'Fringe' series finale: A fan's review

SPOILERS AHEAD!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED....

Joshua Jackson as 'Peter Bishop'

Last Friday night one of the best TV series I have ever had the pleasure to watch ended. For those of you who do not know what 'Fringe' is: it is a series created by JJ Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. It premiered on the FOX network on September 9, 2008, and concluded on January 18, 2013 after five seasons and 100 episodes. The series follows Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Peter Bishop ('Dawson's Creek's' Joshua Jackson), and Walter Bishop (John Noble), members of a FBI "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, under the supervision of Homeland Security. The team uses 'fringe science' and FBI investigative techniques to investigate a series of unexplained, often ghastly occurrences, which are related to mysteries surrounding a parallel universe and alternate timelines. This series is best described as a hybrid of The X-Files, the original Star Trek series episode 'Mirror, Mirror' and The Twilight Zone.

Nina Sharp

Now moving forward I'll assume if your still reading this you have some knowledge about the series. This last season took a big jump from the original format of the series and saw the 'Fringe' team in the year 2036 following the invasion of the 'Observers' from the 27th century. They had been trapped in amber for 21 years and now they are trying to execute a plan that would reset time and end the tyranny of the evil Observers. I really enjoyed this change in the series. The Observers have always fascinated me and to see them take centre stage as the 'big bad' for the final season was awesome. The character of 'Captain Windmark' has got to be one of the best bad guys ever to have been featured on television. It also opened up the show for some very dramatic moments and great acting. The death of Etta, Nina's sacrifice, the revelation of who Donald is, Peter and Walter's final moments together...absolutely phenomenal.   

Captain Windmark

The final episode did deliver. They did a great job of wrapping up a lot of plot threads. The acting was especially great, especially Joshua Jackson and John Noble. There were several moments in the finale that literally made me cry, especially a very touching scene between Jackson and Noble where Walter is essentially saying goodbye to his son. 

I've heard some negative comments about the final episode. But I really felt it was one of the best final episodes ever made for any TV series. It satisfied me as a fan of the series.

Agent Etta Bishop

  

Because 'Fringe' was never a ratings phenomenon with every season produced there was always the question of whether there would be a next season. The FOX executives have been reported to be fans of the series and that is why the series was able to endure for 5 seasons. In fact it was at the 2012 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, which I attended, where they announced a 5th and final season which would be 13 episodes. That being said I am grateful they were able to wrap up the series properly. I do wish they had had more episodes for the final season, but just the fact they got to have a final season was amazing. I also got to meet series stars John Noble and Jasika Nicole at the 2012 Calgary Con. They were great and wonderful to meet, they could not have been nicer. 

Chrisloc1701 with Jasika Nicole (Astrid) and John Noble (Walter) at the 2012 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo

There were a few things I wish they had addressed:

- Leonard Nimoy: I was hoping to see 'William Bell' this season as he too was trapped in the amber that preserved the rest of the team to 2036. Also at the end of the episode if time was reset will he not be alive and well in the year 2015? 

Leonard Nimoy as 'William Bell'

- What about Olivia's sister Rachel and Rachel's daughter Ella? They played significant roles in the first 2 seasons, then they were gone and briefly mentioned. I would like to have seen them again.

Rachel Dunham

- The tulip at the end of the episode that Walter sent Peter, and Peter's reaction by looking up before the end of the episode: Does Peter remember what happened in what is now a previous timeline 2036? Does he know the sacrifice Walter made? And if the tulip is a symbol of hope does it mean that Walter may return from the future? Will Peter find a way to bring his father home? Could this be the plot line for a 'Fringe' movie....featuring Leonard Nimoy? I really hope so!! William Bell could help Peter retrieve Walter from the future, or Walter could find his way home....

Anyway the series 'Fringe was a remarkable achievement for science fiction on Television and it will be missed. 

Edmonton Expo & He-Man Rebuild Collection Update

He-Man Rebuild Collection Update:

So last year I started rebuilding the lost He-Man toy collection from my youth. I've been going to conventions and the occasional garage sale in the hopes of finding those lost treasures from my youth.

