Sleepy Hollow centers around the resurrection of Ichabod Crane in modern day New York.
He's on a mission from George Washington to stop one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from regaining his skull and putting an end to mankind in the process.
In other words: the new Fox series, which kicked off tonight following the Bones Season 9 premiere, is totally and utterly insane. But it knows it's totally and utterly insane - and that's why it may become a surprise hit for the network.
Not every series can be Breaking Bad. Not every show aims to win an Emmy.
So, backed by solid performances by leads Nicole Beharie (as Lieutenant Abbie Mills) and Tom Mison (as Crane), Sleepy Hollow sets out to simply entertain in a ridiculous manner. It doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't.
Ichabod jokes about the abundance of Starbucks in town. He congratulates the African-American Abby for having been emancipated.
The series is clearly aware that its construct stretches the imagination and it therefore takes the viewer on a fun ride, one filled with a few impressive action sequences and a heavy mythology that involves witches, curses, magic bibles... and did we mention a horseman without a head?
Sleepy Hollow is probably worth a spot on your DVR, if only for enjoyable background viewing while doing other tasks. It doesn't ask you to think too much, it tosses in the occasional joke and it's backed by a pair of strong performances.
In a season of mostly disappointing new fare, that's all very high praise.
What did you think of the premiere? Grade it now:
