Screen Rant reviews J.J. Abrams’ Fringe
We’ve given sporadic coverage to J.J. Abrams’ new TV series Fringe (which airs on Fox) over the last few months, and now I wish we’d done more. It can take a new TV show a few episodes to find its legs, but the series premiere of this new Fall 2008 TV series was great.
Let it be known that there are spoilers below. If you haven’t seen the show, the premiere will be broadcast this upcoming Sunday. I recommend you check it out.
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The show opened with a nod to Abrams’ other hit show Lost, by taking place on an airliner with of course something going terribly wrong. One of the passengers starts freaking out, and we soon see that it looks like his skin is starting to melt. Not a pretty site.
Soon the rest of the passengers are infected and there are melting faces everywhere. One closeup reminded me of the now-famous “jaw-ripping” scene from this summer’s horror movie stinker Mirrors.
Our main protagonist is Olivia Dunham (played by the very attractive Anna Torv). She is an FBI agent in a relationship with another agent. Their relationship is hidden since it’s against protocol for them to be romantically involved. They are called in to investigate this airplane that has landed with no one alive onboard. Yes, I know… HOW did it land. I was all ready to go off on that plot point but they explained that this plane had the most advanced, state of the art autopilot in existance, able to safely land a plan automatically.
Olivia ends up having to work for Homeland Security agent Phillip Broyles (played by the intense looking Lance Reddick). To say he treats her disrespectfully would be an understatement. There is bad blood between them based on a prior case that she had worked on.
While following a thin lead, she and her partner find an impromptu lab set up in a cargo container, and stumble across the owner of the lab, connected to the disaster. There is an explosion and agent-man survives but is infected by the same chemical agents that caused the flesh melting deaths on the flight.
Olivia’s mission now entails tracking down someone who can save her partner, who has been stabilized by being put into a coma. She ends up tracking down Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) who was locked up in a mental hospital 17 years ago for manslaughter. Apparently he is a scientist and genius, with the slighly bad habit of having conducted experiments on humans - resulting in a death.
Our heroine has to track down his son Peter (Joshua Jackson) in order to get access and finds him half way around the world. He’s a bit of a scammer and has a few skeletons in his closet. Reluctantly, he goes with Olivia to meet with his estranged dad.
That’s probably enough about the plot - what you need to know is that the show was very well done all around. The acting was very good, story, direction, visual effects, etc. This is a quality effort and not a schlocky premiere that will be gone in three episodes.
Its lead-in on Tuesday nights will be the extremely popular series House, and in January the lead-in will be American Idol, so expect Fringe to do very well in the ratings department.
And yes, this does seem like a new version of The X-Files, but in this case that’s not a bad thing. Of course, being a J.J. Abrams TV series, there is some larger conspiracy and many other related events that all somehow mesh together. My concern is that the show doesn’t lead us all over the place by the nose like X-Files did and as Lost did for a couple of seasons. Hopefully he’s learned his lesson from the feedback he’s received from fans.
And on a completely unrelated note: Fringe solidifies my hope that the upcoming Star Trek reboot may in fact turn out to be excellent. Why? Because the team behind this show: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are the same folks who are behind Star Trek.
Hopefully the quality remains high on Fringe - it’s off to a hell of a great start.
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33 Comments
Complete bad-ripoff of X-Files meets Lone Gunmen.
The show seemed unrealistic to me.
The location icons were comical and annoying.
The acting was just a little better than the writing, average.
X-Files, Silence of the Lambs, Lost, Frankenstein, the Lone Gunman, sheesh JJ really knows how to tap the genre for all its worth…
I felt the show was an average X-files rip-off nothing really more. We have a alien looking black guy for a Skinner and an X-Boyfriend double agent…as the Conspiracy…
Yaaawwwnnn !!!!!
its such a piece of crap I bet its a big hit,,,,,
“Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci”
Well, all I can say about this is that the last thing I saw from them was so unforgivably bad, and their attitude toward the fans of that franchise so condescending, that I am unwilling to give anything they’re associated with a chance. They don’t deserve it.
Don’t worry Vic, I watched the premiere and enjoyed it as well.
I was glad to see they really didn’t hold back on how crazy ‘Dr. Bishop’ was and is. The only real thing that got to me about the show is the entire episode our protag is a complete.. wait, would that still be PG-13?
Anywho, yeah, but it’s all justified because we’re meant to care for the guy she’s trying to save no matter the cost. Then the guy turns out to be a badguy, so her actions aren’t justified at all! I was left liking the two male leads and a sort of resentment towards the gal.
See-through skin was aweseom, by the way.
Rev
Wow… a very diverse cast… and the show was intense from the beginning to the end…….it was deja vu…..because it start with the 2 and end with the 2.
