Amy C. Shaw

Review: Fringe, Season One

July 28, 2013 • 16 Comments

Holy crap.

Part of me wishes I had discovered this show sooner. The other part of me is glad I’m watching it now, after having seen and enjoyed more science fiction and after all the seasons are out on DVD. But regardless, my co-worker loaned me the first season, and after it sat around our house for a while, my husband and I finally started watching it. And we quickly became hooked. The first season has some flaws, which I will get to, but it was incredibly strong overall and I have thoroughly enjoyed the creative story and the characters.

Fringe has a very fascinating story line, with most episodes based on a certain element of the “fringe” sciences, which include the likes of teleportation, pyrokinesis, hypnosis, etc. The show centers on FBI agent Olivia Dunham (played by Anna Torv), who is assigned to work with the fringe science division as more and more instances involving the fringe sciences occur in Boston, New York, and the surrounding areas. These events are a part of something referred to as “the pattern,” and the goal of the division to figure out what exactly the pattern is and who is behind it, that they might be stopped. To help her, Olivia recruits fringe scientist and genius Dr. Walter Bishop (played by John Noble), but before she can recruit him out of the mental institution where he has lived for the past 17 years, she has to first recruit his son Peter Bishop (played by Joshua Jackson). She finds Peter in Iraq, who reluctantly agrees to sign Walter out of the mental institution only after Olivia tells him she knows what the FBI has on him, and she will do something about it if he won’t help. Over time, the three truly become like a wacky, dysfunctional family that you can’t help but love.

I really like Peter especially. It’s probably because of my love for The Mighty Duck movies, but he always has an intelligent quip or sarcastic remark at hand. He’s got a little bit of a shady past, but he grows throughout the season and clearly comes to care more about his dad and the others in his life. I love especially how he is always watching out for Olivia (and I hope this will turn into something more later in the show), who probably doesn’t think she needs the help; but no matter how strong a person is, they cannot stand on their own. In a way, I think Peter and Olivia need other (at least platonically) because they both have been so independent.

Walter grows leaps and bounds in the first season. He goes from being in a mental institution, to learning how to cope with the real world, to growing more happy, but at the end of the season he comes to grips with what he did in the past and how it is affecting what is happening now, and trying to cope with that. He too cares about Olivia, and of course for Peter, even if Peter doesn’t feel that way from Walter’s long absence in his life. He’s also hilarious and is always craving some food he hasn’t had in 17+ years.Olivia is extremely serious about her job and works very hard at it, not leaving room for much else in her life. Once she did open up her heart, and it ends up burning her, and it affects her throughout the season. Yet she does seem to trust Peter and Walter, as well as fellow FBI agent Charlie. We also get to see some interaction between Olivia and her sister and niece, which shows a more familial side of her. She is exactly the kind of female character I enjoy.

All the minor characters are complex and interesting too, with the exception of one who is just so annoying it’s not even funny, but let’s just say they take care of it on the show. Several of the major and minor characters seem to operating in various shades of gray, and it will take time to see their true colors. One character that I really like but feels a little flatter than some of the others is Astrid, a junior FBI agent who’s always in the lab with Walter. Thankfully, her character is on the show for all five seasons, so I imagine she will continue to grow.

Oh yes, and there’s a cow named Gene. She’s awesome. 🙂

I don’t want to say too much more about the overall story line, because it’s so much more fun to discover it on your own. Let’s just say that just when you think the show is getting a little formulaic (still very interesting, but formulaic nonetheless), they throw you some curve balls and plot twists, and they really shake things up at the end (though sadly I kind of knew some of it was coming, partly due to listening to speculations from a podcast called The Fringe Podcast and partly due to the show being out long enough and having apparently picked up on at least a couple of spoilers accidentally). Season One is clearly just the beginning of a story that continues for four more seasons.

I do have one really big beef with season one in how one particular story arc and character arc was “resolved” and handled. I don’t want to get specific, but it starts in the pilot episode and the “resolve” happens about halfway through the first season, and it feels extremely inconsistent. I am hoping it’s not the actual end and that it will come up again, because it really did not feel right at all. With this in mind, as well as with the hope that the subsequent seasons will just get better and better, I am going to rate season one of Fringe four out of five stars.

This is an extremely strong first season for a show, and I would highly recommend it. I will warn it can be a little gory sometimes, but just look away for a little while and you’ll be fine. It’s worth it to watch this show play out. It’s intelligent, funny, and dramatic all at once.

Have you seen Fringe? What are your thoughts on it? (No spoilers please, as I have only seen season 1 and the first two episodes of season 2 thus far!)

