Fringe Episode Review: Bad Dreams

Judging from the previews, you might have expected another fun standalone episode this week, and the first few acts of Bad Dreams may have lulled you into the same conclusion. But after the introduction of ZFT-recruit Nick Lane, fans were rewarded with a huge mythology download to propel us towards this season's finale.

Academy award winner Akiva Goldsman did a wonderful job writing and directing this eerie episode, bolstered by gorgeous location shooting in gothic New York City. The script was a huge change of pace from Unleashed's horror-fest, but this week's subtlety was thoughtful and effective. I especially loved the way Goldsman chose to insert the dream sequences directly into the narrative without transitional cues, leaving us in constant suspense as to whether a scene was real or dreamed. My opinion doesn't really matter, but Bad Dreams currently ranks third on my best list, behind only Ability and Bound.

"Sometimes an intense bond could form..."
Nick Lane looked like another throw-away villain until Act IV. Turns out, Nick was broadcasting his consciousness to his childhood lab-experiment partner, Olivia, in a desperate cry for help. I'm assuming Nick's cortexiphan exposure heightened his hyper-emotive personality into the lethal psychic contagion we saw in Bad Dreams, but that it remained dormant in his consciousness until he was "activated" by "the man in the glasses." There are two easy targets for Nick's recruiter: Mr. Jones--a passionate ZFTer who, in a sense, activated Olivia in Ability--or William Bell himself. My money is on Mr. Jones. What do you think?

And what aspects of Olivia's personality--like Nick's hyper-emotiveness--will manifest themselves as unnatural abilities? Her willpower? That could explain how she turned off those lights to defuse the bomb (and the Green Lantern allusion in Inner Child, a superhero whose willpower is the source of his strength). It would certainly tie in to Peter's comment tonight that "reality is both subjective and malleable."
"Is the incident contained?"
Hands down, the best tag of the season, (tag = script-talk for the final, twisty scene before the credits roll), as well as the most mythologically fertile. We finally hear the iconic voice of William Bell, which was a great surprise (even if you knew about his casting), and John Noble did a great job making himself sound twenty-five years younger. Could the female voice have been a younger Nina Sharp?

Poor Olive. Looks like captive drug experimentation didn't sit well with three-year-old Dunham. HD screencaps confirm that the room on the tape has been burned, except for the walls around little Olivia. But don't be quick to label her a "firestarter." I doubt her abilities are that limited. I imagine Olivia--consciously or not--psychically manipulated her immediate environment, not unlike Nick Lane. After all, fire's just the oxidation of combustable material.

But there may be more--much more--to this scene than I originally suspected. During our weekly FringeTelevision Live Chat, a particularly clever fan named Batshade made a brilliant connection: could the fire Olivia started when she was three years old have been the same fire that killed Walter's lab assistant? Perhaps the lab assistant was "Brenner," the individual mentioned on the tape whose whereabouts are unknown after the fire.

Walter wasn't institutionalized until 1991, but the lab assistant fire wouldn't necessarily have to directly proceed his internment in St. Claire's. (Olivia's thirty years old, meaning her videotaped pyrotechnics occured in 1982, assuming Fringe takes place in 2009). Also, Walter specifically reminded viewers of his lab assistant's death in Bad Dreams, with his "where's the fire" joke. Interesting coincidence? Or intentional plant?

I'll leave you with a burning question: in the prophesied war between our world and a parallel universe, why does it have to be us or them? ZFT claims it won't be out of anger or hatred, but one of survival. Why can't our worlds coexist?

Stray Thoughts

• Best Line of the Night: (Walter's response to Nick's mental institute) "Well I'm not going there." John Noble made me laugh out loud at last five times in this ep.
• Lots of great supporting performances, especially Nick Lane, Mouse, and the NYC cop played by Lost's Mrs. Klugh.
• Lots of possible pop-culture allusions as well. The stroller bouncing down the stairs in Grand Central? The Untouchables. The red balloon and red door on Nick's apartment? The Sixth Sense.
• I can't believe Fox didn't use Anna Torv's steamy kiss with the dancer in their previews! Mistresses, anyone?
• Michael Giacchino's score was perfect tonight, especially the cue when Liv and Peter realize Nick's a ZFT recruit and we cut to Astrid in the lab.
• The rooftop scene reminded me of the worst movie I've ever seen: The Happening. Loved Walter's nonchalant reaction to the stray jumper!
• Two rants. One, I wish Ella could be more than just a narrative device for the writers to insert foreshadowing and analogous commentary on each ep's premise. And two, Peter doesn't work for me when he's reduced to a string of constant one-liners. And has Joshua Jackson sounded a little congested to anyone else lately?
• Anna and John really brought their A-games. Olivia's nuanced conflict was moving, while Walter's comedic timing was perfect. I can see now why the hotel room scene was Anna's favorite. It really brought Olivia further into the Bishop family dynamic.

Adam Morgan is a writer for the page and screen in Chicago, and he blogs daily at Mount Helicon.

Fringe Episode Review: Unleashed

Between Inner Child and Unleashed, the writers have really figured out how to make a standalone ep work. Last week's was moody and subtle. This week: full-throttled, terror-filled fun. Fringe has introduced us to supersized virus cells, porcupine men, and heart-choking parasites, but Unleashed was our first real creature-feature. I can't wait to see the accompanying concept art! And in addition to some tangible horror and suspense, there was a wellspring of great character moments as well.

