FRINGE (TV SERIES) - DVD review

"Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder...."

As a preface to this review, I should warn the reader that I have not been a big fan of commercial television since I was a kid the Fifties. At best, my wife and I have watched a handful of shows over the past thirty years, usually in reruns, and we spend most of our regular TV time with documentaries, the Science and History Channels, PBS, occasional British mysteries, that kind of thing, with NFL football and various boxing matches added for me alone. So it was something of a surprise to find myself caught up in the first season, 2008-2009, of the sci-fi/fantasy series "Fringe."

Why did I even start to watch "Fringe"? My wife and I both enjoy sci-fi/fantasy, and we had a guest over for dinner who mentioned the program was airing its two-hour pilot program that evening. Were we interested in watching it? Sure, we'd take a chance, especially as Fox was broadcasting the series in high definition. (Although this review covers only the standard-definition DVD set, WB are making it available in Blu-ray as well). Anyhow, we all found the first episode interesting but nothing to write home about.

The next week, my wife and I gave the show another chance, and the week after, and the week after that. It grew on us, the characters becoming ever more individual and charismatic as time passed until the show became the weekly habit its filmmakers had hoped it would be. As an aside, I have to admit that this was the same year I became caught up in "24," its cliff-hangers bringing me back each week. So, two nights of regular commercial programs, plus the odd "House" and "Lie to Me" rather changed the way I had been watching television for the past fifty-odd years. I am not displeased; one could do worse than any of these shows, especially "Fringe."

So, what's it about? As the name implies, "Fringe" is about the fictional exploration of weird science. The cover blurb mentions "teleportation, mind control, invisibility, astral projection, mutation, reanimation, phenomena that exist on the fringe of science." And taking a page from "The X-Files," the program explains that the government has set up a special branch of the FBI to investigate the curious practices of certain scientists, certain organizations, certain companies, and even its own country over the years. One of the program's creators is J.J. Abrams, who made his reputation on the "Lost" and "Alias" TV series, and more recently on the "Star Trek" motion picture. He's on a winning streak.

"Fringe" is more than the run-of-the-mill fare you usually find on broadcast television, combining drama, insight, creativity, and humor in equal measure. More important than the actual plots of the shows, however, are the cast and characters who carry out these far-fetched tales and make them halfway believable. There may not be much character development involved, but, their basic personalities grow on you. The first person of importance is a thirty-year-old female FBI agent named Olivia Dunham, played by relative newcomer Anna Torv (although, to be fair, she's been around in various small television and movie roles for most of the decade. This is her first big break). She is terrific: smart, clever, tough, vulnerable, spirited, and beautiful. She's partnered with two non agents, a man about her same age, the brilliant Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), and his even more-brilliant father, the scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble). The thing about the two men is that the son has a possibly criminal, certainly mysterious, past, and the father has been institutionalized for the last seventeen years before resuming his research from his old laboratory at Harvard University. Like Ms. Torv, Jackson and Noble are excellent in their roles, especially the father, who, let us say, has a hard time adjusting to life outside a mental hospital.

Why a beautiful woman agent as the star of the show? Why not? It's part of the approach that worked so successfully for "The X-Files." Why the two men? Well, you've got to have the younger guy as a partner and possible romantic interest for the young woman, and giving him a shady background makes him just a little roguish. Moreover, the story lines need him to take care of his father. Although the son and father haven't gotten along in years, the son understands his responsibilities, and the father tends to wander overmuch.

More to the point, why the father, the goofy Dr. Bishop? Well, it seems that Walter had been intimately connected with our own government's involvement in fringe science years before, mainly with the Defense Department, the unconventional experiments he conducted finally driving him over the edge into mental collapse and a conviction for manslaughter. Now, the government needs to draw upon Walter's expertise to examine the various bizarre circumstances that crop up in the installments each week. When you see John Noble for the first time as Walter Bishop, you'll probably say, I know that guy. At least, that's the way I felt, yet I couldn't quite place him. Turns out, he's been a character actor for the last twenty years in dozens of television shows and movies, including "The Lord of the Rings." For my money, despite Ms. Torv's captivating charmer and Jackson's enterprising rogue, it's Noble who carries the show. He and his character are brilliant, funny, witty, and observant, and the actor manages to steal every scene he's in.

Then there's the show's supporting cast, who also distinguish themselves. Lance Reddick plays Agent Phillip Broyles, the man in charge of the FBI's special unit in the Dept. of Homeland Security. He's a tall, slim, gaunt, grim-looking fellow, the kind of guy you're glad is on your side. Kirk Acevedo plays Agent Charlie Francis, one of Olivia Dunham's colleagues, a happily married man with a determined loyalty to the department. Blair Brown plays Nina Sharp, the second in command of Massive Dynamic, a powerful corporation that may have more influence on global affairs than the U.S. government itself. Jasika Nicole plays Astrid Farnsworth, another of Dunham's colleagues, this one a beautiful young FBI Junior Agent assigned to assist and look after the often-distracted Dr. Bishop. And Mark Valley plays John Scott, a handsome, rugged young man who is Olivia's first love interest, but who winds up mostly in her waking dreams. Or are they just dreams? I should also mention Michael Cerveris as the inscrutable "Observer," Ari Graynor as Olivia's sister, and a host of others. But I'd like to conclude the list of supporting players with a character who shows up only in the final moments of the final episode of the season, a player who surely made any fan of the program gasp and say, What the heck? You can't say the series didn't go out with a bang.

