Pilot Review: American Gods

American Gods (Starz)
Premiered April 30 at 9pm

I don’t even know where to start with this show other than to say that I found it absolutely insufferable. I had seen posters along 57th Street on my bike ride to work each day, and all I knew was that had a whole bunch of actors in it including Ian McShane and Kristin Chenoweth. After watching the first episode, I can’t say that I know much more than that, and I’m really not interested to find out. This pilot began with an immediate showcasing of the brutal violence made popular by the likes of “300” featuring excessive blood and totally unnecessary gore. After that unappealing start, we moved to more modern times, in which we saw someone in prison being cruelly told that his wife had died, saw him miss a flight home for a funeral, and later receive an even harsher bit of truth from a woman with an unfortunate connection to his late wife. He also had quite the turbulent trip with McShane’s Mr. Wednesday, who offered him a job that seems to have led to him being hung by another deity of some sort. I don’t get it, and I really don’t care, and it’s puzzling to me that there are so many big-name actors, like McShane, Chenoweth, Crispin Glover, Pablo Schreiber, Peter Stormare, Gillian Anderson, Cloris Leachman, and Jonathan Tucker, attached to it. This show bored me to death and turned me off just as much, and I really can’t understand why people like it so much. This is truly awful stuff.

How will it work as a series? I couldn’t even tell you. There are so many actors who haven’t yet appeared, and I have no clue how they’re going to fit in to the story. I’m sure we can expect a lot of sex and a lot of violence, and maybe even a shred of logic along the way.
How long will it last? I can’t comprehend how this show is getting such good reviews from what I’m seeing on sites like Metacritic. Not only that, the premiere numbers were very solid, and the show did okay in its second airing also. I couldn’t tell you why, but I’d expect a renewal soon from Starz.

Pilot grade: F-