20 minutes.
That’s how long my TiVo said “Fringe’s” return episode, titled “Bound,” had been playing before the opening credit sequence. Now, granted, TiVo did pick up a couple minutes of “American Idol” (my TiVo wanted to check out the new judge), but that could have only been two or three minutes, which means the pre-credit opener was at least 17 minutes long.
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Fox have put together a rather neat 5 minute recap of the first 10 episodes – especially good if you’re late to the party or need reminding who “the awesome science guy” is. Click on Peter to play the video:
That was great, but nothing can top the brilliantly sarcastic LOST season 1-3 recap from which this is obviously based:
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So guess what, as we prepared for the EIGHT MONTH hiatus for our most favourite TV Show (“LOST”) we only went and found another obsession! Along came “Fringe” to ease the pain of LOST being off the air, but it became so much more than just a pacifier, this show actually does rock. Here are eight of our favourite things about Fringe in 2008(we could have included more, but eight is such a perfect number for this year, dontcha think?):
(No particular order)
The Observer: What started off as a curious occurrence has turned into a full-blown obsession. The Observer has got many fans watching that bit more closely, searching for any sign of his shiny bald head. His appearance in every episode so far is no coincidence, he’s the hook that reeled many people in and the skill with which he was formally introduced in “The Arrival” was brilliant. He adds an ‘other-worldly’ feel to the show, that’s not to say he’s an alien (that’d be lame), but there are many things about our own world that we do not yet understand, including the notion of time, space and reality – should the Observer offer a solution to these mysteries, we could be closer to perceiving our own world in a different light.
Continue reading..
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Enjoy this special Merry Fringemas narration/recap from the wonderful John Noble:
Fantastic stuff.
Source [via Elly at Fringe-Forum]
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The Good
The Bad
Overall episode rating 9.5/10 [based on previous episodes. Best episode so far, with huge potential for the remainder of the season]
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Here’s our short and to the point review of episode 1.08 “The Equation”.
The Good
The Bad
Episode Rating: 7.5/10
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Here’s our short and sweet good and bad review:
THE GOOD
1) Some important back-story developments and reveals – notably with Olivia showing more sides to her character, Peter’s recollection that his father went all B.F. Skinner on his ass as a child, and Broyles becoming more 3 dimensional.
2) Pattern-events are still happening in Olivia’s back-yard, but finally she got to get out of Boston and fly to Germany (on-board a Massive Dynamically engineered plane, no doubt), where her Observer friend was waiting for her.
3) Brilliant casting – the actors portraying Agent Loeb, his wife Samantha and especially the fantastic Mr. Jones, were, well, fantastic! Jared Harris (Mr. Jones) has something of the Michael Emerson‘s about him, and that is a very very very good thing. Please can Jared be recurring? Pwretty please? Oh, and that “tick-tock” noise that he made with his mouth as Olivia ran out of time, genius!
4) An incredibly intricate yet delicious plot. Yes, thinking was required in this episode, but this is why we love serialized shows from the JJ. Abrams stable.
5) The parasite. So cute, I want to buy one.
6) Walter Bishop. The man is crazy, he places scientific wonder over the lives of human-beings (his son included). He was devastated when the parasite died, he was closing the curtain on a piece of engineering that he respected more than he abhorred. This allows us to get inside his head-space a bit, he is able to brush aside the evil intentions of the science he comes across due to the genius of the creation.
7) The fringe science. Sure, the way in which Mr. Smith got shot in the head was a bit too convenient in allowing for the clever stuff with Peter’s horizontal lines thing, but the improvisation crafted by Walter and the subsequent deciphering of the “Little Hill” answer was amazing, and in a “Fringe” sort of way, it actually made sense. I mean, getting shot in the head would surely damage certain brain functions, just as it would a computer’s functions. Therein also lies an important comparison (or parallel) that we might see played out over certain arcs - the human brain and the computers made by man.
8 ) Astrid. OK, OK, she’s still as useless and Gene, but she’s just sooo cuuute. She also has the patience of a saint dealing with Walter and Olivia barking orders at her, and did I say she’s sooo cuuute? We like Asteroid.
9) Olivia’s hair. Yikes! It’s such a mess! That’s a good thing though, she’s been through hell and she’s an intense FBI agent who’s not so vain. Thing is Torv still looks fantastic (that’s for you, haters!). Great casting JJ, we tip our Observer hats to you.
10) Plenty of mythology and overarching story-line potential. This is how we like it.
THE BAD
1) Continuity. As Page 48 pointed out in the comments, where exactly was this ‘punishment’ that Broyles promised Olivia in the last episode? Broyles doesn’t strike me as someone with a short memory, so why no reference to her “not getting away with it that easily” thing? Seriously, why put it in the last episode if there’s not going to be any follow up to it? We had the same thing when Walter attacked Astro, and I fear we might experience similar ‘forgetfulness’ with Peter not angsting over his father’s experimentation on him (both as a child and in this episode!).
2) Did Charlie Francis die earlier in the season or something? I could have sworn I saw him in this episode, but it must just be the result of a waking dream or some such. Yeah, more Charlie, please.
3) Love Broyles, love Lance Reddick, but some of his delivery wasn’t to his usual high standard. Then again, perhaps it’s because we’re not used to seeing Broyles’ feathers ruffled, or maybe there’s something else afoot regarding his allegiance? Mostly, I just wish they re-shot that telephone convo with Charlie, it didn’t feel authentic somehow.
