Chuck: What the Chuck?

When I ate my Subways Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwich, demanding a third season of Chuck, never in a million years would I have thought that I was buying into the one thing I absolutely loathe about television series as a whole.

This insane notion that, as a viewer, what I find most interesting is the amount of time they can keep two destined characters apart insults me seasonally, but that alone is not enough to incur my wrath because it's actually fairly typical and usually acceptable when there's an end in sight – something writers of ALL series should find BEFORE they start their tinkering – because I'm really watching for the, you know, plot.

That doesn't mean screwing with the relationships doesn't piss me off.

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A little separation, a few obstacles, the idea that you have to wait just a little bit longer to see that these characters are being written OBVIOUSLY on their way towards coupledom is one thing… UST is a magical thing. UST, or Unresolved Sexual Tension for those not acronymically inclined, is a driving force with romantically linked characters.

For most shows, there is a pair of leads – traditionally male and female – and part of the fun of watching the show is that beyond whatever happens contained to any specific episode, there is a relationship that develops within the overall arch of the series, generally hinting at – and eventually coming to – romance. Chuck, aside from the spy games, has at its core this constant almost-there relationship between Chuck and his spy-handler Sarah.

Sarah is the ex-partner/girlfriend of Chuck's old best friend Bryce and for a good part of season one, while Chuck had a growing infatuation with Sarah, her constant reminder to him was that falling in love with a spy was dangerous and she insisted the feelings were NOT mutual. Though the audience could tell otherwise, it was believable that she would resist this relationship, given that Bryce was presumed dead, so why WOULD Sarah want to begin a new relationship with Chuck.

Season two seemed to have these two characters coming to grips with the fact that yes, their feelings were reciprocated, and that maybe, just maybe it could work, but each week reminded them that it couldn't. Not as long as they were spies. And then they brought in Chuck's ex-girlfriend who turned out to be a bad guy, no one seemed to care, it was awkward, and they wrapped that storyline up quicker than you could say, "Chuck this." Oh, and there was that spy who got his ass kicked and Sarah was, like, "Psht."

Fans fought for a third season. They fought for the right to see the storyline – which ended with Chuck uploading a newer version of the intersect that gave him instant access to knowledge like… oh… Kung Fu – progress and also, to see these characters progress, since they'd never been given a proper coupling. As an aside, I say, if you're not watching a television show with at least a little hint of 'shipper' in you, you will never be satisfied with the ending of a show; if you outright reject a ship, you will never be satisfied with a show period. Ships are part of the shows we watch and as humans we should root for them.

So we get this third season, opening with Chuck having been whisked away to a secret location to learn to use his new intersect to become a Real Spy, as opposed to the lucky idiot he's been portrayed to be during spy missions thus far. This idea has real potential because it's now what Chuck wants, because of Sarah. BUT, now Sarah wants nothing to do with the spy business – she wants to leave it for good, and she wants Chuck to join her. Creatively, this is amazing and believable and heart wrenching at the same time, but in the way that's lovely to watch.

Of course, it’s not enough. We've now been introduced to two new characters, Hannah and CIA Special Agent Daniel Shaw who serve as potential love interests for Chuck and Sarah, respectively. And I've got one question: Why?

With Chuck advancing in his skills, it makes sense for them to send in a new agent to further his training, and possibly serve as an annoyance to the existing team – proving how well they work together – but to also make him a love interest for Sarah… Sarah, who just decided she wanted to leave the spy game altogether to pursue a normal life with Chuck. Sarah, who spent two seasons fighting her feelings for Chuck because of Bryce's death. I'm supposed to believe she's just going to fall into a relationship with this guy she's known a month because she's… jealous? Poisoned? Really really dumb?

Hannah's introduction, aside from my Kristin Kreuk bias (by the time the Smallville scribes pulled their heads out of Lana's punani they'd destroyed the show… I hear they've rebounded beautifully in her absence), makes even less sense. Does she serve as a reminder to Chuck that he DOESN'T want to be a spy, only a few episodes after he's decided to run the gauntlet? Will she prove to be another spy? She's overqualified for the Buy More, under qualified for Chuck, and nothing more than a nuisance to the storyline already established.

The obstacle that made sense, the one they'd introduced believably at the beginning of the season, was Chuck eschewing a relationship with Sarah to become a real spy, and it's an idea that I looked forward to seeing Chuck and Sarah struggle with. Instead we get televisions newest Love Quadrangle and unfortunately 'Chuck versus the Mask' left me with a very sour taste in my mouth… one that not even a million Subway Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwiches can cure.