"Monsters aren't real."

Unless you live in Boston, the new nexus of All Things Weird. Last week's griffin tattoo hinted at Unleashed's villain: a real-life manticore. Taking a closer look at the image above, you can really see a cornucopia of species. The bat-like head, the reptilian scales, the lionesque paws, the octopus tail with its rattlesnake terminus.

Kudos to director Brad Anderson for keeping the "Walticore" hidden until the episode's climax, a la Cloverfield. There were a few times earlier where the effects didn't quite create a tangible presence for me, not even a hidden one (in the woods, etc.), and I wanted a more distinctive sound effect, but the final reveal blew me away. Best visual effects I've ever seen on television.

"Are you trying to tell me I'm pregnant?"

I was ecstatic to see Charlie's character further developed in this episode. The scenes between Kirk Acevedo and his real-life wife, Kiersten Warren, were touching and authentic, thanks to some excellent performances and brilliant casting. Charlie's more than just a great voice - Kirk's a luminous actor, and I'm glad the writers gave him a real chance to shine. Now, let's do the same for Peter, Broyles, and Astrid!

"You were brave today."

Peter and Walter's relationship also took center stage tonight, taking one step back as they argued over Walter's culpability, and then two steps forward when Peter recognizes Walter's re-emerging humanity. Walter's selfless heroism in the sewer, combined with Peter's unchecked fear for his father, was a wonderfully moving moment. Even more incredible that the writers managed to squeeze it into such a fun, outlandish storyline about a genetically-engineered monster.

What did you think? Unleashed is now my favorite "standalone" episode of Season 1.

Stray Thoughts

• Best Line of the Night: "I need to tinkle. Could either of you direct me to the facilities?" (Could be my favorite of the season).
• Runner-up: "Apparently you're looking for a lion-snake named Harriet."
• 2nd Runner-up: "I haven't felt any rhinos lately."
• While Charlie was infected, I kept thinking, all the man needs is a BOX of TISSUES.
• Is the cadaver-splitting larvae hatching the grossest Fringe moment yet? I put it right up there with Bound's slug vomiting and the Pilot's Captain Yawny-Face.
• Giacchino's score was particularly riveting tonight.
• John Noble was at his most delectable, too. Give the man an Emmy!
• Anyone think there's more to Walter's "thinking out loud" in this ep? Like, maybe he's speaking with someone through the Ghost Network? Belly himself?
• According to J.R. Orci, one of Unleashed's writers, the Monster is named Rufus II.

Adam Morgan is a writer for the page and screen in Chicago, and blogs daily at Mount Helicon.

Fringe Episode Review: Inner Child

Fringe is back. Not with a bang, but with a subtle, creepy whisper. As far as I can tell, Inner Child is a prologue of sorts to the remainder of Season 1, laying a foundation of weirdness for the revelations to come.

"He could be significantly older..."

Our Pattern event of the week: the mysterious appearance of what can only be a young Observer. Or perhaps, as Walter theorizes, a young-looking one. He was found in a creepy subterreanean complex that hadn't been opened since the 1930's, and it looked to me like he was hiding from the construction workers in a holding cell of sorts. Was this some kind of abandoned research facility? Was our bald friend left behind by his experimenters to survive on rats and moths?

Or, could he have come through to our "universe" down there more recently? Given our clues from ZFT, it sounds like the Observers hail from a parallel Earth. Perhaps this one picked a bad place to cross over, and has survived down there for years (but not 70 of them).

"Our perp's name is The Artist."

Congratulations, writers. You managed to successfully incorporate a non-Pattern mystery into the show. By using the young Observer to solve the crime, I didn't feel like our time was wasted with the Artist subplot (like I did with the cyber-killer in The No-Brainer).

The Artist himself was nicely cast. He reminded me of John Fowles' The Collector, a novel about a mild-mannered sociopath who kidnaps women. But making surgical and cosmetic alterations and then putting them on display? That's pure Fringe.

"Not a psychic, more a shark."

Walter's shark analogy to explain the child's mental abilities was brilliant. I was spellbound by the implications. I have a feeling Olivia may be capable of similar feats, thus reinforcing my idea that Inner Child acts as a prologue for the rest of the season, where we may learn more about Olivia's cortexiphran effects.

On the same subject, what did Walter pick up with his wire-infested halo ring on the child's head? A signal from the Ghost Network? I have a feeling we'll be hearing that recording again soon.

Stray Thoughts

• Best Line of the Night: "Don't be such a prude. I'm sure Agent Dunham knows what a penis looks like!" John's delivery is perfect, once again.

• This was Anna Torv's strongest performance yet. She's great with action sequences, as we saw in Bound, but her scenes with the young Observer in this ep were touching and filled with nuance.

• Walter's dance is my new favorite scene. It wasn't just hilarious, it was touching. Walter's still got a very big heart underneath all those years of madness.

• Was anyone else reminded of the Green Lantern when Olivia mentioned her avoidance of yellow M&M's? (The Lantern's weakness is anything colored yellow.)

• Ari Graynor and Lily Pilblad are adorable as Olivia's family, and part of me is glad they're apparently here to stay. I do wonder how the writers will incorporate them into the story's meta-narrative.
  
