Considering starting Fringe - Page 2

bigdaddy · September 29 2012, 01:08 AM

Season 1 sucked, I gave up on the show. But the last few episodes were great. Season 2 and 3 were the peak, but very hit or miss.

Season 4 the show went off the rails. I'd wait until February and see how the show ends.

Procutus · September 29 2012, 01:51 AM

bigdaddy wrote:

Season 4 the show went off the rails.

I kinda have to agree. Season 4 was my least favorite, though it did have it's moments and certainly ended in a very interesting manner. At this point, I'm willing to accept that we'll never see the original two universes and just try to enjoy this new direction the show is moving in.

bigdaddy · September 29 2012, 02:06 AM

Procutus wrote:

bigdaddy wrote:

Season 4 the show went off the rails.

I kinda have to agree. Season 4 was my least favorite, though it did have it's moments and certainly ended in a very interesting manner. At this point, I'm willing to accept that we'll never see the original two universes and just try to enjoy this new direction the show is moving in.

That's my issue. I felt like I watched 3 seasons of a show just to have everything we knew and loved throw away for the new direction, and that new direction just doesn't make sense to me.

JD · September 29 2012, 02:32 AM

Fringe is one of my favorite shows. I'll be honest, Season 1 does take a little while to really get going, but once it does it's great up until the end of Season 3. Now, I will admit, Season 4 is a little agravating, but I still really enjoyed it. Definitely recommend the entire series.

Elemental · September 29 2012, 03:17 AM

So, did the season 5 premiere offer enough inspiration to make you guys optimistic about the home stretch for the series?

Violet.Phoenix · September 29 2012, 04:26 AM

I absolutely love this show. It does start off slow in season 1, but it is totally worth it once you get into seasons 2 and 3. I feel like seasons 1-3 are their own seperate arc from seasons 4 and 5, and I do agree with others that season 4 was weaker. Don't get me wrong, it had some great episodes, but not nearly as good as the build-up that season 3 had.

I will not say much about season 5, only that the set-up that we got at the end of season 4 already seems to be paying off!

I would say give it a shot, and be patient. There is a definite pay-off with this show.

bigdaddy · September 29 2012, 04:54 PM

Elemental wrote:

So, did the season 5 premiere offer enough inspiration to make you guys optimistic about the home stretch for the series?

No.

I still don't get how the first three seasons, even most of the 4th, fits into what is going on now is season 5. To me it's not a mystery waiting to be answered, it's if the writers are just fucking with us and got lucky for 3 seasons of the show that were good.

Elemental · September 29 2012, 06:07 PM

Finished the premiere this morning. Not bad. I liked the twist at the end with the male agent double-crossing. The characters show some promise. I'm not totally sold on Joshua Jackson's character. I've never really bought into the predictable Hollywood archetype these supposed genius characters are given. Kind of the same thing with his dad. The whole "I'm just so friggen smart that my behaviour is off the wall crazy" bit has been done too often. I'm sure that his acting ability will make it enjoyable enough in the end though.

Brikar99 · September 30 2012, 04:12 AM

Elemental wrote:

Finished the premiere this morning. Not bad. I liked the twist at the end with the male agent double-crossing. The characters show some promise. I'm not totally sold on Joshua Jackson's character. I've never really bought into the predictable Hollywood archetype these supposed genius characters are given. Kind of the same thing with his dad. The whole "I'm just so friggen smart that my behaviour is off the wall crazy" bit has been done too often. I'm sure that his acting ability will make it enjoyable enough in the end though.

They do explain later why Walter is crazy.

stj · September 30 2012, 02:43 PM

My advice is, no. John Noble's performance is great but even the Walter character is replaced by different Walters. But the show is always centered on Olivia as a wish fulfilment character, almost always to the point of hurting the show. Anna Torv makes her not repulsive enough to throw small objects at your TV screen, but not even she can make it good. Also, as a glance at just a few posts shows, you've been warned that the serialized story is awful. This series is an excellent illustration of the thesis that open-ended serialization will destroy itself.

Elemental · September 30 2012, 05:05 PM

stj wrote:

My advice is, no. John Noble's performance is great but even the Walter character is replaced by different Walters. But the show is always centered on Olivia as a wish fulfilment character, almost always to the point of hurting the show. Anna Torv makes her not repulsive enough to throw small objects at your TV screen, but not even she can make it good. Also, as a glance at just a few posts shows, you've been warned that the serialized story is awful. This series is an excellent illustration of the thesis that open-ended serialization will destroy itself.

In doing some "research", I had read that the producers had pre-plotted out the major events of the series early on. Is this not the case?

stj · September 30 2012, 06:13 PM

^^^They did it on purpose?

There were so many dangly scenes and plot points, and so much bafflement over what was supposed to happen this is really hard to believe that they planned all this. Lay out a season, sure. If this was all intentional, the writers are complete morons. It seems unlikely, Walter was a delight until about the third version.

JD · September 30 2012, 07:07 PM

stj wrote:

My advice is, no. John Noble's performance is great but even the Walter character is replaced by different Walters. But the show is always centered on Olivia as a wish fulfilment character, almost always to the point of hurting the show. Anna Torv makes her not repulsive enough to throw small objects at your TV screen, but not even she can make it good. Also, as a glance at just a few posts shows, you've been warned that the serialized story is awful. This series is an excellent illustration of the thesis that open-ended serialization will destroy itself.

