The only thing that could possibly be weirder than the concept behind the new Fox series "Brimstone" is the way the show's creators and executive producers talk about it.
To hear them talk, you'd think this was family-hour TV. It's not.Peter Horton ("thirtysomething") stars in "Brimstone" as Ezekiel Stone, a former New York City police detective who also happens to be dead. You see, Stone's wife was the victim of rape. And when the system failed to bring the rapist to justice, Stone took matters in his own hands and murdered the guy in cold blood.
A short time later, the policeman had the bad luck of being killed on duty. And, given that Stone was himself a murderer, he was sent to hell.
But, apparently, the underworld is not a particularly secure place. It seems that 113 "of the most vile souls ever condemned to hell" have broken out of the place and returned to earth to continue their evil ways. And they're armed with various supernatural powers.
Now, if you were Satan, what would you do? Well, the devil himself (John Glover) sends Stone to earth to hunt down these vile souls and return them to hell.
He does have some supernatural powers at his disposal, but they're a bit undefined. We do quickly discover that he can fall off a building without getting killed - which only makes sense, because he's already dead.
Anyway, to send these horrible villains back to hell, Zeke has to shoot out their eyes with the supernatural gun he's packing.
Each time Stone succeeds in recapturing one of these monsters, a corresponding Runic tattoo disappears from his body. If he gets all 113 bad guys, Stone will be released from hell and returned to mortality with a second chance to make good and escape eternal damnation.
The show is unremittingly dark and unpleasant - which led one critic to question how much the producers were influenced by the comic book character Spawn.
"I could say this is `Spawn' for adults," said co-executive producer and co-creator Cyrus Voris. "Stone's character is very relatable. My wife would have no interest in `Spawn,' but when I talked about this show, she (said), `Oh, that's really fascinating.' "
Voris added that they're trying to approach "Brimstone" on the level of "adult issues and concerns" - and he specifically mentioned a conversation he had with his wife about what he would do if she were raped. But he didn't leave it at that.
"I think the kids who like `Spawn' would like this show too because it's got cool stuff, and he's got tattoos and there's guys from hell running around," he said.
"We talk about the show as if it were something like `Alice in Wonderland' where kids could watch it for one reason and Ph.D.s in English can watch it for something else," added executive producer Michael Chernuchin.
At which point in the press conference, yours truly could not longer contain himself.
"So, you see this as a show for the entire family?" I asked.
Which brought not only laughter from other critics, but some consternation among the producers - who apparently weren't really listening all that closely to what they were saying.
"Yeah, the family from hell," said co-executive producer and co-creator Ethan Reiff.
The session ended on that note, leaving me to wonder under what circumstances I would possibly allow my children to watch "Brimstone." Or under what circumstances - other than the fact that I'm a TV critic - I could possibly be interested in watching another episode of the show after seeing the pilot.
And it didn't take long to reach a conclusion. I would never allow my children to watch "Brimstone," and I'd certainly be satisfied if I never had to watch it again.
The plot of the pilot episode, which airs on Ch. 13, Friday at 7 p.m. - a time slot that's entirely too early for the show - finds Stone chasing a former priest who was in hell because he had murdered a bunch of young boys back in the 19th century. Now he's at it again - the guy murders three more boys and is in the process of kidnapping another trio when Stone intervenes.
(The producers and Horton defended this particular plot line by pointing out that the ex-priest doesn't molest the boys - he simply murders them.)
The real question is - who in his right mind would allow his children to watch "Brimstone"? And who would find children in mortal jeopardy and demons having their eyes shot out entertaining?
With any luck, not much of anyone. "Brimstone" is a show that should be sent back to hell - permanently.
GOOD ANSWER: Although the pilot episode of "Brimstone" takes place in New York City, it turns out that all 113 devilish escapees won't be rottening up the Big Apple.
"Actually, a lot of them did move to L.A., and (Stone) is going to be moving to L.A.," Chernuchin said.
"And, yes, some of them did become television executives," Horton added.