For those sad about the retirement of LOST and a hankering for some Twin Peaks-like action, Happy Town may fill that gap. It certainly doesn't hold anything back as far as serving its inspirations. It's a strange, humorous, and quirky affair with mysteries abound. The town has its own personality and one that is Lottery-esquire (in reference to the short story) and quite two faced. However, you'll know how interested you are in the series once they start to talk about The Magic Man and M.C. Gainey starts spouting off some weird mumbo jumbo that no one seems to be able to make sense of. You'll either take to the Twin Peak aspirations and obvious mysteries, or you'll want something much more grounded.
However, with genre shows having their peak at the moment, Happy Town may be worth sticking around for. The pilot is entertaining enough and the actors all do a fairly decent job of playing their respective parts. Hats off to Gainey and Sam Neill, both of whom stand out, with Gainey being a REAL Mr. Friendly here (with a seeming split in personality that I'm sure will be explained) and Sam pulling off being creepily British oh so well. For Sam alone and to see what they do with his character alone, it may be worth sticking around. As far as everything else, it's an ABC show with a slight Steven King, David Lynch twist (of which the creators stated was a huge inspiration for the show anyway). So, you can expect some gruesome details, although only two particular appeared in the pilot.
So, if you've got a soft spot for Twin Peaks and want something to get going with as LOST winds down, Happy Town may be your cup of Chamomile Tea, or whatever tea you prefer.
