Cool News
Hercules Appraises J.J. Abrams’ New Sci-Fi FBI Show FRINGE!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Fringe 1.1 FAQ
What’s it called?
“Pilot.”
Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited to the “Alias”-“Mission Impossible III”-“Star Trek” team of J.J. Abrams (“Felicity,” “Lost”) and Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (“The Island,” “The Legend of Zorro,” “Transformers”).
What does Fox say?
“When an international flight lands at Boston's Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (newcomer Anna Torv) is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT (Mark Valley, "Boston Legal"), is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER BISHOP (John Noble, "Lord of the Rings"), our generation's Einstein. There's only one catch: he's been institutionalized for the last 17 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son PETER (Joshua Jackson, "Dawson's Creek") in to help. When Olivia's investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive NINA SHARP (Blair Brown, "Altered States"), our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents PHILLIP BROYLES (Lance Reddick, "The Wire"), CHARLIE FRANCIS (Kirk Acevedo, "Oz") and ASTRID FARNSWORTH (Jasika Nicole, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent") will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth.”
The big news?
I’d be shocked if we see another fall pilot this year as good as this one. Scary, funny, suspenseful and superslick “Fringe” will fire imaginations and, like the three Abrams-scripted pilots before it, leave viewers craving more.
What’s this about “a larger, more shocking truth?”
That “larger, more shocking truth” business is interesting, and complicated. The description of superscientist Walter Bishop as “our generation’s Einstein” represents a rare bit of understatement on the part of Fox’s publicity department. Bishop is more like this generation’s Milo Rambaldi, the shadowy 15th century seer/inventor who haunted the events of “Alias” by designing technology he saw in our future. Bishop’s twentysomething son (who turns out to be plenty brainy himself) believes with Sydney Bristow-esque naivety that his chemist father made his living in a basement below Harvard University, “doing research for a toothpaste company.”
Aim? Aquafresh?
As it happens, Walter Bishop’s lab beneath Harvard had little to do with toothpaste and more to do with rapidly evolving technology into the realm of science fiction. “He was part of a classified U.S. Army experimental program called Kelvin Genetics,” the FBI girl tentatively explains to Bishop’s shocked son about 30 minutes into the 2-hour pilot. “They gave him the resources to do whatever work he wanted.”
And all this is somehow tied to the plane mishap?
There was “an accident” in that Harvard lab some two decades ago. Ubergenius Bishop was arrested. Bishop’s lab-mate and only confidant was a fellow named William Bell who, sometime subsequent to Bishop’s institutionalization, became the superrich, superfamous and superpowerful founder of a now-$50 billion high-tech defense contractor called Massive Dynamics, which appears to manufacture robots, weapons, proprietary pharmaceuticals, and a host of other modern miracles. And Massive Dynamics (an entity of which the long-sequestered Bishop remained wholly unaware) recently employed someone with an intimate knowledge of what happened on that plane bound for Boston.
Say. Didn’t Fox already air a series about FBI agents investigating the uncanny?
It did.
Will subsequent “Fringe” episodes deal with sentient extraterrestrial crude oil, killer bees or humanoid tapeworms?
We learn late in the “Fringe” pilot that what happened on that horrifying flight is somehow tied to a wave of three dozen incidents investigated and “authenticated” over the prior nine months. Dozens of kids who disappeared a decade ago have just begun reappearing, having not aged a day. A mysterious plane carrying a very noisy device apparently appeared in the skies over Asia not long before a tsunami killed 83,000 people. A man woke up from a long coma and began jotting down a seemingly endless stream of numbers – numbers that turned out to be “above top-secret” coordinates for NATO battlegroups stationed in the Pacific. Few are aware of these incidents, but certain U.S. officials are calling them “The Pattern.”
Is the “Fringe” pilot as good as the “X-Files” pilot?
Ha! The “Fringe” pilot strips its hot blonde FBI girl down to her underwear just before it sticks a cold metal rod in her brain and drops her in a tank full of saltwater. So yes. The pilot also suggests the “Fringe” series will offer more interesting characters and a more persuasive and coherent mythology than did Fox’s earlier sci-fi FBI series. The production values, stunts and special effects are eye-popping and even its superimpositions (showy, floaty text that tells us whether we’re in Boston or Baghdad) are supercool.
“Twin Peaks” had FBI agents investigating weird stuff every week, didn’t it? Is the “Fringe” pilot as good as the “Twin Peaks” pilot?
Nothing’s as good as the “Twin Peaks” pilot.
Is the “Fringe” pilot as good as the Abrams-directed “Alias” and “Lost” pilots?
It is not. But those were two of the best pilots ever forged.
How rate you “Fringe’s” cast?
Terrific top to bottom. Torv and Jackson are compelling and convincing leads. Blair Brown (one of the pilot’s many nods to “Altered States”) is spooky as a creepy Massive Dynamics exec. “Wire” walker Lance Reddick brings beautiful suspicion and disdain to his latest bald-guy-in-charge. And Noble does a spectacular job as the broken brain at the center of the tale – summoning a performance by turns sad and funny and scary.
Abrams didn’t direct this pilot, right?
Emmy-winning director-producer Alex Graves, whose work has graced “The West Wing,” “The Practice,” “Gideon’s Crossing” and “Journeyman,” helmed the pilot. His work here is striking and exceptional.
Isn’t Abrams essentially abandoning “Fringe” as he did “Alias” and “Lost”?
I gather Abrams, Kurtzman and Orci all have busy, expensive big-screen careers and will not be actively involved with the series. The good news is Jeff Pinkner, an “Alias” vet who wrote the superb “Lost” episodes “Not In Portland” and “The Man From Tallahassee,” has taken over as series showrunner.
This sounds … promising. How long before Fox cancels it?
