Fringe: S04 Ep06 – And Those We’ve Left Behind

What happened?

The Fringe team investigate a series of strange events related to apparent time anomalies. Believing Peter to be a potential cause, distorting the space-time continuum due to his appearance, they take him along to investigate. Whilst he experiences these time jumps himself it transpires that another man is chiefly responsible.

Continuing work his wife was pursuing before she developed Alzheimer’s, the husband has been creating a time bubble to the past so his wife can finish the work and create a permanent window to the past. However, realising the dangers occurring elsewhere the wife destroys her work so it can never be repeated.

Due to Peter’s assistance he is offered Walter’s campus residence to stay in, and whilst Olivia has figured the version of her Peter knew obviously meant something to him and is warming to him Walter is proving harder to win around.

Thoughts

Tricky business, time travel. A lot of sci-fi shows like to dabble in it and it can tie a plot up in knots and nonsense in no time flat. Fringe is very often a cut-above but, for me, it fell over itself with this episode. It’s a shame because, before the introduction of the husband, before the episode actually tried to explain itself so it could resolve the situation, it looked like Fringe was really cooking up a knockout instalment.

From the scene with the mother in her kitchen that switched to a burned husk, her rushing out of the place with her girl now a baby, to the scene where the kids in the car were nearly hit by a section of train appearing out of nowhere and dashing by, it was fast-paced and inventive stuff. Furthermore, Peter’s trips through time were masterfully handled; quick edits dropping him seamlessly from one place to the next. I loved how he just rolled with it, remarking how it could get annoying but got on with it.

Once an explanation was attempted to be posited it all started to unravel. I mean, there was a kernel of a good idea (albeit one that’s feeling a bit creaky on Fringe, that of the well-meaning person meddling with science and generating tragic results) but it wasn’t really well sold. The episode with Peter Weller in (can’t recall the name of it, possibly it was White Tulip) dealt with similar ideas, I seem to remember, and managed them far more successfully. I know Fringe often skirts around the cyclical nature of behaviour and events but recycling plot ideas with new riffs here just feels lazy.

I mean, the genius wife had her timeline interrupted by her husband dredging her forwards in time (kind of) and telling her everything, and then she disappeared back to her original timeline. . . Surely that would have changed history! And how did she just disappear anyway? To where? It was all very sketchy. Bizarrely the story could have shaped out that the husband’s mucking around with time travel was what caused her mental condition – but instead that self-fulfilling, terrible (and, yes, paradoxical) time loop idea was ignored.

Also glossed over was whatever was happening with Peter – when he kept zipping back and forth in time what were other people seeing him do? Did he break a piece off the car bumper first time at the scene, or when he travelled back there? Again, it was very sketchy, and I was waiting for a scene that would offer a more objective explanation – but it never arrived.

So the initially enticing premise gave way to a bit of a mess, luckily the episode had some good business going on with the main characters to redeem it even if I have to somewhat baulk at how quickly and easily the likes of Broyles and Olivia have bought into the idea that Peter is really Walter’s dead son as deposited from an alternate historical timeline! Just because it’s true doesn’t mean our leads should be so readily swayed by it!

I did like the interplay, or lack of, between Walter and Peter. Walter’s retreat into childish ignorance won’t hold for long, though I like how he is being won around by a sense of admiration by Peter’s display of intelligence at the Faraday cage belt plan. A sense of fatherly pride? Just a touch, but it can be fostered into something more.

Peter, meanwhile, has to deal with a kind of reversal to Walter, in that he has ‘lost’ the father he knew. This Walter won’t speak to him, but he also lives in the laboratory. The moment Peter returned ‘home’, pulling the sheets off the furniture of the place that he and Walter used to live in (curious that the place was furnished with a top notch enormous widescreen LCD television, I thought!), the point was hit home: this was the world he knew but it was a world he didn’t belong to.

As Peter remarked to Broyles, he has come to realise that he is the person that needs to be reset – but that is, of course, impossible. Also impossible, I feel, is the idea that he can go back to the previous version of the universe he knew. I think Fringe this season has set up plot dynamics and characters here that are establishing themselves as permanent, to be invested in, so I don’t see the ‘undo’ button getting pushed and all of that being erased to go back to the state of things at the end of season 3. So Peter is ‘stuck’ in this world but, maybe, Olivia and even Walter, might just awaken to an awareness of that previous version of things and make this new world feel more like home.

It was interesting that Olivia didn’t answer the question about what her dreams of Peter involved, and whether they at all featured the park and picnic as he dreamt. Also interesting was Peter being unaware of appearing and speaking to Walter before he properly arrived. If Olivia was dreaming of Peter, and Walter alone was having visions of him, it’s almost like they dragged him back into existence. . .

Deep, heady territory this. I rather hope that there’s more to be pursued about this angle, this extra dimension – a shared dream of a perfect day. That maybe all of these characters and versions of the universe are all circling around an ideal place, iterations and variations that fail to meet the ideal. . . If Fringe has an endgame, maybe that’s it.

What was the best part?

I really liked the sequence when Peter was jolted through time. The edits were sharp whilst the transitions were smooth. It was unexpected and it really enlivened what looked to be one of Fringe’s usual investigation scenes. Icing on the cake was Peter’s deadpan acceptance of what was happening and just getting on with it. Peter’s really cool this season!

What do I think will happen next?

I expect that Walter and Peter will continue to grow their relationship, to the extent that Peter may eventually be faced with a decision where he no longer wishes to return to the world he came from since he has become attached to this one. Olivia will be crucial in this. (As ever, Peter’s choice regarding Olivia will determine the fate of the universe!)

Misfits: S03 Ep03

What happened?

Simon saved a guy called Peter from being mugged, instantly winning Peter’s adoration. Simon doesn’t realise that Peter has his own power of being able to draw events that will then happen for real. Using this power Peter controls Simon and tries to split him apart from Alisha. However, when the gang stop Peter’s plans he draws a final scenario where he kidnaps Alisha only for Simon to rescue her and kill him in the process.

Kelly gets to know the Power Dealer more, learning that the girl in the cemetery was his previous girlfriend who suffered an overdose he feels responsible for. As such he’s finding it difficult to submit to a new relationship. Alisha, now back with Simon, makes him promise to burn his outfit and stop trying to fulfil his destiny of travelling back in time. He says he will, but in secret hides the costume.

