I'm a big fan of mysteries, but it's hard to watch them on television. I'm talking about the onslaught of serial TV shows that we've seen the past couple of years. For every Lost or Heroes we've had, we've had an infinite number of shows that didn't make it, such as Daybreak and Kidnapped. It's easy to get frustrated and disillusioned when you start to watch a continuing drama and the show doesn't even get past its first 13 episodes. ABC pulled Daybreak after a handful of episodes and then put the rest online. NBC did the same with Kidnapped (it was also on Saturday nights, which didn't work out either).But I'm going to give Harper's Island a shot.
It has two things going for it that make me optimistic. One, CBS is really behind the murder mystery, creating an interactive online world for the show. And two, CBS is only planning for the show to run 13 episodes. If there is a second season, the show (about a woman who goes back to her hometown for a wedding and finds people she knows getting killed one by one) will start over with a completely new cast and a completely different murder mystery. They won't have to think of new ways to extend the original plot. In fact, at the TCA press tour, one of the producers said that it's good that the story will only last one season because they won't be "stuck making shit up for five years." Something tells me that was a not-so-subtle dig at Lost.
Harper's Island starts April 9 on CBS. It stars Elaine Cassidy, Harry Hamlin, and Richard Burgi.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-14-2009 @ 3:35PM
Kim said...
Given the 13 episode arc, I may give this a chance. However, having been burned by CBS with Jericho and Moonlight, I'm still wary. I just don't trust the king of serialized cop dramas to fullfill a commitment to a series that probably won't attract the instant success CBS expects.
I hope that anonymous producer wasn't referencing Lost because it is perhaps the best series in the history of television. Harper's Island would be fortunate to follow in the footsteps of Lost.
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1-14-2009 @ 3:45PM
Tony said...
I think the show sounds great and i've been excited about it for months. With that said i'm hesitant to give anything from CBS that isn't a procedural or a comedy a shot. I got burned by Swingtown and Cane.
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1-14-2009 @ 3:57PM
Tony said...
Also, how could I be confident that CBS will continue a show that isn't even starting until April 9. That means the final espisode will air July 2! Who will be watching this after May? TV ratings plummit then. The network will say there are not enough viewers and therefore we are not bringing it back. Not to mention the network has their upfronts in May and I doubt they will have a strong feeling one way or another by then as to if this show survives to season 2.
I think it's destined to fail and that upsets me.
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1-14-2009 @ 4:05PM
AC said...
Sounds a little like Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None." People on an island being murdered one by one.
If it gets picked up for another season and have a different mystery, are they going to change the name of the show? Or will the next mystery also take place on Harper's Island?
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1-14-2009 @ 4:52PM
MrC said...
I'll watch it just for Elaine Cassidy. Loved her in Ghost Squad. Looks like they beat the irish accent out of her though, which is a sad, sad, thing....
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1-14-2009 @ 10:30PM
Eludium-Q36 said...
Yes, that's exactly the concern, which is why I waited for "LOST" to complete 4 seasons before I borrowed a friend's DVDs and played catch-up so I can enjoy seasons 5 and 6 in real-time and join in all the online fansites devoted to it. Your viewing time is an investment, make sure you get a good return on that investment by waiting for a series to get a multi-season pickup.
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1-19-2009 @ 6:36PM
EyeSpy said...
Two words: Richard Burgi
Two more words: Oh, yeah!
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