So not too much to report.
I watched the season premier of Fringe last night. Fringe is a show about an FBI detective (Olivia Dunham, who's part of a sort of task force) who investigates deaths and other events which seem to defy explanation through normal scientific, forensic, and investigative means. In the course of investigating these events she eventually comes to work with a former Harvard biochemist (Dr.Walter Bishop) who used to do experiments in unorthodox, "fringe" science for the government, and his son (Peter Bishop), who is helping the professor out following his release from a hospital for mental illness.
I was pretty skeptical of the show to start with, thinking that it was just some sort of X-Files knockoff, but the show has really grown on me over time. I mean, it's not flawless, and there are occasionally some moments that seem cheesey and some plot points which seem fairly contrived (there's a lot of deus ex machina, via pseudo-scientific tomfoolery), but the characters have grown on me (they're pretty well written and well acted), and I've come to appreciate the fact that the show seems to be going in a direction that X-Files was never willing to truly follow through with- taking some of these "unexplained" events and dragging them right out into the light where they can be more fully explained and confronted head on.
As it goes into its second season, Fringe has made it clear that it's not afraid to do things that might have been considered "over the top" by X Files standards. In fact, this was always one of my chief complaints with X-Files. It was a show about aliens and the supernatural, but in some ways it always felt like the show was afraid of (or embarrassed by?) its own subject matter (well, I think mostly the creators felt like they might scare away a large part of the relatively manstream audience they had garnered if the show began to feel too much like science fiction or fantasy). X Files featured aliens and all manner of creepy crawly monsters, but we only caught glimpses of them in the shadows or out of the corner of our eye or in a dash of indecipherable movement, and the explanations of what we were seeing could be taken as much for fanciful speculation as credible theory (the audience knew better, cause we trusted Mulder, but he never seemed to really find himself a "smoking gun" when it came to proof of the supernatural). Plus, X-Files just never had a satisfying conclusion, in my opinion. the climax of the show essentially was a lame courtroom drama which provided more anecdotal evidence of the supernatural and the promise of continuing government cover ups. Not much of a payoff after all of those seasons.
Fringe, in its second season, has already begun to move out of the shadows. On the season opener, Agent Dunham appeared out of thin air and crashed head first through the windshield of a vehicle, and this event occurred at a crime scene in front of a dozen or so FBI agents. As the strange events on the show continue to grow stranger, they also seem to be growing more public. There's a suggestion that an invasion may be imminent and that beings from another dimension (aliens, of a sort) are crossing between worlds- and that some of them may be preparing to do some pretty nasty things to the world that we live in.
Anyway, like I said, Fringe doesn't seem to be afraid to go right over the top. It may make the show sound a bit silly, but I think you have to risk a bit of silliness if you want to deal with the fantastic (and, if executed correctly, these same subjects can fill the audience with wonder instead of being problematic). Also, on Fringe, the disbelief of the characters themselves (they see these things, but still have a hard time wrapping their heads around them and/or accepting them) helps to keep the story sort of grounded, and ultimately it could lead to a conclusion that's more satisfying than the one which was evetually offered up by the X-Files. If the ultimate goal of investigation is to be able to offer irrefutable proof of something, it's nice to know that the show's writers and producers may actually allow the characters to reach that end (although, on Fringe, as with X-Files, the ultimate goal will end up being something more of the "save the world" variety as opposed to simple investigation).
Soooo- too much about Fringe. I like the show, though. I like Anna Torv.
And here's Jon Stewart interviewing Bill Clinton about health care reform on yesterday's Daily Show. I know Bill had his hang ups, but I really miss that man.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Exclusive - Bill Clinton Extended Interview Pt. 3 | ||||
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It struck me as I was watching this that while Obama and Clinton both have a tremendous sense of optimism and hope, Clinton brings an additional sense of experience to the table and a veteran's sensibility. I like an support Obama, but it times I fear that he's a bit naive. It's good to hear someone who's been through a large number of political battles still expressing confidence that we can get this health care reform thing done, and that we can do it in a way that will insure all Americans. (also interesting to note that Clinton talks about the ability to overcome a Republican fillibuster- a tone that's a little more adversarial than what Obama has typically expressed with his continued preference for bipartisanship.)
Oh yeah. I also think that Obama was probably right to tank that missile shield program. Most of the stuff I've read about it said that it wasn't likely to be that effective, anyway, and it was going to be really expensive. And no, I don't see the move as kowtowing to the Soviets (I actually think the missile shield might have been unneccessarily belligerent on the part of the U.S. in the first place). I just think abandoning the program was a smart move for the U.S. (from the little knowledge I have on the whole thing). And it sounds like we're still going to pursue some kind of missile defense system (focusing on short and medium range missiles) in the region, anyway.
Gotta run. Maybe more later.
5 comments:
Talk to me about Fringe after 5 seasons. The X-Files was a brilliant show through the first five seasons. It should have ended after the sixth season. In particular, seasons 2, 3, and 4 of the X-Files are the best. Obviously, as you well know I'm very biased toward the X-Files (and Gillian Anderson in particular), but you also know that I acknowledge that the season finale was really lame (just what we need another court room finale like Seinfeld), the second movie was questionable, and that the writers and producers were scared to really advance the plot after season 6.
