astri13: (Default)
Okay, here we are, the series Finale of Fringe

Neither this Season nor the Finale packed the punch I`ve come to expect from this show at its heights. While I liked all the Seasons, for me, in hindsight the heydey was Season 2 and parts of 3.

However, that does not mean I disliked the Finale either. It just feels weird when certain episodes over the course of the show hit you so much more in the gut than the ending. Guess it`s hard for show endings to live up to the expectations for them. In fact, I`d be hard pressed now to name even a few that really satisfied me on all accounts.

But onwards and upwards some thoughts for the final adventures of our Fringe-team... )

Funny, when this show started, for some reason I was adamant about not watching it and then I watched a random episode while on vacation and neither understood anything nor liked it very much. I only distinctly remember hating the Walter-character and questioning if he had always been so horribly hateful to his son. :D Then, I caved in and watched Season 1 and 2 over the course of two weeks, I believe. And the rest as they say...
astri13: big eyed Jensen (reviews)
Inspired by [personal profile] lovis.

Lets see how my shows fared during their first half (or at least close to it) of the new Season (occassional spoiler tags, just in case):

Bones - still watch for the revolving interns basically and I will compliment them on doing a really decent 9/11 ep with all of them but WTH was that last episode before hiatus? Oy.
Castle - okay, I guess, they`re even handling Castle and Beckett as a couple reasonably well (in the "it could be way worse" sense)

NCIS - same old, same old, nothing ever changes here (unless a cast member wants out)
NCIS Los Angeles - pure popcorn entertainment but on that level it works, it`s uncanny, though, how many bad guys the team shoots in every single episode, I can think of no procedural that is sooo trigger-happy

Arrow - still like it, still like gloomy Ollie spoiler ); thing is, Oliver is so profoundly lonely, he is a very tragic character for me
Supernatural - better than the last three years but the writing issues in general (pacing, multiple plots at least for main characters, lazy characterization issues) didn`t improve as much as I previously hoped, spoiler )
Criminal Minds - much like NCIS, same old, same old, the new character brought nothing in terms of new dynamics, she neither enrages nor enraptures, spoiler )

The Vampire Diaires - oh dear, it`s kinda like riding a train but thinking you spot a large gap in the tracks further down the road, you`re not sure yet and you have some hope it will all work out but, like Han Solo, you have a bad feeling about it; spoiler )
Beauty and the Beast - yup, still watching. Anyone`s guess as to why because it`s really pedestrian but I have developed this stubborn desire to see the titular characters together because, seriously, glaciers move faster than this.
Person of Interest - like it as much as in Season 1, two wonderfully stoic characters bringing each other back into the world, spoiler )
Elementary - enjoy it more than I thought I would and I`m really, really impressed that so far they haven`t validated my cynical belief that soon enough Sherlock and Watson would play the will they/won`t they game
The Big Bang Theory - it still makes me laugh occassionally but why did Amy get the sexaholic character overhaul? That`s cringeworthy.

Fringe - this Season is weird for me, I don`t dislike it but it never really got going for me spoiler )
Haven - I do not understand spoiler ) That said, I have quite enjoyed the Season for the most part.
Grimm - holy crap, they really brought a few things to a head, spoiler )

Merlin - like I said, the only question becomes on how much they are gonna screw up Christmas as it seems crystal clear that spoiler speculation )
astri13: (Default)
I watched the last two episodes of

Fringe ) - Holy crap, people

Grimm ) - Another holy crap, here

and Haven  ) - oh we`re closing in on the Season Finale now *wibble* but did you hear, renewed for S4? \o/

respectively.
astri13: (Angelic)
Watched the two new CW pilots this week:

Arrow - that was pretty good, I thought the spoilers )

Beauty and the Beast - you know, I will go ahead and say that I didn`t actually hate this. Nope, it doesn`t have great or even good writing and it`s a lot less profound than the original but I didn`t expect any of those things going in anyway. It will be a romance mixed with a procedural, highlighted with cheese. Sometimes when I`m in the mood, I like those. Maybe next week I`ll be reaching for the bleech again. *g* Also, surprisingly, I didn`t get "OMG, it`s Lana, nooooooo" factor much, as I had feared. spoilers )

Other TV reactions in one sentence or less:

Haven 3.04 )

Fringe 5.03 )

Vammpire Diaries 4.01 )

Grimm Forgot the ep number )
astri13: (Angelic)
Watched the two new CW pilots this week:

Arrow - that was pretty good, I thought the spoilers )

Beauty and the Beast - you know, I will go ahead and say that I didn`t actually hate this. Nope, it doesn`t have great or even good writing and it`s a lot less profound than the original but I didn`t expect any of those things going in anyway. It will be a romance mixed with a procedural, highlighted with cheese. Sometimes when I`m in the mood, I like those. Maybe next week I`ll be reaching for the bleech again. *g* Also, surprisingly, I didn`t get "OMG, it`s Lana, nooooooo" factor much, as I had feared. spoilers )

