• Jennie Garth (Kelly, Beverly Hills 90210) and husband Peter Facinelli are on the cover of PEOPLE’s special holiday extra edition. PEOPLE.com has a video from the photo shoot.
• Tori Spelling (Donna, Beverly Hills 90210) and mom Candy Spelling have reportedly reconciled.
• Luke Perry (Dylan, Beverly Hills 90210) is featured in a new video for The Killers. Interestingly enough (but I’m sure not purposefully), it somewhat echoes the season 5 episode where Dylan revisits his past lives.
• Perry, Jason Priestley (Brandon, Beverly Hills 90210), Chace Crawford (Nate, Gossip Girl), Chad Michael Murray (Lucas, One Tree Hill), Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek) and Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.) made AOL’s list of the Top 50 Teen Idols. Perry ranks the best at number 7, while CMM is at 13, Crawford came in at 17 with Priestley right after at 18 and Jackson sits at number 20 while McKenzie is at 31. Also on the list is John Schneider who recently played Liam’s step-dad on 90210.
• Ryan Eggold (Ryan, 90210) is included in PEOPLE.com’s Sexy at Every Age photo gallery.
• AnnaLynne McCord (Naomi, 90210) was on The Tonight Show last week and Jessica Stroup (Silver, 90210) was on Rachael Ray.
• Greg Vaughan (Cliff, Beverly Hills 90210) tweeted that he’s filmed 3 episodes for his appearance on the new 90210.
• If you missed Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) on SNL last week, here are some of the promos and recaps: EW.com, EW.com again and Zap2it.
• Zap2it has a photo gallery called “The Quotable Blair Waldorf,” which feature quotes and photos from season 3.
• OTHPodcast.com has been revamped.
• There’s photos on Facebook of James Laffety (Nathan, One Tree Hill) and Robert Buckley (Clay, One Tree Hill) in character for The Legend of Hell’s Gate: An Ameican Conspiracy.
• If you live near New York City, Kate Voegele (Mia, One Tree Hill) will be at the lighting of the NYSE Christmas tree this Thursday.

Stanotte ho finito di guardare la prima stagione di Fringe. Ho i miei tempi, ma pian piano recupero un po’ tutto!
Avevo iniziato con molto timore visto che l’altra nota creatura di J.J. Abrams, Lost, a metà di quest’anno mi  aveva prosciugato per 13 giorni, durante i quali ho visto per la prima volta le cinque stagioni andate in onda finora.
Fortunatamente i ritmi con Fringe sono stati molto più rilassati. Per quanto bello, è stato di grande aiuto per sconfiggere la mia insonnia cronica!
Visto che però non ho molta passione per “recensioni” e quant’altro, specie se si tratta di telefilm, mi limito a commentare brevemente i personaggi che mi sono piaciuti di più e buonanotte.

Lo so, scelta ovvia. Ma la coppia padre/figlio più improbabile che ci sia è impossibile da non adorare. Walter ha sempre uscite a cavallo tra l’imbarazzante e il geniale, Peter è quello che cerca di tenere entrambi coi piedi per terra. Non riesco a trovare altri aggettivi per loro se non “adorabili“, c’è poco da fare.

Peter: “Walter, what are you doing?”
Walter: “I’m dosing a caterpillar.”
Peter: “Dosing? As in LSD?”
Walter: “It’s a special blend.”
Peter: “I see. Hey, guess what just happened? Finding out that my father gives drugs to bugs, somehow just became a typical moment in my life!”
Walter: “Wonderful, isn’t it?”

Menzione speciale anche per Gene la mucca, ormai di famiglia. E credo meriti di essere ricordato anche un altro personaggio secondario, partito in sordina ma entrato poi ufficialmente nel mio cuoricino..
Il buon vecchio Charlie Francis, con quella voce in grado scartavetrarvi fino alle ossa. All’inizio lo credevo un agente ottuso, in seguito si è rivelato esser ben diverso ed è pure riuscito a farmi frignare nella puntatachebensapeteseaveteguardatoFringe mentre in caso contrario non dico nulla per evitare spoiler. Pollici altissimi per lui, in sostanza.

Olivia: “He used me, Charlie. And he told me he loved me.”
Charlie: “I wasn’t gonna tell you this.. but he said he loved me too.”

Visto che ormai l’ho nominata, diamo due secondi di gloria anche alla protagonista, Olivia. Per buona parte della stagione non l’ho potuta soffrire, una pigna in culo caratterizzata sempre dalla stessa espressione sofferente. Poi però si è ripresa, forse complice l’arrivo della nipotina che l’ha resa leggermente più umana e tollerabile. La tengo d’occhio.

Bene. Ora direi che è tempo di mettersi alla pari con la seconda stagione e starsene un po’ zitte, che è meglio! (cit)

FLICKERS: Ridiculously rich Mamma Mia film producer Judy Craymer is hoping to persuade Benny Andersson and his musical sidekick Bjorn

SEYFRIED & STREEP: bella Donnas?

Ulvaeus to lend their irresistible ABBA tunes to a prequel, with a brand new young cast. Will Amanda Seyfried get to play the young Meryl Streep, who played her mother Donna in MM? Stay tuned … Deidre Kelly’s new book, Paris Times Eight, already sounds like a movie. Kelly first arrived in Paris, the city of her dreams, “as a starry-eyed ingénue.” In some of her subsequent visits she returns as a budding writer who interviews Rudolf Nureyev and crashes an

KELLY: Paris, je t'aime (photo: Bryan L. Davies)

exclusive fashion show, and as an emotional daughter who takes her mother to Paris to meet her “other mother;” until finally she returns to Paris as a mother herself. Sounds like a least three great roles for women, n’est-ce pas? … and yes, it’s true, shooting is already underway in Shanghai for the Chinese version of Disney’s megahit High School Musical. How did Disney get the green light from China? Well, for one thing, the Chinese version is set at a university, “since Chinese high school students are so focused on academics that they would not have time to devote to singing and dancing.” Okay, got it.

QUOTABLE QUOTES: “I’ve no interest in playing oldies anymore. No, no, no. Far more fitting for the next stage in my career to play a slut.”

DENCH: Nothing like a Dame.

The speaker? Dame Judi Dench, now 74 but never at a loss for words. Currently starring in the about-to-be blockbuster movie musical Nine, Dame Judi’s next gig will bring her back to the boards, as Titania, the queen of the fairies in a new Midsummer Night’s Dream in Kingston, England. She first performed the role of Titania as a schoolgirl some 56 years ago, and is thrilled to be able to take another crack at it. “Of course,” she adds, “one is lucky to be acting at all. I’m happy when I have a job – any job. One is always afraid of having no work.”

Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein said it best. There really is nothing like a Dame.

