Stuff I thought was cool in last night’s pilot for J.J. Abrams‘ Fringe on Fox:
• Lance Reddick’s spooky cranium. First thing in the ep I saw that made me cheer out loud.
• That translucent-skin ailment. Gross, but really cool.
• The cow walking through the halls of Harvard.
• The whole immersion tank scenario. I was thinking, "How very Altered States." And then, a few minutes later, who shows up but Altered States star Blair Brown. With a ROBOTIC ARM. Well played, sirs, well played.
Stuff I was less impressed with:
• Star Anna Torv, who strikes me so far as the poor person’s Kelly Lynch.
• The opening midair disaster. C’mon, J.J., you’ve been there, done that.
• Those 3D title cards. They were novel the first time I saw them –at the opening of Panic Room. Less so after 90 minutes of repeated usehere.
• The "Pattern" conspiracy/mythology. So far, awfully thin gruel tofuel the entire plot of this series, though it’s easy to see how it’lloffer a plausible excuse for Torv & Co. to explore other weird X-Files-ishphenomena. I can also see how it’ll be loose enough to allow forstand-alone episodes that could draw casual viewers who aren’t wrappedup in the mythology.
Overall, I thought the pilot started out slow and routine, but itdefinitely picked up when Reddick showed up and Torv’s Agt. OliviaDunham recruited the Bishops (John Noble and Joshua Jackson,pictured). There’s a lot of potential in the chemistry among the threeleads — naive but open-minded Olivia, giddy mad scientist Walter, andskeptical, street-smart Peter. The characters are going to need a lotmore fleshing out; fortunately, Abrams is the king of backstory. Watch for a full, official review of Fringe from our TV critics in a forthcoming issue of EW. Meanwhile, I’llbe tuning in next week. How about you?
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I enjoyed it – agreed that it started out a little slow, but about mid-way through it picked up the pace. I actually like the “pattern” mythology – I love “Lost” but I don’t really need another show that demands such intense analysis. I like the idea that some of the episodes can stand alone. And after a shaky start, I thought Joshua Jackson really turned up the heat (and Whitney was right – he is like a young Clooney). So overall – good start.
Overall, an enjoyable pilot worthy of a full season’s viewing. Government and industrial conspiracies are gold if developed properly. The episode wasn’t a homerun necessarily but I will hang around to see what happens next. One last thing, I loved the 3D title cards.
Iliked it – she’s no Sydney Bristow, but she’ll do. I’d never seen Dawson’s Creek so I was pleasantly surprised with Josh Jackson. Favorite line: “I just pissed myself. Just a squirt.”
I admit I will watch anything Pacey…sorry Joshua is in, but I thought it was a good start and I like the creepy guy from Lost!
I really enjoyed it too, I thought Joshua Jackson was great and I think Torv will grown on me. Very interesting stuff, I will watch next week to see how they start to develop the relationships and mythology.
very good. I saved it on the DVR to watch again.. creepy..
The pilot was workmanlike, but effective in establishing a mythology that I think can easily carry the series. I’m not such a huge fan of Torv either–but I think she can do better in future episodes. Joshua Jackson is great, though.
No, Anna Torv is the poor person’s Cate Blanchett. And seconded on the 3D title cards, some were nearly unreadable. But I’ll tune in next week.
didn’t anyone think Joshua Jackson’s smartass comebacks came a little too fast and furious? He could have cut some of those out. Dunham is the poor man’s cross between Laura Prepon and Naomi Watts. This is X-Files + CSI + Lost. I groaned aloud when I heard the “The Pattern”. It’s this series’ version of the Dharma Initiative. I’ll probably keep watching though.
I enjoyed it very much. I like Josh Jackson in almost anything (including Dawson’s Creek *sigh*) so he was good, I was actually surprised at Anna Torv b/c I wasn’t expecting too much anyway, and I’m anxiosly awaiting the disgusted sneer a la LOTR (ya know, as Boromir and Faramir’s papa) that John Noble does so well. I think these three will mesh very well and heck, if it’s a product of the wonderfully warped amusement park that is JJ Abrams’s brain, then I’m in!
Really, really liked it. I also really enjoyed Torv: she reminds me of a cross between Rhona Mitra and Cate Blanchett. Great chemistry, snappy dialouge, good effects. Fox needs this and so does Tuesday night.
I loved it! Fringe was the only new show on my to-watch list, and based on the pilot, I think both the show and Torv show some major potential. I’ll keep tuning in. Spooky stuff, gross stuff, dry humor, good chemistry: sounds like a show for me, let’s hope they keep it up!
I thought, as has been pointed out, it had it’s good points and ‘meh’ ones. It didn’t knock my socks off, but the season preview has me intrigued, so I’m sticking around… for now.
She DOES look like Kelly Lynch! I couldn’t put my finger on it last night. I had never heard of her or seen anything she was in, but I could tell from her forced American accent that she was from overseas somewhere. She was my least favourite part of the show. I didn’t think I’d like Joshua Jackson, but he was really good. I’ll watch again.
