TVD, Bones and Fringe
"The Vampire Diaries": This show continues to burn through story like there is no tomorrow, which is somewhat worrying (seriously, how long can they keep this up?) and thrilling, as there is more plot momentum in the average episode of TVD than many shows have in a whole season. A few thoughts about this last one:
* I love the way they are able to play Damon's woobie cards while making it clear that Damon is no woobie. I am becoming more and more serious about wanting Damon to get elected mayor of Mystic Falls next year. Comedy gold: I tell you.
* Poor Matt! Now, he is the woobie. I love how the show dedicates real interest and time and story to him even though he's the Nice Guy With No Superpowers.
* In his quiet, stolid way, Stefan is actually pretty hilarious. The drunk episode confirmed this for me.
* Poor Caroline! Always second to Elena. And that's not gonna change, as Elena now has two vampires and her ex obsessed with her, plus the hot teacher is convinced she's the daughter of his wife.
* I can deal with Bonnie having been gone for a while -- Caroline and Matt also vanished for a while, and I had forgotten Tyler was even in this show -- but I'm really ready for her to get back.
* Sark! Or John, as it were. WTF is he? I am eager to know, though I don't feel good about his life expectancy, given that people Damon wants dead have a tendency to get dead. I DO feel good about his screwed up past with Aunt Jeanna, which hopefully will be all twisted against shortly.
* Elena remains deeply awesome.
* So does Alaric, who manages to combine some badassitude with a facial expression that makes it clear he has no damned idea what he's doing here.
**
"Bones": I'd wondered how they would follow that heartbreaker of a 100th episode, or -- this being "Bones" -- whether they'd really deal with the fallout at all right away. This turned out to be the perfect solution: a deeply funny take on teen slasher movies that managed to provide a lot of comedy and yet deal with the issues by taking us into Brennan's past. Sure, most of that was played for humor too, but then they had that wonderful moment with "Kiss From a Rose," and Brennan getting a little weird about never having had her romance at the prom, and Booth dancing with her -- to make up for what she lost, which just might be the ability to trust and love that would've brought them together long ago.
The mystery was rather non-mysterious -- forensics really didn't count for much in this one -- but I didn't care. Mr. Buxley (Robert Englund!) was so marvelous that I'd love to see him again; he's such a talented, funny actor, and for all Buxley's creepiness, you really did get the warmth and affection between him and Brennan.
Angela and Hodgins slink closer to reunion. What's it going to take? I'm guessing sweeps.
**
"Fringe": Holy crap, was that a great episode. I am beginning to seriously pity any scifi fan who didn't try this back on after its rocky first half-season; this year has been a blockbuster, dramatically speaking, and on a lot of different fronts and in different ways.
I thought "White Tulip" began rather unsteadily, with the time loop initially leading to too much repetition, but they broke out of that early enough and to fabulous effect. Peter Weller gets his Buckaroo Banzai on as a mad scientist whose lunacy, and brilliance, and tragedy, rival Walter's own. Walter, recognizing a fellow spirit, decides not to fight him but to reach out to him -- to share what he did in taking Peter and the multiplicity of reasons he regrets it. So far, so good. But the genius of this episode unfolded in the final few minutes, when we finally realized WHY the Peter Weller character wanted to go back, and what message he sent Walter before the end. Those moments were so sublime, so perfectly unexpected and yet inevitable, that they reminded me strongly of the best moments of Darin Morgan on XF. (And yet, not in a derivative way: This script was its own.)
It seems certain that Peter will figure out the truth within another episode or two. OH FALLOUT.
**
I am now sitting in an Apple store, resolutely ignoring the lecture going on all around me. My old laptop has been surrendered to the authorities; I felt a bit sad about letting it go -- the things I wrote on that laptop! -- but it was past time. Not only did it have zero battery life, but it had started refusing to be turned on about two times out of three. (In fact, it took about five tries for the Genius Bar guy to get it going today.) But now all the info has been transferred onto my new Mr. Skippy here, and I am already deeply happy about how much lighter this one is.
Of course, the desktop is acting up too. WTF, Apple. Must you take all my money in one fell swoop?