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Sleepy Hollow - Season 1
The idea of taking old stories and placing them in a modern setting is a very popular one nowadays. With series like ‘Once Upon a Time’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ all becoming hit series it comes as no surprise that other series are created using the same idea. This time, it’s Washington Irving’s famous story ‘Sleepy Hollow’. The series is set in the same town, but two hundred years have passed since Ichabod Crane was faced with the Headless Horseman. However, it turns out that both he and his nemesis have been resurrected. In this new series, Fox is trying to wake up the mythical town of Sleepy Hollow. There’s definitely potential: it’s exciting, scary, and the story is very interesting, but there’s also some aspects that need improvement.
‘Sleepy Hollow’ starts with a mass murder by a mysterious horseman, who prefers to leave his victims headless. One of these victims is the town’s sherrif, boss and mentor of Abby Mills (Nicole Beharie). She is the only witness of the massacre, and noticed that the murderer, like his victims, does not have a head either. Simultaneously, another stranger shows up, this time with a head and a strange accent, and Abby soon connects the dots and realises the sudden appearances happened for a reason. The two men are intertwined, and the stranger happens to be Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, ‘Lost in Austen’), who cut off the murderer’s head two hundred years ago. They find out this Headless Horseman was sent by a demon called Moloch, who is preparing to send the Four Riders of the Apocalypse to Sleepy Hollow. The rest of the season follows Ichabod and Abby on their quest to destroy evil.
The two are not destined to do this alone; first aided by letters by the old sheriff, but later supported by the new leader of the police force, Frank Irving (Orlando Jones, ‘MADtv’) and Abby’s sister, Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood, ‘Nikita’). Their support does not only come from the world of the living; Katrina Crane (Katia Winter, ‘Dexter’), a witch and Ichabod’s wife sends her help, even though she is trapped in between worlds. Unfortunately for ‘Team Good’, Moloch also has several ‘friends’. Not only has a member of the police, Andy Brooks (John Cho, ‘FlashForward’) sold his soul to this devilish fiend, but a new supernatural appears every episode. Although every monster is introduced with a so-called logical explanation as to why it’s here, it seems as though the creators have been trying a little too hard to ensure a thirteen-episode first season. For instance, there is an episode where a sandman visits our heroes in their dreams and kills everyone who has ever sinned. This does not seem to have any relation to the plot whatsoever, and there is no connection to the Horsemen at all. It’s a shame that there are several of these episodes, because it undermines the strength of the story.
The main plot of the series is very promising indeed. The creators were inspired by Irving’s American Gothic story to make a new horror show which is much scarier than the original story. The Bible, faih and the devil have been added, and although these words are often seen as old-fashioned, they have been placed in a modern setting. The scenes are look great, the special effects are comparable to a Hollywood film and the plot is very fast-paced. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the characters, who could have been so much more. For instance, the only thing Ichabod seems to mind is that coffee costs five dollars, instead of noticing how much the world has changed in two centuries. He adapts too easily to the 21st century, which isn’t realistic at all. Of course, if the story’s main plot was about how a 19th-century person would view our world, it would be a different series entirely, but still the creators should have paid more attention to this. There is a couple of episodes where Ichabod’s past is shown, and these episodes are the most interesting ones as it shows us how closely linked the Horseman and Ichabod are. Abby is more promising; at first she refuses to believe in supernatural beings, but later on is as convinced of her importance as anyone else. Jenny, Abby’s sister, is the most realistic character. We are introduced to her when she’s in an asylum, because nobody believed her when she told the police about what she and her sister saw when they were girls. This aspect should have gained more attention, because this is one of the most important changes since the nineteenth century: we don’t believe in ghost stories anymore.
It’s not the actors’ fault that the characters aren’t very credible. All of them are well cast and are visibly enjoying their characters. Especially protagonists Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie are playing their parts well, and there’s a noticeable chemistry between them. The interaction with the other actors is good too. Still, it would have been interesting to see the supernatural creatures as actors, rather than computer-generated monsters, because it makes the divide between Good and Evil very clear. For instance, there is no corrupt person in the story, and all those fighting for the good cause are Good to their very cores. That’s why the season finale is the best episode yet, because there’s a surprising twist which doesn’t only influence Ichabod and Katrina, but also their notion of Good, Evil, and the importance of family and blood.