Thoughts

A Simon-centric episode is the one that offers up the most engaging subject matter for Misfits fans interested in the larger story arc. This episode very much raised the questions tucked at the heart of the timeloop and Simon’s fate, but didn’t take any closer steps towards answering them. I don’t think this was the chief reason why this episode failed to lift off for me, but it was certainly part of it.

I did think Peter was underserved here. The reveal of his power was deftly uncovered, and as ever fitted with his character (being someone powerless to make things go his way in real life, as the story of the stolen handbag revealed, and thus granted a power to shape the world and events as he wanted). Yet I felt like we didn’t really get to understand what he was all about, and so his final act of showing Simon that dying for what you believe in by making the ultimate sacrifice didn’t quite land perfectly.

Was that his intention all along, when he was trying to separate Simon from Alisha? Or did he have a change of heart and mind once his first scheme failed? I’m tempted to believe he intended it all along, and breaking Simon and Alisha up was his way of testing their relationship’s resolve, but it’s impossible to really call for sure.

I liked Simon’s performance here, adopting a muscular comic book pose when he was under Peter’s control was a nice touch. It did seem a tad remiss that his power of foresight was never employed, although he has stated in a previous episode that it’s not something he is able to control. Didn’t particularly serve him well here!

The ending to the episode was a compelling build that, alas, felt anticlimactic. I did like how Simon’s burning of the corpse was depicted very similar to Luke burning Darth Vader at the end of Return Of The Jedi (are we to deduce something more meaningful about overcoming the dark side from this!?). However, Peter having ended his comic book with a ‘to be continued’ felt underwhelming; I expected the camera to pan towards a stack of comic book papers he had drawn already, basically mapping out events yet to come, which I thought would have been both cool and interesting in the sense of challenging notions of free will.

Simon’s very predicament is determined by the sense of doing what he believes must be done against what free will would suggest he is able to do. The compelling opinion of Alisha, that he doesn’t need to go back in time because she already got saved, feels right! If Simon never goes back, what happens? Does the space-time continuum unravel? But time travel logistics would suggest that Simon doesn’t have a choice. His fate is as predetermined as the drawings in the comic book. He will go back in time and die because he’s already done it. It’s set down. Drawn in black and white. Inescapable.

I’m torn 50/50 on whether Misfits will proceed with this tragic plot or, somehow, find a way around it so that it happens without Simon being really dead. There’s all manner of ways around it (on a show where anything can happen, where anyone can do anything, solutions are plentiful). He could be cloned. It could be an alternate timeline permutation. Someone could have the ability to reincarnate the dead. . .

This brings me on to the power broker, and the nice interplay between him and Kelly. His story of the dead girlfriend was less mysterious than it first seemed, but the reason why he can’t let her go and give Kelly a whirl makes me think he is looking for a power that will allow him to bring his girlfriend back. Maybe all of his power trading is a means for him to eventually acquire the power to bring back people from the dead, and this quest might dovetail into Simon’s tragic fate. Stranger things have happened.

Really enjoyed Kelly in this episode. Her straddling between awkward and vulnerable to cocksure and profane is really well-played. Lauren Socha performs it to a tee. High-fiving when she once again uses her powers as a rocket scientist, to bemoaning getting cum on her face, to laying her cards out and admitting she likes the power broker – she’s a subtle and unsubtle standout in every scene.

On the flipside Rudy was rather irritating this episode and got on my nerves. He was a rather redundant player in proceedings and yet still hogged screentime that would have been better used with Simon and Peter. For every funny scene, like Rudy suggesting the probation officer was abused as a child, there was a boorish misfire where his obnoxious sense of humour and witlessness clunked up proceedings. I wouldn’t want to see him befall the same fate as Curtis (present in scenes despite being utterly superfluous) but his character needs the most work to wrestle into someone relatable.

Lastly, and I know it’s debased and pathetic (so quite a good fit for Misfits!) but a word of praise for Alisha’s breasts this episode. The tops she was wearing, and the camera shots that amply showed her off, meant I could barely take my eyes off her chest when she was on-screen. More of *those* please! (I’ll break with tradition and stick a pic of her here for, uh, artistic purposes.)



What was the best part?

Despite the weighty thematic ideas, the actual execution of events wasn’t particularly slick in my opinion. Peter’s death scene felt rushed when it really ought to have been the best part. As such I’ll plump for Simon burning Peter and then making his false promise to Alisha, intercut with the flashbacks and comic book frames. The climax didn’t quite deliver the punchline I felt was coming, but it was still captivating and felt momentous.

What do I think will happen next?

Beyond the longterm quandary of whether Simon’s fate is sealed or he will fulfil his destiny and yet survive the only other ongoing thread concerns Kelly and the power trader. As previously suggested, I can’t help but figure he’s not given up hope of getting his dead girlfriend back. However, next week’s preview hinted at a deranged Nazi-inspired happening (time travel involved? Simon could be discovering his means of going back!) featuring the probation worker, too, so looks like demented fun.

The Walking Dead: S02 Ep04 – Cherokee Rose

What happened?

The group convene at Hershel’s Farm, ostensibly to allow Carl time to recover and to mount a more rigorous and controlled search for Sophia. With Rick still weak from gjving blood, and Shanae limping, it’s left to Daryl to continue the hunt. He finds a house and potential signs of life, but ultimately no Sophia.

Whilst Glenn and Maggie take a supply run to town, and get it on, Rick requests that Hershel reconsider his stance that the group are not welcome to stay permanently. Lori had asked Glenn to bring her back a pregnancy test and, in the secrecy of night, she steals away to check herself. The test comes back positive.

Thoughts

Whilst this episode felt a little like filler, it’s hard to imagine many other shows having filler episodes that house this much quality. Whilst there may be those that feel The Walking Dead needs to kick things up a gear and get moving I totally disagree. I like the leisurely pace and, besides, where exactly is the plot in a hurry to get to? Barring whatever information the CDC man told Rick at the end of season 1 (I’ve read a theory that he informed Rick that Lori was pregnant, but I’m not overly-convinced) there is little reason for the group to be in any rush to get anywhere.

