Stuff I dig: Fringe

So I'm totally into this show Fringe. Have any of you seen it? It's on Fox and it's pretty much like the X-Files meets, well, the X-Files, except I find Fringe to be a bit more lighthearted in general. The show centers on FBI agent Olivia Dunham, jokester sidekick Peter Bishop (Josha Jackson) and his crazy, mysterious and adorable mad scientist father, Walter Bishop, who all work together to solve bizzare murders and mysteries. Some talking points on why I hope Fringe makes it to the Mainstream and keeps on plugging.

I totally love star Anna Torv's unconventional looks and brio
Torv plays Olivia Dunham, the a hardscrabble FBI agent and emotional center to the show. She's no bullshit and constantly loves to defy her asshole boss, but at the same time she's vulnerable and always looks like she's so worried about everything that she going to throw. I think she was perfectly cast in the role - she looks smart, and is really a knockout, but her looks take time to grow on you. Maybe its just that I think she looks like my friend Jacquie, and I like to pretend she's an FBI agent. So basically, rock solid, seductive lead to anchor the series.















Eh? What do you think? Separated at birth?

The show is set in Boston, from whence I hail. Plus that lettering rocks.
I'm loving all the Boston shots, visits to Harvard, and warehouse raids in Alston. However, they go all over the place - Chicago, New York, Germany so far, and to tell you where they are they put this awesome lettering stating the location positioned in the shot (rather than just clear subtitles). For example, they might show an establishing shot of the entrance to a Manhattan skyscraper and have the lettering run above the awning of the building. It looks like the lettering in that terrible Volkswagon "I think we were just in a car commercial" ad, but it't not annoying in the most unholy way like that commercial.

J.J. Abrams is producing, which can only mean good things.
J.J Abrams is king of the geeks these days, having written or produced such fine work as Alias, Lost, Cloverfield, and the forthcoming Star Trek movie. Oh yeah, and Felicity, although we'll pretend we didn't know that. I dig most of what this guy has done, and he loves deep, mysterious mythology, which were certainly getting with Fringe.

There's at least one major gross out/disfiguration per episode. At least.
I'll admit I've only seen two full episodes to date, but I always seem to tune in when something gross is happening. Like a pilot spasming and shooting bodily fluids from his face, or a guy found with his brains and face melted, or another guy whose oricfices all spontaneously close on his face, suffocating him. Pretty much there's usually something henious happening to somebody's face and I enjoy that.

The show alternates between mythology building serial episodes and one-off freak of the week type shows like the X-Files did.
A winning formula. It allows the writers to have fun with action sci-fi nuttiness, and also craft a deep connect the dots mystery.

The humor in the series is spot on.
Much of the levity comes from the kindly old crazy scientest who is also Josha Jackson's father. He's totally adorable and also invaluable to the team. What other characters have conversations like this:

"Two thoughts come to mind. This condition might have been caused by a mutation changing these lipids to recognize and seal any and all orifices. Did they check the anus and penis?"

"Can we get the answer to that while I'm not in the room? What was the other thought?

"Sorry?"

"You said two thoughts came to mind."

"Oh yes. Ther other was. . .coffee cake. Tiny pebbles of cinnamon sugar. . ."

I love random non-sequitur humor like this. Dr. Bishop is also leading a cow around his lab for much of the episode, and we never really know why. By the way, the Dr. comes back to coffee cake several times in the episode and I got a good chuckle with every delicious mention.

Oh yeah, and you can watch every episode on Fox.com or Hulu.com.
Sweet. For those of us who can't afford DVR. Like me

So check out the show, and let me know what you think of it if you watch it.