Previewing Happy Town

The ABC promo monkeys want to liken the network’s latest show Happy Town to its nineties suspense show Twin Peaks. But aside from a murder in episode one, the town of Haplin, Minnesota could be the exact opposite of the Washington town. There are no backwards talking midgets or other oddities that could only reside in the brain of David Lynch. Instead Haplin is more like a modern day Mayberry, your stereotypical small town where everyone know each other business because most work at the local bread factory, while the town’s namesakes still run the city and there have been no violent crime in over half a decade.

That is until the one stand out in the town, dude who stares a little too long at chick guy, gets murdered which brings back memories of what the locals call The Magic Man, who would make one townsperson disappear each year until the kidnappings abruptly stopped seven years ago. Could The Magic Man be Lauren German (which apparently is not a pseudonym for Ashley Green as these are actually two different people though I am sure more than a few could get the two mixed up), a young woman who for some reason picked Haplin to open up a candle show with her inheritance. Or maybe it is Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), a somewhat creepy cinema buff in a place that may not even have a theater and who lives with a bunch of widows, and the newly arrived German. Or maybe it could be M.C. Gainey (Lost) who starts going into weird trances around the time of the murder. Like they say, The Magic Man is someone you pass by on the street today.

Those three really provide the most interesting parts of the first episode, saying why would be too spoilery, though I can say a conversation between German and Neill is particularly riveting. The rest of the cast is a little bland, which may be the point considering the town is set up as being as close to small town utopia as you can get. Geoff Stults (7th Heaven) follow papa Gainey into the police department while his wife Amy Acker (Angel) works as the bread factory. There is also an eye rolling storyline with their babysitter (Sarah Gadon), from the wrong side of the track hiding her romance with the mayor’s grandson (Ben Schnetzer) because his father, Steven Weber (Wings) wouldn’t approve. Oh yeah, and Weber’s other kid was one of The Magic Man’s victims and he seems like the only person in the town that doesn’t want to forget the Magic Man even existed.

The problem with suspense shows has always been pacing. In the instance of Twin Peaks, once you leaned who killed Laura Palmer, everyone stopped watching or do you wait until seasons after people stopped caring about them before you answer questions like on Lost. Will Happy Town be the one that solves that problem? Only time will tell. But who cares what I think when you can check out the first fourteen minutes below. But keep in mind the all the great parts of the show happen in the second half including the previously mentioned conversation. And for anyone who makes it to the end of the episode, they will see the show solve two very big question that are set up earlier that will definitely make anyone that makes it that far to tune in for the second episode.




Happy Town airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on ABC. I assume episode will show up on Hulu after they air since there is already a page dedicated to the show on the site. Also be sure to check back Sunday for the regularly scheduled 57 Channels post when I will go in depth of the twits ending and my theory on the show.