Harper's Island

Channel: Ten
Day and time*: Sunday 9.30 p.m. (or later depending on other commitments)

(*as at June 2009)

Lambs to the slaughter

As a teenager, I developed something of a liking for Agatha Christie’s clever but often genteel whodunit novels. The thing about Christie’s work so far as TV is concerned is that it’s now pretty much the domain of rather staid BBC adaptations that remain true to its original timeframe (usually the inter-war years). It comes as something of a surprise then to see the Americans getting in on the act and updating a Christie story with Harper’s Island.

If you know your Agatha Christie, you’ll be familiar with a book titled And Then There Were None. It was actually published earlier under different names which have been changed because of their racial overtones. The book is about a group of apparently disparate people invited to a remote island and then systematically killed off one by one. That too is the premise of Harper’s Island, although it goes rather further than the book.

The most notable departure that this series makes from your “standard” Christie adaptation is that it mixes in that slightly peculiar American disposition for gruesomeness. The show has been described as “Scream meets Agatha Christie”, and that’s fairly close to the mark. In the early episodes there are certainly some grizzly deaths and, given the usual arc of American horror films, you can probably expect that they’ll become even more bloodthirsty as the series progresses.

The other key departure from the source material is that the group of people aren’t as disparate. In the book, we learn that each of the “guests” has committed a heinous act but escaped punishment on a technicality. Here, the guests are the members of two families and their guests, heading to the titular island off Seattle for the wedding of working-class boy made good Henry Dunn (Christopher Gorham) and moneyed princess Trish Wellington (Katie Cassidy).

Now Harper’s Island, despite the fact that it has a luxury hotel on it, might seem to be an odd choice for a nuptial celebration; given that five years earlier, a maniac had murdered several people. One of those was the mother of Abby Mills (Elaine Cassidy), a local girl since moved to the city who’s now besties with Henry – but maybe she wants more.

Anyhow, it seems all the past unpleasantness is forgotten (except by Abby) and it’s anchors aweigh for cocktails on the terrace overlooking the Straits of Juan de Fuca. But a lurking terror is ready to strike at this happy ensemble.

The show is cleverly constructed in that in its 13 episodes, it kills off the characters – and hence itself. So there won’t be a second series anytime soon; at least not without a major script re-write.

The blend of horror and what is essentially soap (focussing on the family dramas surrounding the approaching wedding) isn’t high-brow stuff, but it’s pretty entertaining. The murders themselves are occasionally downright disgusting, but I guess if you don’t want to be shocked, you shouldn’t be watching the show. Also, the cleverness of the script’s structure doesn’t carry over to the dialogue, which is pretty dire at times. The characters too are largely stereotypes; but again, would you expect anything else?

Harper’s Island isn’t a great show, but it’s more than usually enjoyable for those who don’t mind a bit of blood and guts. I could easily see this series imploding as it approaches the fateful 13th episode, but based on the eps seen so far, it might just be worth taking the ride with Henry and co.

Phil James

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