Harper's Island

Remember that old episode of "The Simpsons", "Marge vs. the Monorail"? Remember how at the end there was a large escalator suspended in the middle of the air that would take people from the bottom, lift them up to the top, them send them to a horrible crash to the ground below? Well, "Harper's Island" was kind of like the Escalator to Nowhere; the first few episodes were kind of slow, but the pace soon began to pick up, only to have the series finally crash with the finale.

"Harper's Island" had it all : interesting premise, likable characters, decent acting, and creative murders. I have to say that the performances of Elaine Cassidy and Jim Beaver impressed me enough to interest me in seeing some of their other work. So where did this show go wrong? Let's sum it up to four reasons : inconsistencies, clichés, loose ends, and plot holes - most of which arise in the finale. These little tidbits help to tarnish - if not outright ruin - the series as a whole.

And let's not forget that a possible supernatural angle to the plot was introduced in the early episodes, but was abandoned abruptly about five episodes in. What was the point!?

"Harper's Island" is a mixed bag when you get right down to it; there's a lot to like about the first ten or eleven episodes, but after that prepare to be disappointed. I'd recommend watching the show only if you skip out on the last two episodes. On the other hand, if you choose to watch all the way through, don't say I didn't warn you.

Actually I'm not that big on dramatic TV series and the market is awash with them lately - monsters, serial killers, vamps, islands etc. However I am strangely drawn to Harpers Island, aided not a little by the fact that the BBC shows two episodes back-to-back so we don't have to wait a week between them!

Elaine Cassidy is a pretty face and manages to hold the story together, although there are no real stars and no real passengers here - it's just an all-round competent show, which is how I like it. The events may be predictable in the sense we know there's a killer on the loose, but they are sufficiently disguised to provide some nice (or nasty) surprises. Young Cassandra Sawtell's chilling portrayal of the very odd child Madison Allen is particularly entrancing.

I'd have preferred more humour and maybe a pinch of salt, but overall Harper's Island is a worthwhile diversion from the usual humdrum TV.

I watched the show a 2nd time after 10 years, and i liked even more, probably because the genre of slasher isn't so much aprecciated today, or maybe because the shows have been so bad in the last years that i've learn how to aprecciate these classics.

Harper's island is a true slasher, nothing more, and nothing else, and for those who love movies like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer, you'll definetely love this show, it has all a good slasher has to have, a serial killer with a past and motive, mistery, final girl, paranoia, always misleading, more than one kill per episode, this is a classic.

This series has moderate acting talent, a constraint that scenes need to be viewable on a mainstream channel, and a budget that doesn't allow much (any?) CGI.

It is about relatively attractive people dying 'one by one'.

So if this were a movie it would likely end up with a 5.2 rating.

Instead it is an entertaining series that very successfully keeps the basic premise ticking along nicely for thirteen episodes. There are sufficient plots twists and they keep flowing all the way through to the last episode.

In a series of this nature there is no point trying to plug EVERY possible hole in the script, but they do an admirable job. If you are prepared to go in with a positive viewpoint you will find this great fun.

When I saw the previews I was hooked, despite my reservations that it was being shown as a series. Usually there are tonnes of side plots and involvements that are so stupid that it takes away from the main plot. But one of the plus points for Harper's Island is that it stays true to the premise. The intrigue builds from the first episode with the first grisly death and then you start to try and figure out who the killer is. Is it John Wakefield, the original killer, or is there a new player? A copycat and pretender to the throne.

But then all the tension and terror that had been building with each episode unravels in episode twelve and completely undone by the thirteenth. In fact the last episode is a lesson in utter stupidity, something that would not be out of place in a soap opera or some teen series. Even the reason for all the killing are quite absurd, as if the script writers were so thrilled with coming up with the idea of the deaths that they must have looked at each other when it came time to justify the deaths and drawn a complete blank. Watching Harper's Island is very much like getting a huge shiny Christmas present and when you finally get past the wrappings and layers to the gift it's noting more than a gift card for stationary. I haven't felt this let down for a long time.

But this is my personal rant. I'd still recommend this for the first half of the series which was excellent in building tension. The setting's very creepy and it lends credence to the terror that the characters feel. Watch it at night for the full effect!