'i'm compiling some recordings on my new betamax…'
― j., Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:59 (2 years ago) Permalink
i guess the conception of the ghost episode was ok—it wove together some of the gotta-get-past-our-bad-emotions hints from earlier episodes with the war-with-the-other-universe stuff (and i liked how they started upping the stakes on the crumbling of the home universe)—but the execution seemed tepid. i don't know where the weak point was, though. peter and olivia's reconciliation was pretty fast. maybe if they had delayed the episode a bit more, the convergence between the personal storyline and the ghost monster-of-the-week storyline (two pairs of people who can't accept the current state of their relationship because they can't recognize the other as not really the one they loved in the past, one pair of whom notices the other couple and changes) would have been stronger.
i get the sense that they're trying to set up a variant on the story from 'the constant' from 'lost'. which is good. but how long had desmond been in exile / searching for penny before that came together?
― j., Saturday, 26 February 2011 20:19 (2 years ago) Permalink
i wasn't quite clear from this last 80s episode: is the idea that as she was confessing that her stepfather hit her, olivia was appearing to walternate, or had actually passed over to the other side, and then was pulled back just as the real walter entered the room?
i'm also having trouble remembering what grown-up peter's attitude was toward his childhood when it came out that he wasn't from this universe (as an adult, last season). this episode suggests that he would have had a pretty good grip on the memories of his childhood doubts, but i don't remember them being alluded to in past episodes; is the idea that he must have just pushed them down somehow and that partly explains his character as it is as an adult, or were there more definite indications that he did retain those doubts and i'm just not remembering them?
the last scene between young peter and his mother made it seem pretty plain that peter didn't believe her and just began to play along with her lies, which probably works with either interpretation (peter continued to remember, since he deliberately chose pretense, or peter had to suppress his childhood memories and feelings, in order to be able to keep up / live with the pretense).
― j., Saturday, 26 February 2011 20:35 (2 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, I think that's what it was going for, but it wasn't terribly well-executed (imo) because I had the same doubts. But the end where Walternate tells his wife that she knows where Peter went to because he's found Olivia's picture book indicates that's what it was. (Btw, his wife's name is Elizabeth Bishop??)
I didn't like either of these last two, the latest because I'm annoyed at how small the Fringe universe is re: its characers -- Peter and Olivia met each other as love-at-first-sight kids???? And neither remember it in their adulthood? Come on.
― My Urine No Longer Smells Like Asparagus (Leee), Saturday, 26 February 2011 23:26 (2 years ago) Permalink
btw, the puzzle that lil Olive was working on is taken straight from Alias.
― My Urine No Longer Smells Like Asparagus (Leee), Sunday, 27 February 2011 00:20 (2 years ago) Permalink
Anyone else stoked for Fringe: The Search For Spock? ("Will Walter devise a Genesis Device in order to save Bell?")
― stronglo recommendington (Leee), Thursday, 10 March 2011 00:11 (2 years ago) Permalink
Yep, my wife and I were annoyed by exactly this too. Unless we get some sort of memory wiping explanation soon, this will continue to bother me. I mean, obviously we're supposed to suspend belief for huge chunks of this show, but I find it impossible to believe they would have this deep connection and not remember it at all. Plus how could meeting Walter back at the start of Season 1 not ring some bells in Olivia's head? Considering how much apparent trust she put in him to tell him about her stepfather, its hard to believe even the common names wouldn't make her wonder.
― 'what are you, the Hymen Protection League of America?' (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 10 March 2011 01:09 (2 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, it's always interesting what little things break the suspension of disbelief for different people.
― stronglo recommendington (Leee), Friday, 11 March 2011 04:55 (2 years ago) Permalink
Little things? They have been fucking with continuity pretty hard, no need to be condescending.
― mh, Friday, 11 March 2011 05:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
Probably doesn't help that Olivia would have been around 7 or 8 in 1985 ("In 1981, I was three, living in Jacksonville, Florida") but they got a 12 year old actress to play her--and that in the past they made it sound like the drug tests were done on 3 year olds--who plausibly wouldn't remember much.
― President Keyes, Friday, 11 March 2011 11:41 (2 years ago) Permalink
I think that at the beginning of the series they didn't intend the show to be so mythology-heavy and soapy, so they didn't really map stuff out.
― President Keyes, Friday, 11 March 2011 11:45 (2 years ago) Permalink
I think the problem is that they started to fumble the mythology but instead of quickly trying to correct it they keep digging themselves into a deeper and deeper hole.
― 'what are you, the Hymen Protection League of America?' (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 11 March 2011 14:40 (2 years ago) Permalink
will these people never fuckin learn
― j., Friday, 11 March 2011 17:27 (2 years ago) Permalink
I was speaking more generally, i.e. it's amusing where people draw the line when it comes to suspending (or not suspending) disbelief.
