1.03 The Ghost Network Review - The Good & The Bad
We asked for WOW factor, and we got it. As usual, here’s our short and sweet review, split into the ‘good’ and the ’bad’ aspects from episode 3 - The Ghost Network:
THE GOOD
1) The opening sequence was brilliant, not only did it set the stage perfectly, but it had us on the edge of our seats. I’ll be honest, some of the trailers made this episode look slightly bland, but the opening 4 or so minutes blew those misconceptions away. The bus sequence was truly terrifying, yet slick and engrossing.
2) The pacing was much MUCH better in this episode. The interchange between scenes and locations wasn’t jarring like in previous weeks, and I only looked at the clock because I desperately hoped there was a lot more of the episode remaining!
3) As I looked back at last weeks episode, it was even more apparent that Walter was flirting with becoming a caricature of himself. This week he was far more believable, even funnier and more contained. I appreciate the clever device of ‘music helping Walter to think’ - this could allow the character to evolve in a believable fashion now that his institution days are behind him.
4) Mythology and fan interaction certainly hasn’t been sacrificed for accessibility. We love this stuff, as long as it adds to the story or provides greater depth to the characters/mythology/experience. So many seeds were planted in this episode, and this is why we watch.
5) Peter and Olivia. All I can say is thank you, writers, for not forcing their inevitable attraction on to us. There were a couple of occasions when they really could have hammed it up (i.e. the piano scene), instead they handled it well. Olivia is still far too raw from the ‘death’ of John Scott to be interested in Peter right now, and Peter, despite his ‘obvious charm’ isn’t a disrespectful jerk. This is good, it’s believable and it’s being handled with care. Good things come to those who wait, make us wait a lot longer before we see Peter and Olivia in a squeaky bed scene.
6) Another excellent foray into Fringe science. The concept of a ‘ghost network’ communication system, is facinating and believeavle. Also, it was depicted in such a brilliant manner without dumbing down like some other shows would.
7) Excellent comic relief and superb timing! The ‘not even remotely polysci’interruption scene had us in giggles (even though we had seen it in the trailer), Walter had us in fits with his self medicating and cantankerous yet child-like nature. We even got a smile from Broyles! Break out the camera, we got a smile from Broyles!! In all seriousness, the interaction between the characters was, for the most part, very enjoyable. Our little darlings are evolving before our very eyes.
7) Some of the music in this episode was beautiful and on point. Keep it up Giacchino!
8 ) N,N,N,NINA! We love her, we love her hair, we love her grin, she’s simply brilliant! Can we keep her?
9) The scene between Phillip Broyles and Nina Sharp. LOVED IT - the way it was acted, what was said, what wasn’t said, everything!
10) The end scene. I’m really digging these little glimpses into the underbelly of Massive Dynamic, they really add an extra 5% onto each episode and give us more to chew on over the next 7 days.
THE BAD
1) Not enough Charlie Francis. If this is for plot reasons then we forgive them, but the character is brilliant, give us more of him and his voice. Slightly worried about Astrid, she seems relatively pointless, offering random insight almost for the sake of justifying her reason for being in a scene. There must be a better way, there has to be! She’s cute though, so we’ll let it slide for a couple more weeks.
2) This is not a criticism, it’s just a concern which they need to address - put Olivia, Peter and Walter in danger. If the “pattern” is as dangerous and out of control as we’d like to believe it is, and three ’pattern events’ have happened in Olivia’s backyard in the past couple of weeks, then we really need some peril and life threatening danger for our Fringies. If they’re holding it back for a reason, then fair enough, but if there’s no reason for us to worry for their lives then there’s less reason to become invested. At least sacrifice Jean the cow or something!? Death doesn’t have to be on the cards just yet, but induce some peril. Even John Scott is still alive..kinda (that said, I do love where they could go with this story-line).
3) Those location titles have to be looked at. As we mentioned last week, some are outstanding, whilst others are awful. In years to come, people watching the season 1 DVD box-set will be appalled by how dated some of the titles will look. Can’t we get Massive Dynamic to develop new ones or something?
