Fringe: Season 1
I’ve had Fringe recommended to me for a while, but never got around to it. Then I started watching the first season at about the same time there was a literal explosion of listies discovering it.
This is, in short, an exercise in slightly-morbid geekery disguising itself as a procedural. Ok, maybe not an exercise in geekery, but it is very geeky (in a good way) and really does try hard to disguise itself as a procedural.
The main reccing power (at least in my circles) is Olivia Dunham. This is possibly the only show ever to (1) give a character a Crowning Moment of Awesome in almost every episode and have them actually deserve it, and (2) have that character be a woman.
This woman is relentless people. It’s really half her awesomeness. She’s a dog with a bone and justice is her bone. I am fairly certain that she would move mountain ranges with pure force of will if it was required.
The other members of the main cast, unfortunately, don’t really take off until mid-season, or just before, and some things (like the way they decided making Peter be openly chauvinistic in the first few episodes would be charming, or deciding to make the pretty blonde lead‘s new black superior be antagonistic towards her because she took down his buddy for sexual misconduct*) take a bit to get over in terms of having the characters (and writers) grow on you. And other things.
The plot…well, I find it interesting and am very curious to see what‘s going on, but I’m a bit bummed that it’s Peter and Walter’s plot, and that Olivia is more…trying to figure out what’s going on. She becomes more involved in the metaplot beyond her investigations later in the season, but it’s still very much their plot.
Regarding the ending of the season I guessed that what happened the Walter was that he went to the other reality to get Peter when the alternate reality possibility started cropping up and there was a mention of Walter losing something, but I haven‘t decided yet if I think that our Peter is the “proper“ Peter from the show’s reality who went there accidentally and was trapped, or if I think our Peter is from the alternate reality, and Walter went over and stole him after the Peter from the regular reality died. I suspect season 2 or early season 3 will resolve that for me.
It’s not quite the show I wanted it to be, but it’s a fun one.
*I hasten to assure you that this is done away with very quickly, and that the superior in question later unhesitatingly sides with her regarding the douche in question.