奇幻美剧《断头谷》：现代无头骑士传说

何航

Although it’s too early to call the winners and losers of this fall’s new TV series, a recent CNN article already listed three new drama successes of the season so far: NBC’s Blacklist, ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Fox’s Sleepy Hollow.
虽然现在论今秋美剧档新剧阵营谁主沉浮有点为时过早，但近日，美国有线电视新闻网CNN在报道中盘点了本季到目前为止最成功的三部新剧：美国全国广播公司NBC的《黑名单》，美国广播公司ABC的《神盾局特工》以及福克斯电视网的《断头谷》。
It’s easy to figure out why the first two are attracting big audiences. Blacklist airs right after one of TV’s biggest hits The Voice and features film star James Spader, while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a spinoff of the hugely popular Marvel movie franchise.
前两部剧集人气爆棚的原因显而易见。《黑名单》恰好在热门电视节目《美国好声音》之后的时段播出，影星詹姆斯•斯派德亦是功不可没。而《神盾局特工》则是漫威人气电影系列的续集。
In contrast, Sleepy Hollow has no major advantages: It’s based on a not particularly popular short story from 1820 and features no recognizable stars.
相比之下，《断头谷》并没有什么显而易见的优势：它改编自一篇发表于1820年的名不见经传的短篇小说，也没有豪华的演员阵容。
So, how does such a show end up as one of the fall’s biggest hits? Read on and find out.
那么，它又是如何成为本季最热剧集之一的呢？答案就在下文中。
No ordinary genre show
一部“非同凡响”的剧集
“There’s an audience out there for genre, but with Sleepy Hollow, we wanted to broaden the show out so you didn’t have to be a genre fan to watch,” co-creator and executive producer Alex Kurtzman said at the series’ launch party.
在《断头谷》的开播仪式上，作为该剧主创之一、执行制片人艾利克斯•库兹曼说：“尽管有些观众只爱看某种类型的剧，但通过《断头谷》，我们想拓宽剧集的思路，这样剧迷们就不必只局限于同一种口味了。”
Indeed, story-wise, Sleepy Hollow seems like the kind of show only comic fans would enjoy: It’s about an American Revolutionary War soldier named Ichabod Crane. After a two-century slumber, he awakens in the 21st century and immediately begins fighting demons and monsters alongside a sexy female cop.
事实上，在剧情方面，《断头谷》很合动漫迷的口味：故事围绕曾参加过美国独立战争的士兵伊奇博德•克瑞恩展开。在沉睡了200年之后，他在21世纪苏醒过来，并立即投入到与一名性感女警搭档对抗恶魔的战斗中。
However, rather than a highly dense sci-fi fantasy thriller, the show is structured in a way that ensures each episode is at least partially self-contained.
然而，《断头谷》并非一部情节跌宕的科幻惊悚片，在剧情设置上，该剧至少能在一定程度上保证每集的独立性。
“From the beginning, we designed a show [where] there’s a case every episode with a monster, or a supernatural problem, and they have to solve it,” Kurtzman explained.
库兹曼解释说：“从一开始，我们就为每一集都设计了一个怪兽或是超自然现象，而主角们必须搞定它们。”
“But they’re not going to have an emotional experience one week and then forget it the next. We’re going to be building on something throughout the course of the show.”
“但主人公们并非在每周一次激动人心的冒险之旅后下周就没下文了。我们要设置一些贯穿始终的东西。”
Not afraid to be crazy
疯狂大胆
In her review of the Sleepy Hollow pilot, Huffington Post TV critic Maureen Ryan used one word to sum it up: It’s “bonkers”.
《赫芬顿邮报》的电视评论员马瑞恩•莱恩在为《断头谷》试播集撰写评论时用一个词来总结这部剧：那就是“疯狂大胆”。
An accurate statement? In the first hour, the viewers deal with time travel, biblical prophesies, witchcraft, demonic possession, conspiracy theories, and an epic romance that’s survived two centuries.
这一说法准确吗？在头一个小时中，观众们体验了时空穿梭、圣经预言、巫术、恶魔附身、阴谋论以及一段穿越两个世纪的爱恋。
“So, yeah, Sleepy Hollow is nuts. It is cheerfully, unapologetically nuts,” a review from Hitfix said, also pointing out the series’ craziness. “It is aware of just how ridiculous it is, and it tries to cram in as many wacky ideas as can fit into the opening hour without falling into complete camp.”
Hitfix网站的一篇评论也指出该剧疯狂大胆，该评论写道：“是的，《断头谷》简直是疯了。它疯狂得令人愉悦，而又毫不出格。该剧的疯狂程度显而易见，它试着在开篇的一个小时内，尽可能多地将光怪陆离的想法加入其中，并且不流于俗套”
And the craziness has its origin — The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the 1820 short story by US writer Washington Irving, which the show is based on, is about a headless horseman, after all.
而这种疯狂起源于美国作家华盛顿•欧文于1820发表的短篇小说《睡谷的传说》，当然还是讲述了一个有关“无头骑士”的故事，该剧即根据此小说改编而成。
Less episodes helps
物以稀为贵
Although Fox has already ordered a second season of Sleepy Hollow, the show’s first season won’t be scheduled to run 22 episodes, like a traditional series, but probably 13. “It was a huge relief because it meant we weren’t going to have to spin our wheels,” Kurtzman told USA Today. “And now, we can approach this [so that] every episode can be like a finale.”
尽管福克斯已经宣布续订《断头谷》第二季，但该剧第一季并不计划按照传统拍足22集，而可能只有13集。库兹曼在接受《今日美国》采访时说：“我如释重负，这样我们就不必手忙脚乱了。现在，我们计划让每一集看起来都像是最终集。”