Fringe: Balancing the Equation

It was something my fellow classmates had a hard time grasping in chemistry, the idea that each side of the equation must be equal or something would go terribly wrong. For Fringe, this balance exists between two universes, and when Newton – the newly re-headed bad guy – attempts to open a doorway to the other universe, the results are disastrous.

The doorway, it seems, allowed a building – and all of its occupants – to travel into our dimension, fusing with the building – and all of its occupants – already in existence in a mishmash of parts and personalities. Through the memory of an old experiment, Walter realizes that he already knows what is going to occur: Something from our universe must travel into the other to re-establish the balance that was thrown off by Newton's experiment.
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Peter's eventual conclusion is that some building of equal mass must travel to the other side and the episode's main charge is finding that building and evacuating all of its occupants. The question of how falls on Walter, who presumes it can be located by someone who can see the opening window to the other side – something he is sure Olivia can do, if she can only re-activate another one of her abilities: seeing the things in our world that do not belong… the things that come from the other reality. This catapults our heroine on a journey back to the place where this ability began – the titular 'Jacksonville'.

Previously mentioned as a smaller cell of a larger study, Walter informs us that it was the only place where the Cortexiphan injected into small children worked, giving them special abilities. The strongest of those children, Olivia – then known as Olive– Dunham, arrives and observes that despite her "freakish" memory, she has absolutely no recollection of the Day Care Center in which the experiments took place.

As an aside, did the parents consent to this secret testing? Olivia had mentioned her father had been in the army, stationed for a short while in Jacksonville – if he did consent, were these trials part of some larger government testing? Creating a soldier who can destroy an enemy with their mind would be valuable to a government looking to eradicate losses, both personal and political.

The key to reconciling Olivia with her previous perceptive powers, says Walter, lies in their ties to strong emotions. With the help of another dose of Cortexiphan and Walter's special blend of drugs, Walter sends Olivia into a dream-like place where she soon finds she's not alone. A small child argues with Olivia that she doesn't want to do this anymore and that she has to make them stop. Olivia catches the child, comforting her before asking her name. "Olive."

Confronted with herself, she's lost in that fear and the child disappears from her arms, only to appear a foot away with eerily bright blue eyes, scaring Olivia enough to wake her from her dream no more able to see the things out-of-place than she was before. The emotion Walter was shooting for, he explains upon re-watching the video we previous saw of Olive sitting in the pristine center of a scorched room, was fear. Of course, Olivia isn't afraid of anything anymore and Walter presumes that without the particularly strong emotion of fear she will never see what she needs to see.

Returning to Manhattan more jarred than enlightened, the team sets out to solve the riddle of which building will be transported using the only piece of information they do have – it must be of equal mass to the building that came from the other side. Of course, the closer it draws to the moment of truth (as Walter calculates they had roughly 40 hours from the time the original building came through), the more helpless Olivia feels.

As the only known person to have had this ability, she feels responsible and approaches Peter with this fear. In comforting her, the duo lean in for their first shared kiss and Olivia realizes, she's afraid. She bolts from the room, looks out over the city, and sees a building shimmering in the distance. The occupants of the building are evacuated and the building gets sucked violently from sight, something Olivia knows the conspiracy theorists will have a field day with.

Of course, the fans can have a field day with this episode. Did Olivia's FEAR of not finding the building trigger her ability (an emotion *I* would have classified closer to disappointment, or frustration), or did her fear of what was about to occur right in front of her – being approached by Peter in a more-than-friendly capacity – flop her gut in a less than fearful and more like love kind of way. Walter only stated that it had to be a strong emotion; he assumed it was fear because of what worked with the children – particularly, Olive. For a child, a strong emotion can be anything; as an adult, it's harder to stimulate love than fear, and it is definitely the greater of the two emotions.

There's also now the question of Peter. Before departing on their first 'date', Olivia is able to see Peter shimmer in much the same way she was able to see the building in the city, clueing her into the fact that he is not part of this reality. Of course, given the information we received throughout this episode, for Peter to have come into our world, something (or someone) of equal mass must have gone into the other.

