Fringe Wants To Be The New X-Files
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
Fringe consists of a decent mix of elements inspired by some of the better shows and movies of the past few decades and it’s obviously trying to fill the niche that the X-Files once occupied. Filling that void is fine by me, but it’s going to be pretty difficult if they’re only recycling material from other sources. That said, the reference to the research of John Lilly through the very Altered States-influenced isolation tank sequence in the pilot episode didn’t even feel like much of a rip-off. Maybe that’s because it was an excellent reason to have the sexy girl strip down to her underwear. And I guess the plot twist at the end was necessary to create the proper set of responses in the main character, but it seemed a little forced.
Speaking of the main character, Anna Torv possesses characteristics from a few other actresses, but also has a unique quality of her own that I thought would be enough to keep me watching, but now that I’ve seen a few episodes I’m a bit skeptical about the series as a whole. Fox apparently disagrees because they’ve just ordered an additional nine episodes of Fringe, making it the second new Fall show to be picked up for an entire season. (90210 was the first.) The offerings so far haven’t been impressive enough to warrant additional episodes, but maybe as we discern more of the characteristics of “the pattern” the story will get better. So far the pattern appears to be a crazy ex-mental patient that fluctuates between states of complete forgetfulness and unjustified anger, unbelievable coincidences linking the current paranormal events to his past research, and moments that completely destroy the suspension of disbelief. I haven’t given up on the series yet, but, then again, I haven’t really checked out the competition…I’ve only seen one episode of the Mentalist and Eleventh Hour doesn’t start until October 9th.
