Brimstone....
Aug. 18th, 2003 11:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fajrdrakoI watched the pilot episode of Brimstone again yesterday.
My goodness I love that show. It's got a nice style - somewhere between Homicide: Life on the Streets and Buffy and Milton, all swirled together like ice cream.
Better, the Pilot has two of my favourite actors of all time in it: Peter Woodward and John Glover. Both those men really float my boat.
Does anyone else remember the Nick Mancuso TV show Matrix? I don't remember quite clearly enough to be sure of the details, but Brimstone is almost exactly the same premise, except in Matrix the protagonist didn't kill in revenge for the rape of his wife - he was a professional hit man. And, yeah, I just looked, according to IMDb, Carrie-Anne Moss was in it too. How cool: starting a career of being in shows called Matrix. I hadn't even known she was Canadian.
Matrix didn't have John Glover, but you can't have everything. It did have Nick Mancuso. Trade-off.
Another cool connection: I sort-of know the woman who wrote that review on Matrix there on IMDb. A friend of friends. Small world.
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Matrix!
Date: 2003-08-18 10:12 am (UTC)Wow, this is about the third reference to Matrix I've seen in a week. It's amazing, since I thought there were maybe a total of six of us who ever saw it, let alone heard of it.
The premise was the same as Brimstone in that it was both about dead guys being watched over to do things. While Zeke had been in hell for years and was brought back by the Devil to send souls back to Hell, Nick Mancuso's character was a hitman who, upon being killed, was put through a sort of audit: He had more than enough sins to send him to hell, but for various reasons he was being given a chance to work off his sins by fixing various problems. Problems which were mostly a result of his own work. He was looked over by various guest star "angels"--including, one week, Eartha Kitt in a nun's habit and on a Harley (my favorite image of the show).
I loved both shows, if for different reasons. Brimstone was definitely the grimmer of the two: Not only had Zeke spent years in hell already, but he was constantly being tormented by Satan and dealing with his love for his wife. I loved that it had a sense of humor, too, though, however black. (Remember the car?)
Matrix definitely had its serious aspects, but it seemed to be a much lighter, not-quite-goofier flavor, definitely.
The do share getting royally fucked over by their respective networks, though.
Re: Matrix!
Date: 2003-08-18 10:38 am (UTC)I thought so too - obviously we were both wrong! I've loved Nick Mancuso since Stingray, and I enjoyed the quirkiness of Matrix, though I didn't think the scrips were quite as tightly written. One of my coworkers was crazy over the show too, when it was on. We used to compare notes on it the day after.
And yeah, I remember the angels, though I don't remember Eartha Kitt - maybe I missed that episode? I can't believe it! I'm a huge fan of Eartha Kitt. Saw her live once, she was terrific. But I digress.
No, I don't remember the car, but then I've still only seen a few episodes of Brimstone. I'm sort of rationing them. Don't want to go through the tape too fast.
royally fucked over by their respective networks
That happens too often, and too often it happens to my favourite shows. (Respectful pause to mourn Firefly, gone but not forgotten.)
no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 01:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 05:35 pm (UTC)I watched the pilot episode of Brimstone again yesterday. My goodness I love that show. It's got a nice style - somewhere between Homicide: Life on the Streets and Buffy and Milton, all swirled together like ice cream.
Another fan of that show here! Good description! What a nearly perfect pilot... I was disappointed that they moved the show out of NYC and over to California (to what city? Do they ever bother to name it?) after the pilot. The show lost a lot of its gritty Gotham City qualities after that. Though I must admit it was fun seeing Stone blinking up into the sunlight, SO not enjoying it like the Manhattan mushroom he was, huddled into his coat. I suppose the demons who survived the pilot wanted a warmer climate after escaping into Manhattan. Which explains Sunnydale.
Now I must see this Matrix of which you speak.
Carrie-Anne Moss was also on Due South, as Ray V's girlfriend in "Juliette is Bleeding." That show pretty much cast Canadian 99.999% of the time.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 06:09 pm (UTC)Hey, there's a whole bunch of us! this is cool.
The show lost a lot of its gritty Gotham City qualities after that.
Pity. You know, I felt the same when X-Files moved from grey, damp Vancouver to sunny, bright California. It just wasn't the same.
Carrie-Anne Moss was also on Due South
My goodness - yes! I'd entirely forgotten about that. Thanks for reminding me.
Re: Matrix!
Date: 2003-08-19 11:22 am (UTC)I've loved Nick Mancuso since Stingray, and I enjoyed the quirkiness of Matrix, though I didn't think the scrips were quite as tightly written.
Stingray was just all over cool; there's a show I'd love to see on DVD, complete with the original music. They did an episode about Native American's protesting the construction of a building over a burial site that had this song that ran through it; I can still sing parts of it and I haven't watched it in years.
I think Matrix was just not as good a show, but it also wasn't given that much time to find its legs.
And yeah, I remember the angels, though I don't remember Eartha Kitt - maybe I missed that episode?
I think you must have. Trust me, it was not something easily forgotten--in a good way. *g*
Stingray and Matrix
Date: 2003-08-19 12:28 pm (UTC)Wouldn't that be great? I'm missing a few episodes, and the others are deteriorating sadly.
Yes, I'm sure I'd remember Eartha Kitt!
If "Matrix" came out on DVD I'd buy it, too.