Wow, so Fringe happened. This sweet baby--the brainchild of J.J. Abrams (Lost) and the writing duo Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orco (Transformers)-- premiered on Fox tonight after nearly a year of hype and at least six months of posters on every street corner in L.A.
That's the kind of hype that Abrams is used to these days--Cloverfield had everyone drooling before it even had a title.
Fringe had a lot going for it and a lot going against it. On one side of things, this is the new show by the mastermind of Lost; so it HAS to be great. On the other side, what if Fringe suffers the same problems as Lost? Remember Season 2 of Lost? Remember anything good that came out of it besides Mr. Eko? No. The answer is no. Don't try to think of anything. No.
So after all the hype, all the mystery, all the anticipation, did Fringe deliver?
Yes. The answer is yes.
Review time.
Fuck...now I have to review it...do I even remember what happened? What was set up? I was glued to the tv for an hour and a half, I must remember something.
That's just it, I guess.
It's just as complicated and convuluted as the best X-Files episodes--and that's a good thing.
The show opens, in true Abrams fashion, with an incident (that I'm not going to spoil for you here) that is as mysterious as it is catastrophic. This event puts FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (newcomer Anna Torv, in a starmaking performance)on a quest for answers with her would-be partner (romantically and now professionally) Agent Scott on a quest for answers. Their assignment takes them to the brink of closure when things become dangerous. Agent Scott, moments from catching the perp, is caught in an exotic chemical blast.
Agent Dunham now finds the love of her life on the cusp of death due to an unexplainable breakdown at the molecular level. Agent Scott's skin has become translucent, like a giant Jello-O mold, and he looks like his whole body could pop at moments notice. (Yes, I saw X-Files: Fight The Future, shut up.)
The only man who has the slightest idea as to what might be going on is a man by the name of Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble, "Return Of The King", watch for him come next years Emmy's.) Dr. Bishop is a pioneer of 'Fringe Science', basically every single scientific impossibility there is. There's just one problem: Dr. Bishop was institutionalized seventeen years prior for using human subjects as tests for his experiments. He is only allowed visits from family; that order was brought down at the Federal level. So Agent Dunham has to then convince Dr. Walter's vagabond son, Peter (Joshua Jackson, from "Mighty Ducks" and that show that I used to watch, like TEN years ago, and my friends will never let me forget it, even to this day...something involving a "Creek"...but seriously, he's pretty solid with this material.) to return from abroad to get her in to see the good Doctor.
The strength of the show kicks in when Dr. Walter is released from the hospital and has an amazingly hard time readjusting to reality. A race against time ensues as the three reluctant teammates attempt to solve this mystery and save the life of the man Agent Dunham loves.
Fringe, at it's best, is an investigation/hyper-real medical drama...but this is Abrams we're talking about. So you know it doesn't stop there.
We are introduced to a mysterious series of events called 'The Pattern'--a sequence of seemingly random catastrophies that may actually be liked...or orchestrated by the most powerful corporations all over the globe.
See what we're dealing with here?
In one episode we're already knee deep in global conspiracies and sci-fi awesomeness. It took X-Files like 5 seasons to get here. Fringe is here to stay, there's something about it that is greater and more respectable than other shows with the same material that have been cancelled before it. That strength and respect has got to go to its three leads...and of course to Abrams.
No comments:
Post a Comment