Eh.
I was sort of not-wowed, and then the following dialogue happened:
First guy: What do we do now?
[pause]
Second guy: Now, we wait.
Jesus fuck. No seriously, I had an urge to take pen to paper and list everywhere I’d heard that before.
I’m supposed to be into this shit? Become obsessed? The preview made me think “rip-off of Threshold.” Threshold was a sci-fi show that didn’t take off, and got cancelled mid-season, but I really liked it. Carla Gugioni, Peter Dinklage, Brent Spiner, Charles S. Dutton, alien invasion. I thought it was really intelligent. And I could see all these parallels, based on the preview. Well, Threshold was better. More compelling, scarier, with a more interesting assortment of characters. Hell, even the stiff pseudo-acting of The 4400 was better than this!
One more week, maybe, and then I’m done.
It was definitely meh. But rather than thinking of Threshold (which I liked, too. Great cast), I think I got thrown off because the premise (small secret group saves the world weekly from outrageous normal-people-wouldn’t-believe-it threats) reminded me of The Middleman, only played painfully straight.
[I don’t know if anybody here watched The Middleman on ABC Family Channel this summer, but it was a brilliant, hysterically funny show, a combination of:
Men In Black (supersecret high-tech organization dedicated to protecting the world from mad scientists, hostile aliens, mutant beasties, etc),
The Tick (straightlaced, square jawed hero prone to spouting homilies),
Ally McBeal (snarky, pretty heroine with equally snarky pretty friends and a problematic personal life),
Big Trouble In Little China (deliberately stylized expository dialogue and of course another square jawed, campy hero) ,
all tied together with enough tv/movie/comics references to make a pop culture geek’s head explode. It was so good and fun and funny that I have almost no hope it will be renewed. 🙁 ]
LOVED The Middleman, I will definitely buy the DVD when it comes out.
I had the same reaction to Fringe: meh. My husband thought it was just terrible. The best things I could say about the show is that the acting is fine and the lead actress has a lovely speaking voice. The writing is just atrocious.
I was pissed when they cancelled Threshold, too. For me, it was all about Peter Dinklage. He could be on every TV show and I don’t think I would tire of him.
That is 100% my feeling about Dinklage. So so so good.
I tuned it because it’s from J.J. Abrams who created Lost, which I love, and because it was billed as a sort of new X-Files. I was not impressed. It started out alright, but I lost interest as it progressed.