Fringe

katiemac · Sep 6, 2008

X-Files meets Bones meets Alias. The series premiere is a few days away.

It's the most expensive pilot of the season--$10 million, and clocks in at 95 minutes.

Despite that hefty price tag, J.J. Abrams doesn't think the pilot truly captures his vision of the show. He calls the later episodes more focused. He also promises an easier story to follow than LOST--less sprawling mythology and more of a story-per-episode format. Although I'm sure there's still continuity, that remark does disappoint me some. I love hefty plots; Alias was at its best when it was layered. I'm sure it's a sacrifice FOX/Abrams had to make knowing the troubles ABC has had keeping viewers with Lost.

Still, I'm excited. And, you know, Joshua Jackson is back on TV so that can't be bad.

Who else is watching? Tuesday at 8:00!

alleycat · Sep 6, 2008

Well, I am now.

childeroland · Sep 6, 2008

Abrams always merits at least a peek, IMO. Fringe is looking better and better, to go by the TV spots. That lead actress reminds me of Jen Garner in the Alias pilot, her handler (is that Abaddon -sp?- from Lost?) of Dixon.

katiemac · Sep 6, 2008

childeroland said:
Abrams always merits at least a peek, IMO. Fringe is looking better and better, to go by the TV spots. That lead actress reminds me of Jen Garner in the Alias pilot, her handler (is that Abaddon -sp?- from Lost?) of Dixon.

Yes, the Actor Most Likely to Give Me the Creeps Just by Standing in the Corner (aka Lance Reddick) is a cast member.

kuwisdelu · Sep 6, 2008

Looks like a shameless X-Files rip-off to me. I'll watch it anyway, because it's a shameless X-Files rip-off. Hell, that's why I watch Bones.

ChaosTitan · Sep 6, 2008

I'm watching it.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 6, 2008

kuwisdelu said:
Looks like a shameless X-Files rip-off to me. I'll watch it anyway, because it's a shameless X-Files rip-off. Hell, that's why I watch Bones.

I saw the ads for it and my first thought was, "It sounds like X-Files." Which then made me think, "Cool!" (But then X-Files made me think, "That sounds like Kolchak!"

So I'll be tuning in.

Claudia Gray · Sep 6, 2008

I will definitely give this one a shot. It looks interesting. It does look rather X-Filey, but on the other hand, I remember seeing an early promo for XF and thinking, "That's just 'Project Blue Book' all over again." The premise gets a new take each decade, I guess, and I'm eager to see this latest version.

And ABC hasn't had problems keeping viewers with "Lost." The show's ratings are no longer as high as they used to be - but it is still a very solid hit. Most series would pray to "fall" to that level of viewership.

katiemac · Sep 6, 2008

ClaudiaGray said:
And ABC hasn't had problems keeping viewers with "Lost." The show's ratings are no longer as high as they used to be - but it is still a very solid hit. Most series would pray to "fall" to that level of viewership.

Absolutely, it still gets good numbers. But they had problems with the format, which is one reason they've settled into a Jan-May schedule than a full year commitment. They saw numbers drop each time it came back from a long break. It's a problem a lot of serialized dramas have to deal with--they keep the committed viewers, but have a hard time getting newcomers to play along.

I still haven't seen the X-Files (it's on my "I should watch this on DVD list") so Fringe is all new to me. Thank goodness for TiVo, I won't actually be able to watch it in its time slot.

Grrarrgh · Sep 6, 2008

I'm definitely watching. I'm excited for both J.J. Abrams and Joshua Jackson. Plus I'm a TV ~~junkie~~ whore. I usually try to catch at least the first ep or two of most things.

JoNightshade · Sep 6, 2008

I hate to be a wet blanket amidst all the excitement, but I saw the pilot a few weeks ago and couldn't stand it. I really WANTED to like it, so it was a pretty huge disappointment. (For the record, I love Lost, X-Files, etc. etc.) Basically my criticisms:

[MILD SPOILERS]
- No character chemistry whatsoever. The #1 thing going for X-Files, in my opinion, is the chemistry between Mulder and Scully. I felt like the main girl in Fringe was essentially there because she was cute. But she's cute in a very generic, uninteresting way. She had no personality and no spark. No motivation. Ten minutes into the show I was thinking, "I bet they're going to get her naked at some point, because the one thing this chick has going is her body." Was I right? Yep.
- No clarity. This show has no idea if it wants to be supernatural or science fiction. I think it might want to be soft sci fi in the sense that Heroes is, but when even the hard-core scientist that we simpletons watching the show are not supposed to understand is spouting off garbage I learned was false in my eighth grade science class - you have a problem. Gaping logical holes, a bunch of nonsense that isn't even remotely believable. Suspension of disbelief: zero.
- There were like three chase scenes, possibly more, I was counting but I've forgotten now. THREE. In one episode.
- Totally random stuff. At first you think this show is supposed to be set in modern-day America, like X-Files. Then you get halfway through the episode and some lady WHIPS OFF THE SKIN OF HER ARM and reveals a robot arm. WTF? Where the HECK did that come from and what century am I in?
- Mysterious scary black man. I'm sorry, I'm getting really, REALLY tired of this cliche. Really.

Enzo · Sep 7, 2008

You guys have me interested.
I liked the first few seasons of Alias - until it fell apart for me with all that Rambaldi mumbo jumbo - and I love Lost.
But I'll probably have to wait until Fringe is a huge success Stateside before they show it here in Asia - at least a year from now.

Overkill · Sep 9, 2008

Fringe .....

As a big fan of Lost, i am really looking forward to FRINGE, tonight on Fox. It has gotten a great deal of hype which means the show almost never measures upto that but i will watch anyway. It strikes me as a kind of anti- opposite, X-fILES. Science holds all the explanations here while paranormal explanations are out the window.

