Phx-Suns.Net

Fringe was the closest thing to X-Files for me and I enjoyed it dearly from start to finish.

Ghost wrote:I was recently rewatching Alias, and I had forgotten how great that show started. I still haven't made it through the full series, because the last season just loses so much steam...but that was a really awesome show. If the X-files reboot can find that level of balance between monster of the week and story arc, I would change my tune. But, part of the beauty of X-files was that there would be episodes with only the subtlest hint of a clue towards the overall story, or even side stories (for example, Scully learning she has cancer). Generally, I prefer the stronger central plot, but when they have time to explore like in X-files, it can really work...but not in a miniseries, I think.

You got me to start watching Alias. I binge watched the first 3 seasons. It was so much fun. The last 30 seconds of the penultimate season finale was wonderful. Nothing else in that episode was good, and not much after, though.

Yes, those 30 seconds were amazing. I am sad to say that the final season never delivered. In fact, I think it regressed quite a bit...but I guess not every show can end like Breaking Bad.

Superbone wrote:Fringe was the closest thing to X-Files for me and I enjoyed it dearly from start to finish.

I LOVED Fringe. I also don't buy into the X-Files comparisons. Yeah, it started that way, but it didn't take long for the show to make its own case as a legit sci-fi franchise. In many ways, I even liked it more (pacing, plot continuity, and such). The final season was weird, but whatever, they knew it was over and just shouted "YOLO BITCHES!" and I actually respect that. I actually would love to see a spinoff show of Fringe in a few years. There's eternal potential for it, as long as its done right. Not the silly last season (which, apparently, never happened) but the universes colliding part. Just don't ever DREAM of replacing Walter.

Not that this will ever happen.

Does anyone here watch Continuum?

By the way, I should add that I fully enjoyed the final season of Fringe. It was a cop-out, but it still worked, and it did enough to wrap things up that I was happy.

Ghost wrote:I LOVED Fringe. I also don't buy into the X-Files comparisons. Yeah, it started that way, but it didn't take long for the show to make its own case as a legit sci-fi franchise. In many ways, I even liked it more (pacing, plot continuity, and such). The final season was weird, but whatever, they knew it was over and just shouted "YOLO BITCHES!" and I actually respect that. I actually would love to see a spinoff show of Fringe in a few years. There's eternal potential for it, as long as its done right. Not the silly last season (which, apparently, never happened) but the universes colliding part. Just don't ever DREAM of replacing Walter.

The comparison I was making was the fact that they had monster episodes interspersed with the story arc episodes. That's it. I dug the final season. I really liked the way they dared to go into the future to end the story like nobody had really done before.

Season 2 premiere of Fringe sets it in the X-Universe.



The great thing about Season 5 is that it changes the entire context of the earlier series.

ZFT and Bell were fighting the Observers the whole time. The manifesto about an alternate universe with more advanced tech then our own was their world, not the regular alt-verse. In S1 when Olivia stops the mole-agent guy, he says she ruined their only shot, and says do you even know who the enemy is, do you even know who you're fighting? Early in Season 2 a crazy general has the Observers under investigation and is turning people into human bombs to try to stop them, and is right about them. Even the crazy guy in S1 that thinks he is Spock describes the Observer's plan to a T. The Observers are the ones that made Peter disappear at the end of S3 by not saving him, it wasn't the machine that made him disappear. September describes them as a "possible future of humanity, one of several." The time loop at the end isn't quite what it seems; by Walter going into the future of *their* (the observer's) universe, the boy (a more advanced life form then the observers) stops their race from ever being developed, therefore they never cross into ours. They are crossing both universes and time traveling. This also means Walter can return after he insure's the boy's arrival and proper outcome. Everything william bell and david robert jones did to activate and power up olivia was to train her for everything she had to do at the end of S5 to stop the Observers, not to mention how many former fringe cases were used against the observers. That was all ZFT and Massive Dynamic tech and former experiments of walters. The whole show was getting them ready to break out of the time loop and fix the universe. Bell said near the end of season 2, that he has watched history repeat itself endlessly, or something along those lines. i know all my quotes are off, but you get the idea. great, great show, that definitely used the XF format, but perfected the outline.

