Sleepy Hollow premieres with an interesting premise, tons of chemistry and a surprising soundtrack. Conclusion: Approved!
Another fall premiere season can only mean one thing: Another fall chopping block. This season certainly has plenty of new shows we already see headed for the door. Sleepy Hollow, though, is a pleasant surprise. The show is by no means perfect, but it is headed in the right direction.
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A well-loved storyline
Everyone knows the story of the headless horseman! That is, except for everyone who lives in the town of Sleepy Hollow. As the incredibly good-looking and well-accented Ichabod Crane flits through town in a police car alongside Deputy Abbie Mills, everyone seems absolutely stunned by the headless soldier splicin’ heads and takin’ names. I guess that would be a pretty terrible thing to witness, but it’s certainly not a new concept, and to see people act as though they don’t know WTF is going on with Ichie (go with it) and his headless nemesis feels a little, well, silly.
Still, it has potential. The four horsemen of the apocalypse twist is especially interesting and deciding that said cranium-impaired equestrian soldier should be Death himself was quiet remarkable. However, naming Ichie and Abbie as the two witnesses who will fight for seven years seems, well, limiting. C’mon, guys! Only seven seasons?!
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More chemistry than you’d find in a one-room schoolhouse
Perhaps the best part of the show, though, is the stellar chemistry between its two main characters witnesses. The dialogue between Abbie (Nicole Beharie) and Ichie (Tom Mison) is stellar. The time-joking jokes are well timed and amusing, but not over the top. (Thank goodness Ichabod Crane was a Union soldier!) And Abbie’s pith is brilliant. Even the Starbucks jokes were funny, despite it being an obvious place to go for a time-jump laugh. The two just mesh well together, which is more than I can say for some.
Don’t take it seriously
Sleepy Hollow is not a show to be taken with any sort of seriousness, despite its fire and brimstone revelations (see what I did there?). It continually makes fun of itself from the sliced horse crossing sign (notice the head was missing?) to the amusingly soundtracked beginning and ending (The Rolling Stones‘ “Sympathy for the Devil”). So, why should viewers take it seriously? We shouldn’t. Not one bit. This isn’t AMC. It’s Fox telling the story of a time-traveling Ichabod Crane. Just, you know, go with it.
Hopefully Sleepy Hollow keeps its head and we won’t find it under the ax come cancellation season. This one might deserve a chance to tell the whole story. We’ll just have to keep watching to see!
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