Did Walter deposit Peter's dead body into alt-Peter's bed, for his parents to find and mourn? Or, given his curiously saddened response to Astrid's proclamation that the alt-people just vanished and their loved ones would never know where they went, did he simply steal Peter, leaving alt-Peter's parents to wonder forever what happened to their son. Is that the reason for this "war" of the worlds? Alt-Walter might not have changed as much as our Walter has and his vengeance may be a great behemoth of scientific catastrophe waiting to happen.

It also begs the question, William Bell is too large to have 'replaced' Peter in the alt-world so whom did he replace? Or, as Walter mentioned, Peter was more rotund as a child, possibly Bell would have been a lanky fellow and WAS his replacement. And where does Nina fit into all of this? Did she help orchestrate Peter's substitution and 'rehabilitation'? Is travelling to the other universe how she lost her right arm?

And, given the dangers of temporal displacement, though Olivia seems pleased that they saved the occupants of the hotel in OUR universe, she gave little thought to the consequence of said building merging with its mirror in the OTHER universe. Presumably this mystery is being solved by Alt-Olivia, with or without the aid of Alt-Walter. From a previous episode we know she's still working in a 'Fringe' division with Broyles and Agent Francis.

Which brings us back to Peter, the one element that – no matter the sequence of events – increasingly seems to be at the heart of the imbalance bringing these two universes crashing into one another. Does total balance between the universes require that he be returned? Does it require that of William Bell as well? Or is there something else, some other piece of the puzzle yet to be revealed. Can Olivia's abilities seal the gateways permanently, or would it require some greater event?

I envision a finale that involves alt-Peter asking alt-Walter to let him go, to stop trying to get him back because he's made a home where he is. I also envision Olivia encircling herself and Peter in a fiery wall of protection, mirroring what happened to her as a child, but this time using her powers out of not fear, but love. But something tells me we're in for something far greater.

We just have to wait two months to get to it.

Fringe: Advanced Eugenics

Last night we learned that a Robert Bischoff worked within the Nazi regime as a double agent who helped them with experiments and advancements in genetics while slipping information to the allies. During his time there he worked with a man named Alfred Hoffman on the idea of a heat activated poison gas that could target specific genetic traits – an attempted to succeed at Hitler's dream of a pure blooded Aryan race – but his work was hidden away in old German books, presumably kept safe when Robert immigrated to the United States and the Nazi rule was brought to an end.

So when only the Jewish members of a wedding party perish from asphyxiation with no apparent cause, Peter discovers a cinnamon scented candle that, when examined, leads Walter to a chemical formula marked with his father's Seahorse signature.

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Of course the story is simple: a man seeks to complete the life (and by life, I mean LONG life) work he'd dedicated himself to – destroying anyone who did not fall into the Nazi ideal of having blue eyes and blonde hair – thus fulfilling the dreams of his leader. It would be curious to know how exactly Alfred stopped his aging, or rather, the appearance of aging as Walter was able to determine that he was at least one hundred years old from his DNA, but I doubt they'll return to that particular subject.

Alfred tested his poison on a Jewish family first, a sort of payback to the people he first sought to destroy, before taking the project to a larger scale that would involve killing possibly hundreds at a conference that promoted unity in the world. Of course, having seen Walter and identifying him as the son of Robert, Alfred created a side project – a poison that would specifically target Walter, and in this personal vengeance he laid the path for his own execution. After unsuccessfully murdering Walter, using his own lab, and his own notes, Walter was able to create a poison that would specifically target Alfred and killed him during the conference while Peter located the source of the toxins before they were ignited.

It's the implications of the story that are more complex. Peter's grandfather once worked with Nazi soldiers, and while his intentions in the end were to help the allies defeat them, he still created the formula to be able to do the things they wanted and willingly went through any number of other experiments in the name of science. His work, their goal, to create a better race of people through selectively studying and even killing others is not that far off from Walter's.

The Cortexiphan trials in Boston, Massachusetts (and its smaller cell study in Jacksonville, Florida) in the early 80's were essentially continuations of the experiments started in Robert's era. Walter selected groups of children because of specific genetic traits, secluding them in 'camps', and issued them an experimental drug in order to progress latent abilities – to create a more advanced race of people able to fend off enemies, the results of which we've seen bits and pieces of, generally consisting of adults with varied psychic powers, but most prominently with Olivia Dunham – the full extent of her abilities yet unknown.

