The sleeper hit (yes, pun intended) Sleepy Hollow premiered on FOX this past September and has been the most exciting supernatural show to air this season. Sleepy Hollow's plot is a contemporary re-telling of the famed folk story The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow created by Washington Irving and published in 1820. This fresh take on this historical short story has a phenomenal multiracial cast starring Nikki Beharie, Tom Mison, Orlando Jones and John Cho in this vivid tale with an intriguing storyline and impeccable pacing. It has all of the elements of good, yummy episodic television.
There are way more than ten reasons why I love this show, but for the sake of brevity I’d rather give you the reader a platform to comment on what you believe I may have missed.
10. The Historical Context
I’m a history nerd. I’m actually fascinated by stories and factual events that have occurred hundreds of years before my time. This show illustrates several moments in history. There are moments when they depict times that we may have forgotten about and it’s just a pleasant refresher. Other times the show grants us a history lesson or two. I find myself always learning something new throughout each episode. For example, the past episode there was a historical inaccuracy brought up about Paul Revere the famed silversmith best known for the "Midnight Ride". A tour guide tells a group of students that Paul Revere was once a dentist, when in fact that was never true. Crane also corrects the misinformed guide that Revere never stated "The British are coming!" Revere actually said, "The regulars are coming!" This is just one of many examples of historical facts that appear throughout every episode. The audience receives a history lesson with their entertainment at the same time. It's everything a nerd could ask for.
9. The Arachaic Dialogue
I absolutely love it. There is something about that Old English speak that just gives me goosebumps! One particular example is when Ichabod asks Abbie if she was “betrothed” after it is revealed she had a former relationship with a colleague on the police force. My heart literally skipped a beat. There was another word Ichabod used called “coupled” in which case he was referring to his friendship with Abbie. It’s pretty obvious that I have a thing for Icky’s romantic terms here. Last Monday’s episode Icky politely insults using the term “rum beggar”. Someone needs to compose a glossary of Ichisms.
8. Social Media’s Nicknames
I love that social media will take a TV show and trend a nickname for a character, episode, or scene within moments via Twitter. As of right now, Sleepy Hollow fanatics are referred to as #Sleepyheads. Ichabod Crane has been given the nickname Icky by some, on the account that his 200 year turncoat and clothing is still a part of his daily wardrobe. The show is still new, so I’m certain more nicknames will emerge as the fan base increases and loyal support continues.
7. John Cho as Andy Brooks
I love the hotness that is John Cho. Yes, I totally was all about the Harold and Kumar movies and my sexy Sulu in Star Trek. However, now that Andy is a zombie he’s not so sexy these days. I also will openly admit that I always enjoy seeing Asian men in roles other than the stereotypical ones that are always so inaccurately depicted in TV and Film. Andy Brooks is a bit of an elusive character at this point. Brooks was Abbie's partner, and has now been possessed by a demonic force that has gives his neck the same elasticity as Meryl Streep's in Death Becomes Her. He's at Abbie's beck and call and I'm intrigued the range Cho has managed to show with this character within just a few episodes.
6. The X-Files Format
I’ve never watched Supernatural myself but many nerds have described this show as Supernatural meets The X-Files and I definitely agree with X-Files comparison. This bewitching concoction of fantasy, science fiction and horror blended into an episodic narrative filled with villains-of-the-week is enough to whet my appetite.
5. Tom Mison’s Accent
I know this is a moment of paltriness I’m sharing with each of you right now, but the hotness that is Tom Mison’s accent is what gives me life. I can listen to this man read the Yellow Pages and it would be music to my ears. His inquisitive responses to Abbie’s modern colloquialisms are truly at the heart of this show at times for me. It’s so adorable to watch.
4. Frank Irving's Cynical Expressions
Can someone give this man an Emmy Award for the best side-eye in a primetime TV series? Orlando Jones' portrayal of Captain Frank Irving as the ever so skeptical police captain of the Westchester County PD. If it hasn't been done already, someone needs to seriously gif and meme a Tumblr blog filled with Irving's cynicism. He tends to always second guess Abbie and Ichabod's motives and is not fully sold on Ichabod’s story. His incredulous expressions are epic! Slowly, he begins to realize from week to week that there is something bizarre really happening in his town and he still has an obligation and duty to protect despite what he may feel, is the absence of logic.
3. Abbie and Ichabod’s Chemistry
Great on-screen chemistry between actors is a difficult thing cultivate on episodic television. Only a handful of shows have done it (Moonlighting, X-Files, Scandal). These characters have a kindred spirit that illuminates magnificently throughout the story. They remind me of the kind of couple that could easily finish each other’s sentences. Currently their relationship is strictly platonic, and there are hints of flirtation here and there that piques my interest. However, even if the story continues without a romance between the two, their chemistry is so much hotter than most non-platonic couples on television currently.
2. The Diversity
The diversity on this show is phenomenal. This is what I would love the future of television to look like. I want to see faces that look like mine and people who I encounter on a day-to-day basis. I always found it incredibly ironic that TV shows set in major metropolitan areas like New York City lack diversity. However, in the small town of Sleepy Hollow a village in Mount Pleasant, NY there is a large representation of characters from Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and Caucasian. Finally, a town that actually looks like the town I live in, as opposed to a monolithic town division where no one of a different race ever dare to enter.
1. A Black Female Protagonist
I am so thrilled to see Nikki Beharie as Abbie Mills. I have been a fan of her work since I saw her in the indie hit Shame directed by Steve McQueen. Black women are the most underrepresented group in primetime television and it is exceptional that we are given the role as the lead protagonist to help carry a show. What I love about Abbie is that she epitomizes a sense of diversity among Black women that we rarely get to see. I blame reality TV and bad Tyler Perry films on the reason why women of color are polarized into very harsh stereotypes that are often quite one-dimensional. Abbie Mills is tough as nails, but also has a soft side. She’s funny, quirky, and the brains of the series. Her strategic and calculated tactics as a lieutenant is what helps places the bits and pieces of the puzzle to the mystery of the headless horseman and defeating him along with Crane. She embodies what we need to see more on television.
