My jury is still out — and probably trying to resist the urge to have Chipotle for lunch — after watching the first two episodes of Fox’s Fringe. Last night’s opening scene, focusing on that unexpected "baby" delivery, was hideously cool, from the squelching sound effects right down to the screaming nurse, but the show’s three central characters — Anna Torv’s Olivia Dunham, Joshua Jackson’s Peter Bishop, and John Noble’s Walter Bishop — are all perilously close to stepping over the border of Quirkyville and right into Annoyingland. I find Noble’s performance particularly distracting; he reads every line as if he was imitating John O’Hurley playing J. Peterman on Seinfeld. When Jackson’s character snapped last night that dear old dad should try talking like a real person, I found myself shouting back at the TV: "Yes! YES!"
That said, I’m probably going to stick around for another episode or two, at least. I’m loving Blair Brown’s chillingly enigmatic corporate power-player, and crazy as it may sound, I’m a little bit obsessed with the X-ray-like title cards that run before each and every commercial break: the toad with the "phi" symbol on his back; the daisy with the insect-wing petal; the leaf with the etched triangle pattern; and especially the apple with the creepy fetus seeds! Tell me I am not the only one who’s ba-da ba-bah-bah…lovin’ ‘em.
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I said to my roommate last night that Peter has filled the void that was Chandler Bing’s missing sarcasm. I’m sticking around for now. I’m into it – even though I’m not a big Lost person, and wasn’t that into Alias or the X-Files.
Whoa. I had absolutely no interest in this show until you showed those creepy title cards.
Annoyingland can’t be as bad as the new 90210’s hometown:
Skinny Hooch Junction.
What I like about this show is that we have realistic characters in strange situations. This is not a show were the characters create the drama, they are dealing with it. That might be your problem with the show so far.
I love the acting. It shows a nice sense of realism when shows like 90210, Gossip Girl, My Name is Earl, and Pushing Daisies is all about strange characters.
It think you’ve got this one backwards. The world they live in is strange. They are not. Give them a little more time, and try watching the show with that POV.
Terrible episode last night — very disappointing for a second episode of a new series. Hackneyed plot (if you didn’t see where it was going from about 15 minutes in, have you ever watched ANY sci-fi/fantasy TV?), really clumsy exposition, arbitrary character development — and the business with retrieving images off the optical nerve?? Come on. Geordi LaForge, what technobabble can we use to save the ship this week? Seemed like a rushed effort, and deflated a lot of whatever interest I’d had in the overall “mystery” they were trying to rope us into. It’s dicey as to whether or not I watch this next week.
Still like the show although I’m not sure how it went from being the winter at the beginning of the episode and high summer by the episodes end.
The minute they end up “we need to re-configure the blah, blah, blah technobable, nerdspeak, blah” I’m out of there.
Well… it wasn’t as good as the pilot, for sure. But, you can’t discount the entire concept of the show is FRINGE science – that is extracting the last sights from the optic nerve, and it is reanimation, and it is all the stuff that is still “fantasy”. If you sit and criticize that whole concept… might as well not bother watching the show.
I was hooked from the pilot so I’ll continue watching. I’m also a huge LOST fan and I see a lot of similarities between the shows. One good thing about that is that Fringe has enormous chance for character and story development.
Whoa! I’ve watched both episodes, and I noticed the triangle on the leaf, but not the other weird stuff. The title cards are officially the best part of the show. Last night’s episode was…not great. I do NOT like Torv.
Even though I recorded the pilot, yesterday’s installment was my fist. It’s not a bad show and kept my interest, but much of it feels too much like ersatz X-Files; and this is coming from someone who hasn’t watched X-Files. I at least agree with Michael (not Slezak) on the plotting, which easily veered into procedural crime territory. I’m not too entranced by the characters either, and it could take a cue on its lead in House on the subject of quirky character.
Fringe is entertaining enough if I have nothing better to do or watch, but if anything better comes along, I’m out.
Correct me if I am wrong, but this show’s plot seems a bit like the plot of the Canadian show ReGenesis.
Bah. I meant to say ‘I haven’t watched MUCH X-Files’, not ‘I haven’t watched any X-Files.’
I’m a huge LOST fan, and enjoyed ALIAS, of course, so I was disappointed by the execution and mechanics of the episode relative to the usual polish Bad Robot delivers. I really want to love the “fringe science” concept, but I worry about how well it’ll hold up — and the way it was integrated into this episode was pretty stiff. I’d've loved to have seen more about the “growing soldiers” backstory, but the plot just kept jumping point-to-point in ways that just seemed contrived.
I agree the 3 main characters are hokey. The actress who plays Olivia is…still learning to act? She’s clearly the weak link in the ensemble. The “wacky prof” is bordering on cutesy, and just how did his terrible relationship with his son suddenly become Bosom Buddies?