Anyway, this last episode was pretty good, not to the level of earlier classics this season, but the cold open was like woah, and all the Bell-related scenes/reveals were totally lol.
― stronglo recommendington (Leee), Sunday, 13 March 2011 05:21 (2 years ago) Permalink
Why does Bell sound more like Sean Connery than Leonard Nimoy when speaking through Olivia?
― mh, Sunday, 13 March 2011 05:41 (2 years ago) Permalink
the… laws of physics are breaking down?
― j., Sunday, 13 March 2011 05:43 (2 years ago) Permalink
You've got me there.
― mh, Sunday, 13 March 2011 05:47 (2 years ago) Permalink
'Zard... Oz. Zardoz!
― There's nothing left alive but a pair of ashy thighs (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Sunday, 13 March 2011 05:49 (2 years ago) Permalink
a… compassionate… soul… vampire.
― j., Saturday, 19 March 2011 18:16 (2 years ago) Permalink
^YES^
very good episode and walter wasn't even being funny
― U2 the musical by Spiderman (CaptainLorax), Saturday, 19 March 2011 19:11 (2 years ago) Permalink
ratings from Friday were abysmal. I'd really like this renewed.
― Gukbe, Sunday, 20 March 2011 06:27 (2 years ago) Permalink
Will the return of Belly be the first thing people cite as a shark-jumping moment? Or Soul Magnets?
I'm not saying it has! Just those are the kinds of things nerds lose their shit over.
― There's nothing left alive but a pair of ashy thighs (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Sunday, 20 March 2011 07:46 (2 years ago) Permalink
Also hope it's renewed. But they put it on Friday, which is sort of saying they want to kill it, right? RIP Dollhouse.
― There's nothing left alive but a pair of ashy thighs (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Sunday, 20 March 2011 07:48 (2 years ago) Permalink
Will the return of Belly be the first thing people cite as a shark-jumping moment? Or Soul Magnets?I'm not saying it has! Just those are the kinds of things nerds lose their shit over.
If the nerds haven't seethed from the show saying that flipping 10 heads in a row signals a breakdown in the laws of the universe, I think they'll play along with soul magnets. (Also, I have to imagine that they'd get a kick out of Anna Torv doing her bizarro Nimoy impression.)
As for this last episode: suicide lady isn't Catholic, so what non-denominational Christianity does she practice that doesn't explicitly banish suicides from Heaven?
― stronglo recommendington (Leee), Sunday, 20 March 2011 20:30 (2 years ago) Permalink
Also: at the end of the episode, was Bellivia making a play to occupy Peter's body when he had him drink TEA?
― stronglo recommendington (Leee), Sunday, 20 March 2011 20:34 (2 years ago) Permalink
and major lolz at Bellivia perving on Astrid.
― stronglo recommendington (Leee), Sunday, 20 March 2011 22:58 (2 years ago) Permalink
Fox Renews "Fringe" For Fourth Season
― U2 the musical by Spiderman (CaptainLorax), Friday, 25 March 2011 18:18 (2 years ago) Permalink
yeah this show has almost lost me :(
If the nerds haven't seethed from the show saying that flipping 10 heads in a row signals a breakdown in the laws of the universe, I think they'll play along with soul magnets.
the coin thing really angers me. i mean the show is ridiculous and i love/d it but surely it isn't "nerdy" to expect ppl to understand THE MOST BASIC RULES OF PROBABILITY THAT ARE USEFUL IN EVERYDAY LIFE
grrr
― kl0ppa kl0ppa down (tpp), Friday, 25 March 2011 19:24 (2 years ago) Permalink
i think this season's high was at the start when it was constantly switching between universes - was really impressive how they handled that imo. i feel like it hasn't really recovered since coming back from the break
― kl0ppa kl0ppa down (tpp), Friday, 25 March 2011 19:26 (2 years ago) Permalink
i wonder what the first / most influential 'accelerated pregnancy' story in sci-fi (or elsewhere) was.
― j., Saturday, 26 March 2011 19:06 (2 years ago) Permalink
I'm guessing/hoping this gets better? I am watching the first couple of eps and totally underwhelmed by it all.
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 09:51 (2 years ago) Permalink
Of the first season? Yeah, it gets a lot better and hits its stride in the second.
― sarcasdick (mh), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 12:30 (2 years ago) Permalink
the early monster-of-the-week episodes (like the 2nd episode) were pretty bad. later on they manage to integrate the mytharc into them in a better way.
― three megabytes of hot RAM (abanana), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 12:47 (2 years ago) Permalink
so was that the last episode of this season????
