Bret Harrison

DVD Review: Great Final Season of ‘Reaper’ Gets Lackluster Release

BrianTT — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:10:00 -0600

CHICAGO – Part of me is happy about the trend of TV being released quickly on DVD after a season ends, but what about when it turns out to be the last? Should seasons be rushed to store shelves or should time and respect be given for a show canceled far-too-soon? “Reaper: Season Two” is a bittersweet release, a set that’s barely even focused on the sophomore season of this excellent show much less the fact that it’s not coming back.

DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0

First, a note: I know that there is a small, tiny chance that “Reaper” might return in some syndicated form or on a cable network but with several major players moving on (including Tyler Labine (“Sock”) to a new Fox sitcom called “Sons of Tucson”), I’ve accepted that the show probably isn’t coming back.

If that’s the case, you can definitely add “Reaper” to the canceled-too-soon list. As someone who has seen early versions of a lot of the upcoming fall offerings from several networks (not just The CW, so don’t take this as a slight on what they have to offer in a few months), I can’t believe some of these pilots were chosen over “Reaper”.

Reaper: Season Two was released on DVD on June 9th, 2009.
Photo credit: Lionsgate

Although you really can’t blame The CW. They brought back the low-rated show for one more try and it averaged the lowest ratings for any TV drama. People simply didn’t watch it. Although it certainly didn’t help that “Reaper” was constantly delayed here in Chicago (and probably other markets) for sporting events. Even my DVR couldn’t catch up with it and I had to watch it on DVD. In other words, even a fan like myself didn’t watch it in its original airings.

The second season of “Reaper” was incredibly clever in the way it wove similar themes throughout the characters. The theme of season two of “Reaper” was clearly about dealing with predetermined roles - demon, stepbrother, son of Satan. How does being the offspring of the Devil (Ray Wise) impact all of Sam’s (Bret Harrison) life? Will Sock (Labine) respect the step-sibling relationship with his hot new sister? Will Ben’s demon girlfriend live up to her hellish background? And how will Andi (Missy Perygrym) deal with dating the son of pure evil?

Overall, I found the second season of “Reaper” a bit more inconsistent on a writing level than the first, but this was still strong, clever television and the ensemble found an even more consistent groove as a team, playing off each other brilliantly. They will all be missed.

Wouldn’t it be great if a final season DVD recognized the end? A retrospective about the history of the show? A commentary on the last episode from the whole team? A featurette about where “Reaper” might have gone if the axe of cancellation had not fallen? None of that is included here.

Once again, Lionsgate and ABC Studios do fans of “Reaper” a disservice by barely including any special features. There are four deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a mini-featurette that’s more about season one called “The Devil Made Me Do It - A Look Back at the Making of Reaper”. On a similar note, the video and audio are merely average, sometimes even dipping below that line.

“Reaper” has a loyal, devoted following, but the show simply wasn’t supported on The CW. Maybe it will return in syndicated form. Maybe not. But the fact that 31 episodes were even produced should be considered a gift when one thinks about how few brilliant-but-canceled shows even make it to that milestone. Lionsgate and ABC Studios should have produced a better set for the final season of “Reaper,” but as with most TV this clever, we’ll take what we can get.

‘Reaper: Season Two’ was released by Lionsgate Home Video and stars Bret Harrison, Tyler Labine, Rick Gonzalez, Missy Peregrym, and Ray Wise. It was created by Tara Butters & Michelle Fazekas. The show was released on June 9th, 2009. It is not rated.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: ‘Reaper’ Finally Returns From the Dead With Disappointing Season Premiere

BrianTT — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:01:20 -0700

Television Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – I adored the first, underrated season of “Reaper” and was as puzzled as any TV viewer that the CW saw in their wisdom to delay season two until nearly ten months after the last episode aired. More than ever, television viewers operate in an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality and I don’t see how the delay and the brief season (just 13 episodes) could possibly do anything to build a following for this nearly-cancelled gem.

With all the time off and the anticipation over what is clearly the last chance for this clever program, I have the worst possible news about the second season premiere of “Reaper,” titled “Episode IV: A New Hope”. It’s not that good. In the history of the show, it’s below the median line when it comes to episode quality and I just don’t see how this is going to give “Reaper” the boost it needs to stave off a trip to TV Hell.

