TV Review: 'Fringe'

Two TV reviews in two days? That's just the kind of guy I am -- an unpredictable bad boy who plays by his own rules, and doesn't take shit from anybody, especially The Man. To catch upon any old reviews, you can find a link to the right hand side if you scroll down slightly, or by clicking here.

J.J. Abrams now exists more as a concept than a man. A brand name. After creating/producing smash hits ’Alias’ and ’Lost’ in 2001 and 2004 respectively, he’s produced couple of duds (’Six Degrees’ and ’What About Brian?’) but still seems to have as much juice in the industry as ever -– his producing and directing slates are full of high profile projects. His name carries a weight than can not be diminished by a failure or two. We should all be so fortunate.

Abrams's success with ’Mission: Impossible 3’, written by his former ’Alias’ scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, has opened up the door for more big budget movie franchises -– he’s directing the next ’Star Trek’ installment, due in 2009 (also written by Kurtzman and Orci). But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have time on his schedule to create/produce another TV series, and with ’Lost’ still nabbing high ratings four years into its run, network execs are only too happy to sign him on to deliver another sci-fi series.

Re-enter Orci and Kurtzman, suddenly one of the most prolific writing teams in the industry, and you have what seems to be a match made in heaven. Unfortunately, their new endeavor, ’Fringe’, while entertaining by today’s primetime network standards, is not nearly as original as one might expect given the creative team behind it.

Maybe it’s all the time Orci, Kurtzman and Abrams have put into working on sequels, but ’Fringe’ feels familiar. Specifically, it borrows liberally from the ’X-Files’, mining the same territory (unexplained phenomena), and employing both a similar over-arching storyline (both mysterious conspiracies involving the government, post-modern technology, and possibly aliens*) and dynamic between the male and female leads (a tough, dedicated serious woman and a brilliant but wacky, wise-cracking man). Hell, it’s even on the same network (FOX).

Playing the more central, Dana Scully-esque role, and playing it well, is Anna Torv. While her performance is strong, she’s clearly outshone by Joshua Jackson, of ’Dawson’s Creek’ infamy, playing the Fox Mulder-type. The fact that I can even remember the actual character names after seeing several episodes should tell you how unremarkable their individual characters are. They even have a bald and fierce boss a la Assistant Director Skinner ’X-Files’, played by Lance Reddick (Cedric Daniels on ’The Wire’).

Easing at least a bit away from the mold, ’Fringe’ employs a third lead – Walter (the father of Joshua Jackson’s character), a renowned, if disgraced, scientist with a lifetime of experience working of nefarious government projects researching “Pseudo-Science”. This departure is one of the few elements of the show which feels fresh, so it’s probably no coincidence Walter’s character -- and John Noble’s portrayal of him –- is the highlight of the show. His oddball, absent-minded professor persona adds just enough humor to keep the show light amid its mostly dark subject matter.

Besides the government conspiracy – which includes re-animation, postmortem interrogations, and alike – is supported by week-to-week storylines which allows each episode to play out like a procedural. This is another trait passed on by ’X-Files’, as is the “Monster of the Week” tone the weekly storylines often have (Recent episode ‘Power Hungry’, featuring a man who caused electrical disturbances with his emotional outbursts, felt especially familiar). Not bad, just derivative.

But as Truffaut or Goddard once said (I can never keep them straight), “In your country, you say, ‘Steal’. In mine, we say ‘Homage’." Or, more appropriately, “If you’re going to steal, steal from the best.” The creators of ’Fringe’ manage to at least accomplish that.

With all the hype FOX threw behind it, and the talents involved in it, expectations may have been part of the issue with 'Fringe'. That said, it still has room to grow and evolve, and I'm not canceling my Season Pass.

Using the age-old Hollywood scale of judgment –- HIGHLY RECOMMEND/RECOMMEND/CONSIDER/PASS (circle one) -– I rate ’Fringe’:

CONSIDER


* I don’t know what the hell that bald guy is, but he ain’t human.