Preacher

The point is, it works. From the get-go, we’re prompted to acclimate ourselves the notion that, like the man or woman upstairs, Preacher works in mysterious and unpredictable ways.

The episodes move so smoothly while creating so many unexpected events, it's hard to deny this show has that indefinable quality needed to boost a new series above its many, many competitors.

What you need to know going in is that the show is funny, sexy, offbeat-as-hell and, with Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad) as showrunner, divinely dark.

Alas, Banshee's geometrically progressing body count is bringing it to an end this weekend. The good news is I may have found a replacement. AMC's Preacher, a preposterous goulash of drunken vampires, exploding clergymen, and small town psychosexual kink, seems to share the same cheerily bedlamite DNA that made Banshee such a hallucinatory good time.

It brings something fresh, bold and thrilling to prime time.

Preacher is a black comedy, a horror funhouse, a mild meditation on belief and a wicked good time. There’s nothing left to say but: Amen.

It’s a mind-bendingly expansive show, packed into a tiny, 60-minute slot.

The story drags a bit, but at the early episodes' dizzying best, they feel like Wes Anderson was mistakenly given a Quentin Tarantino script and decided to film it anyway, standards of taste be damned.

A hodgepodge of different genres, this series is flat-out fun.

Jesse’s arrogance is tempered by a desire to do good, and there’s no better place for charity to begin than at home. But his misguided efforts ultimately set the stage for the first of many showdowns, a fact that, if he acknowledged it, might actually make him sympathize with his maker. All of these choices, when combined with the sumptuous visuals, make for a successful adaptation, though they will probably be criticized by longtime fans for making the material more palatable or too accessible.

It's thrilling to watch Jesse go from dour to empowered.

It'd be easy for Preacher to operate as a cut-and-dried adaptation; the comic is vibrant, with an incredibly specific tone and complicated backstory. But in reimagining it for television, AMC dug a little deeper, and came up with something more satisfying and complex.

Fans of bold, dark-themed (and darkly funny) TV series inspired by comic books will have a blast watching AMC’s Preacher, a welcome new entrant in the expanding genre of offbeat, gory, supernatural dramas.

It’s an unusual piece of work that has real promise, not least of all because it is so unusual.

Preacher’s going for gross and, with its tongue planted firmly in cheek, it doesn’t shy away from the wise-cracking, pulpy excitement of its genre.

It's too much to say that you can't go wrong with the fantastical or supernatural these days, but it's still a bet very much worth taking, and one that largely pays off here.

Scripture and subtle wit are sprinkled through the outrageous violence and a particularly lovely vocal accompanies a grotesquely violent massacre aboard an airplane. This one will delight a certain narrow audience.

It has a chance to crossbreed the better angels of character drama with devilish genre splatter. Within its oversize color panels there’s some hard-boiled philosophy about trying to be good in a world of sin. And there’s little on TV quite like its fallen world.

Preacher is a dark, funny and strange show, in the best way possible.

Preacher is flashy, funny, searching, and unpretentious.

Its appeal is a niche one, even though artistically and narratively it’s bold, unique, and vividly rendered. Its ever-expanding cast (including Jackie Earle Hayley, Lucy Griffiths, and W. Earl Brown) find ways to make their occasionally brief moments onscreen memorable, and there’s a pull to know more about this wacky world while also being repulsed by it. Like the force within Jesse, it’s hard to tell if we’re being led somewhere very good, or very bad, but it’s essential we find out.

There are few serious undertones, but lots of lively excitement, despite all the lingering questions, which will assumedly be answered. Have faith.

While Preacher sometimes just barely manages to keep its overall story together. Even so, seeing how it all comes out in the bloody wash for now seems like a risk and an adventure worth taking.

Like many shows these days, Preacher is not for everyone, nor is it trying to be. But it will almost certainly work for some viewers, and it seems to have a good idea of who those viewers are and what they want.

Preacher lets its mystery and mythology trickle out slowly over the four episodes provided for review, never being vague for vagueness' sake, or too obvious.

Preacher comes on aggressively, but the third and fourth episodes give Catlin and the writers the chance to explore some of bigger picture theological issues and hint at growing maturity, even if that maturity still comes with gruesome jokes and pop culture references galore. Even in its unsteadiest early moments, Preacher parlays its messiness into an anarchy that's thematically on-point.

Whether the Preacher series creative team will keep all its elements in balance or giddily drive off a cliff, is anybody's guess. But, judging from the early episodes, Preacher is a wild ride that will be worth hanging on for.

Those tuning in are likely to be won over by its bawdy humor and fascinated by the crisp, frenetic choreography during the premiere’s numerous fight scenes; literally every central character gets a chance to get his or her licks in. What remains to be seen is whether those who fall for Preacher’s premiere have the patience to stick with it after the pace slows, which it does quite noticeably by episode two.

Gutsy, giddily gonzo and gleefully gory, Preacher won't be for everyone, but its confident blending of kooky characters and otherworldly occurrences at least indicates that those on its weird wavelength are in for one hell of a ride.

Good setup pilot on Sunday that doesn’t quite carry over into subsequent episodes.

While the first four episodes of this series go a long way towards re-imagining its inspiration, I wish it had thought harder and found the courage to be even wilder and weirder.

Give the wobbly tone, straddling camp and extreme action, it's hard to tell where this mayhem is headed. [23 May-3 Jun 2016, p.15]

Too much of the show consists of simmering, of waiting for things to happen--kind of like Fear The Walking Dead, come to think of it. Except Preacher is prettier to look at (it’s very well art-directed), and it’s more dry and dusty.

Preacher struggles to depict the challenges of ministry, relying mainly on cliche--which is disappointing, given the show’s title and central idea. Much of the first four episodes are spent untangling a convoluted premise (Preacher is in no apparent hurry to explain its basic mythology or connect some major dots) and offers only the barest glimpse at some essential back­stories that would help viewers follow along.

Preacher's serialized dramatic structure reins in Rogen and Goldberg's impudent, free-associative instincts, though these sensibilities are just evident enough to undermine the momentum of the plot with smug, winking indifference. It's the worst of both worlds.