Fringe - They really upped the 'YIKES' factor this week with a tentacled parasitic worm that grows inside a human host and secrets a medicinal narcotic into them while alive. When dead, a section of organ can be converted to powdered drug form with the same medical benefits. You can imagine how freaked out all this made me with my cephalopod 'issues'.
This show still has some of the best acting on TV and the coolest stories whose closest comparison are the X-Files when that show was good. I like that I can enjoy a good old fashion monster of the week show with a cool overarching conspiracy to continually keep me interested. I hope this show survives this season and that Fox ignores the lower ratings it gets up against NBC's strong Thursday comedy lineup. Its not fair to lose something of this quality while so much other crap gets to litter the airways.
There are many other rewards to be found in 'Fringe'. I love the relationship between old Dr. Bishop and Astrid, his lab tech. She loves him like a father and those feelings are reciprocated in his adoration of her. He values her friendship and trust very much and can be hurt deeply when it appears not to be there. Like a daughter she loves him for who he is and accepts his flaws while at the same time worrying for him and how his more eccentric qualities may get him hurt. The character relationships in Fringe are very strong and put it above the usual creature feature TV themes. Without the monsters and weirdness I would still like this show. All your best shows have this feature. Think of 'Buffy' or 'Lost' and I think you would agree with me.
Survivor - OH BOY..ANOTHER Blindside! Russel is a true puppetmaster who must eliminate enemies that he even suspects of being against him or know too much about him. Its Maecavellian in its evil. Yesterday, Russel made the mistake of telling John that he had the hidden immunity idol and so John had to go. That was so beautifully cold blooded. Russel would have made a great King in some European court. "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" was the title of this episode and it wasn't even just about the death of two chickens who also 'just had to go'. I see Russel scrambling next week to get Shambo back on his side since basically leaving her out to dry by getting rid of John and not Dave like Shambo wanted. I have a sneaky suspicion that Russel's time is running out but he does have that hidden immunity idol to play.
Will someone tell me how useless Monica is still in the competition? Tiny Natalie is holding her own as was evident by last night's individual immunity challenge. Who ever thought she would hold that heavy log longer than some of the strongest men?
This may shock everyone but she is now my leading choice to win it all.
Law and Order UK / City Homicide - These are two shows out of Britain and Australia respectively. I have always loved a good police story and while the formula for both these shows are as old as TV itself, they can hold their own with the best cop drama's produced in the US or Canada. I like the country specific situations and language that bring that little extra foreign flavor to the stories. They in no way feel they are just bland copies of their North American cousins because the quality of the acting is top notch and the stories can often be edgier than what we see on a weekly basis here.
V - I hear this show will be getting some new creators as one of the originals has quit. It won't be back until March and I don't really think I will miss it. It's forgettable.
Flashforward - Some nice character acting from Dominic Monaghan (who does creepy arrogance really well) and some new revelations about Mosaic has me still interested but like V this show is off now until March. The first couple episodes after its return will be crucial to keeping my interest. Maybe a full recap of the story so far with more hints as to what is really going on will be necessary to keep me. I want something more than some physics experiment gone bad as the reason for the blackouts.
Amazing Race - This show races towards its amazing final. It too bad that the Globetrotters, Hang Time and Big Easy are out after Big Easy once again could not complete a task that required mental skills and not physical skills. Those were the ones that always kept that team back because physically they deserve to win it all. Great characters with great attitudes that I hated to see let go. I hate hate hate the two gay brothers, who like the deaf kid last cycle do nothing to make their 'community' look good by their low down sneaky game play. One of them quickly took Big Easy as a partner is solving the mental task but left him out in the cold when he didn't need him anymore. Sure its a game but integrity is also a part of life and the gay bros have shown very little of that. I am actively hoping they loose because the two couples with them in the final three deserve it more.
If I can be totally non-PC here, there are two types of homosexuals. There are 'gays' and there are 'fags'. Those brothers are a couple of 'fags' where the word 'fag' is used to describe their behavior (straight people can be fags too by their faggy behavior - see a recent episode of South Park where bikers were being called fags because of their loud motorcycles and douchie behavior). Its the same vein that Chris Rock mines when he says that he LOVES 'black people' but he hates "niggers'. Again...the term refers in this case and the last one to how a person ACTS and is not meant as a slur based on the group they were born into. One you can't help (being gay or black) but the other (fag or nigger) is a character flaw completely open to be changed.
