Many television viewers — and pop culture critics — are wondering just what's up with FOX's Fringe. Watchers of the show were caught unaware this past week, not realizing that the network was airing a new episode of the skein until they read about it the next day in various news outlets. Fringe simply wasn't in the listings. People's DVRs didn't pick up the show, because FOX was listed as running Game 7 of the World Series. People believed that the show would be absent one more week.

All of this is raising serious questions about how seriously FOX is treating the show, or indeed, if they're trying to kill it. The Thursday night time slot was their first error in judgment, but lapses in playing to the viewer base by neglecting to promote episodes and air times is something else entirely.

The impression left is that FOX used first-run programming as a backup to a sporting event. The show suffered seriously as a result, earning a 3.1 rating/6 share, according to Fast National ratings from The Nielsen Co., a 16 percent loss from its last airing Oct. 15, and a series low.

All of this contrasts with Smallville, which — despite a modest dip — retains a reasonable viewership, but has utterly run out of good ideas or storylines that aren't thoroughly perplexing.

To learn more, read on for our latest Week End TV Recap...


Mad Men
"The Grown Ups" | Aired 2009.11.02
With all the drama in the third season's penultimate episode—the Kennedy assassination and  Roger's daughter's wedding the day after—one has to wonder how the writers can up the stakes in the finale. As its title suggests, "The Grown Ups" centers on the relationships between the real adults and those who are just pretending. Pete pouts after he loses the top accounts position, while Trudy nudges him toward maturity. Roger must deal with two tantrum-prone girls—his daughter and his young wife—but the woman he calls in a crisis is Joan. Meanwhile, Bobby and Sally Draper get a dose of reality as they sit, captured by the TV news of the president's assassination and its aftermath.

The show's biggest shock isn't Kennedy's death. Instead, it's the icy interaction between Betty and Don, as she reveals she doesn't love him anymore. Her world is forever changed, but has society shifted enough that she can leave her husband for her would-be lover?

-- Kimber Myers

Castle
"Famous Last Words" | Aired 2009.11.02
This week’s episode, "Famous Last Words", probably won’t go down as one of my all-time favorites. A female rock singer is found dead, so Castle and Beckett rattle the usual cages: sleazy manager, old band-mates, the strung-out younger sister she had a falling out with. In the latter, we get a gritty, first-hand look at the evils of drug abuse, which unfortunately, isn’t all that gritty. Besides being a mystery, the episode comes across like a public service announcement; however, it lacks the teeth to scare anybody straight.

I also didn’t like how Alexis, Castle’s ever-precocious daughter, was incorporated into the story. Admittedly, I understand the need for it: Castle and Beckett may know the criminal mind and police procedures, respectively, but the contemporary music scene? You need a teenager for that. But one of the things I’ve enjoyed to-date is how Castle’s private life has been kept mostly separate from work, and this episode brought the two worlds a little too closely together. It’s one thing for Alexis to be a part-time confidante, another to be hanging around the precinct like part of the crime-fighting team. This isn’t Nancy Drew.

-- Phil Guie

Heroes
"Once Upon a Time in Texas" | Aired 2009.11.02
"Once Upon a Time in Texas" is as good an episode of Heroes as we've had in some time. The central focus of the latest installment concerned Hiro heading back in time to Season 1 to the Burnt Toast Diner and the love of his life, Charlie. Hiro spends most of the episode trying to undo what he sees as a previous wrong: letting Charlie die. And ultimately, his solution proves very creative: using Sylar to surgically obliterate Charlie's tumor—without having to sever her skull, which, yes, begs the question of why he ever had to sever anyone's skull in the first place (why, dramatic effect, of course). In return, Hiro offers Sylar information about his own future, information that doesn't make Sylar too happy. But, hey, a quick zap from the master of time and space and Hiro gets the upper hand on our über-villain.

As much fun as it was to see Hiro and Charlie together again, the chemistry between them wasn't what it was in the first season, as if both actors knew that the moment had passed and it was time to move the story on.

Fortunately, the story does move along. Bittersweet endings are this show's stock and trade. Samuel followed Hiro back in time three years, and just as Hiro is happier than he's been in years, Samuel takes Charlie away and traps her "somewhere in time" as leverage so that Hiro will help him go back two months and undo some wrongs. And when Hiro agrees and takes Samuel back, we find Mohinder...who appears to be dead.

What didn't work so well in "Once Upon a Time in Texas" was the past relationship angle laid out between Noah Bennet and his partner, played by Elisabeth Rohm. Their workplace romance added little to Bennet's backstory, and merely felt like a clumsy attempt to suggest something that any savvy Heroes watcher already knows—that Noah is/was capable of having deep emotional attachments to the "gifted," despite the nature of his previous job. Hello...his daughter's one of them!

-- Robert Falconer

Eastwick
"Red Ants and Black Widows" | Aired 2009.11.04
Some excellent acting in this episode. It started with Rebecca Romijn, who plays Roxie Torcoletti, as she learns of the death of her boyfriend. I don't think I've ever seen a more credible portrayal of that moment.

