I thought Happy Town had a decent chance of being entertaining:
"Executive producer Josh Appelbaum and others on the show are huge fans of the Twin Peaks"
"Executive producer Scott Rosenberg says he's more a Stephen King fan."
"So if you think it's too much like Twin Peaks, blame them. If you think it's not enough like Twin Peaks, blame me."
I love David Lynch films - Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and of course, Twin Peaks, are all surrealist classics. He is a true artist in the film world, where you come away from his movies not with a literal understanding of the story, but with a visceral sense of being disturbed and intrigued. His short films are not to be missed if you're a fan.
I also enjoy Stephen King stories. I say stories because it's typically not the production that wins me over - the novels are uniformly better than the movies - The Shining, Misery, Christine, Kujo, - all great books and very decent movies. His knack for writing terrifying stories that get at our deepest fears elevate him above other writers of the genre.
So with my expectations possibly set too high, Happy Town was fully disappointing - formulaic writing, overly produced, and all-around cheesy. I want to know who to blame if it's too much like CSI. It's unlikely I'll be back for a second episode, 20 minutes was more than enough.
