Something awesome is happening on Friday nights on Fox. How much longer that will be the case is anyone's guess, but one thing is for sure – if you're a science fiction fan and you haven't been watching Fringe, you've been doing yourself a huge disservice! Fringe might be best described as the second coming of the X-Files, minus the space aliens and plus one enormously entertaining mad scientist in the form of Dr. Walter Bishop. It is an hour a week well spent!
The show deals with an FBI teams' struggle to contain the damage done by Dr. Bishop's scientific endeavors some three decades ago when he was working as part of a highly classified government program run out of a Harvard University basement. By damage we're talking about altered reality, polluted time line and inter-dimensional deterioration. Just the small stuff. Nothing that some serious sleuthing, suspension of disbelief and mind-altering drugs can't fix. Or so one would hope.
Pseudo or “fringe” science may be the plot vehicle for Fringe, but the story is really that of the personal struggle of Dr. Walter Bishop, brilliantly played by John Noble, to mend the damage his own pride, hubris and ambition has caused. However, there is one slight problem standing in the way of Walter simply cleaning up his mess – after 17 years of being institutionalized (following an accident involving the death of a test subject), he is damaged goods. Oh yeah and he has had large chunks of his memory stolen by his former lab partner, billionaire entrepreneur William Bell. Bell, unfortunately, is “out of the country”.
As everyone involved learns, it is hard to fix a problem when you can't recall all the elements to the cause. It also doesn't help when your best resource is so eccentric that only his estranged son can translate his ramblings. Walter's son Peter (Joshua Jackson) is called upon to accompany his father following his release from St. Claire's Mental Institution and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a very bizarre ride that is Walter.
Throughout all “the pattern” investigations and laboratory adventures, a real, if not somewhat dysfunctional, family is born that includes Walter, Peter and FBI agents Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole). Naturally there is sexual tension between Peter and Olivia, but also the caring friendship that develops between Walter and Astrid is genuinely touching and well executed and the strained father-son relationship between Walter and Peter provides for excellent drama week in and week out. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Everything appears to be intertwined.
Getting back to why you should be watching, John Noble's turn as Walter is brilliant! He delivers a nuanced performance that jumps between confident, frightened, silly, frustrated and remorseful at the drop of a hat... or in the case of events in Fringe, the other shoe. But above all, Walter's character is fun throughout. No wonder he is a fan favorite. I also give lots of credit to Joshua Jackson who does a great job as Peter in his dealings with both Walter and Olivia. Anna Torv has continually gotten stronger as Olivia throughout.
Now in it's third, very strong season, Fringe finds itself relegated to Fox's notorious Friday night “death slot”, faced with the threat of imminent cancellation. In response, Fringe has been getting lots of positive buzz from a grassroots effort being put forth by the fan base in an attempt to save it and gain in renewal for a fourth season. What I can say is that everyone I have introduced to the show enjoys it. This includes my sister (not your usual viewer of this genre) and my mother!
Beyond the threat of losing a high quality show, some industry experts also argue that the death of Fringe may indeed be the death of the science fiction genre on network television, as it would be just the latest victim in a litany of genre shows canceled during the past decade. So as a science fiction fan, you really do owe it to yourself to get involved with a great show and help preserve the genre for the future.
If we end up losing Fringe this spring, it will be a truly unfortunate loss but I will be happy to have enjoyed the ride from the very first episode. It is certainly a show I will never forget.
Tune in Friday nights at 8pm (Central) on Fox!!!
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