Show Review: Celtic Woman "Believe"

Tonight I went with some friends to go see Celtic Woman's DVD recording "Believe" in Atlanta in the Fox Theater. This is the first time I have been to an actual recording, and so it was definitely different from a normal concert. I do have to say that the balcony seats my friend and I had were excellent, the closest I've ever been to the stage for the cheapest price; we had a very clear view of the entire stage, except for the heads in front of me. The theater looked pretty full, but I didn't see the ground floor at all, so I don't know how full it was.

I guess each recording has its own glitches, but tonight it was the microphones. The PBS representative was supposed to talk into a mic, but it didn't work so everyone was running around trying to fix the problem. Throughout the night, the sound guy (who told us when to clap and such) had mic problems as well. During a couple of songs, for a brief second it sounded like there was a male talking into a mic, even though there was no one on stage doing it. It was odd, but it was a glitch that I doubt will be shown on the final DVD.

SPOIlERS AHEAD: IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED BEFORE DECEMBER'S PBS PLEDGE DRIVES, DON'T READ ANY FURTHER.

Song #1- the show started off with the usual Mairead solo and then led into the three singers Lisa K, Lisa L, and Chloe singing. I didn't recognize this song, but it sounded like a mixture of "The Call" and "Sky, Dawn, and Sun" and was about waking either the night or the heavens.

Song #2- the second song was a Lisa K solo (which is typical, it seems). I don't know the name of it, but the only line I recall from it is "you are the only one." Lisa used a hand microphone while she sang it. This one reminded me of "Fields of Gold."

Song #3- the third song was a Mairead solo. I don't know the name of this one either, but given past shows, I'm guessing it is a David Downes- Mairead creation. This one sounds eerily like "The Butterfly," except Mairead did some Hendrix screeching during it. Mairead didn't look like she was on fire like she has been before, but at the end of the song her bow was shredded.

Song #4- the fourth song was a Chloe song with Mairead accompanying on the violin. It was soft and pretty, and the word "nocturne" was repeated several times throughout.

Song #5- the fifth song was all four girls but centered predominantly on Lisa K. Bagpipes played a large part in the song, and I was less than twenty feet away from the lead piper who was in the balcony. The problem with the pipes is that they played along with the girls and, as a result, were nearly drowned out because of the voices. The song was very short and dealt with sailing on the sea.

"Bridge over Troubled Water"- I am not familiar with the original version of the song, but CW's interpretation was nothing memorable to me. The Gwinnett Young Singers, a local kids' choir, joined in and sat on the stairs in the center of the stage, surrounding the girls. This one got standing ovation.

"Black Is the Color"- I was not familiar with this song until wikipedia informed me it is largely an American folk tune. This one was sung by Lisa L; this is the first time I have heard her perform, but I was not that impressed with her voice. To me, Lisa Lambe sounds like a combination of Lisa K and Chloe, which made it difficult for me to tell the girls apart when they sang. Lisa L moves around a lot on the stage, much like Mairead dances, and it was a bit distracting.

"Give Me Your Hand"- I first heard this song on the "Songs from the Heart" tour last year, but this is the second half of the "Songs from the Heart" medley in the second act. I loved the pipes on this one. It was good, but I missed Alex and Lynn being a part of it.

"Tears in Heaven"- I believe this was an Eric Clapton cover; even though I know Clapton a bit, I was not familiar with this one. Chloe sang this, and it reminded me of her version of "The Prayer" that she sang at Slane. It was not a memorable piece.

It was interesting in that during this song, I noticed some people getting up and walking out. I'm not sure if they returned a different way, but it made me wonder if some fans were not happy with some of the songs.

"My Heart Was Home Again"- I also first heard this on the "Songs from the Heart" tour when former member Alex Sharpe sang it. Alex's version, to me, was so powerful and emotional, and it was her signature song. However, the duet between the two Lisas just did not work for me. Out of loyalty to Alex, I didn't clap at this one.