I hope it goes well because i have been waiting a while for this one.

III · Sep 9, 2008

When I heard the promos for this, I thought they were saying "Friends" so I thought it was a new version of Friends. Then when I realized it was called "Fringe" I thought it would be a spin-off of Friends with all the characters who just hung around but weren't really ready to commit to being friends. J.J. Abrams really confuses me.

Jcomp · Sep 9, 2008

I plan to watch tonight, and I really don't have too many TV premiers intrigue me, but I've been waiting for this show. It looks interesting.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 9, 2008

Overkill said:
As a big fan of Lost, i am really looking forward to FRINGE, tonight on Fox. It has gotten a great deal of hype which means the show almost never measures upto that but i will watch anyway. It strikes me as a kind of anti- opposite, X-fILES. Science holds all the explanations here while paranormal explanations are out the window.

I hope it goes well because i have been waiting a while for this one.

I'm not a big fan of Lost and I'm still looking forward to it.

isn't there already a Fringe thread somewhere?

Jcomp said:
I plan to watch tonight, and I really don't have too many TV premiers intrigue me, but I've been waiting for this show. It looks interesting.

It's TONIGHT? I have to set up my DVR!

ChaosTitan · Sep 9, 2008

Shadow_Ferret said:
isn't there already a Fringe thread somewhere?

Now there's only one.

Tonight at 8pm, EDT.

kuwisdelu · Sep 9, 2008

JoNightshade said:
I hate to be a wet blanket amidst all the excitement, but I saw the pilot a few weeks ago and couldn't stand it. I really WANTED to like it, so it was a pretty huge disappointment. (For the record, I love Lost, X-Files, etc. etc.) Basically my criticisms:

[MILD SPOILERS]
- No character chemistry whatsoever. The #1 thing going for X-Files, in my opinion, is the chemistry between Mulder and Scully. I felt like the main girl in Fringe was essentially there because she was cute. But she's cute in a very generic, uninteresting way. She had no personality and no spark. No motivation. Ten minutes into the show I was thinking, "I bet they're going to get her naked at some point, because the one thing this chick has going is her body." Was I right? Yep.
- No clarity. This show has no idea if it wants to be supernatural or science fiction. I think it might want to be soft sci fi in the sense that Heroes is, but when even the hard-core scientist that we simpletons watching the show are not supposed to understand is spouting off garbage I learned was false in my eighth grade science class - you have a problem. Gaping logical holes, a bunch of nonsense that isn't even remotely believable. Suspension of disbelief: zero.
- There were like three chase scenes, possibly more, I was counting but I've forgotten now. THREE. In one episode.
- Totally random stuff. At first you think this show is supposed to be set in modern-day America, like X-Files. Then you get halfway through the episode and some lady WHIPS OFF THE SKIN OF HER ARM and reveals a robot arm. WTF? Where the HECK did that come from and what century am I in?
- Mysterious scary black man. I'm sorry, I'm getting really, REALLY tired of this cliche. Really.

I'm watching it now. I completely agree. I've stopped paying attention, because it's not all that interesting and the characters are so generic. Such a shame

I was really hoping this could be a half-decent X-Files replacement for me. Oh well, I still have Bones.

And wtf was up with the floating location text??

childeroland · Sep 9, 2008

Decent, but X-Files and Millennium did this stuff already, and better.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 9, 2008

Drat! Drat! Drat my stupid short term memory.

I missed it!

Jcomp · Sep 9, 2008

What the hell, I'll go ahead and say I'm on board. It's not the greatest thing I've seen on TV, but I find the ideas intriguing. The floating location captions are a terrible idea though. Get rid of those.

Otherwise, this gets my stamp of approval. I'll be back again to watch next Tuesday.

ChaosTitan · Sep 9, 2008

I got a kick out of it. It was great to see Joshua Jackson in a grown-up role, and I thought he had good father/son chemistry with John Noble. Would have liked to see more of Kirk Acevedo (he doesn't play a good guy often enough).

It had some good quotes, and I loved the shot of the Bishop's and Random FBI Assistant Chick sitting on a sofa with the cow standing behind them.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 9, 2008

Oh, good. It plays again Sunday. I set up my DVR this time.

rugcat · Sep 9, 2008

JoNightshade said:
I hate to be a wet blanket amidst all the excitement, but I saw the pilot a few weeks ago and couldn't stand it. I really WANTED to like it, so it was a pretty huge disappointment. (For the record, I love Lost, X-Files, etc. etc.)

That's the best news I've heard all day. I DO NOT NEED ANOTHER SHOW I HAVE TO WATCH!

I don't have enough time as is.

katiemac · Sep 9, 2008

Not the Greatest Show Ever, but I'll give it a few episodes to find its groove. My biggest problems were the major leaps in logic--getting a functional lab back after 17 years, getting an FBI agent's body TO that lab, and oh yeah! Pump me full of LSD crazy scientist man.

Being a J.J. show, the robotic arm didn't really bug me. Massive Dynamic (poor name, sadly) = Hanso Foundation. So what we have here is a more in-your-face version of what goes on, pardon the pun, on fringe of the LOST island. Plus Sydney Bristow.

That theory alone will have me on board for awhile.

Fringe

Five by Five

Still around

What happened to my LIFE?!

Five by Five

Revolutionize the World

Around

Court Jester

Five by Five

Not so new, not so much a kid

has finally arrived

New kid, be gentle!

rockin the suburbs

Court Jester

Around

Revolutionize the World

What happened to my LIFE?!

Court Jester

Around

Court Jester

Lost in the Fog

Five by Five