crane, a history professor from Oxford. Crane has turned rogue under the weight of his conscience and is now helping to wage war against his own countrymen, the Red Coats in the Revolutionary War. Within the first few minutes we witness his encounter with a soldier branded with a bow on his right hand. This man has been foreshadowed to Crane by none other than George Washington. Their struggle leads to the soldier’s decapitation and Crane’s apparent death. Fade to black and now Crane is waking up in a cave and stumbling into the path of oncoming traffic, all within the first 10 minutes of the show.

Nicole Beharie as Abbie Mills

Lieutenant Abbie Mills, our female protagonist, is introduced mid conversation with her mentor Sheriff Corbin. Of course, Abbie is Sleepy Hollow’s best and brightest and on the way to fulfilling her potential as a criminal profiler in an FBI feeder programme. A few beheadings later, an encounter with the headless horseman and minus one mentor, Abbie realises there’s something rotten in the state of Denmark.

 

Cute-Meet Time

Crane, having been arrested as a suspect in the beheadings, realises that Abbie is the key to understanding what exactly is going on and the only one who is even close to believing his story. Abbie is initially resistant; a previous supernatural encounter experienced by her and her sister did not have pleasant outcomes for either. However, some more shenanigans and Crane’s protestation that “just because it’s crazy does not make it any less real” and Abbie begins to accept the inevitable.

    

Katrina Crane

The remainder of the episode essentially sets the scene for how the rest of the season will play out. Crane’s wife acts as the means for navigating the story arc from beyond the grave. Revelations that she, Katrina, was burnt at the stake for being a witch is taken surprising well by Crane and she continues to communicate with him through dreams from a type of purgatory where she is now trapped. It is she that explains the blood link created between the headless horseman, representing Death, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse and Crane on the battlefield. Before you know it we’ve got promises of the last great fight for humanity, warring witch covens, a prophecy in the Book of Revelations and the kitchen sink. In summation – what’s not to love?

A Man Lost in Time

For me it’s Sleepy Hollow’s confidence that appeals the most. Large elements in the story are gloriously tongue in cheek. It’s as if the writers know that in some ways we’ve been there, done that many times before, but hey a story well told is a story well told. 

For example, parts of Crane’s introduction to the modern world are lightly but entertainingly touched on. His initial reaction to Mills –

Ichabod: You've been emancipated, I take it.
Abbie: Excuse me?
Ichabod: From enslavement.

Abbie’s response – slavery has been abolished for the last 150 years, it’s a whole new day in America.

Basically, short hand for get used to it, pretty much everything you knew has changed. The standard disgruntled chief of police even throws in a nod to Captain America.

Encounters with cars, torches and women wearing trousers are all boxes ticked and while that shtick might get a little old, as long as they keep it entertaining there’s no reason why it can’t run for a while longer. Episode 2 promises disgust that the tax on “baked goods” i.e. donuts, is so high – with Crane wondering why the population hasn’t taken to the streets in protest.

Crane and Abbie

 

Character Appeal

Mison's Crane, obviously a highly educated man, confidante of George Washington and used to being the man who knows, is now the man who is stumbling towards an answer, trying to figure out what’s happening. Nevertheless, he embraces the Spock mantra – “If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” and attacks each scenario with gusto. This character is in direct contrast with Johnny Depp's interpretation, which was one of a man over his head, timid and prone to fainting spells.

For Abbie, her appeal lies in her independence. She’s firm without being a bitch. As Tom Mison put it, she’s not a wife or a daughter or a girlfriend. She’s an independent character not defined by others and so the audience is largely guided by Nicole Beharie’s grounded interpretation of her.

Even though for the moment the interaction between the two characters is as follows: Crane – wordy and far-fetched statement, followed by Abbie – exasperation and grudging belief. Still the dynamic is entertaining. Crane’s disadvantage in the modern world and Abbie’s disbelief of the supernatural has resulted in a playing field that seems surprisingly level.

The Big Bad

Headless Horseman

A taste of things to come

So where will this series lead us? Well the first season has 13 episodes so while the Headless Horseman is promised as the overall Big Bad, it’s hinted that others will come first. We’re even shown glimpses of demons with a strong resemblance to those in Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth”. Also, the Sheriff’s investigations into unexplained murders and occurrences in the area are discovered by Abbie and heavily hint that not everyone is as they seem, some enemies may lie within the current circle of trust.

      

The viewing figures for the pilot have been hugely successful for Fox with 10.10 million tuning in, making it the network's highest rated autumn drama since 2006. There's even a cheeky aside in the first episode hinting at a seven years war against the forces of evil before the final stand-off  so as of now things are looking good for Sleepy Hollow. I for one am looking forward to the adventure.