4) I know I said that our darlings are evolving, and they are. But they still need some fleshing out, some back-story y’know. However, it was good to hear mention of Peter’s mom and see John Scott’s family in this episode. I also appreciate that it’s early days, so this isn’t a criticism, just something to think about by the time we reach mid-season.
5) A minor quibble, but I don’t really like Walter’s lab - it looks too much like a set. Compare and contrast to the wonderful job they do with any indoor Massive Dynamic scene. I don’t think it’s because Massive Dynamic is modern, whilst Walter’s lab is ancient. His lab just doesn’t do it for me.
There are other negatives, but many of them are small things not worth mentioning until we see a pattern developing (heh). On the whole we score this episode a strong 8.5/10. Still waiting to be totally blown away, but episode 3 was the hook and we are the fish.
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Your #6 under “The Bad” has been my biggest concern since viewing the un-aired pilot back in June (or whenever). Where is the danger? It’s AWOL. As I mentioned on another blog (or 2) last night, I used to be afraid to leave the room during “Alias” for fear of what might happen to Syd or Vaughn or Jack during my absence. I have NO such fear for the safety of the “Fringe” team. I could go on holidays for a month and have no worries for Olivia’s safety.
Now, if Olivia was a friend of mine, I would take great comfort in this, but “Fringe” is billed as a sci-fi THRILLLLLLER! A THRILLER, no less, but where the heck are the thrills? My adrenaline is primed and ready but has yet to rush after 3 episodes. This, to me, is a KEY ingredient missing in the first 3 eppies and, as I see it, this HAS to be addressed for the long term success of “Fringe”. What would “Alias” or “Lost” be without these sweaty palms moments? Hell, they shot Ben’s daughter Alex in cold blood. How’s that for danger?? On this week’s “Fringe” they didn’t even have the current owners of the Bishops old house come home while Peter and Olivia were rummaging through it.
C’mon JJ, thrill me, “Fringe” is not supposed to be a documentary.
That’s a really good way to describe it! Fringe needs more ‘afraid to leave the room danger’! It’s too easy to go make a cup of tea or grab another bottle of beer without fear of anything overtly bad happening to our trio, especially the first two episodes - this latest one had me glued for other reasons. We need some more unpredictability, not just with the science, but with the implications for our team and their safety, as you mentioned. LOL re: going on a holiday for a month and not having any worries for Olivia’s safety! It’s currently true however.
I agree, more sweaty palm moments are needed - I was watching Prison Break this week, and I noticed that even they have incorporated the old panic inducing ‘countdown’ trick back into the show. It’s predictable but works a treat. I’m not saying that Fringe needs to use such an obvious device in it’s episodes, but we need to see more FEAR and greater TERROR. It’s “the pattern” for goodness sake, imagine if this thing were real - imagine if someone was using nature to experiment and inflict their will on human-kind - we’d all be scared out of our wits, lol! Great point about Ben losing his daughter - now that was a scene and a half, I will NEVER EVER forget that moment, from the chilling music, to the way Alex’s lifelfess body slumped to the ground, to the way Ben sat motionless for seconds on end, stunned by the brutal loss of his only child. In that instant, even his doubters mourned his loss, we all felt his vengeance as he unleashed his pet smoke monster on Keamy’s team before planting a tender goodbye kiss on Alex’s forhead. Granted, LOST has it’s fans invested over the course of four (soon to be five) seasons, but it’s ‘earned’ it through dramatic, poetic and riviting story-telling and acting (with a dose of humour in their also). I truely believe FRINGE has the potential to reach such heights, but like you point out, they need to tweak the tension notch up a touch.
Good point about the ‘Bishop’s old house’ scene - apart from telling us that Peter’s mom existed at one time, it served little purpose. They could have wrangled a flutter out my heart, had the owners come home, or if they had a pet dog (or something - anything) that put the frighteners up our two intruders.
However, I will say that I am enjoying FRINGE, it’s got to the stage now where I truely care about the show and don’t want it to shoot itself in the foot by not addressing the obvious.
Good to hear your thoughts!