Been there, done that J.J., and could you possibly find a more plain-Jane vanilla actress for the lead? It was nice seeing the Steward of Gondor though. Apparently when you leave Middle Earth you fall into some kind of weird alternate universe of rehashed plots and stereotypical characters. Now there’s an interesting conspiracy theory to explore. Maybe someone should find the One Ring that binds the half dozen studios that control 85% of our TV and movie industry and toss it into the pit of redundancy before someone evil gains control, but then, given the current state of affairs, it may already be too late.
I enjoyed it. I also like the viral marketing – the Massive Dynamic commercial at the end of the episode, which of course led me to the MD website.
I liked it a lot. More than I thought I would. But I love LOST and JJ, so I decided to give it a shot. Like most pilots it had a few not-so-good moments, but I think it did a good job of establishing the characters and mythology. I’m sure it’ll get better now that we have the basics.
I thought that Josh and John were really good and Anna was decent. I know I’ll be back next week! Oh and I LOVED the 3D cards!
I enjoyed the pilot. I thought it had a nice mix of drama and a little dark comedy and action. Josh Jackson did a great job; it’s nice to see him again! And John Noble was fabulous in all his creeptacular-ness. Anna Torv was OK; she needs to get her hands a little more dirty to carry such a creepy/drama-ridden show. Maybe she should call Gillian Anderson for a few pointers.
But, overall, I’m watching next week. It looks promising!
I think the show will do well but it won’t have me along for the ride. There was just something too predictable about it all. The mad scientist, the special agent that no one believes, the big corporation that wants to control the planet, etc. There’s always room for this kind of show but there was just some missing unique element that I needed and didn’t get. If it was easy every show would be a phenomenon, I guess. So remind me, when is Lost coming back on???
If I based my decision on the first 15 mins I probably wouldn’t tune back in (but the SFX were really good), glad I stuck around to watch the rest because overall it was pretty good. Much was predictable but it’s a pilot episode so no surprise with that. IMO – I HATED those 3D titles, too distracting for no good reason.
I had seen the leaked version back in June, and I enjoyed it then (it could have been from the lack of anything remotely interesting being on air for the summer months). I’ll definitely give it another chance – Pacey, JJ, and those 2 guys who wrote my fave Alias epi ever (Color Blind) – that’s a pretty solid team for me! I’m in!
The lead actress looks like Cate Blanchett. I couldn’t get that out of my mind. She was okay, but some of her choices weren’t believable- she’s supposed to be FBI, right?
Joshua Jackson was well cast as the cynic of the group, but as the show went on, I realize it wasn’t much more to his character than just saying “no” to everything.
The music. It’s from the same guy who does it for Lost. So that’s all I heard: Lost music on a show that isn’t Lost. It was distracting.
And so where those giant 3D title cards during new scenes.
The show suits Fox. Very X-files/Bones/House. The fringe science that was explored was pretty interesting. Transparent skin? Cool!
Last word: Let’s give it some time to really pick up and get going, but all in all, a solid if slow debut.
Grade: B
I really enjoyed it but that doesn’t surprise me really since I’m a huge J.J. fan. Without a doubt I will be watching every episode.
So much complaining! I loved the pilot and I am sure it will just get better. I don’t care if it does have the same music as lost or the same 3D words as Panic Room. Those things only made it seem more mysterious. The 3D words actually were like a character looming over the actor’s heads. That was new and different for TV. Also, I loved Josh Jackson. And who cares if the main character isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, the rest of the cast and the story are great. Solid A for me! Best Pilot since…well.. Lost.
The thing that bothered us is that when she had visited his mind while in the sensory dep. tank wouldn’t she have then known his being part of the cabal? Plot flaw?
I found it boring until they sprung Walter from the institution then it picked up. The actress who plays Dunham looks just like Cate Blanchett which I had a hard time getting past. Hopefully it will be more interesting in the 2nd episode or I’ll just tune out.
my favorite character so far: the cow
Piggy-backing on some “Lost” themes (reanimation, teleportation, magnetic anomolies) is the most interesting part of “Fringe.” This will keep me tuned in for at least the next 2 episodes. I enjoyed the “Minority Report-like” pre-cog scene. Torv is a snooze fest, Jackson is charming, and Noble is perfectly cast. If we’re comparing the pilots of “Fringe” and “Lost”…”Lost” wins, no questions asked. But is it truly fair to compare anything to the best show EVER made?
I really liked it. I hope it sticks around.
Loved it. Was hoping for some refreshing TV instead of mind-numbing reality TV (which I don’t watch- I’d rather puke up a battery acid martini, twice) and I found “Fringe” to be what I was hoping for. Some of it felt a wee bit forced but I’m confident it will get better. Olivia is very “green” but so was Scully when she first met Mulder… give the characters some time to acclimate and build relationships and I know this show will be a hit.
And Joshua can ring my bell anyday- he’s handsome and a great actor. Glad he’s been given a chance to shine.