1998’s BrimStone was a rather dark entry for Prime Time television, and sadly it was cut short by FOX after only one season.
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What Is It?
This series follows a man named Ezekiel Stone who was sent to Hell for the revenge killing of his wife’s rapist. But he is given a chance at redemption when the Devil enlists his service to track down 113 souls that escaped from the underworld and return them to Hell (he has a tattoo on his body for each soul that disappears once that one is sent back).
Aired: FOX, 1998-99, 1 Season Totaling 13 Episodes
Starring: Peter Horton, John Glover, Stacy Haiduk
Created By: Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris
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Why Was It Cancelled?
BrimStone was a rather dark entry on the FOX schedule in 1998 that not only focused on a bounty hunter for the Devil, but had him kill his marks and return them to Hell by shooting them through the eyes, a rather morbid means of dispatching the victims sure enough! And that was just the beginning of the bleak tone this show took on, though it did manage to weave some interesting tales into its soul-of-the-week format and John Glover did a Hell of a job (no apologies for the pun) chewing up the scenery as the Devil.
As the lead-in to Millennium in that show’s third season on Friday nights, BrimStone offered the first half of a rather grim two-hour block of television. And unfortunately the new series was yet another sacrificial genre entry that FOX threw to the TV Gods as they continued unsuccessfully to try and find something that would stick in the Friday 8 PM EST hour (following The Visitor, the final season of Sliders, Strange Luck, M.A.N.T.I.S., VR.5, and The Adventures of Brisco Country Jr.). It didn’t help that NBC had hit series Providence airing at the same hour, and since Brimstone failed to pull much of an audience, it ended up getting cancelled after half a season (Millennium was cancelled by the end of the season as well). Had this show arrived a few years later when the cable channels were ramping up their scripted programming, it might have had a longer life in that market. But it proved to be a poor fit on the 1990s broadcast network television schedule.
Should It Be Rebooted?
The show did develop a cult following (not that type of cult) and had multiple encore runs in syndication on the Sci Fi Channel and later (the now-defunct) Chiller, so it did manage to find an audience. A revival would be interesting, but seeing as it has been over twenty-five years since the show first aired, it would be hard to explain the aging of the ageless Devil. They could just have a new actor take over and claim the Evil One is taking a different form. And maybe he tracks down Ezekial–who has been in hiding–and sets him to work again with maybe a younger partner. Or they could go the complete reboot route, though it would be a shame to ignore the one season that was completed for this show because it was quite good. Still, seeing as this one has been mostly forgotten except by its most loyal fans, a reboot/revival seems unlikely. A continuation in comics at least would be nice.
Interestingly enough, The CW did a more light-hearted take on the concept in 2007 with Reaper, though that one only managed to last for only two low-rated seasons. But it would be interesting to watch a throw-down between John Glover’s and Ray Wise’s Devils!
Where Can You Watch It?
Sadly, this show has yet to receive a DVD or Blu-ray release, nor is it currently available on any of the major streaming services. You can search for episodes on YouTube, but the video quality may be iffy at best.
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I saw a couple of episodes while riding an “Lifecycle” for 45 min at the “Heath Club” before I discovered gyms. We were Yugoslav Immigrants. I had been raised with pure Capitalists that were solely interested he coming here to make $$$. I didn’t know growing up this meant God was illegal for them. We had zero spiritual talk, ever. I learned English in school. I bought a Dictionary (finally!) at 15 by which time I had to move out as violence and $$$ were neck/ neck at home. I read random pages. One day I saw YHWH – God’s earliest written name in Hebraic. Pronounced YAHWEH (eventually Anglicized into Joshua). I was watching this show the next day. The Horton character told his Italian-Roman Catholic Detective Partner something so they could part and he could go back to capturing evil escapee souls from hell . He casually said “You go your way, I’ll go YAHWEY”. (For God, Joshua). I had worked so dementedly obsessed with English, and tried to escape the evil at home 24/7. So this show resonated with me as “bad guys got in trouble” and “killing your wife’s rapist/murderer” will ultimately be seen as different in nature. Also, my parents were not bereft of a God greatness. It was a relief to escape a hell were 2 Narcissists were taking turns being God OR all hell had broken loose. It was much simpler to be in with other viewers contemplating God being God. I loved the show . I also came later to be a fan of it’s predecessor REAPER. This and “I sold my soul to the devil for “XYZ” but have changed my mind… Help! Go hand-in-hand and I usually am always entertained.
Where can I watch Brimstone Hulu isn’t showing it.
Sadly, it is currently not available for streaming nor has it been released on DVD or Blu-ray. You may be able to find episodes on YouTube, though.