TVSquad

Reaper's back and I'm excited. If you are too, don't go looking for your fave show in its old time slot, Thursdays at 8:00 EST. It's got an all-new night and time, Tuesdays (tonight!) at 9:00 EST on The CW.

Now, why am I so excited about Reaper's return?

1. The Devil
He's suave, slick, sarcastic, and nasty -- I love him! Ray Wise couldn't have been a more perfect casting choice for this modern-day incarnation of Satan himself. From popping up at inopportune times to manipulating Sam's love life, The Devil wreaks havoc in such a subtle, funny way that you can't help but appreciate the underlying evil with the debonair facade.

2. The back story
We know Sam's parents sold his soul; what we don't really know is why, and what Sam's father has to hide. I love the promise this holds, especially to give Andrew Airlie as Sam's dad a meatier role.

3. Gladys
Whenever the friends return an escaped soul to the DMV, you can be sure Gladys will have a snarky comment for the threesome. From orchestrating a fantasy dream of Sock's to insulting the trio on the lame vessels they are given, she's the DMV's bright spot.

4. The pranks they pull on Ted
Poor Ted, trying to run the Work Bench with a strict managerial style, seeking out the respect of his employees. And getting only sass, snark, and pranks. Andi leaves a note on Ted's car to apologize for the fake damage; Sam steals the video surveillance cameras; Sock taunts him with the talking snowglobe.

5. The Vessels
Each week, the devil gives Sam a new vessel with which to capture the escaped soul and send it back to hell. There have been a myriad of comical choices, from a Dirt Devil to a remote-controlled monster truck to a hand-knit snow people sweater. It seems that Sam often has some sort of operator error, like being unable to blow a bubble with the wand when the bubble stuff is his vessel, or trying to fix the broken toaster that needs to spark to capture the soul. And how about when Ben takes a liking to the dove (naming him Winston)? Is that funnier than Sock carrying around a snowglobe with an advice-giving soul inside? Priceless.

6. The new demon neighbors
Not only do I love these actors (Michael Ian Black from Ed and Ken Marino from Veronica Mars) but I love the way they are being used. They are not just demons, they are gay demons, who feel they are unfairly prejudiced for being... demons. The gay thing never comes up, which is such a funny social commentary.

But the biggest reason...

7. It's getting Buffy good
I was beginning to get nervous that Reaper would not live up to its potential. It became very formula and seemingly dropped the back story of Sam's father's mysterious burning of several pages of the contract which sold Sam's soul to The Devil. I now have some hope that they may get back to that, and that even more intrigue lies behind that back story.

We left off with the demon neighbor proposing a partnership to Sam to work together to take down The Devil. Now we are getting somewhere. The potential for a deeper storyline, for the danger to become just a little more dangerous and the dark to become just a little darker. If they keep going along these lines, this Buffy fan will be satisfied.

Want a clip from tonight's episode? Look no further....