"I Dreamed a Dream/ Circle of Life"- This one was a medley of stuff from the musicals "Les Miserables" and "The Lion King." Lisa K focused more on the first half with Lisa L on the second half. The drums reminded me of "Mo Ghile Mear," and David Downes played a whistle during the song. I didn't like the Lion King song, and I thought it really didn't fit with the entire scheme of things.

Between this one and the next song, there was a five minute interlude. The sound guy gave us instructions on clapping and stuff about gas prices. I thought it was a poor attempt to keep the audience entertained while the girls changed.

"Teidhir Abhaile Riu"- don't be deceived; this is NOT the original traditional Irish song. Much like "Nil Se'n La," it was part of the original Gaelic chorus added to a song that had little relation to the original. This one was the "Nil Se'n La" replacement, with all the girls coming out barefoot and wearing what looked like green bathrobes (I kid you not; one of the chaperones agreed with me about the dresses for this one). Nonetheless, it was a fun, upbeat song. They had a male Irish tap dancer on stage (I have no idea who he was, but he seemed to know Mairead very well, given their interactions). There was the sense of "At the Ceili" with the girls doing a bit of acting, and there was dancing, including a neat spinning scene. It was entertaining and one of the highlights of the evening.

Then we had an intermission. It was supposedly fifteen minutes, but I think it was closer to twenty because they kept delaying returning to the show. While they set up, the audience sang "happy birthday" to Ray the drummer, as today is his birthday. Finally, Lisa K and Chloe came out and taught the audience how to sing "Green Grow the Rushes O"; I wonder how much of their interaction was scripted or if it really was unplanned.

"A Woman's Heart"- this song has been sung by Mary Black and by Eleanor Mcevoy, but I had never heard it before. It was sung by the two Lisas and Chloe. The lights were very bright during this one, and it made it hard to look at the stage.

"The Water Is Wide"- I'm sorry, Lisa K and Mairead, but Orla Fallon and even Chloe as a soloist were far better. This song was too loud and lacked the power that Orla put into it on her first solo album. The bagpipes were predominant and loud on this one. Nonetheless, it got a standing ovation from the audience.

"Green Grow the Rushes O"- the audience was urged to sing along with the three girls. It wasn't a very memorable piece.

"You'll Never Walk Alone"- all four girls performed this one with the kids' choir. The drums were rather loud on this one, but it came across as being sentimental.

"Smile"- I'm not familiar with the original, but this one was sung acapella by the girls, with Mairead accompanying them. It was a rather bland and homogeneous arrangement, and it made me miss CW's earlier days when everyone sounded different. It wasn't very memorable.

"Walking the Night"- this is the first half of the "Songs from the Heart" medley popular on the recent tours. It was ok, but Alex and Lynn sang it far better, in my opinion. Lisa L acted very dramatic on stage, but it came across as silly and not fitting the song.

"A Spaceman Came Traveling"- I was hoping this song would not be performed, but it was anyway. It's a catchy tune, but being a Christian, I found the song offensive for its portrayal of angels being aliens. Lisa L spun around the stage like crazy, but it came across as a poor imitation of Mairead.

"Ave Maria"- Chloe and the kids' choir sang this new arrangement of the Catholic hymn along with the orchestra. I prefer the original version that Chloe and Orla did back in 2004.

"Women of Ireland"- this was Mairead's replacement for "Ashoken Farewell/ The Contradiction." It started off slow and then picked up the pace at the end. To my disappointment, the drummers did not come down to perform with Mairead; instead, the Irish dancer came back on to dance with her. The crowd enjoyed the dancer, and they got all excited when they saw the wood being laid down for him before the song began.

"The Parting Glass"- this was the last song of the night. It started off acapella but then the other instruments joined in. This song was extremely loud, and I had a headache and sore ears by this point. The bagpipes nearly drowned out the girls' singing. Some confetti was shot out on the stage towards the end of the piece, and I pity those who have to clean it up tonight.

