Fringe Series

Fringe
2008-2013
Created by: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci


Fringe which is considered a sci-fi show was in actuality so much more. Fringe explored science, technology, family, love, humanity, acceptance, and mortality. If that sounds like a tall order to push into a sci-fi show, it is. But Fringe does it so well, taking care to cover each aspect in a natural, progressive way. I think any other TV show would have a hard time putting all this into any show that would be both interesting and thought-provoking; with Fringe you have the added complication of science fiction.

And Fringe, doesn't disappoint.

What first attracted me to the TV show was the supernatural events, similar to the X-Files. But unlike the X-Files the show doesn't center around the events that occur but rather, the people who investigate them. This show is completely about Olivia, Peter, and Walter and in later seasons a few others whose lives become mixed with the former.

The characters are so well-developed, so well thought-out and funny that it would take a robot to not fall in love with them.

My favorite was Walter Bishop, played by John Noble. He is an incredible actor. His range of emotions, the faces he can make and his voice control are simply astounding.

There are times when Fringe may seem to be going in the wrong direction. For example there is a whole new, alternative timeline in one of the seasons but it still never strays from the key qualities of the show. It always finds its way back, and in doing so you have a greater understanding of their situation at large.

One of the great and rare things about Fringe was the way they didn't play for more viewers. Fringe is a show that you have to watch from the beginning and god forbid you should miss a week, because it is a continually evolving show. Fringe has a cult following and they know it. If you were one, you were rewarded with extra special treats for your viewership.

For example, before each commercial break a glyph was shown. They're weird, they're interesting but apparently they represented a lot more than just a visual cue to go to the bathroom.

Via

Over the course of the series (five seasons in all) you grow to love these people. You see what makes them tick and where their loyalties lie. No matter what happens to these people they are always there for each other.

By the time you reach the end of the show, and you finally understand the plan, you cry right along with the characters.

What completely surprised me is how completely perfect and happy I was with the ending. The ending is not only perfectly fitted to the central themes of the show but to the science as well. There is not another show I can think of that ended completely in control and as correctly as Fringe.

Fringe, in its entirety is one of the best, most consistently good TV shows I've ever seen.

I give it 5 out of 5 popcorn.