So it's curious that the first conversational piece for our main characters in 'The Bishop Revival' was Walter speaking of Peter's marriage… specifically, to Olivia. As someone from the other dimension that Walter has eluded to, that Olivia has travelled to, and that William Bell is now a member of, Peter has seemed to possess some type of special abilities himself.

With an IQ of 190, being from the other dimension, and Walter's experimentation on him as a child, it wouldn't take a leap to wonder whether Peter, paired up with Olivia, would make some kind of super-Romeo-and-Juliet-couple. Many have made mention of the fact that Olivia was able to start turning off the lights in 'Ability' only after Peter returned and stood behind her, and many had also noticed in 'Bad Dreams', his knack for instantly calming her with just a touch.

It's also questionable whether, in 'August', Peter was able to use the special gun that the Observer was using because he was from the other side, or possessed some psychic ability similar to the Observers, and to Olivia. Or whether his aptitude for empathizing with others, allowing himself to become a sort of bridge between the human emotions a subject is feeling and the tactical questions Olivia and the FBI have to ask, is akin to the empathetic abilities of the small boy in 'Inner Child'.

Speaking to the future of the show, or the future of this idea (and possibly pandering, in a creative and logical way, to the shipper faction of the audience), it also wouldn't take a leap to wonder whether Walter, subconsciously, would want Peter and Olivia to pair up in order to breed a more perfect child. Not a child that had a specific hair color, or eye color, or skin color, but a certain set of abilities that would make them, essentially, evolved – the best that both universes have to offer.

We got a glimpse into the Walter of old a few weeks ago in 'Grey Matters', a methodical scientist with a lack of compassion and a mind fully invested in his experimentation. Knowing that his father was probably the same type of person, and that Walter's relationship with his father might have been similar to the one Walter had with his own young son, Peter, is curious. Walter's current explanation for the genetic secrets held within the German books is "protection" from the information landing in evil hands – but Peter admitted that as a child, Walter LOVED those books, probably more so than his him (the inherent jealousy of that fact the very emotion that lead Peter to sell the books later).

Was Walter protecting the books, or learning from them for his own experiments with the Cortexiphan trials, his own attempt at fulfilling his own dreams, deeming them superior than his father's faux leader's, to create a super human race. Delving deeper into his past, into those past motivations that have driven all of the events in the still-occurring Pattern of activity could yield some interesting answers into not only Walter, but Peter and Olivia, as separate entities and as partners, however you choose to perceive that notion.

When Romance Goes Right

Long time no see! I'm back from my self-imposed srs bsns time hiatus, yayy... ok, it's still srs bsns time. Shipping is not for suckers, people. I want to take a moment away from lamenting about ships gone wrong (which happens way too often) and worrying about ships that might go wrong (we all know which one that is) to talk a bit about three television romances that went well in 2009. While none of the shows are over yet and the table might yet turn, for now my ships actually worked out as I wished they would; the triangles tilted the right way, and the joy I felt at each realization was overwhelming... it's amazing how these shows touch us!

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1. Cappie and Casey, Greek.



This isn't a particularly mainstream show, and it might not mean much to a lot of you, but trust me when I say that the love triangle in this show is highly engaging, and ambiguous enough to have shippers on both sides (although I daresay the Cappie/Casey shippers largely outnumber the Evan/Casey shippers) clamouring for their ship to come out on top, because it's "clearly" the right choice. In my case I saw on one hand Casey's true, first love, the good guy who always did the right thing despite being labeled a failure and a flake, who through the series displayed unwavering affection for Casey, and only hesitated to be with her because of fears of letting her down again, and on another hand who Casey thought more societally acceptable; the rich, proper guy who she could make herself love because she needed security, despite the fact that he cheated on her in the first episode of the show. The choice was clear, and if she ended up with Evan, if such a type was validated by mainstream media, I might have to move to Mars. But in the mid-season finale last year, Cappie and Casey finally, finally overcame the obstacles and admitted how they felt. Casey had actually realized it at the end of last season, but the writers decided to prolong the suspense a little further… causing the big moment to be slightly anticlimactic in retrospect, but no less beautiful and emotional. I cried, in my living room, sitting under a blanket and feeling generally sorry for myself anyway, and it was great.


