This week on Fringe, Joshua Jackson continues to be MVP (though his Mom comes pretty close), we get a number of huge pay-off moments, and Walter investigates molecular gastronomy. Let’s get to it, friends:

The episode picks up right where the last left off, where Evil Alternate Universe Broyles (we are getting so comic-booky on this show, its ridiculous) has ratted out Faux-livia and Lincoln Lee, all while trying to kill (or something) Earth 1 Lincoln Lee. He’s stopped by Walternate, and Peter, who reveal the government has been invaded by shapeshifters. Meanwhile, Faux-livia and Lincoln encounter the no longer dead David Robert Jones, who pulls the same trick he did way back in season two, and gets himself arrested just to make a point. By the way, this paragraph is why no one is watching Fringe anymore (though also why I love it).

Anyway, back at Fringe headquarters, Peter recognizes Jones, and offers to interrogate him. In a tense scene, he brings up events that no one in this or any other Universe should know about. Evil Broyles tries very poorly not to seem evil while he’s listening, and Jones – annoyed – calls game on. He takes out a hospital ward in the goriest way possible, then tells them to let him go. Read more...

Tags FOX, Fringe

Fringe came roaring back tonight with an episode that may – or may not – signal the start of the endgame for its very last season. Given the twists, turns, and surprising returns we saw in this hour (particularly the final few minutes), I certainly hope not… But if the final minute revelation is to be believed, its also possible we’re heading to a truly definitive ending for the series at the end of this season, whether we want one or not.

Now, before I get into any sort of recap – and I will, don’t worry – there’s a key phrase that Joshua Jackson’s character Peter Bishop says about three-quarters of the way through the episode. It’s a phrase that indicates why Fringe, when its really firing up the serialization, works so well for fans, and is a huge barrier for anyone interested in casually watching the show. That phrase is, “It’s complicated.” Read more...

Tags FOX, Fringe

There’s a number of things I could say about this week’s Fringe, and I will in a moment… But first, given that this is the last episode before a relatively long (two month or so) break, and particularly as the series hit a ratings low with this episode, my thoughts naturally turned towards how this season has been so far. And the answer is: quietly spectacular.

Bit of an oxymoron, right? But more and more, I’ve been noticing how purposely silent this first half of the season has been. Sure, there’s been action beats, and tonight even there were packs of dogs barking and howling as they chased an invisible fugitive. But just as much time was spent on Olivia struggling with a migraine, walking through the nearly empty streets of Boston at three in the morning, before bumping into Agent Lincoln Lee. And even then, they mostly sat silently drinking coffee in an “okay” diner.

This isn’t the only time the show has eschewed dialogue, or noise of any kind, and this meditative, careful pacing is in direct contrast to the amped up insanity of Season Three. And I like it. It may be self destructive, as you won’t grab a lot of casual viewers by just focusing on an actor’s face for a few minutes, or refusing to explain most of what’s going on emotionally – and even physically – in a scene. But it’s highlighted some beautiful acting from the cast, who have grown tremendously over the past few years. Read more...

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This week’s episode of Fringe wasn’t quite a tour-de-force, but there’s so many fantastic elements – including spectacular guest turns by Stephen Root and Romy Rosemont – that I’m more than willing to forgive it. I’ll get to the biggest problems in a little bit, but first, here’s what happened this week on Fringe:

Actually, scratch what I just said… This week’s cold open was one of the most terrifying things the show has ever done. A woman and her daughter are chatting, eating breakfast, and talking about the day. The woman goes over to the sink, looks down, and everything is charred and burnt. Scared, she looks at her kitchen, which is also completely burnt beyond recognition, and her daughter is gone. From the other room, she hears a baby crying, runs to the room, and finds her daughter – now an infant again – screaming in the crib. She grabs the baby, runs out the door to the apartment, just in time to see a strange, rainbow bubble burst where her apartment used to be. Cue credits. (check out the interview Joshua Jackson recently did with MTV Movies here!)

I don’t know if it’s just because I’m a relatively new father (I mean, let’s be honest, it definitely is), but that whole scenario, from danger to your child, to suddenly finding your kid has been turned four years younger and your apartment is maybe on fire freaked me the f- out. Read more...

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Romy Rosemont and Stephen Root in this week's Fringe

This week, two great geeky tastes come together for the first time: Stephen Root, and Fringe. Not only that, but the Office Space/True Blood star acts opposite his real life wife on screen for the first time. We’ve seen the episode, and not only does it have huge revelations about what’s been going on with Peter Bishop, but a heartbreaking story involving Root and wife Romy Rosemont. Oh, and of course, crazy science.

We had the chance to talk to Root on a conference call set up by FOX in preparation for this Friday’s episode of Fringe, and the affable, very kind and funny actor kept things moving and a fun clip as he answered questions about his acting method, alternate universes, and oh, some minor spoilers here and there: Read more...

Tags Fringe, Stephen Root, True Blood

A friend of mine recently posted on Twitter that he’s become better, with age, about watching and enjoying dumb TV, the kind of shows you can just relax, and watch, and not think about. And much to my chagrin, he included Fringe as one of those shows. Particularly given this week’s episode, I don’t think I can disagree more.

