Stargate Universe & Fringe – Eastwick – More.

Okay, this weekend we watched the Star Gate Universe premiere, the first episode of Eastwick,  and the second episode of Season Two of Fringe.  Let me start by saying, there is currently too much good TV to keep up with if, particularly if you have a DVR and are not afraid to use it.  We keep trying new shows, loving them, and then trying to figure out how to fit them into an already packed schedule of life, writing, and work.

I have a particular interest in Stargate Universe, as I have plans for pitching a novel for that series, so I’ll start with that.  The premise is wonderful.  I wondered how they’d take the same old Ancients and Stargate technology and turn it into something new.  This is how…the Ancients sent ships out, unmanned, with a drive that is not a warp drive, but that IS faster than light.  The ships have a gate on them, and dialing their address requires one more chevron on the Stargate than the regular gate addresses.  A genius named Dr. Rush spent nine months trying to figure out how to get the final chevron to synchronize…and failing.

The solution was that they embedded the puzzle into a complex online video game. When underachieving but brilliant Eli Wallace solves the final level of the game, he’s whisked away into project Icarus.  An attack on the base where they are trying to unravel the ninth chevron difficulty forces them to dial out and escape – instead of dialing Earth, Dr. Rush has dialed the mysterious destination that he has been working on reaching for so long.  Without time to try and shut down and redial, those gathered (including a US Senator) dive through into the unknown.

They are now billions of light years from Earth on a damaged Ancient starship with a gate, fighting for their lives, fighting over what they will do, and over who will be in charge when they do it.  This has all the makings of a GREAT show.  I’ll keep my eye on it for sure.

Eastwick was fun. All of the ladies are charismatic, the Devil character, while not Jack Nicholson, has the charm and the look.  We had a lot of fun watching it – funnier than expected.  All of us went in hoping NOT to like it so we could move on and…I believe we’ll watch some more.  My concern for the series is how they will sustain it.  They have jumped pretty far into the novel pretty fast.  Either they plan the series as short-lived, or maybe they intend to do away with the Devil character, as in the film, and continue the series as Cougartown meets Charmed?  Either way, if it remains as funny and entertaining as it has been so far, it’s all thumbs up from me.

Finally – Fringe.  Oh my.  This show started out strong for me and has matured into one of the best of it’s kind ever.  Wacky pseudo-science, crazy characters, a cow – time travel – dimensional travel – bowling?  It defies description.  The chemistry between the characters is nothing short of outstanding, and they continue to develop.  Too many shows of this type start out with cookie-cutter stamped characters who are written flat – just as they are – from the beginning of the series to the end.  In shows like Fringe – as they did on Buffy and Angel, and The X-Files, the characters change.  You find more about them each week, and sometimes they surprise you.  Fringe might be the best written show on television for my money – now that Pushing Daisies has pushed up it’s last blossom.

If only the San Diego Chargers could find a way to win, television could be my happy place again…

—DNW