Jipijapa

The Affair's pilot is getting some great buzz.

Hi Taryn! (waves back) I liked Peter's prickliness in S1, but agree that it was perhaps trotted out a little too often. We will never know what the deal was with Big Eddie, and I don't care about that either. (Although I would still like to know who this Tess chick was because she and Peter seemed pretty hot together.)

That was definitely Peter's worst ever coat. (Although the one he wore in 304 was pretty terrible also.) It gets better, though. Fringe fans take coats VERY SERIOUSLY. You'll see.

Thanks... strange that I didn't recognize it, but I think most people only know the chorus anyway.

Georgina Haig is cast as Elsa on Once Upon a Time... http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/07/03/once-upon-elsa-frozen/ Big gig for her - she seems really busy lately. (Too bad I can't stand OUAT, so not sure I'll be watching...)

Tara: Regarding "Unearthed" - yes, believe it or not that is the correct production order. I believe this article will explain everything. http://fringefriday.net/2012/06/14/episode-spotlight-unearthed/

I'd like to rearrange my "Episodes I Could Do Without" list. I need to put "Concentrate and Ask Again" as #1 and give "Midnight" a bit of leniency and put it as #2. The premise behind "Concentrate and Ask Again" was not terrible, but it was just such an aggressively dopey, boring episode (not something Fringe was known for). And you could have switched it out with "Reciprocity" and would anyone have noticed the changed episode order? What springs to mind with "CaAA" is a scene where Walter says something about military experiments and Olivia responds, "The U.S. military?" (NO! Obviously, the Serbian military....) No excuse for dialogue that dumb, three seasons in. Also, random road trip to Vermont. Also, Walter peeing. Also, terrible Olivia evening gown. Also, not showing enough of Peter in a tux. And oh! I forgot "Stowaway." Again, not because of that Thing That Happened to One of the Main Characters (I was OK with that because it didn't last long). But because of the dopeyness of the Freak of the Week. OK, replace "Reciprocity" with "Stowaway."

Yes, "Bad Dreams" is a key episode... Things you'll see less of going forward: --Less John Scott --Less gratuitous threatening of helpless female victims (something I never really liked about Season 1) --Less obvious X-Files references, although a very famous X-Files location makes an appearance early in Season 2.

Has anyone ever put together a list of songs used in Fringe? It was quite an eclectic list, wasn't it? I just rewatched "6B." Can anyone tell me the song that Walter was playing on his record player when he fled the house so that Peter and Olivia could have their "romantic breakfast" (snerk)? Also, watching "6B" I only just realized, that the sad theme that played a prominent role in Season 4 (which I thought was unique to Season 4) actually made its debut in this episode. This is kind of like what happened earlier... where a random theme that was in "White Tulip" and having nothing to do with Peter and Olivia, later was turned into their love theme. Sigh... Chris Tilton is so talented.

The No-Brainer The Ghost Network Unleashed

My mom doesn't even rise to a Level 1 I think, mainly because all she does is protect my late grandmother's hoard. My mother doesn't ever buy any new stuff, so I dunno... does that make her a hoarder? However, my mom's house is neat and clean... until you open a door to a side room or the basement or the garage and then you see the boxes and the bags and the piles of my grandmother's craft stuff (oldy moldy stuff). Thankfully, if you hire a dumpster for her, she will fill it... although she takes her sweet time. No amount of offering of physical or financial help will budge her. Because all that stuff is treasure. Someone wants it. Goodwill or the Rescue Mission. Whatever. My mother has this psychological need to leverage her late mother's junk in order to make some sort of "connection" via donation to that Someone Who Wants It. I finally had a huge breakthrough with her last month when I got her to consent to moving boxes and bags into the driveway, into the light of day, before throwing into the rented dumpster. Previously, she'd insist on "going through it" in the dark dank basement, which of course she'd never do, or just sort it into piles. Once it was brought into daylight, she began to realize what utter garbage it had become. I think she tossed 95% of what was brought up, which amazed me. Just the fact that bringing it into the driveway worked, probably proves my mom isn't even a hoarder per se. That tactic of "daylighting" doesn't seem to work for quite a few of the people who appear on Hoarders. But, for less far gone people, I think that's an important step. Get it the f--- out of the hoard environment (the basement, attic, whatever) and outdoors.

Midnight The Cure Power Hungry

My favorite episodes: 1. The Firefly 2. One Night in October 3. Over There Part 1 4. The Plateau 5. Jacksonville Five I could do without: 1. Midnight 2. Concentrate and Ask Again 3. Reciprocity 4. The Recordist 5. What Lies Below

I am less attached to Season 1 because I only watched it after the fact (started watching during Season 2, then caught up on Season 1 over the summer before Season 3 started). The longer episode lengths of Season 1, I find a little hard to get through. I'm not a fan of the John Scott arc (opening arc of the show, the first 13 episodes). That said, Season 1 had some of the funniest and grossest stuff. I'm also more attached to Season 4 than many others might be, as I never had a problem with its premise and never felt like it was "negating" what came before. This season vastly improved after the halfway mark (once they returned to you-know-where). Also, I think the "two worlds working together" was one of the show's more successful storylines. And, how could you not like Lincoln Lee? Season 2 would be my favorite, and also the first half of Season 3. I felt that Season 3 went a little crazy toward the end and that the more focused storytelling of Season 4 was a welcome relief. The last half of Season 3 had some memorable episodes and moments, but it was all so... overheated. And there was a run of 3 or 4 episodes that just weren't much good (I'm thinking of "Reciprocity" through "Stowaway," excepting "Subject 13" which was good.) Season 5, while better than it had a right to be, suffered from a lower budget and some worldbuilding vagueness. They were down to only four writers and it showed. But, most would agree, it ended in a good place. I'll rank the show by HALF-seasons: 1. Last half of Season 2 2. First half of Season 3 3. First half of Season 2 4. Last half of Season 4 5. Last half of Season 1 6. Season 5 7. First half of Season 4 8. Last half of Season 3 (yes! shocker) 9. First half of Season 1 (which wasn't even "bad")

