“There’s a subplot with Janeane Garafalo that I would love to restore in a longer version, with her character and with Kevin Smith. If you read the graphic novels, it’s the stuff about the science of the machine and the wave generator, and the ocean tides having an effect on human behavior — and more about the doomsday game that is being played, and the brother-and-sister type of relationship between Janeane Garafalo and Kevin Smith’s characters.”

What’s left? We’ll find out on November 9th with the rest of ya, we suppose.

“…I’d been shunned by TV’s voice in print — that which helped me navigate the crowded waters of prime time with its half-hour segmented grid for many a decade. With the crimson judgment of the mighty Jeer, TV Guide had cast me out from the Garden of TV-den, shaming that porky youth for daring to blight home screens nationwide by fulfilling his long-held whimsies of seeing himself on that box that’d meant so much to him. I was a broken man with little to live for.


Then, some two years later, despite TV Guide’s best efforts to see me off into that good night, TV came calling again, this time to direct the Reaper pilot. Here was a show so thoroughly in my wheelhouse, I had to double-check the front cover to make sure I hadn’t actually written it myself: Slacker Sam, on his 21st birthday, learns that his parents sold his soul to the Devil before he was even born and that he is now an indentured servant to Hell. It was one part Clerks, one part Dogma and one part Ghostbusters, with healthy dashes of Twin Peaks and X-Files mixed in. In many ways, it was the sum total of everything TV had taught me over the years: Make ’em laugh, make ’em love the characters and always… always keep ’em entertained.”

GN TV: So is [Heroes: Origins] completely self-contained or are you going to have any of the regular character in it?

Smith: No, self-contained. No characters from the series. The origin of Origins so to speak, is that last year Heroes went off the air for a month to catch up with their production schedule. It’s a big show, it’s tough to just churn it out because they’re essentially making a feature a week. So, what they wanted to do was kind of have a series to plug in for that moment when they need to go off the air for a mini-hiatus to catch up with their production schedule. So, Tim was like let’s do a show that kind of introduces new characters that might possibly be on in the next season. So it’ll still be Heroes but at the same time it won’t be Heroes “proper.” But it will take place in the Heroes universe. So the idea is that if I went in and was like “I want to use Hayden, Quinto and Ali Larter,” they’d be like “You’re high, dude. The whole reason we’re doing this spin-off is so that we can concentrate on Heroes without losing air time.” So no, the short answer is no. There won’t be any of the main characters in my show. However, it takes place, at least in my episode, and I hadn’t really even thought to ask because it really sounded like they need their cast. But what I’m doing is set firmly in their universe and it’s tied in by reference points, but I’m not going to be using that cast when they’re busy on the main show.

IGN TV: What kind of “hero” are you working on? Can you give me a hint without getting in trouble?

Smith: Girl.

IGN TV: Girl?

Smith: I’m doing a girl. That is the most I can say at this point.

IGN TV: So are you thinking that you’ll go back and do some more Reaper? I know you have two features in the works.

Smith: Yeah, hopefully. Based on the reception to the pilot it looks like the show might catch on. I hope so, for the girls’ sake. If that’s the case I would totally go back. I think right now they’re on episode six, so I think if I was going to do it I would get involved in the later half of the season. If it goes to 22. If we’re knee deep in Zach and Miri or Red State at that point, if we can get that done before a strike, I would hope to wait until the beginning of season 2 and do the first episode there. But that’s kind of up to them. I told them I’m happy to come back whenever.

So let’s summarize! A FEMALE hero from Kevin! Too cool. We can’t wait. And that’s the first we’ve seen a definite confirmation that he WILL go back to “Reaper” if the show continues into a full season. COOL! Of course, don’t miss the entire start-to-finish of this interview, courtesy of IGN. Part two ends with two full pages of “Red State” discussion, which we’ll leave for you to discover, as it’s good but nothing revealing that hasn’t already been reported here. We’ll summarize part 3 and let you know when it’s up.

So what about that hilarious stint on Letterman last night, Kevin’s first meeting with Dave? You saw it, right? NO?!?!? Sure you did. But in case you wanna see it again, here’s the complete seven minute rundown, courtesy of the mighty YouTube. Watch Kevin tell a very short version of the Bruce Willis story (you’ll see a longer one soon, trust us), pimp the book AND “Reaper”, talk about “A Bear’s Life”, and get some much-deserved cheers for “Clerks”. TV history. Here’s hoping Kevin can make some regular trips back to the show when he’s in town. Watch while ya can, as the ‘Tube has been known to pull down TV clips sometimes.