The first season of "Fringe" comprises twenty episodes, spread over seven DVDs, with most of the episodes about forty-eight minutes long. The exception is the first, "Pilot" episode, which lasts about twice as long as the others. Here's a complete list:

1. "Pilot": A plane incident leaves nothing but skeletons.
2. "The Same Old Story": A lady gives birth to a baby that dies of old age half an hour later.
3. "The Ghost Network": A guy foresees a bus crash and much more.
4. "The Arrival": An explosion destroys everything at a construction site except a metal cylinder.
5. "Power Hungry": A delivery man becomes an electrical power grid.
6. "The Cure": Diner patrons have their brains boiled in their skulls.
7. "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones": Olivia confronts the creator of a giant parasite.
8. "The Equation": Walter may never return from one of his investigations.
9. "The Dreamscape": Brief encounters lead to bizarre results.
10: "Safe": A bank robber is left at the scene of the crime with his hand embedded in the wall.
11. "Bound": Parasitic slugs kill their human hosts.
12. "The No-Brainer": A form of computer virus liquefies human brains.
13. "The Transformation": Victims of an airplane crash include a creature with a glass disc in his hand.
14. "Ability": A normal man turns into a faceless corpse.
15. "Inner Child": A feral boy has an intuitive connection to a serial killer.
16. "Unleashed": Bio-terrorists unwittingly release a freak beast.
17. "Bad Dreams": Is there a larger "Pattern" at work in the world? What is "The Pattern"?
18. "Midnight": A killer has a taste for spinal fluid. Is he part of a bigger picture? "The Pattern"?
19. "The Road Not Taken": Spontaneous human combustion? More of the bigger plot?
20. "There's More Than One of Everything": Walter tries to plug a hole in the universe.

Everyone will have his or her own favorite episodes, naturally. For me, the final installment was the most satisfying because it cleared up a few mysteries while introducing others. Besides, I love the idea of alternate realities, other dimensions, and this one gives us the goods.

You can tell by the brief plot synopses that there is more than meets the eye to these episodes, with many of them interconnected in a single, larger story, a "Pattern," and the possibility of a bigger, enigmatic, and malign organization behind many of the show's strange events. Sure, "Fringe" borrows elements from "The X-Files" and "The Matrix," but that's OK. Every idea finds its origin somewhere else. Besides, isn't there always a bigger, enigmatic, malign organization behind most of the world's events?

Warning note: You can be sure that in every episode there will be at least one moment of blood or gore when you'll have to turn your head away and go, "Ugh." And you never really know what wacky or inappropriate thing Walter will say next. The series is not for the faint of heart or for younger children.

Video:
Warner engineers present the series in its original television broadcast ratio, 1.78:1, anamorphic. The image is a little soft, even upscaled, and a little flat, but it is very clean and displays fine, richly saturated colors and brilliant contrasts. Faces sometimes come off looking a little too dark, but that's not unusual. Still, a bit more depth and texture would have been nice.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is slightly bright and forward in the midrange, with a somewhat restricted treble, and a punchy mid bass. The surrounds often convey a convincingly real array of peripheral noises, although music comes across with almost too much rear and side-channel bloom. Dialogue, as we might expect, is pretty much anchored out in the center speaker.

Extras:
There is a goodly number of extras on the set's seven discs, but they are spread out so you'll have to hunt them down; fortunately, the booklet insert shows where everything is located. For instance, there are three full-length audio commentaries from the writers and producers, including J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtman, J.R. Orci, David Goodman, Bryan Burk, Akiva Goldsman, and Jeff Pinkner, which you'll find on the "Pilot" episode, "The Ghost Network," and "Bad Dreams." Then there are various featurettes and other brief bits assigned to each episode; these items include "Evolution: The Genesis of Fringe," "Behind the Real Science of Fringe," "The Massive Undertaking: The Making of Fringe," "The Casting of Fringe," "Fringe Visual Effects," "Dissected Files" (unaired scenes), "Unusual Side Effects" (gag reel), "Deciphering the Scene," a production diary from writer-producer Roberto Orci, and a "Gene the Cow" montage.

Additionally, there are twenty episode selections (two and three per disc); English as the only spoken language (my copy listed English and Portuguese on the box, with a sticker that said "No Portuguese Audio"); French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired. The seven discs come housed in a large plastic keep case with three double-sided interior leaves and the aforementioned booklet insert. A cardboard slipcover box with a 3-D holographic picture on the front completes the package.

Parting Thoughts:
As a tribute to the popularity of "Fringe" (or maybe, just possibly, as a complete coincidence), following the first season of "Fringe" the Syfy Channel debuted a science-fiction/fantasy series of its own called "Warehouse 13," featuring a pair of Secret Service agents--one a beautiful young woman and the other a handsome young man--with their boss an eccentric older fellow. As I say, maybe coincidence, but a compliment, nonetheless, to the formula that works so well in "Fringe." Of the two programs, while I enjoy the humor and creativity of "Warehouse 13," it is "Fringe" that is the more mature, more original, more dramatic, and more thought-provoking program. It's a pleasure to watch television evolve in new directions and not simply wallow in the vast wasteland of sitcoms, crime dramas, and reality shows. "Fringe" is fun and inventive and worth a shot.