The critics are not exactly jumping for joy.
Happy Town, ABC's attempt at a
Twin Peaks reincarnation or, failing that, a
Harper's Island rip-off, is not making critics smile, citing the series' contrived weirdness, disjointed narrative and just horrible writing.
'Happy Town' Review: Heavy on Ham, Light on QualityAlmost all reviews for
Happy Town's series premiere last night were negative, while some were just downright mean. With dialogue along the lines of "You're cuter than a mouse's pocketbook," however, it's easy to see their point.
Says the
Star Ledger: "When
Twin Peaks was weird, it felt naturally weird; when Happy Town is weird, it's because someone decided a show like this has to be quirky ... It's hard to actually feel scared when a scene is all but screaming, 'You are supposed to be scared now!'"
USA Today was way more vicious: "The network now plunges ahead with the equally miserable
Happy Town, a serial murder mystery so awful, it makes you think ABC saw CBS'
Harper's Island and felt some suicidal urge to do even worse ... where other shows use throw-away plots as red herrings, this show uses entire episodes."
The
Los Angeles Times was more succinct: Calling
Happy Town more Mad magazine than
Twin Peaks, it says its "many fine performances are battered to death by a welter of plot twists and cheesy revelations that come speeding out of the sky."
The
New York Daily News opined that while the "pieces" are "there," the elements felt "messy" and "unfocused."
There was one positive review, however.
The Boston Herald says
Happy Town "shows a sure hand with pacing and knows how to end an hour with a powerful cliffhanger."
What did you think of
Happy Town?
(Image courtesy of ABC)