Head and Shoulders above the Pilot… (no pun intended)
I didn’t like the lack of interest in technological advances, shown by Ichabod in the pilot, however, that concern was addressed and several others. I was laughing at Ichabod’s reaction to the cost of doughnuts, which Abbie had bought him for breakfast, but it was even funnier when he was outraged at the “ten-percent levy on baked goods!” Welcome to the 21st century brother. (See the attached trailer). I guess the pilot was all about introducing us to the characters, but now it has settled into a decent show, if rather far-fetched, but that’s all part of the fun.
The pilot saw Sheriff August Corbin (Clancy Brown) die at the hands of The Headless Horseman, and we also saw Deputy Andy Dunn (John Cho) die too, but that didn’t stop them coming back for round 2. We begin with Ichabod going stir-crazy in the house he’s having to stay, thanks to being under house-arrest, because he’s a material witness to a homicide. Ichabod is following all the instructions left on yellow post-it’s, which are stuck to the likes of light-switches, a coffee machine and hair-dryer. He has already tried to leave the house but a deputy is guarding the door.
*****
Ichabod has had a vision, where his dead, white-witch wife, Katrina Crane (Katia Winter), appears, and warns him of the Blood Moon, and that someone will come, “one of us,” she warns, that he needs to stop. Abbie arrives with breakfast, and after they leave for the station, Ichabod tells her of the warning. Abbie has also learned from the captain, that the two police-officers who witnessed The Headless Horseman, have recanted their statements, meaning she is the only one left to back up the story. It also looks as though the captain is working against Abbie.
Andy Dunn is now back in the game, and after some entertaining neck repairs, he now has to help the latest demon, a witch by the name of Serilda (Monique Ganderton), who was burned to death in Sleepy Hollow back-in-the-day. Andy is ordered, by what looks to be the Devil, to seek out all the descendents of the man who accused Serilda of witchcraft, and oversaw her grisly death. Serilda put a curse on the man, and in order for her to take human form again, she must kill-off his line, then perform some kind of ritual.
During the investigation, Ichabod and Abbie discover the sheriff’s office has been cleared, but Ichabod knows of a way into the building next door, where August’s notes have been stored, and involves punching through a wall, taking them through an old subterranean tunnel. It just so happens that inside the tunnel, are the remains of all the dead Sleepy Hollow witches, including those belonging to Serilda, but also a handy supply of ancient gunpowder.
It ends with us meeting Abbie’s sister, who gives us some “Sarah Connors,” à la Terminator 2, where she spits out her medication, and then does pull-ups using a metal bar she has removed from the bed. We also meet Abbie’s ex, who looks to be a bit jealous of Ichabod. And as if that’s not enough, the sheriff makes a reappearance as a helpful ghost, and might be Abbie’s new fairy-godfather.
Grade: B+
TV Review by Ed Blackadder, Lead Entertainment Writer
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