“Fringe’s” lead-in this fall is the megahit “House.” Its lead-in next spring is the super-megahit “American Idol.” “Fringe,” I suspect, is going to be a ratings monster.
Fox airs the 2-hour “Fringe” pilot Sept. 9.
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...exactly how hot is Anna Torv?And Lance Reddick rocks. That guy has got a strut like a mo' fo'.
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the early years of that show were fantastic
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I'm a big believer in Abrams' ability to conjure up awesome CONCEPTS (the execution has been iffy, of course), so this is extremely promising.
That said...SEPTEMBER NINTH IS TWO AND A HALF MONTHS AWAY! Ahhhh!!! -
Jun 20, 2008 3:56:44 PM CDT
But will they use "Lunatic Fringe" as the theme song?
by trumpyeatspotatoes
Tom Cochrane is all good.
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Good luck. The list of survivors begins and ends with The X-Files. Only way this will last is with the "FROM THE CREATOR OF LOST" splashed on every promo.
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On the show, it's explained that the plane was one of the first to be equipped with a self-landing device. I assume this is a Massive Dynamics product and does not really exist in our universe. (Though I hope I assume wrongly.)
Anna Torv is plenty hot and grows hotter when she strips. -
Good news. "FROM THE CREATOR OF LOST" is, against every expectation, splashed on every promo.
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Jun 20, 2008 4:02:23 PM CDT
"Anna Torv is plenty hot and grows hotter when she strips."
by mr. nice gaius
Then count me in.
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Is Anna's hotness the only thing that "grows" when she strips? I couldn't resist...
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Right on, Herc. I dug the trailer for "Fringe," and I'm glad Jeff Pinkner will be running the show. Abrams has a whole crew of talented associates he's cross-pollinating into cool roles.
Can't wait for this. -
How many?
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I've seen it and didn't rate it at all. Thought it was a poor x-files rip off, heavily cliched with stock characters that could be taken out of any sci-fi-esque series.
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Jackson does need the work though. If you want the X-Files, why not just have new agents? It's not like the cases will go away after Mulder and Scully. X-Files without the alien stuff beating you over the head every other episode might not actually suck.
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at least four.
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I agree with Redfoot, Abrams concepts are always better than his execution of ideas. Actually, him splitting may have benefited Lost, so I'm cool with him taking off. Although Alias did turn into a steaming pile of crap, so i hope Pinkner wasn't involved in those later seasons (actually anything beyond season 2).
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Remember please that Chris Carter was just some dude who wrote an episode of "Midnight Caller." Abrams is the guy who created "Alias" and Lost."
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Just to see Noble show range in a character, rather than the one-note villain PJ concocted for Denethor.
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I've seen the pilot too and I was extremely entertained. This show doesn't take itself as seriously as the X-Files and I think it may be better for it. HOWEVER- this is Fox we're talking about. This network has killed many a good show (...Firefly, Wonderfalls,etc) in their prime. But the time-slot is a good show of faith. I hope this one stays around for awhile.
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Abrams has never had a project canceled. If the show can't capitalize on the lead-in it has, then it doesn't deserve to stay around. Sorry, but those are two of the highest rated programs on TV (esp and inexplicably, AI). Talk about giving it a fair shot (or more than)!
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I'm hoping this show is going to be "Alias" -- only without the network asking Abrams to ditch all the Rambaldi stuff. We'll see.
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Except for "Felicity," "Alias," "What About Brian" and "Six Degrees."
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They're just burning off episodes the next two seasons ;)
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Abrams can throw a stick two yards these days, and it will be praised as "EXTREMELY SUSPENSEFUL QUALITY TELEVISION!" I don't mind his stuff, I'm just a little turned off that he and the O and K have got their hands in...well...EVERYTHING. Though I am looking forward to the TREK. Gotta give some props to Pacey, though, in this show he almost, *ALMOST* looks like he could have been Bruce Wayne. HEY -- don't freak out!! I said, ALMOST! Doesn't mean I would have picked him over Bale either...
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Wow I usually really agree with you, but you wanted MORE Rambaldi? Damn, half-way through the third season I wanted to poke my eye out every fucking time they said that name. And how many freaking Rambaldi devices did they find? None ever did anything but lead to another Rambaldi device. That for me was proof that Abrams had no idea what he wanted to do with that story. Difference of opinion, I guess, but I'm usually on the exact same page as you are. I hated that element of Alias.
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forgot about Six Degrees, and I didn't know Felicity was canceled. I still say they just put Alias out of it's misery at that point, but point taken. Apologies for my extreme wrongness on that point.
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1) "Appraises" probably should be "Praises." To appraise, is simply to put a dollar amount on something. It could *technically* work, but I don't think it's the best word.
2) To say that "Carter was just some dude who wrote" an episode, and that Abrams is somehow given a free-pass because of him creating "Alias" and (not creating) executive producing "Lost" is like saying "Dreamcatcher" is great, because it was written by the guy who wrote "Billy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Princess Bride."
I think we can ALL think of examples of "great" minds who created absolute rubbish; and, vice versa, nobodies who came out of nowhere to create instant classics.
So, I think your argument against XF is fallacious, from the standpoint of Carter being "some dude" and Abrams being the guy who "created 'Alias' and 'Lost," when he didn't actually create "Lost" to begin with. -
You can call XF's mythology convoluted (as I have done many times in the past); but you can't hold a twisted, non-sensical candle to the mess that was "Alias"s mythology. There may be someone out there who can do paranormal mythos better (Lynch even lost it in season 2 of TP), but it CERTAINLY won't be Abrams.
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Are we certain?
