Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

[Rylen]

Did anyone else catch the season premiers of three Chicago based shows? Below are a few of my comments and wondering what will happen with the season fair warning might contain spoilers:

Med: A bit shocking at the end of the ep. We knew two of the doctors were going to be leaving. Just didn't expect it to be that dramatic. Looks like they have a new doctor joining the cast. The cancer story arch will a powerful but hard to watch for me.

Fire: This ep was hard to watch. I saw the cliffhanger at the end of the previous season so I knew things would be bad. Just didn't think it would be *that* bad. Cast changes happen and exits take place. But that one was a sucker punch. Too early to tell how the rest of the season will shape up. Casey might pull a Serveride in terms of how he handles things.

PD: This was more or less a typical PD ep. Twists and turns but everyone knew the outcome. What I don't fully know is Dawson's fate. I know the guy who played him left the show. Just not sure he will remain living or put on a bus to oblivion.

Bonus: Law & Order SVU: The ep was OK. But the show is sadly running out of gas. The story keeps feeling more and more forced. The writing has taken a major nose dive the last few seasons to the point that it really is hard to watch. Acting is decent. But their is very little in terms of character development.

[Silver_Surfer1]

Rylen, I don't think I have watched any of those shows you mentioned. You describe them very well and they all sound interesting. I usually like med/police/fire related programs. They usually seem to be very popular. I will try and check them out if I get a chance.

[Rylen]

What I like about the Chicago shows is that they are interconnected. It is not uncommon to see characters cross over all the time. Case in point in the Med premier someone from PD and Fire showed up. That's how I got hooked on the other shows.

[Rylen]

A short recap of my thoughts of the newest eps:

Med: New doc has a chip on his shoulder but seems to be a good fit for the show. The cancer arch still hits close to home for me. I think we will be seeing some kind of "love triangle" play out with Halstead. So far some pretty good stuff. The Dr Manning arch is going to be a troubling one.

Fire: I was wrong about Casey. The Bret arch felt too rushed to have any kind of impact. Could tell who the new guy was going to be with in the first few moments of the show. The Severide on the boat felt kind of out of place with the rest of the ep. Didn't do much to advance the stories. The Mollie's bar arch was good and glad to see they are keeping it in the show. Seems to be a Dick Wolf trait as he had something like it in Homicide: Life on the Streets.

PD: This was pretty much a typical ep. Nothing really going on other than to introduce a new character. Not sure if she will last long. This show isn't afraid to bringing people in and then having them put in the bus to the parlor.

SVU: After what I felt was a lack luster season opener this ep was classic heart strings. The story was strong and over all good outcome. They even addressed one of the issues I had with the lack of detectives. A odd theory comes to mind given one of the flash backs. I'm wondering if they will be bringing back one of the previous detectives. But this is just pure speculation on my part.

[Silver_Surfer1]

Sounds like some interesting shows, episodes, and characters Rylen.

Who are some of the actors on these shows? I wonder if I know any of them or have seen their work before?

[Rylen]

Today's recap:

Med: This ep had a few twists and turns. Also a few rather fun surprises. The main focuses were the new doc, Manning/Halstead interaction and of course the cancer arch. Over all not a bad ep.

Hallstead: Nick Gehlfuss
Manning: Torrey DeVitto
Crockett (new doc): Dominic Rains
Goodwin: S. Epatha Merkerson (she use to be on the original Law & Order)


Fire: Over all not a bad ep that was pretty low key. The main arch focused on the two paramedics with the back up story on the new fire fighter. He told a brave story on how he got in. But at the end of the ep you learn the truth which adds a heart breaking moment to the story.

Boden: Eamonn Walker
Bret: Kara Killmer
Severide: Taylor Kinney
Casey: Jesse Spencer

PD: The focus on this ep was the new recruit and her ability to fit in with the rest of the unit. They did explain why Dawson left the previous season with a simple one line. However it fit in with the characters sister leaving Fire a season or two before that.

Voight: Jason Beghe
Atwater: LaRoyce Hawkins
Upton: Tracy Spiridakos
Ruzek: Patrick Flueger

[Rylen]

Today's Recap:

This one will be a little bit different. The last few seasons the three shows do a epic level crossover event. In this case the lines between the three shows become rather blurred. Warning: This recap will contain some spoilers:

One Chicago: Infection!

Part I, Fire: The ep starts with the Fire Cast scroll. A typical foot ball game turns into chaos as someone shows up with a major infection. Not long after a couple is found deceased with the same kind infection. A few twists and turns and a fire at a collage sets the links into motion.

