David Cassidy on the Web
Katie Cassidy from Dark to Blonde, from Harper's Island to Melrose Place
April 08, 2009
http://iamatvjunkie.typepad.com
Legacy alert. Her dad is teen heartthrob from my childhood David Cassidy. Just count the minutes now until they'll be calling the Partridge Family star and singer Katie's dad.
Harper's Island premieres tomorrow night on CBS. Haven't written much about it, but it's from creator Ari Schlossberg and Jericho's Jon Turtletaub and this time Jon sort of doesn't have to worry about the show sticking around on the CBS schedule as it ends in 13 episodes.
Robert Bianco in USA Today: Harper's is a closed-ended, 13-hour mystery: And Then There Were None done for the Friday the 13th set. For the next three months, heads will quite literally roll as a serial killer slices, shoots and, in one particularly memorable murder, harpoons his way through the guests gathered for a wedding on a tiny resort island.
Then it's done, which means anyone can be the killer - or killed. There are limits: No show is going to dispatch all the major characters in the first few weeks and leave supporting players unscathed. But the premise does add a level of suspense you won't find in most TV mysteries.
However, the team would like to come back next year with another murder mystery limited series, so ratings are still key. And if they were looking for a lead actress with buzz, they could never have predicted how much buzz they would get out of Katie Cassidy, who jumps right from this to the high-profile revamp of Melrose Place for The CW scheduled for the Fall.
In fact, according to Katie, talking to Sal Masekela tonight on E!'s The Daily Ten, she starts shooting the pilot in three days.
But about Harper's Island, Tim Goodman at the SF Chron says:
It's not a wedding party you'd want to attend, but it might be one you'd want to watch. "Harper's Island" is ghoulish and scary fun (and you'll know for certain that it will end before it gets pulled off the air). In this current television environment, there's something about a finite ending that's appealing - and 13 weeks isn't too much of a commitment, especially if you have a DVR.
"Harper's Island" might end up being a guilty pleasure. It's got blood and sex and intrigue galore, and there are enough red herrings and frightening gotchas to spill the popcorn two or three times an hour.
The writing is just clever enough to probably make the killing-a-week conceit work. And if you're into watching a phalanx of almost-recognizable actors you've seen in work you can almost remember, this is the series for you. Beyond that, it's just plain fun.
And Katie stars as Trish Wellington, the bride in the story. Everyone comes to the Island t0 share her special day, and in the 13 eps there will be a murder a week.
(Insert standard "it's like Survivor meets I Know What You Did Last Summer" line.)