Heres a few pics:

Left to Right: Evil Lynn, Tri-Clops,  Zodak, Teela and Buzz-Off (in front)

The Villains part of the rebuild collection

He-Man & allies part of the rebuild collection

This past weekend I attended the first Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo: 

This was the first year for this event and I attended the Sunday portion of the event. I got to meet and get Nichelle Nichols autograph, 'Uhura' from the original Star Trek Series. Other guest included Billy Dee Williams, Burt Ward, and others.

I managed to pick up a replica of Harry Potters first magic wand. A great start to an annual event. This show is done by the same people who do the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. Definitely worth going to see. Mark next years date in your calenders: September 28-29 2013!

Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo will also be back: April 26-28 2013!!



Lots of great cosplay people attending too. Heres some pics:

Chrisloc1701 beside the Bear Radio Station truck

Blog #30: Calgary Expo Open Letter

Again for those who have not read recent blog entry made by yours truly I attended the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo April 27-29 of this year. It was a sell out event, in fact the amount of people attending created a problem for organizers and attendees. The following is a letter I wrote down the Sunday morning of the event after having had many issues with the event Saturday. I will be forwarding a copy of this letter to the organizers in the hopes they will take and use my suggestions. Despite all the problems I did enjoy the event and i plan on attending next year again. But anyway here is my letter written Sunday April 29th at about 7am:

Suggestions to Organizers of the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo for the 2013 Event:

1: Over sold? based on the venue capacity and how many people bought 3-day passes you should not over sell this event. Do the math. Why are people with 3-day passes being turned away? They should get priority!

2: To better organize photo ops why not have people book their preferred time to get a photo when they purchase their tiks on-line. Then if there is available room for a specific time only enough tiks for that space should be sold the day of the photo. Those who bought their tiks in advance should get priority for the photo. (I bought a Patrick Stewart photo op months ago and yet I initially was turned away after being in line for 2 hours. How is that fair?)

3: This event is proving to be more and more popular, and is no doubt making a ton of money. So why not extend the days and hours to accommodate the people. For example:

Thursday 3pm-9pm

Friday 10am-8pm

Saturday 10am-8pm

Sunday 10am-6pm

Have Friday be a full day too. I'm sure the money made would more than pay for the facility rental.

4: Again getting back to the photo ops: why not hire more photographers and have more areas open to them. Photo-ops are a gold mine and make lots of money so why not have more and make it faster. Have at least 6separate photo op areas. And again have attendees book their preferred time in advance so not to over crowd, and that way you don't have to turn anyone away. Pre-booking preferred times will also control line-ups, and no one will ask for refunds. This way attendees won't be wasting their time.

5: Summer time is better. We got lucky this year and the weather cooperated but this should definitely be a Summer event, the June 2011 event was excellent for weather and having to stand outside. Also in the summer you can take advantage of warmer temperatures by having events outdoors. Fence off an area (a parking lot for example) rent a tent and have certain events outdoors, thus helping to control the population indoors.

Thank you for your time,

Chris Lockhart

Blog #27: Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo 2012

The dust has settled and another year at the Calgary Expo has come and gone. For the most part I am very happy with my experience this year. I got to see every member of the original TNG cast, got their autographs or got my picture taken with them. I also got to meet Stan Lee, Comic book writing icon Peter David, John Noble from 'Fringe' and got to have beers with a wrestling legend: The Honky Tonk Man. I also managed to buy some stuff including a prop sword similar to the ones used on 'Game Of Thrones', a 'Superman' bathrobe, several sci-fi t-shirts and most importantly I added to my vintage 80's He-Man toy collection. The best part of the weekend was the time I got to spend with my son Bailey. He is a wrestling fan and had a great time meeting Jake The Snake, Honky Tonk Man, Million Dollar Man and other wrestling legends. All in all a very good weekend.

