A Storm is Brewing

We’re less than a week away from the premiere of what I hope will be the perfect filler between now and Game of Thrones.  This coming Sunday, American Gods premieres on Starz and I am very pumped for it.  To make sure you are adequately excited as well, here are five reasons you should eagerly await the premiere: 1. The source material is amazing. The series is based on Neil Gaman’s best selling book of the same name, and it is a great read.  Gods tells the story of a man named Shadow Moon who, upon being released from prison, encounters a mysterious man who offers him a job.  Shadow takes the job and is quickly brought into the middle of a budding war between Old Gods and New Gods.  The Old Gods are the actual gods from various myths and religions which immigrant believers brought to America (think Americanized Norse, Greek, Native American myths and legends).  The New Gods are the modern day gods of technology: computers, television, information, etc.  The upcoming war is for the worship of people, which provides them with the ability to exist.  While the war itself is a great story, the real meat of American Gods is how American it is.  The story takes the reader (and presumably the viewer) on a cross-country tour of America and dives into many of the historical roots of the different cultures represented in modern-day America.  The book really emphasizes how different people are, but also how a lot of us have more in common than we may perceive. 2. The Cast is Legit There are several new faces in key roles on American Gods, which will hopefully turn out well.  What you can count on, though, is some serious firepower in other key roles.  American Gods features Ian McShane (Deadwood), Gillian Anderson (X Files), Cloris Leachman (Young Frankenstein), Kristen Chenoweth (seemingly everything), and many more people you’ll say “what else have I seen them in?” when they come on screen.  The show also appears to have solid directorial support.  Episode 1 is directed by David Slade who directed 30 Days of Night, an episode of Breaking Bad, several episodes of Hannibal, and the highest rated Twilight movie (even he couldn’t save that series).  Gaiman is also involved with the production as well. 3. Early Critical Reviews are Very Good As of this writing American Gods has an 8.1 on IMDb, a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 86 on MetaCritic.  Those are some solid early ratings. 4. Neil Gaiman is Just Plain Awesome Whether you’ve read a Neil Gaiman book or not, you’re probably familiar with his work.  The first book that really caused me to take notice was his joint project with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens.  That got me hooked and I ran through several others, such as Neverwhere, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and, of course, American Gods.  What gives me a lot of hope for this show is how many of his other works have been adapted to tv and movies and done really well.  Stardust, Coraline, Neverwhere, and Sandman (which introduces the main character of the popular show Lucifer) have all been adapted to screen and have IMDb ratings of 7.3 or higher.  In addition to all of that, Gaiman has quite possibly the most pleasant voice in the world.  It’s hypnotic and makes his interviews and audio books amazing.  Enjoy this gem: https://youtu.be/ikAb-NYkseI 5. American Gods Helps Bridge the GoT Gap With eight episodes in its first season, American Gods will conclude on June 18.  That leaves only a four week gap until the return of Game of Thrones.  Once you get hooked into the first episode this Sunday then the next two months will fly by.  The real question is which will finish first, the NBA Playoffs or American Gods?  My money is on American Gods. American Gods premieres on Starz at 9:00 on April 30.