My biggest issue with the show is that it tries to push “science” but it’s clearly made-up science. The precog stuff, the eyeball…at least X-Files’ Scully gave us real scientific explanations. The science on Fringe is all ridiculous, so knowing it’s not true, it makes the whole show seem silly. I know it’s sci-fi, but the science can still be real to make it more authentic. I agree with Slezak- it’s too quirky for its own good, period, and the acting is subpar (Olivia and the prof)
That wasn’t BC in the episode last night. It also doesn’t look like Boston. Perhaps they should use some of the huge budget for this show to film something on location–at least background shots.
I like Eureka on Sci-Fi a lot better. It’s funnier, and yet at the same time can be just as dark and sad as any show on television. The science and effects are cooler too.
The intro/outro graphics are beautiful. One of them showed up on a door security hand scanner at the creepy company.
The show is okay. But not even Pacey is enough for me to give it a season pass. I might watch occasionaly.
Love the title/commercial break cards, too. I actually found the Blair Brown character annoying when she should be more sinister. Dunham was just too weepy and emotional in this episode. You’re not on a soap opera, lady! Pull it together!
The show is not great but I’m in it for now – I can see how they’re trying to build a mythology. As a big Lost and Alias fan, I was disappointed that the Fringe pilot wasn’t like a great standalone movie like the aformentioned shows. Anna Torv is very good – it’s not many young actresses that have that intelligence or gravitas. I also like John Noble a lot – why would you want him to be like every other character in a police procedural? I feel the weak link is actually Joshua Jackson – the writers shouldn’t have to remind us how smart the character is, it should be apparent and it is not.
I liked it a lot. I may be in the minority, but I really enjoy the Walter and Peter characters and think John Noble and Joshua Jackson are great with the father/son dynamic.
I’m all in. It’s definitely got my attention.
I vote for changing the name of the Massive Dynamic woman to Captain Hook. Who’s with me?
I’m watching, but I don’t want to devote too much non-watching time to thinking over the plots and plausibility (unlike LOST and Heroes). The acting, however, has got to improve on Ms. Torv’s part. She doesn’t show much range of emotion. I’m in for the season, I think. This is the only new show I’m picking up this year.
The title cards are really cool. And I’m loving the show — maybe just because it’s shiny and new, but I really like the characters and the X-Files vibe.
I thought last might’s episode was a let down from the pilot. But I’m willing to stick around for a few more. I read somewhere else that the title cards do have meaning and that they will make sense in future episodes. I also saw the leaf one on the door security panel when they took Agent Scott’s body at the end of the pilot. Interesting….
I hung in there again for this episode, hoping it would improve over the pilot. It was better, but still pretty weak. I get that Torv wants her character to come off as dour, but she’s failing even at that. She just comes off as hollow. She needs to emote already. And the mad scientist bugs. Weirdly, I expected Pacey to be the weak link of this show, but JJ is doing really well here. He’s snarky, but has a heart. And his closing lullaby to his crazy father was so sweet. I kind of don’t hate him anymore.
I’m looking forward to having me some creepy back in my TV. Although I might just be a sucker for having fresh (post-strike) TV back in my life. Sad, I know. Oh, and it looks like it’s taped in Toronto.
Like the show so far, at least enough to give it a couple more episodes of DVR space. Love the title cards … you missed one of the best ones, though. The six fingered handprint.
Also kind of like the different method of placing the ‘Where are we now’ info at scene changes. Nice change of pace from the standard teletype at the bottom of the screen.
I’m going to continue to watch because I’m intrigued by the plot and by the characters. I feel that the weakest link thus far is the actress that plays Olivia. Here’s hoping that she learns with experience.
That being said, I also don’t think that they are giving Pac…ermmmm, Josh, enough to do. I’ve always respected him as an actor and in these first two episodes he hasn’t been given anything meaty to chomp on (that sentence ended in a slightly different place than it started). Luckily, he looks real purty so the eye candy is working for me!
I’ll give it a couple more chances, but I’m with you on the characters, not crazy about them yet. The opening scene from yesterday’s episode was wicked though, that girl can scream!
Where’s the TV Watch for this and 90210?? That being said, I think this show is awesome…and i like the over-arching theme of ‘the pattern’ but also that each episode has it’s own little mystery to resolve. I personally think that Anna Torv is awesome – she’s an FBI agent who just lost her lover, found out he was working for ‘the other side’ and now is immersed in one freaky A-S-S world! I dont blame her for being a bit ‘hard’. Anyways, I’ll continue watching.
I think a number of reviewers are completly off the mark regarding the acting in this show. A previous reviewer had the adacity to say that the blonde actress, Anna Torv, is the weakest link of the show and a horrible actress. Are you kidding me? She is one of the best actresses I have ever come across and she, along with the rest of the cast, put on extremely powerful performances. My vote is in: If “Fringe” can keep this up, then I think we are going to be seeing this show being awarded a well-deserved Emmy.
Gee. It’s just too bad that Fringe isn’t as good as The Hills or Gossip Girl, isn’t it? Oy.