The Death Slot

When Fringe first came out, it was frequently called a clear imitator of X-Files, and this wasn't an unfair comparison. The setup was very similar - a branch of the FBI focused on strange and unexplained phenomena - and also virtually every episode blatantly took elements from X-Files, even going so far to at one point show clips of the episode they were ripping off in the very scene they were doing it, so they obviously knew what they were up to. Still, it was better than most stuff on TV, and the resources of Fox allowed them to have very good production values and some of the best effects on network television. Yeah, Joshua Jackson couldn't act his way out of a speeding ticket, but the talented ensemble cast surrounding him generally made up for it, as did newcomer Anna Torv as leading woman Olivia Dunham. By the end of the season, Fringe had really come into its own. Still a follow-up to X-Files in many ways, Fringe's focus on a parallel universe has strengthened it considerably, and allowed it to go places X-Files never did.

Season three has been the best so far. Every episode has been pretty strong, and they seem to have adopted a good formula of keeping shows episodic monster-of-the-week storylines while still addressing the overarching concerns of the series. When Fringe was moved to the Friday night slot traditionally reserved for shows Fox was trying to sabotage so they could cancel them, everyone assumed the worst, and that the first episode in that slot was called "The Firefly" reminded everyone of Fox's dubious treatment of good shows. Nevertheless, Fringe had the highest ratings of any show last Friday. We'll have to wait and see if this momentum keeps up, but Fringe is a great show that deserves an audience now more than ever.

TV Review: Fringe, "The Firefly"

"The Firefly" was well done, and a good episode to pull in new viewers, as it retraced much of the show's history and lead-up to its current story arcs, made better by including the Observer, a recurring character of mysterious origin and perhaps dubious intent. It also featured guest star Christopher Lloyd, playing his usual typecast of crazy old man, and it was fun to watch him play one alongside fellow crazy old man John Noble. Lloyd played Roscoe Joyce, a former keyboardist in Walter's favourite band of his teenage years, Violet Sedan Chair (I was expecting another mad scientist) who was visited by his son despite his son being dead for twenty years.

Though the Observer was occasionally positioned as the antagonist, it was really an episode with no villain, which can be difficult to pull off. Luckily, the episode sort of lay blame on Walter himself, and brought back to the surface Walter's conflict between a sincere love for his son, and guilt about all the negative ramifications he caused to save him. So it was an emotional, Walter-heavy episode, but as John Noble is probably the best actor in the cast that's not a bad thing. We also revisited the complicated relationship between Olivia and Peter, and Peter seemed to make some first steps towards a reconciliation despite Olivia's hesitations. Though this exchange depended on Joshua Jackson's stunted emotive capabilities, it wasn't very demanding so he still handled himself all right.

Like several other episodes this seasons, "The Firefly" was preoccupied with causality, and though it was handled better (or at least cooler) earlier in "The Plateau," it still kept things complicated enough for us to appreciate that the characters couldn't predict what will happen next, but simple enough for us to trace back the cause as we see the effects. It was lighter on action than usual, but the climax was still engaging.

Finally, in a slight bit of trivia, Walter at one point employed a pair of glasses with a red and blue lens, and then claimed that they were an invention of his friend Dr. Jacoby from Washington state, effectively suggesting that Fringe is set in the same universe as Twin Peaks. Maybe the series will end with Olivia rescuing Cooper from the Black Lodge.