  
• Does Walter's halo ring remind anyone else of Doc Brown's similarly-purposed mind-reading device in Back to the Future?

How would you grade "Inner Child"?

Adam Morgan is a writer for the page and screen in Chicago, and blogs daily on writing, film, tv, and pop culture at Mount Helicon.

Fringe Episode Review: Ability

I didn't think Fringe could get any better than Bound, but Ability proved me wrong. Talk about a mythology download. Midway through the first season, we already know what the Pattern is, and the show's meta-narrative is being slowly revealed. In a word: fascinating.

But it wasn't just the script that worked; the score and the cinematography were both flawless. I'll go ahead and say it: Fringe is the best-looking show on television. And if it weren't for Lost, it would be the best-sounding one too.

"If I wanted to harm you, I would have...long ago."

My favorite character, the eerie Mr. Jones, revealed the reason for his infatuation with Olivia. He's been keeping tabs on her since the tender age of three, when she was exposed to the consciousness-altering drug Cortexiphan (by William Bell, no less). I think we've all suspected there's something special about Olivia, so kudos to the writers for giving us a tangible answer: she's got an unknown set of powerful mental abilities. Looking forward to seeing more of them!

Knowing what we do about Olivia, Jones and Loeb's actions start to make sense: they need Olivia's abilities. But as members of this cult-like organization, are they themselves capable of similar feats? Jones certainly seems like a powerful man. And his "that's-my-girl" pride in Olivia made me wonder if he might be her real father. I really hope we haven't seen the last of Mr. Jones (or Jared Harris). His improvised, MacGyver-esque gadgets are too cool.

"What was written will come to pass."

So it turns out the Pattern isn't completely unprecedented. It was prophesied. Predicted in an obscure, unpublished manifesto that argued against the unchecked progress of technology. And it looks like Walter may have written it himself.

The most telling clue? Jones' reaction to meeting Walter face-to-face. The man was in awe, like a disciple in the presence of his religion's inspiration. But does Walter even remember writing ZFT? Or perhaps the show is misdirecting us. We only know that the typewriter in Walter's lab was used to compose ZFT. But that also means that William Bell could've written it.

My guess? Walter. It sets him opposite from Bell, the tech-tycoon, and I like the symmetry implied.

"Only one world will survive."

Here's the real kicker. Fringe is rolling out the Multiverse Theory. The primary conflict involves a world similar to ours, "but whose history is slightly ahead of our own." When people from that world start visiting ours, bad things will happen. The technology involved must be pretty harmful. In the end, it's us versus them. This sounds like the "two sides" Mitchell Loeb was preaching about.

Could these visitors from a parallel universe be Observers? That's my best guess. I hate that we'll have to wait until April for more clues, but at least we've got plenty to chew on.

Stray Thoughts

• Best Line of the Night: "The man was clever enough to Star Trek himself out of a maximum-security German prison."
  
• Is it just me, or does Fringe have the coolest voices of any TV show? Between Jared Harris (Jones), Kirk Acevedo (Charlie), and Lance Reddick (Broyles), I could just listen to an episode and be entertained.
• I'm dying to see Creepy Cult Recruit Tests 2 through 10.
• How did Jones escape the hospital? Does using Walter's Dizray eventually transform you into something not-quite human? I gasped at the hole in the wall.

Adam Morgan is a writer for both the page and screen in Chicago, and blogs daily on writing, film, pop culture, and strange news at Mount Helicon.

Fringe Episode Review: The Transformation

After last week's mild letdown, I was optimistic that The Transformation would be a return to form. Luckily, I was right.

The Transformation was a successful hybrid between a standalone mystery and a serialized story. We got a fascinating Freak of the Week, plus new layers to our beloved characters and a few hints of mythology. J.R. Orci and Zack Whedon did a great job incorporating all of the above into fifty minutes, and Brad Anderson's direction was masterful. Especially that long take of the plane crash, starting with the reflection in the minivan window.

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"A taser won't do anything..."
JJ Abrams and Co. do not look kindly on the airline industry. Or nosebleeds, for that matter. Marshall Bowman's Jekyll/Hyde routine was fun to watch, and I'm glad the director only showed us a few quick frames of the monster in action before the title sequence. Anything more would've been hard to swallow. Was anyone else reminded of Shyamalan's "Tartutic"?

I was hoping Walter would elaborate on the "transformation" itself. We know Bowman's genes were rapidly altered by the virus, but I was interested in the details. What physiological changes did it cause, and why was the virus designed to cause them? I suppose Conrad's just a modern-day Dr. Moreau, which "happens" to be Conrad's last name.

The Exchange
The best sequence of the ep was undoubtedly Olivia and Peter's undercover exchange with Conrad's men. Talk about tension. How appropriate that Brad Anderson, who helmed a few eps of The Wire and The Shield, was behind the camera.

The exchange sequence was also nice way to get Peter involved, which I hope becomes a regular occurence. I was impressed by his improvisations, and by Olivia's resolve. These are smart characters, and that's one of the reasons they're so much fun to watch. Olivia's quip to Conrad at the end was an especially nice touch.

Dead Man Talking
Those of us rooting for John Scott to be a misunderstood hero were rewarded tonight with a big reveal. He wasn't a traitor after all, just a devoted agent working undercover to expose runaway scientists like Conrad Moreau. Olivia's sudden flashes of John's memories were a nice touch. It was also interesting to take another trip to the whitewashed halls of Massive Dynamic, where Nina Sharp's motives are suggested to be entirely benevolent and transparent. Do you think that's all she was doing with John's body?

