The Nielsen ratings for Fringe 4.02 “One Night In October” are in. How did the episode perform?
Fringe dropped 20% in the demo from last week’s premiere with a 1.2 adults 18-49 (3.1 million viewers), equalling a series low.
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Season So Far:
4.02 — 3.1 million | 1.2 adults 18-49
4.01 — 3.5 million | 1.5 adults 18-49
Fringe Seasons 1-4 On Netflix
Science Channel Confirms Fringe Hasn't Been Cancelled
Olivia-esque Powers Showcased In New 'Believe' Trailer
Fringe Features In Best Serialized TV Episodes 2012/13 Article
Fringe 'The Zodiac Paradox' - Book Giveaway
{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }
Worrying.
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Gah… Do we actually have the guarantee of a full season 4?
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I’ve never expected a season 5. As long as they wrap up the story nicely, it will be just fine, in my opinion. I Have said in another blog that I don’t want this series to end up like the X-files. It went on for 9 seasons when it should have ended in season 6.
Probably by now the producers are aware of this “fate”, so they will redesign the episodes and give us a good end. At least I think they will have time enough to do it.
Still, I feel sad…
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I really hope that will be the case, but I think even with a full season order, Fox can pull it anytime they want too.
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i think that the least the showrunners can do for us fans is give us closure. i would love a 5th season, even if it were a 13-episode season, but i don’t think that’s going to happen, sadly. so whether this is the last season or we get another one, they should really have it planned ahead so that we aren’t left with a massive cliffhanger!! all i ask for is a proper end!!
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I’m going to wait for the DVR numbers first, but this drop is way to scary so early in the season. Here’s hoping that some “fans” will return when Peter returns.
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You know the ratings would be just as low if it was Walter or Olivia gone.
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yeah , keep telling yourself that
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I never thought Joshua Jackson was all that essential to Fringe…
Now I do.
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You mean .. from 3.5 M to 3.1 M .. which mean 4 hundreds thousands Fans just waiting for PB ?
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this isn’t because of peter! every show loses viewers each year… i refuse to believe that people would stop watching the show just because one character is going to be absent for a few episodes. the story still revolves around him these days, it’s not like he left the show for good!
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Man, ratings are so annoying. I usually can’t watch live on Friday nights (too much to do in college), don’t own a DVR, and if I want to watch it on Hulu, I have to wait at least a week. I love this show and want it to succeed, but Friday night just doesn’t work for me.
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the episodes are too much anna torv.
bring back joshua jackson and the ratings will raise again
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Too much Anna Torv for my taste too. It’s starting to feel like Nikita.
The lack of Peter should have been taken in consideration, istead, they made matters worse by giving us less Walter.
The double scenes are awful.
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Oh, you are is wrong.
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* so wrong *
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about what? My taste?
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No. Wrong scenario.
Think outside the box. Give the showrunners some credit.
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Agree with you. They have done an excellent job telling THEIR story. They have my complete trust.
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Less Walter is a bad thing?????
I thought this was a very entertaining episode, albeit a little heavy on the standalone. But I certainly didn’t feel it was held back by the relative absence of the Boys of Bishop. Less is more, right?
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Nonsense.
The Day We Died scored an equally ridiculous 1.2-rating.
With Peter.
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We”re talking about season premieres. It’s how a season is judged if you ask me.
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This wasn’t the season premiere. It was the second episode, and the general trend for pretty much any show, any night, is that the ratings drop after the premiere. If you look at the other ratings for Friday night, all shows had a decline in ratings from the previous week. The same could be said for most all shows this past week. It’s to be expected. A decline isn’t considered as awful when every other show that night has seen a decrease in ratings. Now if every other show saw their ratings increase while Fringe decreased, that’s a much greater cause for concern.
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4 hundreds thousands Fans just waiting for PB ?
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Prediction: Fox will cancel Fringe by end of Oct, air rest of episodes through Dec. Allow Fringe to wrap up series by filming 4 episode concluding arc to air in Feb/Mar 2012 timeframe. Season 4 will air a total of 12 episodes.
