The Fall TV season is upon us — and with it, some new stuff. Recently,
Fringe (Tuesdays on Fox): J.J. Abrams’ new series — which comes off as a cross between The X-Files and the short-lived Skeet Ulrich show Miracles. Multi-agency task force investigates bizarre happenings, all related to “fringe science” (teleportation, telepathy, EVP, UFOs, time travel, various Fortean phenomena). We caught the pilot (which is available for viewing at the official website, if you missed it) — my verdict: Pretty cool, although I think that it’s probably too cerebral for American audiences, and I doubt it will last. Then again, that was my original opinion of Lost, as well.
True Blood (Sundays on HBO): Based on the “Sookie Stackhouse” urban fantasy novels of Charlaine Harris. Vampires have “come out of the coffin” with the announcement of a synthetic blood substitute, and the stories revolve around a psychic waitress (played by Anna Paquin) who works at a roadhouse in backwoods Louisiana. The debut episode was interesting enough to keep watching. It’s an interesting vibe — kinda reminds me a little bit of Near Dark, with the whole down-to-earth, de-glamorized “country” vampire thing. We’ll see how it goes.
Sons of Anarchy (Wednesdays, FX Network): Or, as I said to Laura: “The Sopranos on Harleys” — family crime-drama centered around a California biker gang. Ron Perlman as the sinister head of the Sons. Definitely appears to be following The Sopranos model: interfamilial strife, insiders view of crime, stark violence. Plus, motorcycles! I enjoyed it.