Then, everyone cheered, and the performers bowed and left the stage to the "At the Ceili Reprise". The ending felt rather abrupt, but perhaps that was because I'm so used to the "Mo Ghile Mear/ Finale" and "Spanish Lady" to finishing out the show.

As far as music, I was rather disappointed with the song choices. Most of the songs dealt with sadness or some kind of depression, and very few of them were upbeat. They sang Celtic songs, but they did not have any Celtic flavor to them, coming across more like pop and not traditional. And several of the songs sounded familiar in that they were mere replacements for previous show songs or that, in the case of Mairead's pieces, they sounded exactly like what's she been playing for the past seven years.

The costumes were nothing special either. The dresses struck me as looking like different versions of those from "Songs from the Heart" DVD. Neither of the dresses looked particularly good on Chloe, and I think the designer needs to pay attention to the fact that she's bigger than the other girls and that she should dress differently from them.

I was concerned about the extra eye candy that was rumored to be in the show, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The tap dancer wasn't distracting; he did add something interesting to the show, but I still think that he was a bit unnecessary. The kids' choir was ok, but it seemed that they were there to convince people that CW loves kids. The confetti at the end was a bit much, and I think the fog machine let out a bit too much fog at times. The lights, however, were very bright at times, and I was left worrying that I'd get a migraine from them.

As for voices, I honestly don't know if what I heard was live or not. At times it seemed live, but most of the time I didn't know. I'm reserving judgment until I see the final DVD result. But, given Lisa L's constant spinning, it wouldn't surprise me if she was lip-synching.

A big problem I had with the show was the treatment of the girls. Lisa L seemed like a third wheel, only added as an extra vocalist; Lisa K and Chloe were on the stage far more frequently than Lisa L. Mairead also seemed like another third wheel, only showing up in a few songs. Lisa K once again was shown off as the predominant, leading singer, which seems to have been the case for the past few years, but it was done at the expense of Lisa L and Mairead. It reminds me of "Songs from the Heart," where the original three girls were promoted while Lynn and Alex were treated more like background singers. I'm not sure what songs will end up on the final CD, but I hope it's not going to be a repeat of the last show.

I was really excited about "Believe," but I was left feeling rather underwhelmed. It seemed more like a pop repeat of "Songs from the Heart." To me, this show was even worse than "Songs from the Heart." I may change my opinion about it, but I was not very fond of what I saw. It seems, to me, that CW is only continuing to decline as a show, and I'm losing confidence in their ability to entertain.

Movie Review: Unknown

Recently, I watched the film "Unknown" starring Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

"Unknown" is an action-thriller-drama movie set in Berlin, Germany. Dr. Martin Harris and his wife arrive in Berlin for an important science conference; however, on the day of their arrival, Harris forgets a bag at the airport and tries to retrieve it, only to end up in a car accident. He wakes up four days later with amnesia and then remembers the conference and his name. However, when Harris returns to the hotel where he and his wife were staying, his wife does not know him and another man has assumed his identity. People start trying to chase Harris, and he turns to the cab driver Gina, who caused the car accident, and a German PI named Jurgen for help.

The plot seemed straightforward and interesting, but it became twisted and did not flow smoothly. As I watched it, it seemed as if the writers couldn't quite make up their mind as to the ending would be; this made the build-up confusing and the revelation looking as if it had suddenly been added with nothing to lead up to it. I still don't fully understand the assassination scheme and the whole thing about genetically modified corn. Also, the ending of the film felt like the ending of a Bourne movie, though it was not as well-done and did not fit in well with the rest of the movie.

The characters were all right though nothing memorable. At first, I sympathized with Harris when I wondered what was going on to him; however, by the end of the movie, he was nothing special. Harris remembering his true identity reminded me of Jason Bourne, but he was far less sympathetic than Bourne; Bourne's change of heart in the first film made sense, but Harris' did not. Neeson and Kruger had no chemistry together, and they did not work together well.

Maybe it was because of the meandering plot, but there was quite a bit of action in the movie though not as cool as other action films. I did have a problem with the shower sex scene and the meaningless off-screen sex in Gina's apartment; neither fit into the movie, and they seemed more like they were thrown in for no good reason whatsoever.