RIP Fringe, such a great show and great concept. Kudos to Fox for sticking with it for as long as they did but shame on them for not airing the show on a more popular night of the week (i.e. Tue/Wed). Also too many breaks during each season killed the show (World Series, Thanksgiving, Christmas, mid-spring break). It’s never been able to get a good flow with potential new fans.
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what are you TalKInG about??
Fringe was renewed for a full 22 episode season.
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That’s quite a prediction. A bit presumptuous at this point, though. If Fringe were in its first or second season, I’d say there was a greater chance of your prediction happening, but being a more established show in the fourth season, they’re less likely to pull it suddenly like that. And there are other factors to consider, as well. My prediction is that Fringe will continue to run throughout the full course of the season and, if the ratings don’t go below a 1.0, there’s still a pretty good chance it will come back for at least a partial season 5.
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Last season was already brain-intensive – and also exciting – to follow the concepts and ideas presented by the first 2 Universes similarities and differences and their cross-interferences. With this whole new story line, it became tougher on our brains. (I’m not complaining, you see, just seeing it so) It requires more attention and breadth-of-imagination.
So, the writers upped the ante… Some viewers will give up, say “it is too confusing” and will drop the series… The remaining ones will become even more fanatic and enthusiastic about it. And, IMHO, it is tougher and tougher for someone to start now to follow the series, without seeing all previous episodes.
Therefore, the ratings tend only to fall as this season progresses – either sharply or slowly. Let’s just pray the losses are not too much to cause the ratings to drop below the “unacceptable-for-advertisers”.
As for myself, I am liking it and watching the new episodes as soon as I can, sitting on the chair’s edge…
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don’t give up yet, sheesh, it wasn’t as strong an episode, and it wasn’t as strong a number in the ratings. makes sense. let’s just hope this weeks abrupt stop in the new flow started last week won’t turn people off of watching next week which should be stronger (more John Noble, maybe more September/observers)
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You think this wasn’t as strong an episode? It was so much better than the premiere.
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This has nothing to do with Joshua Jackson.
The last season finale was equally bad (1.2).
They just failed with this “new pilot”, last week’s episode was so weak and older fans felt betrayed.
They brought things back nobody wanted, but deprived us of Nina and other great elements.
4.01 was just so bad.
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You make it sound like Fringe is hanging by a thread. Yikes !
I disagree.
It takes two or more threads twisted together to change things up.
Plus, I secretly think September is in our corner.
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I want to know …. what use are ratings any more anyway? In today’s world?
1) Why rely on Nielsen Ratings at all to determine the life of a show? They don’t actually measure the real number of viewers because it is just a select group of viewers! It is ludicrous to assume the people you picked have any worth let alone actually represent the fans that watch the show! How many here are Nielsen members? I bet 0! Therefore we can watch all we want to and it won’t matter, even tho there are a lot of us. This was proven by the fan campaigns to tell the Studio we actually wanted the show to continue … like the Red Vine Campaign.
I cannot fathom why tv studios would put any weight to Neilsen. But I am sure it is actually the advertisers that do so and the studios must bow to Corporate America like everybody else seems to. Nielsen stopped being useful decades ago, if it ever had a use at all.
2) What are the DVR numbers from? Also Nielsen, or from cable companies that supply them? Modern-day viewres are much more likely to DVR it, even if they also tune in. That’s what I do. I also want to watch SUPERNATURAL and then HAVEN, as well as maybe do other things and watch the programs later like during the day of Saturday or something.
If I do something it’s usually after it’s already been established, so this must be a modern trend. Therefore modern day the DVR numbers should be respected and counted.
Same goes for online venues like the studio website and streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu.
I would hazard a controversial guess that torrents should be added as well. I am sure a lot of torrent users just do it to see the show before a week has occurred. What is the real difference between a torrent and watching a show on a DVR or having a friend record it for you and watching it? The danger comes if they keep the shows too long, but I can’t think of anybody who makes money from them.
I guess I cannot realistically defend torrents, but if their numbers could be added to the mix without trying to get people in trouble I think it would be worth the effort to gain true numbers of watchers, but I could not see the Studios being able to resist trying to get average non-criminal citizens into trouble over their innocent want to see their shows when missed.