I'm still a little iffy on the dreamlike tank sequences. I like the idea; it's cool when Olivia watches herself in the past. But the logic is a little funny. When John interacts with her, what exactly is happening? Is a part of John still alive inside Olivia's brain? Is it only possible because of the cryogenic chamber his body's in at Massive Dynamic? Or are we really just watching Olivia's subconscious cope with her conscious emotions?

Conclusion
The concerns I had after last week have been washed away. The Transformation was a fun ride, and deftly handled the notion of a procedural/serial hybrid. The biggest questions: what's with those glass discs? And where do John Scott and his colleagues fit in the "two sides" scheme of Mitchell Loeb? Maybe next week's ep, which features the return of Jared Harris' wonderful Mr. Jones, will offer some clues.

Stray Thoughts

• Chuck fans: did Olivia's flashes of memory feel familiar?
• I loved Olivia's intercession during Hick's transformation, when she won't let Walter administer the antidote until Hicks talks.
• What's with the poofy black vest-slash-life-preserver Olivia wears in the tank sequences? To quote Back to the Future, did she jump ship or somethin'?
• John and Olivia's scene by the lake was fun to watch, knowing that the actors are married.
• Astrid still isn't quite working for me. I'm looking forward to seeing her become a real character instead of a plot device.
• The overhead shot of Chicago? You could see the building I worked in last fall.
• It was funny to see the "archer" from Garden State play Conrad's man, Gavin. And I'd have been suspicious too, if Olivia took such long pauses before answering any of my questions.

Adam Morgan is a writer for both the page and screen in Chicago, and blogs daily on writing, film, pop culture, and strange news at Mount Helicon.

Fringe Episode Review: The No-Brainer

Adam Morgan is a writer for both the page and screen in Chicago, and blogs daily on writing, film, pop culture, and strange news at Mount Helicon.

I wish I could write glowing reviews for every episode of Fringe, reviews like the one I wrote last week. Bound showed us just how great this story can be when everything clicks into place. The No-Brainer wasn't bad, but it was certainly a step backwards. Obviously, the task of writing even one full season of television is a daunting one, and the kind of brilliance we saw in Bound can't be constantly sustained over twenty-something hours. And production-wise, The No-Brainer was still top-notch. But the script left me underwhelmed.

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Should've Used Norton Antivirus

The cold open was the creepiest yet. I liked the spooky cyber-hand, despite the fact that in reality it would only look three-dimensional from the victim's eyeline. This week's mystery probably asked for the most suspension of disbelief thus far on Fringe: a web video that liquefies brains. And the video's 657 megabytes, nonetheless (what kind of compression rate is that, I wonder?). I was content to accept this potentially cheesy plotline, so long as it justified itself.

But for the first time on the show, the mystery had no overt ties to the Pattern. The villain was just a criminal with his own agenda. Which bothered me, because it's considerably less compelling from a narrative standpoint. Why should the audience care about a bitter, deadbeat Dad? From a logical standpoint, if he's angry at a few people, there are ways to seek revenge more efficient than designing an impossible virus to liquefy their loved ones' brains. I just didn't buy it. I kept hoping the picture would get bigger, and it never did.

Family Matters

Ari Graynor was great once again as Dunham's sister, and little Ella impressed me too. The three actresses feel like a family, but their role on the show also disconcerted me here. Making Ella a target felt like a heavy-handed attempt at incorporating her and Rachel into the main storyline. Obviously the writers introduced them for a reason, but why would this week's villain target Ella? He didn't have a vendetta against Olivia, unless he was angry about her investigation. But even in that case, targeting someone close to her would only further compel Olivia to find the culprit.

Speaking of, I was shocked at Olivia's lack of conviction after Ella's incident. From what we know about her, she should've been furious and hellbent on finding whoever threatened to harm one of her own. Instead, she was calm and inquisitive in the following scene. Wouldn't the natural response be anger? Paranoia? Especially given the way Olivia's emotions have driven her in the past.

The Other Kind of Chemistry

Is it just me, or was everyone googly-eyed in this episode? Peter and Rachel. Walter and Jessica Warren. Maybe even Peter and Astrid. After Walter made his comment on male-female relations, Astrid's eyes went straight to Peter. But maybe she was just intrigued by the letter. I'm hoping her character gets fleshed out by the end of the season; right now she's just a plot device who conveniently has a degree in whatever the script calls for.

Non-chemistry also abounded in The No-Brainer. Peter and Olivia had their first fight, and it just didn't come across as authentic to me. I saw no reason for Olivia to push Peter on the subject of his father, and I saw no reason for Peter to get defensive. As a result, their quibble (and their reconciliation) felt forced and flat, like most of the inter-character drama in The No-Brainer. I could almost hear the writers: "We need to drive a wedge between Peter and Olivia. We need to involve Olivia's family directly." The results were a little tedious and predictable, like that whole spiel at the end with Walter and Warren.

And please, please get rid of Sanford Harris soon. An antagonist should be a natural obstacle, but his one-note villainy seems to exist solely to frustrate Olivia ("We need an obstacle for Olivia..."). It was nice to hear Broyles tell him off, though. I got the impression Philip's more powerful than he lets on.