Bret Harrison, Rick Gonzalez, and Tyler Labine in Reaper.
Photo credit: Jack Rowand/The CW

If you’ve never seen the show, Bret Harrison stars as Sam, a servant of the devil (Ray Wise) himself. Sam’s parents sold their only son’s soul to the big man down below and now Sam is forced to help Satan capture lost souls with the aid of his two buddies Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben (Rick Gonzalez).

Meanwhile, Sam has to deal with daily life at The Work Bench (where Sock and Ben also work and get into regular trouble) and his love for his old friend and co-worker Andi (Missy Peregrym). Love, work, friends, and the forces of evil - it’s a balancing act for “Reaper”.

The first episode of “Reaper,” directed by Kevin Smith, was great but the show dipped into a bit of a creative valley before coming back very strong at the end of year one, thanks in part to great guest turns from diverse actors like Patton Oswalt, Jamie Kennedy, Jessica Stroup, Ken Marino, and Michael Ian Black. Ratings never rebounded like they should have and the series didn’t get enough press, but it was one of the more consistently entertaining on the air in early 2008.

Eriko Tamura and Tyler Labine in Reaper.
Photo credit: Jack Rowand/The CW

In the second half of the first season of “Reaper,” the writing was tighter, the chemistry of the cast was better, and the blend of episode-specific plotlines with the overall arc about Sam learning that he is truly the spawn of Satan was perfectly balanced.

So why does the premiere of season two, “A New Hope.” feel like such a step backwards?

The opening moments hint at a series reboot. Sam loses all his money, his job, his place to live, and his girlfriend. But, of course, we can’t lose Andi or The Work Bench, so that’s very quickly back and it kind of feels like the second half of season one never happened.

The episode features two plots - a generic demon-of-the-week bit in which Sam has to use a cattle prod to take down some angry men and a slightly funny but overdone bit with Sock having the hots for his new stepsister. Only the end of the demon-of-the-week plotline really grabbed my attention.

Yes, there are plot elements related to what happened at the end of last season, but the cast all look like they’re going through the motions, uninspired by a lackluster script. Even the show-stealing Ray Wise, robbed of a Supporting Actor Emmy nod last year, looks a little bored in “A New Hope”.

If “A New Hope” had been stuck somewhere in the middle of a season, it wouldn’t be disappointing, but the unusual situation that the show and its fans find themselves in makes me think the talented cast won’t have much longer on the air. There’s enough talent to save it, but the writers really need to understand the do-or-die pressure and deliver scripts better than “A New Hope”. (A second episode, “The Sweet Science,” that will air March 17th, was sent but not reviewed.)

Where does “Reaper” go from here? Harrison, Labine, Gonzalez, Peregrym, and Wise make up one of the most likable ensembles on television and the team behind the show has proven they can dig themselves out of writing holes in the past. The only question is will they have time to do so before the clearly misguided powers that be at The CW send them back to development Hell.

‘Reaper,’ which airs on The CW, returns on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 7PM CST. It stars Bret Harrison, Tyler Labine, Rick Gonzalez, Missy Peregrym, and Ray Wise. The show was created by Tara Butters & Michele Fazekas.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Deal’ is No Big Deal as Career of Burt Reynolds Fades Away

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:22:36 -0600

CHICAGO – Poor Burt Reynolds. As the No. 1 box-office star from 1978 to 1982, he revived his film career in 1997 with “Boogie Nights”. Since then, he has had the long, slow decline of “B” movies and bad remakes. Reynolds even tainted his own legacy by participating in the horrible 2005 redo of “The Longest Yard”.

Will he ever get the one last script that will return him to glory? The film “Deal” isn’t it. Reynolds plays Tommy Vinton: a mysterious stranger who begins observing young poker hotshot Alex (Bret Harrison).

Read Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Deal” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Deal” image gallery.

Alex is from the Internet age and won an online contest to get to the World Series of Poker. Tommy is an old-school, professional poker player from the 1970s whose luck ran out shortly thereafter.

He hasn’t played in 20 years on a promise to his wife. Tommy sees something in the Internet hotshot, though, and on the sly begins to coach him and bankroll his run through the poker tournament circuit.

As it happens in old mentor/young hotshot films, the two must angrily part. When you throw in the subplot of Reynolds’ wife leaving him, it sets up the inevitable showdown between old professional Tommy and his former protégé. It has to be at the World Series of Poker, too.

Shannon Elizabeth in “Deal”.
Photo credit: MGM

Burt Reynolds in “Deal”.
Photo credit: MGM

Read Patrick McDonald’s full “Deal” review.