2. Lucas and Peyton, One Tree Hill.



Unless they pull a 90210 and mess with Happily Ever After-sealed classic pairings in crappy spin-offs, Lucas and Peyton sealed their bond with their departure from the show at the end of season 6 last year: married, with baby girl Sawyer Brooke (Albus Severus, you have a competitor for the most-awkward-double-name-ever title), Lucas and Peyton defied all odds. I know a lot of diehard Lucas/Brooke shippers and I'm not going to say that wasn't sometimes the clearer choice... when Lucas threw the basketball through the hoop with closed eyes, when he was so fixated on being with Brooke... it was a bit random how they suddenly turned it around to Lucas/Peyton (no doubt real life played a part in this), but I was happy none the less because Leyton was the first and original pairing; whatever Brooke later became she was first and foremost an obstacle to be overcome in order for Lucas and Peyton to be together... and like with most shows I always think that the producers want us to believe in the couple first introduced as the "right", point of view, sympathetic option, and when the romance suddenly goes in a different direction I always feel a little betrayed, so Leyton as endgame was extremely gratifying for me, and come on, after everything poor Peyton went through it was only fair that she got her prince – as indecisive and fluffy as that prince was at times, cough-Lindsay-cough. Brooke is way too awesome for Luke anyway.


3. Will and Emma, Glee.



Ahhhh Glee. I want to write lots of lots about the epicness of this show, but it seems to be a common theme so I'll stick to this little gem of a pairing. There was little doubt that their epic romance would eventually take off, yet the worrier in me still feared that Will's integrity and denial or Terri's persistence would get in the way (and it still might, according to Jessalyn Gilsig in a recent interview). It was so obvious that Terri was selfish, manipulative and decidedly not good enough for our singing sensation, yet Will seemed so fully devoted to her that I worried that perhaps she would get pregnant after all. But she didn't, and he's leaving her, and Will/Emma finally got their show-stopping musical finale. It's not the end though, and who knows what will happen – the producers seem way too keen on trying to live up to what they think the fans want that they might turn around tomorrow and change their minds – but for now, can I just say PAYOFF! How about a round of applause? Standing ovation? Take A Bow writers, you deserve it!

So that's it guys, let's hope more romances go our way in 2010.......!

(*credit for the picture is: http://www.moragalleries.com.au/dsylvester/bizarre_love_triangle.jpg)

The Office: Fandom Merit and Malarkey

There's an odd trend in fandom that I've had the displeasure of observing that has to be explained before talking about the current season of The Office.

1. During the first season of a show, it can do no wrong and fandom overflows with love and creativity.

2. During the second season a show makes tweaks. Fans begin to question what they saw in the show in the first season. Their creativity is no longer a celebration of what they're watching, but an expression of what they wish they were watching.

3. At some point shortly afterward, fandom sours. Because we all know the guys running the show should totally be following what every single member of fandom wants, even if it makes no sense.
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Recently, on an internet community that shall remain nameless, there have been multiple posts that caught my attention regarding the direction that the writing staff of The Office has taken with several characters.. People are pissed because… Ryan's wearing stupid clothes and… Jim isn't pulling pranks?

I chalk a lot of it up to anti-shippers (not to be mistaken for 'non-shippers'). A recent roasting of Pam decried her decision to drop out of art school because IT'S HER DREAM!!!!!!!!! (Exclamation points are fandom's, not my own.) Since Pam's 'idiotic' choice, she's accused of devolving into an uncaring pregnant jerk who's more of an annoyance than a source of entertainment. I would say the same of those who have decided Pam made an 'idiotic' choice.

Pam's 'dream' was to become an artist and she followed that by taking a few courses and having her work in an art show where it received little to no attention. After doing some web design for Dunder Mifflin, she decided to go to art school in New York. She failed classes, wasn't enjoying herself… and she missed Jim. Her decision to return to Scranton wasn't failure; it was recognition. While Pam loves art, it wasn't her biggest dream anymore. Her dream became a future with Jim.

Pam is no less of an artist because she dropped out of art school and she is not a failure because The Office chooses not to show what's going on in the garage Jim converted into an art studio. It would be wonderful if Pam's art were to re-emerge, transformed, at some point later in the series because it would no longer be driven by a need to fulfill a dream, but will be the extension of a dream fulfilled.

As for her attitude, I took issue with her asking people not to wear perfume, but understand that it's a mockery of the selfishness of motherhood sometimes today. It also set up the vomit gag. Small sacrifices, folks. But what I think people are angry at – or at least what I saw a backlash about – was her slapping Michael. Some people think too highly of themselves and underestimate how they'd react if their own mother were dating their own boss and then watched said boss dump their mother on her birthday.