IGN TV: Do you think you’d ever write a straight memoir?

Smith: I don’t think so man. I think it’s much easier to do it incrementally in blog style. To look back I don’t know if I would be patient enough to do that. And I also figure like, who would f***ing want to hear it at this point? I spend so much time chronicling my life in the present, that it just feels like what is a look back going to do that I haven’t done at a Q&A, or in the blogs, or now in the blog-book. It just feels like, if I were to sit down and write memoirs twenty or thirty years down the road, I’d have to sit down and tell that Superman story yet again. I have no interest in ever telling that story again man. It’s on DVD, you can watch it. So I can’t see myself doing the memoir thing and I certainly couldn’t do a tell-all ’cause lord knows I spend most of my time telling all anyway in the present.

IGN TV: [Reaper] ranked near the top in a recent TV critics poll. It was number two, right under Pushing Daisies.

Smith: Under Pushing Daisies? Right on, man. Go figure. If you would have asked me in advance if this would be one of the highest rated pilots of the new season I would have said “Um, I doubt anyone will ever see this.” It seemed implausible that CW would pick it up because they have a show that’s pretty f***ing close, in Supernatural. Supernatural is the earnest version of Reaper, right down to a guy named Sam, with him and another dude running around hunting monsters, for lack of a better description. Reaper is the comedic version of that and I was always a little perplexed at why the greenlit the pilot to be made. I thought “They’re not going to pick it up. They’re going to take one look at it, be like Supernatural is far better looking.” You watch Supernatural and it looks like a film. It’s slick and polished and s*** like that, and Reaper just has this kind of warm do-it-yourself look to it. I do think it is our most visually accomplished effort, oddly enough. I think me and Dave [Klein, Smith’s director of photography] made a better looking TV show than we’ve ever made a movie. There’s just more kinetic energy in the pilot for some reason. The camera is always moving and stuff. So I just never thought that anyone would see it because I thought that the CW would see it and whether it was good or bad, they would just be like “What were we thinking? We already have this show. F*** off!” But they kind of went for it, thank god.

Don’t miss the entire interview, exclusively available at the awesome IGN entertainment portal. Part two is on the way tomorrow.

“Reaper”, which premieres at 9:00 PM tonight on the CW with the Kevin-directed pilot, is our favorite new show of the Fall TV season. The show stars Bret Harrison (of FOX’s fun but cancelled “The Loop”) in the titular role, as Sam, a kid whose parents have unfortunately sold his soul to the devil (Ray Wise, the most pitch-perfect casting of the year). When ‘ol satan comes to collect what’s due on Sam’s 21st birthday, he learns that he’ll pay the debt by collecting escaped souls and sending them back to hell.

Harrison’s a likeable lead, with his everyman charm allowing us to instantly empathize and cheer for his “Sam”. The show’s target demographic of young adults should identify easily with his laid back attitude (all the way down to his shyness with the ladies). However, the scene stealer (at least of this pilot episode) is our boy’s right-hand man “Sock”, played by Tyler Labine – (ABC’s one-season-wonder “Invasion”). Labine here not only shoots and scores with practically every line of every scene he appears in, but gives the word from the page an even bigger comedic punch with some pitch-perfect delivery. We hear Kevin encouraged on-set improvisation and had a big hand in the tone and delivery of quite a bit of the pilot, much to its benefit.

Rounding out the cast, Missy Peregrym (seen last season as reality-bender Candice on NBC’s “Heroes”) plays love interest Andi, though our pilot screener featured Nikki Reed in the same role. The most exciting casting for us on this one, though, has to be Ray Wise, who so memorably took on the persona of Leland Palmer on one of the best shows of all-time, “Twin Peaks”. To see Wise playing the devil with such playful menace and glee has us wanting to shake the hand of the casting agent who came up with this pairing. There couldn’t have been a better choice. While it’s obvious that the young cast will be the stars of the show, you can’t help but perk up when Wise shows up for a scene. It’s a real treat.