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I just watched Fringe about two days ago and couldn't help rolling my eyes at a few easily avoidable cliches. A few spoilers on from here on out. Torv is downright wooden in this show IMO. There's really nothing compelling about her character whatsoever and it's a shame she's going to be the main character instead of Jacksons Peter Bishop. The whole love/partner/double agent thing is so easily picked out and frustratingly cliche in a show with enough weird to throw out the book. John Noble was solid and I'm really looking forward to his interaction with Jackson. This will be a ratings monster for the most part and the nature of every episode with it's weird diseases and monsters will keep me watching. Too bad the lead isn't at all interesting to keep me really focused.
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...any true resolution or explanation like Alias.
That's because it probably won't survive very long on Fox. Abrams is very good at creating cool stories with fascinating concepts. He just doesn't know the answers to any of the stuff he comes up with. -
But seriously. Positives - 2 excellent actors in there. Never heard of Torv before but I was very impressed. Noble of course - the role needed someone with that kind of strength. And Jackson wasn't as annoying as the trailer made it look like he would be. Nicely filmed too - some nice camerawork, titles were cool (although derivative).
And for about 2/3 rds it actually hangs together.
But then - oh by the way, there is this like major major really bad conspiracy. You're not cleared - oh, wait a minute, yes you are. Too much, too soon, and I simply didn't buy it. But that was a problem from the moment she said yes to the drugged up thing.
Problems then cropped up a bit more - dumb coincidence at the end, pacing needs to be looked at.
But throwing the whole global thing in your face (and Brown's unnecessary strip) just showed a lack of patience and an extreme clunkiness - look, we're going to be doing this so lets drop it all in your lap in one go. And the thing with Cedric? Oh look - animosity. Oh look - maybe not. In out in out - the uneven tone made the whole backstory useless. Why couldn't he just not like liasons (who seem to have working partners?!?)
If it is going to work as a series they are going to have to step up the writing to be at least partly deserving of the great work being done by their actors. And who can actually write funny lines - every obvious attempt at one pretty much fell flat. It was a damn cow - how bad a writer do you have to be not to get a belly laugh out of that?!?
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I dunno if there'll be monsters......but I sure hope there's SOMEthing like it.
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and Hercules for that matter. Most modern aircraft can land themselves these days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoland -
can anyone tell me WHY the guys twin brother stuck himself with the pen and released the plane contained contagion? Did I miss some explanation on why he was forced to kill himself?
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that may be the best news I've heard all year.
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that was exactly my feeling watching his stuff. His cliffhangers and concepts can be outstanding and intriguing, but the answers were always pretty "oh, yawn" or "wait... what?".
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Jun 20, 2008 5:06:26 PM CDT
herc, did you really think it was as good as alias and lost pilo
by ravex
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¸in my defence, we just lost to turkey in 120th minute and I'm all kinds of dreunk...
so, did the fringe pilot really made you wait foir the next episode as eagerly as lost and alis pilots did? -
naw I saw it....just kind of started to focus in and out. I knew it was a diabetic needle pen...I just thought for some reason he was actually forced to inject himself knowingly with that stuff for whatever reason. He seemed super jumpy beyond just a guy scared about a turbulant plane ride is all. Seemed like he knew he was about to die and kill some folk. But like I siad once the cliche "Oh noes the partner is bad!" popped up I just lost a bit of interest and finished it up...;)
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but I'm quite sure there was more to my previous post them there is up there...
so, the addirtion to my question was: did it reaklly made you wait for nexr episode as eagerly as lost and alia pilots did? -
when you mess uop the line break, the resto of your post gets erased.
so, third time's a charm: did it really made you wait for nextt episode as eagerly as lost and alia pilots did? -
Jun 20, 2008 5:22:52 PM CDT
Well anyone who like the Sarah conner chronicels must know what
by what a shock
you couldn't stuff a missle up my ass and fire me into a television set to watch anything those two hacks write. But i don;t mena that in a bad way.
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I don't think JJ deserves credit for Lost...in the beginning, it had a very JJ feel to it but as it has gone on, it has grown deeper and richer and better...all the JJ-ness has gone out of it. I think he's talented but Lost is better now than its ever been.
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... its a glitzier X-Files. Ok.
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that said that unless this show is drastically changed, it wont last long. That is comes off as a big joke. The reviewer did say the "teaser" was very good.
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...I've only just now started watching Lost, its one of those things I never got around to, and I must say, I'm underwhelmed. I'd been hearing how awesome it was, and I'm now at episode 4, season 2, and I'm not hooked. I am only watching it because I am assured it is great. But it is just not gripping me. I also was not very impressed with Cloverfield and MI III ( it was P. S. Hoffman who saved that trainwreck). All in all, I'm starting to think JJ may be more hype than substance. I think Prison Break, Rome, Dexter are much better series then Lost thus far.
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It was dull, plodding and thoroughly unoriginal. If this is the best pilot this season has to offer then it's going to be a very shit season. Kurtzman and Orci strike again it seems, with lots of bland and flat characters and a story that doesn't intrigue at any point. I doubt I'll give episode 2 a try.
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Yes, glitzier i'd say sums it up.
Glitzier:
Dumber, more contrived, worse acting, less creative, uninteresting, mindless crap. -
I might check it out, if only for the X-Files similarity and mention of hot half-naked agent ass... but seriously: just Next Generation the X-Files already and be done with all the clones. Follow up the movie or something with some new agents and give it an obvious (but new) tied-in setting, title, cast etc.
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we all know the guys on here never give bad television or films good reviews, let's not be ridiculous.
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The lead actress is shit at acting, the storyline was cliched, and twists were predictable. I'll keep watching for smth to do on boring evenings, but not excited about it at all. Bring back Alias!
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Jun 20, 2008 5:39:29 PM CDT
!I think Prison Break, Rome, Dexter are much better series then
by ravex
if yiure going foe shock factior, you ford+got bsh and the wire as well...
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and cry reading what I wreite in thr morning. cya
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...type that with your face? Anyways, haven't seen the Wire yet, but judging from how much I am disliking Lost at the moment, I'd say it is probably better.
