After watching the pilot episode of Sleepy Hollow I have learned exactly nothing more than I saw in the ads. First off what’s right about it? Visually stunning. This show is very nice to watch. I also enjoy how serious it takes itself. But that is about it. The show goes in too many directions and not enough information. This really should have been a two-hour pilot. Allow us to learn more about the origin. Who is Ichabod Crane? Who is the Headless Horseman? If he really is death then show me. I get thirty seconds at best on the battle field. Then I am thrust into the modern era. It’s not enough to tell me I have to care; you have to show me why.

The show really takes its time with cinematography. Shots are put together with an artist like precision. Many times I felt as though I was stepping into a painting. Objects framed with deliberate meaning. A farm-house lit up in the middle of  the dark woods. Shows us this is a place of enlightenment a midst the darkness. And then from nowhere darkness springs on our unsuspecting cop duo. One dead one now has a mission.

This is the type of show that screams two-hour pilot. We need a movie to learn and care about these characters. I know no one wants to put money in but with the apparent ad dollars, you can’t escape the blitz, this is a flagship show. Why not give it its due. Give us twenty or thirty minutes in the revolutionary war. Give us some time to realize Ichabod Crane is no longer the school teacher but a true warrior and patriot. Allow us to see the man on the pale horse and how death follows in his wake. Give me a reason to root for crane and allow me to despise the horseman. Perhaps take the time to show me something of the town, don’t just open on a rainy night because it looks cool. A priest dies and I do not know why? Who was he and better yet why the hell do I care? Simply because I am supposed to is not enough. I will say I am a sucker for the comedy aspects. Nothing like being able to see our modern world through the eyes of a two hundred year old man.

What is Sleepy Hollow? Is it a cop drama with supernatural overtones, like Grimm? Is it a story book brought to modern life, like Once Upon a Time? Is it a religious thriller like Da Vinci Code? Is it a conspiracy thriller with historical notes like the National Treasure series? The answer? I don’t think the writers know. The shotgun blast of a pilot hit all these points but did not linger long enough to make a case for any one of them. I see how it could go in any and all directions but why not show me where we are going?

Were you looking for an analysis of the episode? Alright then. Ichabod Crane awakes in 2013 not realizing that more than 200 years have passed. He is inexplicably tied to death himself, who apparently was also a Red Coat. They arrive in the modern era. That is about it. Apparently there are witches and other creatures of the night, but we see nothing of substance on this front in the pilot episode. I am not even sure if I have enough information at this time to make any sort of guess of where we are headed. I simply do not have the background information to make even a wild guess. They have got to do better to keep me, and I want to be kept here.

I have a simple three episode rule. I will watch a show three times before making my final call. This helps to account for the unaccountable. My mood, was this what I wanted right now? Perhaps a bad call on the networks part, airing one hour opener instead of two. Or simply put were the stars just not aligned for it.  One down two to go. I really want this to work. It seems like it could be good. The history teacher in me wants this to work. The sci-fi fantasy adventure geek also wants it to work. This could be a solid show but I think if it tries to do too many things it could fail to do anything. So as of right now i am in for at least two more episodes.