EVIL PUPPET MASTERS

If you just can’t wait until August 26th to make up your OWN mind about the Pilot episode of FRINGE, then feel free to traipse over to The Futon Critic to read their review of it. Keep in mind, this is a review of the ACTUAL EPISODE, not just Review #4,815 of the SCRIPT. There are mild spoilers, but not much past what you see in the trailer.

I have mixed feelings about getting reviews of the actual Pilot episode of FRINGE months before the rest of the public will see it. I’m all for publicity and trying to get buzz started for a show, but all of these reviews of the script for FRINGE - the bulk of which have been based on an early version of the script that seems to have been mass produced and passed around liberally (heck, even I got it - and nobody gives me ANYTHING) - have been bordering on ludicrousness already. I would hate to see that happen with the actual Pilot episode as well.

The fact is that unless you are a highly respected and objectively advanced blogger or television reviewer (who isn’t getting a little sumptin’ sumptin’ under the table for giving a guaranteed positive or explosive review) - I could care less what you think of the Pilot episode or the script of the Pilot episode. I have read the infamous early version of the script, but will not review it because (a) I don’t believe in reviewing something that everyone reading this blog can’t read as well and thus can’t compare what they’ve read to what I am saying; and (b) I’m unabashedly biased in certain respects when it comes to Bad Robot Productions, and though I believe I can be objective in a review - the fact is that those boys know my buttons and they push them about 80% of the time. I love their stuff - thus…why this blog exists. My bias is inbred.

I am posting the link to The Futon Critic’s review of the Pilot because I am well acquainted with their site, and appreciate the fact that they post about EVERYTHING in the realm of television - not just what ABC or CBS or FOX, etc., is trying to shove down the throats of the American audience.

I have posted some reviews of the FRINGE trailer, because it has been made available to the widespread audience, so the average reader can be comparative.

For those of you who didn’t already know, I have spent the better part of the past nine months co-writing a book about the LOST fandom with blogger extraordinaire DocArzt. The book is called “LOST Ate My Life!” and as of TODAY it is available for pre-order on Amazon!! w00t! Click on the piccie below or in the sidebar to check it out:

If you want a more detailed description of the book, you can find it HERE on our publisher’s site.

The support I have had during the writing of this book has been EPIC. Whether it was agreeing to interviews (Bryan, Gregg, William, Javi), writing the foreword (Javi), joining my fanclub (MONGERS), listening to my rants and/or holding me up as I was falling down (Bryan, Javi, Gregg, Rick, Denise and the rest of the Mongers) - I can’t imagine going through this without any of these people. I hope everyone will be pleased with the results.

The book is due to be published November 1, 2008. If you are REALLY curious as to how this whole thing came about and how I have dealt with the highs and lows - go check out my author’s blog: Fandom Life.

According to Variety, Jack Bender will be directing the pilot for a new ABC drama The Prince of Motor City. More info below:

“The Prince of Motor City”…[is] set to start shooting at the end of June, [and] is a gothic family sudser set in the world of Detroit’s auto business. Hour-long project, from ABC Studios, also contains “Hamlet” undertones.

…
Chris Brancato and Bert Salke are behind “The Prince of Motor City” as exec producers; Jessica Goldberg is also an EP. Goldberg wrote the pilot with thesp Hamish Linklater.

Andie MacDowell, Piper Perabo, Aunjanue Ellis and Warren Christie are all set to star in “Prince of Motor City.”

Source

According to today’s Cynthia’s Cynopsis:

Big news from the ABC camp. The network, which led the industry in making programs available for iTunes and developed one of the best HD-quality video players on the net, is at last loosening its hold on its content to allow users to embed clips of its shows on blogs and personal profiles. ABC.com’s newly-enhanced video player, coming this fall, will also feature:

* True full screen viewing
* Enhanced navigation and video search capabilities allowing users to search for series graphically, alphabetically, by genre or popularity
* Content recommendation functions
* Closed captioning
* Parental ratings information for all full episode content

This will be a big deal for LOST bloggers, who have had to stick with screencaps and poor quality vid clips up to this point.

This one gets its own post, because it made me laugh. Over at the I Watch Stuff blog, they gave this rather humorous and definitely snarky review of the extended FRINGE trailer. All we are lacking now is a frame-by-frame analysis of the trailer by one of those LOST theorists who come up with the most bizarre stuff…only to be proven right down the line.

The premiere of FRINGE on Fox may still be months away, but the moviesque trailer for the show has many a blogger intrigued by what we see…and what we don’t see. Below find some links to some of the more prolific bloggers on the interwebs and read their takes on all the hulabaloo:

Nikki Stafford’s Blog - “Fall TV Preview: Fringe”
FringeTV Blog - “Will Fringe Come With A Viral Element?”
TV Envy - “Trailer for new FOX series Fringe”
Rope of Silicon - “JJ Abrams ‘Fringe’ Trailer - Viral Sites Forthcoming”

So far, the trailer seems to have done it’s job - hooked those who are already obsessed with everything JJ/Bad Robot (*coughMEcough*) and enticed those who aren’t so sure to at least give it a shot. I have ONE beef with the show - which has nothing to do with the show itself, really. I HATE the lettering they have used for FRINGE on the posters and promos. It just looks wrong - if they were intending it to look sort of 3D…then they did it wrong. If it is meant to look off kilter and slapped together…well then I guess they did it right. What do you think?

