“Hidden Palms” (2007, The CW) seems like the show “Glory Days” – from five years earlier – should’ve been. It’s an ongoing murder-mystery mixed with a teen/rich people soap opera, and – with the first two episodes of the eight-episode run penned by creator Kevin Williamson (“Dawson’s Creek,” “Scream”) – it has a much surer sense of itself out of the gate.
Mixing characters and mystery
The gorgeous pilot episode makes slick use of spotless Palm Springs developments, sexy and scantily clad young actors (Taylor Handley for the ladies, Amber Heard for the guys), and a mid-Aughts soundtrack exemplified by Mega Bass’ dreamy credits tune “Blind.”
As the teens reflect on their ennui-ridden lives, it wraps with Damien Rice’s “The Blower’s Daughter” – on the original airing, I probably felt “Hidden Palms” was ripping off the 2004 film “Closer,” but I liked hearing that Aughts staple again on this viewing.
“Hidden Palms” (2007)
CW, 8 episodes
Creator: Kevin Williamson
Stars: Michael Cassidy, Taylor Handley, Amber Heard
Dating back to “Twin Peaks” in 1990, dozens – perhaps hundreds – of TV shows have mixed character drama with a murder mystery. “Hidden Palms” gets the balance darn near perfect, as the two threads weave smoothly.
To cite an example, in one scene Nikki cries on the shoulder of Johnny because Cliff had cheated on her with Mrs. Nolan. Then we cut to the opposite angle: Even as he comforts his friend, Johnny is mulling the fact that Cliff and Mrs. Nolan have an intimate relationship, and wondering if it’s a clue.
Chipping away for answers
Even as he spends more time with his new friends, Johnny – who is living in the room the formerly belonged to Eddie, who allegedly killed himself – chips away at the mystery with increasing interest, and we’re drawn in with him. Every episode ends with a bit of information that casts everything in a new light, but isn’t too much of a stretch.
For example, to cap the second episode, Johnny gets a video-chat message from the deceased Eddie, sitting in the very same place Johnny is sitting. Indeed, “Hidden Palms” should be released as a Netflix miniseries that can be binge-watched. (As it stands, it’s only available on a hard-to-find European DVD, which is why I’m categorizing it as a “TV show lost to history” rather than a “one-season wonder.”)
I really like this cast, and the characters. Johnny (Handley) is a rare teen lead who is unselfish, albeit not perfect. His Achilles heel is alcoholism (he took to the bottle after his dad’s suicide, which predated his family’s move to Palm Springs), which is both cliched for a TV character and bizarre for a teen.
But it leads to his relationships with friend Nikki (Tessa Thompson, previously of “Veronica Mars” and later of “Creed”) and sometimes-transgendered sponsor Jesse Jo (chameleon character actor Leslie Jordan).
As Cliff, Michael Cassidy strikes the perfect pitch as that new friend that you only trust 90 percent of the way – there’s something just a bit off about him, and it’s fascinating that Cassidy is so good as the (potential) villain here and later so good as the nice guy on “Privileged.”
The ‘enigma’ and the ‘garage girl’
Heard’s Greta is an “enigma” – as is Williamson’s wont, the characters describe each other in adjective-laden dialogue as if they are book narrators, although not to the extreme of “Dawson’s Creek.” Honestly, though, Greta is just incredibly easy to look at, while also fulfilling the Williamsonian sketch of the Troubled Teen (her mom died, her boyfriend died, her dad is dead to her, etc.).
The most intriguing character is Liza (Ellary Porterfield), the “garage girl” (she does science experiments in her garage) who claims she was secret friends with Eddie and who believes Cliff and Greta killed Eddie. Liza is endearingly shy around Johnny at first, and I like the idea that she’s drawn to him because he’s sweet while Greta likes Johnny because he checks boxes off her list – including his belief in evolution and a non-religious god.
In an encapsulation of the nature of TV drama versus reality, Greta believes the highlights of life are “moments,” and that the stuff in between is inevitably disappointing; but Johnny is TV-witty enough that she gives him a chance.
I wish a Greta-Johnny-Liza love triangle had developed, but instead, most of Johnny and Liza’s conversations are about the latest clues, and Johnny and Greta behave in standard teen-drama ways.
Rushing to the end
Indeed, “Hidden Palms” loses a bit of its style and momentum as it goes along, trading Greta and Johnny’s impromptu dances through nighttime water sprinklers for fights at parties between men vying for the attentions of Johnny’s mom (Gail O’Grady, previously of “American Dreams” and later of “Hellcats”).
It also is forced to rush toward its ending, as it wasn’t always supposed to end with episode eight. (There are ads out there that promise the show – which aired during the summer – would get even wilder once school starts.) Clearly, the writers would have explored one potential motive more in-depth if they had more episodes.
Still, “Hidden Palms” does reveal whodunit, so while it leaves you wanting more of these characters, it doesn’t leave you hanging on the mystery.
While Williamson would return to commercial prominence a couple years later with “The Vampire Diaries,” for me, the forgotten “Hidden Palms” marks his return to critical respectability, nine years after the first season of “Dawson’s Creek.” He’ll try to find some more inspiration in 2017 with his next new series, “Time After Time,” about a young H.G. Wells.
(Sept. 20, 2018 update: “Hidden Palms” is now available for streaming on Tubi, so I have moved it from “TV Shows Lost to History” to “One-Season Wonders.”)