Unfortunately, the last 3.5 - 4 seasons of the X-Files really damaged the credibility that they had built up over the first 5. There were some good episodes here and there, but ultimately on the whole they didn't live up to the first several seasons. On top of that, the main writers from the early seasons left around season four or five and that significantly hurt the show. People often forget how important writing is.
Those last seasons of the X-Files were done just to keep milking the money out of a profitable cult series.
The reason I still can't get into Fringe (although I have never seen an episode) is described perfectly in the first sentence of your first paragraph:
______ is a show about an FBI detective (_______, who's part of a sort of task force) who investigates deaths and other events which seem to defy explanation through normal scientific, forensic, and investigative means.
I have seen that show before. It's called the X-Files.
Maybe they will one up the X-Files by having producers and writers that have the courage to advance plot lines like Battlestar Galactica did in it's five seasons, but if this show makes any kind of money for Fox, more than likely they will milk it just like they did the X-Files.
Again, talk to me about Fringe after Season 4 or 5. Then we will see. If I'm wrong than I will sit down and watch the series.
Well, my point really wasn't to just pick on X-Files, a show which I enjoyed and watched throughout pretty much the run of the entire series (although less in the final seasons). Part of my annoyance is with the fact that I thought that the final season or two were sort of a disservice to the entire series. As for how long Fringe runs- I don't at all judge the success or failure of a series by the length of time that it stays on the air. I would actually much rather see a well-crafted, tightly run show run for only 2 or 3 seasons than see a show get the life squeezed out of it over a longer period because producers just want to try to find a way to keep stretching it out (British shows are often actually only scheduled to run for a certain amount of time and are then cancelled, no matter what the ratings look like, in order to preserve better story lines). Also, while X-Files definitely gets some kudos originality in its execution, even the X-Files was based on another show with similar themes. Chris Carter has reported that he got the idea for X-Files from a previous show from the 1970's called "Kolchak: The Night Stalker", which was about a newspaper reporter who investigated bizarre murders with supernatural causes (usually perpetrated by science fiction style monsters). I guess they could have found a different reason for the Fringe characters to jet around the country doing this stuff, but, honestly, the FBI is the most plausible solution (although the Fringe Division is much better equipped and more official than Mudler's X-File investigations from some brrom closet in the FBI basement). There isn't much that's new under the sun when it comes to television, and there's definitely room left in the genre for other shows with similar themes. If Chris Carter hadn't felt this way, the X-Files might have never gotten off the ground. Fringe has a feel which is significantly different than the X-Files, and definitely comes at the subject with a different style and a different flavor to the characters. X-Files was definitely more dark and brooding than Fringe, and determined to feel more "realistic" (Fringe started out feeling a little more realistic, but it's gradually feeling more fantastic, and it's an interesting transformation to watch). Fringe isn't the same show as X-Files, and because it feels much different, it probably won't appeal to exactly the same audience base, but that's actually a good thing, I think. We don't need another X-Files. It stand on its own. My main point was that I think Fringe is being developed with a story arc that could potentially lead it to have a more satisfying ending than the X-Files, and I stand by that assertion.
I loved X-Files as much as the next guy, but that show gasped and wheezed way past its prime. And for me, the refusal to resolve the main plots in any satisfying manner, or to continue on in any satisfying manner from the film, which did very well, more or less ruined a good thing.
I was happy to stare at Gillian Anderson every week, too. But I think you can pick out Chris Carter as having absolutely no idea what he's doing. His return to the show after the failures of Harsh Realm and Millennium was when the strong writers left, which should tell you something.
Anyhow, I've never watched Fringe (and most likely never will), but there are about fifteen shows on TV in different iterations. Detectives Detect Supernatural Stuff is one of those genres (see: Supernatural, etc...)
Actually, I sort of liked Millenium, but apparently no one else did. I think it was too slowly paced and too dark for most people. The Lone Gunmen was a travesty, though.
I loved the X-Files. It was so well done at the time. Nothing on TV was like it. I stopped watching it the season after the first movie because it became abundantly clear that Chris Carter and co. were not going to acknowledge the events in the movie and follow through with a real ending to the story arc. It was massively frustrating. To this day, there is no adequate explanation of why the X-Files could not provide a real ending and move the characters forward. Given the expansive texture of the X-Files fiction, the show could have definitely continued on without any real issue. It was strange and I wasn't going to waste my time watching a show that treated me like a chump. Producers are going to need to understand that now in this day and age, when there is so much variety in entertainment for your dollar, stringing fans/viewers along like an addict and treating them with contempt will lose you an entire audience. I have no qualms now about dropping any series without looking back. I used to watch things to the bitter end until X-Files. Since then, I've dropped Heroes, Nip/Tuck, Millenium, CSI:Miami, Star Trek:Enterprise and Stargate. I'd rather play another hour of Call of Duty with friends than waste my time on a show that insults me.
That's why I like Joss Whedon shows. Regardless of some real criticisms of his writing and producing style, his shows have definite beginnings, character arcs and endings. He consistently pushes events forward on his shows. Until they get cancelled by Fox, but that's another issue.
I'll have to check Fringe out. My DVR is gathering dust.
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