Fringe (FOX TV sci-fi/drama)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Chris R, Sep 9, 2008.

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  1. When I watched that scene I thought "cool homage to Altered States". That's exactly what it was. I'd be happy if there was more of that.

    Overall, I thought it should be called X-Files II. I wasn't sure the female lead had the charisma to carry a show but I thought she did better in the second episode.

    My fear is that this show will share what I consider the fatal flaw of both X-Files and Lost (I only watched about six episodes of Lost) which is that they establish a big secret but only seem to have a vague notion of how they are going to eventually resolve it and then keep stretching it out endlessly because they can't figure out how to end it or they realize that if they do the series will be doomed. I got fed up with the X-Files conspiracy years before the series ended. And then the movie had the "aw shucks, Scully doesn't remember anything so we still don't have to bother finding an ending for it all and can continue to milk it if the movie makes enough money" ending.
     
  2. audiofool

    audiofool Senior Member

    Location:
    The Castle Arrrggh
    And may I add "feh". :shake:

    I only watched the 2nd episode about the advanced aging syndrome with equal amounts of hope and trepidation.

    Sadly, I found that the characters had no chemistry on their own or in scenes with others. The dialogue was stilted as was the delivery, and I didn't really care if they resolved their quest or not.

    The whole 'let's hook up a cybermorphic ocular recall phantasmathingy so we can see the last thing the victim saw' pretty much un-sold me on putting this on my schedule.

    As a fan of the early X-Files, I was hoping that this would be a worthwhile replacement.

    I found that the 3D lettering was the best part of the episode, but that's not saying much.

    Next !
     
  3. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    The ratings went through the roof for the second episode, so the show is doing well. I still say it's very derivative (and predictable for show 2), but we'll see if the performances and writing can overcome that. (The Lost tie-in is the giant corporation behind the conspiracies; in Fringe, it's "Massive Dynamic"; in Lost, it's "The Hanso Foundation.")

    To Miike from Alberta: American TV networks shoot shows in Canada because it's cheaper, not because the shows look better or come out better. I've worked on several shows and features shot in Canada, and the technical problems that go on are often mind-boggling. Far more bad experiences than good. My friends on X-Files noted that the look of the show improved remarkably when they moved from Vancouver to LA. (Phil Azenzer, one of the colorists on the show, gave me hours of behind-the-scenes stories on the Vancouver shows.)

    I have no problem with producers choosing to shoot shows in Canada for creative reasons -- like if a scene is set in Toronto -- but I object to them arbitrarily putting Americans out of work to save 5% on the budget. This was a Fox decision, not J.J. Abrams, who (famously) has generally shot his shows in LA or on location -- including Lost and Alias, both of which I've worked on, and the recent films Cloverfield and the new Star Trek Zero (or whatever it winds up being titled).

    America only does a handful of things really well, but one of them is entertainment. There's no question to me that Hollywood shoots the best movies in the world, and there's a reason why. All the talent is here. Shooting anywhere else is a big compromise, especially if the story takes place in the contemporary U.S.
     
  4. kevin5brown

    kevin5brown Analog or bust.

    Just watched the 2nd one. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Conservation of mass, folks. You don't get a baby growing into a full size man without a whole bunch of food input !! And the car starting after 17 odd years? What a joke. And then they pull the last images from the girl's eyes. Well, duh, it shouldn't have been her staring at the freaking bridge. It should have been him standing over her while she was drugged, and him doing the pituitary gland removal from under her upper lip. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I like Lost, and I stayed with Alias through the 1st 3 odd seasons, but any sense of logic has definitely left the building where this show is being done. Hopefully the new Star Trek movie by Abrams doesn't have lapses like this.

    And you know now why I keep watching though? Aside from seeing how stupid it gets every week? I like the old guy. One gosh darn unique character !
     
  5. Expecting logic from a TV show or movie is like expecting a Rap artist to do a rock 'n' roll record...it just isn't likely to happen. It's entertainment. I should note that very few shows use good science (whether it be something as simple as conservation of mass or sounds in space). YOu either buy into it or you don't. As for logic, I didn't expect logic or science from "Fringe" just entertainment. Sure the show is preposterous...it's a TV show folks.

    Very few shows on TV that are "science fiction" are "science fiction"...I tend to look at "Fringe" as being a fantasy/horror TV show like its predecessor. If its dramatically sound, I'll watch it and the if characters are well developed, I'll give it a chance.

    As Harlan Ellison has noted, there's very few science fiction shows that have any science in them. It's all just...fiction.

