I was a busy boy last week and didn’t have time to watch the premiere of Hidden Palms because I was at GMMR’s hour doing our TV Podcast #8 and watching my summer obsession So You Think You Can Dance. I also missed last week’s episode of ABC’s Traveler but I’m happy to report that a stomach virus later I’m all caught up!
I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews of Hidden Palms but I have to say that I kind of enjoyed the hell out of it. I don’t know if there was much clear direction or purpose set up in the pilot but I found the characters compelling and like the twisted side of the pretty rich bitch town they’re living.
Oliver (oh that much hated Oliver aka Taylor Handley) from The O.C. plays lead character Johnny who witnesses his Father blowing his brains out, hits rock bottom himself, enters rehab, leaves rehab, moves to Palm Springs with his Mother and her new boytoy and discovers that the shiny vinear on the palms is covering some dark secrets we’ve yet to discover.
There are some obviously cheesy moments in Hidden Palms that will turn people off but I thought it had a promising premise and some of the performances by the cast will keep me coming back to see where they go and grow with it. Taylor Handley was excellent in the lead and very much troubled role. Amber Heard had a couple moments in the pilot that were absolutely beautifully acted with so much pain and torment within her hell cat bravado she puts out there that I was instantly reminded of Kate Walsh and Erika Christensen (in her better roles). It was great to see Michael Cassidy (Zach the wet noodle from The O.C.) in quite the scary role. How much you wanna bet that there was more than friendship between Cliff and his now dead (mystery #1) best friend Eddie.
Oh yeah, and Eddie and Amber Heard’s character were an item and there’s some major scary tension between Eddie’s two surviving friends. Did Cliff kill Eddie in a jealous gay rage? Did Greta have something to do with it and that’s why she’s such a tormented and lost soul?
How much fun is the girl in the garage who’s stalking Johnny? Love a tomboy with a set of goggles and a geek complex.
The issues? Been there, done that. It’s not original. It’s not groundbreaking and its not so amazingly written that you feel like you can’t miss it. Some genuine moments are there (mostly on Greta’s interaction with Johnny) and like I said before these are the moments that made it worth watching and what will bring me back. What did you think?
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