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2 TV ENCORE By Kenneth Andeel TV Media J esse Custer is not a prototypi- cal man of God. He drinks. He smokes. Of course he swears. He breaks limbs in bar brawls and he'll shoot important bits of anatomy off of anyone who'd dare try to take his dead dad's church by force. He pals around with a drug-gorging vampire and he's in love with his childhood friend, a hardened criminal. But, craziest of all, Jesse dares to con- front God mano a prime mover, and insists he be given answers to all those mysteries of creation that it's generally assumed we puny humans aren't meant to know. You might imagine that an almighty God who didn't want to be bothered by an audacious mortal could just hit the "smite" button and have done, but Jesse is special. For unknown reasons, he's been chosen as the host for a celestial being of unprecedent- ed might that rivals God's own — and there you have the wick- ed conceit of "Preacher," set to conclude its third season on AMC. Watch on Sunday, Aug. 26, as Preacher Jesse (Dominic Cooper, "Mama Mia!" 2008), on- again, off-again assassin/lover Tulip (Ruth Negga, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.") and Irish bloodsuck- er Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun, "Misfits") try to find God and hold Him to account without any of them dying (or worse). "Preacher" arrived at AMC after spending nearly two decades in development hell. The story was originally told in comic book format by writer Garth Cass Co Family YMCA 2 x 2" Pear Tree Gallery 3 x 2" On the Cover Ennis and artist Steve Dillon. Their 66-issue run spanned from 1995 to 2000 and was part of an era of explicit comics targeted at mature readers. Ennis, realizing the story's screen potential, start- ed shopping it as a script in 1998, before he'd even conclud- ed the narrative in its original medium. Obstacles abounded, and the screen adaptation passed through multiple hands until it finally made it into the clutches of an unlikely pair, who just hap- pened to have obsessively cov- eted it for years. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, collaborators on "This Is the End" (2013) and other projects, grew up together and bonded over a love of Ennis' comic. The duo had been dili- gently dropping their names into the hat every time another round of interest in a "Preacher" adap- tation sparked up, and at last, in 2013, the stars aligned: the two were commissioned to write a pilot for their dream project, eventually enlisting Sam Catlin ("Breaking Bad") as showrunner after AMC took the bait. Casting announcements fol- lowed, with hawk-eyed fans of the source material scrutinizing every decision. Three seasons in, it's become evident that the pro- ducers nailed it, and Negga, Gilgun and Cooper have capably represented the fringe comic's beloved trio. Cooper carries the show — it is called "Preacher," after all, and not "Vampire" or "Trigger-Happy Bandit" — but Negga and Gilgun give him consistent sup- port. Season 1 began with Jesse dragging his heels as the unin- spired (and uninspiring) preacher of his tiny Texas hometown of Anneville. On the verge of renouncing his duties after a cri- sis of faith, Jesse was forcibly inhabited by "Genesis," the off- spring of a forbidden tryst between an angel and a devil. Genesis gave Jesse a pseudo- superpower known as the "Word of God" that allowed him to compel people to do anything he commanded. Jesse's ex, the viciously capable criminal Tulip O'Hare, returned to Anneville, and a centenarian Irish vampire named Cassidy fell out of the sky and began squatting at Jesse's church. Forces arrayed to contest Jesse's newfound power, includ- ing a pair of awkward angels who eventually hired a con- demned Old West gunman- turned-Angel of Death to shoot Genesis out of Jesse, if necessary. The first season ended with Jesse calling up heaven via angel- phone and demanding to speak to God, then discovering that God had abandoned heaven for reasons unknown and was cur- rently hanging out somewhere on Earth. In season 2, Jesse, Cassidy and Tulip struck out on the great American roadtrip to find God. Their pursuit took them to New Orleans, where they were tan- gled with groups that included basic violent criminals, vampire covens, a Christian paramilitary called The Grail, and the voodoo- wielding Louisiana branch of Jesse's family. Jesse's creepy extended fami- ly continues to play the villain in season 3. After Tulip's demise, Jesse was forced to look for a means of resurrection. As it turns out, voodoo is a very use- ful skill for bringing back the dead. The only trouble is that you might end up owing your evil Gran'ma L'Angelle (Betty Buckley, "Oz") an unspecified favor in exchange. Meanwhile, The Grail's fixer, Herr Starr (Pip Torrens, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," 2015), is demanding Jesse take over Messiah duties for The Grail, replacing their current inbred fig- urehead, and the aforementioned Angel of Death, called the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish, "Outlander"), is still out there with the power to kill absolutely anyone, human or otherwise. Oh, and Jesse has also given up a small slice of his own soul, and the Word of God no longer reli- ably works for him. All of these conflicts (and plenty more) are set to combust in the third season finale of "Preacher," and it would be a sin for any fan of smart, subversive, horror-inspired supernatural adventure to miss out. Catch the culmination of season 3 when it airs Sunday, Aug. 26, on AMC. Ruth Negga in "Preacher" 'Preacher's' cast of unforgettable characters wraps up third season D&J Liquors 3 x 2" Direct Maytag 2 x 1.5" Edward Jones 2 x 1.5" United Methodist Church 2 x 2.5" Book Your Own Private Painting Party! Call for details! 331 E. Market Street 574-737-8374 www.peartreegallery.com Pear Tree Gallery P Paint with the guidance of award winning artist, Teri Partridge CD coming due? Compare our rates. Amanda A Hedrick Financial Advisor 2501 East Market St Logansport, IN 46947 574-753-3676 www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC Give the Pharos-Tribune a call at (574) 722-5000 ext. 5067

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