taste_is_sweet | Wash n' Wear; Rock n' Roll; Scratch n' Sniff; Gag n' Puke

Sleepy Hollow, Ladies and Gentlemen: a recent debut on the ~~pit of voles~~ Fox network with the winning premise that mixes The X-Files with Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and CSI. Ichabod Crane, instead of being a dick, is a warrior-scholar who was BFFs with George Washington, as well as resurrected over 200 years after he croaked while putting the 'Headless' in 'Headless Horseman'. Two requisitely beautiful heroes banter and angst a lot and together they solve crime.

But, there is one major aspect of it (leaving aside the general crazyness) that bugs the hell out of me, and I'm not the only one.

**He's trying to breathe, not getting a blow job.**

Ichabod never changes his clothes. The same clothes he was buried in.

**"The mildew and rot remind me of happier times."**

Now, the show's writers and producers are obviously aware of this. Entertainment Weekly even quotes the Executive Producer as saying that "It’s like his security blanket... He can never feel comfortable in our world. The minute he gets comfortable, the show is over." (Because jeans and a fresh shirt = instant acclimatization.)

On the costume-design blog Hello, Tailor, the blogger says:

The show needs to keep him in the 18th century costume for more than a couple of episodes, purely to remind the audience that he’s from the 18th century. It’s a visual cue.

Which makes me glad the SH producers didn't also make The Avengers.

**Who the hell are these guys?**

Do I buy that? Well, sort-of. I mean, yeah: anyone newly tuning-in will need a bigger clue that Ichabod pulled a ~~Captain America~~ Lazarus than a ponytail and sexy accent. But how many people will start watching the show without knowing what it's about? And sure, while I can buy both that Ichabod is used to wearing the same stuff for weeks on end as well as that he's clinging to the security of his outfit, this is an outfit that he was buried in. In an underground cave, which he then dug himself out of after 200 years. Now, I don't know about you, but I might forgo a bit of familiarity to not smell like a swamp.

It's gotten to the point where Ichabod's outfit is distracting attention from the plot, and I can only imagine how much Lieutenant Abby Mills wants to stand downwind of him. Maybe in a future episode the fungus doubtlessly growing behind his lapels will help repel a demon. Because that outfit's gotta be repelling everyone else.

( All screencaps from Screencapped.Net.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That does look neat! I'll tell my husband about it, thanks. :)

It's weird about Arrow--normally I completely agree with you on disliking shows all about the drama rather than the premise. I also tend to avoid 'women-oriented' shows because of that very thing, how it's all soap opera. But in Arrow, I actually like it almost as much as the vigilante parts. I think that for me it's just well-enough written that all the plot threads feel worth following.

Different strokes for different folks, eh? As the rentboy said to the copper...

I have to be really entertained to be able to ignore big plot outrages in writing like last night's FEMA thing.

However, if really entertained I will happily handwave almost anything shamelessly. :D

Oh dear, yes. That ridiculous FEMA thing. Apparently the biggest problem in Sterling City is that the cops are so incredibly incompetent that they can't figure out that maybe they should give an armed escort to the poor drivers of the trucks. Not to mention that how FEMA even found drivers after a week of driving = certain death is way beyond me. That enormous, gaping plot hole was a little hard to ignore. At least the show isn't normally like that.

FEMA is a federal agency so the place would have been swarming with the FBI and/or the military after the *first* hijacking.

Erm... I can actually offer lots of similar examples of gaping plot holes in Arrow but I'm going to resist because, as said before, you're enjoying it and I'm not.

The Professionals has a HUGE list of downright silly things -- my favourite is the van that goes through a wooden fence on level ground at about 15mph only to erupt in to flames *g* -- but I love it anyway.

when you're enjoying something enough to handwave it a good mate doesn't go out of their way to point out the show's problems. For instance, my not going on a rant about SHIELD's presentation of Malta when half my flist are in love with the show.

...Hopefully I did notice the other plot holes (etc.) you're kindly not mentioning. :) And I also appreciate your restraint.

That exploding van must've been hilarious. I've seen plenty of things like that too. :) Probably mostly on Arrow. :D

Wash n' Wear; Rock n' Roll; Scratch n' Sniff; Gag n' Puke

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