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

[Mysterion]

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.

[ATimson]

Ptrope wrote:

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As for the comments here, I really don't understand this distaste for episodic television. Sorry, but continuing story/character arcs don't automatically make a show "better" - if the story being told can be told in a single episode, I have no problem with that, as long as any reasonable ramifications from it aren't ignored or forgotten as the series progresses.

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.

[Cain]

davejames wrote:

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I liked the main actress, and I think the dynamic between the characters has potential, but I'm afraid the writing and storyline just didn't grab me that strongly at all. Certainly not like Lost did, or Alias in the beginning.

The main problem for me was this feeling of "been there, done that" throughout. It's certainly well made and well acted, but the fact is, well... X-Files already DID these stories. Years ago. And did them really well too. Watching the previews for upcoming episodes gave me even more of that feeling.

Maybe if Abrams puts the focus more on the larger conspiracy, and throws lots of twists and turns at us, I could overlook all that. But right now it looks like the main emphasis is just going to be on the "weird case of the week." Which just isn't new enough for me.

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.

[davejames]

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.

[SPOCKED]

The Habs Fan wrote:

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Except it's filmed in Toronto

Hey! You keep out of my stories!!

[Tom]

I still have issues with the plane landing itself..

[Cain]

FleetLord wrote:

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I still have issues with the plane landing itself..

That is actually true. Planes can land themselves: Link.

[Temis the Vorta]

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"? 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:

Household - 5.9/9
Viewers - 9.00 M
18-49 - 3.2

That level is fine, if the show can hold onto it, but we all know about the traditional post-premiere bleed-off.

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.

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.

[davejames]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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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"? 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.

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...

[Temis the Vorta]

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

[Professor Zoom]

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.

[Sakrysta]

Procutus wrote:

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"After six hours is when they're really dead."

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

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.

[Ro_Laren]

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

[Mr Light]

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.

[Ro_Laren]

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....