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storm blows through a small New Jersey town, leaving behind a dark and dangerous presence that threatens to change the lives of the residents of Point Pleasant forever. When local lifeguard Jesse Parker (Page) fishes a beautiful teenage girl out of the ocean, the mysterious Christina Nickson (Harnois) ends up affecting everyone in her path.
Christina comes to stay with the local doctor, Ben Kramer (Burgi), and his family. The family suffered a devastating loss when their oldest daughter died in a surfing accident. However, with the arrival of Christina, Ben's wife Meg (Susan Walters) and daughter Judy (Dollar) are thrilled to have her living with them. Christina's lack of specifics about the accident that led her to Point Pleasant or her concern about reaching her father seem unimportant to everyone but the local sheriff.
Christina's presence also appears to affect Jesse, his girlfriend Paula (Cameron Richardson) and his best friend Terry (Brent Weber). Jesse finds himself drawn to the girl, even though he's committed to Paula. Meanwhile, Paula and Terry find themselves tempted by attraction. In fact, many who cross Christina's path find themselves struggling against repressed feelings and secret desires.
Christina knows something has never been right about her. There's the strange symbol in the iris of her eye, and her emotions affect those around her. However, now she's on a mission to find her mother, who once lived in the area. She doesn't know she's the devil's daughter. As Kingston Nickson (James Morrison), the man who raised her as his own, tells the devil's minion Christina has a good heart. She has a choice because her mother was a mortal woman. However, he also knows Christina's true daddy is watching, and he's not about to give up his daughter's soul without a fight.
Could it be ... Satan?
God's been very popular lately. It was probably only a matter of time before the devil got his due. After all, it seems like a natural plot for a nighttime soap opera that offers up impossibly beautiful people tempted by the devil to do very nasty things. You have to wonder why it took Fox so long to come up with it.
Point Pleasant has all the standard soap elements and hits a couple generations, no doubt with hopes of appealing to both teens and adults. The pilot offers a good introduction to the characters and the premise. Elisabeth Harnois is appealing as Christina, and all the actors do a convincing job.
However, beyond Christina, the dilemmas the characters have to face aren't complex, and it's hard to care much about them. Also, since we know in the first few minutes that Christina is the devil's daughter, there's not much suspense. We know more than she does. The most promising storyline has to do with Ben's family and their deceased daughter. Christina comes in and fills a hole the entire family has felt, and it brings those characters to life, leaving the rest of the people in Point Pleasant coming off stiff and pale in comparison.
Of course, this is just the first hour, and Point Pleasant could well build up the flat characters and make the world more interesting. While it's doubtful this series will develop the kind of rich complex worlds of Lost or Veronica Mars, Point Pleasant does have those incredibly pretty people doing very nasty things, mixed with a moment or two of promise.
With Carnivàle and the upcoming series Revelations, that darn devil has been a pretty busy guy. Of course, his best effort, Miracles, was canceled last year, but obviously that didn't hold him back. He's not going to let God have all the fun, after all. Point Pleasant isn't Buffy, despite Marti Noxon's influence. Nor is it even The OC. But if you like a little bit of the devil in your soaps, it's worth a look. —Kathie
Also in this issue: Elektra, Appleseed, Racing Stripes and Young Blades Series Premiere
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