Posted by Dustin on 07.01.2010 at 7:15 pm

The final two episodes of “Happy Town” are now online. If you haven’t watch, and want to, stop reading now 🙂

Motha . . . . First up I still am confused. Second, Dee Wallace Stone ?!?!?!? A second season would have been so awesome!

So what did we find out? Merritt and the FBI agent Farmer were working together. They both loved the same woman, she ended up with Merritt, but had a child named Simon. Simon disappeared, they blamed the Magic Man and worked together to find them. It wasn’t clear if Simon was one of the abducted . . . or the Magic Man?

Hanley/Chloe worked with Merritt to find him to, while still talking to her mom on the phone about finding him. Not sure what the whole connection here is. Tommy’s wife seem to think Hanley seemed . . . familiar. We never got answers. I somewhat felt she might have been Simon’s sister ????

Peggy Haplin is nuts and showed her grandson a film called “Behind The Blue Door.” That made him realize he could not run away with Georgia as planned, his place was here with the family. Peggy wanted him to take over, his father was worthless basically. The father was obsessed with finding his missing daughter, while his wife went nuts and completely transformed herself into the missing daughter by the end of the show.

We don’t know what the film was, cause we heard and only saw. We know that the grandson found it “sick” and everyone in it sounded German. Nazi propaganda? The Blue Door is also connected to the Magic Man . . . .

Hanley/Chloe told Tommy that his mother Alice was murdered by Peggy Haplin with the hammer. She gave it to him, and he faced off with his father Griff. Tommy went to question Peggy. Alice was the gardner and according to Griff “very close” to the lady of the house. He asked if she murdered his mother. She said that is not the question he should be asking.

Griff went to a bar named Cicero (the Magic Man’s bird) and led Henley/Chloe and Merritt and Farmer there as well. He approached the bar where Miss Dee Wallace Stone was tending. He said “You never told me they were all still alive . . . . Alice!” She said he never asked.

Grrrrr! I hate that we have no answers really. Here is hoping the writers/producers give some kind of closure as to what they were planning to do. Yeah a long shot ?

Posted by Dustin on 06.18.2010 at 3:06 pm

So I haven’t written about the past 2 (3?) episodes of “Happy Town,” but I have watched and enjoyed, and planned to write something soon after this week’s awesome episode.

Alas . . . ABC has struck again. The shows official “Tweeter” recently posted that the final two episodes of “Happy Town” will only be shown online . . . details to come. What really sucks? Apparently in the next episode we would learn who the Magic Man is!

Anyways, here are the spoiler descriptions for the final two episodes, which apparently will be on ABC.com only. Again, no word on if they plan to just post them shortly, or on schedule when they should have aired on TV.

“Dallas Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” – While the townspeople mourn the passing of Big Dave Duncan, Merritt and Henley scheme to take back the mysterious hammer that is once again in Peggy Haplin’s possession. As Handsome Dan chases down leads in the Magic Man kidnappings with a suspiciously unabated fervor, Tommy thinks he smells a rat. Tommy Conroy also discovers that his mother’s death, which he thought was caused by a stroke, might have a much darker origin. Meanwhile, the widows at the Meadows Boarding House don’t hide their jealousy when Merritt accepts Peggy Haplin’s party invitation at Weeping Wall; and landlady Dot Meadows comes to regret filing a police report after finding dead birds in the woods, on “Happy Town,” WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

“Blame It on Rio Bravo” – Many secrets of Haplin are revealed, as news spreads of the capture of the “Magic Man.” The Stivilletos and John Haplin, as well as half the town, converge on the Sheriff’s office wanting their own brand of justice. In the midst of the fiery showdown, Tommy confronts Griff about Henley’s claim that the goat’s head hammer had a part in his mother’s demise. Meanwhile, Merritt mysteriously wields his own influence on the sizzling face-off; and Peggy Haplin terrifies her grandson Andrew, who is on the verge of running away with Georgia. John Haplin wonders if he will ever find his missing daughter, but discovers his grief-stricken wife, Carol, has transformed herself in an unusual way. And find out who the “Magic Man” actually is, on the Season Finale of “Happy Town,” WEDNESDAY, JULY 7 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

Posted by Dustin on 06.04.2010 at 7:17 pm

It’s a shame that ABC pulled “Happy Town” off for two weeks, because this latest episode was the best to date.

