Point Pleasant: The Complete Season

Point Pleasant is the brainchild of Marti Noxon, a former staff writer on Buffy. Many of the simple horror influences ring off quickly and simply. The show offers immodest entertainment, once it ditches the wishful bonkathons between tanned and toned semi-nude bodies and teenage soap opera shenanigans. This is one of those hideous television guilty pleasures.

One day, lifeguard Jesse (Sam Page) rescues Christina's unconscious body from the sea. He brings her to safety and the Kramers take her into their home. They are still reeling from recently losing one of their own teenage daughters.

The potentially nifty idea is that Christina (Elisabeth Harnois) happens to be the daughter of the antichrist, destined to take over the world. Her powers develop swiftly after arriving in Point Pleasant and can make nasty (and unapologetically Carrie-esque) events happen to her enemies and those who obstruct the way of the antichrist with moderate, bloody efficiency. Amongst all this, the confused soul tries to find her human mother and settle in with the bereaved family.

The first four episodes are disastrously overwritten, almost to the point of intolerance. Setting up the relationships and characters has rarely felt so clunky. For all their talking, characterisation is almost nil. Later - thankfully - the bland stereotypes do not become the focal point of the rest of the show.

Another problem is the lack of humour, apart from Lucas Boyd (Grant Show), a slippery, handsome minion of the Devil, gently manipulating Christina and those she is closest to with thigh-slappingly funny lines.

The efforts at wringing atmosphere and dread are cloying and cheerfully cheesy. Intrigue and interesting developments occur thick and fast just when the show gets going. But by then Fox has cancelled it, just like Joss Whedon's terrific cult-television show Firefly. Never mind. At least, the unaired episodes on the DVD give a judicious kick, following through on a nicely drawn story arc. It leaves the choice open for a future series, which will likely not happen without a following, like Serenity's Browncoats.

Just as long as they don't make a movie out of Point Pleasant. There's not a drop of cinematic value here.

Worth buying? No chance. Worth skipping past the first episodes and breaking out the beer and pizza? Certainly.