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also, the war in Iraq is going really well and water is dry.
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give me some of what you're smoking
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This show is a rip-off!
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with the wife. We both thought it was really good. Really enjoyed the female lead and both the crazy scientist and his son played by Joshua Jackson. A few plot points were very obvious as someone stated above....but we think the show has tons of potential. The floaty text on screen letting you know the setting are really cool as well. Better than the basic- type out the location, that almost every other show does. I'm just wondering if they are gonna cut any of the gore from the plane scene at the beginning. That pilot is fucked UP!
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The floaty text WAS cool...I forgot to mention that in my thoughts above. I liked that a lot in the intro to new settings. Although did anyone else catch that the Q in Iraq could be seen from street level after they cut to a different camera? Like it's ALWAYS overhead. I kept saying how I liked that but thought it was a bit much there. :P
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as I remember it Lost was kind of half created by Abrams and ABC studios. I believe they called him up and said they wanted a desert island drama and to just run with that. So it's not like he thought up everything and went with it. But Lost is Cuse and Lindelofs now without a doubt. I wonder how much of what he originally ever wanted to do is there now whether the network or the new heads wrote it out.
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How the fuck did I see this before Herc?
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Because THAT is what the X-Files was primarily about and there's no sign of them in the pilot of fringe.
And BTW I've been rewatching early X-files and it has some great episodes but it's hardly the pinaccle of TV. Duchovny is very wooden for quite some time before he begins to improve though Anderson is good from the off. It's also NOT the only show avbout paranormal events ever made.
The fringe pilot seemed to have confused musical scoring when I saw it with bits of LOST soundtrack lifted wholesale and the Signs themem in there as well as an uninspiring title sequence. (maybe those things will change though).
Promising is how I would rate it overall. -
Television as a medium has only been around 50 or so years. People are only now mastering the craft and I'd consider lost to have the first true "MEGAPLOT." Abrams, Cuse, Lindeloff, and Jack Bender and the rest are in the have designed this amazing four-dimensional sculpture. So far, Fringe looks to have the best chance yet of re-tapping that long hidden potential.
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Hey I rate X-Files as a favourite of mine in the Sci-fi field but I personally don't consider it the best by any means.
Dochovny BECAME a very good actor. For example his appearances in Larry Sanders are superb. But he was pretty wooden to begin with in the X-Files and a bit of a self parody in Evolution.
I just wonder why X-Files fans are so defensive about this new show since it's main plot has nothing to do with the whole UFO thing that the X-Files will forever be remembered for (well that and the whole Fox/Scully will they won't they) There's also a new X-Files Movie due soon to keep fans happy.
I'm not willing to trash fringe because it has similarities to the X-Files any more than I was willing to trash the X-Files because it had similarities to the Twighlight Zone or Outer Limits.
I say give it a chance. Fringe might collapse under the weight of an overly elaborate arc and I thought the performances by the female lead and the Scientists son were ok but overshadowed by Noble and Reddick, BUT it could turn out to be very good indeed. It's just too early to tell.
So why keep harping on about the X-Files ? It had it's time and was extremely impressive in parts but it certainly shouldn't preclude any other show even trying to explore simlar themes. -
You never know with a main plot as full of hidden secrets as fringe clearly hints it is.
I wouldn't stop watching if they did so long as they did it with style. But it seems to be concentrating on the speculative and fringe technology ideas rather than the older staples of paranormal mythology so far.
Who knows though. One Epiosode simply isn't enough to tell. -
Like I said I too rate it highly and certainly higher than those shows you mentioned as well.(Heroes 2nd season just drags it right down from near the top of any list for me)
I'm just saying it's not some sacred pillar of TV whose subject matter must always be avoided.
Star Trek TOS didn't mean TV could never again tackle the subject of a crew of people in a spacecraft having various "adventures". So all the X-Files references that have been, and will keep coming up, are for me pretty irrelevant. -
eat shit...this show is gonna blow...lost blows, its fans just doent know it cuz they are hypnotized by the fucking boob tube
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LOL. Ya know what the "A" in NATO is for? Silly TV writers.
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No doubt about it.
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first of, who gives a damn is it X-files ripoff or not? last I checked, XF ended some 6 years ago, and since then closest we came to that concept were supernatural (very good show, but different approach to the genre) and alias (not scary at all. not good at all in latter seasons, either...).
so, if fringe wants to be new X-files, let it. my only complaint is that effects of virus in pilot were as same as alien virus in XF (minus the alien embryo). but knowing J.J., it wouldn't surprise me at all if in season 2 super secret twist finale we find out that fringe is set in same universe as XF, and mulder and scully make a guest appearance.
I said "more sober", not "completely sober".
and 3 more words for all of you dissing fringe for it's lack of originality and ripping off x-files:
The
Night
Stalker. -
...other shows. It doesn't help that it currently has some temp score (including, amusingly enough, some Lost score, specifically the music used in the pilot and in finales when the group are travelling somewhere, you know it sounds a little like the Jaws score when they're on the boat). Is Noble gonna be a regular? I thought he really lifted this pilot. I can't believe they had a plane opening! Again people are just gonna think of Lost (although Lost, sadly, couldn't get away with the content shown here in Fringe). No doubt we won't see anything as cool as the car flip in the series itself, that's just Abrams blowing the pilot budget.
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"I just wonder why X-Files fans are so defensive about this new show since it's main plot has nothing to do with the whole UFO thing " - you wonder? you REALLY wonder? I don't think it has anything to do with being defensive so much as its getting a negative reaction based on the fact that its a sci-fi show about FBI investigators. Okay maybe it doesn't have anything to do with UFOs but come ON, the stench of unoriginality is all over this.
