Fringe: 6 Months Later/Subject 13

Of Note: My television listed this episode as “6 Months Later” while Hulu and TV.com list it as “Subject 13”. Both names apply fine but I wonder why there was a discrepancy.

To say I was thrilled with this episode would be a dramatic understatement. I had literal goosebumps at multiple points during the hour. Olivia’s emotional rage, Peter’s inability to accept his new reality, Walter and Walternate’s struggles to rise to the occasion of their particular circumstances, and Elizabeth’s turmoil over replacing her son were all fantastic stories to follow. Obviously a few things jump out more than others and I would like to talk about the scene that blew my mind.

If you have not seen this episode, please do yourself a favor and watch it, then come back. Oliva’s cathartic moment of sharing her secret with the man that was suppose to protect her was brutally ripped away on an emotional level. On a story level, that was one of the coolest moments I’ve ever experienced on television. Walternate gave up and was content to drink himself into oblivion, only to have Olivia give him the answers he so desperately needed. Walter started the war, but it was Olivia that accepted the responsibility for the blue universe.

After reviewing the season one episode entitled, “The Cure” I was very frustrated with the introduction of Olivia’s abusive step-father only to have it become a dropped plot line as the series progressed. But “6 Months Later” really picked up that ball and ran with it. It was her evil-stepfather that unlocked the potential of cortexephan in Olivia. More importantly it was her stepfather’s abuse that drove her to a career in law enforcement. She wanted to protect people.

Folivia on the other hand did not have an evil stepfather to deal with as far as we know. She was not abused and did not see her mother abused. She did not have any reason to go into law enforcement. Olivia appearance to Walternate helps explain this. Obviously Walternate found Folivia and set her on a path to be useful to him in the future. If our Olivia could cross through universes, it stood to reason that his might too.

That of course is where things get a bit messy for Walternate. Walter did not cause the blight when he took Peter. Somehow, Walter understood the damage he caused and realized he could not continue to cross over in the manor he did originally. Walternate without that knowledge would most likely have attempted to cross into the blue universe using the same type of portal Walter originally did. Unfortunately this action is probably what triggered the destruction of Boston and necessitated the use of Amber. Of course to Walternate it would most likely seem like Walter booby-trapped the portal so he could not take back his son.

Could I complain about the fact that Peter and Olivia had no memory of their original meeting upon seeing other in Iraq in episode one? Sure, I could, but I’m not going to. Could I gripe that Walternate should have had a soft spot for Olivia considering she was the person who clued him into the whereabouts of his son in the first place? I might, but I won’t at the moment.

It was very cool to see how Olivia caused the fire damage in the room we saw way back in the episode entitled “Jacksonville”. It is also interesting that Olivia was able to make it snow. Cortexaphan is really a wonder drug when paired with the right person. I cannot wait to see how Olivia’s latent abilities will manifest as the series progresses. No reason to show us that she has the powers of Storm from the X-Men if she is not going to use them at a crucial point in the future.

Peter’s theory that he could travel back to his home by submerging himself in the frozen lake actually did make sense. Thankfully his “mother” was there to save him.

Walternate and Elizabeth must have split in the red universe. They were pretending to still be together when Peter came back for his sake.

Why was the red universe blue in the 1980’s? In fact there was not much color in the entire episode. Even the tulips were white. The professor that Elizabeth was talking about was Allister the time traveling kindred spirit of Walter from the episode entitled, “White Tulip”.

Sensyden’s: An Open Letter to the Television Industry

Since it’s premiere I have been a casual fan of the ABC series “V”. I have not loved every episode, characters have been more than a tad annoying at times, and some of the plot lines felt a bit stale. However, in my humble opinion it is better than a large majority of the junk that pollutes the digital television signal on a weekly basis. That said, until recently, if I found myself with an hour less TV time a week I would strongly have considered dropping “V” before any other show.

This season the series was on a slow march towards significant improvement in quality. I was moderately excited to see the episodes each week and even chose to watch them the night after they aired rather than wait till it was the only thing left on my DVR. Unfortunately, somehow, my DVR recorded the episode entitled, “Concordia” without sound. Rather the watch the whole thing closed captioned, I decided to delete the episode and catch it on Netflix, Hulu, or ABC.com. Worst case scenario, I figured I would purchase the episode from iTunes or Amazon.

