Sleepy Hollow: The Complete First Season

Having seen and heard next to nothing about the first season of 'Sleepy Hollow' before this assignment, I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about what I was in for. That's because at the top of the Blu-ray packaging the marketers, in an attempt to impress buyers, use as a selling point that the series is "from the writers behind 'Star Trek' and 'Transformers'.

As someone who has yet to see an entry in the latter franchise and who despised 'Star Trek Into Darkness' because of how poorly written the script and story were, this had the opposite effect on me as I became filled more with dread than eagerness to proceed, but I did my best to go into the series with an open mind since it was successful enough over its 13 episodes to earn a second season, extended to 18 episodes, which returns to FOX on September 22.

The pilot opens as British citizen and Oxford University history professor Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) is killed in 1781 fighting on the side of the colonists. Before dying, he exacts revenge on his assailant by cutting off the head of the masked British soldier who took his life. As their bodies lay on the battlefield, their blood pooled together, linking the two men.

The creators not only used Washington Irving's famous tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" but also borrowed an idea from the author's other famous short story, "Rip Van Winkle," and Ichabod rises from his grave roughly 250 years later in present-day Sleepy Hollow, NY, at the same time nefarious forces have re-animated the Headless Horseman's body, who goes in search of his head and decapitates those who stand in his way.

With a murderer on the loose, the local police get involved, specifically Lt. Grace Abigail "Abbie" Mills (Nicole Beharie) because her partner and mentor Sheriff August Corbin (Clancy Brown) is one of the victims. The authorities aren't sure what to make of Ichabod, especially when he passes a polygraph test. With little else to go on, Abbie gives him opportunities to prove himself and earn her trust. Early on, the series seems like it might be a typical police procedural with a crime-solving pair featuring one fish-out-of-water member. But the series is so much more than a retelling of Irving's spooky short story, notably adapted previously by Walt Disney and Tim Burton.

FOX's 'Sleepy Hollow' slowly reveals itself to be a supernatural tale of Biblical proportions as a demon named Moloch intends to unleash the Apocalypse with the aid of the Four Horseman. The Headless Horseman is Death and he appears throughout the season in search of his head and to further Moloch's goal. Pestilence is a major presence in "John Doe" about an afflicted colony from Roanoke that had remained hidden from the rest of the world. War has a major presence in the season finale "Bad Blood," setting up a cliffhanger. Famine is only seen in shots with the other three and is not integral to any episode's story. Ichabod and Abbie believe a prophecy that they are the two Witnesses mentioned in the Book of Revelations who can stop the end of the world.

Under the series' overarching premise, the writers deliver many interesting ideas and stories throughout the season. Unfortunately, they too often go beyond credulity even in this fantastic world they created. Ichabod is almost like the Forrest Gump of the American colony, revealed to be part of the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere's ride. His wife, Katrina, is a witch stuck in purgatory because of the spell she cast on Ichabod, yet they communicate frequently so she can offer assistance. The Headless Horseman's identity is a great twist but then other connections are revealed that oddly make the Apocalypse too much of a personal matter.

Even when the writing goes off the rails, Mison delivers a level of charm as Ichabod that should be enough to placate some viewers even though the character is too accepting of the modern world and the way it works, almost as if the writers forget from what year the character comes. Kramer Morgenthau's atmospheric cinematography is outstanding throughout the season. The production design team also deserves kudos for their creation of sets from different centuries. Every dollar appears to be on the screen.

The biggest knock goes to the music supervisor, who makes picks that are so on the nose it's as if no thought went into the job. During "Blood Moon," just before a witch strikes, Sinatra's "Witchcraft" plays on radio. Then in "For the Triumph of Evil," where the antagonist is a dream spirit referred to as the Sandman, we hear The Chordettes' " Mr. Sandman."

All in all, what's done well in 'Sleepy Hollow' outweighs what isn't, so I'd suggest checking out the first season if the above intrigues you.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Sleepy Hollow: The Complete First Season' is a three-disc set of 50GB Region A Blu-rays. The blue case that holds the discs comes with a slipcover. Disc 1 presents trailers for Fox TV on DVD, 'Sons of Anarchy: Season Six', 'Oculus', and '24: Live Another Day'. The two other discs load directly to the menu.