Harper's Island (TV post)

[lucifuge-5.livejournal.com]

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SPOILER ALERT Please keep in mind that discussing Callum's role in this show means having to mention things that *are* medium-to-high level spoilers.

Series Synopsis: Abby Mills has returned to Harper's Island seven years after a terrible incident horrified the entire community. Henry Dunn, her best friend since childhood, is getting married and has invited her to come along as his 'best man'. Abby's happiness for Henry's upcoming wedding, however, is shadowed by her memories regarding John Wakefield, the man suspected of killing six people . . . including Abby's mother.

When people start disappearing and strange events start to happen, Abby realizes that someone in the wedding party might be trying to finish what John Wakefield started nearly a decade before.

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The IMDB page: Harper's Island (2009)

Created by Ari Schlossberg (who also one of the show's main writers.) Sandford Bookstaver (director for "Sigh") also directed Painkiller Jane. Director of Cinematography Robert McLachlan also directed Bionic Woman.

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Cast/Characters:

Elaine Cassidy Christopher Gorham C.J. Thomason Matt Barr Katie Cassiy Cassandra Sitwell Jim Beaver Cameron Richardson Adam Campbell Richard Burgi [...] Callum Keith Rennie

Abby Mills Henry Dunn Jimmy Mance Christopher 'Sully' Sullivan Trish Wellington Madison Allen Sheriff Charlie Mills Chloe Carter Cal Vandeusen Thomas Wellington [...] John Wakefield

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Original Airdate: April 9, 2009 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Runtime: 40 minutes

Country: USA

IMDB rating: 7.3/10.0 (1,139 votes)

Genre: Drama/Horror/Mystery/Thriller

Keywords: Brother Brother Relationship, Father Daughter

Relationship, Punctuation in Title, Serial Killer, Male Female Relationship.

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Awards: N/A

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50 user comments

One example:
When the pilot was aired, I just told myself that it was a stupid show about some people who are too stupid to notice people dying. My friend convinced me to watch the second episode, and I am so glad she did! Each episode of this show draws you in more and more. It's very fast-paced and dynamic.

Though it can be a little bit cheesy, the shocking murders really make up for it. The actors and actresses were better than I thought they would be.

You can find all the comments here.

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Callum Quotient: Considering that his character is talked about by nearly everyone in the show, you might be surprised to know that Callum doesn't show up until the last four episodes. I opted to gauge his appearances in those episodes as well as in the ones where his photos turn up. Therefore, the quotient average is a solid 45%.

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Pictures













(Photos courtesy of c_regalis and neu111)

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Quotes

• Henry Dunn: John Wakefield is right behind you.


• Christopher 'Sully' Sullivan: How stupid do you think I am?


• John Wakefield: Pretty stupid.[Sully turns around and Henry stabs the distracted Sully in the stomach. Before Sully dies, Henry says:]


• Henry Dunn: You never should've dogged Trish.[Sully dies]
  

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Trivia:

• Even though they share the same last name, Elaine Cassidy and Katie Cassidy are not related. Also, Katie Cassidy is David Cassidy (of The Partridge Family)'s daughter.


• None of the main cast (except Harry Hamlin and Richard Burgi) knew if their character was going to survive to the end of any of the episodes until the day before they got the script.


• The titles for each episode are an onomatopoeia alluding to the sound that each victim makes when he or she is killed. Examples: "Snap", "Splash", "Gasp" and "Sigh"


• Most of the actors in this show have co-starred with Callum in other shows and movies like Mutant X (Victor Webber), Butterfly on a Wheel (Claudette Mink) and Code Name The Cleaner (Gina Holder). Interestingly enough, nearly every female actor was cast in The L Word at some point when that other show aired.


• Callum did very little publicity for this show despite portraying the most important character in Harper's Island other than Abby Mills.

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Interesting scenes:

• Abby's discovery of her father's ongoing John Wakefield investigation. Especially because of all the John Wakefield photos . . . including the one with the 'questionable' hairdo.


• Wakefield's bloody rampage at The Cannery.


• John Wakefield and Abby coming face-to-face just minutes after Wakefield kills Abby's father.


• Wakefield and Chloe's face-off on the bridge.



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Do I want to show this to my parents/friends/co-workers?
[Poll #1553288]


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John Wakefield
[Poll #1553289]


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Does he die?
You really want to know? Are you sure? Really sure? Well, then. (highlight to read)::Yup. He gets stabbed in the chest by his own kid.::




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Articles/interviews

Karim Zreik, one of the show's co-executive producers wrote a blog called "Notes of an Assassin" while filming the show. The entire blog is over here at Television Without Pity.




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Links


The Wiki for Harper's Island is The Harper's Globe. It includes everything from character bios, episode guides and hypothesis on the mystery.

There are a few LJ comms for the show. The majority are somewhat active over a year after the show aired. The two main ones are harpers_globe and harpersislandtv. All of the fanfic is archived at the_cannery with most of it centered around Abby or (if you want to get shippy) Abby/Henry. Apparently, HI doesn't inspire slash other than that of the Cal/Sully variety (of which there is very little to begin with.) However, there are some twisted souls out there since there are a handful of Abby/John Wakefield fics too. Finally, the icons comm is called harpers_icons.



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Availability

The complete series (which includes all 13 episodes and some extras) is available through Best Buy as well as at any other online retailer.



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Aaaaaaaand some last words

As someone who started to watch the show because of a very short scene in which we see one photo (one photo, people!) of Callum, I have to say that Harper's Island had a certain 'something' that ended up pulling the viewer in. Be it the horror (there is at the very least one murder per episode), the mystery or even its most dramatic aspects (secret lovers! creepy children and even creepier adults! smarmy older men! morally ambiguous love interests for the main female character!), Harper's Island had a lot going for it when it began airing.

On the other hand, for a show that was partly inspired by Agatha Christie's And Then Were None, there was a lot that went wrong. It had poor acting, poor character development in addition to plot holes the size of the Himalayas. Still, watching Harper's Island meant spending an hour having random fun due to its intriguing mix of handwaviness and crack amidst its goriest aspects. The entertainment factor was quite high. Plus, hey, if there was one (or 25) character(s) you hated, chances were he or she (or they) would get killed at some point during the series!

Looking past the shock and grimace-inducing murders, this show was also about secrets: how even a small one can grow sinister as time goes on; about the price people pay to keep the truth from coming out.

With each passing week, I would tune in, wondering whether or not Callum was going to make an actual appearance. The hype surrounding his John Wakefield kept growing until I thought it was going to be impossible not to feel disappointed. Alas, nine episodes in, John Wakefield stepped into the spotlight, eyes glinting with vengeance, while wearing the most non-descript AND least sexy clothing ever.

To see Callum embracing the over-the-topness of being John Wakefield (the myth and the man) was so satisfying that I ended up rooting for him. Granted, my cheering of him was deeply rooted on the overall annoyance I felt toward 90% of the characters. But I digress.

Callum had the menace and darkness down pat (having done many villainous roles before), but what made John Wakefield such a fascinating antagonist was that he was a rather average man who just happened to be a very determined serial killer.