21 AGAIN: It came and went 10 days ago, November 21 2009 was not just another Saturday night for Veronica Tennant. The prima ballerina who reinvented herself as a prima television producer was in three different cities that

TENNANT: November is the Coolest month

night. She was in Toronto attending the National Ballet of Canada’s performance of The Sleeping Beauty — the ballet she premiered more than 35 (!!!) years ago with Rudolf Nureyev as her prince — in tribute to Canada’s National Ballet School’s 50th Anniversary Assemble Internationale. But she was also in Edmonton, on film, as Honourary Chair of the Shumka Ballet, welcoming guests to Shumka’s Red Boots, Ballet and Bubbly Gala. And she was also in Cuba, where her much-lauded dance film, Vida y Danza, Cuba, was being screened at the 18th Anniversary celebration of Lizt Alfonso’s Dance Cuba.

JACKSON: new role

“November 21 has always been a significant day for me,” admits Tennant with a shy smile. I’ll say! Her Gala farewell performance with the National Ballet of Canada, A Passion for Dance: Celebrating the Tennant Magic, took place on November 21, 1989. And ten years later, to the day, she won her first International Emmy award as a television producer, for Karen Kain; Dancing in the Moment, on November 21, 1999.

Safety in numbers, you say? Sounds more like magic to me.

NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE: Slaight Communications chief Gary Slaight will be lauded for his longstanding commitment to charitable initiatives

GABEREAU: hosting for Mercer

as the recipient of the Humanitarian Spirit Award. at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards on March 11 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, during Canadian Music Week … rising marquee bait Joshua Jackson has won the lead in a feature adaptation of British TV series UFO … Robin Mirsky, executive director of Rogers Group of Funds, has succeeded CFTPA prez Norm Bolen as co-chair of Hot Docs board of directors with Michael McMahon. New board members include marketing maven Robert Pattillo, Cobalt Pharmaceuticals chairman Neil Tabatznik and filmmakers Lalita Krishna, Julia Ivanova and Danijel Margetic … and Vicki Gabereau will host when Rick Mercer entertains the multitudes in Vancouver at a gala fund-raising evening June 10 for the Kay Meek Centre.

Special P.S. to Rick Mercer Report aficionados: Mercer’s final 2009 outing airs tonight at 8 pm on CBC-TV.

TOMORROW:

Roger gets ready for Toronto, and

Liz gives some advice to some dazzling Glamour girls.

TOGETHER AGAIN: Savvy screen-stealers Colm Feore and Anthony Hopkins, who last worked together on screen in Julie Taymor’s flawed but

HUARD & FEORE: Bon Cop, Bad Cop

fascinating take on Titus Andronicus, have teamed up again for director Kenneth Branagh’s production of Thor, which will bring the Marvel comic book hero to life and, no doubt, box office glory. Before winging to the movie set, Feore received a rollicking reception last week at the Ursula Franklin Academy when hundreds of high school students gathered to watch him cavort with Patrick Huard in Bon Cop,

HOPKINS: reunion for Thor

Bad Cop. And he wasn’t the only one winning cheers. Director Bruce MacDonald and leading lady Lisa Houle were in another gathering, taking questions after the screening of MacDonald’s latest opus Pontypool. And filmmaker Michael McGowan (St. Ralph) was in another assembly room, taking questions after the screening of his Joshua Jackson odyssey One Week. Making all three events happen, and simultaneously at that, was Reel Canada, a remarkable organization now in its fifth year of introducing young people to Canadian film achievements by bringing the films and the filmmakers to the classroom. Now that’s show business.

QUOTABLE QUOTES: “I loved genius in my lifetime. God was so good to me. I will love Michael forever and so will you, if you don’t already. God kissed

JACKSON: genius?

him. There will never, ever be the likes of him again.” The speaker? Dame Elizabeth Taylor, tweeting about the Michael Jackson concert film This Is It. Sez Liz: “You owe it to yourselves and your loved ones to see this again and again. Memorize it and say to yourselves, ‘I saw genius in my lifetime.’ I truly believe this film should be nominated in every category conceivable.” Yup, she likes it. She really likes it.

HOPE LIVE: Newfoundland news junkies Rick Mercer and Seamus O’Regan are headlining tonight’s Hope Live black-tie charity gala in Ottawa in

O'REGAN: in Ottawa tonight

support of Fertile Future, which helps young women and men who have had   cancer can find ways to have their own children. Among the perennial Mercer targets and political playmates expected to attend: Peter MacKay, Jason Kenney, Helena Guergis, Maxime Bernier and Scott Brison. Incidentally, Mercer was one of four sparklies honoured by the University of Ottawa last week at an AGO dinner in Toronto, picking up a Distinguished Canadian Leadership Award with high-note master Michael Burgess and high-flying astronaut Julie Payette. (CTV National Affairs

MERCER: with his Montreal posse

correspondent Lisa LaFlamme picked up U of O’s special Alumni Achievement award at the same bash.) Now on his Christmas break, Mercer resumes SRO tapings of his top-rated Rick Mercer Report in January, but wait ‘til you see him crash (you should pardon the expression) a women’s roller derby competition (ouch!) in Montreal (!!) tomorrow night at 8 pm on CBC Television.

FOOTLIGHTS: How much does New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley love Fela!, the new musical that opened last Monday night on Broadway? “There should be dancing in the streets,” sez Brantley — and that was merely the first

THE MADONNA PAINTER: rave reviews

line of his ecstatic rave review. According to Brantley — no easy sell — there’s never been anything like it on Broadway. Which should bode well for producers Will & Jade Pinkett Smith and their comrade in showbiz arms Jay-Z … Risking The Void, the touring art exhibit showcasing the work of Canadian stage designer Cameron Porteous, is set for a 10-week run Jan 20-April 4 in Guelph, Ontario at the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre … and Factory Theatre has done it again. Good news is, Linda Gaboriau’s new translation of Michel Marc Bouchard’s The Madonna Painter opened to rave reviews from the Toronto Star, the Globe & Mail and Now magazine – how’s that for a range of opinions? Bad news is, the show must close in two weeks.  To secure your tickets now, click here!

TOMORROW:

Mamma Mia! Here we go again!

My, my, how can we resist you?

Ombre dal passato è un remake del 2008 del film del 2004 tailandese con lo stesso nome. Il remake è stato diretto da Masayuki Ochiai, ed è stato rilasciato il 21 marzo 2008.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Masayuki Ochiai | Joshua Jackson | Rachael Taylor | Megumi Okina

Kevin Williamson created this engaging drama, which chronicles a group of young friends’ passage from adolescence to young adulthood in the small coastal town of Capeside, Massachusetts. based on Williamson’s own experiences growing up, “Dawson’s Creek” focuses on fifteen-year-olds Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and Joey (Katie Holmes), who have been friends since they were five and are trying to cope with the way their relationship is changing now that their hormones are raging. Add to the mix their friend Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and the new girl in town, Jen (Michelle Williams) and you can count on extra twists to their drama in their already turbulent lives.

