Fringe: "Pilot" 9/9 - Grading & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Aragorn, Sep 9, 2008.

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Grading

  1. Excellent (J.J. Abrams has done it again)

    24 vote(s)
    20.5%
  2. Above average (The rule of Gondor is mine! And no other's!)

    45 vote(s)
    38.5%
  3. Average (This Eddie's not so keen)

    38 vote(s)
    32.5%
  4. Below average (I don't care what the numbers mean anymore, Abaddon)

    4 vote(s)
    3.4%
  5. Poor (Pacey should go back to the Creek)

    6 vote(s)
    5.1%
  1. Mysterion

    Mysterion Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Well, didn't do too much for me. Except for the scientist they bust out of the bin, there are no likable characters in this show. None of them gave me any reason to care about what was happening to them. If they were to make a spin off centered on the scientist, I'd watch that, though.
     
  2. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    That's all well and good; the episodic television that I generally see disdained not only ignores or forgets ramifications, but it specifically tries to tell stories such that there can't be any.
     
  3. Cain

    Cain Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    This is pretty much what I was going to say. I also felt that the plot of the pilot was uninteresting and uninspired. The way the father and son come into the plot seemed forced and didn't seem to flow naturally from the plot.

    And I don't know if I can handle yet another show with a grand overarching MYSTERY that is slowly fed to us in drips and drabs. It's fine when the premise, the setting, and the characters are interesting like Lost, Battlestar Galactica, or Alias, but Fringe really has none of that.

    I'm going to watch for a little while longer, because it was a well made show, and there is some potential, but I'm not keeping my hopes up.
     
  4. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    One other thing I thought the pilot was really missing was that great spooky, creepy atmosphere that The X-Files had. Chris Carter created a world where it felt like giant government conspiracies and strange mutated creatures actually COULD exist. You could buy almost anything happening there.

    I just didn't feel that with Fringe at all. Except for a few futuristic touches like the lady's robotic arm (really bad CGI effect by the way), it felt like just the standard TV world we see in CSI or something. Except for the opening teaser with the guy's jaw falling off, there wasn't anything creepy about any of it.
     
  5. SPOCKED

    SPOCKED Admiral Premium Member

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    Hey! You keep out of my stories!! :p :D
     
  6. Tom

    Tom Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I still have issues with the plane landing itself.. :)
     
  7. Cain

    Cain Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    That is actually true. Planes can land themselves: Link.
     
  8. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Average.

    Wow, that definitely did not live up to the hype! Pretty much what I expected: The X-Files, but without Mulder or Scully or even frakkin' Skinner, so what's the point?

    Anna Torv was dull; about the only thing interesting about her was tracking her wavering American accent. At times, her nationality seemed to be migrating in the direction of Ireland. Jason Jackson or whatever his name is was just annoying in addition to being homely and continually reminding me of one of those yappy little dogs with the pushed-in faces and pointed ears. The old guy from LOTR had a thankless task, playing an absurd cliche and being given cheap scenes like the "pissed my pants" one.

    Speaking of cliche, the plot and dialogue relied far too heavily on it. The whole thing was trying way to hard to be cool, and failing miserably. The dialogue was written with a tin ear - "terrifying terrorism"? :rommie: The supposed "shocking surprise ending" was telegraphed early on. And why couldn't this story be told in a one-hour format? It was padded and draaaaged towards the end. "Average" was probably too generous, really.

    Bottom line: that's it for me, not coming back next week.

    And from the ratings, it's a good thing I didn't fall in love this this because considering the hype machine that Fox put behind it, the premiere ratings weren't all that hot:
    That level is fine, if the show can hold onto it, but we all know about the traditional post-premiere bleed-off.

    Same here - a show about a scientist who's trying to recover from mental illness while simultaneously pursuing obsessions that might just be an aspect of his mental illness could work. Would be more interesting than rehashing old X-Files territory anyway.
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2008
  9. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah I found the dialogue to be awfully predictable and obvious at times. Which is something I can never say about Lost (even in a weak episode). The dialogue here was more at the level of VOY or the Stargates almost.

