 The recent debut of J.J. Abrams' "Fringe" on FOX had me very much entertained. It's not as immediately enthralling as "Lost" (also created by Abrams) and not yet as spell-binding as its closest inspiration, "The X-Files" (but it's not been on long yet, give it time). "Fringe" is a very strong show with puzzling mysteries to be unfurled by the leading trio.
Newcomer Anna Torv plays an FBI agent who is coerced into working with a special department where she must investigate various unexplained phenomena each week. We are told that they are all linked in something known as "The Pattern" (that all-encompassing plot device that makes even the weirdest things share equal weight). A scientist driven to the brink of the crazy pit has also been brought into service for the team. Played by John Noble, he has a crazed genius brain and a childlike curiosity of the world around him as if his rediscovery is for the first time. His son, played by the original Mighty Duck from "Dawson's Creek" himself, Joshua Jackson, is the third component in the trio. His love towards his father over the years had greatly diminished, but now that they are forced to work together his attitude may slowly change and more of their history will be revealed.
There's the shady government superior (Lance Reddick) and the shady corporate honcho (Blair Brown) and the shady spooks that surround them all. After watching the pilot episode, where Torv is stipped down and placed into an isolation tank with an IV tube of LSD pumped directly into her noggin to communicate with a comatose victim, you'd think the show might immediately "jump the shark" (a.k.a. "take off into unbelievability"). That is not the case. The show is well-crafted with a strong premise and atmosphere, as well as additional details like the interstitial bumper cards between commercial breaks (look inside the apple's core) and the 3-D titles interestingly placed amonst the action at each location.
"Fringe" has been heavily hyped all summer and debuted ahead of most other programming for the most possible attention. It airs on Tuesday at 8pm central time. Currently following the FOX hit "House" and in the new year will follow the gargantuan "American Idol" (unless it gets moved to a different night, but FOX will make sure viewers find it). If you've missed receiving your dose of new "X-Files" mystery/thriller/intrigue each week, then "Fringe" will be that show to take its place.
 One of tv's riskiest shows. No holds barred. No fear. Anything goes. Terrific.
I first noticed "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" when it debuted on the FX network back in the summer of 2005 alongside another sitcom called "Starved". This was an attempt by FX at establishing a comedy block of original programming. However, "Starved" was never fed enough audience and "Sunny" is now set to begin airing their fourth season. Although slow to develop it's audience, it soon became a certified hit.
Similar to "Seinfeld" in the sense that the characters find themselves involved in the most ridiculously improbable situations with some of the wackiest people. They also have no reservations about being hateful or selfish to strangers (or to one another) to get ahead and they never ever learn their lessons. A sample of subjects in the various episodes include gun control, handicaps, molestation, drug addiction, and finding a dumpster baby. It may not sound joyous, but somehow it is.
Set at their bar called "Paddy's Pub" in the title city, the show was created by it's three leading male protagonists (Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney), with classic performances by one of the funniest/sexiest ladies in sitcoms today (Kaitlin Olson) and a bonafide tv great (Danny DeVito, who joined in the second season). I got to personally act on-stage with Charlie back in '99 and I'm very proud of his accomplishments here. His character in particular is an illiterate, manic wildman who utters the following line after unsuccessfully getting a smart-mouthed kid to quiet down: "I will pound your face... into a jelly".
This show is an original, love it or hate it creation. The college crowd had found it during the summer and the cult audience has grown since it's move to the fall and with the dvd release of seasons one and two last year. Season three is set for release on Sept 9th and it has been reported that FX has ordered 39 additional episodes of the series, on top of the 13 being developed for Season 4 (This according to the page's wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_Always_Sunny_in_Philadelphia). See episodes now on Hulu.com and other online video sharing sites.
Too bold for some, just right for others. These characters live every week like it's shark week. In this time of expensive gasoline and high airfare rates, all it takes is your tv screen to take you on a rude, crude trip to sunny Philadelphia.
 Why read this? Well, the show may have ended long ago (the early 90's, oooohhh), but it's five seasons still stand as some of the best television around. The series is episodic and for the most part you don't have to see more than one episode at a time to be connected to another (though the teasers at the end of each connect you to the next one sequentially). It's probably the greatest anthology series carried through by only two characters, neither of which are a host.
What if Sam Beckett had not stepped into the quantum accellerator and vanished, awaking to find himself facing mirror images that were not his own, leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping that each leap will be the leap home? Well, then ya wouldn't learn nuthin' wouldya?
Whether it was in the 50's or the 80's, as a man or a woman (yes, he even leaped into a pregnant woman once), Sam was given the challenge, unwanted though it may have been, to upright the crooked nature of a life somehow gone awry. With his brain "swiss-cheesed" at each leap, he must piece together his new situation quickly and adjust before trouble strikes. He's basically the unknown angel, aided with friendship and vital information from the future by his "spiritual guide" Al.
Each episode features a real human problem that can usually be solved and have the future be altered for the better. Humanity is in the people all around us, but also in the eyes that gaze right back through our reflections. The phrase "walk a mile in another's shoes" is all the more real here. By stepping into the shoes of another (and living within their physical being as well), Sam has undertaken what we all cannot truly do: live life as someone else for a short time, learning and giving through that experience. I'm all for a good hero with the power to make an impact in the lives of others, and in his journey though time, Sam Beckett becomes the truest form of hero.
If you've never seen this show, or have never sat and given it your full attention, then may you leap at your next chance to do so.
 Alright, so I'm late to the party. This show debuted in 1999 and ended with only one season airing on NBC. I was in college and just missed it. It aired on Saturday nights so I'm sure you missed it too. The question is: Have you seen it in the years since then?
My roommate and I recently fell for its "Wonder Years" of the 80's charms. Set in 1980 with a clear 1970's hangover, it features an assortment of characters that fall (for the most part) into the category of either "freaks" or "geeks". I'm sure you're not surprised. If you are like me, too young to have gone to high school at that time, you'll most certainly recognize how much simpler alot of things were (and how much has just never changed).
Most of the performers on this show have gone on to other work and varied degrees of success (James Franco, Linda Cardellini, and Seth Rogen most of all). The series was created by Paul Feig (who's book "Superstud Or How I Became a 24-Year-Old Virgin" is laugh out loud good and one of my favorite books). The main producer of the show is a man you may have heard a little about over the past year or two: Judd Apatow (KNOCKED UP, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, SUPERBAD). The cast is excellent and the writing is tops. Joe Flaherty (known mostly from "SCTV") steals his scenes as the father of siblings, one freak and one geek. Plus, you'll not find a Bionic Woman Halloween costume this funny anywhere else.
This show has been on dvd awhile, but I do not have NetFlix (I know, right?) so its revelations to me have been a long time coming. Regardless, it's never too late to find something that deserves merit and should be shared with others. A new "Yearbook Edition" will hit store shelves in October. This is similar to a previous online-only edition that includes two discs not released with the previous store version. It has been out of print for a few years now and this new release will remedy that with new fans.
With the Apatow machine running at high gear (including this week's big-screen release of PINEAPPLE EXPRESS starring Franco and Rogen), it seems as good a time as any to journey back to high school and sit at our respective tables.
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