So in the end, not much to theorize about this week. The story was self-contained, as far as I can tell, with no new insights into character or mythology. I understand that Fringe isn't a completely serialized drama like Lost; it's a procedural hybrid. That's fine when it works, but frustrating when an episode feels like it's stalling. Or maybe that's not the problem. I'd still enjoy a completely stand-alone episode if the mystery was believable and the drama compelling, but The No-Brainer didn't quite work for this fan. Luckily, next week's outing, The Transformation, looks gripping!

So what do you think? Does Fringe work as a procedural, or as a serialized drama? Do you want to see any more non-Pattern mysteries? Do you buy the introduction of Olivia's family? Sanford Harris? Let your voice be heard in the comments.

Stray Observations

• Best Line of the Night: "I hope she doesn't notice the $2,000 for the baboon seminal fluid I ordered."

• Worst Lines of the Night: "Why would he protect a murderer?" "Because it's his father."

• Am I the only one who enjoyed Peter's visit to Akim? I wouldn't mind seeing him again, in a tech-advisor role. Maybe I'm just that desperate for information on Peter's past.

• What was with all of the pop music? It didn't sit well with me. You've got one of the world's most talented composers on staff. Use him. The Killers and Beyonce dilute the show's tension and sincerity.

• Chuck fans: Did the virus video remind you of Chuck's first encounter with the Intersect database?

• I counted at least two of those unexplained lens flares.

• John Polson did a great job in the director's chair. I loved all the long tracking shots, and Olivia just looks great when they shoot her at a low frame-rate.

• Speaking of Polson, he was the chopper pilot in Mission Impossible: II.

Fringe Episode Review: Bound

Hi Fringe-philes, Adam Morgan here, a newcomer to FringeTelevision. I'll be posting weekly reviews for the rest of season one, sharing my reactions, thoughts, and theories with you. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments!

After a listless seven-week hiatus, Fringe stormed back last night with its best episode yet. Bound was like a shot of adrenaline into the show’s ongoing narrative, filled with action, suspense, mythology, and considerable character development. I was a fan before tonight, but I think in a few years I’ll look back and remember Bound as the episode that hooked me for good.

From a production standpoint, everything worked. The dialogue was crisp; Michael Giacchino’s score was perfect; the location shots were gorgeous; the direction was compelling (especially the low-frame-rate action sequences); and most perhaps importantly, the chemistry between cast members hit an all-time high.

From a narrative standpoint, Bound covered a lot of ground...

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Dunham Done ‘em

One of Bound’s greatest strengths was its focus on Olivia Dunham. We met her sister, her old rival, and learned a few new things. First, that she is lethal. My jaw literally dropped when she single-handedly took out half a dozen men and escaped from the warehouse. Second, that she can be vulnerable, too. Anna Torv did a marvelous job conveying conflicting emotions in this episode, oscillating between fear, distress, and anger. I was worried that her sister’s appearance would become subplot fodder, but their scenes together were nicely tied into the main theme of the episode: Olivia’s struggle to persevere under any circumstance.

Mystery of the Week

Of course, I chose to eat dinner while watching this episode, on a night that features gastrointestinal slugs and spinal taps. Per usual, this week’s scientific mystery seemed tangential at first, but wound up connecting right back to the ongoing story. Two renowned epidemiologists were poisoned with giant single-celled cold viruses that grow to maturity even faster than Lorraine Daisy Alcott’s baby in The Same Old Story. The biggest question here, as usual, is why?

In the Pilot, Phillip Broyles theorizes that someone is using the whole world as their lab, with human beings as test subjects for bizarre experiments. But as the show progresses, this explanation becomes less and less relevant. If you wanted to experiment with a weaponized parasite, why on earth would you target two prominent epidemiologists? It doesn’t add up. Unless it’s more than an experiment. A demonstration of power, perhaps? A cunning move in a worldwide game of human chess? More on this later.

Mitchell Loeb and the Big Tease

As Walter might say, Mitchell Loeb gives me a case of cutis anserina (goose bumps). First he was just another agent the team saved from a parasite (a tentacled fellow that looked like the villain from Monsters, Inc). Then he was a double-agent who used that incident to get information out of a dead man. Then he was a wall-phasing bank robber. The guy gets around.

In Bound, Mitchell is revealed to be even more than he seems once again. We all assumed he was a villain since the end of episode 107, In Which We Meet Mr. Jones. But Loeb’s seemingly genuine confession to Olivia in the interrogation room makes him sound like a misunderstood protagonist. JJ Abrams is up to his old tricks. See Benjamin Linus and virtually every character from Alias.

They weren’t kidnapping Olivia to kill her, but to save her. Who is “they”? And who or what were they saving her from? Loeb’s next lines were the highlight of the night for me: “Do you not understand the rules? What we're up against? Who the two sides are?” Talk about a can of worms. In just a few seconds, Loeb revealed a huge, fundamental layer in Fringe’s mythology.

We were initially led to believe the Pattern was some kind of experimentation by Massive Dynamic. I think we’ve moved beyond that now. To make a Lost analogy, I think that’s like “the Monster is a dinosaur” or “they’re all in purgatory”. Now it appears as though there are two competing factions contributing to the Pattern, both of whom aim to achieve still-illusive objectives that somehow directly involve Olivia Dunham and the research of Walter Bishop. Brilliant. It hints at so much yet to come.

