OneMetal.com REVIEW:
Fringe back on TV and Series 1 released on DVD

If you haven’t come across the cult US TV Fringe, created and produced by Lost’s and Star Trek’s JJ Abrams, then you’ve missed one of most interesting and intriguing science fiction shows for some time. Oh and yes, it has nothing to do with Hairdressing or Edinburgh.

Fringe really does feel like a successor to the early series of the X-Files, each episode is self contained but follows a spanned storyline. Rather than investigating aliens, ghosts and other-worldly phenomena; Fringe is based upon something called ‘Fringe Science’ and touches on, amongst other things, genetic modification, vampirism, telekinesis and telepathy; and while there is a cross-over on the subject matter, Fringe is errs towards the cold hard Dawkins-esque science. The show has three leads, Olivia Dunham the sceptic FBI agent, Walter Bishop the mad scientist who is the FBI’s best contact in the realm of Fringe Science and lastly his son, Peter, who acts as the go between the sane and his father.

Background (Storyline spoilers now follow)

The setup is that Olivia and her partner, John Scott, are investigating some biological terrorist activity. John gets seriously hurt in a bomb blast and exhibits some extremely strange symptoms. After some investigation only one scientist seems to have any experience in the injuries John has suffered, one Walter Bishop a scientist sentenced to remain indefinitely in a mental institution due to him experimenting on unsuspecting students and getting some dead along the way. To get access to Walter Bishop, Olivia tracks down his sharp and intelligent son and sequesters the pair to Walter’s old laboratory where Olivia mind-links with John comatose body and Walter successfully treats him before he (John) runs out of the laboratory to be killed in a car crash. Bummer.

The series continues from John’s death but Walter is kept out of the institution, while Olivia pacifies Peter who wants nothing to do with the father, due to more unexplained and mysterious events occurring that all point to something called ‘the Pattern’ and a shadowy bio-tech corporation called Massive Dynamic, headed up by Walter’s old laboratory partner, William Bell before Walter’s incarceration in the looney bin.

Series 1

Series 1 for the Fringe was very much about the show finding its feet, certainly during the first half of the series where there were a handful of lacklustre episode but on the brightside they did contribute to the overall story. As the series continued it started to establish itself, the characters began to find their rhythm and the stories became richer and more intricate. The series ends brilliantly with Olivia meeting with William Bell, played by sci-fi legend Leonard Nimoy, as well as finding out about Peter’s history and some of the odd comments made regarding his childhood.

However, there is one ingredient that turns Fringe from being an average show into an extremely watchable and enthralling show and that John Noble (who you might remember as Denethor, steward of Gondor is Lord of the Rings) who plays Walter Bishop. The character foundation of Walter is nothing short of ingenious, as a brilliant scientist and the finest mind in ‘Fringe Science’ Walter has been involved in some extremely unethical and dubious activities. After years in the asylum, Walter is a broken man, socially inept and naive to the modern world. He comes across as childlike, abhorrent, grandfatherly and darkly sinister. To put another spin on things, if you asked him to look after a family pet over a holiday you would come back to the animal splayed on a board with Walter innocently looking up and explaining that he thought the cat had swallowed something. The rest of the cast, Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham and Joshua Jackson as Peter Jackson, play their roles admirably but John Noble as Walter is without doubt the primary factor for the success of the show…

Series 2: Episode 1

Episode 1 starts with a man who just comes to round after being involved in a car accident, he jumps out of the car oblivious of his injuries and eventually gains entry into an apartment. There he kills the occupant and thrusts a three pronged metal disk into his mouth and a matching one into his own, he presses a button and after some enthusiastic thrashing about he has changed into the dead occupant. In short, we’ve got ourselves a shape shifter. The car he smashes into is none other than Olivia Dunham’s but the car is empty and the authorities are understandably puzzled. Peter and Walter are bought in and after some prodding and poking Walter *somehow* causes Olivia to appear flying through the windscreen. Ah – welcome back to the weird world of Fringe. So, without giving too much away, Olivia ends up in a coma and just before her life-support machine is turned off (as per her Living Will wishes) she regains consciousness in Peter’s arms. Unfortunately, she has no memories of the meeting with William Bell or anything else of her escapade.

After the fantastic ending to the last series, it is understandable that it can take time to pick up the pieces and that everything cannot be sewn up in one episode. Olivia losing her memories is a surefire indication that the William Bell meeting will be protracted somewhat, whether this seeps out over a set of episodes such as the John Scott storyline or spans the series is another matter. The incident with the shape shifter (at one time played by Bros’s own Luke Goss) is one aspect that I’m unsure of; it certainly doesn’t have the same feel that characterised the first series. Lastly, the introduction of another strong and determined female FBI agent is something that may unbalance the dynamic of the show. But that all said, it was a good start to hopefully a brilliant second series and while I may have my doubts, the number of successful TV shows I’ve written and produced is woefully short of J. J. Abrams.

Bottom Line

Fringe is a dark, offbeat and a wonderfully crafted sci-fi show, they much in the guise of the early series of the X-Files. The first series is certainly a bit weak in places but the remarkable, bumbling and macabre Walter Bishop will gracefully shepherd you through to the captivating series climax. And with the second series demonstrating some of season one's pedigree, we should be on the edge of our seats this autumn...