I was a little surprised when it was not streaming anywhere legally and free on the Internet. I was simply flabbergasted when I realized it was not even available for purchase when I wanted to give the series money to buy it directly. This left me only two options, give up on the series or skip a crucial episode in a highly serialized show. Luckily in my complaining about the lack of “V” availability my sister-in-law mentioned she had the missing episode and I just needed to trek my family to her place to get caught up.

It should not be this hard to keep up with a television series.

Just today I reached my breaking point with “The Vampire Diaries”. When it first premiered I gave it a shot and decided it was not for me, though I admittedly have unreasonably high expectations for vampire shows (I called them the “Whedon Factor”). As the show continued I heard from people I trust that this was a fantastic series. A couple of weeks ago I listened to an interview with one of the show’s stars on the Channel Surfing Podcast and thought “Vampire Diaries” sounded a lot more interesting then the first episode I watched almost two years ago.

I hoped the series would stream on Netflix, Hulu, Hulu Plus, or the new Amazon Prime streaming service. Being a fairly popular show, with good buzz, I assumed they would want as many new eyeballs as they could get. I assumed wrong. It does not stream on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime. It might stream on Hulu Plus but I have no idea how to find out and I’m not paying a monthly fee before I know what is available.

This leaves me a couple of options. I can purchase season one on DVD, purchase season two when it comes out this summer, and start watching new episodes as they air next fall. Or I can purchase season one on DVD and pick up season two on iTunes or Amazon for $2.99 an episode. However, there are already 15 aired episodes of this series so far this season. That’s almost 45 bucks for an incomplete season and I’d have to burn my DVR memory saving the rest of the season while I get caught up. That is a tremendous amount of money when you add in the $28.99 it would cost to pick up season one on DVD.

If I want to download season one of Vampire Diaries it will cost me $32.99 for the standard definition version. This version is a digital copy and requires no shipping, DVD or packaging materials, and very little storage costs because it is sent over the Internet. But it is more expensive then the DVD version on Amazon.com because, why?

But if I really wanted to get caught up with “Vampire Diaries” I could do it. I could not, however, watch “Vampire Diaries” comfortably or with my wife. This is because once we get to our purchased season 2 episodes I would have to watch them on my laptop or my iPod if I purchased them in iTunes. I cannot easily get content off my computer and onto my television. I could purchase a Roku box or Apple TV, but is “Vampire Diaries” worth an additional $70.00 to $100.00 expense on top of the 80+ dollars I would be spending on the episodes? Not likely when you factor in that I already own a PS3 and Wii both of which stream content from Netflix perfectly fine already.

Therefore, instead of watching “Vampire Diaries” as I would like to, I am going to fire up the PS3 navigate over to the Netflix channel and watch “Stargate Atlantis” which I am sure does not appeal to me as much as “Vampire Diaries” would have if I had the chance to check it out. However, it is really simple to do and looks great in high definition. All for about 8 bucks a month.

It is not surprising that television ratings are down. I am forced to stream a show that has been off the air for two years because that is what is convenient and cost effective.

V: Siege

It has been a long while since I have checked in with this show because I was bored with “V”. Plot lines seemed stale, character motivations were suspect, and the overall plan of the Visitors seemed more convoluted than the plan of the Cylons. I do not even want to get into the fact that the entire active arm of the 5th Column was four people in a basement. Thankfully, the past few episodes have really done a lot to address many of the problems I have had with this series.

Siege in particular was worth noting because it changed the series significantly. Erica is now in charge of an international army, or terrorist organization depending on how you look at it. I think I am comfortable with the term freedom fighters. Eli Cohn gave her the keys to the kingdom and I cannot wait to see what she plans on doing.

Ryan is now dead? I have to admit if that is truly the way he went out as a character it feels a bit anti-climatic. Marcus got to be publicly assassinated and he still might survive, if you are going to go out as a character that is a suspenseful way to do it. Not tied to a chair when a bomb goes off.