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i think it will be a hit, has potential for sure. x files meets supernatural
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Things just drag out until the last 10 or so minutes. Honestly, it feels like a standard 41-minute episode stretched out to 82 minutes. This pilot would have been stronger if they cut it down to 41 minutes.I'm not impressed either by the conspiracy -- the so-called "Pattern". Most everything about this feels like every other conspiracy-laden series (including X-Files and LOST), which we've already watched before.The lead actress is also un-impressive. At a couple of points in the pilot, her American accent falters. Overall, she's what I would call a generically pretty actress who has honed the ability to play a "strong" female lead, the kind of "power suit" female you see on the Law & Order and CSI franchises.Really, the Fringe pilot left me underwhelmed. I don't think that's a good sign, nor do I think pilots should be allowed to be weak -- new shows really need to hit one out of the proverbial ballpark right off, and the Fringe pilot fails. I predict the pilot will premiere to big ratings, but the ratings will fall off during the second hour, and the rest of the series will see a steady decrease in ratings -- UNLESS the writing improves substantially starting in the second episode.
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That's probably the most memorable element of Fringe -- the text that establishes the location of the scene. (This is the same 3D computer graphics letters that was first used in the opening credits of David Fincher's Panic Room. HEROES does something similar for their episode titles, but it's not as sophisticated as the 3D graphics used in Panic Room and Fringe.)That's right. For me, this is the most memorable element from the pilot. The opening three minutes was effectively gory and reminded me of a teaser scene right out of an episode of The X-Files, but it's the floaty location text that is the coolest thing in the pilot. That's not really a compliment.
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Herc, are you that sure that this will be better than the sainted Whedon's "Dollhouse"?
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Ah. "Fall pilot." Well played, Herc.
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not that i expected any different.
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Very predictable and the ridiculous tack-on of the related 'events' at the end played so hamhanded and 'look, we gots lotsa material for future episodes!' that I had to laugh. I do think the cast is pretty solid, but there's nothing in the pilot that puts me in any sort of anticipation to see future episodes.
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as i recall, he didn't "technically" create it. this guy named Jeffrey Lieber had a project in development at ABC that was somewhat similar, but it didn't impress the ABC execs enough. they kept the deserted island/survivor setting, and looked for another writer. That writer was JJ Abrams, who in turn, brought aboard Damon Lindelof, and they both broke down the pilot together. They wrote it, planned out some story arcs, and they were off to the races. Abrams directed the pilot, but aside from co-writing the season 3 premiere, is not involved with the day-to-day stuff for Lost.
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The "fringe science" plot offers alot of potentially interesting storylines. The show is full of twist and turns like Lost and shares that same kind of high production value. Can't wait to see it develop, hope it's lives up to it's potential.
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I have yet to see the pilot for 11th Hour, but the fact that its premise is similar (investigations into the abuse of extreme science and scientific theory) could make things more difficult for Fringe -- especially if the 11th Hour pilot turns out to be better than the Fringe pilot. Maybe they will have cool floaty location text, too.
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It is uneven. Anna Torv is the best pat of the pilot, essentially Cate Blanchett playing Sydney Bristow. The other parts are not so flash. Joshua Jackson plays a hipster who forgives his absentee dad in 5 mins, and doesn't add much to the mix considering his 190 IQ and lab rat origins.
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You can watch it here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqIclb4qsJIFringe uses the same technique to, for example, have big floating words that say "FBI HEADQUARTERS." It's really the only thing I felt was most memorable about the pilot, and it's not even an original element.
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fox is dire with new shows. does it have a chance maybe.it was an interesting enough pilot. didn't exactly, blow it out of the water, but interesting enough
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The pilot was a bit uneven, but it might come together over the course of a few episodes. I hope they ditch that Panic Roomesque floaty text though. And I really hope they keep the cow.
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Love JJ
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Don't know anything at all.
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has been on the net for a while now... torrents are your best bet.
I haven't ever watched X-Files or any of Abram's shows, but I'm hooked on Fringe. -
trailer shows the incorrect angle on the wings of the aircraft. Anal, I know but it's been bugging me and I'm pretty drunk noe. BTW, Dexter rocks, where's the love?
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was it just me or did this pilot episode feature a lot of music from other films - I am sure when Bishop was setting up his lab it wa the music from Se7en or even Panic Room. If it is Panic Room then they STOLE 2 things from it.
I enjoyed it and will probably watch more eps but it wasnt that amazing
7/10 -
I just watched that title sequence of Panic Room and Fringe uses that piece of score too.
JJ "I steal both titles idea and score from Panic Room" Abrams --- you've been found out muthafaucka -
meh meh
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but later mimicked the trajectory of Oceanic 815. More Rambaldi-esque nonsense? No thanks.
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Jun 21, 2008 4:22:43 AM CDT
Plant: Fringe the X-Files deriviative is really really really re
by shub-wankalot
It's better than sliced bread, really. Disregard the lackluster sheen that covers this mess. Read my lips: it's really really really GOOD.
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there's also a Lost theme in the score. It the "march" theme Lost uses sometimes.
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Possibly the worst thing Orci and Kurtzman have ever written; the dialogue is abysmal, the story full of holes and lazily-researched. And this comes from someone who likes MI:3.
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I've seen this and I thought it was derivative, dull, predictable and worst of all going through the same "mystery wrapped in an enigma" conspiracy clue dumps that Abrams dropped in Lost and Alias.
I'm sure the man has a Conspiracy generator wizard in Word that writes scripts for him that run like this...
Hey you're making a series, please fill in the following questions:
Is there a conspiracy? Y/N - Y
Does this conspiracy over arc the whole series? Y/N - Y
Does this conspiracy use a big mysterious corporation or agency? Y/N -Y
Please enter buzz words for this conspiracy: The Pattern, Mega Dynamix
Is everyone not as they seem? Y/N - Y
Will each episode ask more questions than it answers? Y/N - Y
Is there a central maguffin that will be exploited and wheeled out when ever ratings flag? Y/N -Y
To quote someone else on another forum I read "This is X-Files for the Bush years. Dire, grim, mean spirited, basically a whole bunch of no-fun" and I agree...
