Thoughts on "Fringe"

Bleary-eyed, I've just finished seasons one to four of Fringe in the space of a week.

Despite the series starting towards the end of 2008, I've only just started watching it. Primarily because my friend Gareth suggested that I watch it. Plus it featured John Noble (who you might remember as Denethor from The Two Towers and Return of the King) so I felt it deserved a viewing.

For those who are unfamiliar with the series, Fringe follows a team within the FBI ("Fringe Division") who is responsible for investigating the unexplained. After going through the series and doing some research (the latter can be read as "checking the Wikipedia entry") it comes across as a mixture of X-Files and The Twilight zone. Wikipedia also mentions Altered States but having never seen that series I can't comment. The primary difference between X-Files and Fringe is that Fringe Division are very much aware of the supernatural nature of what they're dealing with so you're not on your feet screaming "TURN AROUND SCULLY FOR GOD'S SAKE" pantomime-like at the TV.

The series combines "monster of the week" format with larger story arcs later on in the series and ultimately reveals the metaplot, which features heavily in every season, particularly as it draws closer to the final.

Initial impressions after watching the series? John Noble did not disappoint. As the off-kilter Walter Bishop he manages to both endear and terrify, occasionally at the same time. It is a crime that this guy hasn't received an Emmy yet. Joshua Jackson plays Walter's estranged son Peter and does a great job as someone who is cavalier and sometimes downright cruel to his father, but with every reason to be. The two actors give their interaction some real weight here and it's both emotionally rewarding and painful to watch. Essentially, when it works (such as the episode "Peter"), there's some unmissable television here. There are a couple of minor recurring characters who do a great job of both supporting the core cast and as characters in their own right; in particular Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole) and Dunham's partner Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo). The latter I felt should have got a lot more screentime in the first season than he got.

What hasn't worked, eighty-odd episodes in, is the main character, Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv). She just doesn't consistently deliver to the same level as Noble and Jackson. She's not the female equivalent of Keanu Reeves but at a personal level I just found it very hard to connect, and therefore emotionally invest, in the character. The series also occasionally (and only very occasionally) falls into the trap of painting itself into a corner and having a deus ex machina come in and save the day. It's nowhere near as bad as the later series of Doctor Who but it does grate when it happens.

There are some worthwhile cameos by Christopher Lloyd, Peter Weller, and Leonard Nimoy (who came out of retirement for this series). As much as I love seeing these guys on screen, I can't help but feel that their inclusion is a bit of pandering to the geek masses. Am I being too cynical?

Overall there is some gold here, and when it works it works really well. By the end of Season 4 I still feel that the series is spinning its wheels and still working too hard to become more than the sum of its parts and the series that it borrows from. However what is there is more than enough to bring me back for the next episode and ultimately the fifth season.