Happy Town

Billed as the new 'Twin Peaks' but with more on par with 'Harpers Island' comes the eerie 'Happy Town'.

The town of Haplin is named after the Haplin family who own the Bakery that employs most of the town inhabitants. Five years earlier the Haplins 8 year old daughter vanished, believed to be the last victim of a serial killer called the Magic Man. For five years in the aftermath of the last disappearance the town has managed to perfect its manners and idyllic setting creating a welcoming facade. Two things happen that begin to tear apart this weak illusion, a vicious murder which opens the show and the arrival of a young woman intent on opening up a candle shop in the town yet clearly has another agenda.

As we become woven into the plot and introduced to some of the towns inhabitants many freaky characters begin to emerge mainly the owner of the boarding house in which reside a group of 'golden girls'. On the outskirts of town are a family of rednecks with a simpleton brother (definitely influenced by Twin Peaks) but the most creepy character is that of an English gentleman Merritt Grieves played by Sam Neill. With his character they could move away from serial killer land established in 'Harpers Island' and go more with the weird and wonderful that was Twin Peaks. The pilot raises interesting questions, is the blue door significant, what lies on the forbidden top floor of the boarding house, what is Chloe up to and is the magic man a supernatural killer as opposed to a human one.

As well as the acting talents of Sam Neill we have the beautiful star of 'Angel and Dollhouse' Amy Acker with Steven Webber and 'Men in Trees' star Abraham Benrubi.

Filmed in Canada this is definitely one to keep watching.

I got a sneak peak at the first two episodes of this show at a friend's house (who worked on the show) and it's really great.

It's very different from the original 2 hour pilot from May that other people have mentioned. The characters are quirky and fun, and the world they set up is an interesting one that definitely balances mystery with the intrigue of small town politics, and leaves a lot of room to grow in future episodes.

Geoff Stults is great as Tommy, and all the other characters are compelling to watch, especially Sam Neil as Merritt Grieves, and the guy who plays Dan Farmer (Peter Outerbridge). Lauren German is lovely as Henley (the new girl in town), and Steven Weber and Frances Conroy are wonderfully menacing as the heads of the town-founding Haplin family.

Saying it's 'the next Twin Peaks' sets an impossibly high bar, but it really does look like a worthy successor and will be a lot of fun to watch.

I can't wait to see the rest of the episodes!

Overly written dialogue, campy characters and multiple mysteries inhabit Haplin, Minnesota (where everyone has a secret, and a silly nickname.) Reminiscent of CBS's recent 'Harper's Island,' this plays as only the latest 'Lost'-inspired darkly-woven tale which may or may not include something supernatural.

'Twin Peaks' did this far better before it de-evolved into weirdness for the sake of weirdness. This one has trouble with its tongue-in-cheek humor simply because too much of it is spent trying to be funny.

It could easily improve, as many shows struggle in their early episodes. But it could fall prey to the same fate as 'Harper's Island.' A quick death from lack of sustainable viewers.

HAPPY TOWN had no small amount of potential. The setting was great, the plot was fairly strong, or at least layered enough to create the solid beginning to a mystery, and there were some interesting, well played characters, specifically Same Neill and M.C. Gainey. Oh, and the guy who played Root Beer. Love him.

That's about it. The dialogue in this show is atrocious. I mean really, really bad. Just about everyone speaks in total clichés. Sometimes, in order to sound "mysterious" and "quirky" the writers will give someone a line so cryptic that it's just silly. Example: "Just call me Gazpacho. 'Cause I like my soup cold." Huh? I know the show was cancelled in midstream, but the ending is terrible. Obviously it would be impossible to wrap up multiple seasons worth of loose ends in a single episode, but there was in ton of extraneous garbage in the last episode that could have been spent on something worthwhile. Instead they chose to blindside the audience with a bizarre, unsatisfying ending.

In the end, HAPPY TOWN desperately tries to be unique and original, something in the vein of the excellent TWIN PEAKS, but succeeds only in being derivative and silly.

Still, I watched every episode and was then motivated enough to write a long winded review. So, if you like dark mystery shows with hints of comedy (even when it doesn't totally work), check it out. You'll be no more disappointed than if you just watched TWO AND A HALF MEN instead.

Saw a sneak peek at the pilot this evening. While the pilot is typically long and attempts to set up a story, it is slightly boring and overdone. The writers attempt to introduce you to every character in the town in a matter of 90 minutes. They give just enough information of the past crime that the viewers interest is peaked, however, the writers work too hard to make too many suspect. While the show has an interesting premiss, I am unsure how it will make an ongoing series. T.C. is by far the best character and carries the show. I understand a good mystery contains forshadowing and unknown facts, but with weird cuts the writers leave the audience with too many questions for a pilot. Lies are being spread as to characters whereabouts, mysterious alzheimers symptoms, creepy stalkers. The show has potential, but they are going to have to pick up the speed and start developing an ongoing story.