4) Astrid. OK, OK, we think she’s cute but we wouldn’t be doing our job as Fringies if we didn’t put her in this section. Lets just be clear, Astrid is an FBI Agent, yes? I think it might have been better to have made her a lab tech. Seriously, this girl has skills (like, for real) so why is she being wasted in the FBI? No wonder their agents are working for Pattern-folk if they don’t receive recognition for their work. Make her a spy or have her do some field work, or something. Sheesh!
5) So Olivia, we’ve defended you on FringeBloggers since the beginning. We think you’re pretty hot, fearless, vulnerable and pretty engrossing. But if it wasn’t for the wonders of modern technology, you would’ve given Mr fancy-pants a piece of that wouldn’t you? How does that work exactly, when you’ve got the living part of John Scott’s brain inside your head? Or is this some sick fantasy of yours? Tsk tsk, we’ll see you in the morning.
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Official 1.06 “The Cure” video recap from FOX:
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The Good
1) Excitement, tension and much more danger.
2) The character development of Olivia. We’ve always been fans of Agent Dunham, but adding these personal layers make her worth caring about.
3) INtREPUS. Adding another organisation to rival Massive Dynamic was a master-stroke. It’s good to have another name to add to the list of dubious corporations. More importantly, it was good to have some back-ground to why they were performing human experimentation – because they could. That is a bold and scarey statement, and it’s the type of territory Fringe should be edging towards. Also, David Esterbrook, great character and very well acted.
4)The return of Massive Dynamic in the shape of their charismatic COO, Nina Sharp. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, so if you’ve been following this blog then you’ll know that we’re extremely fond her. Also, loving the hints to a past relationship with Walter (Bom Chicka Wah Wah!) and her quality time spent with young Peter. Her glee at hearing INtREPUS’ stocks plummeting was also deliciously evil!
5) The Music. WIN!
6) The FBI SWAT Raid. WIN!! (and much more realistic than Olivia always going off into the heart of darkness by herself)
7) The Observer. WIN!!!
8 )The episode just felt tighter in general, the writing was purposeful, with nice light and shade at key moments. The interactions between the characters was also a joy to behold at times – especially those key Peter/Oliva and Olivia/Broyles scenes.
9) The fact that this “Pattern-event” didn’t relate back to one of Walter’s old experiments. I don’t mind the odd event here and there being the result of one of Walter’s mad experiments, but for credibility’s sake, not everything should be the result of Walter. This episode was a great example of how to develop the story and not have Walter know everything. There were even a few occasions when he even stated that he had ‘no idea’. That was good to hear, and I’m sure it made scientists all around the world feel slightly less inferior.
10) The opening scene. How do they do that? I would watch just for those 5 minutes! Amazing, bloody, sensational, ominous, creepy, and I kind of felt bad for those soup-bearing diners. The thing is, it’s not just for show, it actually sets the scene and initiates the story in a thought-provoking way. Hats off to whoever is working on these opening scenes.
11) A believable premise presented in the most entertaining of ways.
The Bad
1) “Asterisk”. Loved the joke but seriously, she better have a reason for being a part of the team soon or she’ll go down in Fringe history like Paulo and Nikki went down in “LOST” history. Remember a few episodes ago when Peter finally had a reason for being a part of the team, other than “babysitting” Walter? Well, Astrid needs something like this. She’s had a reason to leave the team (Walter knocking her unconscious), now she needs a reason to be there. I’m confident that this will be addressed soon, such is my faith in the writers, but it’s still a worry.
2)Olivia’s p*ssed off attitude really helped the development of her character, but I can’t help feel that it could have been executed slightly better. Her ’turn’ was just too fast. As Peter said, she’s entitled to an off-day, and conveniently it was her birthday – the day that her step-father sends her creepy unsigned cards to remind her that ‘he’s out there’ *shudder*. But that’s the problem, it felt a bit too convenient, almost as if they tried too hard to make Olivia’s personal issues connect into the ‘A-story’ of the kidnapped girls. It didn’t quite mesh. That said, the brilliance of the pacing and the overall quality of the episode made-up for it. I also appreciate the need to make Olivia’s character more feisty – on many levels it also worked, as it brought out some amazing performances in the other characters and made for some truly excellent scenes - Olivia vs Broyles, anyone?
3)Peter’s pretty again. Wah!? Did I miss something? Peter got busted up by Rouge, and I mean busted UP. He still had the bruises to prove it in the last episode, so where did they go? Unless we’re on the healing “LOST” island, I’d like some more continuity, please. Gah! I guess that’s episodic for ya. *hint, hint*
4)Not enough Broyles. Please please please give Lance Reddick more to do, if only so we can hear him answer the phone and say “Broyles!” in such a ridiculously cool way. Seriously, I’d pay to watch that man answer the phone. No, really!
5) No mention of John Scott. Really? I know we’re doing the episodic thing here, but not even a passing reference? sure, we’re supposed to assume that part of Olivia’s ‘angst’ in this episode is also the result of her shared brain occupation with Agent Scott, but what about those casual viewers who aren’t following the show as closely as the real fans – what about them? Spare a thought for the casual viewers! HEH.
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