And Lance Reddick rocks. That guy has got a strut like a mo' fo'.

Can't wait for this.

so, third time's a charm: did it really made you wait for nextt episode as eagerly as lost and alia pilots did?

And BTW I've been rewatching early X-files and it has some great episodes but it's hardly the pinaccle of TV. Duchovny is very wooden for quite some time before he begins to improve though Anderson is good from the off. It's also NOT the only show avbout paranormal events ever made.

The fringe pilot seemed to have confused musical scoring when I saw it with bits of LOST soundtrack lifted wholesale and the Signs themem in there as well as an uninspiring title sequence. (maybe those things will change though).

Promising is how I would rate it overall.

Dochovny BECAME a very good actor. For example his appearances in Larry Sanders are superb. But he was pretty wooden to begin with in the X-Files and a bit of a self parody in Evolution.

I just wonder why X-Files fans are so defensive about this new show since it's main plot has nothing to do with the whole UFO thing that the X-Files will forever be remembered for (well that and the whole Fox/Scully will they won't they) There's also a new X-Files Movie due soon to keep fans happy.

I'm not willing to trash fringe because it has similarities to the X-Files any more than I was willing to trash the X-Files because it had similarities to the Twighlight Zone or Outer Limits.

I say give it a chance. Fringe might collapse under the weight of an overly elaborate arc and I thought the performances by the female lead and the Scientists son were ok but overshadowed by Noble and Reddick, BUT it could turn out to be very good indeed. It's just too early to tell.

So why keep harping on about the X-Files ? It had it's time and was extremely impressive in parts but it certainly shouldn't preclude any other show even trying to explore simlar themes.

I wouldn't stop watching if they did so long as they did it with style. But it seems to be concentrating on the speculative and fringe technology ideas rather than the older staples of paranormal mythology so far.

Who knows though. One Epiosode simply isn't enough to tell.

I'm just saying it's not some sacred pillar of TV whose subject matter must always be avoided.

Star Trek TOS didn't mean TV could never again tackle the subject of a crew of people in a spacecraft having various "adventures". So all the X-Files references that have been, and will keep coming up, are for me pretty irrelevant.

so, if fringe wants to be new X-files, let it. my only complaint is that effects of virus in pilot were as same as alien virus in XF (minus the alien embryo). but knowing J.J., it wouldn't surprise me at all if in season 2 super secret twist finale we find out that fringe is set in same universe as XF, and mulder and scully make a guest appearance.

I said "more sober", not "completely sober".

and 3 more words for all of you dissing fringe for it's lack of originality and ripping off x-files:

The

Night

Stalker.

I'm not impressed either by the conspiracy -- the so-called "Pattern". Most everything about this feels like every other conspiracy-laden series (including X-Files and LOST), which we've already watched before.

The lead actress is also un-impressive. At a couple of points in the pilot, her American accent falters. Overall, she's what I would call a generically pretty actress who has honed the ability to play a "strong" female lead, the kind of "power suit" female you see on the Law & Order and CSI franchises.

Really, the Fringe pilot left me underwhelmed. I don't think that's a good sign, nor do I think pilots should be allowed to be weak -- new shows really need to hit one out of the proverbial ballpark right off, and the Fringe pilot fails. I predict the pilot will premiere to big ratings, but the ratings will fall off during the second hour, and the rest of the series will see a steady decrease in ratings -- UNLESS the writing improves substantially starting in the second episode.

That's right. For me, this is the most memorable element from the pilot. The opening three minutes was effectively gory and reminded me of a teaser scene right out of an episode of The X-Files, but it's the floaty location text that is the coolest thing in the pilot. That's not really a compliment.

http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=sqIclb4qsJI

F ringe uses the same technique to, for example, have big floating words that say "FBI HEADQUARTERS." It's really the only thing I felt was most memorable about the pilot, and it's not even an original element.

As for the Fringe pilot, I enjoyed it. It's not as good as the LOST pilot, but it's better than many pilots. It all depends on what happens in the second episode, IMO.

BTW, am I the only one who noticed that the Massive Dynamics logo is a rip-off of the N64 logo?

