AMC’s new show, Preacher, based on the long-running comic series written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Steve Dillon, has arrived in town and made quite an impression on me. I’m a huge fan of the graphic novels, and if this series can sustain the level of quality (or, hell, even half the quality) of this first episode, we are in for a rip-roaring good time!
Let’s break it down.
Episode 1: Pilot
Dominic Cooper stars as Jesse Custer, a man with a troubled past who is trying (and failing) to keep his late father’s church afloat in Annville, Texas, amidst a dwindling congregation and mounting bills. Joseph Gilgun is Cassidy, an Irish vampire who dropped into Annville from an airplane 30,000 feet above the ground. Ruth Negga is Tulip O’Hare, a young woman on the run, kicking ass and taking names as she is chased by some very bad men across the desert back to…you guessed it, Annville.
Jesse and Tulip have a bit of a history together and, when you add in a weird cosmic power that possesses holy men around the world (and makes them explode), a young parishoner of Jesse’s who has a malformed face in the shape of a certain rear orifice (fans of the comic already know why, and I’m sure this will be explained soon to the TV viewers), and a mysterious couple of gents who are on the trail of the cosmic power as it moves from exploded African priest to exploded Satanic priest, you get a wild bloody mix of crazy good fun that I hope runs for years and years.
Can you tell I liked it?
Directors Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogan (This Is The End, The Interview) are very respectful, almost reverential to the source material, using stilted angles and encouraging the actors to really have fun with these characters and emulate the unique style of Dillon’s original artwork. Dominic Cooper is excellent as Custer, who so wants to do the right thing, but has a bad boy streak in him a mile wide. The pain and anguish he can show with just one tiny glance gives you an insight into the very hurt heart of Jesse Custer.
Gilgun is obviously having a blast as Cassidy, who we first meet as a flight attendant serving a very rowdy group of men on what seems to be an exclusive flight–of vampire killers. He lets his Irish brogue fly in tongue-twistingly acerbic fashion, and he is a perfect partner to Cooper’s stoic Jesse.
Ruth Negga makes Tulip her own. She doesn’t look much like Tulip from the books, but she really makes up for it in attitude and snark. She is equally at home busting some big goon’s face as she is teaching young girls and boys how to make a DIY bazooka.
Goldberg and Rogan have hit this one out of the park, and I can’t wait until the next episode. See you then, kids!