Plus, this show is ridiculous. If you don't acknowledge that, you're too lost to debate with.

Jim's decision to grow within the company has been deemed inconsistent with his character and now that he's hooked up with Pam, he's boring. Somewhere we've bought into this idea that a television show is boring if the main couple is together. You know what happens when a couple in the real world gets together? They enter into a new phase in their relationship called 'Dating'. Then there's the 'Marriage' phase. I know we're not used to believing that phase can work, but trust me, it still can. And when the 'Marriage' phase starts, sometimes it turns into the 'Two Kids and a Minivan' phase.

When a show goes south after their couple hooks up, it's the fault of bad writers who've decided coupling means death instead of seeing it as just a new phase in a relationship.

Jim, like many people in the real world, never really had a goal. The point when he decided he wanted to transfer to another branch to get away from Pam (when he thought he just couldn't have her) he started to toy with the idea that maybe he could grow within Dunder Mifflin and become a great salesman. Retiring as a salesman isn't everyone's goal, but people do it every day and they've had great (and often profitable) lives. Once Jim started a real relationship with Pam, his goal became making a life with Pam. With that comes the responsibility that often requires us to put aside things like playing daily pranks in order to work just a little harder to bring in the dough. He will never lose the jester inside, but he's learned to be more reserved about it.

It's called Growing Up, something many in fandom would benefit from.

Outside of this relationship come the 'favorite character' gripes. A lot of fans fail to recognize that their favorite characters are not necessarily the main characters and that it is main characters around which the core story revolves. I, personally, do not like Michael Scott. I suffer through most of his scenes outside of the office, but he is a main character and I have few justifiable complaints about his scenes – like in this past week's where I expected the great salesman that Michael Scott actually IS to actually HAVE a 45 day plan - but I understand when my complaints are JUST because I don't particularly like the character.

I've also never had any real strong feelings towards Ryan. He was the Temp, then he was Fire Guy, then he was that guy with no sales who got a high position at corporate, then he was the corporate guy who cheated and went to jail, and now he's the Temp again. He's a slacker who only THINKS he's intelligent because he went to business school. If you work in an office there's bound to be someone who went to school, got a high paying position, and doesn't know jack. But Ryan has pretty eyes, why did mean "new" Jim put his office in a closet!?

His growth has been limited because in society some people don't grow up. It's shocking to see people complain about his lack of growth as a character while failing to recognize the growth in others (also shocking, the lack of complaints about characters like Dwight, Kelly, and Angela, who also have had very little growth). It makes me wonder what fandom thinks growth is, or if what they really want isn't character growth, but character shifts: Their favorites in the spotlight while main characters get reduced to background characters.

Kind of like Heroes. Which most people hate because of the constant character rotation and near stagnancy with said characters while the plot rolls around in circles.

You want to know why most shows stall out after a few years? A lack of forward motion with the relationships and main characters on the show in an attempt to "keep the status quo" and eventually, it just angers the audience because... it's boring.

A stalemate with major characters is what stops a show dead in its tracks. All of these characters should be constantly evolving in one direction or another. For The Office, sometimes that growth comes in the form of a promotion, or a pregnancy; for their audience, that growth comes in acknowledging that maybe their favorite characters aren't as 'awesome' as in the fanfiction they write.

Fringe: Observers of Time

It's no secret that J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are fans of anything having to do with time. Abrams is the mastermind behind the hit ABC series, Lost, that has spent the last five seasons zipping through time via flashbacks and flash forwards before introducing actual time travel – and all signs point to more time travel and even imaginary timelines (or alternate realities) in the final season starting February 2010.

With Kurtzman and Orci, the trio's new Star Trek movie this past summer literally re-created the franchise utilizing an alternate reality from which they catapulted the rebirth. They've re-launched an old science fiction staple and done with it something rarely seen – turned it into a mainstream commodity. That people are talking of time travel and time jumps within their favorite series not as some clichéd way around problems, but as a curious and interesting way to push forward through the boundaries of storytelling is not only an exemplary achievement, it's exciting.
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Last season, the trio launched the FOX series Fringe, centered on FBI agent Olivia Dunham and her team's experiences with what the show has called "The Pattern" – a series of paranormal events culminating towards something massive. That something, it's been debated within the show, is the battle of two alternate realities over the right to exist. Who wins, and how, remains to be seen, but in all this there are a group of men who've been seemingly given the task of watching these events unfold.

