Harper's Island

[Lenny]

Harper's Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's just started on BBC3 on this side of the pond, and I was wondering if anyone watched it when it aired on CBS, and if it's any good.

I'm three minutes in and it already feels very American, but I'll try and persist.

Ooooh! Mexican Trumpet.

EDIT: Six and a half minutes in, and I get the first real indication that it's an American programme - title credits in preparation for an advert break. Six and a half minutes in?! I pity you guys.

EDIT2: Harper's Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Failing ratings? From where I'm sitting, they look pretty decent! On par with any BBC3 programme, really. I wonder if there will be more or less viewers in the UK.

 

[purple_kathryn]

It'd be better without the soap opera angst

 

[Lenny]

It was... interesting. It's got a bit of promise, so I'll keep watching - hopefully it will get better.

It's also quite interesting that the difference between an English/British programme and an American programme are so obviously noticeable.

 

[Lenny]

The second episode was a lot better than the first, and I must say that the naming of the episodes after the sound made during each murder is novel, and somewhat amusing.

It still feels American, but I suppose that can't be helped. I'll watch the third on iPlayer after Sunday, and get back to you all on it.

Has anyone else been watching them?

 

[Lenny]

Epsiode three was titled "Ka-blam", which made the murder weapon quite obvious (yes, I've read enough murder mystery novels to know a weapon from a hundred yards from the noise it makes). Well, the same could be said for episode two ("Crackle"), really.

Anyway, I'm starting to enjoy it more, but I find one thing incredibly unbelievable. The island is tiny, by my count there have been five murders (four on the island), but only one has been discovered. Hell, two of the wedding party have disappeared, yet no-one's said anything!

I've started playing a little game - I try to predict who'll be dead by the end of the episode after watching the first five or ten minutes. So far I've got none right. I'll get there eventually, though, particularly as the cast of characters is getting smaller in each episode.

Don't tell me that P_K and I are seriously the only ones using a valuable forty minutes a week to watch the series.

 

[Lenny]

Bah... I've just realised that they're showing two episodes a week on BBC3, and as a result I've missed episode four! I'll hunt that down, then watch four, five and six in quick succession.

 

[Lenny]

Results from my game:

Episode Four - I failed.
Episode Five - took me a while, but I got it.
Episode Six - I failed.

I'm really getting into it now - the story is becoming more gripping, and as the wedding party has finally found a couple of bodies, things are getting much more... thrilling!

I must remember that two episodes are shown every Sunday night, not just the one.

 

[Ursa major]

Perhaps you're the only viewer still alive, Lenny....

(It would explain the fall in ratings you mentioned.)




* Wonders how many dead viewers Lenny has yet to find. *

 

[Stormpirate]

This showed in June / July in the US. The ratings failed after the pilot episode even though they had months of advertising. CBS decided to air the rest of the season since they had already been filmed. It was supposed to be a recurring series of a sort, so the next one might have been "Harper's Hotel" followed by "Harper's Cruise," that sort of thing, with different characters.

I loved it, even with its campiness and overactedness.

 

[Krystal]

I love Harper's Island, call it the 24 of horror. Of course, only because of the format. I have to say that I enjoy it even with its flaws.

 

[purple_kathryn]

I'm a bit disappointed with the killer reveal to be honest.

 

[Lenny]

I'm a bit disappointed with the killer reveal to be honest.

QFT. And that's two hangings in one episode - the guy is losing his touch.

It's moving more from a thriller to a horror now, particularly with episode nine's tunnel complex. If there's one thing I absolutely detest, it's tunnels. You should have seen me trying to play through Half-Life 2: Episode One...

Three episodes left, very few characters survive, and we've finally met Wakefield. I can see the last episodes being one final sprint (I must say that I've much enjoyed the past few episodes more than the first few as they're all over the course of a few hours, in comparison to being over a few days).

I wonder if the Beeb will show all three episodes next week, or show two and one the week after, or string it out.

---

I like the idea of a recurring series - Harper's Cruise sounds like the most 'fun'.

 

[purple_kathryn]

I looked up on my extended episode guide for next week and the first episode next week seems to be some kind of "making of" thing rather than an episode

 

[buffyscrubs]

Is that a soap show?

 

[Lenny]

Right, let's see...

After the disappointment of seeing Wakefield in Ep. 10, I thought he really shone in Ep. 11. A bit sad that my favourite character died (all because the other one is really slow at climbing), but it was still my favourite episode... so far.

Watched Ep. 12 the other day, and though it was good, it wasn't as good as 11. I think a lot more could have been made of the revelation (though I did enjoy the shock from the even happening).

I'll watch Ep. 13 in the next day or two, and get back to you. I'm expecting a complete bloodbath... well, of the three remaining wedding guests. My money is on there being five murders, though four and a miraculous escape that could easily have lead to a second series it what I think is more likely to happen.

 

[Lenny]

I feel... dirty. The last fifteen minutes or so of Ep. 13 are incredibly creepy, whilst everything leading up to it is... strange.

My predictions were wrong, as always. Two escaped (in all fairness, showing one of them being murdered probably isn't legal), an expected two died, and the miraculous escape never happened.

All in all, I've quite enjoyed the series. I'm tempted to buy the boxset, though I might wait for a Blu-ray release, seeing as it was filmed in HD.

 

[Alysheba]

I enjoyed the series but it was broadcast erratically here in the USA. Lucky for me I have an on demand feature from my cable company and was able to keep up with it without a hitch. However there is little else that can be done with it after this ending. I don't think they will be doing any part 2.