Did you watch The Bridge?

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The first episode of The Bridge was tonight, and it was excellent. Amazing actually. One of the main characters is a high functioning Aspie. The detective Sonya Cross. Alex Plank was a consultant on the series, and help develop Sonya's character. It is on FX so... watch it if you like gripping complex crime dramas.

I watched it! . . . (Also, it keeps getting better. . . )

Not to co-opt the thread, but have you seen King and Maxwell? If so, do you have an opinion of Edgar?

i watched it after seeing email from Alex. it's great! looking forward to next episode

it was ok kind of boring ill keep watching though

I liked it, I thought Diane Kruger did a good job with Sonya's character -- I'm looking forward to more. Also loved Tim Levine. It seems he keeps winding up playing the superviser of the detectives with neurological disorders! (anyone who's seen Monk will know what I'm talking about )

Meh, I could not seem to get past the fact that she's "acting" autistic. For F sake, find an actual Aspergian actress; it's a missed opportunity for someone on the spectrum and a kin to painting a white man brown and having him act black.

It's like they are saying we want an Aspergian character, but oh no we don't want to deal with all that goes along with that.

Just frustrating to me... with limited opportunities for people on the spectrum when the shoe literally fits we should get to wear it.

This is purely my opinion, and not meant to offend Alex or his efforts. I just think the "fame" might have jaded the objectivity.

I'm torn on this; I've never seen an act that I could relate to so well but at the same time feel like it went a bit overboard (like IdleHands post mentioned), at least in some scenes. To be brutally honest I thought of white actors painting their skin to play actors of other races in the old movie days.

That said, Diane Kruger did avoid eye contact a lot in the interview and mention some social anxiety, perhaps there's a bit of AS in play... Or was she in character? Hmm..

I wonder how much of the overboard, trying too hard, w/e, came from the writers. In any case Sonya's behavior should be consistent with her position as a homicide detective; too extreme, like changing her clothes in front of her boss while in the office, would have likely prevented her from getting the job in the first place. Sonya's behavior also seemed inconsistent with her age; sure we need reminders on stuff like "eye-contact" sometimes but by the time we're promoted to a senior position we have learned to adapt/blend in more than her character portrayed.

To the credit of all involved my wife did turn to me during the show and say "hey look, it's you" so you're definitely on the right track.

For the record I've long held belief that at a high level all humans are ultimately equal, where there is a gift there is a cost. The tricky part is identifying and developing the gifts while avoiding failure due to what they cost.

Overall I thought the show was quite good, good enough to program my DVR to record future episodes, which I haven't done in years.

I'm new here so please pardon me if my post is too extreme for the context of these forums.

One thing to keep in mind is that they hired me as a consultant after the pilot episode was shot.

*spoiler*
We reshot 3 of Sonya's scenes after I came on board. You can see the autism is the most accurate in those scenes (the judge's husband scene, the scene at the morgue, and the scene where daniel frye gets locked in his car).

I was on set for all the scenes starting with episode 2, however.

I would love to watch and follow this series. I don't have cable TV though. Is there a way to watch it for free online? Thanks.

By the way, congratulations, Alex, on the consulting job!

Does anyone know if any Canadian network has picked it up? We are on Shaw here and do not get FX. I don't think Rogers, Telus, or Bell have it either.

Alex-
I will save further judgement for when I see episodes with your influence. Unfortunately, the feedback I have received from NT's, regarding Diane Kruger's character, has been overwhelmingly negative. Even my wife said she was annoying. I'm just afraid that although your intention was to paint an accurate picture of what autism can look like, the opposite is being portrayed and validating the false perception that is already present.

It is very unfortunate that this portrayal occurred with the pilot since people usually decide if they will watch a show or not based on it alone.

I agree that the reminder about eye contact was poor writing and the message could have presented in many other ways. I know I suck at eye contact and I do not need a reminder.

I still feel strongly that there are true autists who could have played the role. If Darryl Hannah could do it....

Again, Alex, I am very fond of you and the things you do; I guess the pilot shocked me because it did not feel like your influence was there at all, and now I know it was not so I will stick it out a few more episodes.

Thanks for all you do. Believe it or not I found you and then WrongPlanet; I suspect for most it is the other way around.

For those without cable or lacking FX. Cough cough torrent....cough cough.

Depends on how you feel about that sort of thing I guess.

But there is a BAY that can be found online where a logo of a PIRATE ship is displayed. Not condoning, just providing a hint.

Personally, I do not participate, but I know many that do.

I watched it (the danish/swedish original, the American version is based on it) a few weeks ago