![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Fringe Review - half-way mark on S1
Sep. 10th, 2011 12:03 amHaving now made it through the first 11 episodes of Fringe - I can safely state that it is not an X-Files clone or anything like it. No aliens. No skeptic/believer dynamic. And the science isn't paranormal and more well innovative and creative.
Also, the puzzle gets more interesting and twisty. With various clues placed throughout. Yet unlike Lost - the writers appear to know the answers and where they are going. It's much tighter written. Also the case of the week fits into the puzzle or is part of the serialized story, which provides a depth to the series lacking in most procedurals.
It's not The Wire, but few shows are. And this series is written faster and has a lot more episodes and is written for a broadcast network whose main goal in life is to sell ad space. So there is a formulaic pressure on the writers of Fringe that the Wire and television series on HBO and Showtime simply do not have. Nor do I suspect do many series on the BBC, which appears to be publically funded? This may explain why series on premium cable (subscriber services) are shorter in length and often tighter in structure.
That said - these characters are complex. John Noble's Walter is one of the most complicated characters I've seen in quite some time. He's a character who I'm guessing has done some horrific things in his past, and cannot remember them. In some respects he reminds me a little of the character Angel spliced with Topher on Dollhouse, except a lot more complicated and far better acted. We, after all, have a character actor with a wealth of experience behind him in this role. He's not pretty, but the lines in his face and his eyes convey multitudes.
( Read more... )
Also, the puzzle gets more interesting and twisty. With various clues placed throughout. Yet unlike Lost - the writers appear to know the answers and where they are going. It's much tighter written. Also the case of the week fits into the puzzle or is part of the serialized story, which provides a depth to the series lacking in most procedurals.
It's not The Wire, but few shows are. And this series is written faster and has a lot more episodes and is written for a broadcast network whose main goal in life is to sell ad space. So there is a formulaic pressure on the writers of Fringe that the Wire and television series on HBO and Showtime simply do not have. Nor do I suspect do many series on the BBC, which appears to be publically funded? This may explain why series on premium cable (subscriber services) are shorter in length and often tighter in structure.
That said - these characters are complex. John Noble's Walter is one of the most complicated characters I've seen in quite some time. He's a character who I'm guessing has done some horrific things in his past, and cannot remember them. In some respects he reminds me a little of the character Angel spliced with Topher on Dollhouse, except a lot more complicated and far better acted. We, after all, have a character actor with a wealth of experience behind him in this role. He's not pretty, but the lines in his face and his eyes convey multitudes.
( Read more... )