 

But there is a downside to this year. This year the number of people attending the con almost doubled, probably due to the TNG reunion but also in part by the stellar list of celebrities they had besides the TNG cast. Saturday in particular got so bad the Calgary Fire Marshall stepped in and banned people from entering the building. Even people with weekend passes were being denied access the con. One guy I met in line for a photo op told me he had went out to his car to unload some of the stuff he had bought then was forced to stand in line for almost 3 hours before he was let back in. People who had photo-ops payed for weren't being allowed in. And the lines inside were beyond ridiculous. I stood in line for a 'Fringe' photo op for over 2 hours, then with just 10 people ahead of me they closed the photo-op session. I almost lost my mind. Saturday I literally spent the whole day in lines. But I don't think the organizers realized just how many people would show up and were taken completely by surprise to the number of people who did show. They even expanded the con area space this year and it still did not create enough room. Being a fan of this con I have a few suggestions for the Calgary Con organizers which I think will help them next year to create an enjoyable experience for all and not alienate people.

 

1: Sell tickets to the event on line only. No more door sales. That way the days will not get over sold which clearly is what happened Saturday because people with weekend passes were being turned away and that's not fair at all.

 

2: More photo-op areas and have them in a different area away from the autograph area. Why not have 6 photo-op areas spread around. That way the photo-ops will move faster and flow better. 

 

3: In regards to photo-ops they should sell the photo-op tickets with specific times attached to the ticket as to not create huge line ups of people seeking the same photo at the same time. I had my photo-ops planned out prior to going to Calgary and I used their time schedule to make it work and because I got turned away on several lines I had to pass up some of my photo-ops I wanted to get done. I had wanted to get a photo with Adam West and Katee Sackhoff but because my other photo-ops got bumped around I had to drop them which really sucked.

 

But over all it was a great con. Hopefully next year the organizers will have all the bumps from this year smoothed out for next year. And maybe a few less celebrities is what is needed. I like having a variety of people coming as much as the next guy but this year was just too many big names for such a small venue. That being said I look forward to next years con and I will be saving up to purchase a VIP Pass. The VIP pass allows that ticket holder to get first priority to all photo-ops and autograph lines and other cool perks. Those tickets are over $300 but with all the time saved by having such a ticket makes it all worth while. So I will be saving for a VIP ticket for 2013 for sure.

 

And with that I say 'Nuff Said'.

Captains Log: Friday 4/27/12 Calgary

Hey there friend thanks for checking out the blog. Thanks to social media outlets Facebook and Twitter I was able to document my recent trip to the Calgary Comic And Entertainment Expo 2012. It was quite the quest filled with misadventure, good times and a few bad. Among my many activities that weekend it included the fact I got drunk with 'The Honky Tonk Man', I got to meet Stan Lee and most of the cast of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation', and I had a talk with comic book writing icon Peter David. 

The following is a log of each days activities with pictures included, with more blogs and pics later in the week. Enjoy and please leave a comment!

Captains Log: Friday 4/27/12 Calgary:

* Leaving for the Calgary Comic Expo in the am.

* At Gasoline Alley at Humpty's having lunch. There are more 'uber' nerds here too probably on their way to Calgary. There is a 'World of Warcraft' discussion underway at the table beside us.

- Now their arguing why their not 'geeks'. I'm a geek and they are way geekier than me!

* At the hotel in Calgary. Soon will make the Trek to the Con!

* in line to get our picture taken with Dr Crusher!

* may be getting in line for Wil Wheaton... Their photo-ops are very f#+_)#g disorganized!!! Chris smash now!!!

- (Aunt) Lori Flood: did you take your own camera, you could be making some extra cash be a photo man there

- Chris Lockhart They would probably throw me in the brig. Geek Mafia is in control

-Chris Lockhart Had to wait in line for the actual line up for Wil Wheaton! Have to wait till tomorrow to meet Stan Lee...

* Gonna be doing a Blog experiment this weekend. I'll be updating my Facebook with reports from the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, then reposting them next week on my blogs. Please feel free to leave comments and they too will be posted on the blogs! Have a geek weekend!