In conclusion, ‘Sleepy Hollow’ is a very modern adaptation of the nineteenth-century story by Washington Irving. The plot does not resemble the story much and much has been added, most of which is good thing. The series is easy to watch, the actors are good, it all looks great and the main plot becomes increasingly exiting. Still, the creators of the show have made some errors and sometimes the story seems to have skipped several pages, which makes it confusing from time to time. The characters could have been more interesting, and the evil demons should have seduced the heroes to sin more often. Still, the final episode shows that the second season will focus more on this, which will definitely make it more interesting.
Follow Sleepy Hollow‘Sleepy Hollow’ starts with a mass murder by a mysterious horseman, who prefers to leave his victims headless. One of these victims is the town’s sherrif, boss and mentor of Abby Mills (Nicole Beharie). She is the only witness of the massacre, and noticed that the murderer, like his victims, does not have a head either. Simultaneously, another stranger shows up, this time with a head and a strange accent, and Abby soon connects the dots and realises the sudden appearances happened for a reason. The two men are intertwined, and the stranger happens to be Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison, ‘Lost in Austen’), who cut off the murderer’s head two hundred years ago. They find out this Headless Horseman was sent by a demon called Moloch, who is preparing to send the Four Riders of the Apocalypse to Sleepy Hollow. The rest of the season follows Ichabod and Abby on their quest to destroy evil.
The two are not destined to do this alone; first aided by letters by the old sheriff, but later supported by the new leader of the police force, Frank Irving (Orlando Jones, ‘MADtv’) and Abby’s sister, Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood, ‘Nikita’). Their support does not only come from the world of the living; Katrina Crane (Katia Winter, ‘Dexter’), a witch and Ichabod’s wife sends her help, even though she is trapped in between worlds. Unfortunately for ‘Team Good’, Moloch also has several ‘friends’. Not only has a member of the police, Andy Brooks (John Cho, ‘FlashForward’) sold his soul to this devilish fiend, but a new supernatural appears every episode. Although every monster is introduced with a so-called logical explanation as to why it’s here, it seems as though the creators have been trying a little too hard to ensure a thirteen-episode first season. For instance, there is an episode where a sandman visits our heroes in their dreams and kills everyone who has ever sinned. This does not seem to have any relation to the plot whatsoever, and there is no connection to the Horsemen at all. It’s a shame that there are several of these episodes, because it undermines the strength of the story.
The main plot of the series is very promising indeed. The creators were inspired by Irving’s American Gothic story to make a new horror show which is much scarier than the original story. The Bible, faih and the devil have been added, and although these words are often seen as old-fashioned, they have been placed in a modern setting. The scenes are look great, the special effects are comparable to a Hollywood film and the plot is very fast-paced. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the characters, who could have been so much more. For instance, the only thing Ichabod seems to mind is that coffee costs five dollars, instead of noticing how much the world has changed in two centuries. He adapts too easily to the 21st century, which isn’t realistic at all. Of course, if the story’s main plot was about how a 19th-century person would view our world, it would be a different series entirely, but still the creators should have paid more attention to this. There is a couple of episodes where Ichabod’s past is shown, and these episodes are the most interesting ones as it shows us how closely linked the Horseman and Ichabod are. Abby is more promising; at first she refuses to believe in supernatural beings, but later on is as convinced of her importance as anyone else. Jenny, Abby’s sister, is the most realistic character. We are introduced to her when she’s in an asylum, because nobody believed her when she told the police about what she and her sister saw when they were girls. This aspect should have gained more attention, because this is one of the most important changes since the nineteenth century: we don’t believe in ghost stories anymore.
It’s not the actors’ fault that the characters aren’t very credible. All of them are well cast and are visibly enjoying their characters. Especially protagonists Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie are playing their parts well, and there’s a noticeable chemistry between them. The interaction with the other actors is good too. Still, it would have been interesting to see the supernatural creatures as actors, rather than computer-generated monsters, because it makes the divide between Good and Evil very clear. For instance, there is no corrupt person in the story, and all those fighting for the good cause are Good to their very cores. That’s why the season finale is the best episode yet, because there’s a surprising twist which doesn’t only influence Ichabod and Katrina, but also their notion of Good, Evil, and the importance of family and blood.
In conclusion, ‘Sleepy Hollow’ is a very modern adaptation of the nineteenth-century story by Washington Irving. The plot does not resemble the story much and much has been added, most of which is good thing. The series is easy to watch, the actors are good, it all looks great and the main plot becomes increasingly exiting. Still, the creators of the show have made some errors and sometimes the story seems to have skipped several pages, which makes it confusing from time to time. The characters could have been more interesting, and the evil demons should have seduced the heroes to sin more often. Still, the final episode shows that the second season will focus more on this, which will definitely make it more interesting.
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