Harper's Island

[MaDMaN_26]

meh, I liked it until about half way through the epsiodes, Meelapo's post points out where I knew for sure who it was, I was guessing him before that mainly cause they pointed at everyone else so hard... so everything after was pretty underwhelming... I found the ending and the plot reveal to be bit bleh. Gave it a shot but if they start a season 2 I think I'll pass.

[fatso]

Well, I'm pretty sure there's not going to be season 2 as CBS just wanted a one-off series that they would follow through irrespective of ratings. I could be wrong though...

I somewhat guessed the killer too, which is almost inevitable in these things. TO be fair, though, I think they hinted at so many possibilities that whoever the killer ended up being, you could have looked back and said 'ya, I thought so'. I don't see that as a detriment per se, but rather part of the fun in these murder mystery type things.

The motivation for the killings though really peeves me. It makes no sense, or if it does, they didn't explain it to my liking.

I still enjoyed it and thought it was good summer viewing.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by fatso

Well, I'm pretty sure there's not going to be season 2 as CBS just wanted a one-off series that they would follow through irrespective of ratings. I could be wrong though...

I remember reading not long into the show that they had plans for more than one season but poor ratings forced them to cancel it after the first season. And really I can understand their decision at the time. The show started off slow and really didnt start to pick up until after the fifth episode.

[Meelapo]

I think we all heard different things. I remember reading somewhere that this series would just be a one off thing. They would have more of these "mystery events" but after each one ended that was it. So now that Harper's Island is done they may make a new one with a different story, different characters. I would really like something like this because it was a pretty fun series. I enjoyed a majority of the characters, except for the little girl.

I do agree that the motivation behind the killings was a bit silly. Motives behind killing a handful of people have to be more than what they provided (I would think...I'm not a murdered or anything). And the explanation was not what I hoped it would be.

All in all it was a nice show to pass time while we wait for the fall TV shows to begin.

[Inferno]

http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/h...island-pulled/

Though this season of 13 episodes was always intended to conclude the mystery, the network was hoping to bring the show back for a second season, with a different cast and mystery. Though this move doesn’t completely close the door on that possibility, it’s highly unlikely. After all, when was the last time a show that was exiled to Saturday nights ended up returning for another season?

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by fatso

Well, I'm pretty sure there's not going to be season 2 as CBS just wanted a one-off series that they would follow through irrespective of ratings. I could be wrong though...

I somewhat guessed the killer too, which is almost inevitable in these things. TO be fair, though, I think they hinted at so many possibilities that whoever the killer ended up being, you could have looked back and said 'ya, I thought so'. I don't see that as a detriment per se, but rather part of the fun in these murder mystery type things.

The motivation for the killings though really peeves me. It makes no sense, or if it does, they didn't explain it to my liking.

I still enjoyed it and thought it was good summer viewing.

I don't know, I think it was decent. I mean what else can they do in a show (movie) like this, how do you come up with a "good" reason to kill off 2 dozen people?

There were 2 keys IMO: to get her on the island (she wouldnt go there if they just started dating normaly, so he needed to come up with a plan how to get her there and he did) and the island had to be "vacated" - because as kids they wished to live on the island alone.

Mystery thrillers/slashers are never going to get satisfactory endings/explanations. I like the genre and I kind of gave up on expectations that the revelation of the killer and/or his motives will floor me with originality and how well thought out they are. I enjoy the movie (or a show in this case) for 80 minutes knowing the last 10 will suck. Still it beats the crap out of 95% of what else is out there.

[fatso]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

I don't know, I think it was decent. I mean what else can they do in a show (movie) like this, how do you come up with a "good" reason to kill off 2 dozen people?
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There were 2 keys IMO: to get her on the island (she wouldnt go there if they just started dating normaly, so heeeded to come up with a plan how to get her there and he did) and the island had to be "vacated" - because as kids they wished to live on the island alone.

Mystery thrillers/slashers are never going to get satisfactory endings/explanations. I like the genre and I kind of gave up on expectations that the revelation of the killer and/or his motives will floor me with originality and how well thought out they are. I enjoy the movie (or a show in this case) for 80 minutes knowing the last 10 will suck. Still it beats the crap out of 95% of what else is out there.

I agree that the execution of the murder scheme was internally logical and the revelation of who the murderer was made sense, at least it was plausible.

I disagree that the motive was decent and I also disagree that it's just part-and-parcel for the genre. I can think of a number of murder whodunnits where the motive actually made sense when you reflect back on all that happened.

Don't get me wrong - killing a bunch of people doesn't make sense, and in that sense I agree with you. But that doesn't alleviate the need or reader desire to at least have some kind of reason for the murders. Think about the conclusion of Scream 3, for example. Sure, the murderer there was a loony, but his actions tied up a whole bunch of plot points in the earlier movie and explained so much about the other characters and himself.

I didn't get that payoff here which I found disappointing. "Mommy never loved me so now I'm going to kill a bunch of people who have nothing to do with any of this!"?!?

Kind of weak imo, but still a good show and I'm glad I watched.