'Constantine' blazes a tale

Television has been awash with the creepy-crawlies for a while, including the otherworldly baddies of the long-running 'Supernatural,' the bloodsuckers of 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'The Originals,' and the rotting, not-quite zombies of 'The Walking Dead,' among others. It also has its share of comic book-spawned heroes - 'Arrow,' 'The Flash' - as well as the comic book adjacent characters of 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' and 'Gotham.'

NBC's new drama 'Constantine,' premiering Friday at 10 p.m. after the demonically simpatico 'Grimm,' combines the two with the latest iteration of Vertigo/DC Comics creation John Constantine, of the 'Hellblazer' series.

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Among the factors distinguishing this version of the 'exorcist, demon hunter, and Master of the Dark Arts' from the one played by Keanu Reeves in the 2005 film of the same name are the fact that he doesn't smoke as much - network TV - and he's Welsh, a nod to star Matt Ryan.

There have been several versions of his back story, but in 'Constantine' we are told - but rarely shown, a recurring problem - that he had a tragic childhood, is handy when it comes to the matters of the occult, and has been damned to hell. (There is also a side story about a young girl he failed to save from similar damnation.)

There have also been a couple of versions of the TV series' first episode, with tweaks to the story and changes to its original direction.

Essentially, each week Constantine will, reluctantly and with a steady supply of world-weary witticisms, face down supernatural threats in order to save his soul. His helpers in this journey include the snarky angel Manny (Harold Perrineau, 'Lost') who possesses the ability to inhabit other people's bodies, and right-hand man Chas (Charles Halford, 'True Detective'), who has yet-to-be-explained special powers of his own. Following a revamping of the pilot, Angelica Celaya ('Dallas') will join the gang going forward as psychic Zed Martin.

The plot in the first episode was originally meant to set up Lucy Griffiths as Constantine's partner. But executive producers David S. Goyer ('Batman Begins,' 'The Dark Knight Rises') and Daniel Cerone ('The Mentalist,' 'Dexter'), in recalibrating the show, are eliminating her character. So the story works out simply as a prelude to how the procedural will likely operate week to week: Constantine goes to a city, finds someone plagued by demons, vanquishes demons, says funny stuff, feels tortured.

That said, the series looks and feels appropriately ghoulish with a couple of good gotcha moments and excellently rendered scary creatures prowling the shadows, in between clunky expository passages.

Perrineau, rocking a righteous set of wings and funky contact lenses, seems to be having a good time needling Constantine. Hopefully, his former 'Lost' costar Jeremy Davies will survive the show's revamping to recur as metaphysics professor Ritchie Simpson, since his trademark portrayal of a twitchy genius gave the first episode a different boost of energy.

With his bedhead, stubble, constant low-grade aura of comic annoyance, and immediate sense of self-possession, Ryan makes a solid Constantine. And with the explanation-heavy first episode behind him, perhaps he can do less yelling and whining about his tortured past and get on with kicking demon butt.

Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeRodman.

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