Ghost wrote:Yes, those 30 seconds were amazing. I am sad to say that the final season never delivered. In fact, I think it regressed quite a bit...but I guess not every show can end like Breaking Bad.

I'm not sure any show has. Of the greatest shows I have ever seen, I can't think of a single multi-season one that stuck the landing very well, much less was damn near perfect.

Lost blew it. The Wire kind of fizzled out the last year.

Indy wrote:

Ghost wrote:Yes, those 30 seconds were amazing. I am sad to say that the final season never delivered. In fact, I think it regressed quite a bit...but I guess not every show can end like Breaking Bad.

I'm not sure any show has. Of the greatest shows I have ever seen, I can't think of a single multi-season one that stuck the landing very well, much less was damn near perfect.

Lost blew it. The Wire kind of fizzled out the last year.

The Wire fizzled, but the finale was still pretty awesome. They just should have done that episode one year sooner. It is one of the best series finales of all time. And it wasn't wildly dramatic or anything like that...it just worked. That season was disappointing compared to the others, but it was still pretty solid compared to TV in general. Lost...I'm one of few people who didn't hate the Lost finale. The fact is that there was absolutely no way they could tie everything up. So, they pulled a cop out move and you know what? I was fine with it. But, that said, I doubt I will ever watch the show again, and it's because I know that the payoff at the end is not there.

BB was special because there was not a single episode that really detracted from the show. The best episode, in my mind, was still not the TRUE finale, but I count it as part of it, To'hajilee. This is one of very, very few shows where I know an episode by name. I recently re-watched the whole series, and it was an epic binge watch even on my FOURTH TIME through some of those seasons. But it's just so good. I want to watch it again already. Hell, I watched all of Season 5 (the first part, before they split it into what was really a 6th season) in a single, long night. The only other show I have seen that I can watch over and over like this is Arrested Development, and that's in an entirely different category.

I'm stuck on the dumb fly episode of Breaking Bad. I need to finish it up.

Indy wrote:

Ghost wrote:Yes, those 30 seconds were amazing. I am sad to say that the final season never delivered. In fact, I think it regressed quite a bit...but I guess not every show can end like Breaking Bad.

I'm not sure any show has. Of the greatest shows I have ever seen, I can't think of a single multi-season one that stuck the landing very well, much less was damn near perfect.

Lost blew it. The Wire kind of fizzled out the last year.

Strongly disagree about The Wire. Six Feet Under nailed its landing. I actually judge all finales by that standard. We will see how Mad Men does soon. Parenthood just had a killer final season and finale after having a terrible season last year.

Ghost wrote:

Indy wrote:

Ghost wrote:Yes, those 30 seconds were amazing. I am sad to say that the final season never delivered. In fact, I think it regressed quite a bit...but I guess not every show can end like Breaking Bad.

I'm not sure any show has. Of the greatest shows I have ever seen, I can't think of a single multi-season one that stuck the landing very well, much less was damn near perfect.

Lost blew it. The Wire kind of fizzled out the last year.

The Wire fizzled, but the finale was still pretty awesome. They just should have done that episode one year sooner. It is one of the best series finales of all time. And it wasn't wildly dramatic or anything like that...it just worked. That season was disappointing compared to the others, but it was still pretty solid compared to TV in general. Lost...I'm one of few people who didn't hate the Lost finale. The fact is that there was absolutely no way they could tie everything up. So, they pulled a cop out move and you know what? I was fine with it. But, that said, I doubt I will ever watch the show again, and it's because I know that the payoff at the end is not there.

BB was special because there was not a single episode that really detracted from the show. The best episode, in my mind, was still not the TRUE finale, but I count it as part of it, To'hajilee. This is one of very, very few shows where I know an episode by name. I recently re-watched the whole series, and it was an epic binge watch even on my FOURTH TIME through some of those seasons. But it's just so good. I want to watch it again already. Hell, I watched all of Season 5 (the first part, before they split it into what was really a 6th season) in a single, long night. The only other show I have seen that I can watch over and over like this is Arrested Development, and that's in an entirely different category.