The movie looked like a popcorn film, but I was disappointed. It came across as meandering and then like a Jason Bourne wannabee that miserably failed. It was not a very memorable movie, and I'm not likely to watch it again.

I give it two stars out of five.

Movie Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

This evening, I made my first trip to the movie theater in several months to see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

For those who are familiar with the original series that started back in 1968, the current movie is the first one of a reboot and does not deal with the original story.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

"Rise of Planet of the Apes" is a new origin story for the "Planet of the Apes" mythology. James Franco plays Will Rodman, a scientist who is trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease, emotionally inspired by his own father who suffers from the disease. After Will's cure seems to fail when an intelligent chimpanzee Bright Eyes becomes violent, he and his assistant Franklin discover she has a baby. Not wanting to kill it, Will takes the baby home, where his father names it "Caesar." Because of the drugs given to his mother, Caesar becomes a highly intelligent chimpanzee. When Will's father's dementia returns, Will makes a new but more aggressive form of the virus, but he and his company do not test it on humans, preferring to continue the testing with chimps. After an incident involving Will's father, Caesar is sent to a primate house, where he is abused by the workers and is disgusted with the other unruly chimps. Caesar soon becomes the domineering chimp and begins instructing the other orangutans and gorillas, and things become more interesting when he manages to get a hold of the intelligence virus and give it to his companions.

The plot was easy to understand, coherent, and interesting. My one complaint is that it seemed a little slow, as the real action didn't begin until later in the movie. Part of that is that this movie is an origin story, which means that it's a mere introduction to what will happen later. Which means that if there is at least another movie in the works, then that one will likely deal with more actual conflicts between apes and humans and not the build-up.

The characters were divided into the human and the animal. The human ones were generally nothing memorable, but neither were they ones you disliked or hated, except for the greedy cooperation owners and the people who run the primate house. The apes were definitely meant to be sympathetic as they suffer from abuse at the hands of humans, and they all had their different personalities, like the young male who challenges Caesar, the ferocious gorilla Buck, or the orangutan who befriends Caesar.

The special effects for the movie were cool, especially in regards to the CGI apes. Andy Serkis did an excellent job doing Caesar's role, and the apes looked much better than in the 60's and 70's versions where people were just dressed up in makeup for the roles.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie, but I ended up thoroughly enjoyed it. It was an entertaining drama-action film, and I believe worthy of being continued. If a sequel is ever produced of similar quality, you will find me at the movie theater when it arrives.

I give this film four out of five stars.

Miniseries Review: John Adams

If you haven't noticed by now, I'm something of a history geek. So when a movie or TV series based on historical events comes out, I like watching it. There's nothing that pleases me more than a historically accurate telling of real events. Recently, I watched the TV miniseries "John Adams," based on the life of America's second president.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

The TV miniseries is in seven parts and begins with John Adams as a farmer and lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts. He is called upon to defend the British soldiers accused of starting the Boston Massacre, much to the chagrin of his hot-headed cousin Samuel Adams. Adams is reluctantly dragged into joining the Continental Congress, but his hot-headed nature tends to alienate him. He is then sent away to France to ask the king for aiding the Americans, which causes him to butt heads with Ben Franklin and which causes tension at home as he misses his wife and children. Eventually he is reunited with his wife and with his friend Thomas Jefferson in France and visits Paris and England. Washington is elected the first president, and political struggles immediately begin, especially between Jefferson and Hamilton. Adams is elected the second president and is also beset with political tensions between Britain and France due to the French Revolution. After he fails to win another election, he retires on his family farm, where he suffers grave losses within his own family as he grows older and outlives most of them.