    Still, even with the holes in logic, science, etc., I'm still willing to give it a chance as entertainment. Sometimes youhave to be able to put aside your science side...remember the creatures from "THe X-Files"? There were so many medical blunders made on that show (and they had a consultant working on it), that it would stretch or strain credibility so either accept it or not.

    For example in the pilot there's no way an airborne pathogen could effect a crew that quickly. Ever. You just accept it as part of the wacky world of TV entertainment and either go along for the rollercoaster ride or not. I will admit though that I kept waiting for an explanation as to how the "humans" grew so fast. Maybe they'll do that in another show. That's the only flaw is that there isn't someone on the show that gives a digestable pseudo-scientific explaination of what's gone down. As for the car, what we don't see is often as important as what we do see so who knows if he stopped at the filling station to pump up the tires or if the wacky scientist didn't figure out some way to bypass the effect of 17 years on the car or maybe the writer's forget or just thought the audience would accept it. I don't know. To me that's like Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling of a room...it's impossible but it's entertainment.


    I happen to think the stylized bold letters are kind of cool for identifying where we are and what we're watching but it reminds me of the changes to the Entertainment Weekly magazine--almost like a dumbing down as if to say, duh you idiot we're here NOT there.
     
  6. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    I really like it, but I am a huge sucker for program where there is some deep dark force that is trying to manipulate the events and the poor no nothing slobs are trying with their all to stop it.

    Given that I have a Ph.D. in physics I have to put the brian on idle during programs like this. :winkgrin:
     
  7. fergojisan

    fergojisan Atari 2600 Gadabout

    Location:
    Felton, DE
    We watched the first two eps and decided not to continue. The only real problem I have with not continuing with the show is John Noble, his character is genius. "It warms your a$$" was absolutely hysterical.

    We both liked the show somewhat, it wasn't horrible. The 3D chirons, in my opinion, WERE horrible. :shake: I've never seen any Abrams stuff before, and I don't have a problem with the science part of it being wrong (I'm pretty good at suspension of disbelief, my wife, not so much). My problem is making a commitment to a show that may have a long and confusing arc with not much of a payoff, which I think someone already mentioned. Also, last year's writers strike did in a lot of love that I had for scripted television. We have dumped quite a few shows that we were rabid fans of, and some shows that we do still want to watch are getting backlogged on the DVR. My wife and I don't have much time to watch tv together, so we don't want to waste it.
     
  8. I totally see where you're coming from. I always thought that "The X-Files" was best when they did the stand-alone episodes or a short arc of interconnected stories. I'm one of the few people that thought the "Mythology" episodes of that show were an overrated, convoluted mess which will happen as if a show has a very vague idea where it is going and/or is made up as it goes along.

    Again, the science stuff I have to overlook to enjoy the show (it's much like the sci-fi movies I watched as a kid--I new it was idiot science but it was still a fun thrill ride to watch some of them). I tend to think of it as a horror series and NOT a science fiction show and, yes, the stuff can be preposterous (I had issues with the science involving the virus that was spread on the plane as I acquired a medical background over the years and my wife is a nurse) but, again, for the sake of the entertainment value I'm willing to put my brain in idle. The one thing I can't over look is a poorly structured drama--if it has the right elements and enough velocity to "fly" I get so caught up in the drama elements of the story that I overlook the other stuff.

    It's when the drama is poorly written ("Torchwood" is a good example..it's an occasionally entertaining show but I have issues with Russell Davies as a dramatic writer and feel that the "Dr. Who" episodes that were written by others are better than his)that I have a hard time overlooking the other flaws of a show.

    Even though the show is highly rated right now doesn't mean it won't lose its audience and be cancelled. It's also an expensive show for Fox (along with "The Terminator" series) to do even though it is show in B.C. so it will have to rake in consistent solid numbers to stick around.

    Fox has a history of canceling most of its sci-fi and horror shows without letting them develop a following (something they did do with "The X-Files" probably because it was a Fox produced series).

    I just hate a show that isn't allowed to wrap up its storyline(s) but hate the network more for not letting them do so.
     
  9. boyfromnowhere

    boyfromnowhere Senior Member

    Location:
    missouri, usa
  10. CHARLOOTZ

    CHARLOOTZ New Member

    Location:
    HAUPPAUGE, NY
    Me, too.
     
