Brimstone & Reapers

BRIMSTONE was a show that ran from 1998-1999 on FOX. Featuring Peter Horton as a former NYC detective who's tasked with hunting down escaped souls and sending them back to Hell. John Glover plays The Devil as a charismatic trickster who appears at unexpected times and exchanges some witty and thought-provoking banter with our protagonist.

REAPER is a show that ran from 2007-2009 on The CW. Featuring Bret Harrison as a slacker-ish young man who's tasked with hunting down escaped souls and sending them back to Hell. Ray Wise plays The Devil as a charismatic trickster who appears at unexpected times and exchanges some witty and thought-provoking banter with our protagonist.

I enjoyed the run of "Reaper"—disappointed that it never found an audience and has been canceled. Wasn't perfect but it got by on a lot of charm, some nicely drawn characters. And Ray Wise was terrific as The Devil.

Happened to catch a marathon of "Brimstone" on CHILLER a few months back and was surprised at the similarities. Both in premise and the fact that neither show ever found much more than a cult following. (I don't even remember "Brimstone" being on television... and I seem to watch everything on television.)

Naturally, there are many differences...

Tonally, "Brimstone" is darker and far more serious. The opening narration on every episode lets us know that Horton's wife was raped; rapist was cleared of the charges, so Horton hunted him down and killed him. Horton eventually got himself killed (in an unrelated incident), is sent to Hell. Fifteen years later, there's a big breakout from Hell, 113 souls escape. Devil makes a deal with Horton: if he can return all 113 souls to Hell, he'll get a second chance at life on earth. (Each tattoo on Horton's body represents a soul; every time he sends one to Hell, a tattoo disappears.)

"Reaper" is much more firmly a comedy. Like "Brimstone for the Kids". Young man's soul is owned by The Devil and each episode (generally) focuses on him capturing some unique character with demonic powers, with the help of his quirky friends. (That's not my best pitch for "Reaper", but this entry's getting too long and most of you will probably just skim it at best.) Ray Wise's DEVIL is a lot more evil than John Glover's DEVIL. The emotional turmoil in REAPER is a lot frothier than the turmoil in BRIMSTONE. But the broad similarities are hard to avoid.

Kind of curious if the "Reaper" creators were familiar with "Brimstone". Tons of shows come and go throughout the years. It'd be easy to miss.

Regardless, I actually enjoy both shows. You may never find "Brimstone" on disc, but you should check it out on CHILLER when it's on. As for "Reaper", there's a slim chance ABC Studios could continue it in first-run syndication. Barring that, I'm sure there are a million ways to watch the episodes that exist.

And so, I continue on my quest to clear out a bunch of blog entries I'd been meaning to write for a while...

(Each time I write one, a tattoo disappears from my body.)