Brimstone

Sometimes, a television show comes along that goes against the grain. It doesn't play to any requirements to be successful...it allows the public to judge for itself whether they like it or not. This is TV on the edge. This supernatural story ultimately comes down to the relationship between the two main characters, one a tortured soul, the other his tormentor.

Despite the cracking storyline from week to week, the underlying story is remarkably developed. The true beauty of the show is each episode can be seen as a 'stand alone' or as a wonderful slice of religious science fiction. However, the series from start to finish leaves you with the feeling of hope for its main character.

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!

Brimstone is (was) one of the best shows on TV. I only got a chance to catch the rerun of a few episodes in March. If FOX ever attempted to market this show, I missed it. I only found it by chance. It only took a few minutes to see that this show was different. OK, so maybe I never got through much of Milton, but I loved the universal themes of good and evil and how it's difficult sometimes to tell them apart. The creators of this series pick up on the basic premise of fallen angels and marry it to a slick detective series. The mix makes for some great moments, both funny and remorseful. This show should have been given more of a chance to build an audience before they pulled the plug.

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.

It's too bad this show didn't live long enough for people to discover it.

At first glance, it seems just like another stupid fantasy show. However it's not like others of its ilk. It was well written and entertaining. Not the typical mind-numbing fare which is TV today.

Enjoy the reruns. It's a show which should have another shot but I doubt it will get the chance. If it did, it's unlikely the studios wouldn't destroy it in the next incarnation.