Preacher: Episode 1

Preacher, a show based on the comic of same name by Garth Ennis, recently began on AMC. The shows team of executive producers features Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg, and, obviously, Garth Ennis. If you have no idea what it is I'm talking about then please check out the trailer below.

Much like Robert Rodriguez's films Preacher is dark, funny, and incredibly gory. It is similar to Evil Dead in that sense as well, where there is a threat but it doesn't appear to be a real one and the gore and blood is usually used as a punchline. Despite this, there are aspects of this show that could get under people's skin. The use of Africa to describe a place, when Africa is a continent not a country, could upset some people. I'm sure some hardcore Christians would be offended by this show, as well, although I'm sure this is not the audience the show is going after.

The show, however, is much less offensive than the graphic novel, which I attempted to read and had to stop because of how awful it was. The term "faggot" is thrown around a lot and the female characters throughout were nothing more then an afterthought.

The female character in this show however, Tulip, played by Ruth Negga, looks fantastic and kudos for them including a person of color when in the comics Tulip was a blond haired blue eyed buxom woman. I'm interested to see Negga's take on Tulip and I already like her character, even though I've only see one episode thus far. The scene involving the kids in the storm cellar was well done and showed a kind of crazy cuteness that I could get used to from this character

Joseph Gilgun, who plays Cassidy, also appears to have an interesting take on the character. I liked Cassidy in the graphic novel, honestly he was more interesting then Jesse, played by Dominic Cooper, which is saying something and something this show may suffer from as well. Jesse will be the doldrum anchor while Cassidy and Tulip can both go wild in their scenes. I loved the introduction of Cassidy because not only did it show the power of the character but it also showed us what Cassidy really loves to do; drink, do drugs, and suck the blood out of people.

Arseface played by Ian Colletti looks awful and that's one thing that I don't think will translate well from the graphic novel to the show. Graphic novels allow for a suspension of disbelief that I don't think can be telegraphed in the exact same way to television and the prosthetic on his face looked incredibly fake, too boot. He was a pretty terrible character in the graphic novels and I wasn't pleased to see him here.

Ultimately, I'm interested to see where this show goes but it isn't necessarily one that I'm going to be watching week after week. It's a wild ride, for sure, but I don't think it'll give AMC the umph that Breaking Bad and Mad Men did, although I can see what they are trying to do with it, similar to what they did with The Walking Dead, which is also based on a graphic novel. Make something unique, gather a fan base, and cross your fingers praying that they keep watching it. It seems that a lot of critics enjoy the show, so we shall see where it continues and how it continue. But for me, I'm not set on it. What are your thoughts on Preacher?