One of these men, called 'Observers', has been photographed at various "Pattern" related incidents, and up until now their involvement has been minimal and mostly through the eyes of Walter Bishop. Many years ago, on a drive with his son Peter, they got into a car accident, from which they were pulled (or at least Walter was) from certain death by an Observer. This past week's episode 'August' began with a different Observer watching over a woman in a park before abducting her. His actions were the first time an Observer has been seen on the show actively participating in his surroundings, as opposed to just watching, so it begs the question: Why now? Why this girl?

The Observers themselves are oblivious as well and the rules are laid out – they observe time as it exists, like watching a movie, and only step in and act to course correct something that, through their observations, they've altered somehow (as with Peter's death). It would seem they are keepers of time, ensuring that the events in their history remain in their history, which implies that – at least in the Fringe world – the history of a world can be changed. Of course, with this ideology comes all the thoughts that predate Fringe through the other realms of Abrams and co, particularly Lost.

Are the Observers simply the end-result of our status quo? From a future world where one of the alternate realities has already won the battle? Or will their changes alter the course of history, leaving them marooned to a different future.

It stands to reason that the future winner of this reality show-down is not ours. Why send observers into the past of the reality that won? Those histories are written in books and taught to school children. The lost history, the history of the civilization that perished, would be far more interesting. What events in our universe were different from theirs; what chain of events lead to our universe ending while theirs continued?

It's obvious that The Pattern is an important chain of events, and for each important chain of events there seems to be an assigned observer. A man (so far) with amplified senses and advanced motor skills who lacks an emotional connection to anyone around them. Similar to the soldiers in Walter's manifesto, possibly the solders that eventually resulted from Walter's manifesto, taken by William Bell to the other side, the Observers can read minds and move at incredible speeds, yet, are incapable of love.

Except that they are. The random kidnapping of Christine becomes far less random once we realize that this particular Observer, named August, has been following the young women from the time she was a girl. Her parents died in a bridge collapse and August – when he realizes that she will die on a flight to Italy – can't let her die twenty years later because he feels something for her. He loves her.

Of course, her life would be an inconsistency in the history, the possibility of a different outcome and the other Observers require that she die to correct it unless, Walter warns, August can find a way to make her important. The complexity of her importance – that she is the reason for the death of an Observer, is understated. It isn't the girl herself, but the feelings she elicits in August, that cause his death. He is compelled not simply to observe, but to act by sacrificing himself, because of his love for Christine (the play on the sacrifice of Christ should not be lost on the audience).

August has observed, and because of him the others have observed to a lesser extent, humanity – something seemingly lost in them – and this humanity will be the path towards a new future. Christine is not the first anomaly. The fact that they have a hired hitman on call implies that the Observers are keen to the fact that they ARE changing something – because it is impossible to observe something without leaving your own mark on it.

Twenty plus years ago Walter got into a car accident – caused by an Observer – that resulted in his son's death. Through some deal made with the Observer sent to observe him and The Pattern, the Peter from an alternate reality was eventually brought into our reality ultimately changing the course of all history. Or did the Observer allow this trade because he knew it was always part of the plan.

Only time will tell.

Gossip Girl: How to Succeed

Let’s be honest, I started watching Gossip Girl to see beautiful people swan around beautiful places in beautiful clothes getting with other beautiful people. This show did not have a lot to aspire to. Surprise! It vastly exceeded my expectations with its risqué banter, themes of loneliness and popularity, and the dark past of its characters. So, I cast aside my initial evaluation and prepared to enjoy. Surprise! It is now hammy and convoluted. Whether this is due to what many former O.C devotees refer to as the S3 spiral of hell or the much-feared college decline, things have gone badly wrong. So, me being an all-knowing TV goddess (ahem....) I have 5 rules for Josh Schwarz and Stephanie Savage to follow in order to make like Bart Bass and be a bad-ass billionaire successful mofo. *Please kill me now for the mangled, clichéd, and desperate analogy*

