Fringe (new Fox show) -- my thoughts
Being the science geek (okay, all-around geek) that I am, I decided to watch the premiere of Fringe last night on Fox, since it was being billed as a JJ Abrams take on The X-Files, and I have to say my feelings were mixed.
While there are some good premises being raised, and the visual effects are quite good, some of the acting is a little too over-the-top. Thankfully, the show doesn't seem to take itself too seriously, since the investigations clearly revolve around what is self-described as pseudo-science. This should allow them to pretty easily push the boundaries of possibility.
John Noble (Denethor in Lord of the Rings) did a great job as the discredited, disgraced scientist Dr. Walter Bishop, whose past research appears to have helped lay the foundation for much of the shows exploits. While he often goes off on delusional tangents that have you wondering just how sane he is, other aspects of the show may leave you thinking that he is, in fact, the most sane of anyone.
The writing on the show is a little loose. For example, when attempting to mentally connect Olivia with her near-death lover/fellow agent Charlie (in a scene reminiscent of Altered States), it's mentioned that she'd be going in the isolation tank naked. However, as evidenced when she's pulled out after making contact, apparently, in this world, naked means stripped down to bra and panties. It's a minor detail, but c'mon guys, don't use the dialogue if you can't follow through. This scene could have been shot slightly differently, stayed true to the dialogue, and still have been "family-friendly".
The rebroadcast of the premiere takes place Sunday, 9/14, at 8:00pm. I may watch it again just to see if there's anything I missed. One note to the visual effects guys... lose the extruded 3D place names integrated with the scenery. It's not cool, it's fucking distracting...
I will say, the line of the night also goes to the aforementioned Mr. Noble, for his, "The only thing better than a cow is a human, unless of course you need milk, in which case you really do need a cow."
One other peeve, related to LJ -- the damn spell checker doesn't recognize the word "dialogue". WTF?
While there are some good premises being raised, and the visual effects are quite good, some of the acting is a little too over-the-top. Thankfully, the show doesn't seem to take itself too seriously, since the investigations clearly revolve around what is self-described as pseudo-science. This should allow them to pretty easily push the boundaries of possibility.
John Noble (Denethor in Lord of the Rings) did a great job as the discredited, disgraced scientist Dr. Walter Bishop, whose past research appears to have helped lay the foundation for much of the shows exploits. While he often goes off on delusional tangents that have you wondering just how sane he is, other aspects of the show may leave you thinking that he is, in fact, the most sane of anyone.
The writing on the show is a little loose. For example, when attempting to mentally connect Olivia with her near-death lover/fellow agent Charlie (in a scene reminiscent of Altered States), it's mentioned that she'd be going in the isolation tank naked. However, as evidenced when she's pulled out after making contact, apparently, in this world, naked means stripped down to bra and panties. It's a minor detail, but c'mon guys, don't use the dialogue if you can't follow through. This scene could have been shot slightly differently, stayed true to the dialogue, and still have been "family-friendly".
The rebroadcast of the premiere takes place Sunday, 9/14, at 8:00pm. I may watch it again just to see if there's anything I missed. One note to the visual effects guys... lose the extruded 3D place names integrated with the scenery. It's not cool, it's fucking distracting...
I will say, the line of the night also goes to the aforementioned Mr. Noble, for his, "The only thing better than a cow is a human, unless of course you need milk, in which case you really do need a cow."
One other peeve, related to LJ -- the damn spell checker doesn't recognize the word "dialogue". WTF?