New fall shows: Fringe and True Blood

Fringe: I know I've said that I refuse to get sucked into another J.J. Abrams show, but apparently there's something that trumps my hate for J.J. Abrams -- my love for Pacey. Yes, Joshua Jackson is back on TV and I cannot resist. To be fair, Abrams has gone on record saying that he realizes how convoluted Alias and Lost got and that he's going to try to make Fringe a little more accessible, so maybe I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. A few things in the premiere had me a little worried though, not least of which was "the Pattern" which sounds suspiciously like it could devolve into a terrible Rambaldi-Dharma type conspiracy thing.

But beyond that, it remains to be seen whether the X-files-ish procedural aspect is going to work well. The lead girl, Olivia, played by Anna Torv, is a little bland but isn't as terrible as say, Jamie from Bionic Woman. But John Noble, as mad scientist (literally) Walter Bishop, and Joshua Jackson as Peter, his snarky genius son, are really great. Their dynamic was a lot of fun to watch. The beginning of the premiere was surpremely gross though...and as a non-horror-movie-fan, I hope there isn't going to be too much of that kind of stuff. Tentatively added to my schedule.

True Blood: I don't know why vampires are suddenly making a comeback, but this seemed like it was going to be one of the more interesting entries in the genre. Based on a series of novels, the title of the series refers to a synthetic blood beverage that's allowing vampires to come out into the public. The show takes place in Louisiana, which adds another unique element to the series (seems like all TV these days is about rich people in New York or California), although for some reason, the leads are played by a Kiwi (Anna Paquin), a Brit (Stephen Moyer), and an Aussie (Ryan Kwanten). (I'm not from the South so I can't comment on their accents.) A very blond and perky Anna Paquin plays Sookie, a local waitress who falls for Bill, a vampire returned to his hometown. The pilot sets up a murder that'll likely be an ongoing plotline, but other than that I can't say where the storyline's going to go.

I normally get into this kind of stuff but somehow I wasn't really hooked. Maybe it's because of the Twilight books (see my previous post) but I think I'm a little weary of this vampire true love stuff. I'm not sure Sookie and Bill's connection was that believable. And of course Sookie has a human admirer too, her boss Sam. Sookie does have some amusing coworkers and friends that could keep things fun, but I don't know. Unless buzz gets better I think I'm going to be shelving this one.