Overall, this was a huge breakthrough for the show. Almost like a second pilot. I’ve enjoyed Fringe from the beginning, but was waiting for an episode to launch the story into the stratosphere with the greats like Lost and The Prisoner.

I think the wait is over.

Stray Thoughts

• Not much Walter this week, but he still shined when given the chance. His coy remarks about Peter’s feelings for Olivia were cute, and a great way to create tension between two stoic characters. Also, his cavalier slug-trapping maneuver got the biggest laugh of the night from me.
  
  
• Not much Peter either, but Josh Jackson continues to do a great job establishing Peter as a level-headed, resourceful go-to guy. The man gets stuff done, and I like that. I was worried at first, given his Dawson’s Creek pedigree, but Josh has won me over. I’d like to see him get more physical in the future, and can’t wait to learn more about his past. And the man certainly dresses dapper for a globetrotting-opportunist-slash-black-market-entrepreneur, what with the pea coats and scarves from the Gap and all.
  
  
• Broyles was a thrill to watch this week as well. Lance Reddick is so…severe. I’m hoping he gets to do some physical stuff too sometime soon. I’d like to see him take down Sanford Harris, for starters (who didn’t impress me, acting-wise).
  
  
• That was an extremely long cold open.
  
  
• Between her more-than-palpable good looks and her more-than-capable resourcefulness and intelligence, Dunham is becoming the best female lead on television.
  
  
• Lost fans: did Loeb’s speech on “rules” and “sides” remind you of the dynamic between Ben and Charles Widmore?
  
  
• Kudos to Michael Giacchino for that beautiful variation on his main Fringe leitmotif at the end of tonight’s episode. I want a Fringe soundtrack later this year.

Adam Morgan is a writer for both the page and screen in Chicago, and blogs daily on writing, film, pop culture, and strange news at Mount Helicon.

FOX, Fringe and the Demographics that Matter

Having never followed a television show's ratings week to week before, I'm happy to leave the analysis and pontification of how Fringe is fairing to the experts. In this case the experts would be the crowd over at TV by the Numbers:

With real competition, Fringe shed 28% of its audience from last week. It also lost 19% of its 18-49 demo and 11% of its 18-34 demo. Still, it won the 18-34 demo for the hour by a wide margin, and was competitive in the 18-49 demo.

Fringe | 9.651 Million Viewers | 4.2/10 18-49 Rating Share | 4.0/11 18-34 Rating Share

Polly says:

Amazing numbers for Fox in the demo. Fringe held up pretty well against DWTS. (All those 18-34 yr olds are probably too young to see the similarities with the X-Files.) Actually last nights episode was the first one that made me want to watch again next week, so good job. Now if it could just make me want to watch it live!

Andrea says:

Maybe I’m not getting the “amazing numbers” for Fringe. It did just a bit better than the pilot, and the 28% decline from last week is a bit alarming.

Also those 18-34 year olds know it’s ripping off X-Files. They watch because Abrams’ name is attached.

I do see FOX probably giving it a full season order, however. FOX has to stop the bleeding on the other nights.
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Holly says:

FOX’s numbers are amazing, but not in a good way. It’s amazing how much House has dropped and that Fringe lost more than 3 million viewers week-to-week.

Outlander says:

What’s interesting to me is that Fringe lost 1 million viewers from 9:00 to 9:30. While a few other shows lost maybe 150k or 100k viewers during their episode, none lost as many as Fringe.

Robert Seidman says:

Outlander, House did run over into 9pm slightly (accordingt to my DVR). It could be that when that’s factored out of the final numbers the drop for Fringe won’t be as steep — but still will likely be steeper than it was for other shows.

Robert Seidman says:

Bob, you used the word “disastrous”. House is certainly still printing cash for Fox. I’m not sure about Fringe only because of the limited commerials, but I will not be surprised if Fringe’s numbers drop off even from where they are. …

Andrea says:

“CBS wasn’t Fox among 18-49 year olds either. Or ABC, and was just barely better than NBC (but better is better).’

Robert,

You’re right, but at least it wasn’t a 2:1 drop in that demo. Also, you have to look at drop in the demo for House and Fringe. The total audience loss is affecting the demo. (Of course I’m not saying anything you don’t already know.)

If ABC actually had a hit in the 8pm hour, it might actually compete with FOX in the demo.

Robert Seidman says:

Andrea, the week over week drops in viewers and demo for House and Fringe were as surely expected by Fox as they were by us as last week was not yet a full landscape of new competition. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think CBS’ numbers were bad at all — I just don’t view them as great relative to the demo competition. I agree CBS won’t be Fox and isn’t looking to be among 18-34 year olds, but that they had not even one half hour of a 2.0 or better in that demo can’t be deemed great even by the brass at CBS.

FrankJ says:

I think FOX should be concerned about the million viewer drop-off after the first half hour of Fringe. It’s basically shed all the House viewers. By the end of the night it was back to it’s premiere numbers.

FOX may have another stand-alone show on their hands. They really need to find a better way to pair these shows together.

Robert Seidman says:

Frank, all I can do is speculate.I think it’s MUCH too early to even speculate easily about Fringe — last night was it’s first airing against full competition and it held 80% of the House lead-in. If it continues to perform in the demos as it did last night, I don’t think Fox will be displeased.

