Bright Spots in the New Season

I have to say that some of the new shows this season are weak or started strong only to disappoint. I quickly dropped Eastwick due to bad writing (come on - the first episode has a woman talking about vomit on her face) and its attempt to mimic a much better movie. And if you only have half an hour for a family situation comedy, go with Modern Family, an interesting multi-generational comedy, rather than The Middle, which is too much like Malcolm in the Middle (and not only reuses characters such as the youngest son but also the name of the show).

However, the returning Fringe is a treat. The show, brought to you by J.J.Abrams, remains lively and interesting with just enough twists and laughs to keep you coming back. While it has its darker moments, it also has the best qualities that the X-Files also provided by tossing in subtle comedy at a particularly dangerous intersection of events. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield had it right when he said

It's the most exciting drama around right now, too strange to fit into any stylistic box - too trippy for a cop show, too tough for sci-fi, with an unfailingly amazing cast and dialogue that dances from flippant bitchery to dazed-and-confused profundity. You don't have to follow the wide-scale conspiracy narrative to enjoy the individual episodes, but the deeper you dig into it, the more connections you find.

I wholeheartedly agree. It's more evidence that great TV is possible. I hope Fox knows what it has here.