Comments on Televisionary: Pilot Inspektor: FOX's "Fringe"

I had the opportunity to watch one of the pilot ve...

2008-07-16T03:08:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to watch one of the pilot versions. In all honesty, the show has potential. So I'll give the good then bad.

Good

* Great image and look for the scenes. It was shot in a way that at times made me wonder if Mulder or Scully would pop up. *sad sigh*

* OOH MY OZ! lol. Cast members from the series OZ ups the ante with the onscreen talent. Anyone who has seen the former HBO series will know that to be on that show you better be a damn good actor!

* Great effects and general plot line, the twists and turns really had me on edge!

* Josh Jackson (Dawson's Creek fame) is half-bad in his role. His impressive character profile was a bit of a stretch, imo.

THE BAD

* Tone.Tone.Tone. Good gravy, I could not stand the forced love story...although it serves its purpose for the plot, I didn't care for it. I'd much rather see more about the elusive scientist.
Bottom line, they had a great start with the mystery but mixed it with a smaltzy sentimental "I need to save you" bit.

* Anna Torv who plays the lead Olivia Dunham comes across too vulnerable and soft. I know it's wrong to compare her to Gillian Anderson...but what made Gillian Anderson's portrayal of an agent compelling were the moments of being less sentimental. She put this really strong veneer of being able to compartmentalize, a method Torv failed to put as Olivia. Sure, she's allowed to be upset but it bothered me her character was more driven by saving her lover than the overall point of finding the truth. I don't feel there was a balance and it threw off completely the tone of the pilot.

I just wish she approached her character with more conflict in showing her vulnerability on her face. I'd like to see the character stronger.

* Sweetheart, Honey? UGH!!! Seriously, how lame was it in the beginning of how she's basically patronized...it made me respect the characters less and made me see her as weak. Yeah she fought back, in her own way...yet if the writers are going to have her be treated that way? Have some kind of comeback for her...

* Conviction. - I know that as actors you have to be in the moment but there points in the film where I felt like it was a bit off in their explanation of how the mechanisms work. For example. We don't hear Peter Bishop use his science jargon too often. Then towards the later half he explains out of nowhere the details of being able to find medical alternatives? Yes, I'm a bit vague because I don't want to give too much away. Essentially, we're give a profile of his intelligence and are expected to just buy it and keep it in mind. I don't see the "genuis" mentioned until the end...and that's where I think the pilot continuous teeters between good and bad.

They need to tone down Dunhams scenes and add a bit more about the father/son dynamic, and the elusive criminal. I wanted to know more of the details of Peter's father. I think they could have really succeeded with embellishing more on it.

All in all? I'm hoping that the changes made to the final pilot really have the above mentioned improvements.

I was more disappointed by seeing the miss chances to make it better. The pilot overall is good but it's not the best.

I'd give it 2 1/2 out of 5 (five being the best)

This pilot is ugly and what is worse I don't see m...

2008-06-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

This pilot is ugly and what is worse I don't see much room for improvement. The characters are lame (specially the father), the scrip is awful and you never can believe they take it seriously. It's really that bad.

The only thing I liked was the italian guy from the Black Donellys.

Well, I can't say that I was as enraptured by it a...

2008-05-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't say that I was as enraptured by it as you were, but I liked it a whole lot. Mostly, I liked the possibility of where it's going.

I liked most of the casting, but I wasn't as taken w/Torv as you. About 15 minutes in, I sensed the clipped accent thing, and a quick check of IMDB confirmed that wasn't her natural accent. I found myself often distracted by her American accent, and didn't think that her character really shined as much as it hopefully will in the future.

JJ was great, though. nice to see him back. As you said - it's like he never left.

And I always like Lance Reddick -he was awesome as that police officer on one ep of West Wing. ;)

My main quibble with your review? X-Files had plenty of humor. It was always a part of the show.

This show sounds utterly amazing!Come chat with us...

2008-05-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

This show sounds utterly amazing!