Later, in a scene with Romijn, Paul Gross proved that he is one of the world's best deliverers of a soliloquy. The actor, who plays the mysterious Darryl Van Horne, made the most of Shakespeare's monologues acting in the Canadian series Slings and Arrows, and while walking across hot coals affirmed his being cast in the role.

He's something to behold in those moments. Utterly compelling.

And Cybill Shepherd made a return appearance as the eccentric witch from the woods, and chewed some scenery of her own. She's clearly having fun with this role.

The biggest difference between this series and the movie is that the trio of witches here aren't the same close-knit group they were in the film. Sure they are friends, and they get together, and they support each other, but they all have lives outside of each other, too.

It's a way of slow playing the inevitable coming together of the three as a coven. It's also why we've got the characters of Bun (Veronica Cartwright) and Eleanor (Shepherd). They are the hint at what might be to come.

-- Blaine Kyllo

FlashForward
"The Gift" | Aired 2009.11.05
Game-changing episodes, including Lost's own switch to flash forwards and Battlestar Galactica's two-year jump, usually serve to reinvigorate a series (or its writers' creativity) and  disrupt the established rules within the show. But while most series do that a few seasons in, FlashForward employs this option a mere seven episodes into its first season. The shake-up in "The Gift" may seem a bit early in the run, but it adds drama and suspense.

In "The Gift", the inevitability of the visions is finally thrown into question. A major character (who suspiciously wasn't included on the show's cast page) who had a flash forward decides to end his life so he can save another. Now things are interesting: Will Demetri live to see his wedding day? Does Olivia have to cheat on Mark? It's not all left to fate, and the characters have free will (or at least as much as the writers will give them).

FlashForward's main problem—the lack of suspense since we already know everyone's future—has been resolved. Now, they just have to work on that dialogue...

-- Kimber Myers

30 Rock
"Audition Day" | Aired 2009.11.05
It's not even funny, how the writers and producers of 30 Rock take the piss out of their own network, NBC.

Actually it is funny, and before the cold open for "Audition Day" was even finished we were treated to a joke — or was that a real promotional bit? — about the Winter Olympics being useless, but airing on NBC nevertheless.

Jack has an itch. Bedbugs, Kenneth tells him. Jack, elitist that he is, won't believe it. 

But Jack's being ostracized anyway. He's been quarantined in his office, which provides another opportunity for the show to make some money by blatantly promoting Cisco's video conferencing technology.

The scratching Jack is even forced to take the subway, where the homeless show him a cold shoulder.

Back at the studio, the audition for a new actor is chaos defined. We didn't even need to see the auditions happen, because the activity behind the scenes is where all the action is.

But the auditions were also hilarious. Especially Kathy Geiss — remember her from last season when she had Jack's job? — pulling a Susan Doyle.

Tina Fey and associates win again, giving us another outstanding episode of the funniest show on television right now.

-- Blaine Kyllo

Fringe
"Earthling" | Aired 2009.11.05
Another revisit to The X-Files this past week, not specifically, of course, but definitely in mood and tone. A mysterious shadow is turning folks into ash, and Broyles is smoking mad about it. Why so personal? Turns out the FBI officer pursued a similar series of cases in his past, but was unable to catch the perp, even though he'd been provided with a clue in the form of a complex chemical formula.

Enter Walter Bishop, who not only understands complex chemical formulas, but has inhaled or ingested many of them. As Walter sets about trying to solve the puzzle in his lab, Broyles (who takes point), along with Olivia and Peter, tries to track the killer and learn more about his identity...even as the shadow claims more victims.

In the end, we learn that two cosmonauts — and brothers — brought something back from space; an entity that requires radiation to survive inhabited one of them, and projects itself forth from the host body in search of rad replenishment. When the entity gets its fill, its victim turns to dust.

Once Walter's gathered up evidence using a Dirt Devil, and decodes the formula, it's revealed that the shadow can only be destroyed if the host cosmonaut is killed, as the two are bonded at the molecular level. Of course, this doesn't work out too well for the active brother, whose final measures to contain the entity while keeping his comatose brother alive, fail. In the end, Broyles chooses to shoot the comatose cosmonaut rather than risk any more lives, and the entity finds itself trapped in the host body.

The episode was interesting, as it showcased Broyles as a member of this team, as opposed to merely Olivia and Peter's FBI boss...particularly at the end when a mysterious CIA man shows up and warns him about overstepping his bounds (in another nefarious nod to The X-Files). I hope, however, that the writers don't try too hard to emulate The X-Files' tone. Fringe has its own identity and mythology, which was nicely balanced in its first season, and personally I'd like to see a bit more emphasis on the larger multi-dimension story arc.

