In a genre of TV shows populated with such-- dare I say it?-- excretement as Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, and all reality TV, Glory Days brings back a lost line of hope to the WB. It is a beautifully crafted show finally worthy of Kevin Williamson's talent.The show takes older murder mysteries (for example, Murder She Wrote) and turns them into, if not better, more appealing to the teenage eye. Its eye candy measures up to its content, because it doesn't slack on that, either. It has interesting, real characters who feel and flirt and fool around in a way that doesn't bore like the endless trysts of Pacey, Dawson, and Joey (doesn't that sound like a GLAAD smile beaming?). And while building characters, the show never loses its plot, that it is a murder mystery and each episode can stand alone...the show is a beautiful revival of favorites like the Twilight Zone and Eerie. And Eddie Cahill's utter beauty doesn't hurt either...*wink* Check it out- you won't be disappointed!

I've watched 3 episodes of this show so far, and correct me if I'm wrong here, but the entire population of Glory Island (with the exception of one nosy writer with too much free time on his hands, one dumb-as-dirt cop, and one cute-but-kooky coroner) apparently consists entirely of crazed serial killers. Every week there's a bizarre series of kidnappings, murders, or what have you, and every week we're treated to a handful of never-before-encountered suspects to choose from.Of course, all you have to do is disregard the red herrings tossed clumsily into your path and instead pick the one who seems the most harmless, the most friendly, and most sane. Sure enough, by the end of the show he or she will be ranting incoherently as they try to do our hero in with a speargun or weed-whacker. Ho-hum. Nab the bad guy and reset everything back to the way it was at the outstart of the episode.But why even bother trying to identify the lunatic de jour? Next week there'll be some other nutjob with a deep, dark, secret axe to grind. Let all the psychos run amok; the law of averages says that eventually they'll all start bumping each other off. Just as "Murder, She Wrote's" quaint little town of Cabbot Cove grew to become the murder capital of the county over the course of a decade, Glory Island is destined to become the maniac mecca of the U.S. God, forget solving all these picayune mysteries and just drop a nuke on the place already. Worried about fallout? All right, get a crop-duster full of thorazine and seed the clouds over the island. Or even better yet, start writing campaign to get the plug pulled on this unimaginative, uninnovative, and downright tedious waste of time and film.

Take one part "Picket Fences", add a dash of "Twin Peaks", stir in kids who are fluent in "Dawson's" speak, and throw it in a Kevin Williamson blender powered by Weinstein. The result?The series debut of "Glory Days".Welcome, kiddies, to the WB's first attempt at a *gasp* suspense series. Mind you, I entered viewing with a severe case of unenthusiastic trepidation. When I first heard of "Glory Days" last spring, my heart was all aflutter at the thought of fresh material from one of my favorite scribes, Kevin Williamson. The show's original premise revolved around a one-hit wonder whose severe case of writer's block rendered him unable to write a follow-up to his best-selling debut novel "Glory Days." It sounded just like something we'd expect from the WB: a "Dawson's Creek"-type show focusing on romantic relationships and light situations.Enter the squelchers of all things creative, aka Network Executives, and pretty much in came the official Big Rewrite. When all was said and strewn on the cutting room floor, there lay a show that still followed the original premise of runaway novelist who must face his demons upon his homecoming. Only no "Dawson's", no romantic relationships, and no light situations.Welcome, instead, to Bizzaroland.Let's review the players (at least the ones I care about so far):Mike Dolan (Eddie Cahill) – The Prodigal Son, who wrote a book using most of his family and close friends as characters, returns. Said loved ones are, of course, less than thrilled with his depiction of them.Ellie (Poppy Montgomery) – Town coroner and a close dead-ringer for Julie Benz (the original female lead) who partially buries dead bodies in her garden to study decomposition rates. Quirky in that sense, yet needs to be flushed out.Rudy Dunlop (Jay R. Ferguson) – Deputy Doug, er, I mean Sheriff Doug, er, I mean Rudy. Mike's former best friend who was falsely characterized as a Card Carrying Friend of Dorothy in Mike's novel, "Glory Days."Sara Dolan (Amy Stewart) – Older, slightly neurotic sister who inherited the editor-in-chief title at the family-owned newspaper when Mr. Dolan died.Sam Dolan (Emily Vancamp) – Little sister who missed her older brother terribly. Her relationship and interactions with Mike remind me of the Claudia/Bailey dynamic on Party of Five.Zane (Ben Crowley) – Sidekick to Sam.Mitzi Dolan (Frances Fisher) – Kind of crazy mom to Mike, Sara, Sam and Mike. Let me just lay this out on the table from Day One: I LOVE HER. How could you not with lines like, "Sara, he's your brother first, jackass second." *snarf*If you've read my other analyses, you'll know I hold a certain bar to "Party of Five" because of the well-written details and moments from that show. I'm seeing glimmers of PO5 in this show, and that gives me hope. Finally, another series comes along that concentrates on developing characters.THE CORONER'S REPORT (my high points and low points for the episode): Mike and Rudy playing Hardy Boys amused me to no end, though the interrogation of the boy felt forced. - Gee, hmmm, saw a few Miramax and Dimension commercials. Do ya think Harvey and Bob got a cut on ad rates? - Wow, an actual laugh out loud moment when Rudy said, "It's ‘cause I cried when Goose died in Top Gun, isn't it?" in reference to why Mike thought he was gay. - The ferryman's widow is a pretty sharp shooter for a drama queen with a penchant for wearing bad wigs. - Did they take their stock shots from the same bin as Dawson's Creek and ILM mountains into the background? I was this close to hearing "I don't want to wait…" on the opening credits when the camera panned from marina to shore.So I did it. I made it through the hour, and am actually looking forward to next week's installment. "Grim Ferrytale" (oh, Kevin, clichés should be beneath you by now) pleasantly surprised me. Between all the rewrites, lead character changes, and dire predictions from the trade magazines, I thought this one was DOA. I really, truly thought I was not going to be able to physically sit through the entire episode.Kudos to you Kevin, for crafting a well-written tale that concentrates on characters, I say, "Welcome back, we missed you." You're not so up the Creek as I thought you'd be.Kara ScoopMe.com "Glory Days" reviewer

A smart and slick series from the creative man who brought us such wonderfully written thrillers as "Scream", Scream 2", "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "The Faculty". Kevin has returned to the genre that has made him famous and he does it successfully with this excellent new series, a welcome departure from the same old thing we see on TV over and over again. "Glory Days" finds writer Mike Dolan returning home four years after writing a supposedly fictitious murder-mystery novel which was inspired by his own father's death. He hasn't written anything since so he decides to return home after receiving a creepy anonymous letter about his father. He finds that the citizens of Glory Island weren't big fans of his book, including his own family who think that his book degraded the memory of his father. The local sheriff is Mike's former childhood friend who Mike depicted as a repressed homosexual in the book. A waitress at the local diner didn't fare any better, Mike made her out to be his father's killer. Upon coming home Mike is witness to an accident on a ferry which he claims was murder. Because of his book everyone in Glory considers him to be untruthful and nobody believes him so it's up to him to uncover the truth with the help of a lovely young coroner, new to Glory she's the only one not spurned by Mike's book. Filled with Kevin's sharp humor and smart character development (the cast does a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life especially Frances Fisher as Mike's mother, who he pegged as bipolar in the novel) the series draws you in to the mystery of the island and you don't want to leave until it's over, even then you eagerly await what will happen in the next episode. Once again Kevin Williamson has taken an ageless genre and tweaked it with his familiar touch to give us and hour of great entertainment filled with suspense, comedy and drama.