Hobes loves someone other than himself. He loves this woman so much he was willing to kill a lot of people to save her. I wonder how much longer he will be able to look Erica in the eyes before confessing his sins.

Father Jack transformed into “Just Jack” by the Pope’s decree. He made an interesting turn this season into the public face of the 5th Column and I wonder how he will leverage his fame now that he is no longer a priest. I think the producers of Prime Focus missed a great casting opportunity for Chad’s counterpoint person.

Chad is still Anna’s head cheerleader in the eyes of the public, but he is finally a member of the 5th Column’s inner circle. I am impressed with the way this character has changed over the course of the series thus far. I wonder if he had anything to do with Erica’s USB key of horrifying anti-V evidence.

While I the subject of Erica’s anti-V dossier, I think it is time she showed that to her new FBI partner. She could always cut him behind the ear first to make sure he is human, but her little slide show was obviously effective. Her ex-husband confessed he had made a mistake in leaving her and was convinced that the DNA evidence which “proved” Tyler was not his son was somehow tampered with by the V’s. Actually forget her partner, Erica needs to put that information out on Youtube. She would have more 5th Column members than she’d know what to do with.

Tyler, I still hate you as a character. Your motivations are muddy, your actions erratic, your conclusions wrong. You want nothing more than to be a V but your parents get back together for one day and you snub your V patrons. Your father, who you now know is not your biological father, died after throwing himself onto a ticking time-bomb and you blamed your mother for not doing her job with the FBI well enough. Your lucky she only slapped you. No person, no matter how self absorbed or cold would react like that. Since the show-runners of V seem intent on purging characters, I think it is time Tyler bit it.

Lisa, in stark contrast, is becoming more and more interesting. She has finally found Diana and I for one think wacky hijinks's will ensue.

My last complaint has to do with the FBI guys closing the investigation into Erica. Was no one interested in how she ended up in that building? Or maybe why Eli took hostages only to allow Erica to escort them out? No one is questioning how her husband got into the building and ended up dead? Why did no one bother to look at the news footage of hostages being taken and realize that there were two additional people exiting the building?

Despite the FBI and Tyler’s regressing intelligence, V seems to be on a significant uptick! For the first time in a long time I am excited to see where this is going.

Fringe: 6B

That was an excellent episode of television. I know I have been slacking when it comes to writing about Fringe over the past month but I felt I needed to write about 6B. Walter slipped into his mean grandfather defensive patterns that we have not seen since early in season one. Which is actually warranted because he pulled a case file all the way back from episode two or three. While the Fringe team has not spoken about the ZFT in a long time it would seem that the followers of that line of thought provided Walter with the ingredients to “Amber”.

Olivia and Peter had finally had their big moment, good for them, I wonder if it is going to be enough to save the blue universe (red is them, blue is us). The team of Peter and Olivia was able to stop the use of Amber. They approach problems much differently than Walter, in any universe. It would now seem that all the Fringe team has to do to save the world is some very good grief consoling.

Have the Observers (I still believe they are the first people) rid themselves of all emotion because they know that strong emotional connections are what can rip the universe to shreds?

Nina and Walter had a really nice moment. Why has she not told anyone that she personally knows the author of the First People book? Why have we not met Nina’s double in the other universe? Walter referred to Brandon as, “that nervous fellow Brandon”.

According to Peter, a considerable amount of time has passed since our last episode in the blue verse. Why is Folivia not showing any signs of pregnancy? Why is she still going out on possibly dangerous missions with a bun in the oven? Who does she think she is, Sydney Bristow?

In all seriousness, the realization that a more humane way exists to fix proto-vortexes proves a lot. It proves that Walternate is not infallible and that perhaps both universes can co-exist.

Watson: What it Means to Me

I cannot recall the last time I tuned into Jeopardy! for more than a couple of questions, yet over the last three nights I found myself glued to the television for the “exhibition match” of the century. IBM’s supercomputer “Watson” defeated the two most successful players in Jeopardy! history in a three day, two game, cumulative dollar challenge. Humanity was defeated in the arena that was designed specifically for humans. I should be devastated, rather I should be digging a massive hole in my backyard to house my future Robageddon bunker.