    I have to admit it's made me a little more nervous about Orci and Kurtzman's writing for the new Star Trek. Although the larger story and visual style will probably matter more in that movie than the dialogue...
     
  10. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Did Orci and Kurtzman write this episode? I didn't really notice.
     
  11. Professor Zoom

    Professor Zoom Admiral Admiral

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    I haven't finished watching it yet...it's alright...but clearly, it's not something I'm engrossed in. I'm about 35 minutes in...

    What I don't get is why the Agent's Boss kept rolling over for her..."I just broke the crazy guy out, and I need his lab?" "Why? You haven't really given me in really good reason too" "Because." Cut to...the lab.

    Really? Why? Not only does the guy like her, but, really, has she really made her case? Bleh.

    I'm not particularly impressed...I think they spent a lot of money for style...and not much substance...well, I have another hour to finish...maybe later.
     
  12. Sakrysta

    Sakrysta Vice Admiral Admiral

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    :lol: I admit, I could hear Miracle Max assuring me that he was only "mostly dead." :D

    I voted Average. I suppose I have an advantage in having never gotten into any of the shows this is being compared to. But I have a pretty low tolerance for gross-out factor. The opening scenes, the mutated animals, and every view of suffering John were just unpleasant. I love John Noble, and I like the female lead, but I think the show is a little too self-aware - too cognizant of its own mysterious vibe - for me to take it seriously. "We've got a seeeecret, and oooh, it's a spooooky, scaaaary seeeecret!" I'm kinda tired of that conceit.

    I'll watch one or two more, and we'll see if things get better.
     
  13. Ro_Laren

    Ro_Laren Commodore Commodore

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    I enjoyed the show, which kinda scares me. Normally when I find a new show that I like it ends up getting cancelled!! :scream:
     
  14. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    It was intriguing but not amazing; a disappointment, really.

    For a $10 million budget pilot, I was shocked at how dull and slow the episode was. They spend 2/3 of the runtime sitting on their standing set doing nothing. The main character was completely dull and uninspired, your generic tragic heroine (see the pilots of Alias and Bionic Woman). In fact, the entire thing felt like Lost and Alias and Bionic Woman and X-Files in a blender. And Lance Reddick was entirely disappointing after his mesmorisingly mysterious role in Lost.

    As for the good... John Noble was great. I look forward to this character. Also the shady son was entertaining, particularly his interactions with Crazy Dad. I could care less about Agent Olivia, but these two are the star of the show. The decaying skin bit was extremely cool/creepy. The car chases were nice.

    I guess I'm in the minority but I had no clue her goo-ed lover was going to be a bad guy. That surprised me.
     
  15. Ro_Laren

    Ro_Laren Commodore Commodore

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    I'm confused, is Sunday's encore of Fringe supposed to be the 100% same pilot re-airing? E-online said that "Fox will push Fringe this coming Sunday with a two-hour, extended-dance version of the premiere..." So is it not going to be the same? I Tivo-ed the episode yesterday and it was 1 hrs, 35 min....
     
  16. DigificWriter

    DigificWriter Vice Admiral Admiral

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  17. Othello

    Othello Commodore Commodore

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    I voted excellent. Sadly the ratings were only so-so but next week House as a lead-in could help immensely.

    I liked the characters and acting. I've always been a fan of Joshua Jackson as I thought his work in Dawson's Creek was excellent. He does saracasm and such extremely well.

    I like where the how is going and how it's definitely gonna take some intruiging turns. The season preview looked great.
     
  18. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Check back next week. If the ratings drop substantially, I'd take that as a warning sign not to get too attached.

    OTOH, both Prison Break and T:SCC's ratings debuted weakly, and that will help Fox ease up on the trigger finger re: Fringe.
    TEN MILLION!?!? :eek: What a waste.
     
  19. LitmusDragon

    LitmusDragon Commodore Commodore

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    FYI, if anyone forgot to watch the show like I did, Fox is going to re-air it Sunday at 8pm.

    edit:
    Oh, this was mentioned already.
     
  20. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^^^^^^^^
    8pm Eastern so adjust accordingly