The show's writers did a good job of capturing the highlights of Adam's life between 1774 and his death. It moved at a good pace, and there was never a dull moment, even if Adams was reading a newspaper criticizing some political event or person; part of this was because of the characters, but I'll get to that later. I really enjoyed the look at power politics, such as the struggles between Jefferson and Hamilton, and it was a reminder that American politics were divided from the very beginning. The writers also did good in making certain scenes emotional, particularly in the last episode which has several deaths in it though other notable scenes are: Adams watching hot-headed Patriots tar a tax collector and Adams and his wife being reunited in France after several years apart.

The characters were very memorable, and the actors and actresses were chosen well. Paul Giamatti made a very good John Adams, capturing his sarcasm and his short-temper in a way that makes him flawed but likable. Laura Linney was a good Abigail Adams, and her character matured as she started off as an unsure young woman who did not like her husband being away so often, but she transformed into a strong shoulder for Adams. Tom Wilkinson, David Morse, and Stephen Dillane were also good in their roles as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, capturing what made these historical men unique. These characters kept the plot going, and they had good chemistry with one another, making the miniseries seem even more real.

The costumes, makeup, and scenery was also well-done. Everything looked accurate, and I felt as if I had been transported back to late colonial times. The makeup was especially excellent, especially as you watched the characters grow old, as their hair grows whiter and more wrinkles appear on their face. I was quite amazed at how they managed to make Giamatti look ninety years old.

All in all, the miniseries was excellent. I did not know much about John Adams and what he had done, but this gave me a good look into America's War for Independence and more into what went on behind the scenes, like in the Continental Congress. If you are an American history buff or someone in search of an accurate historical story, this is definitely the miniseries for you. Case in point: we got my sister, who's not very interested in history (and calls us history people geeks frequently), to watch the show, and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

I give it five out five stars.

Movie Review: Clash of the Titans

This evening, I watched "Clash of the Titans" with the family.

If you're like me, you've seen the original version released in 1981 which dealt with Perseus, the half-god and half-mortal, as he has adventures in saving his love Andromeda. It was also complete with Harryhausen graphics, which don't look very real but are nonetheless classic.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

The 2010 "Clash of the Titans" is about Perseus, the illegitimate son of the Greek god Zeus and Danae, a queen; he and his mother are sentenced to die in a coffin, but Perseus survives as a baby and is adopted by a fisherman and his wife. However, the world is restless as men are openly questioning and rebelling against the gods on Olympus, including Perseus and his adopted father. After his family is killed, Perseus ends up in Argos, where his demigod nature is revealed, and he is called upon to save the princess Andromeda from the Kraken, a creature created by Hades to destroy the Titans. As Perseus and his group journey to find a way to kill the Kraken, they battle beasts like Medusa, the three witches, giant scorpions, and others, and Perseus continually resists his demigod nature and refuses to act like a god.

The plot was rather strange and did not smoothly flow together. It seemed to take aspects of the original movie as well as parts of Disney's 1996 "Hercules." Basically, you have the gods trying to get humans to love them, as human prayers power them; then there is Hades who is scheming to get Zeus out of the picture so he can be king of the gods; then there is Perseus resisting his demigod nature and hating the gods, refusing to use their many gifts; then there is the chaos in Argos as religious fanatics scream about doomsday and disobeying the gods, wanting to sacrifice Andromeda, who is willing to die to save others but whose father thinks otherwise. It all may tie in for some semblance of a plot, but I found that it did not really exist or flow. The movie seemed to be more about the big action scenes and declarations of independence from the gods but little else.

Part of the problem, I found was the severe deviance from Greek mythology. Io, instead of being one of Zeus' human lovers who was disguised as a cow, became a mortal cursed with agelessness and a romantic interest for Perseus, which Andromeda originally was. The djinn, an Arabic mythological creature, were added as beings to aid Perseus, but their addition was rather bizarre and did not fit. Acrisius, the husband of Danae, becomes Calibos (in the original movie, he was a monstrous being cursed by Zeus for killing the god's flying horses), and it's his wife, not his daughter, who is impregnated by Zeus; the entire circumstances surrounding Perseus' birth were also not from the original legend (the 1981 version sticks true to what the legend says what happened). Compared to the 1981 version, Zeus and Hades were the only two gods to play a major part in the events, also deviating from the legend. Perhaps it's just me, but I prefer it when movies stick to the original mythology because continuity is better (though Disney's "Hercules" is an exception because it was watered down for young audiences, but it still worked).