-- Robert Falconer

Supernatural
"Changing Channels" | Aired 2009.11.05
Straight up: the absolute best episode of the season thus far, and one of the series' best, period. "Changing Channels" it what happens when deft writing manages to do two things: make us laugh one moment, then later give us a big dramatic reveal that reaches deep back into the show's mythology. And blend the two seamlessly.

In the story, Sam and Dean suddenly find themselves living their lives on TV shows: from a goofy, '80s sitcom to a hospital soap (sorry, "daytime drama") called Dr. Sexy M.D., to a Japanese game show...and finally, a crime procedural that isn't afraid to openly mock the cast of CSI. But just what does it all mean? Well, seems like the Trickster (guest star Richard Speight, Jr.) is up to his old tricks. But alas, it turns out he's not the mastermind behind all of this—an archangel is managing this pop culture menagerie, and merely masquerading as the Trickster. Sam and Dean figure it out eventually, of course; sadly, not quick enough to prevent Sam from becoming the computerized voice of Dean's 'Knight Ridered' Impala.

What it all boils down to in the end is a seriously dramatic revelation that Sam and Dean will be the vessels through which two estranged archangel brothers will conduct their final battle. But is this final battle inevitable? Can Sam and Dean help the brothers reconcile before being used for a calamitous conflict, or can they find a way to prevent themselves from being used?

"Changing Channels" shows just how good Supernatural can be when it's at its best.

-- Robert Falconer

Smallville
"Kandor" | Aired 2009.11.06
In "Kandor", Jor-El mysteriously arrives at the Kent farm searching for his son, Kal-El, but meets Chloe instead. Meanwhile, convinced the Blur is Jor-El, Zod enlists Tess's help in finding and forcing him to reveal the secret to his powers. Naturally, when Clark learns from Chloe that Jor-El is alive and on Earth, he races to find his father before Zod does.

Everything about this episode just confused the hell out of me, if I'm honest. I thought Jor-El was dead? Or is this some genetic duplicate of Jor-El, as was alluded in the episode? Or am I missing something else altogether? I used to be able to follow this show's mythology pretty well; now it seems as though they're making up so much stuff, with so many layers, that it's difficult to follow the players & plot threads without a program. And I'm a pretty bright guy.

While I've enjoyed watching the Lois and Clark relationship develop, everything else about this show is seriously boring me now.

Also, the ill-conceived mix of production aesthetics is becoming a serious sore point for me. Specifically: the early scenes on Kandor where we see Jor-El and Zod in uniform. Why-oh-why would the Kandorians be wearing Earth-style military uniforms, replete with epaulettes and berets? Meanwhile, in another sequence, we see a budget version of the opening of Richard Donner's Superman, as Jor-El is tried by the ruling counsel of Krypton, complete with the giant, glowing heads and the spinning hula-hoop restraint. It's an odd mix, John Barry's original production design and one that's so uninspired that it simply apes Earth military aesthetics.

And while I'm at it—Julian Sands as Jor-El? Two words: bad casting.

I'm cheering for one, big, knock down, drag-out conflict at Smallville's end, one where at the conclusion Clark gets rid of his Punisher outfit once and for all and finally puts on the red and blues. Meanwhile, I can only hope that this season is indeed the series' last.

-- Robert Falconer
Stargate Universe
"Earth" | Aired 2009.11.06
They say you can never go home again, but in "Earth", our not-so-intrepid band of travelers do just that. With the help of those clever communications stones, of course.

In the episode, Colonel Telford takes over Everett Young's command as part of a plan to try and get the ship's crew home. The military/scientific team on Earth — headed by Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill (cameo by Richard Dean Anderson) — are convinced (or have convinced themselves) that the plan will work. Back on Destiny, Dr. Rush is far less certain. But are Rush's reservations genuine, or is he out to sabotage the plan so he can stay on Destiny? This is a perplexing question with no easy answers...and as an aside, one that I fear may grow tiresome if played out too long.

During the procedure, Young, Eli, and Chloe have the opportunity to visit with their families back on Earth, whereupon we learn that Chloe's former boyfriend is a jerk; Eli and his mother genuinely love each other (and learn more about each other as a consequence of Eli not telling her who he really is); and Young, well...here's where things get morally ambiguous.

With Young's consciousness back on Earth and inhabiting Colonel Telford's body, Young once again goes to visit his love, Emily. And this time he reaches her...intimately. Which provides some serious awkwardness, because when Destiny goes in and out of hyperspace, our characters' consciousnesses return to their own bodies for an instant, then back again...meaning that for a brief moment, both Young and Telford are having sex with Emily. But does Emily know? And if she does, and doesn't say anything, what does that mean, especially given that the episode alludes to a former tryst between Young and Tamara Johansen?

Stargate Universe has some interesting concepts going for it, but it suffers from a serious problem: it departs so significantly from the formula established in SG-1 and Atlantis in its quest to be more Galactica-like...without actually having the guts to go all the way. The net result is a show which has a toe in both camps, but hasn't hit the ground running in either. At least not yet.

-- Robert Falconer