― kl0ppa kl0ppa down (tpp), Wednesday, 30 March 2011 00:40 (2 years ago) Permalink
oh no there's more! cooool
i tried really hard to like this show but its really dumm
cant remember where i gave up but im gone 4 good
― spectrum dudes (Lamp), Wednesday, 30 March 2011 00:41 (2 years ago) Permalink
it is really dumb but it's fun and they eventually managed to build up some likeable characters and ambitious plots. but it kind of got sloppy recently (and it was always a bit sloppy, which was part of why it was great)
― kl0ppa kl0ppa down (tpp), Wednesday, 30 March 2011 00:43 (2 years ago) Permalink
also it has a good sense of humour and pulls out a decent "jump out the seat" moment occasionally
― kl0ppa kl0ppa down (tpp), Wednesday, 30 March 2011 00:47 (2 years ago) Permalink
yeah i feel like by the end of season 2 it had a momentum & a purpose that made all the contradictions & miscues & general inconsistencies unimportant or at least secondary to the interesting stuff the show was doing. but sometime around olivia's return to ~our world~ this season all those mistakes started to catch up w/ the good stuff & gradually overwhelemd it
i mean i cant even recall what was my personal tipping point although peter is really not as interesting or as sympathetic a character as the show's writers seem to think & i can see it being different for everyone but i lost interest in this shows myth
― spectrum dudes (Lamp), Wednesday, 30 March 2011 00:48 (2 years ago) Permalink
I want more Walter being goofy, less Walter being upset, and more weird things that involve really interesting ideas.
Now, I just got season 2 on blu-ray, so I'm going to go watch that episode with Peter Weller.
― sarcasdick (mh), Wednesday, 30 March 2011 01:06 (2 years ago) Permalink
Peter is terrible. x-post
― Melissa W, Wednesday, 30 March 2011 01:06 (2 years ago) Permalink
yeah i agree, especially abt peter. the stuff where olivia was freaked out by alt-oivia living in her apartment was really cool though. this show clearly treads a fine line but the writers are not afraid to be ambitious and i have some hope they could bring it back for the last 4 episodes.
― kl0ppa kl0ppa down (tpp), Wednesday, 30 March 2011 01:10 (2 years ago) Permalink
The character of Peter is a lot better when they're alluding to his life before the events of the series. I felt like the recent episode with him doing some nasty espionage to get to the bottom of things could have been a lot better if they referenced that more obviously. Instead, in the chronology, he went from nice but screwed-over guy to violent schemer "because the machine made him."
I don't really have any strong opinions either way about how the actor's portrayal works.
― sarcasdick (mh), Wednesday, 30 March 2011 01:36 (2 years ago) Permalink
In this ep, which was intended to be gripping and heavy, my mind kept wandering to 'wasn't Peter some sort of scary weaponized Terminator person a few episodes ago?, and why did they never follow that up?'
Peter's character - con man/Terminator/straight man to Dad/passionate about O but completely unable to act or articulate it - has to be one of the most incoherent I've seen on TV. I think the actor's doing what he can but I'm sure he realizes that he's more of a plot device than a person. The actress playing Olivia by contrast takes all the madness and makes it work, which impresses me more and more. I think in this ep she was confusing her fauxO voice with her Nimoy impersonation, though.
Wondering why fauxO didn't grab ALL the little universe-jumping things (which turned out not to work anyway). Why have them follow you if they can?
― Brakhage, Saturday, 23 April 2011 15:39 (2 years ago) Permalink
i thought he wasn't weaponized, it was deliberate.
― j., Sunday, 24 April 2011 21:55 (2 years ago) Permalink
In the show, I remember Peter offing a bunch of replicants to snag their spine drives. When Walter confronts him, Peter has this gotta-be-a-gangsta face on and Walter says 'well of course, it's the machine transforming you into a vicious Slaughtery McSlaughterson, isn't it' ... and this idea was promptly dropped to make way for other stuff.
― Brakhage, Monday, 25 April 2011 17:01 (2 years ago) Permalink
I know what you mean, but I think that was all part of the "look how driven Peter is to SOLVE THIS" story, like lying to Walter about working on it and hiding in a new workspace. The threads drift off to nowhere, like you pointed out, but I think I see where the overall thing is headed.
― 'what are you, the Hymen Protection League of America?' (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 25 April 2011 17:03 (2 years ago) Permalink
I have seen all of it (except last ep). It's pretty good. But those noire type eps were blergh. (Probably didn't help that I had a massive migraine attack when I saw it)
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Monday, 25 April 2011 18:22 (2 years ago) Permalink
It's not just your migraines. :\
― Matt Groening's Cousin (Leee), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 02:19 (2 years ago) Permalink
I don't mind sloppy characterizations in my SF, as long as it's bringing the wowz, which, unfortunately, French is not doing lately.
― Matt Groening's Cousin (Leee), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 02:20 (2 years ago) Permalink