BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The devil made him do it. That's the premise for the last of the 36 new fall shows:
Brimstone (8 p.m. today, Channels 19, 45): Peter Horton (Gary from thirtysomething) stars as Zeke Stone, a decorated New York police detective who died and went to hell for killing his wife's rapist.
After a massive jailbreak from hell, the devil (John Glover) promises Stone heavenly redemption if he brings back 113 vile souls from Earth. (Insert your own joke here about TV going to hell.)
Cincinnati native Cyrus Voris, a 1981 School for Creative and Performing Arts graduate, and his partner Ethan Reiff (Tales From the Crypt Presents Demon Knight) created the Fox series from an old horror film script.
Because the villains are already dead, they're literally bullet-proof. Stone can only recapture the dead by poking their eyes out. So think of this as Touched by the Devil.
Mr. Horton makes an unusual, thoughtful action hero. The premiere about Stone tracking a killer in subway tunnels is too dark, though it will lighten up in coming weeks.
Brimstone will be a good companion on Fridays for Fox's dark Millennium. It was originally scheduled for 9 p.m. Tuesday, where Brimstone didn't have a snowball's chance against Spin City, Felicity or Just Shoot Me.
John Kiesewetter is Enquirer TV/radio critic. Write him at 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, 45202.