Also, is this a fictional Asian tsunami? Because about 300,000 people died in the 2004 tsunami rather than 83,000 in the tsunami from the show. To use a recent real-life tragedy as a plot point in a sci-fi show seems in slightly poor taste. I hate to say it, but 'too soon'.

but, what are you saying? that it's OK for X-Files to resemble original Stalker, because timespan between those two was over 20 years? and there is no question about whether Carter was being "inspired" by Kolchak. he himself confirmed it on multiple occasions.

now, let's say for the sake of the argument that 6 years since the ending of XF is more then enough time for someone to create show about people who are investigating unusual occurrences in sci-fi setting.

that leaves only the fact that "they are FBI agents, just like Mulder and Scully" as the proof that fringe is riping off XF.

well, they're not. the girl is. guy and his father are scientists.

which would imply that fringe is more like 11th hour, then it is like X-Files.

and after all this, please don't get me wrong: I'm not J.J./fringe fanboy. I didn't even like the pilot all that much. all I'm saying is that, if you're gonna bitch about it, don't focus on the most unimportant aspect of it (being XF clone). try liking it for what it is: a show that may never reach XF heights due to much weaker cast and (probably) not as strong overall mythology; but a show that might have a very high entertaining value, at least in it's first couple of seasons (J.J. shows at least have that pretty much guaranteed).

and as for starting to drink again... no. never ever never ever never again.

well, at least not today.

maybe...

I'm disappointed by the Fringe pilot. However, they don't start shooting the regular series until next month. So many they recognized the problems with the pilot and will improve the regular episodes going onward. I think one aspect they must address is the conspiracy tied to the mysterious company Massive Dynamics -- they really need to do something, I don't know... DIFFERENT about this conspiracy, because based on the pilot it already feels like we're going to have to put up with the same old conspiracy crap we've put up with with several other shows (Heroes, LOST, X-Files...). I would suggest that they reveal who the mysterious CEO of the company is immediately, and not drag this plot point out... reveal the person immediately and then do something different with it, like, kill this person off, or maybe he isn't a bad guy at all but compromised by others. In other words, something DIFFERENT.

Here's my professional advice to the producers: You might be better off skewing this series toward the same female demographic that has made House and Bones successes for FOX, and not try to win the male demographic that managed to (barely) carry Sarah Connor Chronicles to another season. Based on the testing done so far on the Fringe pilot, it isn't winning over many female viewers (they think the female lead is a dumb slut) and male viewers are giving this a take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward the potential series. I say re-focus the series as Jackson's Peter and Walter as the lead -- a father-and-son dynamic, and have the female FBI whatshername play a role similar to the part that David Boreanaz plays to Emily Deschanel on Bones.

The early signs are already pointing that the demographic that carries LOST, Heroes or Battlestar (young males) will not be there to carry Fringe.

mininova.org

Learn it. Love it.

Oh wait...

That was my "Fridge." Ahem...

Sorry.

Not exactly the same thing but Umberto Lenzi's "Nightmare City" has a plane land and blood drinking radiation contaminated zombies leap out and destroy the city and the rest of Spain ... I mean the US (eventually I guess). This was back in 1980.

But Fringe doesn't seem to be setting up a big story as much as it is setting up a contrived jumping off point for a fringe-of-the-week story (yes, with a Big Bad in there...but it doesn't seem like that's where the main focus is).

There are a lot of contrivances...such as why the FBI is going to let her team up with this father and son...and why nobody at Harvard cleared out this guy's lab in 17 years (wtf?!?!?!).

The more interesting aspects of the plot -- such as Lance Reddick as a possible bad guy ("why did he send you there?") or even more on the threat of the main bad guy of the ep -- is jettisoned in favor of long drawn out intros and exposition. Your boyfriend is turning to jelly. Show some fucking initiative and outrage when Blair Brown stonewalls you. You're an FBI agent, "sweetheart". Grow a pair.

Overall, it was interesting but it needs to step it up and have a game changer or big reveal in the first few episodes or else it will just turn into a sci-fi of the week show. Which has been done.