Between Elsewhere and Here

Fringe


I’m happily watching the premier of JJ Abrams’ new TV show Fringe. Yes, I’m a Lost nut and thus deferential to all things Abrams. But this show is a tad different. My cousin works on the show, so I really want it to succeed.

Final Thoughts: Everyone is going to compare this to the X-Files, and I think that is totally justified. For a lot of people, it may seem like a small point, but the X-Files was largely about paranormal activity, which is naturally occurring phenomena. The conflict in the X-Files was between science (Skully) and faith (Mulder), thus the tag of “I believe.” Fringe, on the other hand, is about artificial occurrences: the creations from the fringe of science – thus the name. The conflict here is uncovering the secrets behind the science. In a sense, this is more like Lost. We, as viewers, are along for the ride of discovery. For Lost it’s, well, a ton of questions, but mostly, “What is the island?” For Fringe, the question is, “What is the pattern?” I’m curious. Definitely looking forward to the next one.

Update 4: There is something about the “look” of a Fox TV that feels different than something you’d see on the other networks. I’m not sure why, but Fox shows have always felt a bit “glossy” to me. Call me crazy, but the color, the lighting, the casting, the cuts – feel glossy.

Update 3: Hey look… an Obama ad! I think it might have been a national ad since it was a bit louder than the local Fox 5 News spot previously.

Update 2: “That man wants to give you a drug overdose, jam a rob into the back of your skull and put you – naked – into a water tank!” So far so fun.

Update 1: First thoughts: I love the location tags being “in” the environment. Seeing “Baghdad, Iraq” in big, bold text on top of the building is much richer than typed text in the lower-third. My other thought is the music. Parallels Lost.

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By Christopher on 09/09/08 10:16 PM | | Link | Comments [0]

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