But for some reason I am fairly happy with the success of Watson. There are of course a couple of qualifiers to my somewhat reserved glee. First off, I am assuming that Watson is not the first massive node in a computer network that could achieve sentience. Secondly, I unlike Ken Jennings (sore loser: http://slate.me/fTBtVE), do not believe Watson is a harbinger for the same kind of layoffs in knowledge based work as automation was for factory jobs.

As far as the apocalypse is concerned I believe Watson, impressive as it is, is no where near powerful enough to think independently of its human programmers. Watson’s quirks, minimal as they were, revealed the limitations of its capabilities. Watson was never 100% sure of anything, how could it be, it has never truly learned anything. The people who program Watson learned how to refine and improve the Watson algorithms which in turn made the computer better at correlating information.

However, as any psychology major can tell you, correlation does not equal causation, and it is causation that represents the wall of Watson. Watson knows that a blanket is related to warmth because the words appear near each other a significant amount, but Watson cannot understand “why” they do, because it has never been cold. Watson can see the connections between kiss, hug, love, and need but it could never produce an original sonnet about the joys of love because Watson does not experience emotions or feelings, it reports on them.

Now that I’ve spent some time tearing it down, I ask what is Watson good for? Watson, I believe is good at what we are not. Human beings are fantastic at extending our knowledge base. People have invented, reinvented, combined, recombined, composed and then improved upon ideas since the dawn of our species. Some times our progress has been slow (Dark Ages) while in other times it has been unbelievably fast (Renaissance). The key to progress has always been access to knowledge. No one person can read through all key works on any topic of importance to human advancement and then synthesize the results into an original work because the sheer volume of material would take lifetimes to consume. The amount of knowledge we currently have as a species is mind-numbing, Watson has data banks of 15 terabytes and that only scratches the surface.

What Watson could do (if it works as advertised) is comb through our knowledge base and look for information that correlates to a particular problem. It could then itemize the information according to relevance of the query thus giving humans a useful starting point at the genesis of their research rather than years, or worse lifetimes, into it. Watson can keep us from reinventing the wheel with the same exact problems of the last one. It can show us the best wheel in existence and then we can improve upon that design. Of course, that is my vision for this machine, maybe IBM has other plans for it.

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay

The Hunger Games: By Suzanne Collins

Recently I was listening to a Podcast, “The Slate Culture Gabfest”, when one of the critics mentioned this book series in the same breath as Harry Potter and the Philip Pullman novels. I knew that meant this book was something worth investigating but considering the fact that I have my hands more than full at present, I decided the investigation would be put on hold. However, I within a half hour I found myself at BJ’s to do our maintenance shopping and there I found “The Hunger Games” staring me right in the face. It was cheap enough for an impulse buy and it found its way into my basket.

Upon cracking the book open I was immediately put off by Collins choice of writing the book in the present tense. I have a personal disdain for the present tense in the form of the written word. Scanning the book I knew there were hundreds of pages to follow, logically, the action should be taking place in the past. I got over my initial snobbery by reminding myself of the heavy praise that interested me in the book to begin with an pressed onward.

What I found was an interesting world filled with a wonderfully rich narrative, likable characters, and foreign, yet familiar, circumstances. The story grabbed me almost instantly. I am admittedly a sucker for post apocalyptic fair, but I also enjoy a good medieval tale, I consume almost everything Roman, and love science fiction. This book manages to take some of the most interesting bits of all those tropes and wrap them into a neat and engaging package. The string on that package is our heroine.

Katniss is a strong female lead, think Buffy Sommers only more depressed, Lyra Belacqua only more experienced, or Olivia Dunham only younger. If you recognized any of those characters with fondness, I’m fairly certain this book is for you. Katniss leads the story, in fact, the entire book is spent in her present thoughts and conversation, but the supporting cast is just as engaging. Her family, friends, and fellow competitors all serve to make the world of Panem real.

On another, more troubling note, I do find this book series a bit morally disturbing. The premise of the book is fairly simple. In an effort display control over its conquered territory the Capital of Panem rounds up twenty-four eleven to eighteen year old conscripted “competitors” for a fully televised fight to the death in a Truman Show sized and styled arena. The book then goes on to describe in bloody detail the inhuman events that play out on this grotesque stage. Character deaths, be they friend or foe are felt doubly as painful because none of these gladiators would be old enough to drive a car in our world. One character’s demise was so upsetting that I briefly considered putting the book down for good.

