Well, my initial response to it was exactly the same and actually one of my chief complaints against it is exactly the same which is I wish they'd do less obviously wannabe x-files standalones and commit more to their world and their metaplot.
It trundles along for the first two-thirds of the season not really establishing itself much beyond "Competant X-Files Wannabe" and then toward the end of the first season we get some fairly enormous revelations about both the woman in the vid and the nature of the Fringe Universe that really establish its premise as Quite Different From The X-Files and, to be honest, while I think a lot about this show when it's off doing Monster of the Week stuff is...mediocre, that plot twist impressed me quite a bit.
So basically now I wish they'd actually commit more time to the part of the show that's unique and different to the obvious copycat accusations and dial back the standalones. It's quite good at at least inserting a few metaplot scenes into the standalones, but still. I shouldn't complain because if they did that they'd probably use viewers and it'd get canceled but meh.
As to chemistry, I have to be honest, I'm hoping, without much realistic hope, that they don't try to hook up Olivia and Peter (Joshua Jackson). I think they have more chemistry with just about everyone ELSE on that show except each other. Fortunately so far, that hasn't been pushed too heavily (though obviously YouTube is full of shipper vids). Olivia actually spends most of the first half of the first season struggling to resolve issues with a previous relationship.
Also hilarious is the fact that try as the pilot might to make Peter look Relevant and the Angsty Bad Boy Male Lead (with annoyingly obnoxious results, but he gets better, I promise), he is totally and hilariously irrelevant to the ongoing plot. There's a revelation about him at the end of S1 too, but...without going into spoilers, he's still a McGuffin rather than someone with agency or an active role in the plot. It's kind of amusing (to me at least). Though I do fear what will happen when they try to start forcing him into relevance. I fear I'll get annoyed with him again.
The other main character which sets it apart a big from TXF is Walter - Peter's father - the old guy who plays Denethor in Lord of the Rings. Like Olivia he's personally bound up in this conspiracy but also, having been institutionalised for nearly twenty years, he has memory lapses and isn't quite sane anymore which adds both weird humour and surprising poignance to his role. He's working with the good guys now but there are surprisingly frequent reminders that his work is not benign and we have no idea what he has wrought in the past.
So...yeah. It is an XF ripoff, certainly at the beginning. But it's also obviously got enough thought behind it that it's MORE than just that, if they're given the space and take the opportunity to go there?
Anyway, let me know if you get around to watching it. I get the feeling I'd talk about this show a lot more if I had the time and an audience. :)
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Date: 2009-12-05 11:41 pm (UTC)It trundles along for the first two-thirds of the season not really establishing itself much beyond "Competant X-Files Wannabe" and then toward the end of the first season we get some fairly enormous revelations about both the woman in the vid and the nature of the Fringe Universe that really establish its premise as Quite Different From The X-Files and, to be honest, while I think a lot about this show when it's off doing Monster of the Week stuff is...mediocre, that plot twist impressed me quite a bit.
So basically now I wish they'd actually commit more time to the part of the show that's unique and different to the obvious copycat accusations and dial back the standalones. It's quite good at at least inserting a few metaplot scenes into the standalones, but still. I shouldn't complain because if they did that they'd probably use viewers and it'd get canceled but meh.
As to chemistry, I have to be honest, I'm hoping, without much realistic hope, that they don't try to hook up Olivia and Peter (Joshua Jackson). I think they have more chemistry with just about everyone ELSE on that show except each other. Fortunately so far, that hasn't been pushed too heavily (though obviously YouTube is full of shipper vids). Olivia actually spends most of the first half of the first season struggling to resolve issues with a previous relationship.
Also hilarious is the fact that try as the pilot might to make Peter look Relevant and the Angsty Bad Boy Male Lead (with annoyingly obnoxious results, but he gets better, I promise), he is totally and hilariously irrelevant to the ongoing plot. There's a revelation about him at the end of S1 too, but...without going into spoilers, he's still a McGuffin rather than someone with agency or an active role in the plot. It's kind of amusing (to me at least). Though I do fear what will happen when they try to start forcing him into relevance. I fear I'll get annoyed with him again.
The other main character which sets it apart a big from TXF is Walter - Peter's father - the old guy who plays Denethor in Lord of the Rings. Like Olivia he's personally bound up in this conspiracy but also, having been institutionalised for nearly twenty years, he has memory lapses and isn't quite sane anymore which adds both weird humour and surprising poignance to his role. He's working with the good guys now but there are surprisingly frequent reminders that his work is not benign and we have no idea what he has wrought in the past.
So...yeah. It is an XF ripoff, certainly at the beginning. But it's also obviously got enough thought behind it that it's MORE than just that, if they're given the space and take the opportunity to go there?
Anyway, let me know if you get around to watching it. I get the feeling I'd talk about this show a lot more if I had the time and an audience. :)