Other TV reactions in one sentence or less:

Haven 3.04 )

Fringe 5.03 )

Vammpire Diaries 4.01 )

Grimm Forgot the ep number )

More TV

Oct. 6th, 2012 02:55 pm
astri13: (Default)
Haven 3.03 - Wow, what a punch to the gut. spoilers )

Fringe 5.02 - Am still not quite at home in this variation of the show. Though spoilers )

More TV

Oct. 6th, 2012 02:55 pm
astri13: (Default)
Haven 3.03 - Wow, what a punch to the gut. spoilers )

Fringe 5.02 - Am still not quite at home in this variation of the show. Though spoilers )
astri13: (Default)
One after another, my shows are starting again and my TV week is filling up. So far I watched:

Bones - mostly I watch to see which of the revolving interns will amuse me this week
Castle - okay to we`ll see how it goes
NCIS - bit of a letdown after the Finale
NCIS LA - I kinda knew it because oh well
Criminal Minds - not a fan of the new character

And today: Fringe 5.01 )

Haven 3.02 )

Only SPN, TVD and Community to go now. Oh, and possibly Arrow and/or Beauty and the Beast (the latter looked so hilariously bad, I need to watch at least the Pilot so gauge out the amusement factor).
astri13: (Default)
One after another, my shows are starting again and my TV week is filling up. So far I watched:

Bones - mostly I watch to see which of the revolving interns will amuse me this week
Castle - okay to we`ll see how it goes
NCIS - bit of a letdown after the Finale
NCIS LA - I kinda knew it because oh well
Criminal Minds - not a fan of the new character

And today: Fringe 5.01 )

Haven 3.02 )

Only SPN, TVD and Community to go now. Oh, and possibly Arrow and/or Beauty and the Beast (the latter looked so hilariously bad, I need to watch at least the Pilot so gauge out the amusement factor).
astri13: (Default)
Holy fucking crap, THIS is a trailer for Season 5 of Fringe.

I want to watch this Season. And I want it NOW.
astri13: (Default)
Holy fucking crap, THIS is a trailer for Season 5 of Fringe.

I want to watch this Season. And I want it NOW.
astri13: (Default)
I had kind of a renewed interest after the last thirty seconds of the SPN Season 7 Finale but the first spoilers out have already cured that. Completely. Same old, same old.

spoilers )

I'm not sure if this is the longest I've ever held on for a show that makes me wanna drive spikes through my head - nope, X-Files still holds that record, in the end I cried every year when I heard they renewed it. Still, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins, I'm sending you my therapy bills. :-p

Meanwhile, I also read some basic spoilers for Season 5 of Fringe. And while those make my stomach clench, they do so in a good way. more spoilers )

I'm sad it will end after only 13 more episodes but if they manage to pull the last one off, too, they will have had an - for me - unparalleled winning streak. I can't recall ANY genre show like this where I liked ALL the Seasons. Even if I meassure only the first five years of all my shows, they always had at least one real stinker in them. Fringe, so far, hasn't had one. Sure, I have my fave as well - Season 2 - but that doesn't mean I hate the others.

So maybe it will be good to go out on a highpoint. Hopefully.
astri13: (Default)
I had kind of a renewed interest after the last thirty seconds of the SPN Season 7 Finale but the first spoilers out have already cured that. Completely. Same old, same old.

spoilers )

I'm not sure if this is the longest I've ever held on for a show that makes me wanna drive spikes through my head - nope, X-Files still holds that record, in the end I cried every year when I heard they renewed it. Still, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins, I'm sending you my therapy bills. :-p

Meanwhile, I also read some basic spoilers for Season 5 of Fringe. And while those make my stomach clench, they do so in a good way. more spoilers )

I'm sad it will end after only 13 more episodes but if they manage to pull the last one off, too, they will have had an - for me - unparalleled winning streak. I can't recall ANY genre show like this where I liked ALL the Seasons. Even if I meassure only the first five years of all my shows, they always had at least one real stinker in them. Fringe, so far, hasn't had one. Sure, I have my fave as well - Season 2 - but that doesn't mean I hate the others.