So this part of my point is moot.
3) Even if the ratings are there the show will be axed, sometimes by the distributors. This is what occurred with The Legend of the Seeker. It had .. HAS … plenty of fans to fuel it’s continuance, but the greedy distributors jumped ship like the rats they are and that is what sank that show, not the show itself or the fans/ratings.
4) Just as shows that are popular are axed too soon, others have gone on far longer than warranted by their quality. Why they get the ratings is anybody’s guess, I think it’s because most people are not willing to be smart and patient enough to watch quality TV.
4b others have been canceled to come back, but this is rare … like Family Guy.
In conclusion, I do not see these ratings as marking reality and I do not think they should. I only worry that the powers that be will put too much weight to them. I want the FRINGE story tellers to have the chance to tell the full story at their own pace, they have earned it.
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Please, somebody teach this to everyone who’s afraid with the cancelling!!
Another thing nobody seems to notice: It isn’t just the ratings that matters, but also the time the show airs. Everytime I see it Fringe has the biggest audience of the 9/8c. Also, Friday is a horrible day to every show. They take all of this on consideration. Plus, like someone said before, they analize the other shows of the day too, if everyone drops, then it’s not the show’s fault. The problem is when everyone increases and only one decays.
IMO, the only way to really have trustable television audience results would be installing devices like the Nielsen boxes in every damn television from now on.
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I think that people, especially couples, stay in from 9pm-10pm, Fridays.
FRINGE FRIDAYS ! FRINGE FRIDAYS !
… then go out for a night on the town .
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That was one great episode. I don’t believe the ratings anymore.
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me neither, I read the DVR viewing ratings for last episode were 2.1!!!!!!!!!! that is pretty amazing!
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Watch on Hulu and the Fox website. The premiere is available now (episodes are up 8 days after airing). I know it’s not nearly as helpful as the Nielsen ratings, but if you’re an international viewer or you don’t have a Nielsen box, that’s pretty much the best you can do to support the show.
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I can’t watch any show on Fox website outside America so there’s nothing I can do.
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Same here .
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same here… fringe has A LOT of international fans!
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Me too.
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So frustrating! A 20% drop. Where have all the Fringe fans gone?
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Don’t worry, guys. We just went back to the ratings we got in the season 3 finale. As long as the show can maintain the ratings, we will be fine.
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That episode was one of the best for the entire series. Why aren’t the fans sticking with the show. If they aren’t watching because Peter isn’t there then they aren’t truly fans. Peter WILL be back, but if the ratings don’t pick up then Fringe won’t be. I honestly believe that if Fringe can stay around the 1.5 mark then a 5th season is very possible. Last nights episode was amazing and as much as I love Peter I really didn’t miss him that much! If the fans want the show to last until he does get back then you have to watch now.
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“That episode was one of the best for the entire series. Why aren’t the fans sticking with the show. If they aren’t watching because Peter isn’t there then they aren’t truly fans. Peter WILL be back, but if the ratings don’t pick up then Fringe won’t be.”
Well i agree with you! I am enjoying the world without Peter and want to explore more subtle changes on our characters caused by Peter’s decision at the S3 Finale. I find it fun and quite experimental for the show runners direct the shows to this direction.
But i guess not all people, even Fringe fans, buy this. I see lots of people say that Broylnate being alive again is a plot hole. I see people say that the absense of Peter and the changes on our characters make them feel less engaged.
If this is the last season, let’s enjoy it. At least i will.