Episode 01: Pilot
It is a shame this show came much too early in my life. Or I was just born way too late for it. While Dawson’s Creek took a tiny small place in my life, when I went to high school, I never saw the first season until I bought the DVD collection. And it is time for a rewatch and a few flashbacks of earlier moments of my life.
The pilot was good, though James Van Der Beek overacted a bit in his own show (especially when Dawson surprised his parents while making out) and it is a bit unbelievable that the teens (who are not even 16 years old in here) already have such big minds (especially Pacey, who says to Tamara [Leann Hunley] that he was the best sex she never had). This was one of the biggest problems I had with this show during the first four seasons, though I pretty much got into it very fast and wasn’t confused anymore with the start of the second season.
Other than that: It is really authentic. And even with the age the show already has, it is still realistic enough to be the love guide for every upcoming teenager in a small town somewhere on the east side of America. Van Der Beek overacted a bit and Dawson’s Spielberg obsession already sucks balls, Joshua Jackson was good, as well as Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams. The rest of the cast didn’t really have much screentime, and they are the adult ones in here, so they have to develop during the next couple of episodes.
The stories for the pilot were alright. Joey says that puberty hits, and they aren’t kids anymore, love comes into play, together with the talent of flirtation and all the rest. And of course Pacey had to kiss a MILF in the pilot, even the truly authentic teen series needs a bit of sex in the story – even though we didn’t see anything, and nothing happened. 7,5/10

Episode 02: Dance
Another good episode, and this time it is working better than the pilot. The “a little bit too much” from the pilot loosened up a bit in the second episode and made much more fun. Though some moments were really stereotype.
So, Dawson’s lands in film class due to a backdoor, while he is trying to get into the neighbor girl’s pants without screwing with her. The story couldn’t be more stereotype, but at least James Van Der Beek wasn’t overacting here and Michelle Williams was a really sweet girl with the feeling of her character. Also, Katie Holmes managed to get her role into realism, switching perfectly between having a secret involving Dawson’s mother Gail (Mary-Margaret Humes) and not showing her true feelings to Dawson, because she said herself, everything is changing for all of them. Or being honest to each other about their feelings. For that, Dawson’s “trouble” with Jen and her being “stolen” by Cliff (Scott Foley), wasn’t really interesting, it remains still the beginning of a bigger story, but it doesn’t feel like that.
Pacey’s flirts and kisses with Tamara was only a side plot, and I truly don’t know why Tamara – as a teacher – is about to ruin her career. But today there are a lot of teachers screwing around with their students; Dawson’s Creek was pretty much a harbinger, though there were cases, before the series went on the air.
Dawson’s parents are loving, but the secret Gail has isn’t moving and makes their relationship more and more unbelievable. But we are just in the second episode so far… 7,5/10

Episode 03: Kiss
Good episode, and again: better than the episode before. This time all the stories are working, though one is a romantic cliché, and the other was almost a waste of time.
If Dawson was only busy with the film shooting and the writers would have cut his “search for a kiss with Jen”, then this would be a Joey show, and the episode would have been a foreshadow of what Dawson’s Creek was during the last season: more a show about Joey than about the title character. And it was interesting to put another character beside Dawson in front of a story and actually having a lot of screentime (which isn’t happening to Pacey – he has only one storyline right now, and the writers only spend four minutes per episode with it).
The film shoot at the high school was partly interesting, though it brings Dawson a few winning moments; but his moments with Jen were great, and finally they kissed (this was the waste of time, one episode looking for the kiss can be too much sometimes). It just seems a coincidence that Pacey lost his virginity with Tamara at the same place (by the way: nice acting by Leann Hunley in that scene, in which she wasn’t sure about what she did at that moment), and what a coincidence Dawson filmed it.
Joey’s romance with the guy from New York was nice, though stereotype. Who doesn’t lie about the own name, age and background to have a nice time with a guy, who won’t even have interest in little high school girls? And, seriously, Katie Holmes was more than sweet in here – how could she marry Tom Cruise later on? 8/10

Episode 04: Discovery
Another good episode, though slightly weaker than the last one. At least it looks like the stories are up and running, together with Gail’s affair, from which Dawson finally knows about (he didn’t just have the guts to tell his father Mitch [John Wesley Shipp] about – which is totally authentic, btw). And the lovely relationship between Dawson and Jen gets better as well. Basically: I really liked the episode for its story continuing – they are told not too fast, not too slow (except Gail, but I can live with that), and they have always a bit of heart and emotion in it.
I am happy to see that Pacey had a bit more screentime in this episode, which results in Dawson filming his tete-a-tete with Tamara, which again results in Pacey telling Dawson about his “I got the girl this time” – very nice scene, showing that Joshua Jackson can act, and James Van Der Beek not so really. His reaction of Pacey’s confession was just… argh. And it seems like the story with Pacey and Tamara grows bigger, when he is starting to get jealous, as Tamara is hanging around with men her age… Well, it is a bit funny, but it is a storyline for Pacey and I don’t think the writers had something different in mind for him at that time.
Grams (Mary Beth Peil) has increasingly more screentime as well, and I like that. Though she could stop worrying about Jen, because she of all people should know that Capeside isn’t suitable for bringing kids on the deeper and uglier roads of life. But Jen and Grams have interesting talks together, which develops both characters – nice writing.
Dawson being felt betrayed by Joey was the weakest storyline in here, because it was predictable and a cliché. But it was necessary for him to learn more about Jen, so it was not that bad after all. 7,5/10

Episode 05: Hurricane
A strong episode with lots of stuff happening. Gail tells Mitch the truth and nothing but the truth, and leaves Mitch and Dawson back to let them think of their own. Though it was good to see a proper adult storyline for the first time of the series, it would have been nice to see Dawson thinking about his parents’ problems, even though he already was dealing with that topic in the last episode. But it seems to separated that first Dawson deals with his mother’s affair, then he drops it to do other business, and
when Mitch learns about it, he is the one dealing with this. What great moments would have been in the episode, when father and son trying to react together to Gail’s affair. But the scene with gale and Mitch was just awesome – really authentic and believable.
The rest of the episode was good as well, though I find it curious that Pacey’s brother Doug (Dylan Neal) develops interest in Tamara, and why the story about him not getting out of the closet, because he is scared. Sure, this storyline begins here and
develops with the time of the series, but it came too suddenly. We never saw Doug before and with his first appearance he already gets a story? Because I don’t think this will effect Pacey very much. But it means one thing: The writers tell stories not only for the teenager.
And Dawson and Jen having a break? Didn’t they just start dating? This seems like a stereotype storyline, but it was good that this didn’t take the bigger part of the episode. 8,5/10

