(no subject)

[lapsedmodernist]

So the third season of Fringe is over, it still remains one of my favorite shows currently on TV, or, in fact, ever. Here are my favorite things about this season, big and small:

1. Continuity! I love continuity, it is such a pay-off for loyal viewing. Amber as a method of containing holes in the universe Over There, going back to the second episode of the series. The field of white tulips. Broyles' creepy allusion to (I think) seeing the charred course of his double while he is tripping on acid. Peter waking up with amnesia and writing "I am going home" in the hospital mirroring the "I am going home" note he leaves before trying to drown himself in the lake in the "Olivia" episode.

2. Young Olivia reading "Winter's Tale" for all the obvious reasons.

3. I continue to love how the show uses the twin towers. I love that they are markers of Over There, that the shots indicating that we are in a different universe show the altered skyline, that they are such a large part of Olivia's subconscious landscape (literally), that the tower imagery was so tied up with her finally realizing she is not Fauxlivia.

4. Love the retro credits, again. Love the fused red and blue credits in...which episode was it? "Entrada"? Love the future "black" credits in the finale--although, man, what a bleak world! "Water" and "hope" are, I guess, scarce or nonexistent phenomena there?

5. Loved the reveal of HOW Walternate found out where Peter was. I totally did not see the twist coming.

6. Loved Walter's thought bubble once he finds out he was turned into a cartoon in the "Inception" homage episode.

I did not love the "cliffhanger"/twist of the finale as much as the last two. I mean, it was good and sets up the next season nicely, but the total OMGWTF of the first two season endings (especially the first one, of course) wasn't quite there...

Comments

[dcart.livejournal.com]

The way they mess with the credits is really one of my favorite things about the show. It's such a small thing, but how many other shows are able to get their fans to watch the credits with rapt attention?

Your take on the cliffhanger/twist seems to be just about universal among the critics/reviewers I've read.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

well to be fair the sort of twist they did when all of a sudden the Twin Towers showed up is something that's basically impossible to repeat a second time. The Peter is dead reveal was also a huge game-changer but also partially because it was the first one, in a sense--we didn't know the show could do that. Now we know it does stuff like that, which maybe makes one harder to surprise. But still the Olivia switcheroo was cooler than Peter never existed suddenness.

The X-Files messed with the credits a bit--just the tagline--Fringe credits variations are way cooler.

[dcart.livejournal.com]

I definitely think it is harder to pull off the cliffhanger now. The reasons you gave for that make sense. I wonder whether, prior to seeing viewer reaction, they thought they had pulled off an equal cliffhanger of if they knew this one wasn't going to be quite as OMG.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

I think part of what he "had to do" was to explain that the universes were in quantum entanglement and had to work together or else Awful Doomsday Credits.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

It is EXCELLENT. Although a good half of the first season is it finding its footing--not that it is bad, but the mythology is just coming together at that point, and there are more monster-of-the-week episodes then (I LOVE the mythology arc on the show so I prefer that to MOTW). Also there is this point where the John Noble character gradually shifts from being cooky comic relief to deftly balancing between tragicomic and downright tragic character, and that really amplifies the show's emotional heart--but that also doesn't happen right away. Still, it is catchy and hooks you from the get-go. But didn't you just read a whole bunch of spoilers by clicking on this post?

[rivertumbled.livejournal.com]

loved that during the scene in the opera house it was gorecki's 3rd symphony that was playing, one of my favorites and so appropriate. perfect perfect. i love how they pay attention to details like this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._3_(G%C3%B3recki)

[rivertumbled.livejournal.com]

hmmm. link is borked. when it asks you if you mean gorecki's 3rd, you do...

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

oh wow so cool! I didn't know anything about that piece of music, but how appropriate!