This book is aimed at a seventh grade and up audience and is published by Scholastic, one of the most trusted names in education. I would not let my seventh grader read this book unless my wife, myself or a trusted teacher was reading with her and having serious discussions about morals, society, the importance of self governance, and the innocence of youth.

That acknowledged, I have only just finished the first book and I am more than ready to consume books two and three.


Catching Fire: by Suzanne Collins

Let me start by stating, the very second I finished this book I drove the half hour round trip to Barnes and Noble to pick up the third and final book in this series. I would have gone to Target to pick up “Mockingjay” but when I purchased “Catching Fire” there last night they did not have any copies of the final book on the shelves, I took a mental note. I thoroughly enjoyed “Catching Fire” even though it followed a similar story blueprint to its predecessor.

On the other hand even though this story put our heroes back into the Hunger Games the events in this arena are markedly different than that of the previous book. In “Catching Fire” we get to learn more about the world of Panem, including the political system, history, and inner workings of the districts. Katniss is forced to fully process the events of the arena the aftermath of what it means to be a victor.

To say that “Catching Fire” is a quick read is a significant understatement. From the minute I cracked open the book to the minute I left my house for Barnes and Noble I was loath to put the novel down. By the end of “Hunger Games” I had become so familiar and fond of even the minor characters and felt the pace of my reading shift from casually fun distraction to voracious consumer of the material.

The end of the book left me wanting significantly more, the mark of a good middle chapter. But I do worry about the way this series will wrap. The first two books were insular focused on Katniss and her struggles. As I complained in my previous post the reader is literally put in her head in the present tense. This of course was perfect when the stage was the Hunger Games, but I do not know how much I will enjoyed her narrow view of events when the entire world is the arena.


Mockingjay: by Suzanne Collins

I tried not to spoil in this post, but I do touch a few key plot points near the end of the series. If you want to remain spoiler free, don’t read this post right now, read the book and please come back.

Well, that was painful. It certainly took “The Hunger Games” to a logical and real conclusion but it was not a pleasant book to read. I was amazed with how quickly Collins could introduce a character, get me to like this character, and then kill said character off in a brutal way. If you thought the Harry Potter series got dark towards the end, “Mockingjay” made those books like like an episode of Sesame Street by comparison.

In “Mockingjay” our hero takes a horrible downward spiral due to the atrocities of war and the horrors she has inflicted on others since her inspirational actions in the 74th Hunger Games. Her support system is decimated and characters that were once strong, brave, and loving became shells of their former selves. War is hell, this book is clear on that point.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book and had fun with the second book, though it became obvious that the conclusion would not be buttercups and dandelions. When the smoke clears at the end of the final novel no one is made stronger, better, or more whole. All the characters are so tormented by what they have seen, done, and thought about doing while attempting to break the shackles of the Capitals control.

This is a realistic ending, how real people would react given the circumstances thrust upon them. However, it is not a good ending. I do not feel like I learned something, was genuinely surprised, or even got what I wanted from this book series. The characters who were mentally damaged beyond repair survived while the ones with bright futures perished. The final hundred pages of Mockingjay read more like a “Saw” film than a fantasy novel.

The truth is even the first book was a bloody mess of a story only tempered by the fact that our heroine attempted to be a moral and reasonable human being. By the time she is standing with her final arrow in hand her morality has been stripped away and she killed without feeling, simply making a cold calculation and thus determining her target. She lost my sympathies and a previously revolting scene and while some may call her final act of consequence redemption I thought it was another repulsive act from a broken weapon.

I knew all along the ending the series was headed for, but I had hoped Collins wrote herself into a corner to impress the reader by writing her way out of it. Instead she wrote herself into a corner and then lashed out like a cornered and wounded animal. Good luck to Collins and company on adapting these books into a movie series. I do not know how they can possibly do it without earning an R rating. This series screams death, violence, and sadness to change any of that would alter the very nature of the material.