So by far the scariest part about AMC’s new show Preacher, is that this television adaptation of the twenty year old comic series is, according to reviews, far less violent than the original story. For just a taste of what this show is offering in terms of explosions, and I do mean explosions of violence, check out the opening scene:
Preacher: Something is coming. War! Oh, yes. Right and wrong, the light and the darkness are at it again. But we are not afraid. No. No. No. No. We know that the deliverance will come. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! A prophet! This is written. This is promised. The Book of Revelation 19:11 says, "And there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True." Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! "He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the word of God!" Be... Quiet! I.I.am the prophet. I am the chosen one.
Again, this is the apparently toned-down and family-friendly version of Preacher.The show takes place in a West Texas town called Annville, portrayed as every bit the arid, backwards hell-hole that West Texas is always portrayed as.
Though, there is a funny scene where the local sports team, the “Red Savages” (see what they did there? Red Savages? Redskins?) is forced to change their name to something more politically correct:
Reporter: In local news, goodbye, Chief Red Savage, hello, Pedro the Prairie Dog! Unveiling is tonight, so come on down to City Hall and give Annville's adorable, politically correct new mascot big ol' West Texas hell..
Protestor: You got punched!
Mayor: The board voted! The prairie dog is the new mascot, all right?
Protestor: Miles got punched by a girl!
Mayor: You punched me!
There is also a scene where the local tough guy, who is also a wife beater and child abuser, shows up at a bar dressed as a Confederate officer, along with his fellow Civil War reenactors. Just to put some more meat in the already meaty, stereotypical redneck sandwich that the show is clearly trying to serve up as a symbol of Texas.
The moral of the story with Preacher, and one must be careful attaching the word “moral” to a show like this, appears to be that Preacher Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) is beset upon by supernatural forces urging him to fight against evil. An evil that is never far from his mind.
Considering he’s questioning his faith and is, shall we say, morally challenged, the other evil in the Preacher’s life is represented by an Irish hooligan named Cassidy, and a former love interest named Tulip.
That internal struggle between good and evil is the central theme of the show. But mostly it’s just people spontaneously combusting, stereotypical redneck jokes, and Christian mocking.
Which is great because we didn’t already have enough shows like that, at all.