Part II, Med: With the severity of the infection now in place. Efforts are put into try and contain, identify, and find a proper treatment. A new doctor from the CDC shows up and turns out to be an old classmate of Halstead's. Their are a few stories that are heart breaking as you watch them unfold.

Part III, PD: At this final act is told from the eyes of PD as they now have a suspect in mind and a reason for it happening. The ep is some ways is not so much about the infection itself. But rather how our own fears can make even good people think and act in ways that go counter to our nature.

This cross over was extremely well thought out. Though most of the major story arch that were started this season did not advance much. This ep was also extremely gory for even Prime Time TV. as they showed the infection in vivid details. Even made my stomach turn a few times while watching. So if you decide to watch this later: you have been warned. In fact that was probably my only real complaint. The cast interaction was amazing. For me a cross over works when the lines of the shows are blurred. Even when the focus shifts from one cast to the next. This is why the ep stands out. Till next time.

-

[Silver_Surfer1]

Sounds very interesting. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet but will try soon. I don't recognize any of those actor names listed above but I may recognize their faces when I see them. I used to like watching the tv program "ER" so I may like the Med part, and Police and fire shows are usually interesting.

Enjoying these show recaps. Thanks Rylen.

[Rylen]

The recap:

After last week's Crossover event the shows went back to the normal cycle. Only Fire had one arch carry over from the event.

Med: Over all a good ep. The main story saw a bit of a conflict between Crockett and Choi. Crockett is the new doc and kind of hard to pin down. He seems to have the charm of a southern gentlemen while trying to make a name for himself. He comes across as ultra full of himself. Yet I suspect some of that is more or less an act he puts on. The cancer arch took a few steps forward with the other nurses now fully aware of what is going on. This has been difficult for me to watch for personal reasons. Not fully sure what is going on with Dr. Manning. The ep ended on kind of a cliff hanger that you would normally see Halstead at the end of. Could be fun to see how this plays out.

Fire: Seem that this season has been playing it a little on the safe side. So far I can't see the main arch if their is any. Though their might be something up with plans Boden has for Kidd. Story A focused on a car crash/insurance scam. Story B was the humor that Fire is known for with something about a news letter. A few surprises though. A carry over from the cross over focused on Cruze and fall out from the break up during the cross over. Which ended on a rather unexpected upbeat note. Another surprise was also at the end when we had a guess appearance with Trudy from PD. In story she's married to Mouch and you don't seem them together often.

PD: So far I can't fully note a major season arch for this show either. Unlike the past few seasons. The ep's main story was pretty good. However it was directly impacted by the story's B arch. Which had to deal with patrol and Ruzek's conflict and lead to a very dangerous situation. The season seems to be going rather well so far. The show varies as to how many arch's it presents and it seems like for now Ruzek seems to be getting a lot of focus in the various eps. Some of it is carry over from the previous season.

That's all I have for now. Let me know what you think.

[Rylen]

The recap:

Med: Their were four stories that played out in the ep and a little movement on the over all Manning Arc. Story A focused on a young troubled woman. Story B: focused on a very touchy subject in away that presented the case but did not push any kind of agenda. Story C was conclusion to a story that had been playing out over the last few eps and even saw Dr. Manning spending a few hours in jail! Story D was about the choices that we make and in the end sometimes we make the wrong ones. Over all it was great ep. The ending was a bit troubling as it looks like the first part of Manning's season arc came to a dramatic close. So it will be fun to see how things play out for the rest of the season.

Fire: Fire had at least three stories playing out: Story A focused on a house that created some problem for the new guy. His back ground is explored a bit in Story B. While Story A focused on the after math of the fire and things not as they appear. The ending to the story had a Law & Order level of twist that even I didn't see coming. Story C was the humor one dealing with the ladies of the station trying to create their own room and the issues that came from that. Great Ep. So far I don't see any kind of season arc like past years.

PD: Seems that both Halstead brothers made big mistakes. The main story was about finding a killer and using untested technology and how that can someone generate false leads. In this case an innocent man payed the price for that technology and the team going back to square one. The ep pretty much goes back to the original idea of the show with some questionable actions being played out by Voight at the end. The show has never been super gritty like say NYPD: Blue but has never been shy about blurring the lines. What I liked about this ep was the underlying question about how far can we take technology and how much trouble could it cause.

We should be heading to the "winter break" pretty soon. So all three shows should amp up the drama and set things up for the next part of the season.