Granted, it wasn’t like this was a head-spinningly trippy episode that changed the very way we think about reality (they only do a few of those each season), but time and again in this episode, the characters had the chance to make dumb decisions I fully expected them to make, given this is a genre TV show; and time and again, the writers actually allowed them to take the intelligent path, instead of the dumb one. And that, in case you couldn’t guess, is pretty smart.

The big news, of course, is that Peter is back in the mix after disappearing at the end of last season. The problem? No one knows who he is, because time has been rewritten… Except Peter remembers everything, and doesn’t know what’s wrong, or how to fix things. The split between what Peter knows, and that everyone from Olivia to Walter to Broyles have never met Peter aggravates everything that’s wrong with this new universe: they’re all in pain, more co-workers than family, and suffering from far more losses than wins. Read more...

Tags Fringe, Novation

For the past season, and even up through the first two episodes of the current, fourth season, Fringe has amped their plot and character arcs up to eleven. The go-for-broke attitude made for some memorable – and sometimes memorably goofy – plotlines. But I for one have appreciated a show that has no fear when it comes to breaking or changing their concept. Too many TV shows reset to zero every episode, but the Fringe team has allowed Walter, Peter, and particularly Olivia to grow and change to dramatic lengths, while still managing to (mostly) retain a case-of-the-week format.

The downside of this, of course, is when we have a solid episode like “Alone In The World,” that presents a Freak-of-the-week, with little overall relevance to the ongoing plot, it feels like a huge step backwards. In Season One, this would have been a fine – maybe even standout – episode. In Season Four? Not so much. Granted, there is a connection there, and some rather striking images throughout… But wither Earth Two? That’s the part of the show that makes my pulse quicken now, and that’s what made last week’s show such a near perfect episode. Read more...

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One of the main things that makes Fringe such an excellent show is their willingness to fully explore an idea, and more than that, go for broke with the idea as soon as possible. Lots of shows, when they introduce a new idea, burn it out quickly, or stay on it too long – but often, Fringe finds the perfect mix of surprisingly short and sweet, and long term mysteries.

For example, this week’s episode, which answered one major question immediately: how different, really, are the two Universes, and how does one small choice change everything? And more than that, what happens when someone non-Fringe finds out about Earth-2? Granted, there was a fair amount of reset at the end of the episode, but presenting a situation that tests these ideas in the second episode of the season was a pretty bold choice.

Also pretty bold? The opening, which was a perfectly filmed bit of horror. It started off seeming like a man lamenting the loss of his son to a therapist… But as the camera pulled back, we saw that he’s actually attached to a patented Fringe mad scientist machine, getting colder… And then he dies. As we find out in short order, this “therapist” has killed twenty-three people this way already, but when Olivia asks why she’s just hearing about it, Broyles gives a very simple answer: he hasn’t been killing people in our universe. Read more...

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Ironically, I’m of two minds about the season premiere of Fringe. On one hand, there’s sequences like the opening and closing scenes that pick up on the massive cliffhanger from last season, and are – honestly – exhilarating to watch. On the other hand? There’s the central plot, which has a neat twist at the end, but in between feels a little stilted. Unlike last season’s brilliant opener, which pushed forward the plot, while working as a perfect entry point for new viewers, this episode tries to have it both ways… But not at the same time. Read more...

Tags Add new tag, FOX, Fringe, Michale Cerveris, Olivinot, Peter Bishop, Seth Gable, Walternate

Last season, Fringe – possibly the best, currently running show on any of the major networks – ended on a huge cliffhanger: not only were the two parallel universes who have been at war throughout the previous three seasons joined by a literal bridge, but Peter Bishop (played by Joshua Jackson) disappeared. Forever.

Or maybe not. With the fourth season kicking off on Friday, September 23rd at 9PM on FOX, we hopped on a conference call with Executive Producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman to talk about whether the two universes would be working together, how many questions will be answered, but most importantly… What’s going on with Peter Bishop?

J.H. Wyman: “Basically, look… Peter is part of the DNA of the show. We’ve done some pretty crazy things in the past. But in season four, hopefully people will trust us enough to know that we’re doing things for a reason. And Fringe without Peter is not really Fringe. He’s part of the show, he’s part of the language of our show… There are two things we want to get across: Peter is DNA, and he will always be that way; and the three years didn’t cease to exist, they happened, and they will continue to have happened.”

Jeff Pinkner: “They have around the world, put together this “Where Is Peter Bishop?” putting together signs around the world. It’s amazing, and a tribute to our entire cast and crew. The show constantly tries to recontextualize your perception of the story… We introduced Walter Bishop in season one. In season two, you realize our most sympathetic character is the biggest villain of the entire piece.”

Will there be returning characters on the show?

JP: “There will be characters you will be surprised to see again—“

JHW: “And characters that may come back in surprising ways.”

Why are the new opening titles in amber?

JHW: “There’s always been a significance to the titles. It’s funny you said amber… To us, its orange, but that’s great. The significance is, this is the universe without Peter in it.”

Read more...

Tags Fall TV, Fringe