juan casado y barton I wanted to watch this after hearing comparisons to last year's campy (yet extremely entertaining) Harper's Island. Apart from beginning with a very gruesome death, the similarities end there. Where Harper's Island took delight in murdering its 30 head-strong cast and whittling it down to a mere handful by the end of its run, Happy Town takes a different route dissecting town-life and its many oddities. Case in point - the murderer is revealed in episode 2. This opening murder opens hundreds of threads and tensions running throughout the town. We have the town sheriff going doolally from chasing a previous psychopath who kidnapped one child each year for half a decade and then vanished along with the six children; the first lady and her dynasty threatening and manipulating townsfolk to try and find a child who went missing; a family of hicks who seem to never cause trouble so much as be in the wrong place at the wrong time; a house full of old ladies who calmly gossip about murder before moving on to the more interesting topic of the mysterious British man living on the second floor. The mythology of the Magic Man, the name of the perpetrator who kidnapped all those children, is slowly revealed throughout the 8 episodes all the while important things such as blackmail, sex, murder, drugs and rebellion occur besides other important things such as pizza dough, famous movie lines and cinnamon. The show has so many of those Twin Peak like moments - strange, totally irrelevant, relevant moments that stick more than the revelations going on around this massive cast of characters. The bizarre gallery of humans assembled in Haplin is quite an exciting array of caricatures, clichés and stereotypes. That is probably the show's biggest problem - too many characters. In the first episode, we're introduced to no less than 15 major characters and a further 5 in the next episode. It leaves you wondering who is doing what, who's actually important and trying to remember names. Sadly, it doesn't work too well. Not only have they got too many main characters but the script suffers from some truly boring dialogue which is a shame when the cast is quite fantastic. A lot of the cast is underused (Rachel Conroy, Amy Acker, has about one line in the first two episode and Peggy Hanlin, Francis Conroy, barely gets to do more than look dotty) so when major events occur, you aren't that invested in the outcome. The clunky manner that the conversations run along that are supposed to further the plot leaves you often confused and bored. One thing the show does well is imagine the town of Haplin. It has its own geography and language and when deputes cover up crimes for their friends or old women prevent young girls leaving town, you can believe that it could happen. Stand-out characters include; "Handsome" Dan, a psychotic cop hell-bent on catching the magic man out; Merrick Grieves, Sam Neill's very stiff Brit; Henley Boone, the new girl in town who is keeping her cards close to her chest. I struggled through the 8 episodes to see if it would ramp up any sort of suspense or display a sense of immediacy like that of Harper's Island but unfortunately, it remained rather one track to the end.

keikomushi One of the great things about this series is the depth of the plot. Sure, there is plenty of character development and great acting from the cast but this would have been moot if not for the dark underbelly the town of Haplin has. After seeing the first 7 episodes I am happy to say that I can't wait to see more, which is sadly something I cannot say for most of the new shows coming out this season. My favorite characters are Farmer and Grieves, two intriguing dude with their own unique back-story. Their are other characters that offer their own wackiness, but these two help drive the plot forward. In this sense these two are great tools for the writers, allowing the story to move forward and other characters to learn more about what is going on. One of my only annoyances in this story is how bad the police of Haplin are. Sure, it is a small town, but you'd hope that the cops would be competent enough not to compromise a crime scene and corrupt evidence. Perhaps it is more a reflection on the nature of small-towns, but I think I'd prefer to move out if the police were as incompetent as those guys. In spite of this, it does add a certain amount of comedy to the story. In conclusion, I love this series because of the numerous mysteries yet undiscovered. It is these mysteries that give the story life and a place for the series to go after the first season is over.

Anyanka1 Really? This looked like somewhat of a promising series. I tuned in possibly because my 62-year-old mother was very excited about it, or maybe because it seemed to have the same tone as Harper's Island. Harper's Island was an eerie murder mystery show that did everything write. The writers knew how to form realistic characters and the emotional aspect of the show was, I'm sure, felt by any person who viewed it. In response to what akingofcomedy said "But it could fall pry to the same fate as 'Harper's Island.' A quick death from lack of sustainable viewers." Harper's Island has many viewers, it did not fall to a "quick death" but was a miniseries. Many murder mysteries such as this can only be miniseries. Happy Town is striving to be something more, and it does not look promising. The plots are cliché, the dialogue so dramatic, deliberate and over-written that I can't help but sigh about 10 times an episode. Sometimes I just look at the screen and ask the writers "Really, do you actually think someone would say that in real life?" Cliché, cliché, and cliché. I don't know what college these writers went to but I can't believe their lack of vision on this. I don't understand how they can't see the number of things wrong with what they are writing. I am possibly most annoyed at the depiction of the first-grader in this show. She's seven, not three. The parents treat as if she's a toddler and she acts as if she is one. I doubt the writers know a seven-year-old because they are writing Michelle Tanner lines. I haven't heard "you got it dude" yet but I am seriously expecting it. Good luck not scoffing while you watch this show.

slwilliams209 I watched the show last night with hopes for a new favorite show. I haven't written it off yet, but I have some concerns. I don't think anyone denies the similarities to a number of past shows, books and movies. "Twin Peaks", "Lost", and "Witches of Eastwick", to name a few. I am excited that one poster, like me, saw some rumblings of Stephen King's "Needful Things." When we learn that Sam Neil (who I have admired since "The Omen III", has a movie memorabilia store that nobody frequents, I immediately though of Leland Gaunt and his little store in Castle Rock, Maine. Above his store is a sign that reads, "caveat emptor" which means "buyer beware". I think Sam Neil could have the same. I'll keep watching until I have more reason not to. How long can the plot hold up? We'll see.