Is "Fringe" J.J. Abrams at his best?
So, what do you think of the new J.J. Abrams' drama Fringe? Here's a link to my preview from Tuesday morning's paper.
Lost was a brilliant prime-time response to the nation's post-9/11 jitters, and that traumatic event informs virtually every frame of Fringe.
But while I appreciate the series intellectually, and I find Anna Torv an incredibly attractive leading character, the pilot left me a little flat. I wonder if Abrams is a bit off with this show, or whether it is just a matter of the inherent uneveness of pilots in which all kinds of characters have to be introduced and all sorts of business has to be done in a fairly short window.
And what about the cow? And the lab scenes? Was I wrong to fear that Scooby-Doo and the gang might suddenly show up to help the FBI?
If you have seen them both, which is your pick? HBO's True Blood or Fringe?
(Above: Fox photo of Josh Jackson and Anna Torv by Patrick Harbon)
Comments
Fringe was just so very intense. I cannot be the only person who has long, demanding days at work, but I just didn't have the energy to keep up with this. And, it seemed to go on and on forever. Frankly, Fringe just wasn't worth the effort.
Posted by: Eve | September 10, 2008 9:18 AM
I was also disappointed. I just didn't have that OMG what on Earth is going on here?! grippy-ness that I was expecting. (Lost + X-Files) - (Intelligence + Great Characters) = Fringe.
Posted by: Liz | September 10, 2008 11:18 AM
Dr. Z- I thought you would have gotten more feedbck on this!!! I am not a strange science fan. Star Trek possible, Outer Limits not. David Bianculli "raved" about Fringe and I like his reviews so I watched. Strange science-fair at best. Though the plot change at the end was interesting. (I should have seen it coming since I got all the dialogue right.
True Blood was interesting and worth a second or third look. The introduction had Sopranos and Carnivale all over it. The telepathic part was more distracting than beneficial. The underlying theme post 9-11 and even post civil rights was quite blatant and I am slow to pick up on these things. (Though I LOVED the Sopranos, I never got why the critics went gaga over it. I was raised in an Italian-American house and my mother's family was from Avellino were the Sopranos imigrated from, so it was lie home to me.)
i will respond later. on another story. but wanted to get it uip for all to read. thanaks. Z
Posted by: mdlrvrmuncher | September 11, 2008 4:55 PM
David, I have to say it: I liked the cow. It's pure J.J.--introduce odd levity to break the tension of what might be unbearably bleak otherwise. And I liked "Fringe". It was imaginatively conceived, directed, and shot. Loved the location titles in 3-D. And I'll be patient as it tries to lay the groundwork for a complicated story in a short pilot.
Posted by: samzmom | September 12, 2008 12:15 AM