TV

Time-warped ‘Sleepy Hollow’ an original take on classic tale

I had high hopes for Fox’s new fall series, “Sleepy Hollow,” a quirky take on Washington Irving’s classic Ichabod Crane/Headless Horseman “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” tale set in the quaint Westchester hamlet.

While my hopes weren’t dashed, they were at least muffled somewhat. “Sleepy Hollow” has an interesting premise and some terrific CGI effects (re: the Headless Horseman), but I didn’t buy into the show’s mystical/mythological/sci-fi overtones, a mishmash of history, witchcraft and muddled Biblical prophesy that left me confused instead of intrigued.

In Irving’s tale, Ichabod Crane was a meek American schoolteacher. In “Sleepy Hollow,” he’s transformed into a macho British soldier (Tom Mison), who’s switched sides in the Revolutionary War and is spying for General George Washington

In the heat of battle in Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod is slashed by a charging Redcoat horseman wearing a weird metal mask and swinging a lethal broadaxe. Injured, Ichabod manages to chop the guy’s head off before lapsing into unconsciousness.

Fast-forward to the present day. Ichabod awakens in a cave, busts his way out and finds himself walking the streets of modern-day Sleepy Hollow, NY — unaware that the now-Headless Horseman has joined him there.

(The show is actually filmed in North Carolina, but there is a nice shot of the Tappan Zee Bridge for a touch of token realism.)

Ichabod doesn’t seem particularly fazed by his new surroundings (clothes, technology, language) — strange, considering he’s just jumped nearly 240 years into the future — but he eventually meets Det. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie), who’s about to leave town for a job at the FBI.

Abbie is hiding a childhood secret, and when several people are decapitated — including the sheriff and a local priest — Abbie decides to remain in Sleepy Hollow, team with Ichabod, vanquish the Headless Horseman and figure out just what-the-heck is going on.

There’s more, including Ichabod’s witchy wife, Katrina (Katia Winter) and the dead sheriff’s secret files, linked to witchcraft and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Or something like that.

“Sleepy Hollow” does offer the aforementioned special effects (The Headless Horseman may scare the bejeezus out of the kiddies, so beware), but what it lacks is any real dramatic spark — or a good reason to return week after week.