Movies and TV are two pretty goddamn excellent inventions. When the join forces, like some sort of amazing entertainment Voltron, one can only assume they get even better. Unless it’s that Starsky & Hutch movie. Yeah. Not then.

Anyway: Two mostly reliable film directors—Barry Sonnenfeld and Kevin Smith—helmed the pilot episodes of two new TV shows this season, with Smith directing the CW’s Reaper and Sonnefeld directing ABC’s Pushing Daisies. I really like this idea of letting big name directors handle the first episodes of TV series, allowing the shows to start off with a solid tone and look that sets things up for the following shows. In the case of Daisies and Reaper, the directors’ names also probably brought in a few more viewers (like myself), which is good, assuming that the shows are solid. Which, in this case, they are.

I’ve seen two episodes of Reaper, and I… eh, I’ll say that I about 80 percent dig it. It’s basically a lighter take on Buffy, with a guy who’s doing his best Adam Brody impression (Bret Harrison, who grew up around here, and, probably not coincidentally, is friends with Adam Brody) playing the lead/Buffy role. Deal is, 21-year-old Sam is an employee of the Devil—he’s tasked with tracking down demons who’ve escaped from Hell and returning them to Satan. It’s a “monster of the week” concept that I think could get old really quick (even last week’s episode, the second, felt pretty formulaic, plot-wise), but it’s the smaller touches that I like about Reaper. Sam’s job at a Home Depot-esque megastore is a solid setting for lots of entertaining stuff, and his hilarious sidekick Sock (Tyler Labine, who, probably not coincidentally, looks/acts like Kevin Smith) is really great, but it’s Satan himself (Ray Wise) that’s the real star of the show. Character actor Wise has always been awesome (he was in Twin Peaks and Robocop), but as Satan, he’s fucking perfect: Funny and mean and clever, he’s got enough punch in every scene that he’s keeps Reaper consistently entertaining. He might be my favorite screen Satan ever, and that’s only with a few minutes of screentime so far. In fact, I kind of wish the show was just about him. (A promo for the show is here, and it basically condenses the pilot into five minutes, and it has some, but not enough, of Wise in it.)

Pushing Daisies is getting all kinds of great reviews, and I’m inclined to agree with them, mostly. Like most of Sonnenfeld’s work, at times the show—about a pie maker who, for a short period of time, can raise people from the dead—can be a little too cutesy for its own good (it’s pilot was called—sigh—“Pie-lette”). But for the most part—and I hope this’ll continue, post-Sonnenfeld—it’s a smart show with its heart in the right place. The production design and cinematography is great, and star Lee Pace is charming and funny. Shit occasionally got sappy in last night’s pilot (yes, I’m calling it a pilot, fuck the phrase “pie-lette”), but more often than not, it was endearing and well-imagined, with great dialogue, solid characters, a charming and unique tone, and a concept that seems pretty loaded with potential. You can listen to a really excellent interview with show creators Bryan Fuller and Sonnenfeld on NPR’s Fresh Air right here. [They also talk about making porn, Blood Simple, and Star Trek.] There’s also a bit more Blogtown talk about the show here.)

Anyway. I’ve liked the idea of big directors occasionally doing TV stuff for a while, but in the past, the execution has never worked out too well, like when Tarantino did ER and CSI. If Reaper and Pushing Daisies are any indication, though, that might be changing—which for someone who watches as much TV as I do, is good news.