Realm Reader says:

This may be pure conjecture but wasn’t the mid-season finale of Eureka on at the same time as Fringe? Think maybe some of the hardcore sci-fi fans may have decided to let the DVR pick up Fringe that night.

Holly says:

Robert,
I think you’re comparing apples to oranges a bit. House and Fringe are the best Fox has to offer. Tonight’s ratings are head and shoulders above what Fox will get any other night (in demo and viewers). On the other hand, NCIS has always been one of the oldest skewing shows on CBS.

If you compare House to NCIS, yes, House wins in the demo. But if you compare what each network expects out of these shows, I think Fox is way more concerned about House’s numbers than CBS is about NCIS’s

Robert Seidman says:

Well if your take on CBS is “when you ain’t got nothing (in the demo), you got nothing to lose”, I agree CBS is less worried.

But I doubt the Fox programmers are clueless and had to expect some drop off simply by changing timeslots for a show with already diminished ratings post-writer’s strike.

Whether it’s wise to try to build a new franchise with Fringe I can’t say and time will tell. But I don’t buy analysis that says “Fringe is back to its premiere numbers and House is doing it no good.” Its premiere was heavily promoted and aired against zero competition (unless you count the CW).

dave says:

Fox should be encouraged by House pulling in a 5.0+ in the demo in its fifth season in a new weaker time slot. This is still a home run for the network.

Fringe is a hit, not a homer which is what I’m sure fox was hoping for, but I doubt their upset. The network would kill to have Fringes numbers on their Monday night shows.

Cookson says:

Obviously it’s nice to have really high “overall” viewers, but we all know that the 18-49 and 18-34 numbers are more important. Nice for Fringe… even though I’m about to just watch the rest on DVD..

Cameron says:

What did I tell you about Fringe? I said to wait and see how it did against some strong competition and sure enough it came off second best. That didn’t surprise me, what did surprise me was NCIS beating House by a considerable margin!! Neber saw that one coming at all.

I personally found that conversation both fascinating and an education. I hope they're right about the importance of the 18-34 and 18-49 demographic. If Fringe needs anything--and this is my opinion--it needs time.

Fringe Is An US Weekly Must To The Tune Of 3½ Stars

Fringe

A star is born in this bold, eerie new drama
By: John Griffiths

Crowd-pleasing JJ Abrams, cocreator of Lost, helped brainstorm this big-budget paranormal-slash-conspiracy series, and it shows. The intrigue starts with FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Aussie newcomer Anna Torv) and her partner/love (Boston Public's Mark Valley) investigating a bizarrely horrific plane crash. After he is infected while following a lead, Olivia seeks clues to save him -- and opens the door to a world of highly guarded knowledge. Helping her: a dotty genius (John Noble) and his son (Dawson's Creek's Joshua Jackson, initially stiff in his TV return). To say that the opener's last few minutes threaten to overcomplicate things would be nitpicking: Thanks to stupendous twists, brainy wit and instantly gripping characters, Fringe is bound to be a thrilling ride. And with Torv, it mints a major talent. She bristles with quiet intensity and palpable curiosity.

AICN's Hercules Bullets the Fringe Pilot

Answering such diverse questions as: What’s it called? Who’s responsible? What does Fox say? The big news? What’s this about “a larger, more shocking truth?” Aim? Aquafresh? And all this is somehow tied to the plane mishap? Say. Didn’t Fox already air a series about FBI agents investigating the uncanny? Will subsequent “Fringe” episodes deal with sentient extraterrestrial crude oil, killer bees or humanoid tapeworms? Is the “Fringe” pilot as good as the “X-Files” pilot? “Twin Peaks” had FBI agents investigating weird stuff every week, didn’t it? Is the “Fringe” pilot as good as the “Twin Peaks” pilot? Is the “Fringe” pilot as good as the Abrams-directed “Alias” and “Lost” pilots? How rate you “Fringe’s” cast? Abrams didn’t direct this pilot, right? Isn’t Abrams essentially abandoning “Fringe” as he did “Alias” and “Lost”? This sounds … promising. How long before Fox cancels it?

Some spoilers, but you can read his answers here. Oh, and he gives it 4 stars as in likes it quite a bit.

Fringe (Rough Cut 90 Or So Minute) Pilot Screened & Reviewed

This is the sign on the road that warns you of road work ahead and to be prepared to stop. Only it's not road work ahead, it's spoiler warnings ahead, and while they'll tell you when to stop, you follow links herein at your own risk.

Synopsis of the Fringe Pilot Reviews:

TVWeek's Vlada Gelman is robotic and matter-of-fact (wasted). With the exception of a few superficial observations, it's a completely neutral review.

Sci Fi Wire's Patrick Lee uses all the right key words, but forgets to have an opinion.

IGN's Eric Goldman breaks ranks with Vlada and Patrick and dares to write at length about his impressions. His review ends with, "...once the core trio of characters are united, it's very easy to see how this series -- and the dynamic these characters bring -- will work and it's a journey many will likely find worth taking."

TV Squad's Kristin Sample naivete bubbles just under the surface as she clearly took notes and made observations as if she were lucky enough to be attending an "event." Which, of course, she was. Thanks Kristin. Kristin's opinion, "If The X-Files and CSI had a baby and that baby's godfather was Heroes, then that would be Fringe. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, after attending a screening of J.J. Abrams' new show at Fox studios in Century City, I can vouch that it is indeed pretty good. One might even say it's more than pretty good; it's great in fact."

