It’s nighttime soap about what happens when the superpowered teen daughter of Satan washes onto the shores of a pretty New Jersey resort town – from, among others, longtime “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” writer-producer-director Marti Noxon and “The Tick” creator Ben Edlund.
Don’t expect genre-mocking.
At least not at first. The bland first two hours (airing Wednesday and Thursday at 9 p.m.) do not feel in any way like they’re from the people who brought you “Buffy,” and “The Tick.” And though “Pleasant” shares a lot of elements with “Twin Peaks” and “The O.C.,” there are no improbably sunny FBI agents or scene-stealing nerd sidekicks. Tonally, the first two episodes of “Point Pleasant” feel more like “Melrose Place” or “Cruel Intentions” (another of “Pleasant” producer Neal Moritz’s productions) crossed with “The Omen.”
Here’s who’s writing what I expect will evolve into a much better show:
Marti Noxon authored more teleplays for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” than any other writer alive, including series creator Joss Whedon. Her output includes such favorites as “The Wish,” “The Prom,” “Living Conditions,” “Goodbye Iowa,” “New Moon Rising,” “Buffy Vs. Dracula,” “Into the Woods,” “Forever” and both hours of “What’s My Line.”
Ben Edlund created the “Tick” comic book, the “Tick” animated series and the “Tick” live-action series, then went on to write for “Firefly” and the last, best season of “Angel.” He created, among many other things, Sebassis’ peepee demon.
Diego Gutierrez got his start writing the memorable “Buffy” episode “Normal Again,” in which Buffy came to suspect she was a mental patient and her life as a slayer was a delusion. He went on to script installments of “The Shield” and the miniseries “Kingpin.”
Jenny Lynn joins the Writers Guild of American West following a long stint as assistant to Mutant Enemy president Chris Buchanan. She also translated a lot of the “Firefly” dialog to Chinese.
P.K. Simonds is a veteran of genre, teen, and genre teen series, including “Beauty and the Beast,” “Dead at 21,” “Party of Five,” “Earth 2” and “Tarzan.” He also worked on “Citizen Baines,” a pretty cool but insanely short-lived drama about an ex-senator.
Andrea Newman hasn’t written for a bad TV show yet. Her credits include “Felicity,” “Ed,” “24” and “Mister Sterling.”
Rob Doherty’s credits include “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Dark Angel,” “MDs” and “Tru Calling.”
What matters Herc's opinion? The Hollywood Reporter says:
At least not at first. The bland first two hours (airing Wednesday and Thursday at 9 p.m.) do not feel in any way like they’re from the people who brought you “Buffy,” and “The Tick.” And though “Pleasant” shares a lot of elements with “Twin Peaks” and “The O.C.,” there are no improbably sunny FBI agents or scene-stealing nerd sidekicks. Tonally, the first two episodes of “Point Pleasant” feel more like “Melrose Place” or “Cruel Intentions” (another of “Pleasant” producer Neal Moritz’s productions) crossed with “The Omen.”
Here’s who’s writing what I expect will evolve into a much better show:
Marti Noxon authored more teleplays for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” than any other writer alive, including series creator Joss Whedon. Her output includes such favorites as “The Wish,” “The Prom,” “Living Conditions,” “Goodbye Iowa,” “New Moon Rising,” “Buffy Vs. Dracula,” “Into the Woods,” “Forever” and both hours of “What’s My Line.”
Ben Edlund created the “Tick” comic book, the “Tick” animated series and the “Tick” live-action series, then went on to write for “Firefly” and the last, best season of “Angel.” He created, among many other things, Sebassis’ peepee demon.
Diego Gutierrez got his start writing the memorable “Buffy” episode “Normal Again,” in which Buffy came to suspect she was a mental patient and her life as a slayer was a delusion. He went on to script installments of “The Shield” and the miniseries “Kingpin.”
Jenny Lynn joins the Writers Guild of American West following a long stint as assistant to Mutant Enemy president Chris Buchanan. She also translated a lot of the “Firefly” dialog to Chinese.
P.K. Simonds is a veteran of genre, teen, and genre teen series, including “Beauty and the Beast,” “Dead at 21,” “Party of Five,” “Earth 2” and “Tarzan.” He also worked on “Citizen Baines,” a pretty cool but insanely short-lived drama about an ex-senator.
Andrea Newman hasn’t written for a bad TV show yet. Her credits include “Felicity,” “Ed,” “24” and “Mister Sterling.”