I've seen this all before and better done elsewhere, virtual reality, see Harsh Realm, whacked out science, Town called Eureka, FBI agents on the edge of conspiracy, The X-files and so on...
Even the location titles that appear all over the place are straight out of Panic Room or Race driver: Grid... -
Jun 21, 2008 7:29:09 AM CDT
Sounds like a hodge podge of every other sci-fi show out there o
by redtom
"Dozens of kids who disappeared a decade ago have just begun reappearing, having not aged a day" - 4400
FBI + Paranormal - X Files
Crew and passengers all dead on a plane - Threshold (cept that was on a boat but who's checkin...)
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Jeffrey Leiber had a broad and simple idea. What if we made a drama about survivors of a plane crash on a deserted island? They brought in Lindeloff to develop a show based on that idea and they had J.J. assist him and sort of be a very involved mentor.
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Yeah... like 'Alias' for instance, or 'Lost'. Man, those Abrams shows are great for coherent, persuasive mythology. X-Files had great continuity and a coherent mythology-- the only problem was that it all wrapped up in season six and then tried to keep the mythology going another three seasons. Abrams always STARTS a mythology and has no idea where it ends.
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is the presence of Joshua Jackson. Not sure why, but he bugs me.
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Leiber's idea was lame and didn't work. It was Abrams and Lindelof who together came up with the idea of the Island as a character, and a mythology. J.J. also worked with casting, and directed the pilot, so he was a huge part of making the show what it is.
As for the Fringe pilot, I enjoyed it. It's not as good as the LOST pilot, but it's better than many pilots. It all depends on what happens in the second episode, IMO.
BTW, am I the only one who noticed that the Massive Dynamics logo is a rip-off of the N64 logo? -
Taken is to The 4400 (aka Put Back)
Instead of a lost plane, the plane arrives but everyone on board is lost. And instead of an introverted conspiracy involving mindblowing science and a global corporation, we get an extroverted conspiracy involving mindblowing science and a very open global corporation. Instead of getting food and supplies dropped by parachute on palettes, the show's characters have to go to the supermarket for Dharma Boxed Wine and Apollo Bars. -
The timeslot is a great show of faith. But if it underperforms after House, won't it be moved pretty quickly? Advance schedules aren't set in stone, so it might not be on after American Idol next year.Also, is this a fictional Asian tsunami? Because about 300,000 people died in the 2004 tsunami rather than 83,000 in the tsunami from the show. To use a recent real-life tragedy as a plot point in a sci-fi show seems in slightly poor taste. I hate to say it, but 'too soon'.
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eh
I'll watch it a little longer in the interest of Lance Reddick's career. -
Third rate X-Files that didn't really need to be made. Maybe someones cup of tea but not mine. Basically the same quality as anything you watch on the sci-fi channel. Easily forgettable and doesn't really hold the viewer.
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Mythbusters had an episode exploring the "could a passenger land a jetliner" we've seen in Zero Hour,Airplane, etc.
If the crew had time, a modern jet could probably land itself, assuming they had the autopilot configured for the destination airport. Applying the brakes is a whole other matter, so it's still a little "sci-fi". -
Jun 21, 2008 11:39:40 AM CDT
So you can tell it already has a more coherent mythology
by lovecraftfan
after just the pilot episode. Thats ridiculous. I'm going to watch the show but lets just stop the dumpin on X-Files. I think Season 1-6 are fantastic and yes a pinnacle on TV. Even if you don't agree dismissing the show as something done by some guy is retarded. It will always be an influential show.
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yeah, I was thinking of the original Night Stalker. although, I find it insulting that you may had suggested otherwise.
but, what are you saying? that it's OK for X-Files to resemble original Stalker, because timespan between those two was over 20 years? and there is no question about whether Carter was being "inspired" by Kolchak. he himself confirmed it on multiple occasions.
now, let's say for the sake of the argument that 6 years since the ending of XF is more then enough time for someone to create show about people who are investigating unusual occurrences in sci-fi setting.
that leaves only the fact that "they are FBI agents, just like Mulder and Scully" as the proof that fringe is riping off XF.
well, they're not. the girl is. guy and his father are scientists.
which would imply that fringe is more like 11th hour, then it is like X-Files.
and after all this, please don't get me wrong: I'm not J.J./fringe fanboy. I didn't even like the pilot all that much. all I'm saying is that, if you're gonna bitch about it, don't focus on the most unimportant aspect of it (being XF clone). try liking it for what it is: a show that may never reach XF heights due to much weaker cast and (probably) not as strong overall mythology; but a show that might have a very high entertaining value, at least in it's first couple of seasons (J.J. shows at least have that pretty much guaranteed).
and as for starting to drink again... no. never ever never ever never again.
well, at least not today.
maybe... -
all he does is come up with intriguing shows and then ditches them to go make bad movies.
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not an X-Files ripoff
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It's not fair to judge the pilot's music, as it is standard industry practice to plug in soundtrack music from other sources in a not-for-air pilot. The pilot for LOST used portions of the Blade Runner score (as blasphemous as that sounds). But you can judge the pilot on everything else.I'm disappointed by the Fringe pilot. However, they don't start shooting the regular series until next month. So many they recognized the problems with the pilot and will improve the regular episodes going onward. I think one aspect they must address is the conspiracy tied to the mysterious company Massive Dynamics -- they really need to do something, I don't know... DIFFERENT about this conspiracy, because based on the pilot it already feels like we're going to have to put up with the same old conspiracy crap we've put up with with several other shows (Heroes, LOST, X-Files...). I would suggest that they reveal who the mysterious CEO of the company is immediately, and not drag this plot point out... reveal the person immediately and then do something different with it, like, kill this person off, or maybe he isn't a bad guy at all but compromised by others. In other words, something DIFFERENT.