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Yeah I’ve read a lot about what people consider the Broylnate plot hole. But he sacrificed his life to help Olivia cross back, however in this reality I think its safe to assume that the events played out a lot differently. Our team originally crossed over to get Peter back, without Peter then the whole scenario is different. Walter said they kidnapped Olivia to the other side
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Wow. I was not expecting the tone that most of these comments seem to have. The ratings weren’t good, but they weren’t THAT bad, yet the general attitude of the comments here seem to be making it out to be the bitter end. And everyone’s so quick to place the blame in random places: not enough Josh Jackson, too much Anna Torv, bad premiere, etc., when in reality I don’t think any of those things are really to blame. I wouldn’t give up on Fringe yet. As a few others have mentioned, these numbers while not great, still aren’t bad enough to be considered dismal. FOX wants the best ratings possible of course, and Kitchen Nightmares and Fringe are so far providing an improvement over last year. Certainly we don’t want the ratings to go much lower than this, but I still think for a show like Fringe on Friday nights, they’re acceptable. Besides that, FOX likes Fringe, Fringe has a strong presence and support from fans, and it generates a lot of talk and interest and positive reviews, all of which are additional factors to take into consideration. I’m personally not going to worry unless the ratings go below 1.0.
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Kudos to you for staying positive and not blaming the quality or acting of the show
People are starting to become quite negative. I switched fandoms from house to fringe (besides the awsomeness of the show itself) bacause the community was much friendlier (house fans are almost always at eachother’s throats) but people have started to become quite negative about this show. Fringe has produced amazing seasons of superb writting and we should trust the writters. I find it fantastic that they are pushing the limits. As long as we all stay with this show, we can keep it alive for at least the end of the season.
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I agree with you! I also don´t think that such an amazing show like Fringe with so incredible and huge fanbase all over the world could simply be canceld because of friday night ratings, which are not truthworthy………..
FOX knows that and I think as long as Fringe´s fanbase supports the show our genius writers and amazing actors will have the opportunity to tell the whole story with 6 or even 8 seasons!
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I hope they have a good storyline for bringing Peter back and they plan to do it soon. Last night was boring, not even a focus on Walter.
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all this “oh no! it’s over!” talk is silly.
this show is not a ratings cash cow. fox execs know this.
fox is lucky in that they have enough ratings cash cows that when they actually LIKE and BELIEVE IN a series that is good, they can afford to stick it out (provided it meets the minimum requirements to afford itself.)
the fact that fringe has a season 4 at all is a testament to the execs at fox WANTING the show on.
i have a feeling that fringe, when all is said and done, will probably go on to be a “cult hit” on dvd. once the story is complete (be it 4 seasons, 5 seasons, etc) i wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people end up buying the whole series.
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Fringe was already canceled over there. The series ended in season 2, so lets be happy we have a season 4 over here.
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Oh I thought the over-there Fringe has 11million viewers.
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Nielsen ratings require boxes plugged into a phone line which I doubt a lot of viewers use as in 114,500,000 U.S. television households only 25,000 total American households (0.02183% of the total) participated in the Nielsen daily metered system. Ratings do not take into count modern day viewing platforms such as Hulu, YouTube etc. (online).
I’m from UK and I dont plug my Sky box into phone line. BARB Ratings is used in the UK but only has about 5,000 so they average it out to the population which is not taken seriously obviously.
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I am not in US. I don’t quite understand how the Nielsen box pick up statistical figure. I have one question tho, how come blue blood has 10+ million views according to Nielsen figures on a friday night (same night when Fringe get only 3 million views.) if nobody home on friday watching tv or stuff like that. I mean, did those 10+ million people actually have the Nielsen boxes or it’s just calculated by Nielsen sampling?
I love Fringe but i just don’t understand this mechanism.
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in 1999 my family was selected by nielsen. we didn’t get a box, we got journals, and we wrote down what we watched, and when we watched it (even if it was “taped” — no dvrs back then!).
after a month, we sent our journals back.
so the boxes aren’t the only method, but they are the only method that delivers immediate results.