A Book’s First Impression

July 26, 2013 • 23 Comments

When you first crack open a book, be it one you anticipated before getting a hold of it, or whether you are browsing a bookstore and curious about the tone of the book, the first line of the book is your first impression of the writing in the book. I was thinking about this as I was thinking about next week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic (Best Book Beginnings/Endings) and when I read this article about Stephen King and his opening sentences. I know the first line isn’t everything, but it helps set the stage for the rest of the book. One of the examples given in the article I found really interesting…

They threw me off the hay truck about noon.

This is from James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, which I have never read, but I find that opening line fascinating. Sounds like this character is a drifter of sorts, since he’s hitching a ride on a hay truck. But what led him there? Why did he get kicked off? Already I have questions! And that’s a good thing! Here is another beginning that certainly catches your attention with the first several lines:

First the colors. Then the humans. That’s usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try.

*** HERE IS A SMALL FACT***

You are going to die.

This is the beginning of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. You don’t know yet that the narrator is Death, but he has certainly caught your attention, you know he’s not human, and the stage is set for the tone and style that will carry on throughout the novel. And then one more I wanted to share, from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, which I have not read yet but is on the top of my TBR pile:

It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.

This too begs a question: why will someone die because it’s November 1? What happens on November 1? And of course, we also have the time of year, which is nice. I think that generally, it’s important to establish a character and a setting within the first paragraph.

As someone who does write, I do find beginnings hard sometimes, or at least a good, powerful beginning. I feel like I have improved since I’ve learned to eliminate all fluff in writing and get right to the action, the good stuff. If you ever read anything I write, chances are you won’t be waiting for something to happen in the character’s life; it will be happening quite quickly. It might not be the most earth-shattering thing ever, but it’s something important to the character. I have found that I have a low tolerance in both reading slow beginnings and writing them.

If I get bored writing a sentence, a paragraph, or a scene, I know it must be boring for the reader too. I believe that everything written should be something that either advances the plot/story forward, or that advances the character’s personal growth/character arc. That’s why it’s important to not just begin strong, but to have a strong middle and end as well. And it’s hard! But it’s important. And I think the first impression of a book says a lot to a reader who is just getting started on the adventure the writer has crafted.

What do you think? Does a book’s beginning make a difference to you? What kind of opening line grabs your attention?

Emma: An Awesome Adaptation Featuring A Love Triangle

July 24, 2013 • 18 Comments

Awesome Adaptations is hosted by Picture Me Reading, and is a focus on book-to-movie adaptations that we think are awesome!

How appropriate that the same month that A Novel Idea is hosting their Love Triangles 101 event, that this topic would come up! Instead of focusing on a modern-day story, however, I thought I ought to pay homage to The Original Queen of Love Triangles (this is not official, but I thought it sounded good) Jane Austen, and of her most convoluted triangley stories, Emma.

I have mentioned many times before how much I really love the 2009 BBC mini-series of Emma (it’s over three hours long and filled with so much goodness!). Though I have not read the book yet, every actor/actress in this adaptation just seem to hit their character so spot-on. They feel like real people and I really come to care for several of them (the ones you’re supposed to care for… Mr. Elton… not so much).

Just so you can see just how much love triangleness is going on Emma, I stole a chart from Diana Peterfreund’s website (apparently she thinks about Jane Austen’s stories even more than I do) and doctored it up with pictures:

I have to imagine if you have never seen the movie or read the book, this must be seriously hard to follow. But basically, everyone gets crushed on at some point and everyone crushes on someone at one point; sometimes it’s clear, sometimes it’s confusing, sometimes it’s a rumor, and sometimes they change their mind! It honestly feels like real life though (sometimes uncomfortably so), but it is so much more fun to watch it happen to these people in old timey England than it is for it to happen to you.

If you haven’t checked out this version of Emma and enjoyed Jane Austen’s stories, I would HIGHLY recommend it! The fact that it was able to push the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie from the top spot of my favorite Jane Austen movie adaptations is a seriously huge deal and just shows how awesome it is. (Side note: I loved the 2005 P&P so much I used one of the tracks from the movie as the song I walked down the aisle to in my wedding, so yeah, I seriously love it.)

What do you think is an awesome adaptation that features love triangles? (I’ll give you a hint, the answer isn’t Twilight.)

