Fringe – The Arrival

Joshua-Jackson.com

(Season 1, Episode 4)

It’s a little thing, I know, but I love how they put the location text in huge block letters that are static parts of the establishing shots. It’s unique enough to be memorable and just looks kind of cool to me. As for the cast in the picture there, the relationship between Walter and son Peter provides some good comic relief. Primarily because Walter is crazy. Unfortunately, Olivia is thus far just so bland she’s downright boring to watch.

I want to like this show. I really do. They’re tapping into cool elements of science and science fiction on the, pardon the pun, fringes of known reality but they’re just not making it exciting enough. I’m not sure if it’s something lacking in the main characters, or just not enough on the larger picture that you know Abrams has in his head but there’s no sense of urgency to immerse myself into this world. And I know that Abrams was wanting this to be a show you could easily slip in and out of without feeling, pardon this pun, lost but at the same time there needs to be something bigger there to encourage those fans to keep coming back. Sci fi fans like big stories and deep mythologies. So start showing it to us.

Fringe Bits

• When Olivia went and talked with her friend, she did a lot of looking at him with her lips slightly pursed as if she was confused. As Jon Lovitz would say … ‘ACTING!” Not particularly compelling acting, but acting nonetheless. God, she’s bland.
• I like how in Walter’s mind, if he’s craving root beer the solution is to make some in the lab. In fact, Walter’s insanity is one of the few compelling things about this show. You just never know what he’ll say or come up with next.
• Have to say I’m not keen on how Broyles always waits until Olivia discovers something and then tells her, “Oh yeah, we figured that out a year ago. You did it so quickly. Good job.” Sounds to me like he’s wasting her time.
• I had to pause the show and go downstairs and get a root beer and some ice cream. Damn Walter’s craving for a root beer float!
• Doctor Who already did an episode where a lady started off by mimicking, then speaking concurrently and then speaking before those around her. Granted she didn’t transition as quickly as The Observer did here, but damn I knew that looked familiar. A fan of the good Doctor?

The Observer is a nice addition, as was his apparent link to “The Pattern.” Building a mythology. That’s how you do it. Nicely done. By having Walter meet with him it adds a whole new element to the show. Having a brilliant madman at the heart of your team creates a wonderful challenge and conflict. And John Noble is absolutely brilliant in his portrayal here.

After a huge post-House jump in week two, last week saw the ratings slip back almost as low as the premiere, and below 10 million viewers again. This may just mean that House isn’t a good companion piece to this show? Or it may be a sign of trouble. Ratings are respectable at this level, so I don’t think it’s going to be cut just yet, but FOX has to be hoping for some more signs of growth.

I think the show is starting to find its feet. Peter is fully on-board the team. There’s a huge promise in all those floating words in the intro sequence on this show. Hell, most shows don’t even have intros. And the final revelation about the “near” death experiences of Walter and Peter and The Observer’s role really resonated with me. Too bad, the main character still seems a waste of space. Maybe that last second appearance will add some meat to her role.

Clacked by Jason Hughes
on Oct 01, 2008 @ 01:15 EST5EDT