Playing Catch-up
It's that time again! No, not the beginning of fall; according to the weatherman, we might just go directly into winter this year. No, I'm talking about the start of the new television season! It's not quite the event it once was, thanks to cable networks who air their original series while the traditional networks are in reruns (thank you TNT, USA, and SyFy!), but I am excited nonetheless. I look forward to making new friends, especially since boneheaded network execs will almost invariably yank the best of them by midseason, particularly if they're genre shows; remember Firefly and Journeyman? Well, I do, dammit! (Though I am heartened by the counter-example of Veronica Mars, an utterly brilliant show which got 3 seasons that, according to the ratings, it probably didn't deserve.)
But I most look forward to becoming reacquainted with the old friends (if you think it's ridiculous and a little sad that I'm referring to television shows as "friends", well, screw you! And you're right). But first, I have some catching up to do.
First up is Fringe. This show flew under my radar for a couple of years. As a card-carrying sci-fi geek, I am contractually obligated to at least try any series in the genre, but I lost interest after the first couple of episodes. However, fellow geeks tend to rave about the show, so I thought I would give it another try. I'm glad I did.
In retrospect, I think my initial reaction was because the first couple of episodes are in the "monster-of-the-week" vein, which I just don't find terribly interesting, but as the series progresses, we start to realize that these seemingly random events are related, and this is the point where the series starts to take off.
You see, I'm a continuity buff. I like stories that are complex and stretch over entire seasons, where nothing is ever really forgotten and everything that happens informs everything to come, and problems are not neatly solved in 43 minutes. This makes the stories far more realistic. Paradoxically, this element of realism is especially important in works of sci-fi and fantasy specifically because of the genres' fantastical elements. It helps keep the story grounded and relatable. This is best done through strong continuity or strong characterization (Joss Whedon is a master at both), and Fringe has nailed the former. I'm currently on episode 3 of season 2.
Next up is Supernatural. I only watched the first two episodes of the last season, due to my then-pregnant wife's inability to stomach the blood and gore; while I think the gore tends to be more campy than gross or scary (think Evil Dead 2; if you haven't seen it, go here. Do it now.), you just don't argue with a pregnant woman. This, despite my opinion that Supernatural is one of the best shows out there; where most "horror" shows are content to merely be "thrilling" or "shocking", Supernatural actually succeeds in being "scary", yet it maintains its own peculiar brand of dark humor throughout. The entire last season, the culmination of a 5-year story arc (there's that "continuity" thing again) is cued up on my DVR, waiting for me.
And finally, there's Caprica. I never really got into this Battlestar Galactica prequel, but I feel I owe it to the brilliance of its predecessor to at least give it a shot before it returns in October.
In other words, I have a lot of work cut out for me before I can fully enjoy the new season. And with a 3-year- and 4-month-old, I might actually be caught up in time for the premiere of the 2011 season. If I'm lucky.