I've read the anxious and questioning boards discussing the possibilities that this show would be the next Twin Peaks, or any of its bastard offspring (Northern Exposure, American Gothic, Lost, Harpers Island, et al), and truly, the promos did give off a hint of all of these. What ABC in fact pulled off is an apology to David Lynch for axing Twin Peaks and for bungling what would have been the Mulholland Drive television show (instead of the film the footage became). ABC executives get nervous around geniuses like Lynch, but they want what they think is the essence of Lynch's work: quirky dialogue (check), real scenery shot from a surreal POV (check), music playing a huge role (check), stellar character actors in star-making roles (check), gruesome violence (check), and a mystery that's somehow less mysterious than everything and everyone around it (check). What killed Twin Peaks was not the introduction of the paranormal. In fact, Lynch introduced these elements in Season One, when the show was beyond critics' negativity and had a nation wrapped in plastic, eating doughnuts and pie, and waxing rhapsodic about coffee. What killed Twin Peaks, seriously, was solving Laura's murder. They could have stretched that saga out indefinitely, introducing more and more quirk and whimsy, more dark and gritty, more Audrey Horne, but the producers got nervous, forced a resolution, and ultimately dropped the ball. The film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me was the only apology we ever got for that, and we can thank Lynch and the cast (Not ABC) for that.Twenty years later, this show is an homage to Lynch, to Twin Peaks, to everything that could have been, yet with just enough of a fresh voice so as not to seem plagiaristic. It's an homage Tarantino-style, not a derivative rip-off. The moods belong to the show. The cadences are not those of Peaks, of Lost, of Harpers Island, etc. While flawed in several places, the story and writing are engaging enough and the entire cast are interesting enough to insure I'll return for the next episode. The real trick here lies in the writers, the directors, and especially ABC, continuing to unravel bit by bit, keeping the show taut and engaging, whilst never giving away anything too big just to "keep the audience". If ABC tosses this to the Saturday night dead zone the way they did to Twin Peaks (because Peaks was behind Knots Landing in ratings), or CBS did to Harpers Island (because Harpers Island really had poor ratings from the first episode onward. CBS at least gets credit for respecting the audience the show DID have by airing all the episodes. In an era of TIVO/DVR recordings, that's a noble thing indeed.) I refuse to call this just an homage to the first avant-garde network television series (Twin Peaks) until it proves itself so hollow. The respect paid to Lynch can be spotted in several places (a main character even says she's from Snoqualmie, Washington... the real town where several key places in Twin Peaks were filmed.) Here's hoping Happy Town finds its own counter-cultural mile markers.

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.

Happy Town came as a pleasant surprise, however I just could not help but wonder if the writers dipped their hands into one of Stephen King's creepy classic "NEEDFUL THINGS". Sam Neil's role as "Merritt Grieves", is so seemly similar with Max Von Sydow's sinister "Leland Gaunt". Hey, as long as the formula produces a creepy yet delicious dish for TV. M.C. Gainey who played the Town Sheriff (he also played as the pilot in the movie CON-AIR) was my MVP for the 1st episode, great acting, I would have given it to Sam, but, his role in this series looks wickedly good.The pilot episode started slow BUT soon picked up pace, I am looking forward to next week's show....The ladies living in the B&B resembles a coven, don't you think?

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.