The Devil You Know: A Constantine Podcast

This week on The Devil You Know Tony is joined by Karen Lindsay as co-host, as Joe is currently AWOL. He was last seen entering the Hallway of Infinity in Jasper's Home For The Weird And Spooky, and we haven't heard from him yet.

Too bad for him, because he missed a GREAT episode of "Constantine". Some of the tightest writing we've seen, some great performances, beautiful special effects, as well as the return of a fabulous character (Papa Midnite) and the introduction of ANOTHER fabulous character, Jim Corrigan (aka: The Spectre)! Read More...

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I write this from my car, where I sit waiting for Tony to get home so we can record our podcast. My electric seat warmers are the only thing keeping me alive. Well, that...and how much I liked this week's episode of Constantine.

A Feast of Friends, you were a treat. Damn near lifted entirely from the comic. Gaz, the hunger demon that was his downfall...a great ep from a great issue. To me, this is a huge move in the right direction. The show continues to get darker, all the while veering closer to the source material. It's that kind of honor to the books that's gonna keep fans of John Constantine happy and keep the show on track. Sure I was sad to not see Papa Midnite (he's in this story arc in the comic), but Doctor Mist?! They brought in Doctor Mist?! Sure, he's an obscure DC character I'm entirely unfamiliar with, but I still love the nod to the greater hero community. I mean, the only thing that could make this better was if Jim Corrigan were to appear in the next episode! Oh wait… Read More...

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Episode 3 of Constantine has come and gone, and lots of good things continue to happen with this show! Matt Ryan again proves why he is getting rave reviews as John Constantine.

Is this a perfect episode of Constantine? No. Is it the best one yet? You bet! With three episodes, the show has started to find a little bit of a groove, and it's showing signs of becoming the show we hope it will grow to be! It's getting a little darker, a little clearer, and a lot more fun. Read more...

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In defense of second episodes:

It seems to me that a LOT of media critics are under the impression that they should totally understand what a show is about by episode two. I understand, but politely disagree. Sure, we should get a sense of the show...themes, style, etc. But at two episodes in, the whole point should be (I think) to have to still guess, to have questions. Why? Because when done right, questions get you coming back.

I bring this up because I read a few reviews for Constantine basically saying "Well, it's a monster-of-the-week show." Is it? I have no idea. Why do I have no idea? BECAUSE WE'RE ON EPISODE TWO! At this point, I can barely guess what's going to come next. It seems clear that they're building an overarching mythology, which is great. Give the world a sense of history, a flavor, etc. But does seeing an electro-demon in episode one and a dirt/knock-knock demon in episode two mean that we've cracked the code of Constantine? Surely not. I'm not saying it won't be a monster-of-the-week show. All I'm saying is that I don't know. I don't want to know, not yet anyway. I want to explore this sandbox a little bit more. I want to see the hoodoo that Constantin do so well. And oh mama, do I wanna see more comic book characters crossing into the show. We've gotten John himself (of course), Chas, Ritchie Simpson and Zed so far, with Papa Midnight and Jim Corrigan on the way. Many a fan (Tony and I included) are clamoring for Zatana. And you know what? Swamp Thing. There. I said it. John was introduced in Swamp Thing. He's had a bunch of run-ins with the Jolly Green Giant. So yeah, I want to see Swampy...hell, even pre-Swampy Alec Holland would be welcome! Read More...

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Thoughts from Joe Zettelmaier, one of the hosts of The Devil You Know:

First episodes are a tricky thing. You have to hook your audience, and hook 'em fast. Give them a strong sense of their protagonist (I won't call them "hero") and convince them to invest in said protagonist. It gets even trickier with some genre-specific programming...sci-fi, horror, comic-based, etc. You often have to create a world with rules altogether different from what we know as reality. You have to give the audience some sense of these rules, all while getting them to follow the protagonists journey. And the exposition? Don't get me started on the exposition. So much history to convey, so many clues to lay out...Creating a solid first episode is like juggling cats. It's not impossible, but blood will likely be drawn.

Tony and I discussed the premiere episode of Constantine a lot. We both came to the same conclusion: a solid B grade. Was it perfect? No. There's some choppy storytelling, a very passive secondary lead who seems to be there only to ask questions, stuff like that. But we both agree there's a lot that works too. Matt Ryan has the potential to be a great Constantine. Hard to gauge this early on, but there's a great world-weariness to him. He gets the snark, he gets the rough edges, and he really shines in the moments where we see how willing he is to sacrifice others. That's John Constantine. He's not a great person. He's that charming friend that always leads you into the worst trouble. You kinda love him, but you also kinda wanna beat him stupid. Read More...

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Hi there! Joe Zettelmaier here, co-host of The Devil You Know: A Constantine Podcast. I'm thrilled to be back on the mic with my good pal Tony Caselli, especially with I show I'm legitimately excited by, and with the wonderful Golden Spiral Media.

So here's the thing. I'm a comic book fellow from way back in the day, tho' less so now. A Constantine TV show that was going to veer close to the comic was already on my "gotta watch" list. So when we were given the chance to host a podcast about it, Tony and I both went into research mode. I had never much read Hellblazer (the comic the show is based on), and as I'm sure many of you know, there's a LOT of Hellblazer to read. As I started combing through it all, I was struck by how rich, how fleshed out our boy John was, right from his first appearances. I was drawn in. Then, I started watching every trailer, every interview, every Constantine-related video I could find. That was when the show went from "I'll check this out" to "I GOTTA check this out." Matt Ryan carries himself w/ a swagger I think is worthy of the titular character. A haggard appearance, world-weary eyes, and the hint of an impish grin...that's John. And two of my faves from Lost (Harold Perrineau and Jeremy Davies) kept popping up as well. And Davies is the spitting image of tech-master Ritchie Simpson! Read more...

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