First of all, this post has nothing to do with horse-drawn carriages or Oklahoma!, so those of you who ended up here because you are Amish or into musical theater can feel free to leave whenever you want.
A couple of times today, the subject of the new J.J. Abrams show, Fringe, has come up. I did watch it, but I hadn't really thought about it much today as I spent the entire day searching for and compiling information at the request of an auditor from the land down under. It turns out that despite my best efforts there is not a single question he can ask in that situation which can be appropriately answered by smiling and handing him a Vegemite sandwich. At least, not with any sort of professionalism. Anyway, after hearing a few other opinions and getting some questions about my thoughts on Fringe, I figured I'd give it a quick review.
First, of all. Yes, I did like it, but I think it was obvious that it was still a pilot and many of the things that grow over time in a TV show were not there yet.
I know, I know. It's just an X-Files rip off, right? I've said it, too. However, looking at this a little more objectively, the similarities to the X-Files begin and end with federal agents investigating things that involve the paranormal. Even there we don't know enough about what they will be investigating to determine how similar that is. (Besides, how does a broadly similar premise to a show that ended years ago mean that a show doesn't have a reason to exist or have creative worth. Following this logic, there should be no police shows after the first one ever made, no political dramas, and certainly no sitcoms that revolve around a family. That is so played out.) The lead characters of Olivia Dunham and Peter Bishop are clearly not Mulder and Scully. Neither is really a believer, and neither is really a skeptic. They just get drawn into the situation and have to go with the flow. Dunham does immediately concede to things that she probably shouldn't. I know the last time someone told me to strip to my underwear, take LSD and shove probes into the base of my skull, it took a little convincing. She does it not out of belief, but out of desperation. Sure, she should think to herself, "Hey, this is a stupid idea. Why would I listen to a guy who was in a mental institution for almost two decades, anyway?" She doesn't, because she is grasping at straws to save someones life and because, let's face it, it helps to move the show. The best way to look at it is as a cop show, but one with a lot of sci-fi. Without the burden of being compared to a phenomenon like the X-Files, the show fares much better.
Fringe was over-the-top and unrealistic, and I think this is why I liked it. It didn't try to make you think that everything was part of our reality. It was part of their reality. People don't have their skin crystallize and turn transparent. People don't plug into the brains of comatose or recently dead people and have a chat, and believe me unused lab equipment certainly does not go unclaimed for 15 years. 15 days would be kind of a stretch. It's not about suspension of disbelief in the sense of Jack Bauer being able to accomplish everything in 24 hours, when it would take him that long to drive across LA. It's about being pulled into a brand new world. It's sci-fi, but almost to the point of being fantasy. It's about becoming involved in the world that the writers have built for us, where two scientists who shared a lab travelled down divergent paths. One caused the death of a colleague in an experiment and ended up in an institution. The other started a corporation that does anything and everything (and is essentially this show's Hanso Foundation), but may also be doing much more than they claim. The conflict between these two sides of the same coin has promise for further development in the future.
The biggest fault so far was the two leads, who really where just there to help push pieces into place during this first episode. I hope that they are developed more as the show goes on (which is typical for a show like this). Some of the supporting actors/characters were much more interesting: Specifically, Walter Bishop, the formerly institutionalized professor, who was somehow functional in the lab despite being completely nuts.
To sum up: It was fun and a good set up for the future. I just hope that it lives up to what it can be.
1 comment:
I watched Fringe as well, and wondered if it would live up to my high J.J. Abrams expectations. I went with the concept that it was completely unreal and there's no way it could be. If you don't, you'd stop watching after 10 minutes. But I did think it was fun and do hope to see more of Walter Bishop. He was funny.
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