PREACHER - Pilot - A TV Review

The premiere of AMC's 'Preacher' premiered last Sunday, and I'm going to try to review each episode within a couple of days of it airing. I'm still new to this, so work with me here.

SPOILER WARNING - I'll be discussing spoilers not only for the TV series but for the comic as well.

Well, that was...something.

I'm trying, REALLY trying to not compare Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's adaptation of the classic comic series to the comic itself...but it's hard. But because most of this first episode can only be described in one of the worst ways one can describe a pilot - which is to say 'boring' - I'm left with little choice but to compare the two. It's only been one episode, so while the story appears to have changed (and basically only covers maybe the first third of the first issue of the comic book) it's going to be hard to dissect how much it's different in the long haul.

Issue no. 1

Tonally, it's very different. Though it's based on a comic book, it feels a lot more comic booky than the actual source material. There are moments that are like schlocky sci-fi, some like a grim crime drama, some like a gonzo action movie, and some that are basically just slapstick humor. The comic book definitely had a humorous edge at time, but when it went serious, goddamn...shit got serious. We haven't seen enough of this series yet to see what kind of tone the show will stick with, or if they'll keep on changing things up.

The characterization of the main trio is fairly different, too. The backbone of the characters remain the same, but like Vincent Vega says, it's just a little different. While Jesse's goings-on in Annville firmly establish what life is like in the sleepy Texas town, it tweaks a few things. At first, you'd think the changes don't appear to make a huge bit of difference, but they do - they strike at the characterization of the protagonist. Jesse is basically introduced as a Jason Bourne-type figure, hiding out in a preacher's outfit, and barely hiding his secret identity. A kid comes to him for help for his mother (in an interesting twist, it turns out she is far from needing Jesse's help) and the kid's father has "heard all about" Jesse's past. It paints him as a fairly well-known quantity rather than the mysterious but troubled preacher that issue #1 presents.

Then there's Tulip O'Hare, Jesse's one-time paramour turned hitwoman isn't an skittish assassin, running from her first botched job. Like Jesse, she borders on superhuman abilities, like...well, also like Jason Bourne. Mixed with some MacGyver. When trying to take out some bad guys in a helicopter, she fashions a makeshift bazooka out of coffee cans and duct tape, entertaining a couple of kids she's endangered by keeping up her sunny disposition and peppy speech patterns. It's actually quite annoying, and easily the worst thing about the pilot. And having Tulip already reconnected with Jesse prior to the start of the series, the elements of destiny and happenstance in their reunion are removed from the story. Also...I just don't like Ruth Negga. Didn't like her on Agents of SHIELD, don't like her now.

L to R: Cassidy, Jesse, Tulip

Which brings us to Cassidy. Ah, Cassidy..well, they don't attempt to hide the fact that he's a vampire at all. While the comic took a couple of issues to spill that secret, the pilot drops that info on you right from the start. Not only is he a vampire, but there is apparently some kind of powerful mob chasing him down, so there's a subplot that wasn't present in the comics. He's also a little sillier and a lot more cartoony than the comics, where he had a dryer wit and a less generic psychopath look.

Plot-wise, the biggest departure from that first issue is that Genesis, the all-powerful half-angel/half-demon, once bonded with Jesse, doesn't immediately incinerate his entire flock. While this may not seem to be too big a deal, keep in mind that in the book, once the omnipotent entity merged with Jesse, 200 people died. And that is something Jesse carries with him throughout their journey - a potent mix of anger and guilt and enough blame to go around. Instead, the ending seems to promise that he's going to do something more pedestrian with his fledgling powers like fix all the bad shit that's going on in Annville.

Perhaps the brighest spot, and the one aspect of the pilot that really stuck closely to the source material is Sheriff Root's son, who will come to be known as Arseface. AF's story in the comic book is frequently a source of sometimes cruel and sometimes warmhearted humor, and it seems that is the tone they're using here.  The series could have made his makeup more gruesome or disgusting, but they go the route of 'less is more'. He still has his trademark mouth, but his jovial nature and kind acceptance during Jesse's visit shine through the prosthetics and makes him a very likeable character nearly immediately.

Comic vs. Prosthetics

With its first issue, "Preacher" clearly establishes an outline for the rest of the journey that the subsequent 75 issues will cover. It sets up Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy, Genesis, the trio's search for God, the entities for and against them, and creates an endgame the series works toward.

The first episode of the series barely sets much up at all. We're introduced to the characters but don't learn much about them, except that they all have ninja-like abilities. Genesis is not explained or explored, and we have no idea what kind of journey, or if there will even be a journey for our protagonist trio embark upon. So with that being said, I didn't much care for the pilot of 'Preacher'. I'll stick with it, at least through the first season, so I can keep writing these things. And who knows, maybe it'll round into form after a few episodes. Maybe it'll be the kind of show that benefits from binge-watching.

And then again, it's Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, so...maybe not.


PREACHER - PILOT - FINAL SCORE - 6/10