So maybe it will be good to go out on a highpoint. Hopefully.
astri13: (Default)
Used my first "free" day to finally catch up on the last few eps of Fringe. I started watching in real time Season 4, then had to stop quickly because it made me hurt for the characters and I can only really take that when I know it gets better (and soon). So I waited out the Season and have been marathoning properly. Now, I can even take the beginning without breaking a sweat. :D

I dreaded ep 19 "Letters in transit" somewhat, given what I had read about it but my fears were unfounded. I was thouroughly entertained and loved the characters.
Is that still a spoiler? Better safe than sorry. )

Also, and that was not only brought on by Fringe but several things I watched recently: suspense-building in either a breaking/entering/storming the fortress or a getaway scenario. You know, the good guys either try to get the bad guys or trying to make a run for it. And you know what? I think it's actually not that hard to generate suspense during scenes like that. Working on the assumption that your audience cares about the well-being of the good guys, all you need to do is make it a bit hard for them, have the bad guys nearly catch them, have someone trip and fall for godssakes.

I'm not talking about every show doing it as thrill-rid-y and masterfully as the Person of Interest Finale but watching Fringe today, I kinda had a weird retroactive "okay, that's fucking it" moment re: the SPN Finale. And it's all [livejournal.com profile] mareen's fault because she totally put the thought in my head and it grew and grew there. :-P Now, I still am deliriously happy over some stuff in the SPN Finale, mainly the very end, but while it didn't bother me while watching I'm no longer sanguine about: again spoiler, I guess )
astri13: (Default)
Used my first "free" day to finally catch up on the last few eps of Fringe. I started watching in real time Season 4, then had to stop quickly because it made me hurt for the characters and I can only really take that when I know it gets better (and soon). So I waited out the Season and have been marathoning properly. Now, I can even take the beginning without breaking a sweat. :D

I dreaded ep 19 "Letters in transit" somewhat, given what I had read about it but my fears were unfounded. I was thouroughly entertained and loved the characters.
Is that still a spoiler? Better safe than sorry. )

Also, and that was not only brought on by Fringe but several things I watched recently: suspense-building in either a breaking/entering/storming the fortress or a getaway scenario. You know, the good guys either try to get the bad guys or trying to make a run for it. And you know what? I think it's actually not that hard to generate suspense during scenes like that. Working on the assumption that your audience cares about the well-being of the good guys, all you need to do is make it a bit hard for them, have the bad guys nearly catch them, have someone trip and fall for godssakes.

I'm not talking about every show doing it as thrill-rid-y and masterfully as the Person of Interest Finale but watching Fringe today, I kinda had a weird retroactive "okay, that's fucking it" moment re: the SPN Finale. And it's all [livejournal.com profile] mareen's fault because she totally put the thought in my head and it grew and grew there. :-P Now, I still am deliriously happy over some stuff in the SPN Finale, mainly the very end, but while it didn't bother me while watching I'm no longer sanguine about: again spoiler, I guess )
astri13: (Default)
I know, I'm like months behind everyone else on this reaction but the Fringe Season 3 Finale? whuuuuuuuuut?

Given the givens, this is the show I most look forward to next Season.

My prediction? )
astri13: (Default)
I know, I'm like months behind everyone else on this reaction but the Fringe Season 3 Finale? whuuuuuuuuut?

Given the givens, this is the show I most look forward to next Season.

My prediction? )
astri13: (Default)
As I'm currently marathoning Fringe Season 3, I once more marvel on how the show is one of the very, very, very few in TV history that manages to make redemption believable for me.

Despite redemption being a big theme in fictional stories, most of the usually screw it up badly. Bad deeds are either retconned away, woobie-ed away, blamed on someone else or buried under Sue-torture, sometimes all of those combined. *gives certain shows the stink-eye here* Occassionally, depending on my goodwill for a character, I will still be able to like them, most times it makes me hate them but no matter what, I never, ever buy the so-called redemption.

In Fringe, though, I see a rather heartwarming wonderful yet honest portrayal of a character who has done something so horrific that others would be justified in totally condemning it but because I don't feel they do any of the above things in adressing the misdeed, not only do I feel sympathy, I also am not angry for in-show characters extending that sympathy as well.

The only anger I feel is towards writers of all those other shows who take all kinds of "tell, not show" shortcuts in creating sympathetic characters and interaction.
astri13: (Default)
As I'm currently marathoning Fringe Season 3, I once more marvel on how the show is one of the very, very, very few in TV history that manages to make redemption believable for me.

Despite redemption being a big theme in fictional stories, most of the usually screw it up badly. Bad deeds are either retconned away, woobie-ed away, blamed on someone else or buried under Sue-torture, sometimes all of those combined. *gives certain shows the stink-eye here* Occassionally, depending on my goodwill for a character, I will still be able to like them, most times it makes me hate them but no matter what, I never, ever buy the so-called redemption.

In Fringe, though, I see a rather heartwarming wonderful yet honest portrayal of a character who has done something so horrific that others would be justified in totally condemning it but because I don't feel they do any of the above things in adressing the misdeed, not only do I feel sympathy, I also am not angry for in-show characters extending that sympathy as well.

The only anger I feel is towards writers of all those other shows who take all kinds of "tell, not show" shortcuts in creating sympathetic characters and interaction.
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