The Fringe of Television

Today is the day that I’m flying home for the winter break, so it’s only appropriate that I talk about a show that starts on a plane: FRINGE!

I’ve made some references to Fringe a couple times before, so maybe this’ll clear up any confusion you might’ve had.

When I first heard of the show, LOST was drawing to its conclusion, and as an avid LOST-fanatic, I was obsessed with everything Abrams (except that atrocity called Cloverfield…but I digress). So when I heard that a new science fiction show was coming out on Fox and that he had been part of the creative team, I was sold.

I admit, I’m an easy TV sell. Don’t judge.

Anyway, we watched the pilot episode…

OH MY GOD.

Fringe is a highly intelligent science fiction procedural (mostly) that follows a series of events known as the Pattern. These events are super weird, and sometimes, notably, super gross in nature. Fringe quickly garnered itself the title of most-gross-show on television not because of gore, but simply because of nasty things that happen like supersized diseases and bugs and oh goodness, some of it…

Anyway, if you can stomach the gross, this is a really good show. The actors are all phenomenal. All of them. I don’t have a single complaint. Anna Torv, the main character, is brilliant, and if you stick with the show, which is now in its fourth season, you’ll see just how powerful an actress she is. John Noble is a genius, as always, and Joshua Jackson rounds out the main trio in a really nice way.

The three of them are pictured above.

Some of you may be asking: If it was created by Abrams, is it too much like LOST in that I won’t get any answers (or I’ll have to wait for a long time to get them?)

WRONG!

In this show, answers to mysteries hit you hard and hit you fast, and at the same time, raise new mysteries. The writing is incredible, the graphics are super, the characters are acted and developed superbly, and the twists are killer. There is a rich mythos behind the show, and every episode brings something new.

Also, Leonard Nimoy.

I CANNOT ENDORSE THIS SHOW MORE WITHOUT EXPLODING.

Which is funny, because in one episode there’s a computer that melts people’s brains….

It was gross. But cool.

Fringe. Is. Life. Check it out. See you during the break!

Why I Love "Once Upon a Time"

So, after reading an article recently in Entertainment Weekly (one of my favorite magazines!) about this new Sunday night ABC series, “Once Upon a Time,” I decided to give it a chance. I had seen the show advertised before, but I thought it was set entirely in a fairy tale land, and I didn’t realize the actual storyline, which is pretty interesting. EW clued me into the fact that this show has a tone of mysterious connected plot lines that keep viewers intriguied (rating numbers are staying high) and it was created by the same guys who produced and wrote the series “Lost.”

The series starts off by focusing Emma Swan (played by Jennifer Morrison from “House”) and her life as a bounty hunter in Boston. Little does she know, however, her son, Henry, that she gave up for adoption when he was born, has been living in the town Storybrooke, Maine where he believes that everyone who lives there used to be a fairy tale character but can’t remember it. Henry comes to Boston to find Emma and tell her of his discoveries, but she dismisses him and decides to escort him back home. Upon arriving in Storybrooke (sounds like STORY BOOK–get it??) however, Emma notices that Henry’s adoptive mother, the mayor, is very difficult and abrasive. Worried about how Henry is treated at home, Emma decides to stay behind. Soon, she realizes the parallels between the fairy tale characters and the people who live in Storybrooke, making her stay even more worthwhile. But the mayor (who parallels with the Evil Queen from Snow White) tries to sabatoge any efforts Emma makes to bring Henry back into her life.

Yes, this does sound complicated, and it took a few episodes before I understood everything. But the idea is, is that Henry is right. The Evil Queen put a spell on Snow White’s kingdom that would effectively take away her happiness, and thus, the fairy tale characters have no memory of their past, and are trapped in Storybrooke. Not even the mayor can remember! (Or she might, we just haven’t figured that out yet). The tales of the fairy tale characters and their history is told through flashback periodically throughout each episode to clear up any confusion. Snow White has become an elementary school teacher and her Prince is in a coma at the hospital. Jimmeny Cricket is a therapist, and Cinderella is going through a teenage pregnancy. Crazy stuff.

Anyway, it’s a pretty interesting show and I really enjoy it! There’s always some sort of cliffhanger that makes you want to watch the next one. And the flashbacks create a really cool variety during the show; it’s almost like there are two tv shows going on at once! And it’s not totally girly either. I’m about to watch an episode right now (sorry for the late post by the way, I had a final today and got really busy!). Happy December everyone!

(pic from: http://www.celebgossip.com/2011/11/abc-time-2-shows-full-season-15106)

Because Who Doesn’t Love Alternate Universes?

So, I was spending some free time in Alexandria when we decided to go see a movie at a local Indie movie theater. I have since become convinced that I need to watch more Indie movies, because after watching some others through Netflix, I realized that they’re generally so much better than the mass-produced stuff we’re usually force-fed by Hollywood.

This brings me to a particularly gripping science-fiction indie which came out recently. Another Earth (pictured above). I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going in, but when I came out, my mom and I spent the next hour or so in deep thought about the movie. You may also have seen the poster for this movie, so if you have, here is a brief explanation of the movie.

The premise is this: A successful young girl who has gotten into college goes out to a party and gets drunk. On the way home, she hears on the radio that something odd has been spotted in the night sky. While looking at this distant object, she hits another car which has a family in it. The wife and young child are killed.

Skip ahead a few years to our heroine named Rhoda Williams (played excellently by Brit Marling) getting out of prison. Her college scholarship is gone, her future ruined. The movie follows her attempts to pick up the pieces and move on with her life (working as a janitor in a high school) and eventually she meets the man whose family she accidentally took away. John Burroughs (played by William Mapother, notably of LOST) is a brooding musician also trying to move on.

They inevitably meet and Rhoda struggles with telling him who she is and what she has done. What follows is a grim, brooding, gorgeously filmed movie focused on the survivors of the initial tragedy. And wrapped around all of this is the mysterious object in the sky, which seems to get closer as time goes along, until you can clearly see that it is truly Another Earth.

Eventually, the space people with the huge satellite dishes try to make contact and discover that there is an identical version of everyone from our planet, on the other planet.

A contest starts to choose who will be the first to go to the other Earth, or Earth II as they begin to call it. Rhoda writes an essay and submits it, and (SPOILER) wins the contest.

Rhoda and John wonder whether everything on Earth II is exactly the same, or if it’s slightly different. Rhoda suggests that maybe John’s wife and child are alive somewhere on Earth II, and decides to finally tell him who she really is.

Obviously conflict ensues.

First of all this movie kept me guessing the entire time. What is actually happening? Is the appearance of the other Earth connected to the accident? Are the family members actually alive over there? Why does Earth II continuously get closer and closer to our Earth throughout the movie?

I want to discuss the ending, but it’s waaaaay too good to ruin here as a spoiler. The ending is possibly the best ending to a movie I have ever seen. This movie was elegantly executed in every detail, and in my mind deserves every award I could throw at it. The acting is phenomenal, especially in the gritty main roles, but even in the cameos. The concepts are intriguing and engagingly laid out, without being dumbed down. And the cinematography is in a world of its own…(PUN! Get it? Get it?) Even the special effects (minimal as they are) were smoothly and beautifully executed.

This went from going in having no idea what it would be, to being very high up in the list of my all-time favorite movies. Five gold stars from me. So go watch it, ASAP.

This has been a report by Junior Varsity aka Jason. Hope you enjoyed!