Signal To Noise

It appears that the Fall 2008 television season is in full swing as of this week. Some shows have premiered or kicked off their seasons over the last two weeks, but this week sees the return of some of the bigger series like The Office, My Name is Earl, Survivor, and Heroes. Though I am still mourning the loss of Journeyman, this season hasn't been short on sci-fi or high-concept offerings.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is big dumb fun. I really shouldn't use the word 'dumb', since it is engaging and has some good character moments. It's probably the most consistently action-packed series I've watched in a long time. The season opener was a non-stop chase scene which was probably a smart move to lure in new or casual viewers. This could run the risk of becoming repetitive, but the creators continue to find interesting ways to endanger the Connors and their cohorts. Also, there are a few neat little plot threads that poke out between explosions.

The acting is fairly decent overall. It pains me to admit it, but Brian Austin Green is pretty good as Derek Reece. Hopefully, he won't use the success of this show to make another go at a rap career. Summer Glau, who perfected the vacant stare on Firefly, does a decent job convincing me that she's a killing machine inside of the body of a thin, young woman. While Shirley Manson isn't the greatest actress in the world, she gets to play a pretty cool character that is poised to have long term consequences for our heroes. Last night's episode saw the very expected exit of a semi-recurring character which will hopefully convince John Connor that he cannot have a normal teenage life and that there are consequences if he even attempts it.

Heroes kicked off its third season with two back-to-back episodes last night. It appears that the show is off to a better start than the last season. From comments about season two by the creators, I'm hoping that they've learned from the mistakes made last year and the show will return to its first season glory. There is a dizzying amount of plot threads and mysteries established in these two hours. The real trick will be in keeping the series from collapsing from under the weight of them. For the most part, I'm genuinely interested in most of them, which isn't something I could say about the second season.

So far, I really like the more active role of Mama Petrelli. She's a pretty compelling character in how she has to balance the bigger picture which conflicts with her maternal feelings. Though, those feelings could all be a sham given the reveal at the end of the second episode. Still, she's less hand-wringing than Linderman or EVIL like Sylar. I thought the new speedster was fun and cute. I'm glad there wasn't any sign of Micah and that Molly, though sloppily handled, was written out of the show. I'm looking forward what the future may hold for Hiro's buddy, Ando, too. I also want to know what the deal is with Nikki/Jessica/...Tracy?

Fringe is the new X-Files. So far the show has been fun to watch and has had some crazy, gross-out moments. The three principle characters seem to be a hodge-podge of Mulder and Scully's personalities. Olivia is out to find the truth like Mulder, but more by-the-book like Scully. Peter is cynical like Scully (times 11), but is sarcastic and gifted, similar to Mulder. Walter fills Scully's medical/scientist shoes, though a bit madder. While Mulder could be a bit unstable, Walter is full-blown crazy. Hopefully, he won't pull a Denethor and try to set himself and Peter on fire.

At the moment, Fringe seems more concerned with high-concept more than character development. Not that there isn't any, but I'd like to see more once the show settles into a groove in about two or so episodes. Also, it could benefit by widening the focus of the character base. With only three main characters and only a few peripherals, plus a slowly revealing background mythology, Fringe could run into some the problems that The X-Files had. However, I remain cautiously optimistic.