"Harper's Island" began airing April 9 and airs Saturday nights at 8 p.m. on CBS. Each week the concept of the series revolves around the death of a different character, who will die at the conclusion of each episode.
It has been proposed that just about every character will be gone by the series' conclusion. The creators chose to have the entire series last only 13 episodes to fit the premise. To further the theme of murder, each episode uses an onomatopoetic word as its title, such as "Thwack," "Whap" and "Ka-Blam."
The series takes place in the Pacific Northwest on the eponymous island. The plot revolves around the main character, Abby Mills (Elaine Cassidy), who returns home seven years after John Wakefield murders her mother.
Mills' returns home to attend her best friend Henry Dunn's (Christopher Gorham) wedding to Trish Wellington (Katie Cassidy).
Abby's dad, Charlie Mills (Jim Beaver), is the town sheriff and has become obsessed with Wakefield after his wife's murder. Abby discovers Wakefield killed her mother after finding her father's pictures and newspaper clippings in the attic.
If you take away this unique approach to murder mystery storytelling "Harper's Island" becomes just another mediocre series. It is very much formulaic when it comes to plot and characterization.
Other than that, the best thing about the series is Elaine Cassidy's performance as Abby. In her portrayal of a young woman facing the horrors of her past and present, Cassidy does a marvelous job.
Cassidy's prominent feature is her eyes. Like many great actors with this gift, the eyes help to give the viewer a deeper understanding of the character.
The creators got it right when they cast the role of Abby Mills. If it wasn't for Cassidy, there would be no show.
On Bravo, "The Fashion Show" began airing on May 7 and airs first-run episodes Thursday nights at 9 p.m. (repeats are run various times throughout the week).
Because "Project Runway" has moved to Lifetime, Bravo has created "The Fashion Show" as its replacement. The series features 15 fashion designer contestants, competing for fame, prestige and a $125,000 prize.
Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland have replaced Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum as the hosts.
On the debut episode, the contestants' first challenge was turning a black T-shirt into a mini black dress in one hour. The top three designers from the challenge were chosen to lead the three teams that will be working on the first runway show.
The winner of each fashion show has his or her design available for purchase on bravotv.com, and like "Project Runway," one person is eliminated at the end of each episode.
So far, the most talented designer on the show seems to be Daniella Callmeyer, who received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors from the London College of Fashion. She has a smart, down-to-earth approach to fashion.
Unlike Callmeyer, Merlin Castell makes his first impression as the diva of the group and tries his best to let his actions support this. He looks right into the camera and says he is "very territorial" and "the dominant male."
Anyone who is a fan of "Project Runway" will very much enjoy this new addition to the Bravo family of contest shows. Mizrahi and Rowland also prove to be worthy successors to Gunn and Klum.
Mizrahi, taking on the Simon Cowell-esque role of the brutally honest judge, pulls no punches in his opinions of the contestants' flaws. In the first runway show, he finds all of the contestants' designs to be quite lacking.
Like its predecessor, "The Fashion Show" will be another smash success for the Bravo network.
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