So that’s the casting…But what about Kevin’s direction? First off, Kevin brought longtime DP Dave Klein to shoot the thing to ease into the TV world. The result? Way cool. As we know, Kevin can shoot the heck out of actors doing zippy dialogue and knows how to pull the funny out in just the right way. The big surprise here amounts to the amount of camera movement and action that happens here, though. The pilot features a bunch of laugh-out-loud moments, and makes for a fun communal watching experience, but the centerpiece of the program are the action sequences. Not only are they well staged and directed, but the visual effects go beyond what you’d normally expect to see on a TV program. When Sam and Sock suit up to do battle, you can’t help but notice that “Reaper” resembles the classic “Ghostbusters” – Just updated for the slacker generation.

The pilot sets the stage for quite a few subplots, so we’re looking forward to seeing where this goes. While it would be simple for the program to fall into a “monster of the week” type of scenario, we’ve hoping to see it move further into a larger story arc, rewarding viewers for coming back week after week. Rumor has it that Kevin would love to come back to the program in some capacity as well, though a lot of that will depend on scheduling – The guy’s got two movies to prep for this year, as well as a directing gig on “Heroes: Origins”, after all.

With a perfect mix of humor, action, romance, and drama, “Reaper” is poised to be the first breakout hit of the new Fall TV season.

Can’t wait until tonight? Yahoo is presenting the show’s complete first act, streaming live via their website.

“Reaper” premieres TONIGHT on the CW at 9:00 PM.

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.

“…There is a different rhythm here. There are no long monologues. It’s more the zingy rhythm of call and response. There aren’t Veronica Mars style references to pop culture, but comments do defy expectations and the timing is impeccable. The physical slapstick is expertly performed as well.”

We’re less than a week away from the national premiere now!

“Reaper,” a dude comedy from two women who earned their chops as writers on “Law & Order: SVU,” could become one of the CW’s first big breakout hits. Kevin Smith’s influence can be felt all over the pilot, which showcases leading man Bret Harrison and hilarious sidekick Tyler Labine as a couple of unlikely heroes who work as bounty hunters for the devil. It’s an unlikely premise, but it’s got smart execution and humor to spare. But maybe the greatest thing about “Reaper” is the casting of Ray Wise as Satan himself; one look at that creepy smile, and I was sold.

First up, star Brett Harrison answers a Q&A with E! Online’s “Watch with Kristen” that reveals we may see Kevin back with the show in some capacity, which we truly hope can happen this year (though his upcoming film schedule will certainly make it tricky):

Kristen: Tyler Labine is a wack-job (in a fun way) of a best friend for you on the show. How’s he in real life?


Brett Harrison: Actually, right now he’s one of my best friends in real life. I swear, we’re constantly working with each other and coming up with new ways to do things and improvise. “Oh, now, you say this!” We’re not in that weird thing with actors that say, “Listen, man, you’re not the director of the show.” You know, like giving each other notes and stuff. We really are so open to it. We come up with different ways, and I think that’s why the pilot worked so well, because we had Kevin Smith, who is the coolest director to work with.


K: He’s awesome. Is he going to be back with you at all?


BH: You know, I think so. He definitely wants to. There’s schedules. There’s politics. Being the actor, I get to not know all that stuff. Put it this way: He definitely wants to come back, and he’s more behind the show than any celebrity director should be. He did a 7,000-seat panel for Comic-Con, and it was just supposed to be Kevin Smith, because he’s the big comic guy. It wasn’t supposed to be like, “Hey, I just shot the coolest show ever. Let’s put this out in front of 7,000 people.”

We’ve also got a new audio interview with the Reaper creators, Tara Butters and Michelle Fazekas, courtesty of BuddyTV. In the interview, they talk a bit about Kevin got attached to the pilot episode:

Kevin Smith directed the pilot, obviously kind of a big deal. How did that happen, and why’d you think of him in the first place?


Michele: Once the CW bought the script and decided that they were going to produce the pilot, you start making a list of directors. You make your wish list of, “Who do you want to direct here, who would be the most amazing person directing your pilot?” We’d have ridiculous names on the list, like, “Is Steven Spielberg available?” You make your wish list and then the more reasonable list. Kevin was on our wish list, somebody who we’d never thought we’d get, but we’ll send him the script, he’ll pass on it, and we’ll get somebody more realistic, and we never thought we’d hear anything about it. The next thing we hear is, “Kevin read the script, can you go over to his house?” And we’re like, “Yeah, we can do that.” We went to his house, and we thought we had to kind of sell ourselves to him. But he was like, “This is really funny, I want to do it.” It was simply that easy. He wanted to do it, he was interested in directing something that he hadn’t written. He just signed on, he just responded to the material, we were so lucky that happened.

You can of course check out the full text and interview at BuddyTV.