Episode 06: Baby
Nice episode with interesting topics. The birth brings together all the storyline Grams had with the others, especially her “racist” opinions about Bessie (Nina Repeta) and her relationship with Brody. The scene in which Grams made kind of peace with Bessie, while she is in labor, bleeding and scared about everything was written very good and brought the two characters closer to the audience. And even with Joey worrying about the situation, remembering her mother, this story had even a more interesting meaning. Lifes are changing right now, and it is only a simple birth (exclude the small problems Bessie had) in the living room of the Leerys.
The rest of the episode, which includes Pacey and Tamara, was partly interesting though. Of course, somebody heard the conversation between Dawson and Pacey and of course the rumors are spreading like a virus. And of course everybody of Pacey’s surrounding learns about it (even Doug) and of course it was supposed to be funny, until the school board comes and threatens Tamara’s job in the high school. It just seems unbelievable that the school board is meeting that fast and that they don’t do any investigation, just because Pacey stormed into the session and told everybody that it was just his fantasy… Yeah, of course. Nice try.
The ending was nice, though. Tamara is leaving Capeside, Pacey says goodbye and Joey holds the baby on her arms – very sweet moments, but they don’t make the episode better. 7/10

Episode 07: Detention
Best episode so far – my a mile. Obviously a rip-off of The Breakfast Club, a nice copy of John Hughes’ film and lots of emotional stories in here. and with Abby Morgan (Monica Keena) the series introduces us to a new character. Like in every high school there is one real hard-ass bitch, doing everything for herself, not having friends for this and being the mean bitch everyone from the main character list hates – there are some nice stories coming up with her.
The detention episode was awesome. Finally everybody knows every feeling about anybody. Joey is in love with Dawson, while Jen thinks he is the right one for her compared to her past relationships in New York, and Pacey whacked off, because he has too much pressure going on “down there”. Most of the story could be considered funny, but honestly, this was just the next important step to the character’s relationship. And it was very nice from the writers not to include other stories, especially something with Doug, after we saw him the last two episodes, and maybe something about the failing marriage of Gail and Mitch (which I miss btw, this topic was missing last episode as well – and I miss Dawson reacting to the upcoming break-up of his parents).
The one think I didn’t find very amusing was the kind of overacting in some scenes, especially James Van Der Beek again. But I blame that on their not existing experience in the TV business and hope, this one gets better in the next season. Other than that, this was an almost excellent hour of television. 9/10

Episode 08: Boyfriend
A necessary episode for separating Jen and Dawson, so Dawson can be with Joey at the end of the season. And of course, after the little “break” they had a couple of episodes ago, their relationship is troubled again, after Jen’s ex Billy (Eion Bailey) comes from New York and wants her back. First: Why wants Billy Jen back at all and why was he coming from New York to do exactly that? Any reason at all? While Jen and Billy are flirting, Dawson and Joey are flirting and getting more and more together, so it was predictable that Jen wants to break up with Dawson, because she sees that life in Capeside is the same like in New York. Despite the predictable story, I liked the break-up scene between Jen and Dawson; this was one of the scenes James Van Der Beek actually acted well.
The side plots were a bit uninteresting, though. Joey can’t sleep because of “Rosemary’s baby” (hilarious) and gets drunk because she doesn’t get what she truly wants and what we know since the Breakfast Club episode. Nice that the series is handling alcohol as well in their stories, just the moral of the story was… yeah, where was the moral of the story?
The other plot with Gail and Mitch trying to find something to do was alright; after their story was absent for a couple episodes it was necessary to bring it back. But it just was free of highlights. Of course they are trying to save their marriage, of course they can’t trust each other right now, and of course they have troubles to find back to each other – predictable storylines, but authentic enough to look not stupid or boring.
Okay, it was a necessary episode, but it was a kind of boring one. 6,5/10

Episode 09: Road Trip
The episode was good and had a nice aftermath of Dawson’s and Jen’s break-up. While the boys go with Billy (surprisingly is he still there and wants Jen back, even though she said no to him) on a road trip, into a bar and trying to have fun with women, Joey has different problems with another guy and starts to revenge back – together with Jen, but the plan backfires. Both stories were interesting. Dawson and Pacey had a trip as real friends, which doesn’t happen very often, and both of them trying to find a way out of their teen life for a couple hours, which they managed to do so. Just Dawson’s flirt with Nina (Melissa McBride) was a bit stupid. Not only did Nina look like a 40-year-old, masked as a teen, but her interest in Dawson was way too unbelievable. And I would have wished to see Pacey in a little adventure; after his fail with Tamara and everything what came after he needs a little love story again – or at least a story.
Joey’s and Jen’s plan to humiliate Warren (Eric Balfour) was alright, though I hoped it would be more hilarious. When Joey talked to Abby, this was hilarious, but the rest was pretty boring. When their plan backfired, Jen and Joey didn’t seem to learn from their actions, and instead they are talking about Dawson. But after all they managed to be friends again.
The episode could have been better, when there weren’t some unbelievable stuff in it. 7,5/10

Episode 10: The Scare
A good episode, which actually had some suspense in it, not only because it was Friday, the 13th. Though the fact that the writers built in the story with the Ladykiller was really stupid and predictable. Of course the guy who talked to Joey was the Ladykiller, no wonders there. But their faces were hilarious at the end of the episode.
The rest was alright. Dawson’s séance in his house, together with friends and a stranger (where do all these one-episode characters come from – first Dawson’s flirt last episode now the girl who gets… troubles from her boyfriend) and all of them trying to put some relationship troubles into the night of scary happenings. Dawson’s night was well planned, and there was always the question of what he did to scare his friends and what didn’t he do (e.g. the calls and the letter for Jen). Only a bummer that the girls didn’t took revenge for one time and that Pacey didn’t do anything at all. The story with the “abusive” boyfriend was awkward, though. I don’t know why the writers put that in here (as opposite to all the fake scary moments?).
At least the little date story with Jen and Cliff is over now. Not only is Cliff a boring character, but it is realistic that Jen doesn’t want to be in a relationship now. 7,5/10

Episode 11: Double Date
A good episode and in one storyline a big foreshadow of what’s to come. This episode was evidence for the fact that the writers always wanted to bring Joey and Pacey together, even though they didn’t start that story here. But it will be necessary for later to understand why Pacey even likes Joey that much. Their story was interesting, because it was not only clear that Pacey has problems in high school (another on-going storyline during the next seasons), but their little trip into the nature was
interesting – both characters had a slight development and have to bring Dawson to choose over Jen and Joey, after Pacey told him he has to.
The double date story was good, too, but predictable. With Mary Beth (Meghan Perry) we have another one-episode character (and – again – connected to Dawson, this is not a coincidence anymore), and I thought Jen’s and Cliff’s date story is over – looks like it isn’t. But now it – again – looks like it’s over, after Mary Beth had the hots for Cliff. It was nice to let Jen and Dawson really talk with each
other, so that the season cliffhanger can be prepared – together with Pacey’s words to Dawson that he has to give himself some answers.
If you think about it, this could basically be the episode before the season finale, and I wished it would be, but there are two more episodes coming. 7/10

