Amen, PREACHER!

Article originally published as PREACHER Review on Seat42F.

AMC’s newest drama is PREACHER. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, the series follows a Texas minister in a small town where danger and the supernatural seem to exist in abundance. It is shocking and action-packed, while also being a compelling character study of a man who is trying to do good and frequently failing. In short, it is worthy of being on this top-quality network, and makes a good addition to AMC’s morality-questioning slate.

The protagonist and titular man of the cloth is Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper, Agent Carter, Fleming). Ingrained in him by his ill-fated father is a drive to do good in the world. But in a position he doesn’t want in a place that, for the most part, doesn’t want him, and with a past he isn’t proud of, Jesse is struggling to feel like he’s living up to his potential. As the story begins, he’s about at a breaking point and must decide what his path forward would be.

There is no shortage of others who either want to help him or hurt him on his path. Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun, Misfits) is a vampire lying low who is drawn to Jesse’s violence. Tulip (Ruth Negga, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) is his ex who seeks to involve him in her latest scheme. Emily (Lucy Griffiths, True Blood) is the busy mother who is devoted to the church. Sheriff Root (W. Earl Brown) is the lawman who doesn’t put up with Jesse straying, while Hugo’s son, Eugene (Ian Colletti, Rake), is devoted to a God he thinks may have abandoned him. And there’s also Donnie (Derek Wilson, In the Now), the abusive husband that Jesse confronts.

Each of these play a role, most of them quite loud and large. Cassidy and Tulip, in particular, are introduced in extreme scenarios that reinforce the graphic novel roots of the source material and certainly keep things exciting. This is a show that will not shirk from its action sequences, and has no qualms about showing death and destruction.

Yet, for the run of the pilot, Jesse himself is the calm center of the storm. He doesn’t react largely. He doesn’t do anything too crazy. He exists in the midst of everyone else’s drama, which is not what one typically expects from the main character of a series such as this. It’s unlikely he will stay that way for long, probably taking lead in the bigger sequences going forward, especially given what happens at the end of the episode. But it’s a very interesting choice to make to introduce him in the way that he is.

There’s also a phenomenon not yet explained that will play a very large role in PREACHER. Seen at the beginning and during a few interstitials, a being of energy has arrived on Earth looking for a host. After some false starts, it chooses Jesse as its vessel. Neither obviously good or bad, it’s the nth embodiment of Jesse’s own internal conflict, and promises more than just a slow-burn character-driven drama that would likely be good, but what we get is even better. With two mysterious men (Boardwalk Empire’s Anatol Yusef and Pirate Radio’s Tom Brooke) on the hunt for it, Jesse won’t just be able to live the life he’s been living.

I found the first episode of PREACHER to be terrific. It draws you in appropriately, feels fresh and original, despite a few familiar elements, is amusing in a sly way, and lacks the types of plot holes or gratuitous things that bog down most new series. Each moment seems carefully calculated to build towards something, and with fascinating characters populating the world, I look forward to seeing where it goes.

PREACHER airs Sundays at 9pm EST on AMC.

DVD Review: ‘Misfits Season Three’

Article first published as DVD Review: ‘Misfits Season Three’ on Blogcritics.

Misfits Season Three was recently released on DVD by the BBC. In these eight episodes, the familiar not-quite-heroes figure out their new powers, but more importantly, try to decide what they want for themselves in their lives. It’s a series with super-human abilities, but the characters are extremely down-to-earth, and their complicated relationships, both within and outside of the group, are the focus of the story.

As season three begins, Nathan (Robert Sheehan) has moved to Vegas with his lady love, leaving a hole in the central gang. It is quickly filled by Rudy (Joseph Gilgun, Emmerdale), a young man who is as obnoxious and overly sexualized as Nathan, but who is more open about his insecurities that make him that way. In this manner, Rudy does not quite replace Nathan, but serves in a similar capacity, while also deepening the archetype in a new and engaging way.

Rudy’s power is that he can split himself in two, essentially separating his good side from his bad, though neither personality is as extreme as one might expect from watching other science fiction shows. It’s cool that Misfits takes such an old trope and puts their own unique, grounded spin on it, as the series has done with other superhero elements. This also provides an appropriate conceit to illustrate Rudy’s inner turmoil.

In season two, viewers saw a badass future version of Simon (Iwan Rheon) come back in time to save his lady love, Alisha (Antonia Thomas), only to die in her arms. In this third outing, young Simon is striving to become that man, though Alisha doesn’t want him to be, as the end result would be her losing the guy she cares deeply about. Must Simon fulfill his destiny, or can time be re-written?

This question plagues the story for a lot of season three in a very intriguing way. There is an examination of fate, and a discussion about whether Alisha would just disappear if Simon doesn’t go back, or if, now that she’s been saved, she’ll be OK. Ultimately, the fate of Simon and Alisha is both poetic and poignant, not quite answering these queries, but providing a satisfying conclusion just the same.

Kelly (Lauren Socha) soon discovers her new power, being a rocket scientist, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially when people have a hard time taking her seriously because of her physical appearance and accent. Similarly, Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) has many difficulties with his ability to turn into a girl, especially when sex is involved. Both of these seem more like comic relief than Simon and Alisha’s plot, but find room to delve into pathos occasionally, too.

Most of the eight hours in season three are concerned with these character-driven arcs, as well as Kelly’s relationship with power broker Seth (Matthew McNulty). But a couple of installments interrupt most of the forward momentum to present an alternate, Nazi-controlled timeline or battle zombies. Misfits is stronger in keeping to the bigger stories, not being bogged down in weekly stuff, so thankfully there is much more of the former.

At the conclusion of the season, the past comes back to haunt the group, quite literally, as three of the characters they previously killed (including a Downton Abbey star) return as ghosts that can interact with the physical world. It’s a cool callback, especially as most of the central cast ends their story permanently, and a prompt to examine what has happened to the characters, as well as who they have become. It’s a wonderful ending.

The three disc set includes a few special features. Each episode has around 3 minutes of Behind the Scenes footage, too brief to be very informative, but it does give us a glimpse of what happens on set. The featurettes on visual effects and stunts are more than ten minutes each, and go a bit deeper, though also aren’t anything special, too technical for the casual fan, but too light for those actually excited about such things. And there’s an “On the Set” bonus that is interesting.

The best inclusions are two extended webisodes, “Vegas” and “Erazer.” “Vegas” is what happens to Nathan after leaving the group, giving us a glimpse of what he is up to now. The story is totally in keeping with the established character, whom is missed, so the mini-episode is welcome. “Erazer” explores a brand-new hero, which kind of makes it case-of-the-week stuff, but it’s short and artistic and presented separately, so it’s more fascinating than distracting to the overall story.

That makes this a great set for Misfits fans, a fitting continuation of the story. Misfits Season Three is available now.