TV Review: Fringe Goes to Break With All Sorts of Craziness

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 3, 2008

Fringe, FOX, Airs Tuesday 9/8c

Episode: “Safe” (Season 1, Episode 10)

Synopsis: After a series of mysterious bank robberies, a suspect is found embedded into a wall, causing Walter to realize that they have not only found a way to literally walk through walls, but are looking for something he’s made in the past.

Review: Leave it to J.J. Abrams to drop us off at the end of a series with a long break ahead of us and leave it all just hanging. He’s never done this before, has he? In this instance Fringe heads into its winter break, destined to return in January to answer for us all of the questions that will plague us in our sleep — like what the hell?

“What the Hell?” is probably the best way to describe Fringe, which is quickly becoming one of the most unique and daring shows on television. And while this is my first shot at reviewing it, I will say that I’ve been following along all year, enjoying every moment of it. In a show that is dominated by a strong performance from newcomer Anna Torv, much of the spotlight seems to be stolen by the dynamic duo, John Noble as the nutty professor Waler and Joshua Jackson as his estranged son Peter. On the shoulders of these three characters, this show succeeds in selling us on the value of the odd, the gruesome and the sometimes outright ridiculous. And in this final episode until January everything continues to go the way of your looniest sci-fi dreams.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will stay away from revealing the wacky, but awesome events of the episode’s final moments. What you should know about this week’s episode of Fringe is that once again it is all very well executed. For a show that centers on such odd and fantastical topics — everything from turning people into radioactive weapons to walking through walls — it does a good job of catching its audience and making it all feel very grounded. It has this authenticity that is comforting, especially to the die hard sci-fi fan. And what a refreshing and wonderful thing that can be. As well, as I mentioned before, the performances really sell it — John Noble is hilarious and wild, one of my favorite characters in the new TV season. He alone makes Fringe a weekly must-see. If you aren’t watching Fringe, then head over to Fox.com and get to watching the first ten episodes. You’ve got until January to get caught up with the rest of us — come on people, I do not want to be alone in my anxious anticipation of what happens next.

Up Next: Fringe returns in January.

Read More: Fringe Recaps

What do you think of the first half season of Fringe?

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