SERIES PREMIERE: I’m a fan of Christopher Meloni’s, and I’m also a fan of Patton Oswalt’s. So the news that these two have combined for a weird new Syfy series, based on a graphic novel, sounded like a promising prospect. But based on the first two episodes of
Happy!, this new series is an
extremely acquired taste – and, I admit, one I have yet to acquire. Meloni plays an ex-cop turned hit man, in a seedy and deadly environment where a young girl is kidnapped by a killer Santa. She dispatches her imaginary friend, a cuddly flying little blue unicorn named Happy, to get help – and that help is in the form of Meloni, making for the most misfit buddy-cop duo since Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte in
48 Hrs. But for starters,
Happy! is much too intent on being weird for its own sake. It’s worth a try, in case it’s more to your tastes than mine – but with a loud warning shot attached.
For full reviews, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower and
Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.