Rob Doherty’s credits include “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Dark Angel,” “MDs” and “Tru Calling.”
What matters Herc's opinion? The Hollywood Reporter says:
Marti Noxon authored more teleplays for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” than any other writer alive, including series creator Joss Whedon. Her output includes such favorites as “The Wish,” “The Prom,” “Living Conditions,” “Goodbye Iowa,” “New Moon Rising,” “Buffy Vs. Dracula,” “Into the Woods,” “Forever” and both hours of “What’s My Line.”
Ben Edlund created the “Tick” comic book, the “Tick” animated series and the “Tick” live-action series, then went on to write for “Firefly” and the last, best season of “Angel.” He created, among many other things, Sebassis’ peepee demon.
Diego Gutierrez got his start writing the memorable “Buffy” episode “Normal Again,” in which Buffy came to suspect she was a mental patient and her life as a slayer was a delusion. He went on to script installments of “The Shield” and the miniseries “Kingpin.”
Jenny Lynn joins the Writers Guild of American West following a long stint as assistant to Mutant Enemy president Chris Buchanan. She also translated a lot of the “Firefly” dialog to Chinese.
P.K. Simonds is a veteran of genre, teen, and genre teen series, including “Beauty and the Beast,” “Dead at 21,” “Party of Five,” “Earth 2” and “Tarzan.” He also worked on “Citizen Baines,” a pretty cool but insanely short-lived drama about an ex-senator.
Andrea Newman hasn’t written for a bad TV show yet. Her credits include “Felicity,” “Ed,” “24” and “Mister Sterling.”
Rob Doherty’s credits include “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Dark Angel,” “MDs” and “Tru Calling.”
What matters Herc's opinion? The Hollywood Reporter says:
Diego Gutierrez got his start writing the memorable “Buffy” episode “Normal Again,” in which Buffy came to suspect she was a mental patient and her life as a slayer was a delusion. He went on to script installments of “The Shield” and the miniseries “Kingpin.”
Jenny Lynn joins the Writers Guild of American West following a long stint as assistant to Mutant Enemy president Chris Buchanan. She also translated a lot of the “Firefly” dialog to Chinese.
P.K. Simonds is a veteran of genre, teen, and genre teen series, including “Beauty and the Beast,” “Dead at 21,” “Party of Five,” “Earth 2” and “Tarzan.” He also worked on “Citizen Baines,” a pretty cool but insanely short-lived drama about an ex-senator.
Andrea Newman hasn’t written for a bad TV show yet. Her credits include “Felicity,” “Ed,” “24” and “Mister Sterling.”
Rob Doherty’s credits include “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Dark Angel,” “MDs” and “Tru Calling.”
What matters Herc's opinion? The Hollywood Reporter says:
P.K. Simonds is a veteran of genre, teen, and genre teen series, including “Beauty and the Beast,” “Dead at 21,” “Party of Five,” “Earth 2” and “Tarzan.” He also worked on “Citizen Baines,” a pretty cool but insanely short-lived drama about an ex-senator.
Andrea Newman hasn’t written for a bad TV show yet. Her credits include “Felicity,” “Ed,” “24” and “Mister Sterling.”
Rob Doherty’s credits include “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Dark Angel,” “MDs” and “Tru Calling.”
What matters Herc's opinion? The Hollywood Reporter says:
Rob Doherty’s credits include “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Dark Angel,” “MDs” and “Tru Calling.”
What matters Herc's opinion? The Hollywood Reporter says:
With "Point Pleasant," Fox does one of the things it does best -- teenage soaps filled with jealousy, hormones and actors who would look equally at home on the set or on a star-splattered magazine cover. … a swimsuit-filled drama with just a smidgen of Stephen King atmosphere. … The pilot was written by John McLaughlin and exec producer Marti Noxon, the latter mostly associated with her superb work on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." But though that was a show that could mock the supernatural even as it delved into its deeper meanings, "Point Pleasant" appears to have no such aspirations. Here, the mysterious and gothic mostly are convenient plot contrivances to advance the more urgent question of who is going to hook up with whom. Still, what this show lacks in sophistication it more than makes up for in its understanding of the genre. It is well cast and directed in a way that nicely blends fantasy, mystery and sexual yearning.