Indeed, the fundamental issue comes down to wanting to stay at the seemingly idyllic Hershal’s farm. I got the first sense of things being not quite right about the place in this episode. They were only small touches, like the look on Maggie’s face when the zombie was brutally killed, or Hershal’s remarks to Rick that their staying here would depend on certain conditions. . .

I really can’t identify exactly what is going on, but I get the sense it’s something grim. I can’t help but wonder if the large building Rick offered to stay at (which Hershal refused) contains something rather unpleasant. Like what? My best guess, and it’s a total stab in the dark, is that Hershal and the others keep zombies there, perhaps people they know and love, awaiting the arrival of a cure that will bring them back.

Potentially the fat zombie stuck at the bottom of the well was one such zombie that had gotten free or something and thus Maggie had to steel herself and keep it a secret that she knew who it was, thus explaining her curious reaction. Like I said, it’s a total guess. But whatever the truth of it, I am definitely expecting dark revelations to be unearthed.

The zombie in the well did offer up the coolest scene and perhaps the most disgusting moment The Walking Dead has put on-screen so far. Glenn’s descent and hurried scrambled ascent in and out of the well was adeptly handled though I would have been mightily shocked if it had ended in tragedy. Very cool was the moment Glenn handed Dale the rope to show that, despite his panic, he had still managed to lasso the zombie anyway. Very cool indeed.

And, of course, dragging the zombie up out of the water (honestly, would you have drank from that well even if the extraction had been successful considering the drooling, bloated beast had been sloshing around in it for God knows how long?) ended spectacularly; it burst into two pieces and the camera near-delighted in giving an unflinching view of the guts and entrails flooding out.

Truly revolting. I absolutely loved it.

There was also time for some levity and humour, too, which was very welcome. The sense of dread and jeopardy is only increased the more we like these characters and the more we feel they are ‘safe’. Glenn and Maggie (hello farmer’s daughter indeed!) getting it on was a fun scene that humanised the pair of them as well as carrying the dark undertow of just how scarce choice and other people truly are. It was played for laughs but possessed an all too understandable truth about loneliness and the need for intimacy, if only casual and shortlived.

Daryl continued to transform into a new man. His determination to find Sophia yielding perhaps the best sign of hope yet with the discovery of the house and the small makeshift bed in a cupboard. There’s no definitive way of knowing if it was Sophia that had been staying there (and how much did you just want Daryl to find her?) but it’s the best lead so far. His finding and presenting the Cherokee Rose to Sophia’s mother was a symbol of hope, but also stood as a metaphor of beauty and life flourishing in unlikely circumstances, a concept echoed in Lori learning she is pregnant.

First question is: Who’s the daddy? I suspect Lori’s dread is formed from that potential quandary, and also from the opinion she expressed in the previous episode when she considered if it was better for Carl to die rather than live in this world. Now she faces the prospect of bringing a child into this hell. It’s certainly a daunting proposition but, if the human race is to survive, it’s precisely this that needs to happen.

With Shane still a brooding presence, wrestling with his conscience (he practically gave the game away of what he did to Otis in his near-confession to Andrea) and potentially misconstruing Lori’s meaning when she requested he stay with the group, things are set to get continuously edgy between him, Lori and Rick. No question this is a plot dynamic that is going to be painfully wrought out. It’s testament to the quality of the show that both Shane and Lori can be considered both to blame and yet totally sympathetic. Only Rick continues to play the role of burdened but thoroughly decent leader – the moment he becomes conflicted with immorality might be when this ragtag band of survivors really unravel.

What was the best part?

Has to be the whole exercise in attempting to get the zombie out of the well. It had drama (Glenn’s near-death), heroics (Glenn’s reveal of achieving the goal), gore (bursting zombie!) and humour (TJ’s remarks about how at least they didn’t do something like just shoot it). Wonderful stuff, even if the speed of how Shane and the rest were pulling on that rope didn’t quite tally with the complete lack of upward movement of Glenn in the well.

What do I think will happen next?

The previews I glimpsed somewhat help me here, as next week’s episode seemed to suggest that Daryl will get into trouble on his own – injured, and perhaps even seeing his brother (hallucination or real, that’ll be the key question, I suspect). That he seemed to stagger out in front of Rick I anticipate will trigger a tense moment of deciding whether Daryl has become infected or is just seriously injured. With any luck he’ll have suffered but survived and, please, finally have recovered Sophia!

Terra Nova: S01 Ep05 – Bylaw

What happened?

An apparent dinosaur attack that killed a man turns out to have been a murder. Whilst the initial suspect is the first person to be tried in Terra Nova and sentenced to a very public banishment, eventually the real murderer is revealed to be another soldier who owed the victim money. He is more privately sent out for banishment by Taylor who says he will lose no sleep over his actions.

Liz and her daughter are in the laboratory where a dinosaur egg they retrieved is cared for and eventually hatches. Meanwhile Josh has fulfilled his bargain with the bartender and meets with the Sixers and Amira. She tells him she can get him his girlfriend back, so long as he promises to one day fulfil a request from her no matter what.

Thoughts

How is it that this show can take powerful ingredients of a murder mystery, an issue of dictatorship against social equality, and traitorous behaviour, pack them all into a single episode and still make it all seem a bit blah? For the answer you just needed to watch this episode of Terra Nova which, as ever, continues to make the intriguing and amazing seem tedious and overcooked.

The opening murder was a nice introduction sequence, and was a rather cool idea. That someone would trap a dangerous dino in a confined building they knew someone was going to turn up to was a decent method of murder. The reveal of who eventually perpetrated the crime felt rather fumbled. Initially a red herring regarding a husband and young wife (another interesting question raised, regarding people who had won the lottery then getting married purely to bring people with them – what kind of quality control issues would that create?) it turned out to be a soldier we’d never seen before.

It was all rather convoluted, particularly when the episode had employed the bartender to be part of a pre-arranged ruse to trap the soldier. I didn’t get that. Why did they have to stage such an elaborate scheme? And what about the original innocent guy who was so publicly banished? Aren’t people going to be raising their eyebrows when they see him walking around camp free as a bird? If that matter got addressed I missed it.

