I’ve been meaning to blog about the CW’s new summer series “Hidden Palms“–which, yes, is totally trashy, almost a cross between “Desperate Housewives” and “One Tree Hill”–but I got addicted to it from the word go.
The thing is, it’s season finale is tomorrow! This caught me off guard. I even went to the website to count the total episodes for “Season One” which is a whopping eight. That’s all. Does eight episodes even make a season? It’s not as if the CW is HBO.
But I digress…

What’s notable about “Hidden Palms”–aside from the fact that it is utterly addictive (why is trash so fun?)–is that I can’t find a single value in the entire series. The main high school kids–Johnny (a recovering alcoholic–is that a value?), Greta (crazy, unpredictable girl), Cliff (the epitome of a country club jerk), and Nikki (an alcoholic constantly falling of the wagon)–not only don’t have summer jobs, they spend most of their time laying around at the country club pool complaining about the heat, hooking up with each other, or for those who aren’t recovering alcoholics, sipping designer drinks in full view of all the adults. And then there are the adults–they don’t seem to actually have jobs. Not one of them. They spend all their time at the country club doing basically the same thing the kids are doing, but maybe with more golf than pool time.
What makes the show so addictive? The promise of a murder to uncover, which they dangled in episode one. The former occupant of Johnny’s bedroom–who just moved into this sundrenched yet strangely dark neighborhood–supposedly committed suicide right there on Johnny’s sparkling new floor. But then some people think he may have been murdered….
The whodunnit element of the show is what keeps you watching. I really want to know what happened to Eddie–and this helps me overlook the show’s utter vacuousness. It’s summer, so I figure I’m allowed.
For those of you who have blinked and missed the short run of “Hidden Palms,” the CW has the full season availible for viewing online. I’m assuming they’ll also do some sort of marathon of all eight episodes later this summer–after all, it wouldn’t take long.