Small Glass Screen: Balance and Imbalance

Fringe: Amber 31422

I hate the long gaps between these segments of Fringe, and while the first four episodes of this season were all phenomenal, we knew it could only go so far. However, if this is Fringe's example of a bad episode of this season, I'm perfectly fine with that. On any scale, this was still pretty good, and it hit home emotionally which is where it counts. In this rather clinically named episode, we saw the alternate universe become further fleshed out as we delved into the ethics and morals behind locking human beings in a state of suspended animation. The people trapped in amber are alive, and trapped both physically and mentally in their last horrific thoughts.

The episode's main crux was that it simply had too much going on, yet not at a fast enough pace, and that's where most of my complaints begin and end. The writers of this episode were the two worst writers on the show, Josh Singer and Ethan Gross, but the sheer quality of the story kept me interested throughout. Walternate begins to test Olivia in order to extract her ability to cross over to the other side, and that leads to two trips in the tank. The first results in little to nothing, as we confirm that she can indeed cross between worlds. However, the road she goes on through the rest of the episode leads her to travel back into the tank. I will add that the snow globe smashing whenever Olivia crossed universes was a nice touch.

Shawn and Aaron Ashmore guest star in this episode as twins, one of which has been trapped in amber for the past four years after trying to stop his brother from robbing a bank. The other, a former criminal who has spent the past four years pretending to be his brother, finally breaks his brother out of amber, and begins a desperate attempt to escape before it's too late. It's really emotional towards the end, thanks to the talent of the actors and some stellar direction by David Straiton, director of last year's hour long masterpiece Peter. It's a little difficult to trace the actions of the two brothers, as they keep switching like in The Parent Trap. I actually like to compare this more to the actions of the brothers in Christopher Nolan's The Prestige.

We knew the time would come when Olivia began to revert back to her normal self, and it seems that time is now. Hallucination-Peter has a steady presence throughout the episode, and that last piece with him was rather inspired writing in my opinion. Olivia's final tank trip is perhaps the most important part of the episode, as it's the point when Olivia finally realizes who she is. On top of that, her supposed failure in reaching the other side may impact Walternate to believe she's no longer necessary, and even if it doesn't, he'll soon find out that the ability to travel between universes has to be applied at a young age through Cortexiphan. Either way, we're on the edge of the truth, and our next adventure in the alternate universe (two weeks from now) will see the return of Andre Royo as taxi cab driver Henry! Consider me excited!

8.4 out of 10

Undercovers: Assassin

I think this is the first time a J.J. Abrams show has been canned before the end of its first season. It's a shame, because the series was finally getting good, particularly in this episode. Right from the beginning they were setting up an intense premise that had Stephen poised in a position to kill an important political figure. Over the course of the episode the tension built up as we learned more about Sam's idolization of the targeted president, making so many more questions prop up about whether or not Stephen was actually thinking logically. In the end, I think this episode might have stayed a little too much on the safe side, and I could tell who the villain was by the end, but it was still one of the most entertaining hours this show has given us so far. They have at least three more episodes set to air before officially leaving the airways, and depending on how good the ratings are, NBC may air the final three episodes of the series sometime next year. I'd like to say that I still have hope for the series, but lets be realistic.

8.8 out of 10

Small Glass Screen: Ratings, Pickups, and Drop-offs

Now that the premiere week has come to an end, it's a good time to decide which shows I'll be sticking with throughout the season, and which I'll be kicking aside. It may be a while before I am able to get AMC on my television, but even so, I have no problem purchasing those Mad Men episodes on iTunes. Fringe, which opened to a rating of about 5.9 million viewers, has fought long and hard for it's place on my schedule, and I'm not about to abandon it like many have mistakenly done in the past. If there's a show that I recommend catching up on, it's that. The season premiere does a superb job of catching new viewers up on the events of previous seasons, so it's not a problem if you just start from there.

There are a few shows that I plan on sticking with for now, but that don't offer quite enough to comment on weekly. So don't expect many reviews on the events of How I Met Your Mother (8.8 million viewers), Cougar Town (8.3), 30 Rock (5.8), or Glee (12.5) any time soon. J.J. Abrams' new show, Undercovers (8.6), looks like the sort of casual action series that I could get into every week just to cool off from everything else. Only time will tell if it offers enough to report on weekly. Capping things off, I think I'll stick with The Event (11.2) throughout the entirety of this season. Word has it that the two episodes that follow up the pilot deliver answers and action in an interesting way.

