Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Dead Like Me season 1 ::
by William the Bloody
George Lass is 18 and her life has no direction. She lives with her parents and she dropped out of college. She goes through life with the constant expression of "who cares" and "go away." That is, until it ended. Her first day at her new job, she grabs a hot dog for lunch from a street vendor. A strange man asks her her name and tells her not to be late. Moments later, George is struck down and killed by a stray toilet seat falling from orbit off the MIR space station. George Lass is now dead, but her life is just beginning. It seems the strange man who asked for her name was a grim reaper, and he touched her back quickly before her demise to release her soul. She was the last soul he had to take to fulfill his quota and move on to his big promotion (with great benefits package). And it also seems that the last soul a reaper takes before moving on, must also take his place. So George is now among the undead as a grim reaper. It is a job and destiny that she cannot avoid or weasel out of. Her life finally has direction.
Being a grim reaper is a lot like any other job. It's very bureaucratic, actually, with many subdivisions and heads of operations. George's division of death is "outside influence" which translates to: accidents, murders and suicides. Every morning she has to meet with her supervisor and coworkers for the day's assignments. Rube (her supervisor) hands out a post-it note or two to each reaper which contains a name (first and middle initials with last name), address and a time, the ETD (estimated time of death). It is the reaper's job to be at that place a short while before the ETD to be on the look out for the person or persons due to die and touch them quickly in order to free their souls before death (doing this before the accident usually ensures a peaceful, painless demise). With only first initials to work with, finding the right person can sometimes be tricky, as you don't know if it's a man or woman, young or old, or even the manner of death to watch out for.
Alas, George is new at this and comes loaded with questions, much to Rube's chagrin. She isn't even sure she can do this. Isn't killing people bad? What if she just doesn't take the soul? What if she can protect the person from the accident? She finds out the hard way that there are some forces you just are better off NOT to mess with.
The Good: This show has a great and original premise, which is deftly executed. George's boss, Rube (Mandy Patinkin), is a great character. He tries very hard to be patient and understanding, but there is only so much insubordination he can take. Her other undead coworkers are excellent, well rounded characters as well. There's Mason, the Englishman who dies in the 1960s by drilling a hole into his own head looking for the ultimate high, Betty, the 1920s beauty who plummeted to her demise leaping off a high cliff into the swimming hole, and Roxy a no nonsense meter maid who was strangled to death in the 1980s by her friend over the invention of the legwarmer. They each have their own unique personalities and I love them all. Roxy has by far the best line I have ever heard: "I'm going to say this as politely as possible, sir. I WILL fuck you up." George's constant search for answers to her myriad questions by simply not doing as she's told on the job is very realistic and also helps the audience to understand exactly what's going on. George gets a day job at a temp agency and I simply love her supervisor, Delores Herbig. She is so perky and upbeat it's hilarious. Anything this woman says cracks me up.
The Bad: They had a clip episode in the first season!! BOO!!! There are creatures called Gravelings who pretty much "cause" the freak accidents that kill people. I seriously could have done without this. It's poor CGI from beyond the grave!
Overall, I enjoyed this show very much. This is a Showtime channel original series, so there is cursing, but no nudity. This show is very intelligent and portrays the human existence in many different (not all flattering) lights. The characters are fabulous and the acting is even better. Each episode is masterfully directed. This is one terrific dark comedy for those not afraid to laugh at death in the face.
A