More...
1. Bring Back Original Recipe Blair



Stop exploiting Leighton’s versatility. Just because she has the ability to do comedy, does not mean she should be relegated to these ‘hahaha’ storylines. This whole desperate quest to become Queen of NYU is a) ridiculous as Blair already cast aside her mignons and the Colony Club saying she wasn’t dealing with High School anymore; b) stupid as it’s not funny watching Blair be left lonely after her ‘dastardly scheme’ fails, it’s actually sad.
This whole NYU storyline could have actually given us character development rather than regression. Seeing Blair really struggle with the loss of her identity and status could have been moving as well as interspersed with comedy. We could have seen Blair coping with living with Vanessa, who she sees as the representation of her polar opposite. Imagine how much more poignant the last scene between them where they realise how much they’ve lost and how alike they are would have been. If the writers are looking for drama, rather than using Blair’s schemes to divide her and Chuck and cause the seasonly rift with Serena, why not have her relapse with her bulimia? Chuck is devastated she can’t trust him and Serena is torn between telling her step-brother or keeping Blair’s loyalty. This would utilise Leighton’s dramatic acting ability, incorporate Chuck and relationship drama, be a real issue with Serena that tests their friendship/loyalty/trust, and get the whole cast involved – Cyrus and Eleanor worrying about her, Nate because of his previous history with Blair, and Dan and Vanessa realising Blair is not an evil witch but a real person with insecurities and problems.

2. Stop With The Guest Stars

We know they aren’t sticking around, so there is no point us getting involved in their storylines. Nate’s Romeo/Juliet romance has no credibility as we know Bree is disposable. Ditto Hilary Duff (sorry, I just can’t see her as Olivia, she’ll always be Hilary Duff/Lizzie Maguire to me) and Dan’s relationship. This point is particularly emphasised by Scott. FINE, I’ll concede at least he had a valid reason to be there, but otherwise really, really? They could have at least cast someone attractive and had him even slightly resemble Lily/Rufus. Seriously he looked like the love child of Pete Wentz and Rosario Dawson.
Not only do these guest stars serve almost no purpose but they eat up precious screentime. A few people may tune in to see Hilary Duff and Tyra Banks, but most loyal viewers tune in to see the regulars. They stop the main characters interacting with each other. Nate and Bree seemed to exist in a completely different TV show. People seem to be acting in little 2/3 person bubbles. Where are the scenes from S1 where the NJBC was out in force and sparked off with the Brooklynites? For example a memorable moment would be at the white brunch when Blair told Dan about Serena sleeping with Nate

3. Kill Off Jenny, Rufus, And Vanessa

I feel apathy at best, hatred at worst for these characters. Each one is in their own way completely redundant in Gossip Girl. Rufus/Lily is done. They are married. We do not need to see their pathetic conflicts and Rufus acting like a baby. Vanessa is a judgemental hypocrite. While she is useful as a sounding board for Dan, I feel that the sage advice could just as easily come from Eric, seeing as these two are apparently family though I don’t think they’ve said two words to each other. Use this Van-Hump-Der-Bass family to create original drama/conflict/relationships. Jenny is, like the guest stars, part of completely seperate world to the rest of the main cast. Constance is now OVER, please see Friday Night Lights for the graceful departure of a character - Smash and Jason Street. If Jenny does HAVE to be involved, please give her a bath and a burger. She looks like a crack whore.

4. Storylines With A Point

All that secret child drama for what? A 5 minute reunion where nothing is discussed and consists mainly of Lily reassuring Rufus of his love. Seriously, just watch it.
Carter/Bree WTF?! A family feud involving someone’s sister and an altar and a zzzzzzzz. No one cares nor has this had any real impact on the main characters. Useless, useless, useless.

5. Chuck/Blair White Hot Sex



One of the hottest couples, and yet at most we’ve seen a few kisses. Where are the scenes from last year with the smouldering tension, the partial nudity and heart-breaking emotion? Ok, maybe not heart-breaking (please no break-up/back together drama) but I want to see some passion. I wanted to see the rest of kinky waiter foreplay. I want to see the infamous red tights make a comeback. I want to see how they deal with sex within a committed relationship. And no, I'm not a pervert! Yes, I like the sweetness of Blair cuddling Chuck in bed and the fact that TPTB are trying to show us that they aren’t just about the sex, but I think that was effectively handled last season with the I Love You drama. Also, on that kinda point but not strictly related but what the fuck was that ‘I didn’t say I love you because I couldn’t trust you’ bullshit. Please writers, read your own damn script and watch your own damn show.

So, there you go Gossip Girl. A few hints and pointers from a disappointed viewer. Tell me your problems with the new season. Rant and rave. I like to think the TV Gods will hear our pleas!