The issue of Taylor’s rule over Terra Nova is meaty territory. From the very first episode I pondered what Terra Nova would do about law and order in this new civilisation. Turns out that Taylor’s word is pretty much law and, whilst he claims to have never encountered such a serious crime as yet, it’s still curious that he has maintained such a rule over these people for so long, unchallenged and unquestioned. (There was brief mention of it from Malcolm, I recall, in his first episode.) I definitely feel like this is quite a crucial aspect to the show, and one that the programme could really use to good effect. It would seem from the Sixers that they have a problem with Taylor and the fact that he has absolute rule over the camp if his character has moral grey areas or reason for dispute makes it an especially juicy scenario.

I say all that with reservation, of course. Terra Nova being Terra Nova can have all the terrific ideas in the world and manage to blunt them of any edge and squander pulse-quickening tension for safe and sound tied up plots.

Like, for example, the whole business with Liz and her daughter and the hatching egg. What the hell was that all about? It just felt like something cute and wholesome dropped in and nestling very uneasily against everything else in the episode. If it was there to provide balance then for me all it did was create problems with tone. Is this dinosaur now going to live with the Shannon family? Are they turning into The Flintstones!?

Josh and his deal with the Sixers was presumably meant to feel more dramatic than it played out. I’m not sure where Skye fits into this picture. Was her urge to go along purely because she’s worried about Josh? Or is she potentially the mole in the camp and she accompanied Josh to ensure he got there and would be on hand to be used? I fear that it was the former, because Terra Nova feels like that kind of show, but hopefully it’s springing a shock surprise and it will be the latter.

As could perhaps be deduced, I wasn’t a big fan of this episode. I feel like the honeymoon period is over and Terra Nova needs to start taking itself seriously and start producing some serious goods for me to continue with it. There’s a lot of good television on at the moment and right now Terra Nova isn’t sitting there in the schedules screaming ‘must-see’.

What was the best part?

I’d have to go with the pursuit and capture of the dinosaur. At least this episode did have the saving grace that the dinosaurs which are the show’s big calling card delivered the standout scene. Terra Nova needs to keep remembering that it is set in a world with dinosaurs and dinosaurs are cool and if they want to do an episode where the camp is under siege by T-Rex and raptors then it’ll be a storm and be a total hit. Play to your strengths, and hit the lowest common denominator if you must!

What do I think will happen next?

Josh will invariably have to be made to do something he doesn’t want to do. (Really, though, once he gets his girlfriend back what’s to stop him reneging on the deal and telling his father everything he knows?) And, I guess, the Shannon’s will have a baby dinosaur living with them for a while. Which will be fun!

An Idiot Abroad: S02 Ep08

What happened?

A retrospective episode with Karl sitting down with Ricky and Steve to discuss his travels and field questions from viewers, as well as Ricky finally ensuring that Karl had his prostate checked and his invention of Pilkopants made it to a shopping channel.

Thoughts

Strange kind of episode to write a write-up for, considering that a lot of it was basically going over old material and discussing it. As such there doesn’t leave much for me to actually discuss here so I don’t envisage this being too long-winded. Curiously, though, this retrospective episode was perhaps the most consistent and amusing episode of the whole series.

Anyone who has heard or watched The Ricky Gervais Show will be familiar with the trio of Ricky, Steve and Karl and how they get along together. It’s a lot of fun to actually see them, properly. I think one of my most memorable moments was the sight of Steve Merchant creasing up with laughter, clinging on to Ricky’s arm, when Karl was talking about how one of the rooms he had stayed in had stank of fish.

There’s little else to say about the three of them talking about what happened, save to say it remained fun and entertaining. The highlight of the straight conversations had to be when Ricky made Karl re-enact his ‘Bullshit Man’ superhero, which then resulted in an interrogation of whether he could fly, or had superhearing, all of which were added superpowers! If there was anything lacking, I would say that I'd have preferred to see more 'behind the scenes' pieces of the making of the show - stuff that didn't fit in with the regular episodes but could have been included here.

This being an episode of An Idiot Abroad then Ricky and Steve couldn’t help themselves lay out some stunts for Karl to endure, although they were definitely the highlights of the episode. The visit from the doctor that took Karl to a private room to perform a check on his prostate was brilliantly funny. I defy anyone not to observe a man begrudge another man sticking his finger up his arse and not laugh. And the scene was capped off brilliantly with Karl’s perfectly-timed joke remark asking whether he was a real doctor.

Karl also had his own surprise when he showed Ricky and Steve his stint on a shopping channel trying to sell his Pilkopants. They were truly a terrible invention, basically boiling down to little more than a string bag attached to the seat of trousers. (Surely a better idea would be to have a form of inflatable thing in the seat of trousers for the use as a seat when required?) Still, Karl gave it his best shot (best line being that they’d be useful for children that fell into water to keep them buoyant, with Ricky pointing out that they would be floating face down, submerged!) and managed to sell all fifteen of them.

Probably some smart consumers snapped them up. Not because they were a good product but because they’ll surely be worth quite a lot more as famous rarities.

End of the series then, and this second foray of An Idiot Broad has been good value. The first episode had me worried that they were striving too hard to re-create the effortless fun of the first and failing. But after that initial mis-step the series seemed to relax and find its own groove and be thoroughly good viewing week in, week out. Dare I say it, but I think I liked it more than the first one.

What was the best part?

Easily the part where Karl had his prostrate checked. He took it in good humour and, strangely, it probably did more for raising awareness about what such a simple and important check it is that might prompt men over 40 to do the same.

What do I think will happen next?

Ricky Gervais is usually pretty strict on quitting on a high, and his television output so far has always took the trend of two series, and a special (not including the podcasts that inspired The Ricky Gervais Show). So, I suppose, there’s always scope that there will be An Idiot Abroad special. Given the massive success of the show, though, I would imagine there’s a lot of encouragement to go right ahead and make a third. If they can get the right conceptual reason to be sending Karl overseas then I certainly would be tuning in.

Fringe: S04 Ep05 – Novation

What happened?

Peter makes an attempt to explain to Walter who he is and where he has come from, but only realises for himself that The Observer apparently didn’t intervene in this timeline and is left confused as to why he therefore exists. As a means of getting to spend more time with Walter he assists with an investigation into the shapeshifters that have now taken human form.

The shapeshifter takes hostage a Dr. Truss who manages to stabilise its physical condition, paving the way for them to be near undetectable infiltration units capable of impersonating anyone. Whilst the team face up this new potential crisis Olivia experiences a strange moment of de ja vue.

