TVSquad

(S01E01) Since it's been several months since I took a first look at Kevin Williamson's Hidden Palms, I decided to watch tonight's premiere episode again, just in case. Except for a few music cues (you know how The CW really loves their dramatic musical moments), everything was the same. Not that that's a bad thing, though. This is the show that I first dismissed as a cheap knockoff of The O.C., and then got sucked into after three episodes.

Because the previous post sums up the pilot episode pretty well (if I do say so my darn self), we can take this time to focus on the players and who they are. You can use the handy-dandy guide as you follow the lives of this batch of teens through a summer series:

Johnny (Taylor Handley): He's so good at playing an angsty / emo teen, and that's what made me write this off initially as The O.C. in Palm Springs. He's fond of army fatigues, longish hair, and he's a photographer, so you know he's sensitive. His dad committed suicide in front of him, leading him down a road of drugs and alcohol, and his mom dragged him to Palm Springs post-rehab, hoping it would be good for him.

Greta (Amber Heard): She's the femme fatale, and is very good about being mysterious, a bit eccentric, and pretty voluptuous. Granted, that last one isn't an acting skill, but what are you gonna do? She easily snares Johnny in her net and who knows what she's going to do with him.

Cliff (Michael Cassidy): The grinning jackass that seems like your basic vapid frat guy best friend type at first, but later you find out he has a mysterious background as well. He's your basic catalyst bad boy character, sort of an Eddie Haskell, and he lives across the street from Johnny.

Liza (Ellary Porterfield): She's the mysterious little scientist who also lives near Johnny. She's a working class girl who has crush on Johnny, but hasn't quite worked up the nerve to talk to him. She's my favorite thing about the show, and I really want to see what happens with her character, if she doesn't blow herself up first.

Eddie (???): This is the mysterious (notice a trend here?) boy who used to live in Johnny's new room, and he also apparently committed suicide. He has ties to both Cliff and Greta, and we find out more about him in the upcoming episodes.

Karen, Johnny's mom (Gail O'Grady): She's conflicted over the death of her husband, but she's married a new pretty boy husband (D.W. Moffett) with some dough ... apparently to take care of herself and Johnny. She might feel guilty about this too. She basically spends a lot of time looking concerned.

Tess, Cliff's mom (Sharon Lawrence): She's a campy movie-star has-been cocktailer who's addicted to plastic surgery. She's both comic relief, and a bit of insight into Cliff's strange psyche. She might be shallow and vapid, but she seems like a lot of fun to hang out with.

Jesse Joe (Leslie Jordan): The 4'11" campy comic character actor that you've seen in a million different things. He plays a cross-dresser and Johnny's AA sponsor. He's always popping up to wag a finger in order to try and keep Johnny on the straight and narrow ... and alcohol-less.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, are the key players for Hidden Palms ... at least so far. We'll be seeing some a new face in the next episode, and more to come as this series unfolds. I think people will come for the pretty faces and bodies, and stay for the mystery. I for one want to find out about the mysterious Eddie, and the even more mysterious Liza. Stay tuned for more.