I love it… I am looking at it as 24 meets SciFiction….
The show was off the chain! And I hope Fox greenlight for a full season as opposed to two shows.
Vic
I didn’t like “Transformers” either, but I liked “Mission Impossible 3″ and “Alias,” although I didn’t watch a lot of it is acclaimed as being a great TV series. Heck, I even really liked “The Legend of Zorro.”
Keep in mind that Michael Bay was the power behind Transformers and his influence may be more the reason it was lame than Orci and Kurtzman.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Vic
well i think it’s off to a good start…. in the opening scene..i was happily surprised to see the simiarities to “Lost”. i thought that the connection to lost were fun to see and clever. Seeing the opening scence AND Lance Reddick who was actually a chracter on lost also…. I love science fiction and i love the graphics.. i hope it keeps that up. i didn’t much like the “lost” type face telling us where they r, running thru the scenes… simple type at the botton of the screen is fine… if u ask me .
overall, i thought it was very well done and i’ll be watching again
Lol, Vic, I as well have to keep in mind your a Stargate and Smallville fan.
Well there’s no excuse for you not liking Stargage, ESPECIALLY if you’re a Star Trek TOS fan.
Regarding Smallville, that’s definitely a like/hate thing. I’ve made my views on that show clear many times.
Vic
Well its all subjective, and I do sometimes go against the grain…
(ImO),,,
The show was a real poor mans X-files.
I havnt seen such a blatant rip off in a long time.
But that’s what JJ Abrams does, he takes other ppls ideas and steals them.
I goes on all the time, I just find his style to be average…
Some ppl like it, some dont.
Stargate, can’t stand it.
Great? Are you serious? The show is absolutely a poor man’s X-Files, without well written dialouge. The scenes were poorly pasted together and Did anyone else notice the music? It felt really generic, There was no feeling to it. This all really bums me out because I love LOST so much, I thought anything JJ does would have my support. There was nothing compelling about any of the charecters what-so-ever. If the “team” behind this show is behind the Star Trek re-boot… Bummer.
Perhaps you can give us a list of sci-fi/fantasy shows on TV that you think are good.
Vic
I’m not at all a JJ fan I hated X-files and Lost. I also was not much of a fan of Alias, but Fringe was very good. It’s like X-files meets Bones and 24. There were a few minor things I didn’t like I think it stretched it’s self a little to far, but the writing and acting was so great it didn’t matter. I loved the dialogue especially a lot of the stuff with Joshua Jackson I found his smart ass attitude to be hilarious.
“Keep in mind that Michael Bay was the power behind Transformers and his influence may be more the reason it was lame than Orci and Kurtzman.”
Saying you didn’t like Transformers is a vast understatement compared to how I felt about it. I absolutely hated it, and I have nothing but contempt for virtually everyone associated with making it, including Steven Spielberg, who has now lost all credibility as far as I’m concerned.
As for Orci and Kurtzman, they proudly claimed that the movie on the screen was the movie they wrote. If that’s what they wrote, what they had in mind when they were writing it, then that’s all I need to know about them as writers. Their attitude towards the fans only makes things worse.
My mind is made up about them, and nothing can or will change it.
I couldn’t agree with you more about Transformers. It was such a terrible piece of crap movie. However I don’t completely blame everyone involved because lets be honest can you really make a good movie out of Transformer? I can’t blame the writers for it the probably did the best that they possibly good I mean to be fair they were working on the Transformers it was simply destined to suck. The fact that Bay was the director made sure it would be even worse than you would of expected.
“because lets be honest can you really make a good movie out of Transformer?”
Actually, yes, a good movie based on Transformers could have been done. All they would have had to do it CARE about making a good movie, and treated it as a serious science fiction movie. The problem is too many people, you for example, have a preconceived notion about what Transformers is, and aren’t willing give it credit for being able to surpass it’s origins.
Good writers, and a director who was competent and cared about the final product, could have made Transformers into an SF story that could have stood beside anything Star Trek has done, beside anything Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov has written. All you have to do it look beyond the preconceived ideas that this is “just a bad 80’s cartoon” or “just a kids toyline.”
I’m sorry but I could never call Transformers Science Fiction I find it an insult to the genre. I think people these days try to call everything Science Fiction when well over half the crap being put under that label isn’t remotely close to the original intent of the genre. For instance robot aliens that transform in to cars. No matter how talented of a writer you are it’s pretty hard to get past the fact that it’s Alien robots that transform in to cars.
What’s the problem? The robots? Not exactly uncommon in SF. The aliens? Again, they’re extremely common.
