Sleepy Hollow TV series Pilot episode review

Sleepy hollow TV series is a modern day adaptation of short story Legend of Sleepy Hollow written by Washington Irving. The first adaption was a movie starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci released in 1999.

The story begins in Hudson Valley in 1781. Ichabod Crane was tasked by George Washington to find and kill a mysterious mercenary recognizable by a bow shape mark on his hand. They crossed path and Ichabod was able to kill the mercenary but was fatally wounded in the process.

He woke in cave to a modern day Sleepy Hollow. Little did he know that the man that he killed woke up with him now roaming Sleepy hollow as headless horseman. He  has killed three people including a priest and the town's sheriff.

Lt. Abbie Mills  just saw his partner and town sheriff, August Corbin, got his head chopped off. Ichabod Crane just got arrested and was being detained by the Police. Mills wanted to question Crane for possible leads to his partners killer. Reluctantly they visited the cave where Ichabod woke up in. He found a bible buried with him. In the Bible are clues to the Headless horseman's identity.Ichabod learned that he is hunting down one of four horsemen written in the bible. 

Through his dream, Ichabod's wife Katrina appeared and warned him about the headless horseman. He will bring forth the apocalypse if he retrieves his head. She admitted that she is a witch and part of a coven. She cast a spell at Ichabod to keep him safe. She also cast a spell at the headless horseman's body and threw in a middle of a lake. Ichabod's and horseman's bloodline merged during their last encounter. When the horseman was awaken, Ichabod was awaken with him. Katrina told him that he is the first witness and he must find the second witness to save the world.

Ichabod went to the church to look for the head hidden by Catherine and her coven. He and Abbie found the head but the horseman was there as well. A gun fight started between Abbie and the Horseman. Her Andy Dunn Arrived but instead of helping her, she knocked her down and was about to handcuff her to the car. Abbie fought back and was able to handcuff Andy instead. 2 other cops arrived and saw the horseman. 

The horseman was shooting the police officers but stop when the sun was about to rise. Katrina also said that the only weakness of the horseman is sunlight. Back in the police station, Abbie and Ichabod was about to interrogate Andy but a mysterious beast appeared before they got the chance to talk to her. 

Before the end of the episode, they saw an image in the mirror of a creature walking towards the woods. The beast stop and looked at the two. The mirror broke shortly after and the episode ended. 

My thoughts about the new show? At first I was skeptical when I heard of the news about a TV adaptation of Sleepy Hollow. When I heard that it is a modern day Sleepy Hollow I got more skeptical. And when I was searching google for images of the Pilot episode, I saw the headless horseman carrying a semi automatic rifle and it got me really thinking if it is worth to watch. I am glad I did. It is something different. They made alterations but I think it made the pilot episode great. 

One of the issues about adaptation is main characters being played by someone different. Ichabod Crane was played Johnny Depp in 1999 Movie adaptation. Tom Mison is now playing the role of Crane and we can't stop but compare the two. They are totally different but as a whole I think Mison's portrayal is great. However he reminds me of Colin Cunningham , the actor playing John Pope in the TV series Falling skies. 

Casting is a big issue. In the TV series adaptation of the Movie Zombieland, the actor playing Tallahassee, did not live up to the role. Sorry some may disagree with me but it is just my opinion. I think that is one of the reasons why loyal fans of Zombieland did not appreciate the Pilot episode. It is not the same case with Sleepy hollow. Mison is doing a great job as Crane based on the first episode. 

There are new plots added to TV series. Witches Coven, The headless horseman being one of four horseman (Death) and Demons. I think those are the reasons why I found the pilot episode interesting. I just can't wait for the story to unfold. So despite the show being a modern day version of sleepy hollow I found the pilot well written and directed. The pilot was written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Fringe and Star Trek Into Darkness) and directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld films)

I'll give it a try for now. I hope this show last.  What are your thoughts?