Variety says:
… Reasonably well put together and cast with the usual gorgeous teens and parents, series is a logical "OC" companion … does offer plenty of layers to peel away. Potentially fertile plot strands range from locating Christina's mother to a mysterious servant of Satan, I guess, played by Grant Show, who obliquely talks about the girl fulfilling her destiny. …
The New York Times says:
It is easy to sum up a show that drops a teenage girl with supernatural powers into a tightknit beach community as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" meets "The O.C." Actually, this series, which has its premiere tonight, is a far more muddled (and humorless) potpourri of movie and television influences. … The results should be awful, but they're not. The plot has the same hypnotic predictability of a daytime series (could those young lovers turn out to be brother and sister?) and the supernatural is always hard to resist. … That said, the show's pace and writing are leaden, and the production values are mundane. "Point Pleasant" has none of the knowing wit of "Dark Shadows" or "Buffy." The only interesting young character is Judy (Aubrey Dollar), the tomboy whose mother keeps urging her to let down her braids and look pretty. … remarkably uninspired casting choices …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… I hesitate even to call it a show — it's more like the skin of other shows and movies peeled off and stitched together to create a new show, like the serial killer's home project in "The Silence of the Lambs." … The gothic, supernatural stuff, used both metaphorically and for comedic effect in "Buffy," just sits there in the pilot of "Point Pleasant." "Buffy" used the vampire shtick to make comments about peer pressure, family, boy problems. But "Point Pleasant," created by Marti Noxon, who wrote on "Buffy" and its spinoff "Angel," lacks a stylistic imprint and, more important, a sense that you could become invested in the layers the show will gradually reveal. … Unable to create suspense or dread around the Satan angle …
USA Today gives it two stars (out of four) and says:
… Now if only it were as lively as The O.C. Alas, much of Point Pleasant is taken up by people staring at each other glumly and portentously, which really isn't very pleasant at all. … If you're thinking that it can't be easy to build a show around Satan's daughter, you're right. Christina's inability to control or understand her evil powers tends to make her an unsympathetic heroine, a problem compounded by Harnois' often blank performance. … However much it may be pitched as an O.C. companion, Point lacks any sign of O.C.'s humor. There also isn't any signal that there's intelligence at work in the plot. And that's truly odd, because the co-creator and executive producer of the show is one of TV's better writers, Buffy's Marti Noxon. …
Newsday says:
Pointless, unpleasant spookfest among shore-dwelling teens and their over-angst-ridden parents. … "Point Pleasant" paints by numbers and never goes outside the lines. … the fiction is so contrived. So uninvolving. And finally, so downright unpleasant. … Subtlety is also lacking in the characters, try as the actors might to flesh out the too-hackneyed mourning moms, sex-starved dads, seductive neighbor ladies and pouty townies. Finding the actual human being in this scene is no small feat. Even our "heroine," the would-be drownee played by Elisabeth Harnois, remains an empty vessel, described as having "a good heart" but playing pretty much numb. …
zap2it.com says:
Alas, I regret to be the one to inform you, because I so wanted to like the show (it stars Grant Show and is from executive producer Marti Noxon), that it's really awful. … I was not frightened or disturbed which I think was supposed to be the point. However, I've only seen the pilot and sometimes things get a lot better …
The Knight-Ridder News Service says:
… hour manages to introduce the characters, set the mood and start the plot in motion with noteworthy skill and an almost electric crackle. … Like Buffy and Angel, Christina is a sympathetic blend of the mortal and the otherworldly, her powers giving her a sort of heightened humanity. The ethereally lovely Harnois and the sturdier Dollar are especially good together, making the Christina-Judy relationship one of the more interesting ones. There's also a literacy, even an elegance, that recall Whedon's best work.
The Detroit News says:
… isn't overly or even intentionally campy. It has no sense of humor except for you the one you can give it, and it's a show that you can bring plenty of laughs into. The setup is very C-movie horror, and the acting is barely a grade above it. That's not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who relish it then "Point Pleasant" can act as a delicious guilty pleasure. …
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says:
… The battle for souls is an interesting ingredient for a prime-time soap. The result is a compelling show that can become a guilty pleasure for many viewers. …
The Richmond Times-Dispatch says:
Fox's new "Point Pleasant" is the one thing a series about the teenage spawn of the devil shouldn't be -- dull. … interchangeable cast of teenage characters … lacks a key ingredient found in both of the other prime-time soaps: a nudge, nudge, wink, wink tone that demands the viewer share in the joke.
"Point Pleasant" could use one of Seth's comic icebreakers from "The O.C." or one of Teri Hatcher's clumsy moves from "Desperate Housewives." Anything to make you forget lines like "Do you ever think things happen for a reason?"
9 p.m. Wednesday & Thursday. Fox.