Must be the shape changing, then? Granted, not much has been done with the idea of one item becoming something else, but it’s not unheard of. While I’m hard pressed to find many series or writers than have dealt with it, I can safely say that Star Trek’s done it. Or would you not call Star Trek SF? Admittedly, Trek has pushed the limits of SF, but it’s still SF.
These days we have the ability to make machines that could change form. They may not be able to do much more than that, so it may not be practical yet, but we have the ability. We have created robots. They may not be anywhere near as advanced as the ones we see in SF stories, but we’ve got robots. I’ve even seen a video of a real robot that can change shape, though it’s little more than a toy.
The science for two of the elements is there: robots and shape changing. The third, aliens, we don’t have first-hand evidence of, but they’re pretty well accepted in SF, and have pretty much been there from the beginning. So, I’d say alien robots that can change their shape do qualify as science fiction.
Then again, maybe your problem is with the idea that the robots are alive. Did you have a problem with Data in Star Trek? What about the robots from Star Wars? Or were they not considered alive? How about the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica? Living machines, though, are also not uncommon in SF.
So unless that’s where your problem lies, or with one of those four elements I mentioned, I’d say the core of Transformers, living alien robots who change form, qualifies as science fiction.
As for something being an insult to the genre, I’d say the insult is limiting the options of what can be science fiction.
My problem lies one with them transforming in to CARS and two with them not being robots that we created but alien robots. Data from Star Trek maybe considered Alive but he was still created by a human.
1: Would it be acceptable for them to change into something other than cars? Would it be acceptable if they were less than perfect imitations of cars?
2: Only humans can create robots? No other race can develop that technology believably? Klingons or Vulcans couldn’t? Do you discount the androids from the original Star Trek series, which weren’t created by humans?
If those are your personal limits, that’s fine, I’m just a bit perplexed by them and the reasons for them.
Tell me were the transformers created by Klingons or Vulcans. Tell me who created them ?
*coughopendiscussionpostisrightabovethisonecough*
Rev
Coughgoodforitcough
Vic
I was very dissapointed by Fringe, at least the x-files or Millenium felt grounded in reality. This is CSI at best. FBI agents driving brand new Lexus SUVs and flying in private jets, Silly lighting all over the place, artifical conflict. Give me a break.
I liked it .
I will watch it next week.
according to Zap2it,
It drew about 9 million viwers last night.
“Tell me were the transformers created by Klingons or Vulcans. Tell me who created them ?”
That depends on which series you’re talking about. It varies from series to series. None of which changes the fact that you specifically mentioned humans an opposition to “alien robots.” Robots built by Vulcans or Klingons would still be “alien robots.”
And you never answered my question about what it’s acceptable for them to change into.
Didn’t like it. The skin effect was good. The sensory deprivation tank (I wondered what happened to them) gimmick and all the crazy professor’s demands being instantly met just took me out of the story.
How did the twin set off an explosion and not get harmed? I kept watching the scene…doesn’t make sense; he was too close to the agent. The son had more alarming mood swings than the father, and his constant chattering while supposedly serious talk was transpiring added nothing. In fact the occasional attempts at humor all fell flat. The professor’s ability to totally resolve the problem–listing off every chemical (and bovine) needed for a solution–stretched credulity. The emotionally impaired man being some kind of savant is too much of a caricature for me.
I am glad that this program was NOT in basic “real time,” as some of these criticisms lose their edge when gaps in time are accounted for.
I won’t be watching it. I don’t like paranormal or X-Files, and the list of “The Pattern” Abaddon rattled off sounds XFilish. But frankly, once I get wrapped up in a show, I can’t miss it (coughsmallvillecough) no matter how bad it gets. With Heroes and The Shield and trudging through Babylon 5 DVDs, I have enough entertainment for a small army.
Thought the music was nearly identical to Lost.
Yes JJ Abrams did it again. Another show worth watching. Awesome effects with the body being able to see through the skin
If the beginning of Star Trek 11 starts with a floating 3D title, I’m walking out for a refund…
I enjoyed the first episode, I just hope that the next one is not as slow.
show was okay, better than some, but am not a lost fan, so have no idea about Abrams prior work. Yes it stole a lot of premise from the X-Files but I think that just because one show dealt with federal agents and science and ideas that are not on the mainstream bell curve that there can’t be room for another (wish it wouldave been the Lone Gunmen tho). As for the cast, nice to see Lance Reddick graduate from “The Wire” and get a shot at the big time (he was excellent in that series btw, really good TV if you haven’t encountered it) and wasn’t John Noble formerly in the LOTR series as Lord Denethor? talk about being a little weirded out.
Love Fringe. It is one of the best shows on right now… excellent story line!!!!
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