Review - FRINGE 4.16: 'Nothing As It Seems'

Lincoln: I really have to drink that?
Walter: Only if you wanna live.

Now that Pacey Poof has his Olivia back, the show is now ready to tackle the grander story arcs we all love (except those of you who don't love them).

Olivia Dunham, having now become the Olivia Dunham from season 3, is no longer someone the FBI trusts, exactly. So she is essentially put on the bench while they or she figure things out. It seems that Peter has decided to not tell anyone that he is in the right place and that the problem is rooted in what he did in the other timeline.

Why hasn't he told anyone? I guess he likes secrets.

At least we get to revisit something from a previous season, namely the porcupine man who died on that plane way back when. Except this time, he makes it off the plane before morphing into the monster and taking out some TSA agents. So the gang has to figure out what's going on and why things are different.

It's an okay storyline. If you are into this kind of thing. I'm not. And the monster's flying. Somewhere out there, a FRINGE fan is fapping away at this. Whatever is happening with this plot line relates to the grander story arc of this season, but the episode only hints at bigger things to come.

Tossed into the mix is Walter's gradual warming up to Peter, Lincoln's pining for Olivia while transforming into an eating machine after being infected by the monster virus or something, and the FBI's eventual acceptance of Olivia as a capable agent.

What's good about it? Well, the relationships we actually loved last season (and by "we" I mean me, because that's all that matters) are getting closer to existing again. Walter and Peter seem to be acting like father and son again (who is the genius in the writers room who thought stripping the most enjoyable portion of the show away was a good idea anyway?). Peter and Olivia are back together and being a super boring couple again. That's a good thing simply because we've stopped with the ridiculous "oh nos is Peter in da right place and is she the realzies Olivia?!?!?!". Lincoln is still a bitch. His alternate universe half is so much cooler.

If I had to rate this one, I'd give it:

75 out of 100

I am sure there are those of you who love this kind of episode because this is why you watch FRINGE. I need more. Sure, the Walter and Peter getting closer stuff I love. BUT I NEED MORE! There are just a few episodes left. They'd better get their shit together and make torture worth it or I will punch a puppy!

Man, this review sucks.

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Review - FRINGE 4.14: ‘The End of All Things’

"The End of All Things" brings us some answers that we maybe don't need and creates questions that still seem to have obvious answers. I really want to be wrong but the writers keep making me right.

First of all, as I said last week, the whole falling-in-love and Peter going to rescue his dearest love story line was happening way too early in the season and so of course they pulled back on that last night, as if operating straight out of the will-they-won't-they playbook.

Peter's logic is so forced that it feels unnatural. He has never been told he's in the wrong timeline by the Observers, so why is he so confident that he needs to get back there? In fact, in the show's biggest reveal, we find out that the Observers are human scientists from the future (and some timeline or another). Outside of not really needing that much information (I prefer not knowing the details of mysteries like this) it revealed something that should have made Peter think about his in-the-wrong-timeline theory.

September reveals to Peter that Fauxlivia gave birth to Peter's son, Henry, and that it was a product of the Observer's mistake. Apparently Peter was never supposed to have a child with Fauxlivia, but by trying to fix his error, September put into motion a series of events that resulted in the wrong girl giving birth to Peter's love child. It was a nice touch to call back to something most fans thought had been brushed under the rug, but will it have any impact on the grand story line? Unfortunately, it seems to have been only introduced to further confuse Peter's perception that he has to remain loyal to what he believes is his Olivia.

So if September has been trying to correct a mistake and that mistake is the death of Peter, and by correcting that he created the past and present situations, then logically Peter IS THE TIMELINE. He is the constant. If Peter exists, then everyone around him exists. He's not in the wrong timeline. Everyone else is in HIS timeline. And September tells him that the reason he tried to correct things is because Peter is special. So why does Peter jump to conclusions? Why doesn't he just ask September "Am I in the right timeline but everyone else just forgot me when I got erased but I am so important to the future of mankind that time simply keeps reinserting me back in?" Instead he inserts his own theory into what he's being told, even though September has never acknowledged it as being accurate.

It is infuriating. Sure, most people probably won't even think about it while watching the show, but we are now 10 or so episodes into this Peter-needs-to-get-back-home bullshit even though it seemed obvious when it was first introduced that he's IN THE RIGHT PLACE. I would love to be wrong and I will eat crow if I am, but I'm not. And by making it so obvious, the writers make potentially really good episodes, like last night's, into something that ends up irritating me the more I think about it.

