Jeepers creepers, I thought we’d never get new “Reapers.” After a nine-month hiatus, one of the best new shows of last season returns from the undead at 7 tonight on KWGN-Channel 2 with a bit more of the deviled edge that made it so great when it first emerged from the crypt in the fall of 2007.
Which wasn’t hard, considering “Reaper” vanished for nearly four months during the writers strike — and those of you wondering whether to tune in after a somewhat disappointing first season, here’s a wicked-pedia of reasons to jump on board:
• Sam has grown a backbone. So you’ve heard that there’s this kid, Sam (Bret Harrison), and his soul was sold to the devil by his parents, and now Satan (Ray Wise) — possibly the most dapper Mephistopholes ever — has turned Sam into an earthly bounty hunter, returning escaped souls to hell.
Sam accepted this fate as though Satan had told him to clean up his room, which was fine once or twice but, like every domestic dispute, soon felt more rehearsed than authentic.
But this is Sam 2.0, and something about (apparently) losing his dad in the season finale has proved oddly liberating.
• Sock isn’t a spawn of Jack Black. One of “Reaper’s” weak spots last season was Sam’s best friend and fellow employee at the big- box store, Sock (Tyler Labine). For a while this character, while likable, was an extended-play version of the chubby, demonstrative slacker sidekick going back at least to John Candy, the guest that wouldn’t leave.
What everyone at “Reaper” seems to have realized is that having him tormenting Sam all day long is the least interesting and challenging thing you can do with Sock. So now the writers are throwing new things at him.
• Satan’s got issues. I love Ray Wise, and I love the fact that the Most Evil One could someday make People’s 10 Best Dressed List. But let’s face it: He could do that devil impersonation in his sleep.
“Reaper” is a comedy, I get that. And it works as one. But the best comedies are defined by their ability to impart even the heaviest messages with the same light touch as a pratfall or a put-down. One of the weaknesses of the first season, it seems to me, is Satan just seemed joke-proof. He’s like the comedian who could never host a talk show because it would mean he’d have to listen to someone else. And when you’re the all-powerful uberdemon, why would you do that? So one of the challenges of the rebooted “Reaper” is putting enough dents in the devil’s armor that he looks … well, human’s not the word.
• Andi’s got issues. Another weak spot from “Reaper’s” first season was Sam’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, Andi (Missy Peregrym).
It only took a few weeks to bring them together and push them back apart, but I felt there was an unreality to this shopworn TV device.
For Pete’s sake, he’s the son of Satan! There should be an element of danger in dating someone with the devil’s bloodlines. That also gets addressed tonight.
