Brimstone

This show showed the greatest amount of promise. It was a more realistic form of X-files with a focus more on the supernatural than the alien. Why was it better? Moments of dark comedy was one reason. The devil pops up in a cafe with Stone and orders " a big piece of angelfood cake." I almost fell out of my seat, laughing. But, it wasn't all dark comedy... some episodes mirrored "Its a wonderful Life," such as the one where Stone was visited by the other angel, one of the non fallen variety. Horton and the rest of the cast put on a marvelous show. The way the two characters played off one another was excellent, allowing the devil to be evil, but at the same time, full of trickery. He is afterall, the Lord of Lies, right? It was just a well rounded show, full of surprises, like Ash's true alliance. It had romance, drama, dark comedy, action, and mystery. It was intelligent, which, of course, means it could not take the Fox line up. I place this show above X-files because it advanced, while it seems X-files is still about Mulder believing and nobody else buying it.

TV executives are a strange breed. They often commission a series and order a certain number of episodes from the producers. They will then proceed NOT to publicise or market said series, before either scheduling it in a prime-time slot opposite an established runner on a competing channel, or consigning it to a late-night "graveyard" slot to be screened when the world is sleeping. They will then hold up their hands in dismay and wonder why on earth their hoped-for viewing figures have failed to materialise, before abruptly cancelling the show half-way through its planned first season before it has even had a chance to build up an audience base. Such a fate almost befell the now massively popular and seemingly never-ending `X-Files', and alas DID befall the wonderful and innovative `Brimstone' which I believe would have become a huge hit if only it had been given a fair chance. This is particularly galling in view of the utter dross that DOES get renewed season after season – the singularly awful `Friends' and the massively overrated `Quantum Leap' springing immediately to mind here. The basic premise of `Brimstone' is as follows: In 1983, a New York cop, Zeke Stone, takes the law into his own hands and kills his wife's rapist. Soon afterwards he is killed in the line of duty. Because of this one `evil deed' in an otherwise good life, his soul is sent to Hell. Fifteen years later, the Devil returns him to Earth to hunt down `113 of the most vile creatures' – other damned souls who have broken out of Hell and have returned to Earth to sow more evil. The deal is that if Zeke can round up all 113 of the Devil's `wayward children', he gets a second chance at life on Earth as a normal mortal. Outwardly Zeke looks like a normal living man, and he can eat, drink, sleep and feel all human emotions. Yet he is – like the damned souls he is hunting – a `walking dead man' and cannot be hurt except by another damned soul. And the only way for Zeke to return a damned soul to Hell is to get up close and personal and take out their eyes (the `windows to the soul'). Clearly, by giving Zeke so many damned souls to hunt down (he basically rounds up one per episode), it seems that the original intention was for the show to run for 5 or 6 seasons. As it was, it managed to run for just half a season (a total of only 13 episodes) before the Men in Grey Suits at Fox pulled the plug. Unfortunately the final episode of `Brimstone' (which of course was never meant to be the final episode) was a massive anti-climax – Zeke didn't even manage to send that week's damned soul back Downstairs – and the viewer is left with a feeling of the story being left hanging in mid-air. Which unfortunately it was. Series cancelled prematurely just as an ongoing story sub-plot was getting established. The casting of Peter Horton as Zeke Stone and John Glover as The Devil was nothing short of inspired. Horton gives a superb performance as the shabby and down-at-heel detective Stone, with Glover's whimsical, humorous yet obviously `evil' Devil stealing every scene he's in. The interplay between the two leads is an absolute joy to watch, with Zeke simply wanting The Devil to leave him in peace to get on with the job of hunting down the wayward souls, and The Devil constantly popping up at inopportune moments to chide, tease and sometimes threaten the harrassed detective. Lori Petty also does a semi-regular turn as the manager of the run-down hotel that Zeke uses as his base. The show's overall look and feel is dark, gothic and not a little spooky, much of the camerawork being shadowy and brooding, giving the whole thing a very eery atmosphere indeed. The Devil's humour is likewise quite dark, and in keeping with the show, it never degenerates into silly comedy. One can only wonder about what other evil souls Stone would have had to round up in subsequent adventures, had the series been given a fair crack of the whip. As it was, we saw him round up and send back to Hell such adversaries as a Carthaginian general, a sexy but deadly 1920s plague carrier, a beautiful Medieval French temptress who sets her suitors on fire, a former SS concentration camp warder, an ancient Chinese poet who writes using the blood of virgins and – in a nice twist in Episode 3 – his wife's rapist, whom he has to hunt down and `kill' a second time. Originally Fox ordered 19 episodes for the first `Brimstone' season. And some time ago I found on the Web a short synopsis (written by the show's producers) of the six episodes that should have been made but weren't. If anybody reading this wants to know what would have happened in the rest of Season One, mail me and I'll happily send you the synopses. No doubt it's too much to hope for a relaunch of the show by another network. And a DVD or video release are probably just as unlikely. I fear that this great show will soon be forgotten by all but a small die-hard following. So if you see this show in syndication on a local TV channel, watch it while you still can. Don't miss out on this wonderful series.

Don't view with eyes thirsting for the macabre- it's more than that. Brimstone is about a guy who gets to come back from the dead, metaphorically speaking. Many of the psychological elements, take the flashbacks that torment Stone, tell us a story about a fair man who's not perfect, like any person, yet has to struggle with the frustration of the reality that is his afterlife. He's gone, but Stone won't let go. Brimstone is more of a dead man's odyssey of seeing the fruits he missed out on had he lived on, as well as his regrets often cruelly reinforced by the Devil. The chemistry between the two is phenomenal! They nearly had the makings of the `textbook classic duo', perfectly complementary, opposite polars, and ironically comedic together. Intelligent scripts with line after line of worthy quotables, the dark tone of the pictures dictating its Hellish imagery, and the cleverness of the creators to add love to what would otherwise be a typical Sci-Fi flick make this motion painting a true cult classic!

Which is, unfortunately, mostly what succeeds on TV these days. Shows such as Brimstone are just too intelligent, and go over the head of Average Joe TV Viewer (or Average Joe TV Executive). With all the proliferation and specialization of TV channels these days, maybe some day we can have an "Intelligent TV Channel" where shows like these can flourish and those too dim to "get it" can just remove it from their channel rotation.

Black humor is under-appreciated, and intelligent black humor is just beyond too many people, unfortunately. And Brimstone was chock full of it. Add to that a completely original premise, some decent action, good acting and the wonderful, delicious Lori Petty (::melt::) and Brimstone was a real winner. Too bad the suits didn't "get it".

Any TV producers out there reading this -- there's an idea for you. Create an "Intelligent TV Channel", and give us shows like this, or Max Headroom, Key West, Cupid, etc. You could even call it that, as a dig at the mindless drivel that pours off the screen most of the time.

The people who cancelled this show need shooting! This was one of the most darkest, well written, directed, acted, funny TV dramas of the 1990's.

You do not get a better fantasy-horror story line than this. Every character was perfectly cast from Ezekiel Stone to The Devil to the priest. Well at least 1 seasons worth of episodes was made. That has to count for something hey? I really wish it was still here.

Sorry folks i can't really stress how good this show was. You just have to watch it and catch the episodes wherever you can; on the net, on ebay, anywhere find it and watch it ASAP! Trust me this is a quality show; i would bet my life on it.

Brimstone (1998-1999) R.I.P.