2017 must have filled Stephen King’s wallet up quite nicely.
Not only do we have the reboot of IT, The Mist and first edition of ‘The Dark Tower’ we’ve now got a TV show, with the outstanding Brendon Gleeson – quite frankly we would watch anything with him in. But, especially him in a Stephen King adaptation.
The story starts with a gory killing of 16 people – a mother and a child included in this; by a clown masked man driving a stolen Mercedes. Two cops arrive at the scene after the damage is done. One being Bill Hodges.
Fast forward 2 years, Bill is now retired, divorced, fatter and still not over what has happened in the unsolved case.
We meet a number of people: his widowed elderly neighbour who is interested in starting a relationship with him, 17-year-old Jerome who helps them both with tasks like lawn mowing and computers, a cop who is still on the case and we also briefly hear about the owner of the stolen car – who ended her life due to guilt.
Finally, we’re introduced to Brady who we first see in his cheap car, signing along to ‘Pet Cemetery’ – a nod to previous Stephen King’s work. He works in a electronic supplies shop and as an ice cream man.
We’re all introduced to his alcoholic mother, whom we’re shocked to discover, has an incestuous relationship with him. It’s obvious that it’s a mutual attraction.
They don’t hide that he’s the killer, and it soon becomes obvious that the next person he wants to play with is Bill; sending him a video email and a ball with an eerie smile on it – the same smile seen on his computer and the steering wheel of the Mercedes.
From the first chapter, we’ve been shown a real incite into the future plot. We know that Brady has unfinished business or just wants to brag about what he’s done. Bill is hoping to crack the case for the victims and to help his own personal mental decline. We know Brady has had a horrific upbringing – which we’re sure to see more of.
Bill’s character is overweight but is trying (by the end of episode one) to eat healthier. He also has trouble urinating, showing he has some kind of health problem there - hardly helped by his new habit of drinking. He’s sad around children which hints at something deeper and he clearly misses his old job.
And, so far, that’s all the hints we have.
Overall it was a fantastic pilot with a great cast. We felt ourselves wanting more by the end and our minds are already into spasm thinking about what’s to come.
So far, Mr. Mercedes has ticked all the boxes with us and even Mr. King himself as he expressed a good choice of casting in his, bold opinion. It’s staying true to the book whilst making some well thought out changes. Bring on the rest!
August 17th, 9am ET/PT. On Audience.com
