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

And it was all spent for the cow. If the show fails at least the crew can have some steaks as a final meal.

 

I enjoyed it, and am willing to give it a shot. My favorite characters were Walter and Olivia. I could do without Jackson, though. He was very annoying.

Sean

 

When will Emilio Estevez show up as Joshua Jackson's youth hockey coach?

 

I enjoyed the episode quite a bit. The opening scene on the plane was pretty gross, and the exploration of it later by the FBI was pretty grisly, but the make-up effects were amazing. I liked Anna Torv; I didn't notice any accent waverings, though I was mosting concentrating on her eyes and smile. Oh, and John Noble was great. The cow business was funny, and I also liked the reactions of the cute black girl in the lab. I could do without Joshua Jackson's character, who was annoying for the most part, but I guess he and the father come as a set.

 

The "underlying mystery" plot line is definitely showing it's age as a TV format here. This would be a great show if it refocused on the professor, sort of an inverse and dark version of "Monk". Anna Torv stood out only in the fact that I kept thinking "is she related to Cate Blanchett?"

Anybody else have a problem with the Lab "in storage for 17 years" having multiple flat panel monitors and what looked like state of the art software?

 

Apparently John Noble's thesis adviser was the Professor from Gilligans's Island. The "science" was not just impossible, but lacked creativity or style of any sort.

Taking a day trip with a relative does not cure psychosis, even if John Noble sounds very soulful while talking about waking up.

If the son is such a scamp the threat of a file can blackmail him, why is he so nice? He can't be a pedophile because his motivation is the hots for Ms FBI.

How on Earth is killing your twin brother a smart move in dealing with a rogue FBI agent?

How can the other twin possibly remember what was in his storage lockup? Obviously, he can't, except another piece of shit wants to tell us THERE'S A TICKING CLOCK BUT TORTURE ALWAYS WORKS. Rupert Murdoch and Fox, still making money by pandering to the evil, the stupid and the stupid and evil.

In all fairness, the dream sequence had power. The airplane sequence was gruesome. The scene anvils were obtrusive, but they were at least creative, something the show is rather short on. One armed woman somehow owned the scene. So, below average, instead of poor.

 

No, since it's not hard to believe they brought in new computers, because either the computers in storage would of been horribly outdated or they were taken and given to other departments back when the lab was put in storage.

 

Watch him use coconuts to knock Ms FBI agent and send her back into the water tank

 

There needs to be a moratorium on conspiracy plotlines unless they can all be merged into one giant Jericho/Prison Break/Lost/BSG/24 extravaganza.

The time machine sitting in the corner explains everything.

 

Except for the lack of perceived time in which this could have happened.

 

Maybe there were computers with the necessary software on campus and the borrowed them? After all they had an FBI agent working on a time sensitive case, I'm sure she was pulling every string she could to get their operation up and running.

 

The nutty professor asked for a bunch of equipment he didn't have. I'm sure they gave him everything he wanted and needed.

 

When the Steward of Gondor asks for something, dammit, you give it to him!

 

Tough to judge a show on a pilot. But I have to say, despite a strong lead in Torv and some interesting ideas put into play, ultimately it didn't work. The show feels uninspired and unoriginal. Not an easy feat for something that promises reanimation, teleportation, and all manner of science strangeness. And instead of doing something different to inspire a sense of mystery or foreboding, they went with the tired tried and true. Massive Conspiracy ... no, wait ... Massive Dynamic ... initially feels like just another giant black hat full of shady characters with opaque motives who are destined to dole out cryptic pronouncements about the oncoming whatever - the central bit of weirdness this show will build to, and likely muddle up, along the way.

I'll give it points for style, likeable characters, and a nod for ambition and potential, but its no better than a generously given Average.

On several occasions the dialogue was so predictable that I said it aloud with the characters.

As they watch Olivia enter the drug induced dreamscape:
"What do we do now?"
"Now, we wait."

The script was littered with such predictability.

 

I must be the only one here who kinda liked Jackson in this. He provided the only bit of humor in the entire show.

His answering the phone with "Crazy house" was the best line of the entire script.

 

Seems pretty average, and not all that interesting. None of the characters jumped out at me, and a lot of the plot seemed illogical or just impossible. Did they really need to find the son just to get to see the father? They're the FBI working on a high-profile case! I'm sure they'd be able to pull some strings. And what was the cow for? And Massive Dynamic seems far too futuristic to fit in with the rest of the show.

I'll give this show another chance, but if it doesn't rapidly improve, then I'm tuning out.

 

From this week's Entertainment Weekly (Fall Preview issue):

 

Too late, JJ. You lost me. Life's a bitch and so am I.

 

I enjoyed it quite a bit and think it has a lot of potential. The script could've benefited from another pass or two but overall I liked it.

 

I liked it - had a nice feel to it - there's potential there. I even liked the visuals, particularly the way they put the place names on the screen, and then they STAY THERE upon changing camera angles... for some reason I dug that.