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Nielsen boxes are incredibly rare — more than 3.2 million people watch FRINGE live, just not with Nielsen boxes. According to Kevin Reilly, whom we must love for keeping FRINGE on the air after some upsetting numbers last season, they factor in the DVR ratings as well. FRINGE has always been at the very top of DVR numbers for the week. Reilly’s assured us fans that if FRINGE does “anything like it did last year, we’ll be very happy…” So, here’s hoping that he actually sticks to his word, or we’ll need September to erase him from time. By now, Pinkner & Wyman and the entire creative team have seen the numbers, and, it’s up to them, and the network, to decide where to go next. I read a tweet from Wyman that they were already scripting the eighth episode of season four — when you look at it like that, our hopes that they “redesign the season into a final season” may become a little less realistic. They’ve already scripted half the season — and they definately have the remaining half planned out, with seeds being dropped in those eight episodes. And, “eleventh hour” rewrites don’t tend to be that creative…
So, maybe we’ll hear an announcement about FRINGE’s future (God willing, a GOOD announcement) shortly. Personally, I would like a full fourth season, and at least, a shortened fifth season of 13 episodes to conclude the series. Another suggestion to FOX and the producers would be to cut FRINGE’s already “guaranteed” 22 episode season to a lower count of 13 episodes, or around that, (thereby ending the season with the return of Peter, wrapping up the season’s biggest mystery, “Where Is Peter Bishop?”), and give the remaining 9 episodes to a fifth season. They could throw 4 more episodes on top of that 9, bringing us to a 13 episode final season. In other words, there would only be 31 episodes over seasons four and five — not 44. That would drastically lower the budget FOX needs to hand over to FRINGE to make two more seasons.
But, if this is FRINGE’s last season, then, I hope it surpasses all expectations, and we go out with a bang.
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I think we have to take into consideration that Fringe is up against some real competition for ratings. Charlie’s Angels on ABC, CSI: New York on CBS and Supernatural on the CW. What else could FOX replace Fringe with that would do any better? I’m betting that Fringe will be around for a while.
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Very good point. Fringe is FOX’s only hope for Friday nights at 9:00.
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I also think they got the best results for Friday nights in a long time.
Just keep watching live. If you can’t leave your cable box, converter box or what ever else you have, on. I know I’m gonna get bombarded with: unless you have a nielson box it doesn’t count. Just do it anyway. If you don’t have a DVR buy an inexpensive DVD recorder. That’s what I did. And I will always watch live. And I also will keep recruiting and am advertising it on my car.
Fringe is awesome and so far I’ve enjoyed the first 2 episodes of S4.
Just hang in there.
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Are DVR ratings not taken into consideration?
Fringe got 2.5 in Live+7 ratings.
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Who thinks that the Nielson ratings will one day become obsolete one day like the FBI over there in the Red Universe ?
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As long as there is advertising-supported television, ratings will be necessary to set advertising rates. Statistics is real science; just because the sample seems small doesn’t mean it’s inaccurate. Viewers who DVR and skip the commercials don’t contribute to revenue. That’s the greatest threat to continued scripted drama on television. Other forms like Hulu, iTunes, DVD sets, etc., have their own revenue streams that are relevant to the profitability in their own way, but not to ratings.
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When does the SAVE FRINGE CAMPAIGN begin??? Its dying omg
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LOL !
The campaign could take on Epic Propertions.
Peter VS The BBM .
David VS Goliath .
The Giant Warrior VS Peter, The True King
and its only the second episode.
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whatever happens, i hope we get closure.
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Speaking for myself, I utterly refuse to watch a show where my favorite actor aka Josh Jackson is being replaced by a newbie like Seth gabel. I refuse.
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He is not being replaced. This whole story line was partially Josh’s idea in the first place! If he was really your favorite, you would not give up on his show because of one arc, especially one that he helped come up with.
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None of the above seem to take into account that a) Fringe is still beating about everybody else in its time slot but also b) Friday night was the START OF THE AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFs on TBS. Seriously the crossover between much of Fringe’s demographic and baseball fans is larger than you’d expect. Also there is such a thing called high school football that can have an impact. Remember that last spring everybody panicked when Fringe’s ratings went down in March? Oh yeah, Fringe went opposite the first round of the NCAA BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS. While there should be a twinge of concern as long as the current Fox leadership loves the show, it beats is opposition, and continues to be a critical darling, which is all true, it will last at least to the end of this season.
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Agree!