I don't think The Wire's finale was that great. It was fine. I agree that it should have happened a year sooner, and I think that would have been perfect. It is still my favorite show of all time. Well, that, Arrested Development, and BB.

As for Lost, I am in the same boat with that as The Wire. It went a year too long. I actually rewatched that a couple years ago. Up until that last season, it was outstanding. I really wish writers/creators could withstand the nearly overwhelming desire to cash in and tell more of a story than there really is...

carey wrote:

Indy wrote:

Ghost wrote:Yes, those 30 seconds were amazing. I am sad to say that the final season never delivered. In fact, I think it regressed quite a bit...but I guess not every show can end like Breaking Bad.

I'm not sure any show has. Of the greatest shows I have ever seen, I can't think of a single multi-season one that stuck the landing very well, much less was damn near perfect.

Lost blew it. The Wire kind of fizzled out the last year.

Strongly disagree about The Wire. Six Feet Under nailed its landing. I actually judge all finales by that standard. We will see how Mad Men does soon. Parenthood just had a killer final season and finale after having a terrible season last year.

I think Six Feet Under was a great show. I watched all of it and really enjoyed it. But it is another show that went on too long. I would say the finale was better than most, but it was pretty cliche.

Dan H wrote:I'm stuck on the dumb fly episode of Breaking Bad. I need to finish it up.

Interesting. Did you watch it when it was on, or wait until it was all over before starting?

Dan H wrote:I'm stuck on the dumb fly episode of Breaking Bad. I need to finish it up.

That episode reminded me of the old Pink Panther cartoons.

I'd add in Battlestar Galactica with these groups of shows as one of my all-time favorites.

Indy wrote:

Ghost wrote:Yes, those 30 seconds were amazing. I am sad to say that the final season never delivered. In fact, I think it regressed quite a bit...but I guess not every show can end like Breaking Bad.

I'm not sure any show has. Of the greatest shows I have ever seen, I can't think of a single multi-season one that stuck the landing very well, much less was damn near perfect.

Lost blew it. The Wire kind of fizzled out the last year.

"The Shield" had the best series finale I've ever seen. Could not have ended in a more perfect way.

Shabazz wrote:

Indy wrote:

Ghost wrote:Yes, those 30 seconds were amazing. I am sad to say that the final season never delivered. In fact, I think it regressed quite a bit...but I guess not every show can end like Breaking Bad.

I'm not sure any show has. Of the greatest shows I have ever seen, I can't think of a single multi-season one that stuck the landing very well, much less was damn near perfect.

Lost blew it. The Wire kind of fizzled out the last year.

"The Shield" had the best series finale I've ever seen. Could not have ended in a more perfect way.

That's a show that I never watched, but always heard great things. But I thought I read something that said it got really off-track in later seasons (being incredulous at times). No?

Superbone wrote:I'd add in Battlestar Galactica with these groups of shows as one of my all-time favorites.

I agree that it was pretty darn good. I thought the ending was nicely done.

Indy wrote:

Shabazz wrote:

Indy wrote:

Ghost wrote:Yes, those 30 seconds were amazing. I am sad to say that the final season never delivered. In fact, I think it regressed quite a bit...but I guess not every show can end like Breaking Bad.

I'm not sure any show has. Of the greatest shows I have ever seen, I can't think of a single multi-season one that stuck the landing very well, much less was damn near perfect.

Lost blew it. The Wire kind of fizzled out the last year.

"The Shield" had the best series finale I've ever seen. Could not have ended in a more perfect way.

That's a show that I never watched, but always heard great things. But I thought I read something that said it got really off-track in later seasons (being incredulous at times). No?

No. All time great show. Had some seasons/arcs that didn't work as well as others, but all in all up there with Breaking Bad for me (lower, but up there).