| Todd and the Book of Pure Evil | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy horror Supernatural drama |
| Created by | Craig David Wallace Charles Picco Anthony Leo |
| Directed by | Craig David Wallace David Winning James Dunnison James Genn |
| Starring | Alex House Maggie Castle Billy Turnbull Melanie Leishman Chris Leavins Jason Mewes Julian Richings Norman Yeung Steve Arbuckle Dan Petronijevic |
| Composer(s) | Shawn Pierce |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Craig David Wallace Anthony Leo Andrew Rosen Jamie Brown Sarah Timmins |
| Location(s) | Silver Heights Collegiate |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Aircraft Pictures Corvid Pictures Frantic Films |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Space Channel CTV Fearnet |
| Picture format | Letterboxed 480i (SDTV) 16:9 1080p (HDTV) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Todd and the Book of Pure Evil is a Canadian comedy/horror television series that follows a group of high school students who confront the effects of a demonic book. The series premiered on Space Channel on September 29, 2010 with two back-to-back episodes. The show was created for television by Craig David Wallace, Charles Picco, and Anthony Leo.
Todd and the Book of Pure Evil is based on the short film of the same title[1] written by Craig David Wallace and Max Reid, and directed by Wallace. The short film was produced through the Canadian Film Centre’s Short Dramatic Film Programme, and kicked off an international festival tour by premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2003. The series was developed for television through the National Screen Institute's Totally TV Program. A pilot for Todd and the Book of Pure Evil was shot for Space in 2009 in Winnipeg, Canada. Like the low-budget short film, the series uses supernatural elements, profanity, graphic violence and non-sequitur lines. Sci-Fi veteran David Winning directed four episodes.
Each episode was produced with two variations of the audio track: a pre-watershed version with "clean" replacement dialogue dubbed in by the actors, and the original uncensored version with profanity.[2]
On April 4, 2011 Space Channel announced that they had renewed Todd and the Book of Pure Evil for a second season, with principal photography being set for spring 2011.[3] The new 13-episode season[4] premiered on Space on October 30, 2011 at 10pm.[5]
On May 2, 2011 Fearnet announced that it had picked up the rights to air the series in the United States beginning August 2, 2011 at 10pm.[6] Season 2 is set to air on Fearnet in March 2012.[7]
Reruns air in Canada on The Comedy Network (from June 5, 2011) and MuchMusic (clean versions, from September 6, 2011 in HD).
Contents |
Todd, Curtis, Jenny, and Hannah are students at Crowley High, the only high school in a small town secretly founded by Satanists. After encountering a cursed magical tome with a mind of its own, the Book of Pure Evil, which grants the wishes of those who hold it in dark and sinister ways they didn't intend, they team up in an attempt to track down and destroy the Book, although it has an unfortunate tendency to fly away after its spells are undone. Each episode revolves around a student at Crowley High using the Book to try to make their life better, though this usually results in chaos, mayhem, and bloodshed at the school. Todd and his gang then fight against whatever the Book has done, and try to keep Crowley High from being totally destroyed. Supposedly friendly school guidance counsellor Atticus Murphy helps them in their quest to destroy the Book, though secretly he is a member of the cabal of Satanists who run the town from behind the scenes, and has been tasked with returning the Book of Pure Evil to their leader, who happens to be his own father.
Entertainment One released the first season on DVD in Canada with a MSRP of $29.99.[8][9] Special features include the original short film, cast Q&A, a blooper reel, outtakes, deleted/extended scenes from the musical,[10] and cast/crew commentary tracks.[11]
eOne will also release the season in the United States on February 28 for $19.99 MSRP. Extras are listed as the original short film, cast Q&A, a blooper reel, outtakes, cast/crew commentary, and short promotional clips.[12]
| DVD name | Episodes | Box set release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | ||||
| Season One | 13 | October 11, 2011 ( Canada) | ||
| The Complete First Season | 13 | February 28, 2012 ( USA) | ||
Amazon Instant Video and iTunes United States added each episode after its US premiere date, in both standard definition and high definition, and the first season is also available on Vudu (US) and Zune Marketplace (US & Canada) at up to 1080p.
In addition, the first season can be viewed on Space's website or purchased on iTunes Canada in standard definition widescreen.
The Original Score Soundtrack for season 1, which includes both score and the original songs heard in the musical, is sold on iTunes, Amazon, Zune, eMusic, and Napster.[13]
The Winnipeg Sun described the show as having the "feel of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with potty-mouth ... [which] is a good thing," and went on to say the show is "generally is good fun, if not quite good clean fun." [14] The show's premiere became the highest-rated premiere for a SPACE original series ever, and was the highest-rated program on Non-Sports Specialty for the demo A18-49.[15] The first season was nominated for eight Gemini Awards,[16] of which it won Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series for "The Phantom of Crowley High".[17]