I'm completely dropping Running Wilde and Raising Hope, because they just didn't deliver anything of value. So in summation, I'll be reporting to you every Friday on Fringe, Mad Men, Undercovers, and The Event. Mad Men will filter out once it finishes it's season run in a few more weeks, and I may take up AMC's The Walking Dead once it premieres. Thanks for tuning in, and I hope to have you here again next Friday. And in case I wasn't clear enough, please pick up watching Fringe. If you're watching Grey's Anatomy, there's probably nothing I can do to change your mind, but please just take it into consideration.

Small Glass Screen: "Fringe" and "Mad Men"

Fringe: Olivia

It's been a good four months since our last glimpse it the alternate universe(s) of Fringe, and the season premiere was bound to deliver the thrills. I knew that breaking the formula that we've lived with for the past two years could only help the show. It had begun to be a little bit repetitive, but with a new universe comes an entire new aspect to the show. The opening ten minutes of the episode are spectacular and set up for what we're about to see. Walternate is aggressively trying to make Olivia think she's Fauxlivia, and throughout the episode that factor goes from non-existent to a frightening truth. In other words, if your mind was completely blown away by this episode, you're not alone.

The ending to this episode was nearly as terrifying as the ending to last season. There's a lot that leads up to that, and across the entire episode you can see her go from being sure of who she is, to doubting her sanity entirely. However, you thought this episode would end, you were wrong. Walternate is just as intelligent as our Walter, except he keeps his reasons close to the chest, and his purposes are more nefarious. As we go along the path of the alternate universe, we see little jokes about how things are different, and one of the best things about this episode was Andre Royo's performance as Henry. In fact, this episode entirely caught me off guard and delivered one of the best hours this series has seen. Get ready for a more consistent chapter in the Fringe series.

A few questions for the next few episodes: What is Walternate's logic behind changing our Olivia's memory? How long until our Olivia begins to regain her sanity? How will Olivia respond to Frank, working "Over There", and how long before her new Fringe team starts noticing something's different. Finally, how long before we see cab driver Henry again? This week I've had to endure confusion (The Event), depression (Glee), and just plain disappointment (Raising Hope), but this is the first premiere to truly exceed expectations. What did you think of Olivia?
9.5 out of 10

Mad Men: The Beautiful Girls

This episode actually premiered five days ago, but I felt I could just review both of my favorite shows in one post. Mad Men took up my attention while Fringe was on break, but now it's back, and we have two fantastic shows fighting for my heart. I have to admit, this week offered us some unexpected twists, the most pressing of which is the untimely demise of Ida Blankenship. She got some brilliant one-liners over the course of the first half ("It's a business of Sadists and Masochists, and you know which one you are."), but I keep wondering if I'm a horrible person for finding Ida's death to be humorous.

Blankenship's death only adds more misfortune onto the fact that Sally is in Don Draper's office, having tried to run away. I'm glad we've gotten to see so much of her this season, and she really shines here in depicting a girl being torn apart by her parents' failed marriage. It really pushes Don's relationship with Faye further than they had hoped for. It'll be really awkward is Betthany shows up again and ruins everything, because I actually like this relationship. I have a creeping feeling that it won't work out, but I enjoy it as it happens. Also, Roger and Joan finally kiss. They're both in a weak place, and they find each other as a result of that. I hope that this actually goes somewhere.

Small Glass Screen: "Undercovers", "Modern Family", "Cougar Town"

Undercovers: Pilot
Of all the pilots I've seen this week, count on J.J. Abrams to deliver the most spectacular, narratively coherent of them. From the man who backed such shows as Alias, Lost, and Fringe, Undercovers is for everybody who love those shows, but were too frustrated by the complex mythologies. This is the most enjoyable show that Abrams has brought us, because it isn't such a dramatically heavy show. It's a romantic-comedy set on the backdrop of an action film. I wouldn't expect any of the horrific character deaths that have plagued Fringe every week.