Should I even mention how badly they telegraphed that the Nina with Olivia was not the real one? Nah. Let's just let it live on its own.

Look, the episode was enjoyable at times and could have been great, but by giving us an answer about the Observers that isn't all that interesting (much like what the Final Five were in BSG, or what the numbers meant in LOST, no spoilers) and then returning us emotionally back to where we were two episodes ago, isn't something I want to applaud much.

The only real positive movement, if you can call it positive, is that Olivia is now going to be in full pursuit mode to convince her dearest love that she's his. But I don't know how exciting it will be to watch Peter shoot her down over and over while guiltily pining for her as he thinks he's supposed to be with someone else. It feels like something that could wear thin pretty quickly unless you are a 13-year old girl.

I didn't really touch on the rest of the episode because, until we get a clearer picture of what David Robert Jones is up to, there isn't much to discuss. He obviously has a plan and it's probably sinister as hell but this episode didn't leave much meat on that bone. The only thing his involvement did was reveal how much Olivia is affected by Peter and how his presence motivates her power. It's kind of romantic and all but in the end is just part of the general stalling tactic to bring us to Peter's eventual realization that she is his Olivia.

The really big question the episode left out there is: if Peter was so important to his universe that September had to save him, and that his having a child with Fauxlivia was so wrong, then if he wasn't meant to cross over, why is this Olivia his dearest love? Unless Olivia was always meant to cross over to the other universe, meet Peter, and have his babies there. I guess time will tell.

If I had to rate this episode, I'd give it:

78 out of 100

Yes, I did a lot of complaining about this one but there were moments when I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it loses points for Peter's continued refusal to just ask simple and obvious questions either of himself or September. And I wouldn't even mind his idiocy if his behavior was better, more believably, written. Plus, the one step forward two steps back mentality is used like a crutch by every writers room on this planet when running out of good ideas. That worries me that the eventual payoff will fall flat by the time we get to it.

Season 4 has had some good episodes and may end up having a great payoff, but it has been one long stalling tactic and that's rarely a good sign on any show.

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FRINGE 4.10: 'Forced Perspective'

This review is going to be very short because I couldn't give any less shit about cases-of-the-week.

Some girl can see the future and draw it (sounds like HEROES) and it involves people dying. She eventually sees a big explosion and saves the day before her brain explodes or some shit, blahblah.

Now, let's get to the only important thing in this episode. An Observer told Olivia that she has to die. Olivia is a tad concerned about this. When she is able to talk a suicide bomber down and stop what the drawing-girl saw in her vision, she feels it is perhaps possible to change her own fate.

She then talks to Peter who tells her what the Observers are and also that he doesn't believe they can be wrong when they tell you something about the future since they've lived it. Obviously this is a setup to the end of the season when we find out that you CAN IN FACT CHANGE THE FUTURE! OMG!

Actually, I would rather the season/series end on someone having to sacrifice themselves for the other (like we would have gotten at the end of season 3) but I doubt they will do it.

Oh, there's a scene between Nina and Olivia where Olivia confesses her true love for her mother-figure. Then talks about her headaches. Nina tells her she has some new medicine for her. Ruhroh.

Anyway, though I am bored to mostly death by these cases-of-the-week, this one wasn't terrible and the hunt for the bomb and bomber had some interesting elements. However, there was so little actual advancement to the plot that I could have just skipped it and not lost out on much of anything.

If I had to rate this one, I'd give it:

79 out of 100

It could have been worse. It could have been better. This is my "I didn't want to delete it from my DVR right away" score. At least there was some Walter and Peter interaction. Though, nowhere near enough.

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FRINGE 4.06 - And Those We’ve Left Behind

I had sworn earlier this week, on Twitter, that I wouldn't write any more FRINGE reviews, but here I am.  Why?  Because I was so impressed by the latest episode that I couldn't help but write about it? I guess we will find out together. Read on.

One of the first things that struck me was that it took the writers SIX episodes to realize that they NEEDED a Peter and Olivia moment that demonstrated their love, even if as a dream. It is strange that there wasn't an awareness of the need for such a scene earlier. In any event, the scene works well to set up the entire Peter issue and the problem Walter has with his son, and the lack of emotional investment in him from Olivia (though, as I said in my last review, this makes for a weak narrative device). At least we get a scene of Peter enjoying his time with Olivia, taking time to stare at her longingly even as she seems annoyed by him. Or Olivia catching her Pacey-Poof-from-another-time being kind to strangers in his dreamy hot ways.

