Sinfully Sweet

Tonight was the premiere of the buzzed-about new series Reaper, which I decided to check out. It's the story of a young man who discovers on his 21st birthday that his soul has been sold by his parents (before birth) to the devil, who now appears in his life to enlist him as a bounty hunter to return escaped souls to hell. Depending on your perspective, it was either pretty good, or a bit of a disappointment.

From one perspective, it's very hard not to compare this new series to last night's NBC debut, Chuck. Both feature protagonists in dead-end retail jobs, suddenly thrust into positions where they wield unnatural abilities to "fight crime" (or what-not) for powerful overseers. Both try to keep a funny and light tone on the proceedings (at least, in their first episodes).

But anything Chuck can do, Reaper does better. The jokes were funnier. Reaper's main character Sam got cooler powers (in that he actually got some) than Chuck. The slacker banter was more entertaining and not slightly insulting to geekdom as the "nerd dialogue" for Chuck was. The social commentary was more humorous (DMV as hell on Earth). The premise seemed to have more legs in it for ongoing series storytelling. It was just better, all around.

On the other hand, it's also hard not to compare Reaper to the cancelled show whose time slot on the CW it usurped: Veronica Mars. And through that lens, the show comes up short in every conceivable way.

Veronica Mars, even in just its pilot episode, could deliver the funny while still offering dramatic pathos. The parent/child relationship felt more real. The stakes, while technically smaller, felt somehow higher. The show stayed with you in a way that Reaper, however entertaining, hasn't seemed to since I switched the TV off.

Reaper was a sugary, "fun" kind of television that's certainly okay, but not the sort of deeply satisfying thing you'll talk about around the "watercooler" the next day. And to an extent, there's nothing wrong with that. But there seem to be an awful lot of shows on these days that are all about delivering these sort of "empty entertainment calories." Hell, I watch some of them -- Psych, The Amazing Race, (in a weak moment) Las Vegas. I'm just not sure I need to pick up another show like that.

Especially not when I think about what it would be like to have season four of Veronica Mars instead. Which I know is irrational. It's not like that show was cancelled specifically so that this show could exist. But there it is.

So in short, I enjoyed myself, but I don't know if I'm won over. If anything, it probably got me to be harsher on Chuck than I would otherwise have been. Now I'm almost thinking that show needs to put up or shut up next week.

Candy's good, but one should only have so much.