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Despite the fact that I don´t think Fringe is danger and that the show deservs at least 6 seasons, (to have 8 season of Fringe would be amazing and I would be happy with that) when for some reasons it could be in danger I think there must be at least short season 5 (13ep or so) if we want to have an amazing series eding! But I have a feeling that we will have our beloved show for still long time on air
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This is troubling. Of course, we can’t expect the ratings to stay as good as the premier, but that seems like a lot to drop. Personally, as much as I enjoy the new season, it really doesn’t have the same impact the third did. The third had high stakes, the intrigue of two universes (why they didn’t keep the back and forth universe episodes is a bit beyond me) and was a non-stop thrill ride. This, however, not only doesn’t make sense, but it’s not as interesting. Let me explain:
The intrigue and the promise were there. Everything was in place to be even better than season 3. The writers, however, I feel are playing it too safe. Don’t argue with me just yet; hear me out. With Peter being gone, the writers had much more liberty to significantly change every aspect of the world. There shouldn’t have been soft-spots anymore, there shouldn’t have been a war and many things certainly should have been a TON different. Yet, for some reason, the timeline remains virtually unchanged. There are some subtle differences, but nothing is stand-out enough or realistic in regards to Peter never existing. While there is evidence that he is bleeding through, the entire course of the show should have differed.
Another complaint is that the show isn’t using it’s assets to their potential. There is still a huge need to incorporate Nina Sharpe and Broyles, as well as other major players. Olivia, as much as I love her, is taking too much of the screen time when, really, Walter is the most affected. It’s not that bad, but just some things the show tends to keep doing.
And this episode didn’t do too much for the mythology. It was a decent stand alone episode, but it felt more like it belonged in season 1 than anything. I appreciate a lot of it, but it doesn’t advance the mythology as much as it potentially should have.
However, while last season started amazing, this season is also off to a good start. The pieces are there, and while they don’t all make sense, they could potentially bring this season to legendary status. It all depends on Peter’s return.
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Although I was out of town, I make a point to go back to the hotel to watch FRINGE at 9pm. Checking the channels offerings/listing was the first thing I do after I checked in to the room. I cannot control what other FRINGE fans are doing, but I am sticking with my favorite show till the end …… FRINGE FRIDAY = appointment TV!!
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I think the bad ratings are an indication of how a lot of people feel about the show. The people like us that will take the time to go to a Fringe Blog are not a true sampling. We are obviously fans of the show or we would spend time reading and writing about it.
I watched the season finales and then the first two episodes in one night (which meant rewatching ep 1 and 2 of this season) if you are true and unbiased there is not really a comparison. The finale was bang-bang-pow awesome and the first two episodes of this season have been okay, but contrived, and haven’t done enough to move the Peter story.
I am not remotely surprised that the ratings are down, for those that came back after last season that are normal viewers (not fans like us) the first episode was weak and the second episode continued in the same manner. I can honestly say that if we have three more episodes like the first two, I’ll probably switch to a DVR only viewer instead of locking in an hour each Friday.
The good new is what else would Fox put on Fridays? So I think Fringe will continue and hopefully get back to the form it was in at the end of last season and the ratings will improve.
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I think I’m a little too distraught for someone responding to television ratings, but I’m the first to admit I’m a little unhealthily attached to Fringe.
Ugh. D:
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I’m not buying it. I’m very skeptic about the whole Nielsen ratings institute. DVR was wááááy up, dvd sales from S3 are amazing. Episode 2 was real quality tv.
So, there you have it.
No matter whát Nielsen ratings, i’m a die-hard Fringie till the end.
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FOX is widely known for this, having terrible faith in its shows. Unfortunately its all about the money. They dont realize that every show they air will do this. By the 3rd-4th season, all thats going to be left are the loyal viewers. But rather stick with the show til the end, FOX will cancel it and start something new just to get that quick “pop” in the first 2 seasons. Then the show will wither down to the loyal viewers, get cancelled, repeat cycle. Anybody who watched Prison Break, or The OC, will know what Im talking about. Despite being signed for a full 4th season, both shows were cut down halfway through the season due to “declining ratings.” Someone really needs to formulate a new system for ratings. A universal one that includes all sources. With DVR, DVDs, Blu-Rays, internet, Ondemand, netflix, etc etc, watching a show can be done at anyones convenience and leisure. TV ratings are not an accurate measurement of viewers anymore, plain and simple.
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