  11. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Yeah, I said the same thing about the latter. They pulled the same stunt on an episode of Lost that I worked on -- Hurley starts up a VW microbus that's been sitting on the island for 20 years -- and there's no problem with congealed oil or grease, the gas hasn't evaporated, all the hoses work, etc. That ain't gonna happen on a tropical island. Hell, it wouldn't work if the van were carefully garaged in LA!

    Still, the show is fun on a certain level, but at some point, you have to check your brain at the door. It's sad that a lot of TV shows and movies have deserted logic and science in favor of drama. I don't mind a little bit of this -- like hearing spaceship sounds and explosions in outer space -- but there is a point at which you go, "come ON..."

    But X-Files had the same problems. If anything, they were worse, because they never provided any explanations for their plot-holes and inconsistencies, which were legion. A friend of mine told me about ten years ago, "the X-Files staff is just making it up as they go along, and don't give a crap whether it makes sense or not, as long as it looks 'cool' on the air." And she was the post supervisor on the show for three years.

    Nobody's mentioned what I think is the worst thing in Fringe so far, and that's the casting of Joshua Jackson. He just seems bland and doughy to me, like a live-action version of Charlie Brown. There's at least ten other actors that would've been better in the part. But the girl, Anna Torv, is excellent, and as far as I'm concerned, she's carrying the show.
     
  12. Drew

    Drew Senior Member

    Location:
    Grand Junction, CO
    X-Files proved that its rather easy to create suspenseful situations. Providing satisfying answers is another thing entirely. Some people say "everything I ever learned came from Star Trek". Well, what I wrote in the first sentence of this post is what I learned from the X-Files.
     
  13. JohnG

    JohnG PROG now in Dolby ATMOS!

    Location:
    Long Island NY

    Agree. Like her but have never been impressed by him. I like the Dad scientist character Walter.

    And boy did Blair Brown get old. I hardly recognized her. Wasn't she once the star of a sitcom on NBC? She also once played Jackie O.

    I doubt I will continue with this show once LOST gets underway.
     
  14. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    Actually, I thought he was doing okay given how poorly his character is written. They saddle him with some of the worst dialog on television, and he somehow manages to get it out without completely embarassing himself.


    Regards,
     
  15. Stefan

    Stefan Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    I like Fringe so far as well. X-files always bored the hell out of me but this works for some reason.
     
  16. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    John, Take it easy with that "get old" stuff, as one who has "gotten old" himself I can tell you it sucks. :realmad:

    I like Joshua's character, I think he is good contrast to the Anna Torv character who I also like.
     
  17. Agreed. He's stuck explaining everything as well which is the worst dialog to have to deliver.
     
  18. We should also keep in mind that Blair Brown did "Altered States" nearly 30 years ago. THe curse of film is that it sometimes makes us remember the person as they were--fixed in our minds like an old photo.
     
  19. JohnG

    JohnG PROG now in Dolby ATMOS!

    Location:
    Long Island NY
    Checked Blair Brown's bio at IMDB. She was born in 1946 so that makes her 62.

    She was once called "The Thinking Man's Bombshell" in Esquire Magazine.

    Her TV show was called "The Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd" (1987-1991) and ran for 65 episodes. Molly Dodd was a mid-30s, divorced woman living in New York and facing the comedy and drama of a widely changing career, difficulties of apartment living, love life and its consequences, and so on.

    It ran for 5 seasons though I hardly remember the series.
     
  20. audiofool

    audiofool Senior Member

    Location:
    The Castle Arrrggh
    I didn't see Alterted States, but I remember her from Continental Divide that she did with John Belushi about a year before he died. A cute, inconsequential movie.
     
  21. kevin5brown

    kevin5brown Analog or bust.

    Just saw the 3rd one. I still like Walter. "Oh, and by the way, you might experience an involuntary bowel movement." :righton:

    Every episode he gets some real zingers in. And is it just me? But I think I notice him getting a little bit more screen time? Maybe the producers/writers are also noticing the positive vibe about his character? :D
     
  22. Stefan

    Stefan Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    He's turning into a tremendous character. I really disliked John Noble's portrayal of Denethor (not his work but the resulting character) but Walter is great. You keep seeing hints of a lot more depth and sanity there than is on the surface. And he seems a master of "facial acting."
     
  23. Jim Pattison

    Jim Pattison Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kitchener ON
    That's not too surprising, considering its broadcast history. From Wikipedia:

    It seems like a prime candidate for a "complete series" DVD boxed set.
     
  24. Henry the Horse

    Henry the Horse Active Member

    Tonights' ep was excellent. Just keeps getting better!
     
  25. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    Yes, Who is the bald man, the observer?
     
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