At the close, the shapeshifter is seen communicating on a typewriter where she is informed that the others will be sent over now that their physical form has been stabilised.

Thoughts

Good episode, this. Managed to pick up and dive straight in on multiple plot threads. Indeed, I was most impressed by how no time was wasted in Peter breaking the news of who he was and where he had come from to Walter. I anticipated that this would have been held off for more of a Peter/Olivia focus. Not so.

I really enjoyed Peter this episode. His confidence and intelligence has previously appeared as reserved and reactionary, but here he was on the front foot, calling the shots and making things work in his favour. It was good to be reminded that he’s also a genius – a point that doesn’t always translate. Way to return, Peter! And he was quick to ask the pertinent questions that revealed the fundamental difference between the universe he came from and this one: here ‘he’ drowned in Reiden Lake rather than get saved by The Observers.

Interesting point that Broyles and co had no idea about The Observers. Originally it transpired that The Observer, September, had been noticed and photographed many times over and was subject to investigation. In this universe there is no awareness of him, or the others. Was the function of the machine that September constructed and used to simply remove the traces of any Observer appearances and interventions? As such there was no investigation of Observer sightings since they had been erased, just as much as September’s intervention in saving the drowning Peter had also ceased to exist as an event.

Until I know better, that’s my rationale. September used a machine that wiped out his own interactions, though we know he didn’t fully complete the mission since he allowed traces of Peter to remain and ultimately bleed through. The answer to Peter’s question of how he still exists surely lies with September. The answer to why he has been permitted this continued existence is a far larger question.

Walter’s reaction was nicely handled here. Just when you thought he might eventually be won around by Peter – the man with his son’s eyes – he eventually confronted the situation like a kind of morality test; a challenge to see if he would repeat the terrible acts (terrible, at least, in the sense of the devastating consequences) he made with young Peter once before. Given his conviction he’s not going to be easily swayed.

The shapeshifter plot was perfunctory, though anyone who has even half-watched Fringe over the years could have predicted the injured man at the end was actually the shapeshifter’s current form. If a person is ever found lying prone, having survived an encounter with a shapeshifter, odds are it’s because they are the shapeshifter!

I fully anticipate our shapeshifters to somehow infiltrate Fringe Division courtesy of someone we are familiar with. Would Fringe be so bold as to have another main character (like Charlie) be killed and have a shapeshifter assume their place? I’d hope not, because it’s a plot that’s well-worn. It was used with Charlie’s duplicate, and also with Fauxlivia posing as Olivia – faking a person’s identity with their likeness has been well and truly done on this show, so the only problem for me with these new near-perfect human shapeshifters is the threat of retreading old ground.

Other tantalising pieces of information: Nina stepped in and raised Olivia. This explains their easy and comforting relationship previously exhibited. A surprising reveal, perhaps, though at present I can’t see how it will prove pivotal. The other major reveal was of the shapeshifter communicating with Over There. Barring any further knowledge, I have to now assume the shapeshifter is a creation of Walternate and operating under his bidding. If the truce between the two worlds is being undercut in this way then things are going to get messy (and, for dramatic purposes, it would make more sense for this to be the case).

All this and the episode still had time cram in a little bit of romance (kind of) with Olivia asking Lincoln if he wanted to go for a drink. I couldn’t tell if Olivia was genuinely asking out of attraction or distraction. I got the feeling it was more the latter, almost like the niggling feeling of Peter’s appearance had unnerved her to the extent that she needed to shake off the incertitude and Lincoln was her nearest and best bet. Unfortunately for her he said no!

The biggest subtle moment was the de ja vue Olivia experienced. I feel like this was seeding something major for the next episode, or possibly episodes. At present I have to assume that Olivia is somehow becoming aware of how this universe isn’t quite the ‘real deal’ (although, technically, if this is the way the universe is without The Observer’s intervention then it’s arguably the definitive one!) and her momentary reliving of a moment is an event that she’s going to encounter on a larger scale. Like maybe hours, or days, lived once and then reset to live again (perhaps with the capacity to make changes). It was curious that she didn’t ‘relive’ things completely – like she saw the folder returned to her desk twice yet only asked Lincoln out once. Weird.

Out of the box final thought: Olivia is experiencing the world like how The Observer’s experience the world. Able to relive moments over. When I think of that scene in Season 1 where September was able to speak the words that Peter was saying as he said them that’s a notion that doesn’t seem as ridiculous as it may have first sounded.

What was the best part?

Tempted to plump for Olivia’s moment of de ja vue for sheer intrigue level, but really I thought the scene where Peter had hacked the intercom to hear and speak to the outside area was good stuff. Peter’s manner and proactive stance here really suits him and makes his character more dynamic than ever before.

What do I think will happen next?

I suspect Peter’s ongoing struggle to justify why he is still around will be a longterm plot for the season, and of course it must be linked into the actions of September and the role The Observers play.

The shapeshifter communicating with Over There implies Walternate is involved and, despite previous reservations, I’m going to plump for the idea that he really is behind their actions. There’s the longshot that William Bell has/had a hand in it, and perhaps the reason he pulled the plug on the doctor’s research many years back was so he could continue it down this path rather than medical advancement. . .

Most intriguing was Olivia’s moment of de ja vue, which I suspect has to have something to do with the instability of this current universe timeline and it ‘glitching’ on account of Peter’s return. Why only Olivia has experienced it thus far may indicate that she alone is receptive to the phenomena, or she’s just the first. For now my hunch is that she alone will experience the strange time shifts since she was alone in dreaming of Peter, but possibly Walter might also be involved.

Misfits: S03 Ep02

What happened?

Curtis uses his power to turn into a woman as a means of getting back into his beloved sport of running. As both Curtis and his female counterpart, Melissa, he forms a romantic relationship with a fellow runner – but with the added complications of male advances and a date rapist trainer, Curtis is forced to reveal his secret to both the group and his girlfriend.

Meanwhile Kelly and Alisha set about following the Power Trader man and spy on him laying flowers at a grave to a person they don’t yet know.