Michael Giacchino's score moves at as fast a pace as the show itself, evoking his fantastic work on Speed Racer more than anything else. My biggest disappointment with this episode was the lack of lens flares that Abrams is known for. The performances by the two leads definitely have chemistry, but are just below great. The episode kept juggling around the question of whether or not Leo Nash was a traitor in a way that kept me guessing. Ultimately, it's not Abrams' finest pilot, as it goes on more of a MI3 route, but I found it pretty fast and enjoyable. It's not going to win an Emmy next year, but it's not supposed to. It's a solid-B action series, which is something I've wanted to see for a while now. On a final note, the main villain looks a hell of a lot like James Cameron.

Modern Family: The Old Wagon
Admittedly, I didn't see the first season of the Emmy award winning comedy, so I thought I'd pick up the show for this fall season. There isn't really an overarching plot to the series, and I kind of liked that. It reminded me a bit of The Office, except it felt a lot less repetitive. It's just a half-hour comedy, so that definitely limits what you can show. I enjoyed it, but I'm not going to be in a rush to see it immediately. It's a show I'd gladly catch up with on Hulu.

Cougar Town: All Mixed Up
Compared to the previous half-hour comedy, this one is a lot more obviously funny and more accessible. I've been dying to see Jennifer Aniston and Coutney Cox onscreen together again, and this definitely offers Aniston her funniest performance in the past decade. I really liked the "drinking game" that permeated through the entire episode. Only complaint is that I wish there were more "Cougars" on this show. It's kind of like how "third-world country" lost it's meaning after the Cold War ended. In the end, this is a show I can keep permanently on my Wednesday schedule.

The Small Glass Screen: "HIMYM", and "The Event"

How I Met Your Mother: Big Days

A lot has been made about this season premiere, and perhaps too much if you ask me. I would've rather gone into this knowing as little as possible, but I went in expecting some huge reveal about the whole "wedding" plot-point, which was only a small segment of the actual episode. The episode was actually a bait-and-switch that kept preparing the audience for Ted to meet the love of his life. Then there was the switch at the end, and I was left with questions but no answers. I'm sure we'll get them at some point, but for now, it's Lost all over again.

But disregarding the main plot, this episode wasn't quite as funny as I was hoping. Barney offered some moments that evoke the best of his character, but leave us wanting more. Marshall and Lily ALMOST try to have a baby, but they're sidetracked by an unforeseen intervention by Marshall's father. I didn't really feel the distraction was worth it. And finally, Robin is looking a lot like she did in The Rough Patch, and it offers as much comedy as you'd expect from such. Ultimately, this episode left me wanting a little bit more from this great series, despite a few small laughs. I'm sure it'll improve as the season goes on, but this is definitely a rough start.

The Event: Pilot

So I went into this episode not knowing much about what was happening, as most certainly did as well. However, from the first twenty minutes on, I was hooked on it, if only because it evokes two well respected series that are now off the air: 24 and Lost. From start to finish, I had very little idea exactly what was going on. I had a vague idea of what was going on, but I still don't know why any of this is happening. There's nicely written dialogue, a fast pace, spectacular use of the non-linear formula, and solid acting, so I'm going to have faith that the creators weren't just meshing a bunch of random events together to make people think it's important. Then again, it could easily end up being like the last science fiction show to premiere in that spot on Monday (Heroes). At the very least, I'll be checking out the second episode. For now, I'd just be stabbing in the dark if I tried to review this episode.

P.S. What was with the Monsters Inc. style title sequence that lasted all of 10 seconds? It makes this show seem like a whiz-bang caper.

The Small Glass Screen: The Week in Television Premieres

I do mostly indulge in films on this site, but I also enjoy television for the same reasons. Most commonly, expect me to do just one of these posts a week, but this week I'll be shuffling through a few premieres to see which I want to stick with, and which I'd rather discard. Below is my schedule of premieres for the next four days, in case you want to follow me along and offer your own thoughts.

Monday: How I Met Your Mother (Sixth Season; 8-8:30; CBS)
The Event (New Series; 9-10; NBC)

Tuesday: Glee (Second Season; 8-9; FOX)
Raising Hope (New Series; 9-9:30; FOX)
Running Wilde (New Series; 9:30-10; FOX)

Wednesday: Undercovers (New Series; NBC)
Modern Family (Second Season; 9-9:30; ABC)
Cougar Town (Second Season; 9:30-10; ABC)

Thursday: Community (Second Season; 8-8:30; NBC)
30 Rock (Fifth Season; 8:30-9; NBC)
Fringe (Third Season; 9-10; FOX)