- Gennie Hibert-Williams love it

- Chris Lockhart I like experiments. I'm like Doc Brown from 'Back To The Future'

* Just seen Wil Wheaton. He took a sharpie pen and corrected the sign for his photo-op line up. They had him spelled 'Will' and he crossed out the extra L. Classy! Seems like a nice dude!

* Wil Wheaton walked past again and the crowd cheered! Moving too fast and couldn't get a pic... Will have to wait for the actual pic with him.

- Gennie Hibert-Williams tell him kaitlyn says be nice to sheldon

* Marina Sirtis (Troi) just walked past us in line and asked why we're in line for Wil Wheaton. Lol

- Brianna Lockhart Rydvall I used to have a crush on Wesley Crusher

* Finally got our pic taken with Wil Wheaton. Very nice guy!

-Gennie Hibert-Williams cant wait to see

* Day 1 at the Calgary Con. Having a rye and coke and waiting for our pizza to arrive. Got our pics taken with Dr Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton). Tried to get our pic with Stan Lee but I guess it will be tomorrow. Met an old school WWF wrestler in the lobby, feel bad cause I don't remember him. Also got Richard Hatch's autograph (from both BattlestarGalactica series)

* Gonna check out the lounge later while celeb searching. Met an artist inb the elevator...not sure who he was but the others in the elevator knew he was a celeb.

* Having a Big Rock Dark (beer) at the hotel lounge while Bailey swims at the pool. Win win. Also saw Larry Hama, who writes 'GI Joe' comics!

* Next year I hope some of my friends and family will join me on this Geek Weekend Adventure. I'll start a facebook event soon with all the details. This is a fun experience. Even if your not a super geek like me you'd probably still have fun.

- Brianna Lockhart Rydvall sounds like fun

* the 'Honky Tonk Man' just sat down beside me at the bar!!!!

-Chris Lockhart Just getting up the nerve to ask him to take a picture with me...

-Chris Lockhart He's busy talking with a friend, don't want to interrupt him. Just waiting for an opportunity... More liquid courage!

- Chris Lockhart Shook his hand. I think he may be fighting with his wife. He just asked me about 'Old Stock' beer.

- Chris Lockhart I'm realizing sitting next to the Honky Tonk Man that I actually think I'm bigger and more muscular than he is... No doubt he could still kick my ass but I'm thinking I might have a fighting chance...what the hell am I thinking? It's the beers texting right now...

- Chris Lockhart But seriously I'm bigger built than the Honky Tonk Man. His old lady was super drunk, kinda reminded me of my mother-in-law (she who shall not be named). Call her Mrs Voldemort.

- Chris Lockhart Talking wrestling with the Honky Tonk Man!!!

- Chris Lockhart Talking hockey with Honky Tonk. Then his wife had a weird conversation with me about growing up in rural Alberta and her being Cinderella. She actually grew up near Barrhead

- Chris Lockhart Honky Tonk offered me some Calamari

- Chris Lockhart Got my pic taken with him. Hopefully it uploaded...

- Chris Lockhart Talking hockey with Honky Tonk Man

- Chris Lockhart Last call with The Honky Tonk Man!

- Chris Lockhart Talking wrestling life, his Canadian Wife and life withb the Honky Tonk Man. And I am drunk...

- Chris Lockhart Well that's a wrap for my night out. Got to hang out with The Honky Tonk Man and talk wrestling, hockey, Billy Dee Williams and drunk Canadian women! It's now almost 2am and I am drunk. Bedtime then back to the con for 10am. Definitely gonna be checking out The Honky Tonk Man's table!!

- Brianna Lockhart Rydvall sounds like u had a blast

- Chris Lockhart I did. It was very cool to meet and have a conversation with him and his wife and another fan. But I'm going to be paying the price today because I only got 4 hours sleep. But at least I'm not hung over! But these day's I'm a light weight when it comes to drinking. But my bar tab (with buying a round of beers) only came to 54 bucks! Very affordable!