However, by this point, I realize that the biggest satisfaction, like in season 1, is going to come from the Walter/Peter interactions and this is where things still work. Even though Walter is trying his best to ignore Peter, the crazy chemistry between the two actors/characters is inescapable. It is actually funny how good Noble and Jackson are even as Walter calls Peter "the subject" and "it" as a way to avoid identifying with him.

The near joy Walter experiences when Peter questions his reasoning, is a perfect touch that in a matter of seconds deals with the excitement, sadness, confusion, guilt, and reality of what Walter feels about this man who is in the form of his grown-up son. And that, if I may harp one more time, is my problem with how Olivia is being written. We know Torv is capable of layered performances, but right now all she is being given is the Dumbham of season 1. Annoying!

Alright, back to the story. Apparently the Peter-problem is bigger than just being forgotten. Seems like there is some space-time continuum issue and Peter may be the cause! Ruhroh! I still maintain that all of this will end in either Peter having to kill Walter, or Walter having to kill Peter to save the universe, but I digress. So, just as Olivia begins to question why she was once having dreams about Peter, her future dearest love interrupts them and Peter starts time-jumping. Though Peter thinks this could get annoying, I dig this shit! And when we are introduced to the event instigator, I am totally in the pocket of this show again.

You don't need me to give a point-by-point of the episode but I will say that I truly enjoyed the case-of-the-week yet again, because it was performed and written well. Unlike the "you're a stranger what would I feel" moment between Olivia and Peter that felt like it was written for a shitty fan-fic. It seems that every week the writers are going to try to accentuate the love two people have for each other, as long as those two people are not the two the season is about (since Peter seems to be in the "wrong place" and needs to get back to it or some shit-that-you-know-isn't-accurate).

Otherwise, an excellent episode that represents the things I really dig about the show. Humor, heart, drama, space-time continuum, time displacement, Pacey Poof, Walter, and the apathetic look of the woman you love(d). Well, minus that last thing.

If I had to rate this episode, I would give it:

92 out of 100.

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FRINGE 4.04 - Pacey Poof part 4

If you haven't seen the latest episode of FRINGE, stop reading NOW!

OK, so... Pacey Poof, aka Peter Bishop, is still missing and baddaboombaddabing... an episode happens!

Let me just start off by saying that I am a fan of this type of episode. There is no case-of-the-week and instead we happen onto a case based on something related to the characters. This is of course something that half of season 2 and most of season 3 was full of and why I am still watching the show. Therefor, I am predisposed to digging this one right out of the gate.

Walter and Olivia are both invested in discovering who this man is they are either seeing or dreaming about, especially when Olivia is visited by a blue orb or energy that arm rapes her. Meanwhile, there is a bullshit side story about whether or not Olivia will fuck Walter over and toss his limey arse back in the nut house. She won't. Spoiler?

Anyway, so the main story takes Olivia and Walter onto some ridiculously convenient path that results in some dude with the EXACT FUCKIN' POWERS NECESSARY TO BRING PETER BACK to be mistakenly thought to be the cause of the blue orb arm-raper phenomenon. He reveals he is not the dude causing the blue shit but that he is happy to wax emo about what Walter did to all the super duper special kids way back in the olden days of 1998 or some shit, when cell phones, the Internet, and handheld computing devices hasn't been invented... (or had they?! tune in next week!).

But I digress. So, Walter brings them to some power station blahblahblah proper-amount-of-suck and PETER IS BACK!

This is actually where the episode gets really fuckface interesting and I realize just how much this show blows poo-bubbles when Pacey Poof isn't around. The second we have even a hint of him, the show is awesome again. And then it fuckin' ends!

Next week, why doesn't anyone remember Peter and how will they finally remember him? I promise you one thing, we won't find out next week (since there is a two week break). Oops, that's like a fuckin' paradox, yo.

COMMUNITY rocked Thursday with SEVEN timelines! FRINGE had a bit of trouble with one this week, but in the end, it was mostly satisfying to see my hetero-life-mate return.

Were I to rank this episode, I would give it:

84 out of 100

It could have been better if not for the terribly contrived plotting that brought Peter back.

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FRINGE 4.03 - Bored to Death... returns to HBO this Monday!

There comes a time in every young man's life when he asks himself "Do I give a shit about this shit?"

What does that have to do with the latest episode of FRINGE? Probably something but I forgot where I was going with that. More after the jump.

