Fringe Benefits
True Blood 1.01
Saw the screener, strongly disliked it, but then the show was getting all these rave reviews, and I tuned in again. They recast the part of the best friend and shortened and expanded and added various scenes, and gave Bill a proper southern accent. All that made this an alright episode. I certainly didn't love it, and I don't get what the critics were on about. Maybe it's this lowered expectation vibe from the strike that makes anything palatable look brilliant.
I really like Anna Paquin as the adorable Sookie Stackhouse (she's a great blonde, too!). She's got just the right amount of innocent so that she's not annoying. *cough*Bella Swan*cough*. OK, watching this I got sooo many Twilight vibes. I know the show's based off of a whole other set of books, but a girl falls instantly for a mysterious vampire? The difference is Sookie is telepathic, which is kind of awesome. I read how it was explained in the books, and I hope that, if they don't change it, they make it work. Because it sounds kind of lame. Won't be spoiling it for anybody.
Something I kind of hope gets changed: the opening. There's decomposition, gore, nudity, sex... I'm sorry, but I like my opening credits to be wholesome and innocent, and not make me lose my appetite. Somehow, I doubt that'll change. I'm in for one more episode, some of the previews for the series look enticing, so we'll see what next week has to offer.
Fringe 1.01
So I had seen the screener over the summer, and was not all that impressed. The second time around, I enjoyed it more, but I also wasn't paying that much attention. So all those complaints about cheesy writing are probably still valid. I'm glad they altered the transparent CGI so you didn't see through the guy's skull. Because that was really a killer, and I'm normally not a stickler when it comes to accuracy in Sci-Fi.
When I watched the episode last night, the thing wreaked of JJ Abrams. I mean, PUSH THROUGH'S FTW! God, I've missed those. They actually got me in the mood for Alias, which really had two superb seasons, including a brilliant pilot. To be honest, watching this pilot made me think about JJ's far superior first episodes. I mean, Lost and Alias are hard to match, especially the former. But I just expected more from the guy than a generic blond discovering mysteries all Nancy Drew. Though the Massive Dynamics mystery is keeping me mildly interested. Enough for, say, two more episodes at least. The upcoming previews made the show look very compelling, I hope it gets better after this.
And my Fringe theory: Humans from the future - 4400 style.
Something about this TV season seems different. I know the strike really shook things up. Pilots couldn't be made, and some of those that were produced were such crap ( Life On Mars) that they had to be completely redone. And others are set to air, and couldn't even be shown to critics. Then there are the second season shows ( Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies, mostly) that are being promoted as if they are new series. It's been so long since those shows have aired, the networks are concerned about losing major viewership. And to be honest, they need to be worried. I can't recall the last time I thought about Pushing Daisies (last time I wrote about it was Christmas Day last year!), and I *loved* that show. And if they've lost my attention, I can only imagine how far from the average viewers' mind it is.
OK, I hope I get to post more as the season starts up again. I hope I have good things to say (I've heard some really promising thoughts about the new season of Heroes) and I hope some of the new shows pick up steam and get very interesting, because I need some new life in my schedule.
Oh, and Mad Men is excellent and probably too smart for me. But everyone watch. /Obligatory mention of Mad Men.
Saw the screener, strongly disliked it, but then the show was getting all these rave reviews, and I tuned in again. They recast the part of the best friend and shortened and expanded and added various scenes, and gave Bill a proper southern accent. All that made this an alright episode. I certainly didn't love it, and I don't get what the critics were on about. Maybe it's this lowered expectation vibe from the strike that makes anything palatable look brilliant.
I really like Anna Paquin as the adorable Sookie Stackhouse (she's a great blonde, too!). She's got just the right amount of innocent so that she's not annoying. *cough*Bella Swan*cough*. OK, watching this I got sooo many Twilight vibes. I know the show's based off of a whole other set of books, but a girl falls instantly for a mysterious vampire? The difference is Sookie is telepathic, which is kind of awesome. I read how it was explained in the books, and I hope that, if they don't change it, they make it work. Because it sounds kind of lame. Won't be spoiling it for anybody.
Something I kind of hope gets changed: the opening. There's decomposition, gore, nudity, sex... I'm sorry, but I like my opening credits to be wholesome and innocent, and not make me lose my appetite. Somehow, I doubt that'll change. I'm in for one more episode, some of the previews for the series look enticing, so we'll see what next week has to offer.
Fringe 1.01
So I had seen the screener over the summer, and was not all that impressed. The second time around, I enjoyed it more, but I also wasn't paying that much attention. So all those complaints about cheesy writing are probably still valid. I'm glad they altered the transparent CGI so you didn't see through the guy's skull. Because that was really a killer, and I'm normally not a stickler when it comes to accuracy in Sci-Fi.
When I watched the episode last night, the thing wreaked of JJ Abrams. I mean, PUSH THROUGH'S FTW! God, I've missed those. They actually got me in the mood for Alias, which really had two superb seasons, including a brilliant pilot. To be honest, watching this pilot made me think about JJ's far superior first episodes. I mean, Lost and Alias are hard to match, especially the former. But I just expected more from the guy than a generic blond discovering mysteries all Nancy Drew. Though the Massive Dynamics mystery is keeping me mildly interested. Enough for, say, two more episodes at least. The upcoming previews made the show look very compelling, I hope it gets better after this.
And my Fringe theory: Humans from the future - 4400 style.
Something about this TV season seems different. I know the strike really shook things up. Pilots couldn't be made, and some of those that were produced were such crap ( Life On Mars) that they had to be completely redone. And others are set to air, and couldn't even be shown to critics. Then there are the second season shows ( Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies, mostly) that are being promoted as if they are new series. It's been so long since those shows have aired, the networks are concerned about losing major viewership. And to be honest, they need to be worried. I can't recall the last time I thought about Pushing Daisies (last time I wrote about it was Christmas Day last year!), and I *loved* that show. And if they've lost my attention, I can only imagine how far from the average viewers' mind it is.
OK, I hope I get to post more as the season starts up again. I hope I have good things to say (I've heard some really promising thoughts about the new season of Heroes) and I hope some of the new shows pick up steam and get very interesting, because I need some new life in my schedule.
Oh, and Mad Men is excellent and probably too smart for me. But everyone watch. /Obligatory mention of Mad Men.