Never underestimate the power of goofy energy, which elevates this pilot a cut above most recent “nerd as hero” concepts. Learning that your parents sold your soul to the Devil makes for a bummer of a 21st birthday, but it’s a clever series set-up, albeit one that risks becoming “Buddy the Vampire Slayer” on an episodic basis. Still, “Reaper” enjoys terrific satanic support from Ray Wise as You Know Who and, if it can keep conjuring up a broth of humor and action, could become a new cult hit for CW, which would probably sell its corporate soul for one.

With a perfect mix of humor, action, romance, and drama, we’re picking “Reaper” as our favorite new show of the Fall TV season. It’s hitting the CW’s airwaves this Tuesday at 9 PM.

Alright, alright…Can’t wait until Tuesday? Yahoo is presenting the show’s complete first act, streaming live via their website. Just look for the little grid of white boxes in the lower right corner of the page’s splash graphic. You’ll see a preview of “Reaper” but then below will notice you can click an option to play the entire first act. You’ll be hooked.

HUGE thanks to Ming for his patience and assistance with our server, and to all of you for sticking with us through the construction. Next week, we’ll be debuting our new SuperSearch function that will give you even more precise access to our 10+ year news database. Live Archives continue to present a visual look at our new categorized news system. And of course, the front page and all of our special features should now be just a couple of seconds away. Scoops can now resume in the old scoops box. You can submit a scoop (or find more information on doing so) at the contact page.

We hope that you enjoy the speedier, spiffier News Askew. More surprises and enhancements are on the way.

Remember that Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash West book signing we were gonna have as the store’s swan-song on Monday, October 1st at 5pm? Well because I got so many people bitching about the signing being on a Monday night, we’ve changed the event to SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6th, starting at noon.


So clear your Saturday and cruise on down to the Westwood Stash to peep the place out one more time (or for the first time) before we shutter that bitch permanently.


Also, if you’re into Hold ‘Em, we’ll be hosting a poker tournament at the Stash right after the signing ends. If you’re interested in rolling some cards with me and Mewes and trying to take our money (which was probably once your money), email your inquiries to donkey@viewaskew.com. It ain’t cheap, so be prepared.

“Saturday night, if you’re in the Ithaca area, come hang out at my Cornell Q&A. The show starts at seven, and some tickets are still available right here, at the website. This’ll be the first time I’ve been back to Cornell since we shot the first “An Evening with Kevin Smith” there, so it should be a fun show.”


“…I head back to the house for a meeting with Liz, Dawn, and Joe (or is it Jeff?) about tomorrow’s Fox pitch. Liz has an idea for sitcom that I’d produce and direct the pilot for (kinda like what I did on “Reaper”). The meeting is really just an excuse to finally meet in person before we head into the belly of the beast together, tomorrow morning.”


“…We meet up with Liz, Dawn and Co. then head in to pitch Liz’s show. It winds up going very well, and Fox picks it up to go to the next stage (a script), with an eye toward shooting it pre-January if they dig the script.”

As always, visit the official blogs for the complete story, what we’ve got here just scratches the surface. Kevin recently asked for last-minute SModcast questions via the Myspace blog this week, so it’s smart to subscribe and keep a close eye on those spots.