A. Rapoport, Fox TVAll hell is about to break loose in a beach community when a young woman (Elisabeth Harnois) washes ashore and begins the search for her parentage in the premiere of "Point Pleasant" tonight.
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It's been said the devil is in the details, and in the case of Fox's "Point Pleasant" (9 tonight and tomorrow night), that's literally true. Subtlety also is an important element when crafting a TV show, especially a soap and especially a soap with paranormal overtones. But there's nothing subtle about this humorless dark soap filled with teens in heat and their secret-holding parents.
Set in Point Pleasant, N.J., the series begins when the body of a teenage girl, Christina Nickson (Elisabeth Harnois), is spotted in the ocean by lifeguard Jesse Parker (Sam Page). He rescues her and takes her to the town doctor, Ben Kramer (Richard Burgi), whose one daughter died in a surfing accident three years ago. His other daughter, Judy (Aubrey Dollar), is a bit of a social outcast who ends up bonding with Christina when she recovers.
Grant Show has a mysterious role as Lucas Boyd, Christina's guardian who's seen in just two scenes but adds a nicely malevolent note as he lets slip the girl's hellacious lineage.
"She's the child of darkness, and she's under his protection now," Boyd says. "She's his daughter."
So that's why a beach bonfire flares up when Christina gets mad!
On the soapier side, Jesse is dating Paula Hargrove (Cameron Richardson), but his best friend Terry (Brent Weber) is trying to steal her from him. Paula's mom, Amber (Dina Meyer), has a thing for Doc Kramer, who also wanted her once upon a time.
Secret desires and longings are everywhere, along with skinny dipping and lust-filled dream sequences, which is what you'd expect from executive producer Neal Moritz, who also was responsible for the movie "Cruel Intentions" and its aborted TV spin-off. But all these teens in lust are not what viewers would expect from executive producer and show runner Marti Noxon, who previously worked on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a much smarter and more sophisticated teen drama.
Maybe "Point Pleasant" will improve as viewers learn more about the characters, but I'm not convinced it will. If it does, I'll give the devil his due; until then I stick by my gut: Do I look forward to more episodes? Hell, no.
'Monk'
Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) visits his shrink (Stanley Kamel) to discuss his plans for how to deal with Sharona, his nurse-assistant, who's been gone for three months. He plans to dock her pay.
Monk's doctor patiently explains that Sharona is not coming back. She sold her house, moved back to New Jersey and remarried her ex-husband. Then the shrink says something that's probably directed as much at "Monk" fans as it is at the Monk character: "You were lucky to know her and know you'll always be grateful, but it's time for you to move on."
When word got out last year that actress Bitty Schram (a k a Sharona) was leaving "Monk" (10 p.m. Friday, USA Network), fans were livid. As is the norm in Hollywood, the reasons for her departure remain murky -- maybe she was tired of the role, maybe she asked for a raise and was rebuffed -- but Sharona is gone, and viewers, like Monk, need to move on.
Friday's new episode (the first of seven) continues the show's third season and introduces Monk's new assistant, Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard). She's independent, like Sharona, but not quite as feisty. She's also a single mom, but unlike Sharona, Natalie is a widow, a smart choice on the part of the writers. It gives her another way to bond with Monk, a widower.
But still, for all intents and purposes, Natalie is Sharona Version 2.0.
First Published: January 19, 2005, 5:00 a.m.