I have to disagree. I like Olivia's character, and I've loved the arc.

stj · September 30 2012, 08:11 PM

^^^Obviously tastes differ. Personally I like my plots to make as much sense as possible. But if you liked Olivia (instead of Anna Torv,) it would certainly go far to improve the viewing experience.

The OP might observe that the ratings strongly suggest that far more people dislike the arc than like.

Takeru · September 30 2012, 08:58 PM

Elemental wrote:

In doing some "research", I had read that the producers had pre-plotted out the major events of the series early on. Is this not the case?

I don't know but I don't believe it for a second.

September 29 2012, 01:08 AM	#16
bigdaddy Vice Admiral Location: Space Massachusetts	Re: Considering starting Fringe Season 1 sucked, I gave up on the show. But the last few episodes were great. Season 2 and 3 were the peak, but very hit or miss. Season 4 the show went off the rails. I'd wait until February and see how the show ends. __________________ "Bqhatevwr" - Former Senator Scott Brown

September 29 2012, 02:32 AM	#19
JD Admiral Location: Arizona, USA	Re: Considering starting Fringe Fringe is one of my favorite shows. I'll be honest, Season 1 does take a little while to really get going, but once it does it's great up until the end of Season 3. Now, I will admit, Season 4 is a little agravating, but I still really enjoyed it. Definitely recommend the entire series. __________________ Over the course of many encounters and many years, I have successfully developed a standard operating procedure for dealing with big, nasty monsters. Run away. Me and Monty Python. Harry Dresden - Blood Rites (The Dresden Files #6)

September 29 2012, 03:17 AM	#20
Elemental Rear Admiral Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada	Re: Considering starting Fringe So, did the season 5 premiere offer enough inspiration to make you guys optimistic about the home stretch for the series?

September 29 2012, 04:26 AM	#21
Violet.Phoenix Commander Location: A distant corner of the Zeta Quadrant...	Re: Considering starting Fringe I absolutely love this show. It does start off slow in season 1, but it is totally worth it once you get into seasons 2 and 3. I feel like seasons 1-3 are their own seperate arc from seasons 4 and 5, and I do agree with others that season 4 was weaker. Don't get me wrong, it had some great episodes, but not nearly as good as the build-up that season 3 had. I will not say much about season 5, only that the set-up that we got at the end of season 4 already seems to be paying off! I would say give it a shot, and be patient. There is a definite pay-off with this show. __________________ "It's never easy, but if we turn our backs on our principles we stop being human." - Kathryn Janeway, "Equinox Part 1".

September 29 2012, 06:07 PM	#23
Elemental Rear Admiral Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada	Re: Considering starting Fringe Finished the premiere this morning. Not bad. I liked the twist at the end with the male agent double-crossing. The characters show some promise. I'm not totally sold on Joshua Jackson's character. I've never really bought into the predictable Hollywood archetype these supposed genius characters are given. Kind of the same thing with his dad. The whole "I'm just so friggen smart that my behaviour is off the wall crazy" bit has been done too often. I'm sure that his acting ability will make it enjoyable enough in the end though.

STAR TREK

CSI

ABOUT US

September 30 2012, 02:43 PM	#25
stj Rear Admiral Location: the real world	Re: Considering starting Fringe My advice is, no. John Noble's performance is great but even the Walter character is replaced by different Walters. But the show is always centered on Olivia as a wish fulfilment character, almost always to the point of hurting the show. Anna Torv makes her not repulsive enough to throw small objects at your TV screen, but not even she can make it good. Also, as a glance at just a few posts shows, you've been warned that the serialized story is awful. This series is an excellent illustration of the thesis that open-ended serialization will destroy itself. __________________ Morals are what you do to other people. Other people, what we call society, are essential to human happiness. Therefore, morals are the path to happiness. My morals, your happiness; your morals, my happiness: It's a fair trade.

September 30 2012, 06:13 PM	#27
stj Rear Admiral Location: the real world	Re: Considering starting Fringe ^^^They did it on purpose? There were so many dangly scenes and plot points, and so much bafflement over what was supposed to happen this is really hard to believe that they planned all this. Lay out a season, sure. If this was all intentional, the writers are complete morons. It seems unlikely, Walter was a delight until about the third version. __________________ Morals are what you do to other people. Other people, what we call society, are essential to human happiness. Therefore, morals are the path to happiness. My morals, your happiness; your morals, my happiness: It's a fair trade.

September 30 2012, 08:11 PM	#29
stj Rear Admiral Location: the real world	Re: Considering starting Fringe ^^^Obviously tastes differ. Personally I like my plots to make as much sense as possible. But if you liked Olivia (instead of Anna Torv,) it would certainly go far to improve the viewing experience. The OP might observe that the ratings strongly suggest that far more people dislike the arc than like. __________________ Morals are what you do to other people. Other people, what we call society, are essential to human happiness. Therefore, morals are the path to happiness. My morals, your happiness; your morals, my happiness: It's a fair trade.