Consider this my breakup letter to the FOX Television Network. I know I've said it before, but this is really the last straw. Every time I give them my heart, they throw it on the ground and stomp on it. They did it with Firefly, one of the most brilliant shows of its decade, which FOX basically sabotaged by airing the episodes out of order and then relegating it to the Friday night graveyard where shows go to die. (Seriously, the Friday Night Death Slot is a real thing. If you don't believe me, it's on Wikipedia.) They did it with Dollhouse, Firefly's less-brilliant-but-equally-groundbreaking cousin. (Both were brainchildren of TV god Joss Whedon, who also created Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Dollhouse also languished in the dreaded Friday night slot. And now that FOX has announced their midseason schedule, they've thrust yet another dagger into my still-bruised heart. Starting in January, FOX will move Fringe, my favorite drama on network television (for these purposes, we're not counting The CW as a real network, because let's face it, it's not) to Friday nights on death row. Considering Fringe's pedigree (it's a J.J. Abrams creation...you know, the guy who brought you Lost and Alias) and the fact that this season (its third) has been arguably the best yet, makes me wonder how it's possible that this show could be struggling. Twenty million viewers will tune in to watch has-beens and celebutantes make fools of themselves on Dancing with the Stars, or watch Charlie Sheen play himself on Two and a Half Men, but a genuinely well-written, well-acted drama series that occasionally involves giant worms can't stay afloat on Thursday nights? Then again, history has certainly shown that quality is not necessarily an indicator of success when it comes to television. If that was the case, shows like Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies, and Arrested Development would still be on the air. Here's hoping that Fringe has the resilience to survive where few shows have survived before: the Friday night death slot.
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This week in television was ripe with new faces (Darren Criss on Glee), old faces in new roles (Amber Tamblyn on House), old faces in old roles (Taylor Momsen back on Gossip Girl...barf), and rotting faces (the zombies on The Walking Dead). All in all it was a quality week of November sweeps, with some shows faring better than others. Let's dive in...
It's been five and a half months since one of the most legendary shows to ever grace our television screens went off the air, and despite ample speculation and high hopes for some new shows, a solid replacement for Lost has yet to emerge. Last year's ensemble drama FlashForward seemed promising, with its dense mythology, sci-fi-tinged mystery, and two Lost alums in the cast (Sonya Walger and Dominic Monaghan), but it struggled ratings-wise and didn't make it past a first season.
This Fall TV season brought with it the much-buzzed-about new drama The Event, which many thought would be the next Lost for most of the same reasons as FlashForward: it has a big cast, plenty of action, and each week pulls back a layer to reveal another mystery. I can't speak for everyone, but I think it's safe to say that The Event has not lived up to the initial expectations that accompanied the Lost comparisons. Personally, I stopped watching after the third episode. But it hasn't been canceled yet, so I guess it's still a contender. The Walking Dead is fairly new (though AMC did just order a second season of the hit zombie drama), and a show about zombies doesn't exactly scream Lost, but I for one would like to throw its name into the ring. Firstly, the reanimated corpses of The Walking Dead aren't a far cry from the (SPOILER ALERT) walking dead people that we frequently saw on the Island of Lost. (Although they were generally Smokey in disguise.) Or perhaps a better comparison for the zombies would be the Others: they're both usually trying to kill you, have a distinct vacant stare, and never shower. Now all they need is a clever, rodent-like leader. Like Lost, the majority of Walking Dead's plot is generated by the characters' perpetual struggle to survive under extreme circumstances. One of the things that reminded me most of Lost as I was watching Sunday's episode of Walking Dead (the second of the season) was the main character, Rick. He, like our dear Jack Shephard, seems to be the tragic hero, only Rick is a sheriff rather than a doctor. Am I the only one who half-expected to hear the phrase "live together, die alone" come out of the sheriff's mouth while he was laying down the law on top of that department store roof? He's most certainly the fearless leader of the group. There also seems to be a love triangle in the making between Rick, his wife (who thinks he's dead), and his (sort of) bad boy partner. If it goes where I think it's going, we might have a Jack/Kate/Sawyer situation on our hands. Or maybe I'm stretching the comparison a bit here, but you can't deny there's definitely some resemblance. When all is said and done, though, I tend to agree with Entertainment Weekly's resident Lost expert Doc Jensen that the "true heir to the Lost throne" is actually the ratings-challenged Fox series Fringe. The underappreciated sci-fi drama (now in its third season) features alternate realities, scientific "impossibilities" (i.e. time travel), and a group known as "the Observers" who apparently oversee the unfolding of events while never aging. (Richard Alpert anyone?) Fringe has the mythology, the quality acting (someone give John Noble an Emmy already), the masterful storytelling, and the pedigree (created by Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams) to fill the void of Lost. Though Lost can never really be replaced, I think Fringe is definitely our best bet. So if you love Lost, turn your TV to Fox on Thursday nights and watch Fringe so it doesn't get canceled. The leaves are falling, the temperature is dropping, and the creepy mannequins in the Old Navy commercials have changed out of their swim suits and into their scarves. That's right, people. It's November! And you know what that means: November sweeps. Sure, there were plenty of repeats and sub-par episodes this week (with some exceptions, like the ever-stellar Terriers, and The Vampire Diaries, which somehow seems to maintain the quality and excitement of sweeps every week), but that's just the quiet before the storm, laying the groundwork to pave the way for the wonderment of sweeps, which should kick in this coming week. Until then, let's recap this week's TV highlights (and some medium-to-low-lights)...
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