Episode 12: Beauty Contest
Excellent episode. Though it doesn’t really fit as the episode before the finale (like I said the previous episode suits better as the pre-finale), the beauty contest was a great story for character development and Pacey being a comic relief. And fortunately the writers choose to bring all the characters together in one story, instead telling their lifes apart from each other in different stories and locations. With everybody having the same story the episode is working way better.
I am curious why Joey is thinking that she will be stuck in Capeside and wants to get out of this miserable place – her feelings about her home didn’t come through before, so this comes a bit too fast and too suddenly (though her reasons were partly explained in the last episode). But with Joey being in the competition she had nice moments to think about her life in Capeside, together with her sister, together with what the others thinking about her, and together with her dreams. And her speech on the stage during the contest was really interesting. More breathtaking was her performance of “On My Own”, though I had to think of Rachel singing this song in “Glee”, but this just for the side.
Pacey as competition in the contest was hilarious. First he thinks that he can be funny, then he wants to win (but can’t, the judges won’t let him win, because… they don’t want him to win – nice view on favoritism and sexual racists), and then he gives his William Wallace impersonation – hilarious. 9/10

Episode 13: Decisions
Interesting episode, and kind of “spoof” of all the season finales offering a cliffhanger to let the viewers guess. How funny would it actually be, when Dawson’s Creek had a cliffhanger in its first season? But for that the series does take itself seriously and can’t bring any ironic episodes (The Scare was probably the only almost ironic episode in this season), which is a shame. So I have to rely my hope on Buffy again.
The episode was good. All the stories were concluded, before Dawson’s Creek doesn’t get a second season. Dawson’s parents are into their newfound relationship (already seen in the last episode); Jen’s grandpa dies (a story which I never saw in this season), but gets closer to her Grams; Pacey is still “just” the friend for everybody and risks his relationship to his family for just driving Joey to the prison to visit her father Mike (Gareth Williams); Joey talks to her father, both love each other (and the writers prepare something for the next season), while Joey and Dawson take the next, better first step, into their relationship. All in all, this season has a happy ending, it is the beginning of the friends finally really growing up and the end of the steps they took to start growing up. The first season was partly too brave, but now the characters can live the lives of adults-to-be.
What makes the episode really good is the fact that almost every story told during the first season gets the proper ending. Everybody was waiting for Dawson and Joey to happen, and everybody was predicting that Dawson and Jen won’t be holding much longer, while Pacey didn’t even had a real story in this season (except his “The Graduate” with Tamara, which was a separated story after all) and nothing needs to be concluded with him. And the fact that the writers wrote Joey’s father into the episode (to give her a closer, if this was the series finale, and to bring him into the story, if there is a second season), makes the episode even more important. Not just as a cliffhanger-free season finale. 8,5/10

Season average is 7,77. I rewatched this season in three days, thanks to the public library and much time right now for that. The second season is on my waiting list, as well as the rest of the series, which DVD collection is waiting for me at home. A rewatch of Surface is coming up and I hope to finish Nurse Jackie sometimes soon. The fall and winter breaks of all the current US shows is coming up as well, which gives me time to pick up my archive and get to a few British shows I have on my list.

• A publication at my alma mater, North by Northwestern, has an interview with Kellan Lutz (George, 90210).
• Kristin has Gossip Girl spoilers.
• The Vanessa-Olivia aspect of the Gossip Girl threesome and Alex-Marissa on The O.C. are included in E! Online’s Hot Girl-on-Girl Action gallery.
• The O.C.’s Chrismukkah episodes made TVGuide.com’s list of Best Holiday and Christmas TV Episodes.
• It figures: when I move away from Chicago, Peter Gallagher (Sandy, The O.C.) starts doing solo-shows there. Darn! (I did pass him on my campus once but realized too late that it was him!)
• One of the tabloids has a short piece on a “Dawson’s Creek love curse.” (See image 7.) Notably and conveniently absent is Joshua Jackson (Pacey) since he happens to be in a committed relationship.
• Jack (Kerr Smith, Dawson’s Creek) is included in E! Online’s Gays on TV gallery.

• Be sure to check out The CW’s site for all the new video content this week.
• Media Life Magazine has an interesting Q & A on the future of The CW and the Huffington Post has a much harsher take on it.
• Beverly Hills 90210 season 8 came out on DVD today.
• The Los Angeles Times has a feature and (a spoiler-filled) photo gallery on 90210’s fashion.
• The Gossip Girl threesome made Zap2it’s list of Top WTF? Moments for November.
• Gossip Girl’s season 1 Thanksgiving episode made Zap2it’s list of “classic Thanksgiving episodes and specials.”
• Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) stars in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, which comes out Friday.
• Lively appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night.
• Parade.com has an interview with Lively.
• Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) recorded a Christmas song.
• Meester appeared on It’s On With Alexa Chung today.
• Examiner.com has another article on Sophia Bush (Brooke, One  Tree Hill) and Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) participating in an USO tour.
• There’s a quick reference to The O.C. in this recap of last night’s Heroes episode.
• Fringe, starring Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek) will be going on a 7-week hiatus.

WARNER CHANNEL 22:00 HRS MARTES 24 NOVIEMBRE

SKY  205 / CABLEVISIÓN 210

Liane Hentscher/FOX

El equipo de la división Fringe trata de decodificar unos sueños después de viajar a Seattle para investigar a un hombre el cual atacó a su jefe tras las imágenes que vió.

Broyles se reúne con Nina Sharp.

Long before I had even heard of Star Trek way back when I was a young padowan learner two series were on television that I could not miss. One was  Land of The Giants which lasted two seasons beginning on September 22, 1968 and ending on March 22 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen, a name that would keep popping up again and again in my video library. The other show was way cooler and came from the mind of another man who would find lots of shelf space in the library, his name was Gerry Anderson along with his then wife Sylvia, these  two were an institution with shows like Fireball XL-5, Captain Scarlett, Space 1999 and probably their biggest hit Thunderbirds. Yes, we are talking about the marionettes and some of the most awesome miniature work that ever graced the small screen, and all  on a shoestring budget, remember that this is before CGI, Star Wars was still 7 years in the future. This brings use to UFO the series were Gerry replaced the marionettes with real people but kept the miniatures, the atmosphere of the show was more adult, people died on a regular basis, the aliens were just trying to survive on a poisoned planet, there was a more  complex approach to the personal relationships, Jump ahead 30 years and I’m watching the DVD’s WOW the picture quality is great for such an old show, god bless the Brits, everything is as I remember it except that the girls are all wearing spandex, or did I just conveniently forget about that. Did they really think that was how the 80’s would look, probably not but it had to have a futuristic feel. I had heard  Gabrielle Drake was on “Coronation Street” , you could forget all else about the show but those moon girls with the purple hair that stays with you for life.  So early spring 2009 I run across an article saying Robert Evans has acquired the rights to UFO and wants to make a movie, I say ya right we will see. Well 6 months later and what do you know It’s actually going to happen.  “Fringe” star Joshua Jackson will topline  the feature film and it will be the directing debut of Iron Man’s visual effects supervisor, Matthew Gratzner. Jackson will star as Paul Foster, a test pilot who joins S.H.A.D.O. (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), a covert org built under a Hollywood studio that defends Earth against a race of aliens who have been abducting humans and using the body parts. The movie  is produced by Henri M. Kessler and Avi Haas, who have a first-look deal with the Robert Evans Co.  The film, written by Ryan Gaudet and Joseph Kanarek, is scheduled to start shooting in the spring in the UK. which is a good thing I’d hate to see what Hollywood would do to it and the Brits still make some very good Science Fiction. Now who is going to be the voice of S.I.D. and were’s that funky music

