Fox’s “The Exorcist” Scores with the Scares

Frequently second episodes of new shows fail to live up to the promise of their pilots derailing momentum in much the same way that sophomore slumps compromise series that soared through successful freshman seasons Itamp8217s not all that surprising given the amount of time and money that go into the writing and producing of a pilot versus subsequent episodes amp8211 a circumstance that often leads to pilots setting expectations that canamp8217t possibly be lived up to in the episodes that follow But the second episode of The Exorcist didamp160the opposite amp8211 it was much more effective than its pilot and itamp160made clear that there is something much bigger at play than the story of a highpowered Chicago businesswoman turning to a priest for help when members of her family show signs of being tormented by a demon It was exponentially scarier and more interesting than the two sequels Exorcist II The Heretic and The Exorcist III and the prequel Exorcist The Beginning to the legendary movieIamp8217m not going to divulge details of the spinetingling sequence that made shockingly clear how different The Exorcist the Series is going to be from The Exorcist the Movie amp8211 but the story is made all the more vivid and engrossing emphasis on quotgrossquot because it has been established that the narratives of the movie and the series take place in the same fictional space Apparently Father Merrin Max von Sydow knew what he was talking about when he spoke of the immense power of evil amp8211 because the horrors witnessed during the epic struggle to save young Regan MacNeil Linda Blair from the demon that inhabited her in the movie arguably were dwarfed in the second episode of the series Is there only one demon at work in this story Has the dreaded Pazuzu returned Or to quote Dana Carveyamp8217s immortal Church Lady could it be amp8230 Satanamp160amp160After more than a decade of watching Sam and Dean go after everbigger bads on Supernaturalamp160I canamp8217t even begin to process a story of this kind without wondering what the Winchester brothers would do Time and again theyamp8217ve been up against bigger horrors than this amp160Inamp160this instance I also find myself thinking about Regan MacNeilamp8217s likely reaction to the escalating horrors in Chicago which will certainly become a media sensation as they continue to mount Would she somehow be drawn into itThere has been much giddy speculation among bloggers that Linda Blair might appear in the series as a guest star reprising the role that made her a household name But I feel the most interesting guest appearance would be by Ellen Burstyn as Reganamp8217s mother Chris who as a successful selfmade woman has much in common with businesswoman Angela Rance the mother of two endangered daughters played by Geena Davis in the series Davis is pictured at top with costar Alan Ruck Think about it Burstyn is enjoying a career resurgence with an Emmy winning performance in the USA limited series Political Animals and more recently Emmy nominated guest appearances on the CBS comedy Mom and the Netflix drama House of Cards Sheamp160lost in both categories She was robbed twice over amp160She would be phenomenal in a return however brief to one of her iconic roles from the 3970sWith the exception of certain vulgarities which would now be seen and heard on advertiser supported cable likely without a peep of protest the graphic horrors depicted in the first two episodes of The Exorcist the Series arenamp8217t very far removed from those seen in the movie amp160Isnamp8217t it interesting that the terrible things in the movie amp8211 which had patrons fleeing from theaters fainting becoming physically ill and renewing their commitment to Sunday worship amp8211 today have so littel comparative impact in filmed content even on kidsContrast and compare A friend and I managed to gain entry to a theater to see the movie we were underage at the timeamp160 He had to take a break midway through it and sit in the lobby I watched every minute did not sleep for two days and was haunted by the sights and sounds of it all for months to come amp160Iamp160recall teens and young adults at the time who saw The Exorcist wishing they could amp8220unseeamp8221 itamp160 I was one of them In fact I have never again watched the movie in its entirety for fear of reliving a youthful traumaamp160 So I am one of the least likely people to support the series given that it has revived interest in a franchise I would have preferred to forget But it is so well done and so perfect an illustration of how entertainment content and societyamp8217s response to it has changed during my lifetime that I canamp8217t resistamp160Pea soup has been synonymous with The Exorcist for more than 40 years because of a sequence in which Regan spewed green vomit at Father Karras Jason Miller as he was trying to help her see video above That was properly revolting at the time but a sequence involving vomit in the second episode of the series was even more disgusting amp8211 and it was topped off by the arrival of a creature I cannot describe without spoiling one of the most nightmarish things I have seen on television in a while including the grossest grossout moments on AMCamp8217s The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead and FXamp8217s American Horror StoryWhich brings up an interesting point I believe that if The Exorcistamp160the Series were on either of those networks especially FX critics everywhere would be tumbling over themselves in a collective frenzy to be among those heaping the most praise upon it But many critics donamp8217t like to do that with a broadcast series unless it absolutely cannot be helped for fear of seeming old and dusty They ought to be paying more attention to this show if only because it seems to be delivering something so many others donamp8217t amp8211 the promise of perpetual payoffs amp160If the devil is in the details someone involved with the wellconstructedamp160The Exorcist is likely sleeping with a light onThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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Fox’s “The Exorcist” Scores with the Scares

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Ed Martin

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

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Fox’s “The Exorcist” Scores with the Scares

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Ed Martin

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

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