HAPPY TOWN discussion

[Hellbound Hyperion]

OH MY GODS AND GODDESSES WE HAVE A PREMIERE DATE.



Development update here, with premiere date. April 28, people! Amy Acker returns to us so soooon! <3

Oh, and the show looks pretty good too. But we'll see. (By then I'll probably have a TV/comics blog running, mebbe I talk about it some, mmhmm?)

[Eric]

April 28th is my birthday.

Looks good, but I didn't see as much Amy as I'd like to. And was that Dean Winters in there?

[Hellbound Hyperion]

Feb 3, 2010 23:15:12 GMT -5 Eric said:

April 28th is my birthday.

Looks good, but I didn't see as much Amy as I'd like to. And was that Dean Winters in there?

Yeah, the promo doesn't have as much Amy as one would like, but she is credited in the main cast for the first season, so we should be seeing a lot of her.

And yes, that was Dean Winters. But he has since been replaced, so he won't be appearing in the series.

[Wyndam]

This show has a great cast, so I'm hoping for the best. I'm an absolute junkie for shows about small towns, so this is right up my ally.

[Eric]

I'm wondering how well this show will do. I heard ABC cut the episode order from thirteen to seven.

[Hellbound Hyperion]

Feb 4, 2010 10:23:52 GMT -5 Eric said:

I'm wondering how well this show will do. I heard ABC cut the episode order from thirteen to seven.

Eight, actually. And it probably has less to do with faith in the show than in scheduling issues. They've been sitting on it for a while now, waiting for a good time to lay it down, and with Ugly Betty now out the door, the Wednesday 10/9c time slot was open for business.

It's a bit of a risk, though - ABC's Comedy Wednesdays have been rockin' the house this year. I was quite shocked when they decided to terminate Ugly Betty early. Replacing it with a genre show? Yeesh.

Of course, this midseason ABC will probably be focused 110% on LOST.

[buffyfan21]

Happy to see we finally have a premiere date.

[Eric]

Feb 4, 2010 12:09:33 GMT -5 Hellbound Hyperion said:

Feb 4, 2010 10:23:52 GMT -5 Eric said:

I'm wondering how well this show will do. I heard ABC cut the episode order from thirteen to seven.

Eight, actually. And it probably has less to do with faith in the show than in scheduling issues. They've been sitting on it for a while now, waiting for a good time to lay it down, and with Ugly Betty now out the door, the Wednesday 10/9c time slot was open for business.

It's a bit of a risk, though - ABC's Comedy Wednesdays have been rockin' the house this year. I was quite shocked when they decided to terminate Ugly Betty early. Replacing it with a genre show? Yeesh.

Of course, this midseason ABC will probably be focused 110% on LOST.

Let's hope. I really want this show to do well. It's looks so good.

Also, are you sure it's eight? I thought for sure it was seven. Although I also heard the first episode is two hours long so maybe it's actually two episodes.

[Hellbound Hyperion]

Feb 5, 2010 0:36:44 GMT -5 Eric said:

Feb 4, 2010 12:09:33 GMT -5 Hellbound Hyperion said:

Eight, actually. And it probably has less to do with faith in the show than in scheduling issues. They've been sitting on it for a while now, waiting for a good time to lay it down, and with Ugly Betty now out the door, the Wednesday 10/9c time slot was open for business.

It's a bit of a risk, though - ABC's Comedy Wednesdays have been rockin' the house this year. I was quite shocked when they decided to terminate Ugly Betty early. Replacing it with a genre show? Yeesh.

Of course, this midseason ABC will probably be focused 110% on LOST.

Let's hope. I really want this show to do well. It's looks so good.

Also, are you sure it's eight? I thought for sure it was seven. Although I also heard the first episode is two hours long so maybe it's actually two episodes.

www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch.aspx?id=happy_town



All that really means is that the show has eight HOURS. So if the pilot IS a two-hour (and I believe it is), then there would only be six episodes to air after that to finish the eight-hour run (exempting a two-hour season finale, of course).

In any case, it's a ridiculously short run for a first season. I also have no idea how ABC plans to get viewers to watch it, especially since, with that start date, it's going to run into the early summer.

[CourtneyDax]

Well, short season or not, the promo has me interested. I usually don't like those kind of shows (I tried really hard to like Harper's Island and I just couldn't get into it!) but Amy Acker is a big enough reason to watch. April's a long time from now tho so whatevs!

[Hellbound Hyperion]

Well, and Harper's Island was kind of a special television event. Happy Town is a series, and from the looks of it, probably built on some serial/mythological storytelling elements. Makes sense - ABC is scrambling to find a solid show to fill LOST's shows and audience. Flashforward is trying, but not doing so well; maybe this show has a better chance.

[jellymoff]

The 1st 14 minutes of the premiere are online now:
www.aintitcool.com/node/44574

It didn't knock my socks off, but it could be interesting. And we get to see Amy, so yay...

[Hellbound Hyperion]

I'm resisting watching the first 14 minutes. I want my anticipation to be matched in context of a full episode. (I expect I'll be thrilled anyway, what with LOST on repeat the week of Happy Town's premiere.)

[Kara]

Isn't the first girl they show in the promo thing the chick from Hostel 2? I think she is..

[Eric]

Am I the only one who thought this was kind of boring? I'll give it another chance next week, but I'm not too optimistic right now.

[VampSlayer]

Completely agree, Eric. <.<

I really hope it gets better, or else I'll be thinking: "We missed Claire Saunders/Amy Acker amazingness in Dollhouse Season 2, all because of this trash?!"

The only good moment, IMO, was when we found out the one woman was Chloe. I thought the sheriff's 'Chloe Moments' were getting tiresome, as they just happened one after another. His mental breakdown thing was very predictable as well.

Like I said, I think the Chloe plot is the only interesting piece so far. Hope Amy gets some good plots for herself. I think I'll continue watching, for her.

OH! I liked the 'Romeo/Juliet' plot too. I think that could be neat.

[BenTaylor3907]

Like Eric and VS, I too thought the pilot episode In This Home on Ice was a little boring. Hopefully it will get better later on. And yes, Kara, the main chickadee in this is from Hostel Part 2. Is Happy Town a maxi-series only containing eight episodes or is there a chance of a second season? I agree with VS that Chloe was the only interesting thing in this episode. I can't wait for her back-story to be told and to find out what her secret agenda with the attic/third floor is. So far I'm thinking the Magic Man is Sam Neill's character Merritt Grieves. But then again, that is a little too obvious. Watch it be someone that no one would have suspected like in Harper's Island. It would be pretty badass if it was Amy Acker's character although I highly doubt it.

[Hellbound Hyperion]

Is Happy Town a maxi-series only containing eight episodes or is there a chance of a second season?

No, it's a full series. Paltry ratings last night, though.

I'll let everyone know my thoughts once I can watch it - had to shoot a movie last night so couldn't watch live.

[buffyfan21]

It was okay. I guess the first ep didn't particularly wow me, but I will definitely keep watching for Amy's sake. Hopefully it gets better. I think the show has potential.

I agree that the "Chloe" plot is the most interesting so far. Can't wait to find out who this mysterious stranger really is.

[SlayerCommaThe]

I don't really have high hopes for the show...

It's not that the concept of the show is bad, but, to me, it seems like it would be more suitable as a movie. I don't see how the writers and carry this out throughout a series. That and the fact that the premiere episode only got about 6-million viewers. That, and I much rather prefer the other Town.


GaGa~Vampyr