9.12.2008

Fringe: Two Thumbs Up!

Is it just me or did the opening shot instantly bring to mind, Alias? I guess that shouldn't be too surprising, given that this is a JJ Abrams creation. The mystery case of the episode was both engrossing and well, just plain gross. An airborne toxin that causes the flesh to melt completely off your body. Ick.

The show has been described as Alias meets Lost meets the X-Files. It has many of the elements that made those shows cult hits: a kick-ass female lead, a smart-ass leading man (who of course has mad chemistry with said female, which will lead to all sorts of romantic tension and the will-they-or-won't-they debate, resulting in either happy or frustrated viewers), an eccentric genius, a mysterious boss who recruits the female lead into a secret organization, and lots of interesting, yet admittedly convulted mysteries. It also shares something directly with both Alias and Lost: musical scoring by Michael Giacchino. Mr. Giacchino's beautiful work adds to the scenes rather than distracts and really punctuates the tension.

While the pilot started a tad bit slow, it really picked up once Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) entered the picture. Oh Pacey, you've been away from my television MUCH too long!

Dr. Walter Bishop, sprung from the mental institution, proves to be instrumental in solving the case and saving the day. He also serves up some much needed comic relief.


"Oh! I just pissed myself. Just a squirt"

"Excellent. Let's make some
LSD."

(chuckes)"This is a show for children? Suprisingly profound for
narrative about a sponge."


Anna Torv is an engaging lead - JJ sure knows how to pick 'em! I'm interested to see how her character develops over the season and I enjoy her exchanges with Joshua Jackson. We'll see how she measures up to Sydney Bristow.

Overall, the pilot was good enough to grab my undivided attention and earn a spot on my TV roster.

I give it:
- Set your season pass, beyotches!

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9.07.2008

Week One Premieres: The Surprising and the Not-So-Surprising

Is it odd that I found Prison Break to be the best of the Monday night premieres? I'm happy they're no longer shackled down by the in-prison scenery; the plot seems to move at a much more rapid pace. I mean hell, how many characters did they kill off in the first hour alone?

I have a surprisingly positive outlook on this new season for the PB-ers. And T-Bag is just as creepy as ever. I can't wait until he's back to torturing the rest of the gang.

Gossip Girl was entertaining as always. I loved the twist with Blair's seemingly bland, fake-boyfriend. He's a British Lord! I'll admit: I'm a sucker for cute accents.

The only storyline I had issue with was Nate's little Cougar affair. 1) I'm sick of the 'cougar' term [anyone else? show of hands??] 2) this plot device has been overly used and 3) I'm sure there are MANY other ideas they could have come up with that would be much more original, instead of following a TV trend.

Bones returned on Tuesday with a two-hour premiere which found Booth & Brennan in jolly old England! I missed the squints, but I'm still annoyed at the show for what they did to Zack. I've read that he will re-appear throughout the season, but it's just not the same. :(

Finally, with much reluctance, I watched the new 90210. I even held off, by DVR-ing it when it re-aired on Thursday. I was never a big fan of the original (I barely admitted to watching even a few episodes back in the day), but it had a certain cheesy, over-the-top, guilty-pleasure quality to it that was just too hard to ignore.

So what to say about this new incarnation? Weeeeell......it wasn't 'horrible' per se. It wasn't great. The positives: Jessica Walter (who will forever be Lucille Bluth in my mind) stole every scene she was in and was the only character to make me laugh and the old-school BH-ers, Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty. Call it wishful thinking, but I was half-expecting a little bitch-slap action. C'mon girls, just humor us a bit.

Will I be watching next week? Since House won't premiere until the following week, maybe. Then again, there's the 2-hour premiere of Fringe and any project created by J.J. Abrams automatically gets a slot on my Watch Live list! And it's got Pacey in it. I am so there.

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