Thoughts

Interesting episode, this, for the reason that there was actually little reliance of the super powers aspect. Save for the central conceit of Curtis’ sex change ability there were no other displays of powers. It was refreshing. If Misfits could be accused of a flaw it would be the way everyone around the place seemed to have some kind of power and were cropping up every episode. It’s telling that I was watching this episode rather expecting either the girlfriend or the date rapist to have a hidden power to be revealed, and it worked out better that they didn’t.

Stripped of super power shenanigans, this episode pretty much played out like a more conventional teen drama – albeit one with that specific brand of Misfits coarseness and profanity. Making Curtis the focus was much-needed for his character that appears to have been a little lost in the mix of late, though I do wonder if this might be his biggest time in the spotlight this series and now he’ll retreat to a more supporting role in the future.

The episode ended with him deciding that if he couldn’t feasibly run competitively then he would have to find something else to fill his life with. It seems like a reach, considering this is Misfits, but he could choose to become more heroic and use his powers productively (though this would, of course, depend on him getting a more useful power – with the presence of Power Trader remaining I fully expect that to occur for at least one or two of the gang).

Speaking of Power Trader, plot lines between he and Kelly are evidently being seeded. She wasn’t in it much, but Kelly almost stole the show. Her downbeat, pouting manner, even when singing her own praises at being a rocket scientist and so able to fix the car, were just fantastic. Her matter-of-fact remarks to Curtis about how he would have to put his bloodstained underwear in a hot wash were delivered pitch perfect.

Interesting question raised: If Curtis as a woman can have a period, does that also follow that he can become pregnant!?

The episode certainly wasted no time in getting down, literally, with Curtis exploring the sexual possibilities of being a woman. (I can’t believe he waited so long to investigate his own body! If there was a part of the episode that stretched credulity, that was it. The first thing every man would do were they in a woman’s body, I suspect, would be to masturbate and see how it felt.)

I liked Simon’s confused questioning of the matter of whether he was a lesbian or not – it’s certainly a grey area. And what I did think was interesting was Curtis’ reaction to Rudy ‘going down’ on him. He could laugh about it at the end, and during the episode he talked about Melissa as though she was a separate person. I’m not sure if Misfits is interested in going that in-depth with the idea, but there are suggestions of Curtis splitting his personality and experiencing himself as Curtis and as Melissa as two different people.

It’s not a totally farfetched idea that the programme could take this direction, as it would parallel Rudy’s own split personality power where two aspects of his character manifestly appear as distinct entities.

Yet, as I said, maybe I’m thinking too in-depth.

This wasn’t really an episode that particularly warranted massive analysis; it was an entertaining exploration of Curtis and his power that sprinkled a future plotline for Kelly and Power Trader but otherwise effected little else. Good fun but, in the grand scheme of the series, I would expect this to ultimately turn out to be a rather inconsequential episode.

What was the best part?

Standout sequence had to be the attempted date-rape of Curtis/Melissa. Not only was it a pivotal moment in the episode, but it also had the balls to show the full, well, cock and balls of Curtis back in male form. The scene needed that moment of stark clarification for plot purposes, but the fact that it was such an in your face full frontal makes me have to admire Misfits for always looking to push the boundaries.

What do I think will happen next?

From this episode I would have expected that the next logical progression would be to follow Kelly’s investigation into Power Trader man, though it seemed from the preview that Simon would be the main focus next. This is certainly welcome as the matter of why he pursues a course of action he knows will lead to his death ought to make for meaty subject matter for Misfits to grapple with (and possibly overcome).

The Walking Dead: S02 Ep03 – Save The Last One

What happened?

Shane and Otis try to escape from the school; running low on ammo, and both of them unable to move quickly, it doesn’t look like an easy escape. Shane eventually arrives at the farmhouse, telling how Otis and he got separated and he lost him. However, with the medical equipment he brought, the Doctor is able to perform the operation on Carl and save him.

Daryl and Andrea venture out into the woods to continue hunting for Sophia, with only Daryl holding hope that she could be still found alive. All they discover, however, is a zombie hanging from a tree and return to the camper van without her.

Lori pleads with Shane to stay with the group, little realising the truth that Shane was responsible for Otis’ death, having shot him in order to make his own escape. He shaves his head as he remembers the horrific act he had committed.

Thoughts

What a difference a final scene makes. Before the last reveal I have to say I was getting rather annoyed with this episode, particularly when Shane turned up without Otis and stated that he had been killed. I think I literally threw my hands up at the screen and remarked, “What?” I was already set to be annoyed if they killed off Otis, but to have done it off-screen just felt doubly-insulting.

And then, of course, the last scene revealed what had really gone on between Shane and Otis and it was devastatingly effective. Hats off to all involved; they totally got me with the surprise. Seeing Shane shoot Otis (and I loved how he angrily fought to hold him back) and then return to the farmhouse, shaving his head, was a shocking way to end the episode. In a good way.

With Lori imploring Shane to remain with the group, unaware of just how unstable he has become, it sets up a really precarious dynamic between the trio of Rick, Shane and Lori. I recall in the first season the moment where Shane had Rick in the sights of his gun and Dale caught him in the act. He held back then, but maybe Shane is moving closer to a point where he realises the consequences of his actions no longer come with the threat of law and order and he is turning to more brutal measures to get what he wants.

That’s not to say I believe Shane has suddenly turned into a murderous psychopath. The Walking Dead is smarter than that; Shane did perform a terrible act for the greater good of saving Carl. Clearly this is going to weigh heavy on his conscience and create strain and tension there that might push him into a bad state of mind. But, as stated, I also suspect that an awakening to what he can do to get what he wants may push his character into dark territory.

Also effective in this episode was the discussion between Rick and Lori about whether it was even right to battle to keep Carl alive, considering the world he was set to grow up into and the desperate life he would be forced to lead. It was a gruelling conversation and, perhaps it’s because I have a one-year old son and the feelings of protection and love as a father are ones I well understand, I thought the whole scene was powerfully charged. Lori, especially, really sold the steely yet fraught emotional state exceptionally well.

It was a little trite that Rick’s counter-argument basically boiled down to the fact that Carl remarked about how beautiful the deer had looked in the brief period of consciousness he had. Surely there are better arguments to be had? Like how there is hope for humanity to survive, and how if the current survivors last long enough they will see off ‘the walkers’ and face a world to re-populate for themselves. And even if they face only a desperate future, those little pockets of joy and happiness and the right to live surely count even more in such circumstances. Those are the kinds of arguments Rick could have laid out, and it would have been in keeping with his character, but let’s just say he wasn’t thinking entirely clearly on account of all the blood he gave away!