• The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says 90210 is “succeeding.”
• TVGuideMagazine.com has 90210 casting spoilers.
• The New York Times has an article on the webseries trend, which mentions Jennie Garth (Kelly, Beverly Hills 90210) and The Broadroom.
• I watched Grey’s Anatomy for the first time last night and saw that James Pickens Jr. (Henry, Beverly Hills 90210) is in it.
• Beverly Hills 90210 on DVD made EW.com’s Holiday Gift Guide. (I heard Dawson’s Creek is in there, too, but I can’t find it.)
• Brian Austin Green (David, Beverly Hills 90210), Ed Westwick (Chuck, Gossip Girl) and Jessica Szohr (Vanessa, Gossip Girl) are all included in PEOPLE.com’s Couples Watch.
• PEOPLE.com has an interview with Szohr about her style compared to Vanessa’s.
• Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) will host Saturday Night Live on December 5.
• Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl) was a presenter at the American Music Awards.
• Examiner.com has more on the Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill) and Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) appearance on a USO Tour.
• James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill), Robert Buckley (Clay, One Tree Hill) and Eric Balfour (Eddie, The O.C.) are all starring in The Legend of Hell’s Gate: An American Conspiracy.
• There’s an interesting reference to The O.C. in this Huffington Post piece.
• SoapNet will air the two O.C. specials–The O.C.: Obsess Completely and Welcome to The O.C.: A Day in the Life–Tuesday at 1 and 2pm.
• Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek) will star in UFO, a film based on a British television show.

Bien es sabido que semana tras semana Joshua Jackson se dedica a perseguir a bichillos paranormales y a desentrañar todo tipo de enigmas de la misma naturaleza en la serie Fringe. Ahora el actor tendrá una nueva oportunidad de ejercer su hobby (o el de sus personajes, que con el tiempo se transforma en lo mismo) gracias a UFO. La película adaptará la serie británica del mismo nombre, en la que Jackson será un agente de S.H.A.D.O. (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), un agencia encubierta que opera bajo un estudio de Hollywood y cuya meta es salvar a la Tierra capturando alienígenas que abducen a humanos para usar partes de sus cuerpos. Matthew Gratzner dirige, perpetuando esa nueva costumbre que coloca a especialistas en efectos especiales a los mandos de futuras producciones.

El Variety también nos informa de que Joshua Jackson (el de Fringe) va a ser el protagonista de “UFO”

La cinta se basa en una de las series que salió en la televisión británica y que va a estar dirigida por el gurú de los efectos especiales, Mathew Gratzner (Iron Man).

Jackson será Paul Foster, un piloto de pruebas que se une a S.H.A.D.O (la organización del cuartel general supremo para la defensa contra aliens, en sus siglas en inglés) “una organización protegida por el gobierno que está bajo la fachada de un estudio de Hollywood y que defiende a la tierra contra las diferentes razas de aliens que han estado secuestrando humanos y sus partes”.

La serie de televisión fue muy popular en los 70’s.

“El desarrollo del personaje es lo más importante en UFO y con el maravilloso talento de Joshua es lo que necesitamos exactamente para mostrar el conflicto interno de Paul Foster”. Dijo Gratzner.

Você provavelmente o conhece bem. Joshua Jackson foi uma das estrelas do extinto seriado dos anos 90, Dawson´s Creek. No cinema, o ator amargou filmes bem fracos, com exceção dos primeiros que realizou ainda adolescente, Super-Patos, onde era capitão de um time de hockey juvenil, onde teve como treinador outo ícone da época, Emilio Estevez.

Atualmente o ator, é um dos protagonistas da série de ficção Fringe e está saindo-se muito bem por sinal como Peter Bishop. Tal sucesso na série lhe rende mais uma chance de voltar para a tela grande. De acordo com a Variety, Jackson vai protagonizar o longa UFO. Baseada na série que leva o mesmo nome e foi sucesso na década de 70.

Ainda na publicação, Jackson interpretará Paul Foster, um piloto de testes que junta-se com a SHADO, uma organização de soldados que defende a Terra contra uma invasão alienígina. Os “homenzinhos verdes” dessa vez, atacam o planeta para abduzir seres humanos e usar partes do nosso corpo para fins próprios.

O longa será dirigido por Gratzner, que foi superviso de efeitos visuais em vários filmes de Martin Scorcese e outros longas diversos como Homem de Ferro. A produção está marcada para ter início na Primavera, no Reino Unido.

O tempo passa, mas nada como colocar o planeta em perigo, arranjar mais um bom moço e ter aquela cena clássica de todos rezando para o mundo não acabar.

Guilherme Jr.

Making a succesful break from Dawnson’s Creek to the mysteries of Fringe it appears that Joshua Jackson is on the sci-fi trail as he joins the adaption of the classic Gerry Anderson 1970s show, UFO (read what Anderson has to say about the adaption – also check out the cool what if concept art)

Directed by visual effects wiz Matthew Gratzner, Variety are saying that Jackson will star as Paul Foster, a test pilot who joins S.H.A.D.O. (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), a covert org built under a Hollywood studio that defends Earth against a race of aliens who have been abducting humans and using the body parts. The series was a cult hit in the ’70s.

This film version appears to be following Foster as opposed to the series that focused on the leader of SHADO, Ed Straker (played by Ed Bishop) who had the cover of a Hollywood studio mogul. Looks as if we will be learning about SHADO along with Foster. The question is who will they get to play Straker in the new film.

Graztner, the visual effects supervisor on films ranging from the Martin Scorsese-directed “Shutter Island” to “Iron Man,” was set last summer to make his feature directing debut on a film that its producers said is aiming for a spring start in the U.K.

“Character development is the most critical part of ‘UFO,’ and Joshua’s terrific talent and range is exactly what I need to convey the inner conflict of the character of Paul Foster,” Gratzner said.

How do you feel about Pacey fighting the aliens?

It’s good enough for OneSixNine!  We’re not going to Capeside, MA, which should be obvious to anyone who understands how OneSixNine works… we’re Cheshire-bound!  Hopefully we’ll find some cute next-door-neighbor who is secretly pining for us and have several years of back and forth over dating or not dating, only to decide to (SPOILER ALERT!) settle down with Joshua Jackson (pre-Fringe) and say a tragic farewell to our resident bad-girl-gone-good as her life comes to a shocking end (before she marries Heath Ledger, whose life ALSO came to a tragic end… THE CURSE OF DAWSON’S CREEK?!)

