5.11.2010

Television: Happy Town

Why aren't you people watching this show? If you liked Twin Peaks, or The X-Files, or American Gothic, you should be watching Happy Town.

While Lost and FlashForward are good, they tend to be intense. Happy Town has all the dark drama but tempers it with quirk.

If you've missed out on the first couple episodes, they're available online. But to summarize: small town haunted by the disappearances of several residents. The locals refer to the perpetrator as "The Magic Man." A murder--of someone many suspected to be The Magic Man--turns the town on its head, even as the arrival of a strange new resident coincides with a delirious turn by the town's sheriff.

Now the sheriff's son turned acting sheriff is trying to solve the murder (well, he did that in Episode 2, but--) even as other strange things begin to happen . . .

Happy Town is definitely taking a few pages from the Twin Peaks play book, and Sam Neill is especially fun as a cinephile with something to hide.

The show, meanwhile, is in imminent danger of cancellation, though ideally ABC will let it play out over the summer at the very least. A boost in viewers would be helpful!

3 comments:

EG said...

It looks scary - that's why I'm not watching it!

M said...

It's really not scary--and this coming from someone who doesn't watch horror stuff (though I do read Stephen King).

Christine Rains said...

I'm still not sure what I think about it. It does remind of Twin Peaks a lot. The characters are fun. I'm still waiting for the story to feel more smooth, though.