What I Want to See More of in YA Fiction

July 20, 2013 • 28 Comments

A variety of trends have been making the rounds in young adult fiction, some that I enjoy, some I don’t, and some I feel neutral about or that I feel I have not seen done to its full potential yet. Here are some things (some are current trends, some are not) that I would like to see more often in young adult fiction…

Slowly-Building Romances

I think Cinder, The Hunger Games, and For Darkness Shows the Stars all feature good examples of this. It isn’t insta-love, or even, “Oh hi, one day you’re my friend and the next day I might love you because you kissed me and it felt good!”, but it starts off small and builds over time, naturally.

True Dystopia

The books 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. The movies Equilibrium and V for Vendetta. Episodes of The Twilight Zone such as “The Obsolete Man” and “Number 12 Looks Just Like You.” What do they all have in common? They’re true dystopias!

I think a lot of “dystopias” in young adult fiction have an element of this, with a weird or oppressive government, but a lot of times the danger doesn’t feel all that real, especially if it only takes a couple of kids to overthrow the government. Or if the whole plot of the book is conveniently about how oppressive the government is when it comes to marrying who you want, and then you proceed to fall in love with someone that you’re not supposed to. I feel you and all but please… there are bigger problems in this world. I want to see more daring, more dangerous dystopias.

More Science Fiction Elements

More genetic engineering, more clones, more space! I’m a developing geek, so I want more science fictiony things that aren’t quite the full-blown deal. However, I’m picky about it being so light it seems pointless. For Darkness Shows the Stars, for instance, handled it fantastically.

Unique Story Ideas

What do these two have in common? Nothing really, except they both have my love for their unique stories, one as a book and the other as a movie. Since we’re talking YA fiction though, I’ll focus on The Book Thief. It’s a WWII story, not uncommon in of itself. But the narrator is Death, which sets the entire tone for how we see the story of a little girl named Liesel who steals books. Her story may not be entirely unique in all that she experiences during war, but the point of view we are given of her story is. And I love that I have never read a book like it before or since.

Retellings

Does this sound like a contradiction to my previous point? Yes. Do I care? No. While I love a super unique story, I also love seeing new spins on old tales. My two favorite retellings that I have read this year are For Darkness Shows the Stars, based on Persuasion but is set in a future world where genetic engineering has gone wrong, and Cinder, a retelling of Cinderella where our MC is a cyborg and has bigger problems than missing her glass slipper! It’s fun to see an updated or futuristic twist on a familiar story, because it feels familiar and new all at once – the best of both worlds!

Bromance

So many young adult books focus on a girl, and the guys in her life are typically feuding suitors. Why can’t the guys be friends? Why isn’t there more focus on them? Does everything have to be about romance? How about some bromance?!

Stand-Alone Books

Series have their place, and I certainly appreciate the arcs they can provide, but it’s nice to get the entire story in one book every so often. The Book Thief is the only YA fiction book I have read this year that was a stand-alone, but The Scorpio Races and a few others are on my TBR!

What do you want to see more of in young adult fiction?

Review: Monsters University

July 18, 2013 • 8 Comments

I’ve been a little upset with Pixar lately, between their run of sequels and the strange movie Brave, and have been impressed while their competition Dreamworks really stepped up their game with How To Train Your Dragon. Well, I finally saw Monsters University over the weekend, and while a prequel, it finally felt like a step in the right direction – back to Pixar’s glory days.

I plan to keep this review short. The movie is a prequel to my personal favorite Pixar movie, Monsters, Inc., which I loved so much because of its unique story and fun characters. So for me, the idea of giving this movie its own prequel could either be a total disaster or a fun ride, and thankfully it was the latter! As usual, Pixar paid close attention to every detail, and you can see it in every scene of the movie. The various monster characters are all one of a kind, each complete with their own personality. And not only did we get to see how much Mike and Sully did not get along when they first met, but we also learn that Randall was actually a nice guy at one time! Before ~~Nathan Fillion~~ Johnny Worthington’s fraternity Roar Omega Roar got the better of him.

I also loved the messages in the movie. Mike works extremely hard to be the best scarer ever, as it’s all he’s wanted since he was a little monster. But he learns that he’s actually not all that scary. However, that doesn’t mean he’s worthless. He’s great at training others how to scare, and is hard worker, and these things will help him in his future career. But of course, while in the middle of everything he is going through, it’s hard for him to see.

Working hard pays off, and so does pursuing your dream, but sadly, we all cannot do exactly as we dream to do, but we can do something else, something we may realize is even better for us.

I give Monsters University four stars for delivering a fun time, a good message, great characters new and old, and for not ruining Monsters, Inc. It’s not quite among my elite favorites, but I’ll definitely be adding the movie to my Pixar film collection.

Have you seen Monsters University? What were your thoughts? And what’s your favorite Pixar film?

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