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So the final seasons sucked. So what? Buffy's last couple of seasons weren't up to par and neither were the final seasons of Alias and no one seems to slam those entire series as much as they do XF anymore. That was an iconic series that, although very clunky at times, really set the standard for most science fiction programs, let alone any show with an ongoing plot. Chris Carter was not "some dude", he was the creator of an influential cultural phenomenon. He also created Millennium, which was also a great dark show that, overlooking the obvious dated aspects, was very ahead of its time. (Though it too was bogged down with some boring filler here and there.)
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Let us not forger that J.J. Abrams was "some dude" who wrote fucking Felicity before he dived into the nerdy or ever set foot into the ABC think tank of writers that threw together Lost.
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curses...
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actually, by all means, please DO forget that...
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Uh...yes let's do forget that. But that was a comic book adaptation that he steered, not his sole creation.
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The blonde lead is forgettable. Pacey was good at first,then became part of the background scenery. The only character I like is the old scientist. It's trying way to hard to be X-Files. The beginning on the plane will probably get toned down before it makes it to tv.
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Actually, I wanted to see more of him in the pilot. Yet, unbelievably for an 82 minute pilot, he was under-used. (I agree with the criticism here that the pilot should be cut down to a standard one hour episode.) There are hints that Jackson could be good in this, but you can't tell for sure in the pilot. The pilot wastes way too much time setting up backstory for the female lead. (Backstory which could be more appropriately and dramatically revealed across other episodes in the first season.) Hell, I cannot even remember what her character's name is, but I can immediately name Jackson's character and his character's father: Peter and Walter Bishop.Here's my professional advice to the producers: You might be better off skewing this series toward the same female demographic that has made House and Bones successes for FOX, and not try to win the male demographic that managed to (barely) carry Sarah Connor Chronicles to another season. Based on the testing done so far on the Fringe pilot, it isn't winning over many female viewers (they think the female lead is a dumb slut) and male viewers are giving this a take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward the potential series. I say re-focus the series as Jackson's Peter and Walter as the lead -- a father-and-son dynamic, and have the female FBI whatshername play a role similar to the part that David Boreanaz plays to Emily Deschanel on Bones.The early signs are already pointing that the demographic that carries LOST, Heroes or Battlestar (young males) will not be there to carry Fringe.
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I was bummed out after seeing the disappointing Life on Mars and True Blood pilots, so I'm very happy to say that I'm quite interested in what happens next in Fringe. Good cast, great CGI, and lots of intruige and promise.
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i will check this out, at least for Lance Reddick.
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...except the movie..I always fall asleep during it.
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The show was on for 9 seasons.
It was the longest running sci-fi show of all time. It changed TV sci-fi forever. -
if it's half as good as LOST...then it will be worth watching!
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I WANT TO SEE IT
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because not everyone is 13 and jumps for cheap gore, lame secrets and sripping chicks. grow up
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I saw it through my job, as I will assume Herc did so, as well. However, the pilot screener was "leaked" and is being readily bittorrented. (I put "leaked" in quotes, because so-called leaks like this smell of an unsanctioned attempt by the producers to drum up buzz for the show. Sometimes this works -- pilot-leaking certainly helped Sarah Connor, LOST and Heroes, but sometimes it doesn't appear to have any positive effect.) Let me put it this way: The fact that this pilot is readily available on the Internet and legitimately within the industry (to broadcast ad research firms and brokers) already says to me that FOX feels the need to hype this show up early. In comparison, the pilot of 11th Hour is locked down by CBS, and I don't expect FOX to "leak" the Dollhouse pilot anytime soon.
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I don't get the negative comments but that's how it goes.
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most planes do have an "autoland" feature.. there's still a acouple of nobs that a human operator has to adjust, but the system will do everything on its own (they showed one on that 'Mythbusters' episode where they attemt to land the plane while getting instructions from the control tower)
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent_(protocol)
mininova.org
Learn it. Love it. -
But Duchovny was downright unwatchable after the 6th season. The only way he could've been worse, was if he had the script in his hands during filming, and shrugged to the camera after reading each line of dialogue. Saying he phoned-in his performance during his guest-starring episodes in seasons 8 and 9, would be an understatement. I hope he has a better attitude in the next movie.
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I wanted to like this but it's just like every other mediocre show. Why can only a select few individuals write characters that seem like actual people?
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I thought I'd throw some love to Felicity...I looooove me some Keri Russell
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Like other lucky bastards on this thread have done, I've appraised "Fringe" and seen it's full of tasty goodness.
Oh wait...
That was my "Fridge." Ahem...
Sorry. -
“When an international flight lands at Boston's Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths ... "
Not exactly the same thing but Umberto Lenzi's "Nightmare City" has a plane land and blood drinking radiation contaminated zombies leap out and destroy the city and the rest of Spain ... I mean the US (eventually I guess). This was back in 1980. -
it feels like a X-Files retread. Part Threshold, part Alias too. Could be good, could be bad, we'll see after a few episodes.
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...on this show.
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There is very little I agree with you on. First off, I'm not an Abrams fan, I pretty much despise everything else this guy has ever done. I was willing to give this thing a shot. In a nutshell: it's yet another X-Files wannabe, with less than convincing plot (surrrrre, the lab is still functional after all these years), less than convincing emoting between characters and wooden acting, just to mention a few of its flaws.
I sat through an hour and 20 min of it just to go "meh" when it was all over. Nothing to write home about, and if audiences are a tad more intelligent than I usually give them credit for, they'll tune out within a couple of weeks. -
...is season seven. Its awful. Season eight is great, The stand alone episodes are up there with the best but they all get lumped in together as the last three seasons,when really only season seven was poor. Really poor. Really really really poor.