The Soon-to-be-Former Mr & Mrs Van Der Beek

Anyways, JVB filed for divorce TWO days ago, making our voyage to his hometown very timely.  Not to mention that he’s 32 and did a guest stint on How I Met Your Mother in 2008, so this will be a perfect set-up for Elle.  I’m putting my wingwoman skills to the test, for all you who doubted me!  (I’m looking at you, Wally East.)

What at first seems to be a relatively simple corporate espionage kidnapping and extortion scheme turns out to be a brilliantly intricate tale of family deception. Paralleling the lie that Walter Bishop and his son are living, James Carson, a top Massive Dynamic scientist, has been telling his son an alternate version of the truth. And as the episode concludes, we find out that the truth that Tyler thought he had found out was not even close to the real truth — i.e. the Massive Dynamic truth.

Many, including myself, have understood from the beginning that while Fringe held a lot of potential, it had to get over a couple of initial hiccups to become awesome. Some have been dealt with, and others not. I seem to not be the only person very happy to see it blooming wider open with every episode (even if it seems to somewhat stall at times). In my opinion, “Of Human Action” demonstrates how far the show has already come, and gives me great hope for the end of this season.

The opening scene is very reminiscent of yet another X-Files episode, “Pusher” (season three, episode 17). Police officers drive, hellbent, to a parking lot, where three individuals are in a car: two adults and a teenager. The adults are forced outside of the car – and this is where things become a little “Pusher”-ish. One police officer starts walking backwards until he falls off the parking lot’s ledge, and another one shoots her fellow officers before turning the gun on herself.

But this is where the similarities end, for where “Pusher” was about an individual with a brain tumour who had acquired the ability to control others, the person to control other’s actions here is courtesy of none other than Massive Dynamics’ scientists. And once again, we realise that Nina Sharp is in on it, far more than she lets on.

I am now convinced that Nina Sharp is using everyone for her own agenda. While it seems that she is only doing it out of loyalty to William Bell, I’m certain she will end up betraying him, too, because while her own agenda is probably intricately linked to that of William Bell’s, it will somehow be different because of some fundamental yet seemingly small difference.

“Of Human Action” really was a great episode. The plot was advanced indirectly, a brilliant ploy making the experience all the more interesting. We don’t know how Peter will react when (if) he finds out he’s from the other world, but we have an idea of how Tyler reacted when he found out about what he thought were his real origins. We don’t know what her role is, but we do know that Nina Sharp is incredibly good at lying and manipulating, even to Broyles, with whom she is romantically involved. We also know that her connection with Bell, who is in the other dimension, isn’t solid; some sort of interference has occurred which makes the messages she sends him all the less certain to reach their destination.

The pacing of the action increased substantially from the previous rather slow ones, and the writers had more than one trick up their sleeves. The visuals were great — from the first shot from above of the police officer and Fringe Division looking down to the shot of Peter and Walter at Massive Dynamics, we were treated to both typical and atypical visuals. One particularly striking scene was that of the FBI agents moving in on the abandoned hangar. We were tuned into what the agents and Fringe Division could hear wearing the headphones, and it lent an air of tension and slight confusion to a scene which was otherwise visually simple.

This episode makes me wonder what else Massive Dynamics is up to, since their blatant lack of respect for human life is made all the more apparent in their creation and use of the Tylers. This particular storyline has great potential for more than one interesting ethical dilemma concerning the needs of the many versus the rights of the few. For example, the Tylers (brief X-Files flashback here – remember when Mulder walked into a room filled with clones in tanks?) had to be created to experiment if mind control would work so as to prepare our side for the imminent invasion promised a couple of episodes ago. Does it warrant such  horrific, lifelong experiments (and necessary lies)?

Of course this episode of Fringe wouldn’t be complete without a couple of Peter/Walter and Walter moments:

Peter: Walter, remember that conversation we had about personal space?
Walter: I’m bored.

Walter [briefing the FBI agents]: Do not remove them under any circumstances. If you do, you may die a gruesome and horrible death. Thank you for your attention, and have a nice day.

Walter: That was quick thinking. You proved to be more resourceful than I give you credit for.
Peter: Is that supposed to be some sort of compliment?

Walter: Don’t be ridiculous. You were abducted. Of course you need crepes.

What at first seems to be a relatively simple corporate espionage kidnapping and extortion scheme turns out to be a brilliantly intricate tale of family deception. Paralleling the lie that Walter Bishop and his son are living, James Carson, a top Massive Dynamic scientist, has been telling his son an alternate version of the truth. And as the episode concludes, we find out that the truth that Tyler thought he had found out was not even close to the real truth — i.e. the Massive Dynamic truth.

Many, including myself, have understood from the beginning that while Fringe held a lot of potential, it had to get over a couple of initial hiccups to become awesome. Some have been dealt with, and others not. I seem to not be the only person very happy to see it blooming wider open with every episode (even if it seems to somewhat stall at times). In my opinion, “Of Human Action” demonstrates how far the show has already come, and gives me great hope for the end of this season.

The opening scene is very reminiscent of yet another X-Files episode, “Pusher” (season three, episode 17). Police officers drive, hellbent, to a parking lot, where three individuals are in a car: two adults and a teenager. The adults are forced outside of the car – and this is where things become a little “Pusher”-ish. One police officer starts walking backwards until he falls off the parking lot’s ledge, and another one shoots her fellow officers before turning the gun on herself.

But this is where the similarities end, for where “Pusher” was about an individual with a brain tumour who had acquired the ability to control others, the person to control other’s actions here is courtesy of none other than Massive Dynamics’ scientists. And once again, we realise that Nina Sharp is in on it, far more than she lets on.

I am now convinced that Nina Sharp is using everyone for her own agenda. While it seems that she is only doing it out of loyalty to William Bell, I’m certain she will end up betraying him, too, because while her own agenda is probably intricately linked to that of William Bell’s, it will somehow be different because of some fundamental yet seemingly small difference.

“Of Human Action” really was a great episode. The plot was advanced indirectly, a brilliant ploy making the experience all the more interesting. We don’t know how Peter will react when (if) he finds out he’s from the other world, but we have an idea of how Tyler reacted when he found out about what he thought were his real origins. We don’t know what her role is, but we do know that Nina Sharp is incredibly good at lying and manipulating, even to Broyles, with whom she is romantically involved. We also know that her connection with Bell, who is in the other dimension, isn’t solid; some sort of interference has occurred which makes the messages she sends him all the less certain to reach their destination.

The pacing of the action increased substantially from the previous rather slow ones, and the writers had more than one trick up their sleeves. The visuals were great — from the first shot from above of the police officer and Fringe Division looking down to the shot of Peter and Walter at Massive Dynamics, we were treated to both typical and atypical visuals. One particularly striking scene was that of the FBI agents moving in on the abandoned hangar. We were tuned into what the agents and Fringe Division could hear wearing the headphones, and it lent an air of tension and slight confusion to a scene which was otherwise visually simple.