Tommy teamed up with self-proclaimed Magic Man expert Merritt to try and recover his wife Rachel. We learned that some of the original kidnapping victims might still be alive, as the hand from his very first was severed and delivered to a bread factory with Rachel’s ring on it! By the end of the episode Rachel was returned home alive, but has no memory of what happened to her. Merritt said he’s changed his game! It seems he’s now kidnapping and returning people, almost as if challenging the cops to try and find him. We also learned Merritt has a past with the Magic Man, it seems someone close might have been a victim of his, and he commented the Magic Man’s terror extends beyond just Haplin. Hmmmmm!

Another interesting development was something going on between Peggy Haplin and Tommy’s father the Sheriff, as she visited him making a comment about how she thought they took care of “this” long ago? Then Chloe showed up at Peggy’s place with her hammer (which she got back) and blackmailed Peggy, claiming it was her rightful inheritance? What is going on? I don’t fully know, but I loved this episode! I almost got the feeling that Chloe is a Haplin somehow, maybe by an affair, and she is what Peggy and the Sheriff thought they took care of?

Below the jump are the next two episode spoilers!

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Posted by Dustin on 05.26.2010 at 11:41 pm

“Happy Town” is back next week with a new episode!

RACHEL CONROY’S STARTLING DISAPPEARANCE EVOKES NEW FEARS THAT THE MAGIC MAN IS BACK TO MENACE HAPLIN, ON ABC’S “HAPPY TOWN”

“Slight of Hand” – When Rachel Conroy mysteriously vanishes, an eerie cloud settles over Haplin, as clues point to the return of the elusive Magic Man. Surprisingly, Tommy finds an unlikely ally while desperately searching for his wife. Meanwhile, Handsome Dan announces he has to leave Haplin, then unexpectedly turns up elsewhere. Henley manages to get her stolen property back from Greggy Stiviletto and uses it to blackmail a member of Haplin’s powerful “first” family. Finally, Tommy investigates some gruesome evidence that ironically could mean good news for many of Haplin’s families, on “Happy Town,” WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

Guest starring in “Slight of Hand” are Frances Conroy as Peggy Haplin, M.C. Gainey as Sheriff Griffin Conroy, Abraham Benrubi as Big Dave Duncan, Warren Christie as Greggy Stiviletto, Peter Outerbridge as Handsome Dan Farmer, Stephen McHattie as Carl Bravin, Sophia Ewaniuk as Emma Conroy, Marcia Bennett as Rose Perkins, Deborah Grover as Joanie Jenkins, Diane Gordon as Esther Klapman, Anna Ferguson as Irene Vaughn, Joanna Douglas as Officer Shell Jenkins, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos as Lincoln Stiviletto, Steve Arbuckle as Baby Boy Stiviletto, Matt Hopkins as Womper Stiviletto, Kedar as Kelvin Tolliver, Barry Flatman as Robert Ward, Arlene Mazerolle as Sarah Ward, Andrew Scorer as Levon, Greg Bryk as Dr. Pete, Marlee Otto as Lauryn Ward, Kris Saric as officer, James Kirchner as foreman, Natasha Priest as Bready worker number one and Jacob Neayem as Bready worker number two.

Posted by Dustin on 05.13.2010 at 9:54 pm

So after last night’s episode, “Happy Town” is off the air until June 2nd. That gives me time to rewatch the first 3 episodes again and take notes. I have to say I am fairly lost, and there must be a million little clues I am missing.

I feel like there are too many stories going on right now and I am not sure where they are going. The rich boy loves poor girl and their families hate each other story I could do without. I hope it’s going somewhere, because it’s getting way more attention than some of the stories I would like to see more of. I do however love Francis Conroy as Mrs Haplin. She rocks.

I wanna see more of Sheriff one hand and learn about Chloe, who apparently hooked up with the Stifelletos murderer brother, who is now out of jail and stole the bird she stole from the third floor? I want to know what is going on there. I wanna know what the statue means. The Magic Man has a pet bird it seems, a connection? Maybe the Magic Man is the group of old women all working together lol!

Also what is up with Georgia’s trances? Why is she having them?

Merritt is just creepy. Who is he and what does he want? The previews say he’s basically obsessed wit the Magic Man.

