AXIS OF ‘EVIL’
New Englanders wage comic war against demonic forces
Imagine if CW's “Supernatural” were a comedy. OK, more of a comedy. IFC's “Stan Against Evil,” from Hopedale writer and producer Dana Gould (“Parks and Recreation,” “The Simpsons”), straddles gory horror and grossout humor in the story of a newly fired sheriff and his replacement fighting the forces of demonic evil in the tiny New England town of Willard's Mill, N.H. (IFC sneakily ran the pilot, “Dig Me Up Dig Me Down,” late Halloween night, but the series makes its official debut tonight with backto-back episodes starting at 10.) “Scrubs” star John C. McGinley, making something of a TV comeback, stars as Sheriff Stan Miller, who, in the opener, gets into a fist-fight with a mourner at the funeral of his beloved wife.
“Dad, stop it! Why can't we just have a nice funeral?” daughter Denise (Deborah Baker Jr.) cries out.
He's the only one who sees the grieving woman is actually a demon. For the moment. After the kerfuffle costs him his job, the new sheriff, Evie (Janet Varney, “You're the Worst”), a single mother from Boston, discovers the town's nasty secret.
Turns out that Salem had nothing on Willard's Mill. Salem only burned 20 witches at the stake — Willard's Mill burned 172 innocent souls, but the dead carry grudges.
(Fun fact: Salem didn't burn anybody. It hanged 19 and pressed one to death under heavy rocks. But don't let truth get in the way of a good backstory.)
Since 1698, every single constable has died in office. How did Stan survive 28 years of service?
The answer lies in his wife's private sewing room.
“I haven't been in here since that gay cop show was on,” he says to Evie. “What gay cop show?” “`Starsky & Hutch,'” he replies. His wife kept an arsenal of weapons and an ancient book to fight demonic evil.
(Note to show: Maybe it's not such a great idea when your most interesting character dies off-camera. Also: Was her name Buffy?)
With her protection ended, all heck is breaking loose.
Stan isn't worried. He'll just sit in his chair and watch some TV. Then the demons cut the signal. Monsters.
“All I want to do is nothing and I can't even do that,” he rants.
In the second episode, “Know Know Know Your Goat,” a creature in the form of a goat has a fondness for ripping off heads. A pair of giant wooden salad tongs (at least that's what they appear to be) are the only good weapons to stopping its rampage.
In “Let Your Love Groan,” the third episode, a succubus stalks the town singles, turning the lovelorn into stiffs right about the time Evie decides to try speed dating, Stan finds a woman who can tolerate him and Denise welcomes an adorable baby pig.
Two of these three people are going to be disappointed.
Stan, as you might infer, is something of a sexist, homophobic pig.
His favorite way of ending a relationship? Lying to a woman: “I know you're pregnant. I know it's not mine.”
Most of Stan's rants are unprintable or just tasteless. As the cranky demon slayer, McGinley (who serves as executive producer) isn't trying to make you forget his famous alter-ego Dr. Cox. His performance suggests that's your problem, not his.
Baker, who moonlights as the rude receptionist on CBS' “The Great Indoors,” makes a great foil as a sweet, seemingly dim daughter who's better at dispatching the undead than you might expect.
“Stan Against Evil” toys with horror cliches and assures you that whatever you fear, something worse — or funnier — is right around the corner.