The characters were nothing truly memorable or special. Sam Worthington plays the reluctant hero Perseus who hates his true origins, which is a typical stereotype in modern stories. There is the military man Draco who is meant to be likable because he lost his daughter and hates the gods because of it. Queen Cassiopea is meant to be unlikable and boastful, and there is no sympathy at all for her, and her husband barely does anything in the story. Andromeda is supposed to be a beautiful princess, but I found she wasn't anything special other than the stereotypical royal girl who loves her people and wants to save them, despite what her parents want.

My biggest problem with the movie is that it came across as being more of an anti-religious rant than anything else. Practically all of the characters hate the gods while the gods themselves are portrayed as selfish and unlikable. The entire movie was anti-religious to the point that that was its theme, and the movie was meant to drive that theme into your head. It was very annoying (not to mention offensive, because I am a Christian), and it made the movie difficult to watch and enjoy. I would have liked the movie a little better if the theme was not as predominant.

The special effects were neat, ranging from the giant scorpions to the three witches to the Kraken. However, they often reminded me of stuff from other movies, namely "Pan's Labyrinth" or "Hellboy" (both the first and the second), and I would have liked more originality in that area. Also, in my personal opinion, I liked Harryhausen's animation better, even though the recent stuff was neat.

The movie looked like it would be a cheesy guilty pleasure, but it didn't turn out to be one for me. It was an anti-religious rant with little plot and special effects galore. I think I'll just stick to the original movie for the Perseus and Andromeda legend.

I give it one and a half stars out of five.

Movie Review: Hereafter

Last night, my mom and I watched Clint Eastwood's recent film "Hereafter."

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

"Hereafter" takes place in 2004 and 2005 and switches between three main characters. Matt Damon plays George, a psychic who can communicate with the dead but wants nothing more to do with his gift, which he calls a curse. The second character is Marie, a French reporter who has a near-death experience in the 2004 tsunami and decides to write a book about such experiences. The third character is Marcus, who loses his twin brother Jason and is placed in a foster home, where he tries to find a psychic who will enable him to talk to his dead brother. In the last twenty minutes of the film, these three characters finally collide in London, England.

The movie's plot was continually at a snail's pace, and I was constantly waiting for something to happen, but it never happened. There were a few exciting scenes like the tsunami or the train bombing in England, but they were rather out of place in the slow-moving plot. George doesn't do much except take an Italian cooking class and try to avoid giving people a reading, Marie spends her time thinking of her near-death experience and arguing with her publisher to get her controversial book published, and Marcus walks around in an emotionless daze, looking for a psychic or for some sign of his dead brother. And then, in the last twenty minutes, the plot becomes predictable when Marie ends up in London for a book fair and George is there on vacation, and the three characters finally interact, where Marcus finally accepts his brother's death and then George and Marie meet up to begin a romantic relationship. Other than that, there was no real goal for the plot, and it merely trudged along.

The characters were rather dull, and their experiences did not help the already-slow plot. Matt Damon is a talented actor, as seen in his roles in "Good Will Hunting" or the Bourne trilogy, but this was role was a waste of his talent; he spent most of the film complaining about his psychic abilities, and I felt little sympathy for his character. Marie was also a very dry, uninteresting character, and I could have cared less if her boyfriend cheated on her or if she lost her job because of her book. Marcus was also uninteresting, and I found it difficult to sympathize with him as he struggled to deal with the grief of his brother's death. The only character who had a semblance of life was Bryce Dallas Howard as Melanie, who George meets in his class, but she disappeared early on from the story and was not brought up again. Interesting characters can often save a dull story, but the ones in this film only added to its trudging nature.