Variety's Cynthia Littleton breaks it down pros (plural) and con (singular) style and has some interesting reflections of the type you might expect from someone who has been paying attention to Fringe long enough to have developed a few preconceptions worth disproving.

E! Online's Jennifer Godwin gives the Fringe pilot the full treatment in an extensive review, but also writes, "Long story short? [Fringe is] super."

All told, and with the exception of a few minor quibbles and those that forgot to have an opinion, every last review was near glowing if not glowing.

Fringe Pilot (not the script) Reviewed, And Reviewed Again

Televisionary, who reviewed FOX's "Fringe" Pilot Script, has now posted a review of the actual Pilot as well. It's a long and detailed review and a bit spoilerish, so beware. For those who want to avoid any spoilers, the opening two paragraphs of the review pretty much say it all anyway:

Every once in a while a pilot comes along that is so perfect, such a shining indication of what the final series will be, so perfectly cast and directed, that it's impossible to look away.

That pilot, ladies and gentlemen, is definitely FOX's phenomenal science-tinged drama Fringe. ...read more.

But Televisionary's isn't the only review out there. As I mentioned yesterday in the forum, Nick's Pix also claims to have seen the Pilot and his review is less enthusiastic:

I expected more from FRINGE (**1/2), the latest big-budget TV series from LOST and ALIAS mastermind J.J. Abrams, who developed the series and wrote the pilot script with TRANSFORMERS writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman for FOX. Directed by TV vet Alex Graves (THE NINE, WEST WING, SPORTS NIGHT, JOURNEYMAN), this extended episode (82 minutes) felt less like a true pilot and more of a middle-of-the-season-episode. ...read more.

Those two reviews don't exactly agree, but there's still something to be gleaned from both: a) you're going to need to watch/judge for yourself; and b) don't be surprised if you end up loving it or hating it.

Edit: The Futon Critic also has a review of the Pilot up today as well. Read it here.

Another Positive Review of the Fringe Pilot Script

This one is pretty much spoiler free, and rather positive, and by a screenwriter (i.e. argument from authority). Jill Golick says of the Fringe script titled simply "Pilot":

There are a number of things that struck me about the script. It’s incredibly well written and tells an exciting story that you don’t want to put down. Abrams uses lots of “fucks” and “shits” in his direction (not in dialogue). It’s quite effective. The writing is casual and he pauses to set up things that will become part of the series format; the way lettering will appear on the screen, how montages will work, etc. ...read more.

Regarding the many reviews of the script, a source tells us that script is an early version and has since seen a lot of changes. So, it's safe to say the show will be even better than the glowingest script reviews (and some of them really glowed).

Televisionary: Televisionary Exclusive: First Look at FOX's "Fringe" Pilot Script

So imagine my zeal when the script for Fringe, which has a thirteen-episode commitment from FOX, literally fell right into my lap. After all, this is a pilot script that reportedly has a $10 million budget and is already one of the highest anticipated entries for the 2008-09 season.

With Fringe, from Warner Bros. Television and Abrams' Bad Robot shingle, the dynamic duo of Kurtzman and Orci have created what can only be described as a millennial take on that seminal FOX series The X-Files, albeit with an added dose of humor and a taut mythology that serves as an undercurrent for this supernatural/crime procedural.

So what's Fringe's pilot script about? Good question. The teaser, in true Lost fashion, opens with ... read more.

IESB.net's Fringe Script Spoiler

Back on February 4, 2008, IESB ran a script review by Sealcrab. Before he gets into outlining the story, he says:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Fringe is a miserable effort that I can’t imagine beginning to appeal to anyone. It sort of plays like an awful 80’s low-budget series that would have run for just a few episodes and whose real starring moment would have been being remembered fondly by nostalgic 20-somethings in a bar decades later and then quickly discarded. Except this one doesn’t quite have the charm of being low-budget or being from the 80’s. But it’s got awful. It’s got that in spades.

Let’s put aside the story for a second and let me just say that I have NEVER seen a script so riddled with spelling and punctuation problems. There are misspelled words every other page and every single adjective is preceded by the word ‘fucking’. Characters aren’t serious. They’re ‘fucking serious’ in ‘fucking laboratories’ with ‘fucking melting’ faces. Really.

This script fucking sucks.

Wow. He sounds angry. And it only gets better. From the looks of it though, he got his hands on the same script as The Other Girl, and she loved it. Go figure.

Source: IESB.net

Fringe Pilot Script Synopsis?

On WyvernHawk, The Other Girl claims to have the script for the JJ Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci Fox television pilot FRINGE in hand, and she gives an outline of the first episode--minus spoilers. Nevertheless, she does go into plenty of detail, so don't follow the link if you prefer to be left in the dark. Her opinion having read the script:

... FRINGE has Abrams' stamp all over it - from the jaw dropping ... incident opener, to the supernatural phenomena and conspiracy theories, all encapsulated in plenty of high octane action. Rumored to have a budget in the region of $10million, the pilot script for this 13 part series is complex, ambitious, intelligent and, above all, hugely entertaining. This was a thrilling read and I'm really looking forward to seeing it brought to life...