Todd and the Book of Pure Evil

I got to start out by saying that I love the loser comments tossed in repeatedly by Eddie. Oh, but I am getting ahead of myself...

Based solely on the name of the show, I bought season 1 and 2 from Amazon, without having any clue what this was about. And once I received the DVDs, I went straight into a "Todd and the Book of Pure Evil" marathon. One episode just spurs on the next, and so on and so on. It is a bit difficult to just sit down and watch a single episode without craving more.

Why? Well, because each episode is unique in its own right. A new story, that fits nicely into an overall plot. And throughout each episode, you will see a familiar familiar from previous episodes here and there, if you pay close attention. But also, there are so many hidden references to other things to be found. This is really all about paying attention to the details, and as such, then each episode easily supports more than a single viewing.

Now, the story is about stoner-metalhead Todd Smith (played by Alex House), his friends Curtis Weaver (played by Bill Turnbull), Hannah B. Williams (played by Melanie Leishman) and Jenny Kolinsky (played by Maggie Castle) who all attend Crowley High where a book most vile and wicked, nay, a book of pure evil, lurks to wreck havoc and destruction by luring its appeal to the needy, the social misfits, the outcasts and those who strive for more than they have. The school councilor Atticus Murphy Jr. (played by Chris Leavins) oversees the mysterious happenings and wants to grasp the book of pure evil for his own Satanic needs. Stoner janitor Jimmy (played by Jason Mewes) is always around to lend a hand to the students of Crowley High.

It would be a too long and tedious task (and read) to go into detailing every single episode. But to put it shortly, then the episodes are fun, exciting and full of mayhem. There is something for just about everyone to be found here in this series.

So, why am I only rating this a 7 out of 10? Well, because the book manages to elude the gang in each single episode, and it started to become tedious towards the end. Sure, it was held afloat by variation and diversion, not to mention the comedy, acting and great effects. But essentially it started to become a play-and-repeat mockery of itself.

The characters in the series are really nice. They are well thought through and have a lot of personalities and depths, which really helps the show along nicely. My personal favorites are Atticus - Chris Leavins just nails it so well, and Hannah. And I should say that amongst my favorites were also Eddie (played by Norman Yeung) with his 'loser' comment in every sentence.

"Todd and the Book of Pure Evil" is fun and exciting. Well worth a watch if you enjoy a bizarre mix of comedy and horror. And, oh wait did I forget to mention it? Musical! Yeah, each season had a single episode done as a musical.

From my point of view since its beginning "Todd and the book of pure evil" has improved a lot! A bit like the first season of the new "Doctor Who" series 2005, which also started cheap with cheesy effects. Especially the second season looks good and although Season 1 may not look that great, I think that most episodes are written in a funny, not too conventional way. I liked almost every episode. Besides I'd say that there's not enough metal on TV and it's time we have a show with this type of music. If you look beyond technical flaws, you can have a great time! It's crazy, it's wild and the cast is pretty likable!

Now at the end of season 2 all narrative options seem open. The show could go so many ways. However I think it needs a fresh start. Why? The low technical quality of season 1 could make it hard to sell it to international TV-stations. If the show started with the quality of season 2, it should be a lot easier. That's why I think it would be wise to conceptualize a third season like the start of a whole new series. And although I like the standalone episodes concept, I think the whole setting has grown so much, it's about time to focus more on a more complex season arc (so it's not necessary to pack so much info in only 2 episodes, like happened at the end of season 2).

Unfortunately SPACE didn't renew the show, so we can only hope that this show will manage to survey on a different network!!! Let's hope for the best and I'm pretty sure that this is going to be epic!

"Todd" plays out like a Canadian "Buffy" with a little more risqué humor and lots more gore: a group of high school students team up to fight evil (invariably caused by the titular Book) and have to defend themselves and their fellow students against a monster-of-the-week type occurrence. Except that they don't very often succeed in keeping the body count to a minimum.