There was ultimately nothing interesting or memorable about "Hereafter." I spent the entire film feeling bored and wondering when it would be over. The three stories did not interact or mix very well, and the characters were boring and forgettable. The concept was interesting, but it was not well-done; it needed a lot more work if it was to be a memorable, dramatic story about death.

I give it one star out of five.

Fringe- Redeemed Season 3?

Fox's television show "Fringe" had its season finale a little over a week ago. A few posts back, I went on a little rant on how I was disappointed with the way the show was going. However, curious to see if "Fringe" would redeem itself by the end of the season, I continued to watch it, even though I skipped over a few of the episodes. With the season finale, I am disappointed to say that "Fringe" season 3 was not redeemed in my eyes.

Disclaimer: The following views are not fully mine, as other "Fringe" fans have also voiced their own opinions, which I happen to agree with; so I am restating what other fans have said.

Comparing "Fringe" season 3 to its previous seasons, season 3 has fallen extremely short of what it used to be. One of these is in the plots and how the story is becoming weak and poorly written. In seasons 1 and 2, the writing remained consistent, and it was clear that the writers were making their way towards something cohesive and towards a larger picture. In season 3, this was not the case. Even though the machine seemed to be the underlying theme of the entire season, there were other side plots that seemed important and then were dropped and never resolved. For example, as a fan pointed out, Walternate's attempt to figure out how Olivia could cross between universes was never explained; another one would be Bolivia's rapid pregnancy, for which a reason was never given, and I would think there would be easier ways for Walternate and his minions to get Peter's DNA. Peter's vigilante activities against the shapeshifters were never explained, his more aggressive behavior, and the whole affair were quickly dropped after only one episode and never brought back.

Not only that, but looking back over the rest of the season, it became clear to me that the writers were not working with a unified plot anymore. An example is the First People. When the First People were first introduced in the episode "6955 kHz," they seemed like an interesting addition, as they had a different calender, invented the vacuum, and other things. However, by the season 3 finale, this perception changed with the rather weird statement that the First People were actually future Walter, Peter, Olivia, Ella, etc... Everything about that scenario completely contradicted the original information, and it almost looks like the writers had one idea in place and then abruptly changed their minds at the season's finale. This lack of a unified plot only led to further problems and story arcs that looked as if they were just thrown in for fun. I have no idea what the whole Belliva arc was about, as fans speculated that perhaps there was something more to Bell's motives, but in the end the storyline didn't make sense and added nothing to the season. This is very sloppy writing and is not at all what I expected from the writers from previous seasons.

Another problem this season was the pacing. The season started off strong, but as it went along, it felt like it was dragging its feet and not going anywhere. The whole Olivia/ Bolivia switch lasted too long and should have only been for a few episodes. After that arc was resolved, the middle of the season went limp. The episodes at that point became boring and added nothing to the overall plot, and the cases were nothing interesting, compared to those from seasons 1 and 2. Beginning with "6:02 AM," the build-up to the finale took way too long and seemed pointless. I felt as if the events of those three episodes could have been resolved in one episode and that the writers were just dragging out the plot. Not only that, but the entire finale buildup was disappointing; after a season finale, I generally get all excited in looking forward to the next season, but this time I did not feel that way.

Another problem this season was the characters. Because I am re-watching "Fringe" and am working on season 2 at the moment, I was struck by the difference in the characters between seasons 1 and 2 and then season 3. Olivia used to be a strong character, but this season she felt limp and not very interesting. Peter lost his cynic, humorous touch, and I lost respect for him when he did not recognize Bolivia's infiltration. Walter had a few memorable moments, but he was not as funny as he has been in the past. None of the other characters were memorable or deep either.

Given the poor quality of season 3 and how the writing is getting sour, I do not have high hopes for season 4. If Abrams took the reins of the show again, I could see some redemption, but currently I'm only expecting further decline. It is a great shame because "Fringe" started off as something that had great promise and that would not end up turning into "Lost," but now it looks like the original touch has been lost, most likely permanently. I may watch season 4 to see if the show is redeemed, but in the meantime I shall focus on seasons 1 and 2 for my dose of "Fringe."