Happy Town - I Came to Haplin for the Waters, S01E02

Happy Town is in its second week, and while the ratings are dropping, the crazy is certainly increasing. Which may be why it's not having an easy time finding an audience. I'm sort of fascinated by all the weird stuff going on, the darkness, and the mystery, but that stuff doesn't generally have mass appeal. Too bad, because I really get the sense that it's building towards something very creepy and very cool.

If last week wasn't enough, this week gave more introduction to the nutty folk who control Haplin. We were introduced to Mrs Haplin (Frances Conroy), who not only runs the town but has the power to chose the interim Sheriff, and she picks Tommy Conroy (Geoff Stults) to take over for his incapacitated father not because he's the best qualified but because he suits her best. With a murder to solve and a whole lot of crazy going on, Tommy's going up against a whole lot more than he can handle.

Add to that the fact that Tommy was, in fact, able to solve the murder and discovered that his best friend, Big Dave (Abraham Benrubi), killed the guy believing he was the magic man. Now Dave was a few fries short of a happy meal, so Tommy's desire to protect him was a little odd, but the show has done a very good job of showing that Haplin is a small town which functions on its own subset of laws and rules. Let's just hope what Big Dave knows, regardless of how badly he misused the information, helps Tommy out.

And what is the deal with Dan Farmer (Peter Outerbridge)? Supposedly a State Agent, he drugged Georgia (Sarah Gadon) and dragged her to that farm. Or did he? Did something else happen to her, make her trip out, which had nothing to do with him? I didn't like him from the moment we saw him, but I can't tell who's a good guy and who's a bad guy based on whom I like.

Take Henley (Lauren German) and Merritt Grieves (Sam Neill). I like both these characters; I find them interesting and exciting. I can't, however, help but feel like whatever they've got going on, it's not in the interest of anyone but themselves.

And what is the significance of the goat hammer Henley stole from the 3rd floor. And more importantly, what's with that hawk? What sort of weird black magic is going on, and who's at the centre of it?

***News Flash***

Happy Town has been pulled. While this Wednesday, the 3 episode will be aired, the remaining 5 episodes will have to wait until after May sweeps to complete their run. Too bad, but not unexpected. What are your thoughts?