Come chat with us!

http://www.thebluewhalepub.com

SEE MORE HERE:

http://the-fringe-element.com

@anonymous. I've read this site for a while and he...

2008-05-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

@anonymous. I've read this site for a while and he's referred to Reddick by both his Lost and Wire credits and before he turned up on Lost this season Jace had a number of casting things for Fringe that always had his credit as The Wire. Thanks for telling us what you would do with his credits if you wrote the article. Maybe next time you could just write the review since you're being so particular.

The review made me very excited to see this as it seems like an updated version of X-Files without aliens. Yes it's on Fox but I think that they'll give it more of a chance than they will give Dollhouse.

Was out of touch, but must respond to Eric. So it ...

2008-05-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

Was out of touch, but must respond to Eric. So it isn't butterness that drove my coment, it's body of work.

Reddick was a pivotal and key player in The Wire, whereas in Lost he has appeared maybe 4 minutes total? And yes, in identifying him in the article I'd list him as being from either The Wire or Oz (both actualy, great shows both)than list him as being on Lost.

And if number of people who have seen a show trumps show quality, tell Jace to stop pushing those hard to find quality BBC shows for things like American Idol. After al, more folks have seen American Idol than Life on mars, so it must be the better reference.

I don't like to wish away the summer, but I'm anxi...

2008-05-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

I don't like to wish away the summer, but I'm anxious as hell to catch the debut of "Fringe".

"Cloverfield" was over-hyped crud. The characters couldn't die soon enough to suit me, they were absolutely loathsome. The good news about "Cloverfield" is that is was barely an hour long. Why there is a sequel listed on IMDB is way beyond me.

"Fringe", on the other hand, is can't wait material.

@Bella Spruce: Heh, I figured I'd see a response t...

2008-05-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

@Bella Spruce: Heh, I figured I'd see a response to that comment. There's no denying Cloverfield was well-made from a technical perspective. But to me, it was Blair Witch meets Alien. Maybe I've seen too many movies, but it was predictable, plot-less, and depressing--not the ingredients I look for in a flick. Sure, the scene in the subway when they turn on night vision was scary, but it was a cheap scare and totally predictable. Nothing was ever explored or explained, and everyone dies. Snore. :-)

Anyway, I suppose this should be about Fringe. Sorry!

Wow. Joss Whedon's Dollhouse was at the top of my ...

2008-05-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Wow. Joss Whedon's Dollhouse was at the top of my list for new shows I was excited about seeing but, based on your review, I think Fringe may have just moved into first place. It sounds absolutely incredible!

Cloverfield a snooze-fest? Did we see the same mov...

2008-05-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

Cloverfield a snooze-fest? Did we see the same movie?

Well, whether you liked Cloverfield or not there is no denying the genius of Fringe. I was lucky enough to see the pilot and was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The writing, cast, and direction were all extraordinarily good. And the tone was the perfect balance of drama, suspense, and humor.

This is definitely the X-Files of the future.

The snooze-fest called Cloverfield cured me of the...

2008-05-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

The snooze-fest called Cloverfield cured me of the belief that everything J.J. Abrams touches is gold. However, Fringe sounds like a winner, and I'm looking forward to it in August. Maybe Abrams should stick to TV? :-)

Hey Anonymous,If you're gonna split hairs, it woul...

2008-05-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hey Anonymous,

If you're gonna split hairs, it would be Lance Reddick of "Oz" - he was on that HBO series for two years before "The Wire" came along.

Whoops...

Anonymous, that's really all you took away from th...

2008-05-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Anonymous, that's really all you took away from this review? Wow, you are bitter. Unfortunately, more people have seen Lost than The Wire so I understand why he would use that as a reference.I can't wait to see this show which sounds amazing!!! This might just get me through the wait for season five of Lost.

Lance Reddick of "Lost"? Excuse me, Lance Reddick...

2008-05-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

Lance Reddick of "Lost"? Excuse me, Lance Reddick of "The Wire". Lost might be immediately more recent but "The Wire" wasn't that long ago and his performance there ought to be a highlight, no?