Being produced outside of the United States, "Todd" is a lot less MOR than most American series: the producers are unafraid to veer off into directions that will send some accidental viewers running for the hills, especially if said viewers have homophobic issues.

The four lead characters are well cast, but the supporting actors are simply a joy to watch. Chris Leavins (as guidance counselor Atticus Murphy) and Jason Mewes (as Jimmy the janitor) steal most every scene they're in, but even one-line characters get the talent they deserve.

The overall tone is very dry, which brings out the dark humor in even the most gruesome scenes. The ensemble's collective timing is some of the best comedic group work I've yet seen.

The only problem I can find with "Todd" is that the 20-minute episode length limits the show to sitcom-like story lines, with little attention spent on larger story arcs: things get out of hand, the gang saves the day (sort of), and things reset for next week's episode. Should it get picked up again, I don't really see "Todd and the Book of Pure Evil" evolving into something that could be quite as heart-wrenching (or as emotionally involving) as Joss Whedon's magnum opus.

But hey, if you're a fan of intelligent horror comedy, this show is for you. Here's hoping some guy in a suit will find enough financial incentive to renew "Todd" for a third season. Tell your friends.

I came across this show while channel surfing and found it on a cable channel I can not name.I was not sure what to to think because I had never heard of of before. The first episode I saw was "rock and Roll Zombies know best". I could not believe what I was watching. This show had me hooked! After that I hit the web and trekked down the entire first season. All I can say is that this show is brilliant! Some episode are slow, such as the giant baby one, but in total this is very entertaining, funny, and just damn great. I am ticked that there is no way for me to see the originals in all there uncensored glory! The FCC and whack job parents groups would all have heart attacks if some one tried to bring this show to America. I wish that American TV could put something like this out there. I was glad to see that there was a 2nd season approved, so I will be waiting to some how get to see them. I would say that this has great promise of some how becoming a feature film. I would go see it if they did that. If you want to be entertained watch this show. If you do not give this a chance then "You are as smart as a monkey, and sadly not one of the smart monkeys"

The other day, I turned to the Canadian science fiction channel, Space to watch the season premiere of Supernatural. In the slot preceding that, they had put another premiere - the new series Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, which was based on a short film of the same name that I had seen and found cute but underwhelming a few years earlier. I had no expectations whatsoever, but was soon giggling like a madman and enjoying myself in a way I hadn't done since Buffy was in its heyday. To be fair, Buffy got off to a bit of a slow start, not really making the most of its great cast and promising premise until season 2. Todd, however, hit the ground running. The title character (Alex House) is a seemingly irredeemable slacker/stoner who spends most of his free time daydreaming about heavy metal stardom and making it with the school hottie, Jenny Kolinsky (Maggie Castle). Jenny is trying to track down the Book of Pure Evil because she suspects it has something to do with her missing father. Todd finds it first and uses it to become the heavy metal guitarist he's always dreamed of being...engaging in a guitar duel that was so funny it brought tears to my eyes. Naturally, there are dire consequences. Todd's music mesmerizes the entire audience at the Battle of the Bands, endangering a good portion of the student body and the teaching staff. Ultimately, the book moves on to find other pawns - which Crowley High offers in abundance. While I initially thought the premise too thin to sustain an entire series, the idea of moving the book from person to person opens up a whole world of plot possibilities. The characters and supporting cast are terrific. I particularly enjoyed the 3 Fubar-style hoser/muses in the parking lot who provide fuzzy minded advice and inspiration to Todd. Chris Leavins infuses the school guidance counselor Atticus Murphy with swell geeky evil. This series has plenty of edge, in the form of foul language, political incorrectness, loud music and juvenile gross-outs, but what makes it special is the warped cast of characters, the high-octane imagination and the sharp writing. The Canadian viewing audience gets to enjoy something exclusive and fabulous while waiting for the rest of the world to recognize what a gem this is. Hopefully it builds the large and enthusiastic audience in its homeland before taking off to conquer the world. As the three muses observed after Todd's concert debut, "So it begins anew..."