A Television Series Review
BY KIMBERLY BENNETT
Editor-in-Chief
Last fall, Sleepy Hollow made its way to Fox and after three episodes, the show was renewed on Oct. 3, 2013 because the pilot, alone, appealed to a total of 10.1 million viewers. The first season premiere started on Sept. 16, 2013, and its finale ended last Jan. 20, 2014. Although the second season started Monday, Sept. 22, 2014, it is crucial to have a general picture of the first season in case there are people who have not seen the television series at all.
First of all, Sleepy Hollow is based off of Washington Irving’s famous short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” but with a modern twist. In case you aren’t familiar with the short story, Irving’s story takes place in 1790 in Tarry Town (historical Tarrytown, New York) in an isolated valley called “Sleepy Hollow” which is most famous for its haunting atmosphere. The most famous creation in Irving’s story is the Headless Horseman whose television counterpart plays a large role in Fox’s modern adaptation of Sleepy Hollow.
While Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) remains to be the gallant protagonist of both written and television works of art, the TV show does not take place in 1790, and there is far more to Ichabod Crane than what meets the eye. Fox brings “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to a whole new level by tying in not only the main characters of the short story, but also using the Book of Revelation as a basis for the plot of the TV show.
Yes, Ichabod Crane is still a man of the eighteenth century, but after two hundred years of rest, he is resurrected and uses his 18th century knowledge to help keep the Headless Horseman (who so happens to be entitled as one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—Death) at bay. As Ichabod adapts to the twenty-first century and realizes his role within the Apocalypse as one of the foretold Biblical witnesses (Reference Rev. 11:3), he has entitled his mission as to defeat the Headless Horseman once and for all.
The other witness, Lieutenant Abbie Mills (Nichole Baharie), a cop on the Sleepy Hollow PD, had a traumatic experience as a young girl when she and her sister, Jenny Mills (Lyndie Greenwood) witnessed the demon, Moloch, rise from the earth. Since then, Moloch has realized Abbie’s part in the Apocalypse so he uses the people in her life to try and destroy her. Meanwhile, Jenny is locked up in a mental ward because no one would believe her when she claimed she saw a demon try to kill her. For the longest time, Abbie tries to forget what had happened in the woods and denied the event ever happening; this denial is what drifted the sisters apart. When Abbie witnesses the Headless Horseman chopping off Sheriff Corbin’s (Clancy Brown) head, her memories of Moloch resurface, and she has to accept her role in the Apocalypse in order to stop the madness once and for all.
With Lieutenant Abbie Mills by Ichabod’s side, they encounter demons, witchcraft and crazy supernatural creatures and have to find ways to defeat them with the secrets, hidden weapons and knowledge our forefathers such as General George Washington and Paul Revere have left behind.
For example, Ichabod Crane informs Abbie that the Boston Tea Party was merely used as a diversion so that he could steal an important artifact as instructed by George Washington. According to Ichabod, Paul Revere did not warn American colonists about the red coats by shouting, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” Ichabod vividly points out to a museum worker that it would have been futile for Paul Revere to have warned the Americans about the British because at that time, during the Revolution, mostly all of the Americans were British by birth.
As dark as the television show can be, there is a lot of comedy built into the TV series to balance out the darker components. Ichabod’s one-liners, for instance, gives the show one of its best comedic features. Trying to adapt to the twenty-first century is hard for Ichabod Crane because he’s appalled by many modern practices (like the buying and selling of water as opposed to simply drinking it for free via tap) and stands out with his preferred 1790s clothing.
As an example for the show’s comedy, I have provided a collage of Sleepy Hollow’s best comedic moments in season one:
(Please ignore the horrible music; I did not make this video).If you love history, supernatural themes, Biblical history, romance, humor and action, then Sleepy Hollow is a show you need to watch. You can buy the first season on iTunes and Amazon as well as see it on Hulu plus.
Sleepy Hollow, brought to you by Fox, is created by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Orlando Jones, Katia Winter and Lindie Greenwood also star.
Season 1 Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFHvr-EhmUo
Sleepy Hollow airs Monday nights at 8pm on FOX.
