Fringe: Season 3 Episode 9 - Marionette (Discussion)

Hello Fringe Dwellers and Universe Hoppers alike! I believe I have given you all fair warning that I unfortunately am unable to recap this episode due to being on a much needed (and deserved) vacation! But, I didn't want this to prevent any other fans from discussing their thoughts! Feel free to talk about what you liked, disliked and any theories you may like to share. If you have spotted the observer or figured out the Glyph code for the week, share that too! I may update this post with some of my own "OBSERV'ER'ATIONS" when I finally get to the episode or at least a chance to write about it!

In the meantime, enjoy the episode and Happy Holidays!

The Walking Dead: Season 1 Episode 6 - TS-19

Hello Walkers! WO..! (I'm close!!) What a great and unexpected gift this show has been to us this fall season! This 6 episode masterpiece came to us in our great time of need and now has secured its place in the TV Classics Pedestal for years to come. A completely thought out season from start to finish with just enough loose ends to make us wonder what could be in store for these folks in season 2. There is some speculation that there could be a writers room reshuffling in the off-season, but with Executive Producers Frank Darabount (showrunner) and Robert Kirkman (comic-book creator and Exec Producer/writer on show) staying with the show, it's definitely in good hands. It will be a long wait until next October, but there is no telling what kind of schedule reshuffling AMC may be considering to bring us our favorite shows in a timely manner. They have 3 classics on their hand now and all are in equal demand (I would have argued Rubicon should be on that list too but Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and Mad Men are definitely class acts). Season 1 is already available for pre-order on DVD and Blu-Ray and will be released on March 8. If you missed it and all of the reairings they have been doing, you'll have your chance then to catch up!

There's nothing left to do for now except dive into my thoughts for the season finale: TS-19! I may as well call it a recap now.  I think it's there!  I look forward to all of your thoughts as well!  Here we go.

Fringe: Season 3 Episode 8 - Entrada

Welcome back Fringe Dwellers!  What a fantastic hour of TV we were treated to tonight with this always fantastic show.  It was the moment we've been waiting for and it didn't happen a moment sooner than it needed to happen.  We have had just enough time for Faux-livia to stir things up in our world and for Olivia to spend some time over there and have us grow to enjoy some new characters and versions of the same characters for future episodes.  And without the proper build-up that the 7 preceding episodes accomplished, we would not have been as excited for Olivia's suspenseful return!   Just fantastic stuff.

Of course, since we last met, we have received some unfortunate news about Fringe and its move to Fridays.  FOX does not seem concerned as a good portion of Fringe Fans are DVR Time-shifters.  Hopefully, this is true because I'm going to miss next Thursday's episode (more information on that after the recap)!  I hope all fans of the show made a point to send a message to FOX tonight by watching live.  We'll see after the numbers are announced on Friday!  But enough of this public service announcement, it's time for some FRINCE-Capping!

The Event: Season 1 Episode 10 - Everything Will Change

Everything will change, eh?  Well, thank goodness for that!  I will not be the first one to say that the show has seemed to be running in circles for the past couple of episodes.  I know I tended to reflect that in my recaps!  Joking my way through the Sean/Leila story, joking about logistics of travel, and latching on to some hope with the EBE story lines.  Well, I also said that everything is a building block to get to payoff episodes.  This final installment of the fall is partially a payoff episode that rewarded the viewers that have stuck with it.  There was a nice twist in the EBE story, there was a twist that MAYBE we kind of saw coming with the Sean/Leila story and there was a promise of a whole lot more good stuff to come.   So my verdict on our fall finale?  Much better than last week's episode!  I'm excited about the cliffhanger, I just hope NBC has a plan to lure the viewers back at the end of February.  3 months is a long break for a show with dwindling ratings.  Maybe with Monday Night Football off of the air they'll be able to get some of their DVR audience to tune in LIVE.  We'll see!  But until then, we have this recap to tide us over.  So, let's dive in and see if we can get some good discussion out of this one!

The Walking Dead: Season 1 Episode 5 - Wildfire (Quick Thoughts)

Welcome Walkers! I couldn't let an episode slip by without sharing my thoughts on this fantastic show. It's crazy to think we have only seen 5 episodes and that this 5th episode is the penultimate episode of the season. There was a great cover story in the latest Entertainment Weekly about the story behind the success of The Walking Dead and how they didn't think it was likely they would get renewed. They discuss how 6 episodes was tough to design a season around. I, personally, think it's working really well for them. Every episode resonates and is as important as the one preceding and following it. It almost has a mini-series/movie feel to it. I am actually hoping that the intensity doesn't slow down when they branch out to a full 13 episode order in season 2. But, considering there is plenty of source material to draw from, I don't see that being a problem. I was happy to hear that they are already veering from the Comics in certain areas so the fans of the comic books will not be able to spoil everything for us newbies!

 

Anyway, all of it is making for some engaging television and it now has taken its place atop my list of APPOINTMENT television right along with Fringe. There is life after LOST folks. Still depressing, but at least there are little threads of optimism to hang on to! As always, here are my quick thoughts for the latest episode of The Walking Dead.

The Event: Season 1 Episode 9 - Your World to Take

Hello Eventers!  Welcome the the penultimate FALL FINALE recap!  That's right, only one more episode this year before we go on a FlashForward (err whoops) EVENT hiatus!  What's done is done and no sense complaining about no episodes in January and most of February.   I will make a plea for FRINGE though before this posting has come to a close!  That show needs our help, pronto!  But before we get there let's talk about THE EVENT!  This episode was one where it seemed like a lot was going on and not a whole lot happened!  I was seeing a lot of potential in the opening minutes and then the episode kind of ended with a shoulder shrug from me.  But there were plenty of interesting moments to discuss and much more things to laugh at from the Sean/Leila saga (seriously...didn't they have a gun last episode and wasn't Sean badly injured and close to death?)   Anyway, we'll get to it all in the recap.  So, let's dive in now!

The Walking Dead: Season 1 Episode 4 - Vatos (Quick Thoughts)

Welcome Walkers! 4 episodes in and I am still compeltely enamored by this show! I tell you what. Let's make a deal. The final 2 episodes could be the best thing ever to grace the screen, but I will wait until the season 2 premiere to see if the quality remains before I unveil a Mike V. staple "W" word seal of approval! We at least owe that to LOST, right?! But, dang!!! This show is on fire! Great character moments in this episode setting up more intense standoffs with humans and zombies alike. And, 4 episodes in and we finally start seeing some main characters (or at least who we thought were going to be main characters) taking a turn for the "CURSE" (like my play on words there?). We knew it had to happen eventually on a Zombie Apocalypse show, right? But even when it did, I was still shocked!

No sense in delaying. As always in this new tradition, I will share my quick thoughts on the episode and look forward to everyone chiming in with theirs! Here we go.