The Fringe gag reels were fun for the first 2-3 seasons, but then it was like they just threw a bunch of curses and giggles for the subsequent gag reels and nothing really choice. My favorite one was Joshua Jackson hearing a loud sound (car backfire?) during a take and apparently scared that it was an actual gunshot, I guess they were filming in a dodgy area of Vancouver at night. Then he gets embarrassed. ("I'm all right, it's fine! It's Chinatown!") There HAS to be more than that. I know people who observed filming during the 4th season who said there was a TON of funny stuff that happened on location when the cameras were rolling, but this never made it onto the gag reels.

Well the reason why this episode worked for me (the first Fringe episode to really work, IMHO) was because it was the first time we got to see Walter as more than just a scary crazy old guy full of weirdness. You know, we got to see his inner life. And, it's not really a spoiler to say that the show just takes that and runs with it. So, while you have to go through some more of those frenetic Cases of the Week in Season 1, this episode was the first glimmer of what the show would become. As for Other Walter I don't think it was ever revealed exactly WHO that was, although my theory is that it's the Walter with all his brain pieces.

So you think "The Equation" is the most interesting episode so far! Dingdingding. CORRECT ANSWER! You have passed your first Fringe newbie test. You may pass GO and collect $200.

I liked Anna Torv best when she was on screen by herself. Not damning her with faint praise or anything, but I honestly never felt she was comfortable acting alongside other people. I'd have to see her in other things to make that sort of judgement. But she just became more watchable to me when she was by herself. I honestly thought the only time she seemed really comfortable in scenes with others was when she was with John Noble (or maybe also Kirk Acevedo). And she and Joshua Jackson just had no chemistry together, which made it pretty amazing that I came to care about Peter and Olivia's relationship a lot. It was all due to the characters and what they went through together, though.

Yes, it's a near-universal chorus from oldbies to newbies... "Stay with it past Season One! It gets better! Really!" Specifically, I think the biggest changes from Season One to Two is simply that the episodes went from 50 minutes to 43. The show calms down and gets a lot more focused, without losing any of the fun stuff that makes Season One enjoyable. We'll explain Episode 121/211 when you get there. (It's episode 121 if you're watching on Netflix, episode 211 if you're watching on DVD.)

I have all the Blu-Rays and my favorite special feature would have to be the "Behind the Scenes" featurettes attached to episode 3x16, "Os." You can see Joshua Jackson suspended on a wire during the planetarium scene, John Noble taking direction on how to ring a bell for maximum dramatic effect, and lots of other things. Also, the commentary by John Noble and Blair Brown over 2x15 "Peter" is not to be missed. The Chista Faust novels are... interesting, but they seem to have rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way, particularly the Olivia-themed second novel. The first novel is about Walter and Belly (and Nina makes an appearance) and is OK. I think the problem is that Faust writes pulp fiction novels and brought too much of her personal style over to the books. The pulp fiction style just doesn't really mesh with Fringe the show all that well.

Wait, Tara has only watched the pilot so far? Um, wow, you REALLY don't know what you're in for, do you?

The premise is definitely not in Fringe's mode, that's for sure. There's nothing to do with science, not even anything to do with computers really. It's more about AI (artificial intelligence) and philosophical questions about living in a surveillance state.

Speaking of Jasika Nicole, she just did a long podcast interview where she goes into the good and bad about working on Fringe. (Again, she does the usual thing where she makes it out as a horrible soul killing experience but then wraps up by talking positively about her co-stars.) Good interview. Apparently John Noble is a saint and a unicorn. http://geeknation.com/podcasts/out-of-the-blue-ep-37-jasika-nicole/

Person of Interest was hit or miss for me this whole season. A low point was when However, the Samaritan storyline, I've liked a lot, and I'm a big Root fan (I know, a lot of people hate her guts). The finale was outstanding. All in all, Person of Interest has a good mythology going I think... but they sometimes just go straight to boring Cases of The Week, where Fringe's Monsters of the Week were usually interesting. It isn't Fringe (nothing is), but in the context of cyber-paranoia (which may not be your cup of tea), I think POI has a pretty good storyline cooking lately. I can't wait to see what they do with it next season.

I don't mind her being opinionated; we all have a point of view, and it's probably hard being a gay black actress in Hollywood. I heard her tell some stories about some crappy directors on Fringe and things they said to her. Personally, I think Astrid was underused (and ill used?) and certainly toward the end. But, she seems to want it both ways, she wants her Tumblr and Twitter to be personal/private yet she also seems to want to trade off her celebrity, so...? Yeah, it's a little confusing. I can never tell whether she wants to be approached by fans or not. So, I don't. People can use Twitter in different ways and it's all good I suppose. I enjoy the article links that Lance Reddick posts, they're usually quite outrageous and things you ought to know are going on in the world. John Noble doesn't tweet much but he keeps people updated on his activities. Joshua Jackson goes through tweet spasms where you don't hear from him for months and then suddenly he tweets up a storm, usually about sports. Seth Gabel is a hoot. Georgina Haig is a hoot when she does post. There's no right or wrong way to do Twitter.