J.J. Abram’s Fringe
by Ben Helms
Comic-Con 2008 opened up with a screening of one of the most anticipated shows in years, J.J. Abrams’ Fringe. Best known for such hits as Alias, Lost, and the recent blockbuster thriller, Cloverfield, Abrams brings us a sci-fi drama series that combines the thrill and suspense of his previous work, with a sort of next-gen X-Files (or at least his own critique on what the X-Files should have been).
J.J. Abrams in “Big Brother” mode at Comic-Con 2008
The two-part preview episode featured everything from monster and zombie-like makeup effects to telepathy, E.S.P., invisibility, and the waking dead. While this might be a little more supernatural than previous J. J. Abrams efforts, rest assured, his stamp and identity can be found throughout the episode. He even pays homage to himself on several occasions by alluding to earlier projects (plane crashes, monsters, etc.).
The acting by a majority of the cast left a lot to be desired, but in the first twenty minutes there are still plenty of positives to keep it afloat. Star Anna Torv is superb throughout and, luckily for the audience, she’s in just about every scene. Unfortunately, Joshua Jackson arrives about 20 minutes in. If his awkward, out of place, “Sweetheart,” “Honey,” “Darling” film-noire-esque nicknames towards Torv aren’t enough to get you chuckling at the poorly feigned “realism” factor, then their efforts to scientifically talk to dead bodies will. It’s only a matter of time before even the most gullible of viewers begins questioning the plot line, the acting, and even J.J. himself.
As always with Abrams, there are deeper, extra-curricular (ARG) activities to all of his characters and plot twists (most of which, like Lost and Cloverfield, can be found online already). Each cut to commercial featured a different sort of clue for the audience to piece together with the show’s self-claimed “pattern” (all of which was already far over the audience’s head, just as Abrams usually likes it).
It is important to remember this is only the pilot. That may sound like a half-assed rationalization for a poor show’s even poorer start, but keep in mind that many great shows had mediocre beginnings. It might just take some time for the directors, writers, and actors to fully lock down the show’s potential.
The 84-minute pilot of Fringe didn’t live up to the hype of “The Next Great J.J. Abrams Project.” But what can? The pilot showed hints of greatness, but in the end it definitely came up short. But hey, who knows? Maybe the show will get unfathomably better. There’s more than enough time to fix-up the next few episodes and improve on the shortcomings of the pilot. Until then, we’ll just have to hope that the lesser “J.J.” — Joshua Jackson — will have a less intrusive role in future episodes (i.e. getting killed off).
You know, for the sake of the show and all.
