(S01E08) It's a bit ironic when the show that ends up being your unexpected series finale is called "Second Chances." Unfortunately there will be no second chances for Hidden Palms, and this ends up being the swan song for the series. I was fortunate enough to meet Sharon Lawrence at a party recently, and she said the show definitely isn't coming back. Curse you, CW! Now where will I turn for my need for teens in angst-ridden TV shows? Oh, thats right ... The CW.
It's obvious that they didn't think this was going to be the series finale when they wrote this, nor when they shot it. It doesn't nearly wrap things up in a nice little package, full of snipped loose ends and finished character arcs. It did finally tie up one of the biggest mysteries of the show, but it left a lot of unanswered questions in it's wake. What will Johnny be doing in the aftermath of tonight's show? Did he finally come to terms with his father's death and the whole issue of living in the room of someone who apparently committed suicide?
Talking about characters, this episode had a lot going on from start to finish. You have Johnny in full detective mode, Maria being extremely duplicitous and vengeful, Skip being the same and even choking Maria, Cliff being both creepy and helpful, Johnny's mom and stepdad on the edge of a divorce, and poor Nikki trying to deal with Cliff's incessant advances. I'm not sure why she's so torn up about a guy that she seemed to date for all of a week or so.
Strangely, with all of that going on, it doesn't feel like anything really happens until Liza finds Maria dead of an apparent suicide. However, will we ever know if it was Skip? Or Cliff? Or did she do it herself? Plus they did some really poor ADR by dropping in Liza saying "She did it, she killed Eddie." over the last scene. I think they even stuck an "It's over" line in there. That ambulance scene was a bit heavy on the cheese, if you ask me. Not that you did, but since this show has wound to a close, I'm not holding anything back.
So, Skip has Eddie's laptop, Cliff is still untrustworthy, Eddie apparently slept with everyone, Greta isn't as mysterious as we first thought, we finally know the real truth about who killed Eddie ... and Hidden Palms is no more. So what do you all think? Personally, I loved the show in the first few episodes, back when it was dark and mysterious, but eventually there was a sense of humor in the show, and it wavered between dark and funny and never really found it's niche. Granted, The CW didn't really seem to be behind the show, continually pushing the release date, then making it a summer series, and then ending things early. Now with the news that it'll never be back, what are your thoughts? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-06-2007 @ 9:17AM
Seth said...
Take Veronica Mars, remove everything that you actually enjoyed about the show, and you have Hidden Palms. It even has two VM cast members you didnt like!
This show was HORRIBLE!
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7-06-2007 @ 1:14PM
Jon88 said...
Unanswered questions only count if you care about the answers. Not so here.
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7-06-2007 @ 6:02PM
Bessie said...
i disagree i loved this show soooo much am so heartbrocken that its over and still hoping that it would come back it has everything that i love and am still heartbrocken about what's happening
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7-06-2007 @ 11:35PM
karen said...
i too loved loved loved this show! i don't understand WHY the network didn't give it time to develop a following, which could have easily happened given Hidden Palms' atmospheric setting, cast of beautiful people and engaging who-done-it plot twists!!! such a shame its over for good!
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7-07-2007 @ 3:01PM
Mike said...
I liked the show too...but I think the email that Johnny got at the end was changed....when I watched the 2nd to last eps. and Skip got the blackmail CD...he was wearing a shirt with stripes when he planted the gun...in the previews for the next show in the video clip the person fighting eddie had on a solid shirt...then in the final email it was Skip in the same shirt he planted the gun with....so I think the ending was changed.
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7-08-2007 @ 2:39PM
melissa said...
now i understand why johnny can't get over his dad's death as well as eddie's. he didn't get answers. i'm not getting answers either. why did they kill hidden palms?! anyway, really stinky finale. but you forgot that there's another person who could have killed maria, and that is tess. and i doubt that it was cliff. but i think the producers were pointing us towards skip. the end.
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7-09-2007 @ 11:20AM
denise said...
It WAS A GREAT SHOW!!!!! But they rather let shows that have no point & are insanelt boring, run fo'ever!
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7-10-2007 @ 12:44PM
tammsterm said...
First Veronica Mars, now Hidden Palms.
It really stinks to have a "short run" summer series with a limmited number of episodes and end it just when we get to know the characters and really get into the story line. Too many loose ends and unanswered questions were left. They could add episodes and just start where they left off. I would watch it!
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7-12-2007 @ 9:26AM
caroline said...
Do you think skip killed his wife as eddie said? Why didn't maria go to the police when her son was shot by an accident? It's so many unanswered questions.... I'm going nuts!!!!!!!!!!!
Screw the network!
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7-13-2007 @ 8:16PM
hank said...
Soo soo sooo angry that the show ended like it did. We know jonny got the e-mail of skip killing eddie so what then? Was maria killed or suicide, personally I think it was a suicide and thats why she sent the e-mail to jonny. Why does the CW have to be so lame with these super short seasons and then not come out with another one?
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7-18-2007 @ 10:19PM
laura said...
I think this show was AMAZING!.. and that's why me and all my friends are soooo sad that it's going off-air! There is soo much stuff they could make another full season with!!! I think that the network should keep it for at least one more season! PLEASE! This show is soo great!
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7-21-2007 @ 11:40PM
Todd said...
No one watches TV in the summer, networks know that.
To have the CW toss HP to the masses in June after shelving it all season, and expect a loyal weekly following with decent ratings is a laugh-out-loud joke. Yet obviously, it attracted a passionate loyal audience that LOVED this show, myself included. All the "what coulda - shoulda - woulda-" thoughts go through my head, as this is a show that definitely could have a future...if it had a network that believed in it, and stood behind it.
Most new shows ARE kind of rocky at the onset, HP included. But characters had depth, and we were beginning to see that, and the numerous story lines that could come from them. Lots of loose ends left unanswered...I hear Kevin Williamson had a second season plotted out, and sure would love to hear what he had planned for the Palm Springers...
You are missed, Hidden Palms...
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7-24-2007 @ 4:25PM
Kyla said...
i missed the second half of the finale
the tape cut right after liza tripped over maria!!
PLEASE SOMEONE FILL ME IN!
or better yet direct me to a site that i can watch the finale
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9-09-2007 @ 1:29PM
Derek said...
Am I glad I dont live in the US. The way your networks chop and changed, cancel and rip apart new shows, all based on the so called ' nelson ratings', which is fundimentaly flawed, is a joke.
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