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It's inappropriate logic to say that since Herc likes a show, it will be cancelled. Problem is that in his good taste, Herc often allows himself to watch more obscure shows than most do, and therefore ends up finding great stuff that the networks don't allow to keep going because the ignorant masses don't give them a shot. What would be a more relevant criticism of the dude is to say "What great shows are out there that Herc *hates*?". Not many. Though I still say Terminator:TSCC is total garbage and not worthy of a single talkback. Leave a Terminator offline but alive right next to a giant hydraulic door indeed.
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...the Fringe pilot was massively entertaining, if only for the backside of the Q.
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For me at least. My fav shows are shows like Lost, the Wire, BSG...and I agree with Herc that Alias was one of the best pilots in recent years. But Fringe doesn't seem to be setting up a big story as much as it is setting up a contrived jumping off point for a fringe-of-the-week story (yes, with a Big Bad in there...but it doesn't seem like that's where the main focus is). There are a lot of contrivances...such as why the FBI is going to let her team up with this father and son...and why nobody at Harvard cleared out this guy's lab in 17 years (wtf?!?!?!). The more interesting aspects of the plot -- such as Lance Reddick as a possible bad guy ("why did he send you there?") or even more on the threat of the main bad guy of the ep -- is jettisoned in favor of long drawn out intros and exposition. Your boyfriend is turning to jelly. Show some fucking initiative and outrage when Blair Brown stonewalls you. You're an FBI agent, "sweetheart". Grow a pair.
Overall, it was interesting but it needs to step it up and have a game changer or big reveal in the first few episodes or else it will just turn into a sci-fi of the week show. Which has been done. -
X files was great till about season 5. Seriously though, someone put SUPERNATURAL in the same category as Lost, X files and Twin Peaks ?? Supernatural is a show for tweenage girls. It barely has a story arc (and what it does have is dull) and the whole discovery of whatever supernatural baddie force is about is ridiculous- they just go on the internet and go 'Oh.. it's a succubuss' or 'Ohhh it's a soul sucker'or whatever. In supernatural land female victims of the supernatural are HOT. Demons are HOT. Every female is HOT. Christ, no one looks real on that show!
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Seen it and its good...little different than the X-Files..
A lot of new shows this fall season has hit the internet already..."True Blood" on HBO this Sept. I think SUCKS... -
A bit meh to be honest. But more Sci-fi shows is a good thing, perhaps they can make it good. Heres hoping.
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If you didn't wax so enthusiastically about the female lead being stripped. Anyway, I won't beat it with the X-Files stick, tempting though doing such a thing is. I will say though that I'm not going to sit through the pilot. It sounds like it's a big wad of exposition. I'll see the second episode; if they continue to jerk off about their mythology, I can safely not tune in again.
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When Abrams was making MI:III, an interviewer asked him about LOST (on which he is exec. producer), and he referred to the team at LOST as "those guys over there" (paraphrased), which pretty much indicated to me that he has little to do with the day-to-day or even the ongoing story on the show.
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Ha! The “Fringe” pilot strips its hot blonde FBI girl down to her underwear just before it sticks a cold metal rod in her brain and drops her in a tank full of saltwater. So yes. The pilot also suggests the “Fringe” series will offer more interesting characters and a more persuasive and coherent mythology than did Fox’s earlier sci-fi FBI series. The production values, stunts and special effects are eye-popping and even its superimpositions (showy, floaty text that tells us whether we’re in Boston or Baghdad) are supercool.
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It's just OK. This show is going to have a really hard time coming up with original freak of the week/weird science ideas in the wake of X-Files, Buffy, Star Trek, Eureka et al. They've taken all of the low hanging fruit.
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Lost was an amazing show, I'll bet it turns out to be one of the all time greats. Alias had tons of great stuff in it, but there's no question they didn't have enough planned out, and they made some big mistakes that hampered the show long term. With LOST, it's obvious that things were learned from Alias's mistakes. Lost still has some problems, but the show is amazingly coherent and solid, compared with Alias and frankly compared with just about anything that ambitious and involved. Fringe is the next generation, they can learn from the mistakes made by Lost. And for the record, while JJA didn't "create" the show, he took someone else's idea that was pretty vanilla, and along with Lindelof and some other guys, added all the cool stuff that made it so unique (and successful). Sure, it's a pretty obvious descendant of X Files, but I'm OK with that, it can probably improve on that show. JJA has had some turkeys like What About Brian, but with Alias, Lost, Cloverfield, and even MI3 and Felicity under his belt, I'm willing to give the guy a chance. Seriously, it's not like AICN is fawning over some hack, this is a guy with some serious quality material on his resume.
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Jun 23, 2008 5:48:06 PM CDT
"It became pretty difficult to remember when Lost was on."
by minderbinder
Is your attention span really that bad? The first three seasons, it was in the same timeslot all season. The fourth, it had two different nights/seasons. Is that really so hard to figure out? And to NukeMyFridge "just some dude" comment is about BEFORE Carter started the X files - and that's exactly what he was at that point.
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Was the vibe I got from the pilot. It hooked me enough to want to see more, but my only concern is can they keep it fresh.
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Seen it all before really - didn't leave me bursting for more... and for best Pilot to make you go 'Holy Fuck' the award goes to The Shield !
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Acting from the blonde was shite. The story was average @ best & so full of stupid plot holes, twists you could see from a mile off... You spend an hour with her annoying character trying to save her lover (that we as viewers dont give a shit about as there has been fuck all set up)for her to then go & effectively kill him in a car chase?? WTF? More to the point: Who cares!! It just didnt work at all. However the premise has potential, you just gotta get some better writers on to it & adjust some of the cast...
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