Substance lacking in show’s shallow premise

Point Pleasant

Starring: Elisabeth Harnois, Grant Show

Thursday, 9…

Point Pleasant

Starring: Elisabeth Harnois, Grant Show

Thursday, 9 p.m. FOX

Sandy beach line, sexy 20-somethings, picturesque backdrops and — oh, yeah — a random body being washed up by the ocean. This is the premise (and order of significance) of the newest thriller on network television.

If you missed the series debut of Fox’s new occultist mystery, “Point Pleasant,” you did not miss much. With scenes that seem to be copied straight from the old playbook of “The X-Files,” this self-proclaimed “thriller” is unoriginal and bland.

The pilot’s opening unveils a beautiful beach town in New Jersey. The little town is in a frenzy when a storm rolls inland, sending the lifeguards to check the waters for anyone caught in the high tide. Luckily, lifeguard Jesse Parker spots a woman lying unconscious in the water some 30 yards out. He brings her ashore and saves her.

The girl says her name is Christina Nickson, and, apparently, that’s almost all she knows. Jesse’s family takes the girl in with little hesitation and even fewer questions about what happened to her.

At this point, the townspeople’s behavior is the scariest aspect; no one seems to think that a body washing ashore is much out of the ordinary. Miraculously, Christina suffered no wounds during whatever incident sent her into the ocean, and she soon begins mingling with the town’s 20-somethings.

The show seems to focus more on the physiques of the characters than their significance. The two main female characters do more to perpetuate the “stupid, dumb blonde” stereotype than to add any dimension to the overall development. The show incessantly features unabashed superficiality and glorified infidelity.

So Christina’s arrival has sent the cosmos in a whirl, sparking weird happenings throughout this little town. Christina mutters something about wanting to find her mother and that she has always felt like something has been missing in her life.

What’s really missing is any substance to this shallow, misguided premise. The dialogue seems to be excerpted from conversations between junior-high cheerleaders, while the weak story may have been inspired by a children’s horror series. An end-scene featuring a swarm of flies is reminiscent of “The X-Files,” but this new series comes nowhere close to its quality.