This Week in Television, with a focus on "Fringe"
The fall season is finally here, and it's an unfortunately frustrating one, given the scheduling. Apparently, all the major networks decided to put ALL of their heavy-hitters in the Thursday night timeslots, forcing viewers to REALLY pick what they wanted to watch, even those of us with DVR.
For example, this week brings the premiere of Fringe's second season on FOX, which has been moved from 9:00 pm Tuesdays to 9:00 pm Thursdays, where it will compete with NBC's sixth season of The Office and the series premiere of Community. And that's not counting the other stations: ABC has Grey's Anatomy in that timeslot, CBS has CSI, and CW has Supernatural. Earlier this summer I read a quote from a FOX exec who claimed that Fringe didn't need to worry because there wasn't any crossover with the audience.
Like hell. Admittedly, in the 9pm slot, I'm fine. I can DVR my comedies and watch Fringe in real time (Fringe has REALLY short commercials, so what's the point of DVRing it?). But I'm lucky that I'm not already a fan of Supernatural, which--if you ask me--is the most obvious case of audience crossover, because both shows are part of the speculative fiction genre.
Thursday nights at 8:00 pm is another story, but I want to talk about Fringe.
I'm really looking forward to this season. Season one had its ups and downs. The first half of the season was a little formulaic and Olivia Dunham was hard to love. But the latter half really made the show work wonders. It started moving away from the overly episodic format into something a little more continuity-based, and the writers did an amazing thing: they gave Olivia a sister and a niece to care of. Suddenly, we see a very human side of Olivia, and the character just clicked perfectly.
Of course, the constants on this show have been the fantastic dynamic with the cast and the wild and crazy and obviously improbable science. The former is what sells the show for me: I love the cast to pieces and the emotional bonds between them. I love the actors in their roles. That's what keeps me tuned in. John Noble is fabulous as Walter Bishop, and save for a few slips where Walter is a little too blunt, the character is pitch-perfect. And while I never watched Dawson's Creek, I've got a wee little crush on Joshua Jackson's Peter Bishop, whose sly smiles and snarky quips have a way of stealing your heart. I love the storyline in store for him this season. I love it to bits.
And as far as the science goes, you have to accept it or not, but if you're a geek who keeps up with the latest research, you'll have a lot of fun when you recognize the research the writers are using, or at least, can follow the logic of the show's science, even if you know in life it's bullshit. But that's the fun of it: the show doesn't take itself any more seriously than it needs to, and there's always a character ready with a snarky remark to put the zaniness back into perspective. It reminds us, "Yeah, this is a tv show," but in a good way.
For a show that is starting to explore its own mythology, I have to say it's one you can start at any episode and run with. Sure, there's stuff in past episodes you've missed, but the recaps at the start of each episode should do more than enough to tell you what you need to know, and if for whatever reason those are skipped, well, there's always tv.com. It's not like Lost, where you really need to start at the beginning to truly and fully understand and appreciate the full spectrum of the show. Fringe is a show you can hop on and enjoy for what it is. It's not for everyone, but after last season's finale, I can't wait to see where it goes next. And I mean that in more ways than one. :)
For example, this week brings the premiere of Fringe's second season on FOX, which has been moved from 9:00 pm Tuesdays to 9:00 pm Thursdays, where it will compete with NBC's sixth season of The Office and the series premiere of Community. And that's not counting the other stations: ABC has Grey's Anatomy in that timeslot, CBS has CSI, and CW has Supernatural. Earlier this summer I read a quote from a FOX exec who claimed that Fringe didn't need to worry because there wasn't any crossover with the audience.
Like hell. Admittedly, in the 9pm slot, I'm fine. I can DVR my comedies and watch Fringe in real time (Fringe has REALLY short commercials, so what's the point of DVRing it?). But I'm lucky that I'm not already a fan of Supernatural, which--if you ask me--is the most obvious case of audience crossover, because both shows are part of the speculative fiction genre.
Thursday nights at 8:00 pm is another story, but I want to talk about Fringe.
I'm really looking forward to this season. Season one had its ups and downs. The first half of the season was a little formulaic and Olivia Dunham was hard to love. But the latter half really made the show work wonders. It started moving away from the overly episodic format into something a little more continuity-based, and the writers did an amazing thing: they gave Olivia a sister and a niece to care of. Suddenly, we see a very human side of Olivia, and the character just clicked perfectly.
Of course, the constants on this show have been the fantastic dynamic with the cast and the wild and crazy and obviously improbable science. The former is what sells the show for me: I love the cast to pieces and the emotional bonds between them. I love the actors in their roles. That's what keeps me tuned in. John Noble is fabulous as Walter Bishop, and save for a few slips where Walter is a little too blunt, the character is pitch-perfect. And while I never watched Dawson's Creek, I've got a wee little crush on Joshua Jackson's Peter Bishop, whose sly smiles and snarky quips have a way of stealing your heart. I love the storyline in store for him this season. I love it to bits.
And as far as the science goes, you have to accept it or not, but if you're a geek who keeps up with the latest research, you'll have a lot of fun when you recognize the research the writers are using, or at least, can follow the logic of the show's science, even if you know in life it's bullshit. But that's the fun of it: the show doesn't take itself any more seriously than it needs to, and there's always a character ready with a snarky remark to put the zaniness back into perspective. It reminds us, "Yeah, this is a tv show," but in a good way.
For a show that is starting to explore its own mythology, I have to say it's one you can start at any episode and run with. Sure, there's stuff in past episodes you've missed, but the recaps at the start of each episode should do more than enough to tell you what you need to know, and if for whatever reason those are skipped, well, there's always tv.com. It's not like Lost, where you really need to start at the beginning to truly and fully understand and appreciate the full spectrum of the show. Fringe is a show you can hop on and enjoy for what it is. It's not for everyone, but after last season's finale, I can't wait to see where it goes next. And I mean that in more ways than one. :)