Topic: Fringe - The Complete First Season

[Dragonfire]

Fringe: The Complete First Season



Teleportation.  Mind control.  Invisibility.  Astral Projection.  Mutation.  Reanimation.  Phenomena that exist on the Fringe of science unleash their strange powers in this thrilling series, created by J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Lost, Alias), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Transformers), combining the grit of the police procedural with the excitement of the Unknown.  The story revolves around three unlikely allies - a young, beautiful and determined FBI agent, a brilliant scientist who’s spent the last 17 years in a mental institution and the scientist’s sardonic and roguish son - who investigate a series of bizarre deaths and disasters known as “the Pattern.”  The three suspect that someone is using the world as a laboratory.  And many of the clues lead them to Massive Dynamic, a shadowy global corporation that may be more powerful than any nation.

My Thoughts

I started watching this show last fall when it started to air and was hooked right away.  The show is different, so it isn't going to appeal to a lot of people.  I think all the strange and even downright bizarre things that are going on help to make the show more entertaining and interesting.  The season ended in a way that opens up some intriguing possibilities for the second season.

The episodes have different cases that Olivia, Peter, and Walter investigate.  Even when some of those cases seem to be resolved, some questions are still unanswered.  The cases do tend to be connected either through Walter's work before he ended up in the mental institution, or to Massive Dynamic..or both.  Several things do build as the season progresses, so I think it is best to watch the episodes in order for everything to make the most sense.  I think there is a decent amount of mystery to what is going on and some episodes also have suspense.  A few aspects of the show are predictable, but I don't think the show is predictable overall.  There is action in most of the episodes.  Olivia frequently ends up in chases and sometimes is in fights.  That does add violence, though it really isn't that graphic. 

Walter ends up doing experiments in every episode.  Some of them end up being kind of gross and disgusting to see, but they are interesting.  Some of the things shown are a bit gory, which will turn some viewers off.  Special effects are used for different things and I think the effects are well done, especially considering that they are for a television show.

I like Olivia, Peter, and Walter.  It is interesting to see a show that gives more attention to someone who is basically a mad scientist instead of having him just be one of the villains of the week.  I think the cast does well with their parts.

The DVD set has 7 discs for 20 episodes and the extras are spread out over all 7 discs.  There are several short bits that are focused on specific elements of the show, like how certain effects or scenes were created.  There is a short gag reel too that is amusing.  I enjoyed the extras and thought they were interesting.

Overall, I really enjoy the show and I think the DVD set is a great one for fans of the show.

 

I did get a review posted at Epinions.

Fringe - The Complete First Season

[Boomstick98]

I caught part of one of the early episodes of this where a man had see through skin.  Seemed like a very bizarre yet interesting show. Unfortunately didn't have the time to devote to it at the time. Would like to go back and check it out though.

[Dragonfire]

That was the pilot episode.  There are definitely some bizarre things going on, but they make for a very entertaining show.