The show ended with a fairly big cliffhanger, Tommy’s wife seems to have been taken by the Magic Man, who is back.

Like I said, I feel I need to rewatch and take some notes, maybe make some diagrams too.

Posted by Dustin on 05.01.2010 at 11:45 am

So did you watch ABC’s “Happy Town?” Did you enjoy it? I did! But then this kinda of mystery/horror type stuff is right up my alley. This should fill the void left by “Harper’s Island” too.

A brief intro/summary for those who didn’t see it, or pondering watching on ABC.com. The show takes place in Haplin, Minnesota, where they are celebrating “Thaw Fest” when the winter snow and ice begins to thaw. Not everyone considers Haplin to be a “Happy Town” as one of the first disturbances to happen was people erecting a banner to those who went missing many years ago because of “The Magic Man.” One of these was the young daughter of the town rich guy/family (Steve Weber), those that own a bread factory that seems to employ half the town. His older son is also dating the town’s outcast’s daughter in secret, it’s very “Romeo and Juliet” as the show mentions.

The second major disturbance was the first murder in some 10 years. This is how the show opened, with the man being murdered in his ice fishing shack after telling someone something they needed to know. This gets the main character, Tommy (Geoff Stults), involved, along with his dad who is the town’s sheriff.

Meanwhile this young girl named Henley moves to town. She has designs on opening a candle shop, so she says. She takes a room in a boarding house and meets the mysterious Merritt (Sam Neil), who is the fancy of all the older women in town. He also has a room in the house. Henley is told the minute she moves in the third floor is forbidden, off limits! Merritt owns a movie memorabilia shop, which Henley notes is an odd choice of business in such a small secluded town . . . how will he keep it afloat? Merritt explains the Magic Man to Henley, a man who got his name as he seemed to make his victims disappear of the face of the earth. He took one person every year, then suddenly stopped a number of years back. He was never caught.

As the show winds down, Tommy and his dad investigate the murder. Tommy’s dad keeps asking people “Have you seen Chloe?” He keeps mentioning Chloe through the whole show, as if he’s in a trance when he does so. At the end he goes into a very bizarre trance in his office, grabs a tomahawk (which he seems to collect) and chops off his hand (so we are lead to believe). At the same time at the boarding house Henley calls her mom indicating she’s here and is planning to find out what is on the third floor. She is leaving her mom a message, when her mom picks up. She then says “It’s me mom . . . Chloe.”

My Thoughts
I actually watched the show twice. The first time I was multi-tasking as usual, so I wanted to make sure I caught every little clue. I have feeling this is going to be like “Harper’s Island” where you can go back and watch earlier episodes later on to pick up even more clues.

I really liked the show. It started off slow, but half way through really picked up. Sam Neil was just terrific. I’ve always been a fan, and when he plays creepy he IS creepy! Obviously Merritt isn’t in town just for business, as Henley/Chloe said, his shop would fail miserably.

Henley/Chloe is another mystery. She has a bizarre tattoo on her shoulder they made sure to showcase at the end. I’m not sure what it was of. It almost looked Wiccan or pagan in some way. Who is Chloe and how is she connected to the sheriff? Of course the first thing that pops into my head is his long lost kid, too many years of soaps 🙂 Second would be she is related to the Magic Man.

I loved the sheriff’s trances asking about Chloe. It totally made me think of “Someone’s at the door” from the old “American Gothic” show. Let’s hope “Happy Town” doesn’t meet the same fate though. “American Gothic” was ahead of it’s time, and the public then wasn’t ready for such themes on primetime TV.

Then there is the mystery of The Magic Man. Is he the killer? No, but maybe he is looking for The Magic Man? They made it clear, the Magic Man’s victims disappeared, this guy left his body. The show’s official twitter says Tommy finds out who killed this guy next week and it leaves him forever changed.

Can’t wait!

P.S. You can follow the “Happy Town” category link for other upcoming spoiler releases for the show!

Posted by Dustin on 04.26.2010 at 1:57 pm

Spoiler highlights include . . . .

– Someone close to Anna is violently attacked on “V” . . . Lisa?
– A town festival on “Happy Town” leads to evil.
– Demi Lovato checks in on “Grey’s,” while Meredith worries about Owen?

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Posted by Dustin on 04.19.2010 at 4:18 pm

Spoilers for the first full week in May. Highlights include . . . .

