It’s been so long since Reaper has been on the air (new episodes, at least) that I’d forgotten how freakin’ funny it is.

I laughed out loud many times during last night’s episode and anyone who does not think that Ray Wise is the most perfectly cast character in television history needs to check this show out. Wise’s Devil is so perfectly joyful, mischevious, sinister and, well, devilish. His smile alone speaks volumes and every time he’s in a scene I find myself riveted.

Take the scene toward the end when he bumps fists with Sam, urging our slacker hero to revel in having gotten one over on Satan, to celebrate the fact that he helped some poor shlub save his soul from the Dark Lord.

Sam finally accepts the invitation to brag, to pat himself on the back. Then all the huge shelves in The Work Bench tumble down, coming to a crash basically right on top of Sam, who escapes serious injury by inches. As Wise plucks a piece of schmutz off his jacket lapel, he warns Sam — quite politely, of course — that it’s not a good idea to try that one again.

Sam keeps forgetting that Satan is, in point of fact, SATAN. The Devil. Beelzebub. The Dark Lord. The Antichrist. Other euphemisms I can’t think of at the moment. He doesn’t play fair. He will try to get people to sell their souls to him. He will hurt people if they get in his way (unless they work for him, in which case he’ll just scare the poop out of them, at least the first time).

People really need to give this show more of a chance. Its ratings have been low, even for The CW. But it’s one of the fastest and most enjoyable hours of television out there.

Last night, while Sam, Sock and Ben work to find the cannibal killer, Satan spies a sad-sack wanna-be rocker played by Jamie Kennedy. He has a whole CD of songs about his wife, Rachel, who left him because he just couldn’t give up the rock-n-roll life. Dang, I wish I’d written the titles down, but one was something along the lines of, “Rachel, why’d you leave me for an accountant?”

With a little help from “record producer” Jerry Belvedere, Ryan becomes Ryän and, overnight, has a sold-out show in a major arena. His songs, his music and his performance all totally suck, but the Devil is working it all out so everyone looooves Ryän. He’s completely ready to sign whatever contract Jerry puts in front of him, even though Sam’s already told him that Jerry isn’t a record producer but is, rather, the Devil.

Of course, the Devil’s thrilled that Sam broke the news to Ryän, because that’ll make it far less shocking to the poor shlub when he gives him the contract. And Ryän already seems to have decided he doesn’t care if he has to sell his soul to the Devil, he’ll do it for Rock’n’Roll!

Fortunately, for Ryän, our boys have decided the best way to convince him not to sign is to show him the sort of soul they’ll be dealing with. So, having already captured the cannibal soul with a speargun shortly after he’s eaten his mother (this really pisses Sock off, because the soul’s mother was just the sweetest old lady who made really good pie), Ben dangles a side of bacon in front of said soul, who they’ve let out so he can show his true colors to Ryän.

A mild-looking man when not all teeth and buggy cannibal eyes, the soul seems more freaked out by the bacon than hungry. But when Ryän is standing in front of him, he just can’t help himself and attacks, biting off Ryän’s hand in one of the worst special effects I’ve seen on television since the 1970s. But that’s OK, because this show isn’t about gore; it’s about laughs.

In the end, Sam of course recaptures the soul and the doctors reattach Ryän’s hand. But he has too much nerve damage to play the guitar again, so Rachel takes him back since he will give up Rock’n’Roll. Awww.

But more important than the main plot this week was the side plot. For the first time, the entire Andi side plot was great. She gets a little jealous when she sees that Sam’s new girlfriend, Cady, is wearing the necklace Sam originally bought for her (even though she turned it down).

The usual hijinks ensue and nothing’s really all that great until Cady goes to visit Andi at The Work Bench. So sweetly, smiling brightly (just like her dad!), Cady recounts a tale from her past that starts out sounding innocent about a lost love, but ends with Cady having slashed the tires on her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend’s car. And that’s only because the new girlfriend wasn’t home.

Maybe next time Andi can share a story from her past with Cady!

Cady’s totally psycho and next week, in “Unseen,” we get to see more.

Now things are really going to get interesting. I think Cady very much takes after her father…

Also next week, Sock, Sam and Ben move into a new apartment together (Sock’s mom kicked him out of the house after marrying an Asian cowboy named Morris in Vegas). Their neighbors, a gay couple, become their surrogate parents. Here’s the full description:

SOCK CONVINCES SAM AND BEN TO MOVE IN WITH HIM — After his mom kicks him out of the house, Sock (Tyler Labine) convinces Sam (Bret Harrison) and Ben (Rick Gonzalez) to move with him to a condo. The three are overjoyed after they meet their new neighbors, Steve (guest star Michael Ian Black) and Tony (guest star Ken Marino), a gay couple who spoil them with home-cooked meals and their favorite drinks. The guys become overly dependent on Steve and Tony and decide they are their new replacement parents. Strange things start happening whenever Sam is around Cady (guest star Jessica Stroup), reopening his suspicions that she is the Devil’s (Ray Wise) daughter. Missy Peregrym, Valarie Rae Miller, Donavan Stinson and Andrew Airlie also star. Michael Robison directed the episode written by Treena Hancock & Melissa Byer (#112).