Considering what a massive fontaholic JJ is, I’m just surprised that they couldn’t come up with a better font style. Oh well, what the hell do I know?

Yes, LOST is a complicated and twisterrific television show, but understanding EVERYTHING that is going on is NOT necessary to enjoy the show or keep up with the plot. For those who may feel a little “lost” - Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse offered up this handy dandy guide to the show during a conference call with TV reviewers.

A sample from the guide:

ON JOHN LOCKE
Cuse: “Locke is a man who’s on a journey. And that journey, like many biblical characters, is one that has periods of doubting and uncertainty and frustration.”
Lindelof: “And the occasional Emmy win.”
Cuse: “And the occasional Emmy win.”

Ahhhh…love those Darlton boys. ONE WEEK UNTIL THE (rest of the) FINALE!!!

Bob Orci, JJ Abrams and Alex Kurtzman at the Fox Upfronts

Not much new in the realm of FRINGE today, but did find a rather good picspam for FRINGE over on OhNoTheyDidnt. Some pics I’ve seen, some I haven’t, so felt it worthy of sharing. A bunch of pics of Joshua Jackson at the Upfronts, FYI.

Is it August 26th yet?

J.J. Abrams talks about the difficult task of finding the right actress to play FBI Agent Olivia Dunham in this interview held during the Fox upfront last week. I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the casting of Anna Torv - she completely owns this part.

One correction to that piece from SciFiWire — the Casting Agent’s name is April Webster, not Ann

For the record, FRINGE is NOT about an “airplane flight whose passengers meet untimely ends” nor is it accurately described by comparing it to LOST and saying that it “has a similar airliner mystery”. I’ve already read half a dozen reviews making one or the other assumptions of what the show is about, but they are both WRONG.

The PILOT episode does indeed involve an airplane “whose passengers meet untimely ends” but that is NOT what the entire series revolves around. Leading people to believe that FRINGE is going to be like LOST because there is an airplane involved is ludicrous and is just going to confuse the masses - or turn them off thinking that JJ and Bad Robot have an airplane fetish. I do realize that part of the blame belongs to FOX, since their official description of the show isn’t really a description of the show but of the Pilot episode. But you’d think that with all the hype and the marketing blitz that a reporter could take an extra couple of minutes to make a phone call or surf the internet to verify the accuracy of their information.

A better explanation of the show - what it is and what it will be - comes from FOX’s press release:

The new event drama premiering this fall is FRINGE, a fantastical thriller from acclaimed writer/producer J.J. Abrams (”Lost”), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (”Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Alias”). Joshua Jackson (”Dawson’s Creek”), John Noble (”Lord of the Rings”) and newcomer Anna Torv star as an unlikely trio who uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

.

Google is your friend.

Another good FRINGE fansite link has been sent to me - and they have some pics from the FOX Upfronts, including the COWS.

You can find those pics by clicking HERE. The link for the main page of the site is below:

http://www.the-fringe-element.com

Thanks to Rick Orci for the heads up.

IGN managed to tackle the blur known as J.J. Abrams this week and get some questions answered about his Star Trek movie (i.e., the movie will still be done by Christmas - it was Paramount that made the decision to delay the release until May) and the continued swirling rumors around a sequel to Cloverfield (i.e., JJ would rather do a new and different movie with Matt Reeves and Drew Goddard rather than a sequel).

You can find the interview HERE.

I can’t help it. This little blurb from E! Online produced what could most closely be labeled a “guffaw” from me:

Fringe: Joshua Jackson is back! The man is hilarious, and when I pried about where the series might go after the pilot, he said, “What? Do you think this is my first time at the rodeo? I can’t tell you that! I’ll be killed.” (He was being chaperoned by Bad Robot badass Bryan Burk, so perhaps his fears were legitimate.)

*giggle* It’s about time the press recognize the badassery that is Burky.

If you want to read the full synopsis for FOX’s upfront last week, go HERE. I will warn you that there are some spoilers for the FRINGE pilot in the Live Blogging section of the article.

Thank the internet gods - you can see the trailer for FRINGE by clicking HERE.

The trailer is epic. You know that movie-like feeling you got the first time you saw an ad for LOST? Yeah, it is THAT cool. Plus, it ironically (or not) also involves a plane.

Thanks to http://fringetv.blogspot.com for finding the link.

Those lucky stiffs over at Zap2it’s From Inside the Box blog were at the FOX Upfront and got to see the infamous COWS. Alongside the cows were the FRINGE street team handing out cards and apples.

*seethes with jealousy*

Though I guess the fact that I actually know what the cows mean would make some of those peeps at From Inside the Box jealous of me, yeah?