HYGOTS No. 81
April 30th, 2010
The big challenge for any show, once it’s completed one season, regardless of how popular it has been that first year, is the second season. Having already demonstrated the ability to put one year together, it must now duplicate the effort, and in such a way that will be both familiar and as equally challenging and innovative as before. In short, the stakes are raised. Suddenly, there exists the idea of expectations. The fans who were just created now feel that the show owes them something, that their faith must be rewarded. That’s certainly what happened as ‘Lost’ embarked on its second year in the fall of 2005.
Fringe 2×20 “Brown Betty” review
April 30th, 2010
The following contains spoilers through the episode “Brown Betty,” originally broadcast 4/29/10.
Well, for those keeping score, the second season will officially be longer than the first season of ‘Fringe.’ This same episode count was the complete set last year, and as the preview for next week reminded everyone, there’s still three episodes to go. It’s too bad, too, because there’s such an incredible momentum, so much potential just in what’s been going on, that you might expect so much more of the season left to be told. But that’s the strength of this season, that it has successfully expanded the series to the point where it seems easy to have a third season at the very least. If the audience still hasn’t realized it, “Brown Betty” is here to explain everything once again, just how much depth is there.
Fringe 2×19 “The Man From the Other Side” review
April 24th, 2010
The following contains spoilers through the episode “The Man From the Other Side,” originally broadcast 4/22/10.
As important episodes go, this one was pretty inevitable, and is probably best considered for how it works with the rest of the season, the series, and the run of episodes since “Peter” at the beginning of the month. I wouldn’t say it’s as essential as that one, or even last week’s “White Tulip,” so much as something that needed to happen. Simply put, Peter finally finds out the truth.
HYGOTS No. 80
April 24th, 2010
As we draw ever closer to the conclusion of ‘Lost,’ I’ve reached a series of columns that will reflect back on the journey as I have experienced it, with a focus on the individual seasons and what they accomplished along the way. I don’t want to discuss the various inspirations and allusions that can be deciphered – many people have done that over the years, and they’re still at it – but rather what the show itself has done, a bit of what I was thinking at the time, and what has gradually occurred to me since.
LOST 6×13 – “The Last Recruit”
April 22nd, 2010
If you don’t know yet, Losties, this is it. “The Last Recruit” feels like the final calm before the storm, and with only three regular episodes to go, you have to know that things are about to kick into gear. Because the alternate universe is starting to come together, and all of the action in the main timeline seems to be headed to Hydra Island for a final confrontation. As Locke said…here we go.
Fringe 2×18 “White Tulip” review
April 16th, 2010
The following contains spoilers through the episode “White Tulip,” originally broadcast 4/15/10.
Here’s another big difference between ‘Fringe’ and other J.J. Abrams shows like ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost.’ Where the others eventually lost interest in continuing any particular character drama and suspense from episode to episode, favoring instead a greater arc that drove the whole story forward, ‘Fringe’ has maintained and seems destined to continue maintaining a real sense of its characters as people who experience and develop from their actions on a regular basis. That’s what makes it more serialized than episodic, more than the mystery that has been at the heart of the show from the start, what exactly lies behind the pattern of fringe science they’ve been investigating. We know, increasingly, that Walter Bishop is behind most or all of it, unfortunately. Now we’re exploring how personal it really is.
HYGOTS No. 79
April 16th, 2010
Time to take this column in a more personal direction, at least for one week. Regulars at Lower Decks’ Observation Lounge will know that I’ve been writing Star Trek fiction for the past decade, mostly about my own set of characters. I began writing these stories after Pocket Books started the ‘Strange New Worlds’ anthologies which allowed amateur authors a shot at publication. After several attempts, each of which failed to win slots, I retreated to the modest realms of the Internet, posting my stories mostly at the OL. The regular intervals with which I produced new stories helped keep my writing as an active element of my life, which might be the best thing I can say about it.
LOST 6×12 – “Everybody Loves Hugo”
April 16th, 2010
Hurley-centric episodes are supposed to be fun. For the most part, Hurley is on the show for comic relief, and that’s why it’s a pretty big treat whenever he gets to do anything meaningful. Because the title is correct – everyone does love Hugo. But in what is almost certainly the last Hurley-centric episode of the series, comic relief is on the backburner. There is a lot of emotion and story in this episode, and Hurley finally gets a top spot on the main stage.
Fringe 2×17 “Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver” review
April 9th, 2010
The following contains spoilers through the episode “Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver,” originally broadcast 4/8/10.
Before I get to this week’s episode, I remembered tonight what I forgot to include in last week’s review, namely the retro opening credit sequence that featured 1980s style music and graphics. That was pretty awesome, the kind of touch this series routinely does, the details that help make everything work so well. But that’s nothing compared to the work done this week, layering and layering established threads so that the whole episode feels like a symphony, or a waltz of season and series story arcs marching forward, working so well you can’t imagine ever wondering why you questioned the show. Okay, so maybe that’s just me talking. Then again, these are my reviews. Who else would be?
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