The scenes with Daryl and Andrea were also nicely observed. Daryl had a little more time to shine and ever more his character and personality show flourishes and depth that really mark him out as a personal favourite. That he seemed alone in the belief that there was a chance for Sophia was refreshingly unexpected, and the shared jokes between him and Andrea were nicely played. Who knew that these two might make an unexpected couple? Even if they do fundamentally disagree on the rights and wrongs of shooting walkers that have strung themselves up!

A lot of good stuff this episode, though the experience of watching it was also frustrating. The scenes of Shane and Otis desperately trying to escape the school were well done, but annoyingly short and interspersed with duller scenes at the farmhouse, away from the real action. I appreciate in hindsight that this was so the episode could load and spring its surprise conclusion, but during the watching of the episode it just became an irritation.

Other subplots, like Glenn trying to pray for the first time, felt superfluous here – almost as though they were included just to keep these characters in the mix, inventing ways to justify their inclusion and screentime rather than them naturally commanding attention as a result of events occurring to inform their actions and responses.

The last scene saved the day, then, on an episode that I was all set to condemn as a clunker of bad decisions (killing Otis!) and wasted tension on diluted, interrupted action sequences at the school. What I got was the rug pulled out from beneath my feet with Shane firmly in place as a serious liability within the group who is totally unpredictable.

What was the best part?

The last scene flashback, showing exactly how Shane managed to escape the walkers. Intercutting the shaving of his head and the reveal of scratches and marks on his body, the actual truth of how he shot Otis to make his own escape was nothing less than shocking. Shooting him in the leg so his screaming, prone body could be devoured by the walkers was nothing short of horrific. In retrospect I ought to have seen it coming, but I’m not going to pretend the episode didn’t fool me and thus make the revelation an absolute surprise (which, frankly, is how I prefer my television drama to accost me – it’s way more fun to be shocked than to predict stuff before it happens).

What do I think will happen next?

It’s hard to imagine what Shane will do next. For the short term I anticipate he will stay with the group and remain an uneasy, brooding presence that we the audience know houses terrible potential. The group will have to remain at the farmhouse to allow both Rick and Carl to recover, so I expect the other group will join them there, and still hopefully continue their search for Sophia from this new base. Fingers crossed they’ll find her alive and well. There’s still hope.

An Idiot Abroad: S02 Ep07

What happened?

Karl is sent off to Japan, ostensibly to climb Mount Fuji, for the last of his bucket list journeys. Before he climbs the mountain he takes a trip to a cat cafe, samples rare sushi dishes, tackles sumo wrestling whilst all the time trying to think of a new invention to make his mark on the world. He eventually comes up with Pilkopants; in-built cushioning for trousers.

Thoughts

I was looking forward to seeing Japan through Karl Pilkington’s eyes and it’s fair for me to say that I was a little disappointed. I didn’t really get the feel of what the place was like because the programme seemed more intent on making him go and visit various pre-planned appointments, be it the cat cafe or the sumo wrestling. Whilst these were by turns either amusing or interesting there wasn’t a little portion of the programme left over just to show Karl having a wander and seeing whatever he came across.

This episode lacked that sense of spontaneity.

I think the closest the show got to demonstrating the strangeness of everyday Japan was when the room full of builders were all engaging in morning exercises before they started work. It was a truly bizarre sight. At least a thousand builders in hard hats all crammed together and doing stretches and postures to loosen up and get them ready for the day – it’s so mad but so weirdly understandable; that’s the kind of thing that fascinates me about the place.

Karl versus the Sumo wrestlers went as predicted, with Karl getting picked up and thrown around and pressed against fat, sweaty wrestling skin. I felt like I’d already seen this kind of thing before, from the time Karl visited the wrestlers in Mexico in the first series. So whilst it was funny to see Karl haggling over wearing his boxer shorts under his thong (he does have a self-consciousness about wearing anything revealing, I’ve noticed) there really wasn’t anything refreshing to see.

Karl's trip the Buddhist monastery went well in the end, although even Karl managed to find conflict and pain there after his transgression during the meditation period. But in the end he managed to find contentment and common ground over the tradition of gathering to make and drink tea. If you had to pick anything in the world you could bank on Karl being pleased about it, it's a cup of tea!

I did like the part where he was sent to sample a rare sushi dish, that had been fermented for years. His reaction on being presented with it was funny, as was his debating with the man who served him that it would be better etiquette if he went first rather than Karl (a hopelessly idiotic argument that the guy quickly deflected in good-humour). And, of course, Karl took a mouthful of it and then soon later was throwing up in the bushes. There was an inevitability to it all that didn’t stop it being funny – quite the opposite.

The climax of the episode, and the series properly (I realise there is another episode next week that is a look back at all that has happened) did at least end on a high. It was a literal high, with Karl making it to the summit of Mount Fuji. But I really liked how the show didn’t cheapen it out too much. From Karl’s wry observations at the beginning, seeing that everyone coming back down the mountain appeared to be travelling in pairs, that dissolved into him very tired, listing off famous double acts he knew. And then there was a little monologue where he talked about how he wasn’t one for finishing things, talking about not finishing school or even getting married, and that was actually rather moving to see him consider making it to the top of the mountain as an urge to actually, for once, finish something.

It was also good to see that when he reached the summit at dawn, and marvelled at the view, in typical fashion he could appreciate that it was spectacular whilst at the same time moaning about how he felt like shit. It did look magnificent.

Of course, An Idiot Abroad does play for laughs, so there was the punchline of the Pilkopants revealed. His invention formed from needing a comfortable place to sit wherever he was, the cushioning he had stuck to the backside of his trousers looked ridiculous, and it had a ridiculous name, but Karl’s unswerving sense that it was a winning invention just about sums him up. He’s one on his own, with his own ideas about how things should be.

So not the greatest bucket list event to cap off the series, but at least the finale felt deserving of the climax and proved to be a strong conclusion to what has been a very good series. It perhaps may even be the last one, too (although the sheer success of it must have the powers that be hoping it won’t be and pushing for another one!).

What was the best part?

