Review - Fringe

Well, having seen the pilot episode twice and tonight's episode, I have to say I'm looking forward to the rest of the season of FOX's new show Fringe. If you haven't had a chance to check it out I highly recommend it. The premise is this: FBI special agent Olivia Dunham becomes involved in an investigation into a flight which lands (through the aid of advanced autopilot) safely at an airport but with no signs of life on board and with complete radio science. The resulting investigation reveals that some synthetic airborne toxin had been introduced to the flight which, for all intents and purposes, melts the flesh off of all the passengers. An explosion at a storage facility she is sent to investigate seriously injures Dunham's partner John Scott, who is exposed to the toxin's ingredients. Scott is barely alive and in a coma, and his flesh is becoming increasingly transparent. This leads Dunham to research the effects of the toxin and leads her to Dr. Walter Bishop. Bishop was doing top secret research at Harvard for the DOD, but now resides in a mental institution after on of his experimental assistants was killed in the lab. Dunham wants to speak with Bishop, but cannot speak with him unless she is accompanied by a family member, of which Dr. Bishop has only one. She seeks out his son Peter Bishop and convinces him to help. Together they eventually find a cure for agent Scott, but unfortunately this is simply the beginning of a twisted plot. The lead investigator for the terrorist attack on the airliner is Homeland Security Agent Phillip Broyles, and he taps agent Dunham to join his task force researching "The Pattern", a series of unimaginable events not unlike the airliner attack that all seem connected. Dunham recruits Dr. Bishop and his son and accepts the position, and this is how the show takes off. Agent Scott recovers after some truly neat research involving shared dream states and LSD and sensory deprivation chambers. The brother of the man responsible for the airliner attack is captured. And all seems well until Dunham discovers the truth. I'll just say check out the pilot episode here if you have a couple of hours to spend.

I enjoyed the series a great deal. It felt well written and paced, with outstanding effects on par with it's 10 million dollar budget, a record for a pilot. At times Peter Bishop, played by Joshua Jackson, seemed a little too redundant with his sarcasm, but his character brings brains as well which helps to level him out. The rest of the cast is outstanding, especially Anna Torv as agent Dunham. Of special note is the performance of Blair Brown, who plays Nina Sharp, one of the higher ups at Massive Dynamic, the giant conglomerate which seems way to connected to "The Pattern" to fully trust. Agent Broyles, played by Lance Reddick, is spot on as well.

Excellent storytelling, excellent effects, and excellent twists make this one a winner in my book. While not without a few cliched shortcomings, for a pilot this show is incredibly polished and well deserving of a good look by anyone who enjoys good sci-fi or good mystery.

"Five alien heads out of five"