Fringe was a very unique series that ran from 2008 to 2013. It was part police procedural and part supernatural thriller that involved a division of the FBI headed by Lance Reddick's character Phillip Broyles that investigated a series of strange phenomena that would come to be called "The Pattern". Anna Torv played FBI agent Olivia Dunham who investigated Pattern incidents with the help of a scientist who had been in a mental hospital for years named Walter Bishop (played by John Noble) who had studied similar incidents before he went crazy, and his son Peter (played by Joshua Jackson of Dawson's Creek fame) who was basically Walter's babysitter after he was checked out of the hospital. Of course, there was much more to the plot as the series unfolded with a lot of twists and turns. It was created by JJ Abrams, so it has a somewhat similar feel to the series Lost, although in a totally different context. If you take Lost and mix in a bit of X-files and even some Twin Peaks, that is kind of what Fringe gives you. That said, it is definitely its own show and was not derivative of anything else at the time. It is a cross between a case-of-the-week procedural series and a serial series with a long arc that stretches through the season. Events in one episode most definitely impact other episodes down the line, so you really have to watch it from the start to get what is going on. The season ends on a pretty big cliffhanger and teases the introduction of a character that is played by a Sci-Fi icon.
For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the show looks and sounds great in HD. It definitely had, and made use of, a health special effects budget, and it is definitely worth watching in the high-definition format. The extras include commentary tracks on select episodes, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes for many of the episodes. About an hour and a half plus of material (not including the commentaries).
While I cannot say the series will appeal to everyone, if you are a fan of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, chances are you will like it. It is a unique series in that not everything is made up. It actually does include some actual scientific concepts and then mixes them with totally made-up sci-fi stuff. It does have some violence and some gross visuals, but not much in the way of sexual content. It is very well written and acted, and definitely worth checking out.
For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the show looks and sounds great in HD. It definitely had, and made use of, a health special effects budget, and it is definitely worth watching in the high-definition format. The extras include commentary tracks on select episodes, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes for many of the episodes. About an hour and a half plus of material (not including the commentaries).
While I cannot say the series will appeal to everyone, if you are a fan of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, chances are you will like it. It is a unique series in that not everything is made up. It actually does include some actual scientific concepts and then mixes them with totally made-up sci-fi stuff. It does have some violence and some gross visuals, but not much in the way of sexual content. It is very well written and acted, and definitely worth checking out.
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