– No shock here, Tyler gets invited to live abord with the Vs
– “Grey’s” gets a very big patient, while Naomi tries to save a dying William on “Practice.”
– Lynette learns the truth about Eddie, while Patrick goes after Tyler on “Housewives.”
– The Walkers are about to lose Ojai on “Brothers and Sisters”
Read More »

Posted by Dustin on 04.12.2010 at 5:19 pm

A HORRIFIC CRIME REKINDLES A TOWN’S DARK MYSTERIES, ON THE PREMIERE OF “HAPPY TOWN,” WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28

Faced with the Disturbing New Crime, Memories of the Infamous “Magic Man” Return, as Well as Bizarre Secrets about Haplin’s Local Residents
The residents of the sun-splashed town of Haplin, Minnesota — also known as “Happy Town” — have enjoyed an uneasy peace for the past five years — but that is about to change. Still haunted by a number of unsolved kidnappings, Haplin now faces a disturbing new crime that brings all of its unresolved fears to the surface. Has the elusive “Magic Man” – who many believe is responsible for the bizarre abductions — returned to claim yet another innocent victim? As Haplin’s mysteries are revealed, many of its prominent citizens’ motives come under scrutiny as their own secrets and personalities are peeled back one layer at a time, on the premiere of “Happy Town,” WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

In the premiere episode, “In This Home on Ice,” Henley Boone has decided to take up residence in seemingly idyllic Haplin, just as a shocking murder occurs at the local pond. This horrific crime rekindles Happy Town’s dark mysteries, including the whispers about an unknown, evil force that has come to be known as the “Magic Man,” who may be responsible for the past disappearances of Haplin residents. Tommy Conroy, a small town deputy and son of the long-time popular sheriff, must help solve the crime while easing the town’s growing fears. This is made more difficult when it becomes obvious that the residents are hiding secrets, and that includes its newest resident, Henley.

The Haplin founding family, represented by the mysterious matriarch Peggy Haplin and her quick-tempered son, John, run the local bread factory, which is the town’s largest employer. The powerful family tries to wield control even while dealing with the fact that John’s daughter was one of the Magic Man’s many victims. The ever-dapper Merritt Grieves, who runs a charming but perhaps irrelevant film memorabilia shop, seems strangely sinister. The lively widows residing at the Meadows Boarding House with Merritt become all aflutter whenever he is in their presence. Haplin’s other colorful characters include Tommy Conroy’s boyhood friend, Big Dave Duncan, as well as the nefarious Stiviletto brothers.

Many in this small Midwestern town have skeletons in their closets, and some dark truths are being revealed about some familiar faces. There are signs both obvious and hidden that something strange is going on, as exemplified by a recurring bit of curious graffiti: a halo with a question mark under it. They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Happy Town.

“Happy Town” stars Geoff Stults as Tommy Conroy, Sam Neill as Merritt Grieves, Lauren German as Henley Boone, Steven Weber as John Haplin, Amy Acker as Rachel Conroy, Sarah Gadon as Georgia Bravin, Robert Wisdom as Roger Hobbs, Jay Paulson as Eli “Root Beer” Rogers and Ben Schnetzer as Andrew Haplin.

Guest starring in “In This Home On Ice” are M.C. Gainey as Sheriff Griffin Conroy, Abraham Benrubi as Big Dave Duncan, Linda Kash as Miranda, Lynne Griffin as Dot Meadows, Natalie Brown, Carol Haplin, Joanna Douglas as Shell Jenkins, Wendy Lyon as Donna Friddle, Daniel Petronijevic as Ronald Stiviletto, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos as Lincoln Stiviletto, Steve Arbuckle as Baby Boy Stiviletto, Matt Hopkins as Womper Stiviletto, Marcia Bennett as Rose Perkins, Diane Gordon as Esther Klapman, Anna Ferguson as Irene Vaughn, Deborah Grover as Joanie Jenkins, Greg Bryk as Dr. Pete, Sophia Ewaniuk as Emma Conroy, Boyd Banks as Jerry Friddle, Kedar as Kelvin Tolliver, Brittany Kay as Lani, Luke Aquilina as Eric, Brad Borbridge as Perry Steckler and Cassidi Hoag as Jordan Kirby.