This episode makes me wonder what else Massive Dynamics is up to, since their blatant lack of respect for human life is made all the more apparent in their creation and use of the Tylers. This particular storyline has great potential for more than one interesting ethical dilemma concerning the needs of the many versus the rights of the few. For example, the Tylers (brief X-Files flashback here – remember when Mulder walked into a room filled with clones in tanks?) had to be created to experiment if mind control would work so as to prepare our side for the imminent invasion promised a couple of episodes ago. Does it warrant such  horrific, lifelong experiments (and necessary lies)?

Of course this episode of Fringe wouldn’t be complete without a couple of Peter/Walter and Walter moments:

Peter: Walter, remember that conversation we had about personal space?
Walter: I’m bored.

Walter [briefing the FBI agents]: Do not remove them under any circumstances. If you do, you may die a gruesome and horrible death. Thank you for your attention, and have a nice day.

Walter: That was quick thinking. You proved to be more resourceful than I give you credit for.
Peter: Is that supposed to be some sort of compliment?

Walter: Don’t be ridiculous. You were abducted. Of course you need crepes.

Fringe is back, and back with quite a bang; a monster-of-the-week episode featuring an entity that will make you watch the episode with your back to a wall, just to make sure nothing creeps up on you. Hey, you never know.

The overarching plot is simple enough. It starts with a Russian cosmonaut who went to space and brought back an entity with him. While the plot is a little reminiscent of The X-Files episode “Space,” Fringe manages to push the idea further (and, dare I say, makes for an overall better episode). Said cosmonaut has been in a coma since being taken over, but that doesn’t stop the entity, as it can project itself anywhere it wants. A black shadow made of smoke, the entity absorbs radiation emitted by the human body by passing through it. The result: victims burn at a temperature so hot that they retain their shape even as their insides have been turned to ash.

Lovely.

In a desperate bid to save him, the cosmonaut’s brother steals him from the Russian military hospital, brings him to the United States (how is a question still up for debate), and starts jumping from hospital to hospital, having his brother admitted into the coma ward and bailing ship when the entity’s shadow starts killing people. The brother is also looking for a way to get rid of the entity, thus allowing his brother to wake up from his coma; he has a formula which needs solving, and until that’s done, he can (sort of) control the shadow’s excursions by applying an electric current to his brother’s comatose body. Delightful.

The opening scene was great, at once touching and consequently heart-wrenching — because you know that, invariably, one or more people in the opening scene are going to die. Randy calls up his wife, Natalie, pretending to be at the airport, about to leave the city on the evening of their wedding anniversary, when in fact he’s at home, preparing a surprise for her. Seriously, talk about toying with the viewer’s emotions.

I especially loved the fact that Natalie’s reaction was so realistic. Women in such a situation are often portrayed as shrill and hysterical, yelling at their husbands for being a killjoy and accusing them of having an affair or some other ridiculous thing. Natalie simply told her husband she was really disappointed (and she sounded really disappointed, too), but that she understood that he had to work. Newsflash: this is usually how real women react!

Perhaps Fringe is also at the cutting edge of social sciences…

The rest of the opening scene was also pretty awesome, what with the second of total silence after the black shadow attacked Randy while the camera panned the empty apartment. Perhaps there was a little Hitchcock inspiration at work here? And then, the cherry on the cake — Natalie comes home to find Randy sitting on the couch, and when she touches his arm, he falls apart in a cloud of ashes.

Awesome.

This scene’s emotional build-up, from a beautiful romantic moment between two people who seem to be in a healthy relationship shattered by a Smokey Black Shadow, seems to have been written on purpose to tug at the emotional heartstrings of the viewers and to ready them to open up to Broyles. Because although the show is a monster-of-the-week, it’s pretty obvious as soon as the credits are over that it’s about Broyles. For the second time in the history of Fringe, we see a more human side to him (the first being when we find out he has a relationship with Nina Sharp). For impenetrable and sometimes overly seriously Broyles is sitting in a restaurant and playing peek-a-boo behind his menu with an adorable little boy. How cute is that?

I like the idea, I really do – but I don’t think this episode did what it set out to do quite as planned. On the one hand, we do find out a little bit about Broyles’ past, and how he had already investigated the Smokey Black Shadow only to see it destroy his marriage. And we see how that left a bitter taste in Broyles’ mouth, and would explain a little bit more about his mostly deadpan façade.

Broyles: I took this job to make the world a safer place for my family. And now, I don’t even have a family.

But just like with Olivia Dunham, I found it hard to connect with Philip Broyles. While Walter Bishop’s discomfort at watching a patient tied down as he was back at St. Claire’s (season two, episode five), I didn’t really feel bad for Broyles having had a divorce as a direct consequence of the Smokey Black  Shadow case. I don’t know if it makes me an insensitive person, but if it does, there are a lot of Fringe viewers who suffer from the same problem.

Thank goodness for Walter Bishop. According to the fan forums and discussion boards, even Astrid summons more empathy and caring that Broyles and Dunham. I don’t know why.

On a more positive note, the cosmonaut’s brother’s devotion is heart-warming, especially when such a thing is fast dwindling as individualism slowly creeps into the hearts of even the most caring of us.

And there was one particularly adorable Walter Bishop moment:

Olivia: Walter, do you have any thoughts?
Walter: Reminds me of Christmas. Like a fire log that burns so hot it remains intact, holding the shape of its former self. You (Peter) used to love that when you were a child, you’d poke the log with your little finger when cold, and you’d draw genitalia on the reindeer decorations.
Peter: Happy memories, Walter. But what I think she meant was having thoughts to what happened to Dusty here.

So just like its plotline, my opinion of Fringe has plateaued once again. It’s an intriguing show with a lot of potential that needs to be worked harder. The writers should perhaps consider taking some advice from Supernatural writers — put more into one episode, advance not only the plotline and one character, but rather the entire cast together within the plot. I would really hate to see a show with so much potential go to waste simply because after a great beginning to the season, it manages to lose the audience’s interest.

• The CW’s Web site has launched a store with accessories and clothing seen on Gossip Girl and 90210.
• PEOPLE.com has more on the Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) coverstory in Glamour UK.
• Two Tori Spelling (Donna, Beverly Hills 90210) films–Mother May I Sleep With Danger and Co-Ed Call Girl–made AOL’s list of Most Awesome Lifetime Movie Titles Ever.
• Rihanna has refuted reports that she’s dating Tristan Wilds (Dixon, 90210).
• MTV has several articles jointly featuring Kellan Lutz (George, 90210) and Nikki Reed (Sadie, The O.C.), all related to Twilight and New Moon.
• Zap2it and AOL have interviews with Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.).
• Olivia Wilde (Alex, The O.C.) stars in Fix, which starts tomorrow in some areas. Perez Hilton posted a pretty picture of her.
• AOL also has a video interview with Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek).
• After separating in June, James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) and his wife are getting a divorce.
• The Dawson’s Creek Web site now has a trailer advertising Dawson’s Creek: The Complete Series. It’s pretty cool.