Fall TV Report Card (Returning favorites pt. 3)

Fringe: The best drama you're not watching returned in fine form for their fourth season. While on the surface, things appeared to be normal (the central case was a typically creepy one involving a translucent man attacking people) we all know that something is very wrong with the world that currently exists. The big problem is the absence of Peter Bishop who after operating the machine last season vanished, erasing himself from the memories of all the other characters. This has produced some changes in the Fringe team. Walter has a fear of leaving the lab, Astrid now occasionally goes out into the field and Lincoln Lee has been brought on as a new member. Of course, each of the actors have done a tremendous job conveying their new role, but it still doesn't help us who are desperate to see Peter return. Thankfully we got glimpses of him throughout the episode, suggesting that he'll find a way to return to our world sooner rather than later. And I haven't even touched upon the 'Other World' members who lurked in the background in this first episode. That's how jam-packed this premiere was, nothing new for this terrific show. In just one episode, they've set into motion a number of different storylines that I can't wait to see how they play out. Grade: A- Saturday Night Live: The stalwart sketch comedy returned for another season and opened on a notable moment as host Alec Baldwin broke the hosting record with his 16th (!) effort. Of course, previous record holder Steve Martin couldn't resist showing up to rain on Baldwin's parade. The rest of the episode was a mixed bag as it related to the humor. The cold open involving a Republican primary debate set the foundation of which cast members would be parodying the key political figures for the next year and a skit involving footage of actors auditioning for the film Top Gun highlighted the talented cast's strengths at mimicking a lot of famous people (Bill Hader's Alan Alda impression is scary good). As usual, some skits fell very flat - in particular a one about a couple on a date dealing with one of the dater's obnoxious child didn't do anything for me. The one impressive thing about this opener though was that it relied almost predominantly on original skit ideas. In recent years, the show had become too reliant on its recurring sketches running them into the ground before they had a chance to peak in popularity. Let's hope that's a trend that continues throughout the year. Grade: B+ The Amazing Race: The Emmy-award winning reality show got started in just about the opposite direction as this year's edition of Survivor did. Watching the opening episode, I found myself struggling to care or root for any of the contestant. Even the one team which features a pair of former Survivor winners (Ethan and Jenna) did very little to make me want to see them win another million dollars. Most of the teams felt like they featured stereotypes we had seen too many times before on the Race. Perhaps as the teams move forward my opinions will change. But even if they don't, I can still enjoy all of the gorgeous locations (the first episode saw teams heading to Taipei, Taiwan) that the show travels to as well as the wacky challenges they come up with for the contestants to endure. This may have gotten off to a rocky road, but this show has proven time and again that they always find a way to right the ship. Grade: B-