Despite it's various flaws, I enjoyed POINT PLEASANT. In the early instalments it's all a bit soapy, with mother-and-daughter team the Hargroves trying to seduce their chosen men, while the attractive young teen cast spend every other scene wandering about the beach in bikinis and swimming trunks. But as the series progresses, things get more interesting and multi-layered. Everyone has secrets: Judy was having a covert affair with Isabelle's boyfriend; Jesse discovers a mystery surrounding his parentage and realises his destiny is linked to Christina's; several characters - Father Matthew, Jesse's mother and Judy's potential new suitor Nick - know more than they're letting on; Terry's bedridden and seriously ill father begins making cryptic remarks; and Ben Kramer keeps receiving the exact same video tape in the mail - no matter how many times he destroys it.
One of the best additions in the later episodes is Holly, Lucas's girlfriend from the Thirties. Having murdered her, he then sold his soul in return for her being brought back to life. As a result she's immortal but has to go through all the pain and fear of dying and being resurrected every day. Having endured this daily ritual for over seventy years, Holly delights in the devotion and enormous guilt he feels towards her, and their love/hate relationship (and it really is a mixture of love and pure hate) is wonderfully twisted. She's his only weakness, and she exploits this to the full - plus the scriptwriters give her all the best dialogue.
Another surprising aspect is the inclusion of the Believers, a covert Vatican assassination squad who secretly arrive in Point Pleasant intent on killing Christina. A no-nonsense, ultra-efficient bunch, they are certain that they're doing God's will, but are ultimately revealed to be a bunch of arrogant, blinkered, deluded fanatics, who actually make the situation much worse and are mostly responsible for Christina's fall into darkness - thus triggering the apocalypse they were certain they could prevent. Portraying a branch of the Catholic church (and by extension, all organized religion) as not speaking for God and having no idea of what His plan is, was a brave move by the show's producers. And I may be reading way too much into it, but I can't help but wonder if it wasn't a subtle comment on the America Religious Right's unblinking support for the neo-con Bush administration's invasion of Iraq, which had already turned into a disaster when POINT PLEASANT was initially broadcast.
I also liked how the personal journeys of several characters confounded early expectations. Some of the most sympathetic of the town's inhabitants - Jesse, his mother, and Judy - all eventually betray and hurt Christina, admittedly while acting with the best of intentions (the road to Hell, and all that). Meanwhile, those originally appearing to side with Lucas ultimately reject him and find personal redemption: Amber goes all-out to break up the Kramers' marriage, before realising that there's some lines she's not prepared to cross; Her daughter Paula is the town's teen bitch queen, but eventually does some soul-searching and finds true love with Terry, a boy she previously wouldn't have looked twice at; And Terry, practically a younger version of Lucas, selflessly ends his romance with Paula in order to save her from Christina's wrath, and is last seen leaving town with Holly.
Acting-wise, Grant Show steals every scene he's in as Lucas, but he's helped considerably by the fact that it's an absolute gift of a role. Elisabeth Harnois has been criticized in most on-line reviews for her portrayal of Christina, and while I'd admit it's not an outstanding performance, I think most of the time she does okay. She definitely made me care about Christina and her ultimate fate, and that's the most important thing in my book. In contrast, Sam Page gave a very underpowered and vacant performance as Jesse, and therefore I didn't give two hoots about him. Personally, the standout for me was Aubrey Dollar as Judy: she doesn't get much to do throughout the entire series except react to events, but she somehow succeeds in making the character extremely likable. The mid-season episodes, in which Judy learns all about Christina's Anti-Christ status and becomes her loyal confidant and sidekick, were my favourite moments of the series.
Anyone who enjoyed POINT PLEASANT should check out HEX, a darker British series that covered much of the same ground and in my opinion was superior to it's American cousin. Coincidentally, POINT PLEASANT was first broadcast during the gap between HEX's two seasons (2004 and 2005).
One of the best additions in the later episodes is Holly, Lucas's girlfriend from the Thirties. Having murdered her, he then sold his soul in return for her being brought back to life. As a result she's immortal but has to go through all the pain and fear of dying and being resurrected every day. Having endured this daily ritual for over seventy years, Holly delights in the devotion and enormous guilt he feels towards her, and their love/hate relationship (and it really is a mixture of love and pure hate) is wonderfully twisted. She's his only weakness, and she exploits this to the full - plus the scriptwriters give her all the best dialogue.
Another surprising aspect is the inclusion of the Believers, a covert Vatican assassination squad who secretly arrive in Point Pleasant intent on killing Christina. A no-nonsense, ultra-efficient bunch, they are certain that they're doing God's will, but are ultimately revealed to be a bunch of arrogant, blinkered, deluded fanatics, who actually make the situation much worse and are mostly responsible for Christina's fall into darkness - thus triggering the apocalypse they were certain they could prevent. Portraying a branch of the Catholic church (and by extension, all organized religion) as not speaking for God and having no idea of what His plan is, was a brave move by the show's producers. And I may be reading way too much into it, but I can't help but wonder if it wasn't a subtle comment on the America Religious Right's unblinking support for the neo-con Bush administration's invasion of Iraq, which had already turned into a disaster when POINT PLEASANT was initially broadcast.
I also liked how the personal journeys of several characters confounded early expectations. Some of the most sympathetic of the town's inhabitants - Jesse, his mother, and Judy - all eventually betray and hurt Christina, admittedly while acting with the best of intentions (the road to Hell, and all that). Meanwhile, those originally appearing to side with Lucas ultimately reject him and find personal redemption: Amber goes all-out to break up the Kramers' marriage, before realising that there's some lines she's not prepared to cross; Her daughter Paula is the town's teen bitch queen, but eventually does some soul-searching and finds true love with Terry, a boy she previously wouldn't have looked twice at; And Terry, practically a younger version of Lucas, selflessly ends his romance with Paula in order to save her from Christina's wrath, and is last seen leaving town with Holly.
Acting-wise, Grant Show steals every scene he's in as Lucas, but he's helped considerably by the fact that it's an absolute gift of a role. Elisabeth Harnois has been criticized in most on-line reviews for her portrayal of Christina, and while I'd admit it's not an outstanding performance, I think most of the time she does okay. She definitely made me care about Christina and her ultimate fate, and that's the most important thing in my book. In contrast, Sam Page gave a very underpowered and vacant performance as Jesse, and therefore I didn't give two hoots about him. Personally, the standout for me was Aubrey Dollar as Judy: she doesn't get much to do throughout the entire series except react to events, but she somehow succeeds in making the character extremely likable. The mid-season episodes, in which Judy learns all about Christina's Anti-Christ status and becomes her loyal confidant and sidekick, were my favourite moments of the series.
Anyone who enjoyed POINT PLEASANT should check out HEX, a darker British series that covered much of the same ground and in my opinion was superior to it's American cousin. Coincidentally, POINT PLEASANT was first broadcast during the gap between HEX's two seasons (2004 and 2005).