Have you ever discovered a TV show, binged it, fell in love with it and then found out that it was going to be cancelled? That is the unfortunate situation for me with NBC police procedural fantasy series ‘Grimm’.
This week the network announced that Season 6, which premieres at the start of 2017, will be the show’s last prompting heart break and sad emoticons from the show’s devoted fan base (you can read more here). Though ‘Grimm’ has been on the air since 2011 I only started watching it this year and greedily consumed all five seasons in a couple months (I do have a life outside of TV). I was looking forward to a few more seasons but c’est la vie.
In tribute to this wonderful show I will be counting down some of the things that make it so great and hopefully it will prompt some ‘Grimm’ virgins to check it out. With a mild spoiler warning here’s my Top 6:
#1 Twisted Fairy Tales
‘Grimm’ features the adventures of Nicholas “Nick” Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) a homicide investigator of the Portland police department who discovers that he is a “Grimm” a descendant of a line of guardians who keep the balance between the human world and wesen (the German word for “creature” and pronounced “vesen”), a varied race of mythological creatures that appear human on the surface. He investigates cases and battles Wesen with the aid of his partner Hank Griffin (Russell Hornsby) and wesen friend Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell).
The show blends the popular police procedural format with horror and fantasy to engaging effect. The audience joins Nick and friends in trying to determine what type of wesen committed the murder, how they did it and how to defeat them. Kind of like if “Law and Order”, “Sccoby-Doo” and a JRPG had a baby. Many stories also feature dark reimaginings of Grimms’ Fairy Tales as well as other myths and stories. From Red Riding Hood with werewolf-like “Blutbad” to Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears with man-bears, ‘Grimm’ has got you covered.
#2 Motley Crew
A show is only as good as its characters and ‘Grimm’ has some pretty cool cats. Nick is strong and determined, Hank is cool and sauve and Monroe, well he is so fantastic that he got a whole section on this list just for himself (see below). Nick’s veterinarian girlfriend Juliette starts off a bit bleh but gets a whole lot more interesting with time. We also have the goofy Sgt Wu and the lovable wesen spice shop owner Rosalee to round off the good guys.
On the dark side we have the wonderfully scheming Adalind, a witch-like wesen called a Hexenbiest and the duplicitous Capt Renard, who is a wesen called a Zauberbiest. A really fun and interesting cast of characters with crazy chemistry.
#3 Suh-weet Action
The action in ‘Grimm’ is bloody brilliant, and when I say bloody I mean literal blood. Taking down evil wesen ain’t easy and our heroes use special weapons, wesen claws or bare hands and feet to defeat them. You definitely get your money’s worth with these showdowns.
The show pushes the envelope pretty far for a network show with all the decapitations and creative wesen murders and what not. If you are a fan of gore and generally unsettling stuff ‘Grimm’ is the show for you.
#4 Creature Features
There are quite the variety of creatures in this show as wesen come in many shapes and sizes. As I said before they look human until they “woge” (pronounced voge) under stress or at will. Watching the show it is always interesting to discover a new one and their abilities, or see one reappear. It’s like Pokemon but with a lot more murdering.
A big shout out to the special effects team who bring these creatures to life with a blend of practical and CGI work. Good stuff folks. My personal favorites include the dragon-like Dämonfeuer and the disgusting blob-like Hasenfussige Schnecke (pictured above). Some of these wesen are quite the tongue twisters.
#5 Our Man Munroe
Nick may be the star and yes he kicks a lot of wesen posterior but Monroe is the best character on the show. This clock maker is funny, quippy and just super cool. Most of the show’s humour comes from the zingers he rattles off with ease. He is also extremely loyal to his friends and when there’s trouble he can woge into his wolf form and tear fools apart. Monroe is simply the best. ‘Nuff said.
#6 Epic Mythology
The thing I love most about ‘Grimm’ has to be the extremely rich and deep mythology. I spoke before about the variety of wesen but you also have individual wesen histories, secret societies and the Grimm legends, and each of these at times intersect with real life history and people. For both casual and super fans there is a bounty of mythology to explore and I enjoy it all immensely.
The concept of the show could really have gone on up to Season 10 or beyond but I am glad they have at least one more season to wrap things up and we can say a proper farewell to the characters and this engaging, unique series. The final season of ‘Grimm’ premieres January 6, 2017.
So are you a fan of ‘Grimm’? In the comments describe how you feel about the cancellation in three words.
For more horror/fantasy on TV you can check out my look at ‘iZombie’ here and Netflix mega hit ‘Stranger Things’ here. And for more bingeworthy TV lists you can check back redmangoreviews for new posts Monday to Saturday and follow me on Twitter @suprememango012 for updates and other cool stuff.
Julien is outie like a navel. l8rs
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