laceblade

A few nights ago, I finished watching the first season of Fringe.

A lot of people called this show a rip-off of the X-Files and stopped watching it. I never watched the X-Files, but I've heard elsewhere that the X-Files could not simultaneously manage Monster of the Week episodes with an overarching plot. Fringe manages to do this, and to do it really well.

The dialogue on Fringe is not always masterful - in fact, sometimes the character interactions seem almost cheesy. But I think that it makes it that much more compelling when something changes, when a character figures something out, when there's a sharp dip from the norm you the viewer are expecting.

I think that the entire season takes place in Autumn, with everyone in pea coats, breath visible, trees stark, leaves on the ground. The characters, in addition to the literal background of the show, are waiting for strings to be tied together, for things to make sense, and in the season finale (and the episodes leading up to it), we get a big heaping full.

I'm finding myself more and more attached to these characters, even the ones who most annoyed me in the beginning (Walter).

The writers are even capable of bringing huge LULZ to the audience - that lead-up Star Trek reference and then a guest appearance by Leonard Nimoy was priceless.

Sometimes the special effects are too grotesque for me, but Fringe sometimes functions as a sci-fi CSI, and for me to be interested in CSI, there needs to be plausible vampires who suck CSF and time travel and etc.

What I'm hoping for now is a more prominent role for Astrid and some makeout action between Joshua Jackson and Anna Torv.

Is anybody else watching this show?

Does anyone remember hearing that the writers of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are moving to write for Fringe?

I swear that I remember reading this when the news that T:TSCC had been canceled, but now that I'm looking online, I can't figure out where.



I'm trying to prioritize which TV shows to catch up on, as I seem to be hitting a block for book-reading.

True Blood gets priority, because were_duck has informed me that she needs someone to squee with. Even though I'm not caught up on the show, I loved her latest post about it, which contains spoilers through episode 9. It's amazing to me what an improvement the TV show is over the books.

Anyway, here's what my list is looking like, for personal reference:
TV Shows to finish:
Battlestar Galactica [Episode 4.12 through the end] (After the last episode I watched, I remember now why it's taken me so long to keep watching....MUST HAVE CLOSURE)
[and then Battlestar Redactica]

TV Shows to Catch Up On:
True Blood [From episode 2.2 to present]
The Office [From episode 5.24-5.26]
Dollhouse [From episode 1.10 to 1.13, plus unaired original pilot]
How I Met Your Mother [From episode 4.8 through 4.24]
Fringe [From episode 1.5 through 1.20]
30 Rock [All of Season 4]

I think I might ask for a TiVo for Christmas. :O

ETA: Don't even get me started on all the new shows I want to watch (Leverage) or have started on Netflix and need to keep watching! (Arrested Development, Burn Notice, etc.)

Essentially, I think that this show is sci-fi CSI. And I don't really like CSI, or its variants. Sure, they're fun once in a while, but I get pretty bored with the incessant montages of autopsies, eccentric characters thrown together for no reason other than to titillate the viewer, and I've just never been a huge fan of mysteries. I don't care for weekly cases of "whodunit?!"

Luckily, Fringe isn't totally about that. There is, of course, The Pattern, a strange notion that all of these strange happenings are somehow connected. And I'm hoping that the writers actually have a plan. And it won't be Battlestar Galactica all over again, where the entire point of the show is that the Cylons have a plan....or do they? Maybe? Let's throw the pilots in a boxing ring and see if we can pull something out of our asses.

Anyway, there must be reasons why I continue to watch this show, right? One of them is that I found the perfect Joshua Jackson LJ icon, and I'm not about to give that shit up.

I like the aesthetics of the show. There are pretty people. I like old university buildings from the eastern U.S. It's neat-o.

I like the concept that many of the characters have going, although I don't truly care for any of them so far.

( Character-related spoilers )

I do think that the opening sequence is pretty nifty, if that counts.

In conclusion, I'm still watching and hoping, although I'm not sure why. I know my friend Dave loves this show, and thinks it's better than Terminator. What do you guys think?


Maybe I should look for good fanfiction for Fringe? How do you kids* look for good fanfiction these days, anyway? I haven't habitually read fanfiction since Final Fantasy VII was big.


*Ironic because I'm younger than most of the people on my friendslist. And irony must always be pointed out, lest it go by underappreciated.