TV: Fringe

"How come when nobody knows and it doesn't make sense, they come to us?"

The FBI has a special division that investigates the weird cases that involve fringe science, known as the Fringe Division.  Agent Olivia Dunham (Torv) stumbles onto the Fringe Division while investigating a case.  To solve the case she brings along con artist Peter Bishop (Jackson) and his crazy scientist father Dr. Walter Bishop (Noble).  Walter was a brilliant scientist, specializing in fringe science, before a disaster led to his institutionalization decades before.  They are aided by Olivia's assistant, Agent Astrid Farnsworth (Nicole).

They work well together, and the head of Fringe division, Colonel Phillip Broyles (Reddick), makes them permanent members of the team, along with Olivia's partner Agent Charlie Francis (Acevedo).  Their investigations regularly lead them to Massive Dynamics, a large science and technology company, and it's mysterious Director Nina Sharp (Brown).  Can their combined resources and expertise keep the world safe?


When Fringe was first announced, it was seen as an X-Files clone, but it emerged as something different.  It was a science fiction series routed in crazy theories and fringe science, but it was also about the core team and their relationships.  The show also introduced mythologies that matured over the seasons.

The series was created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.  They worked together on the series Alias, where Abrams was the creator and Kurtzman and Orci were writers.  Abrams also was a creator of Lost and Kurtman and Orci were writers and producers of Jack of All Trades.  They envisioned a show that would take the weird elements from The X-Files and The Twilight Zone and present them in a procedural format.  They wanted to reward long-term viewers, but also make the series accessible for new viewers to jump in and understand.  For example, every episode featured an appearance by an Observer.  Sometimes they were a focal point, and sometimes they just pop up in the background for a moment.  It is something for the long-time fans to look for, and something that doesn't alienate new viewers.

One of the things I love about this show, is that you don't know what will happen next.  Each reset what the audiences knows about the world of the show: alternate universes, altered timelines, time jumps, etc.  It continually worked, because the characters were the same ones you loved from the beginning.  Some things were different, but they were still a make-shift family, solving weird crimes.  Each season they also featured a "strange" episode, that was tonally different from the rest of the season and just went ran with a crazy concept or format.  This gave them the opportunity to do a musical episode, while still staying true to the show as a whole... and an episode that included an extended animation sequence.

The cast is phenomenal.  They dive into every scenario and bring something new to the characters.  That was especially important when the alternate universe was introduced and most of the cast had to play 2 versions of their character, you can see the similarities and still appreciate the subtle differences.  Anna Torv is the main focus and grounds the show.  Joshua Jackson is the charming heart of the show.  While John Noble steals your heart and does incredible work as Walter.  The chemistry between Torv, Jackson, and Nobel is compelling and draws you in.  And that extends to the rest of the cast as well.  Jasika Nicole is great as Astrid and you come to appreciate the many facets of Lance Reddick and Blair Brown.  Every character is needed and brings something unique to the table.

It is a fascinating series that I can't wait to rewatch.  Every season has great episodes and a few duds here and there, but overall, the show is consistently weird and entertaining.

Fringe (2008-2013)
Creator: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
Starring: Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham
Joshua Jackson as Peter Bishop
Jasika Nicole as Astrid Farnsworth
John Noble as Dr. Walter Bishop
Lance Reddick as Phillip Broyles
Blair Brown as Nina Sharp
Michael Cerveris as The Observer/September
Kirk Acevedo as Charlie Francis
Seth Gabel as Lincoln Lee