I’m tempted to plump for the sequence where Karl ate the raw fish and then vomited, but for sheer class and a fitting finale, I have to say the journey up the mountain was good stuff – and probably the show’s most classy moment. Despite the Pilkopants.

What do I think will happen next?

Next up is a retrospective over Karl’s journey with Ricky and Steve; it’ll probably be a lot of fun, like a video version of their podcasts, so I am looking forward to it perhaps more than any of the ‘proper’ episodes. (And Ricky Gervais on Twitter has been talking about how it’s his favourite episode of the series and is really good, so that helps generate more enthusiasm for it.)

Misfits: S03 Ep01

What happened?

Rory, a man with a power that means his personality physically splits into two separate persons runs into the Misfits gang now free from their probation duties, and also from Nathan who has gone to Las Vegas. With all of them now possessing new powers they struggle to make the best of them, with Simon most successfully employing his ability to perceive potential consequences with his burgeoning parkour skills to become the ‘man in the mask’.

Rory reveals that Alisha once broke his heart after sleeping with him, and the pair of them find themselves at the mercy of a murderous girl with the power to freeze in time her immediate surroundings. Luckily Rory’s alter-ego comes to their rescue. Shortly after the gang are caught driving a car Rory stole and, before they know it, are back on community service, musing on whether or not the next 7 weeks will pass by uneventfully.

Thoughts

The big question facing Misfits for this third series was how it would cope with the unplanned departure of Nathan. Clearly leaving a massive hole in the group dynamic, not to mention the show’s signature outrageous comedy value, he was as close to a ‘lead’ as Misfits had and was not going to be an easy patch to cover. So whilst this episode did focus more on new boy Rory I suspect the show is going to lean more than ever on functioning as an ensemble piece.

How does Misfits fare with the departure of Nathan? Actually, not bad.

New character Rory is, naturally, going to be the major talking point. I personally found him a tad annoying but mostly enjoyable. The only aspect to him that kind of bugged me was that his power had him split his personality; one being egotistical and over-confident and the other being insecure and wracked with conscience. The trouble was when these two personalities were combined the personality that was presented was barely dis-similar to the over-confident one. I think I would have preferred the ‘joined’ Rory to be more balanced to better emphasise the extremes of his individual components.

Maybe the point is that the insecure Rory is just a small part of him that he kept buried, like he shielded himself from it after his suicide attempt. The powers a person has invariably feed back into some aspect of their characters so Rory’s split is just a power that makes him confront the very thing he wants to repress; the moral conscience and constant reminder of all that he would like to forget. If I consider it in those terms then his rather objectionable (although funny) coarse personality that dominates makes more sense.

So, Rory, he’s no Nathan, but if Misfits can traverse the fine line between his full-on manner and level-headed decency then there’s the makings of an interesting dimension to the gang. I did like his remarks about how there was definitely going to be trouble coming for the group; clearly this was the writer making a knowing in-joke but Misfits is littered with such moments, with the characters literally speaking the opinions of the audience, and it’s cheeky enough to get away with it. Indeed, it’s part of the charm.

Kudos to the opening rooftop scrap Rory had with himself; Misfits is evidently a show that operates on a small budget but they do wonders with it and the effects here looked great, particularly on the subtle touches like their shadows when they were stood together.

Elsewhere our gang have all undergone something of a reinvention and the other big question hanging at the end of the last series was what new powers they would now have. Kelly’s was the ironically dumb revelation that she was a “rocket scientist”; a power that felt like it had been given to her purely so she could make the self-aware remark of incredulity that she was “a fucking rocket scientist”. The danger is that, now that joke is done, it doesn’t leave her character with a particularly interesting or useful power.

I do wonder if the ‘rocket scientist’ power isn’t going to be a temporary one and that before long she will seek out the man who can give and take powers and manage to bequeath herself something a little more potent. (I did note that the preview for next week’s episode suggested she was pursuing him out of some form of love interest, so maybe that will be a part of it.)

Curtis had the most eye-opening power at being able to transform into a girl. I did like how he stated he had basically ended up with it because he had let everyone else go first and it was the only one left! What direction that will take his character in remains to be seen but, at the moment, he feels like the least vital member of the group. Possibly could be a mind-boggling situation for him, though, if as a woman he gets involved with another man. . . Will that make him gay!? Confusing!

Lastly, Simon and Alisha have the two ‘best’ powers. Simon is clearly focused on becoming the ‘man in the mask’ so he can fulfil all the amazing rescues and acts we’ve seen him perform already. His power of being able to foresee consequences ties into what we saw in series 2, where he was busy making sure certain things happened in order to make everything turn out as it should. The big issue for him is that he knows his own death date and the big question for the show is: Will Simon actively try and avert that?

It’s hard to determine if that’s a question this series will even tackle. The Las Vegas photo informs us that Simon and Alisha have to least go and have that picture taken before he meets his fate (and, presumably, encounter someone with the capacity to send him back in time). For now it seems they have time but I would hope it’s a matter that does get addressed.

Alisha’s power to see things from another person’s perspective is a natural extension of her new-found empathy from the selfish person she used to be. It’s certainly a handy power to have and will surely be useful many times during the series. Of all the characters she’s the one that’s come the furthest, although Simon is not far behind and, whilst he still retain that otherworldly creepiness about him, he’s the one with the best ongoing plot arc and the most character depth.

All in all it’s good to have Misfits back and even better to see it’s endured the loss of a major character and barely suffered in the process. Profane, funny, fast-paced and, so far at least, inventive and logically-sound. It’s a misfit from the rest of the TV crowd and all the better for it.

What was the best part?

I really liked the sequence where the girl who could freeze time did so in the pub upon seeing Rory with another girl (who was totally hot, shame they killed her!). Just the way the music was slightly fuzzy as action-time went to a crawl and the girl wandered through the room before bottling Rory in the face with bloody retribution was a standout moment.

What do I think will happen next?

Kelly will pursue her interest in the power broker; whether for romantic reasons, or to trade for a new power, or both remains to be seen. Otherwise I anticipate questions surrounding Simon’s fate will be addressed by both he and Alisha. Beyond that the world of Misfits has been thrown wide open and no doubt it will be populated with the usual array of other people with powers that will invariably create problems for our unlikely superhero group.