Fringe (FOX TV sci-fi/drama)

Good question!

 

I liked it except for the "we have no idea what this probably deadly object is but since you just yelled at us, sure you can take it home for the weekend" part.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose interest fast if they keep introducing more and more mysterious people and plot points without resolving anything.

 

If you're also a fan of "Doctor Who", then I'm sure you caught the blatant nod in last night's episode.

The scene I'm referring to was the mimicking scene between Joshua Jackson and The Observer. This was a slice right out of the DW episode "Midnight".

Must be a DW fan on the writing staff of Fringe.

2nd possible nod was with the name "The Observer", because they first said "he watches", which, of course made me think of "The Watcher" from "Logopolis".

 

Not me, that's one of the main things I like about it!
As far as resolving anything, it pretty early man.

 

It hadn't occurred to me that the show is trying to be a little campy. I'll watch the next episode with that in mind.

Yeah, it's early but as I mentioned upthread I smell an X-Files/Lost never-ending, making-it-up-as-we-go arc. As there's nothing on opposite Fringe that interests me I'll keep watching for awhile. It's the only new show that I've wanted to watch more than once.

I do like the homages to other shows. It reminds me a bit of St. Elsewhere when they used song lyrics as dialogue from time to time.

 

Oh yeah. I kind of picked that up with the second episode.

 

The show's ratings are picking up and Fox is very happy with it so far. One of the biggest new-show hits of the season.

BTW, it just occurred to me that it seems the only shows I watch have one-word titles: "Lost," "Fringe," "Heroes," and "Terminator" (technically it's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," but you catch my drift.)

One problem with these shows is when they take themselves much too seriously, and every episode has the world on the brink of disaster. There's also a lot of overlapping "corporate/government conspiracy" stuff that makes me wonder if each show is watching the other and stealing their plots. Fringe at least has a couple of laughs in it, even if they're nervous, weird laughs, like the stuff with Walter, the nutty professor. Heroes is starting to tank -- ratings are down 11% from last season.

The 3-D title transitions in Fringe are getting a little wearisome to me, though, quickly becoming an overused gimmick. (And they're not Chyron, BTW -- I believe they're done with Maya software.) Still, there's terrific effects in the show for a TV budget. We'll see if J.J. Abrams and his writers actually tie up all the loose ends as time goes on.

BTW, note that Fox and Fringe have set up a fake website for the evil corporation in the show, Massive Dynamic. I think there's also an 800 number for them as well (ala the toll-free number for "Oceanic Airlines" in Lost). Very clever, how they're marketing this show.

 

My family still watched Heroes but I'm completely lost with the plot. "Save The Cheerleader" I could understand but now its reached that point where the show could go anywhere and just run forever. Kinda like "Lost" I guess.

 

Me too, I can never tell for sure if it is now or four years in the future when they have scenes where they have both Peter's (with and without the face scar). I just hope it does not turn into one of these "let's make it up as we go along".

 

Well, we've seen the better part of a seasons so far, what do you think?
I'm liking it, but would like to see some of the story threads develope a little more quickly, or consistantly.

 

I've thoroughly enjoyed the show all season, when it's been on of course. John Noble is doing some brilliant acting.

My only complaint is the long breaks. Last week the show just exploded with development and everything started falling into place, then bang, "we'll be back in April." Whatever happened to February sweeps?

 

April? How did I miss that?

 

At the very end of the episode, they said they'd be back in April with seven all-new episodes. That makes last week's show a bit of a cliffhanger.

 

Well, I think I'll catch up on some of "The Mentalist" eps until Fringe returns.

 

Another one of my favorites from this year, as is the new Tim Roth show "Lie to Me."

 

Alas, I've a sneaking suspicion that's true of a lot of series, including a few I've been fond of for one reason or another.

It's a bit of a stretch to me. Imagine getting a break like that, getting a chance to make something of concepts and characters, being responsible for what millions are going to be $pent on and yet having little or no plan or care for how it holds up, being more concerned about making something that looks hip/cool at the moment...

 

I just don't think you can get away with that kind of approach anymore.
"Lost" seemed like it might be that way but they've obviously got the story tied up.

 

How is that one?

 

My gf and I were not happy to hear that last week.

I suspect the show is being bumped for the 2 hour American Idol programs for the Tuesday evening slot.

 

My sentiments exactly. It's a great show! Why make us wait for a month and a half?
Oh well, I'm hooked now, so I'll be there when it returns.

 

I think that they have a vague sense of where they're going...kind of like looking for street on a globe..they know the answer is there...somewhere.

 

Methinks they're saving the late season episodes for April to present the season finale for May sweeps!

 

Sadly, I think a lot of producer/writers are more concerned with getting their $20,000/week paychecks than worrying about characterizations, logic, plot continuity, or anything else. The big concern is "is this week's show OK?" and "is the network happy?"

Lost has always had a master plan, though it's clear to me that they're tweaking it as it goes. I worked on the show (on and off) for four years, and can attest that they keep very rigid, tight control on what happens on and off screen. This season has been terrific, and I think Fringe is good, too.

The biggest miracle to me is that Anna Torv in Fringe has the best fake-American accent I've ever heard from an Aussie. Terrific actress, too. I like the little injections of humor in the show, and I get the feeling the "grand conspiracies" in Fringe will have a much better payoff than anything that happened in X-Files.

The big rumor is that agent Olivia Dunham's mysterious abusive father will be making an appearance shortly, and he's part of the conspiracy as well. (Don't forget the spinal tap experiments done to her when she grew up on a military base in Jacksonville, Florida.)

BTW, I believe Fringe is doing their full 22-episode run. It's just that they spread them out in a weird way, and took a lot of breaks. Seven episodes straight is a long haul in contemporary TV, and no doubt there'll be a big payoff for May sweeps.

 

I think that many of these shows like Lost, Heroes, Fringe, Terminator, etc. are making it up as they go along, but can you really blame them. The networks cancel shows on a whim, they only pay them for 8 or 13 episodes so what can you expect from these writers. It is clear after the writer's strike two years ago that in TV they rule. I think the networks are now treating any show that is not established with great caution and trying to gain some control over the writers.

And then there is the ever growing onslaught of totally worthless reality shows.

And now NBC is going to give us Jay at 10 PM instead of adult drama.

I think it is time for the major networks to give up on adult shows and leave it to the cable networks like AMC, FX, TNT, USA, etc.

 

JJ Abrams was on Fresh Air on NPR a few months back and said that the only way he'll do any series anymore is if he has a guarantee of a full season straight from the word go.