Whatever that means.

I have always found the case-of-the-week bullshit on FRINGE to be at worst holy-fuckin-shit-stupid, and at best almost interesting. So the fact that this season has delivered three wholly useless COTW's, means I find myself slowly disconnecting with the entirety of the grander arc.

Sure, I was happy to see Peter's imprint on the world was still around in episode 1, and to see him literally affecting someone in that world in episode 2, and I was also excited about the affect it was having on Walt in episode 3. But in all those episodes the thrill of this story arc hunt was kneed in the ballzies by filler COTW junk. And I can only take so much of that before it grates on me. In seasons 1 and at least half of season 2, I found myself fast forwarding through episodes because of this issue, but it mostly stopped in season 3 when they found a nice mix of barely dealing with any more COTW's while diving head-first into actual kick-ass too-cool-for-idiots story shit.

And so episode 4.03 made me fast forward... and I don't like to fast forward because eventually my time shifting catches up to live and then I have to watch fuckin' commercials. And when I have to watch fuckin' commercials, that might mean somewhere in the country a Nielsen viewer is watching a commercial too and then I am indirectly responsible for keeping this show on the air!

Fuck that.

If CHUCK has to die, then FRINGE has to die too. It's just the way it has to be.

So... what did I think of this episode that I can qualify numerically for an overall score? I liked the kid actor in the crappy COTW. Usually child actors suck hardcore. But he didn't and it is unfortunate his talents were wasted on this yawnfest of a story. I enjoyed Noble's performance but found Torv to be tiring me out, mostly due to the sequences in which her character served to forward the COTW. That other dude who plays her partner... this must have been his pro bono week since he put zero effort into it. Finally, I did like a few of the Peter flashes and such but why wouldn't Peter realize he was doing that much damage to his father and stop messing with the nutbag, especially while someone was talking to him? I mean, in mid fuckin sentence Peter is interrupting Walter, making him feel extra bit of craycray? What the fuck kind of erased-from-time son is that? What an ungrateful blinky shit! I miss my Pacey Poof but I am put off by him for being such a crappy douche.

Were I to rank this episode from zero to one hundred, zero being pretty shittin' bad and one hundred being kind of awesome, I would give this one....

78 out of 100

Not good enough to watch again. Not bad enough to pretend it never happened.

At least next week we get what no one told me is the best episode of the season so far.

P.S.

I wrote this in a great deal of pain. Feel sorry for me, assholes.

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FRINGE Spoiler: Pacey Poof

A source of mine from the old CHUCK days (so... 3 months ago), has come across a pretty huge spoiler about another WB geek show that loves living on the bubble of renewal or cancellation.

At the end of season 3 of FRINGE, Pacey Poof, aka Peter Bishop, was apparently erased from history. Or that is what the Observers standing outside of the Liberty Island location said. However, this source says that isn't accurate.

Peter existed until he died as a child from the sickness the show revealed in season 2. And while this may be a spoiler on its own, what the source said next is the juicier bit.

"To all these characters, an adult Peter never existed and so they are going through their lives without him having been in it. Or so the audience is meant to believe. See, when Peter departed the world he left behind a trigger of sorts. This trigger will start the ball rolling as the characters begin to realize that something isn't right."

So what do you think it means? How will Walter and Olivia get Peter back? And what is this "trigger"? Discuss! If this generates enough interest, maybe this source will feed the spoiler beast some more.

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FRINGE - Was It Worth My Time?

Pacey Bishop is Sexy, Like a Meow Meow

After my run with X-FILES back in the day, and my general distaste for all things sci-fi gore/horror, I decided, after one episode, that I had no interest in watching FRINGE. I found the lead female actor to be dull and poorly executed, and the story uninteresting. So I simply discarded it as a show that I would ever watch.

As the summer of 2011 closed in and I started contemplating doing this site, I realized that I couldn't possibly avoid the show, since it had become the new big geek/nerd deal. Also, a couple of friends who were fans of other shows I watched were often talking about it so I decided to just bite the bullet and catch up on all three seasons.

What follows are my general feelings as I watched the seasons. Note that there will be spoilers for those who have not seen the show. I do not recommend you read this if you want to know nothing. So stop right here if you don't want to be spoiled.  You should also stop right here if you are fragile.  Finally, you can scroll to the bottom to see my grades for the different seasons, if that helps your decision to watch or not:

SEASON 1

Right away I find this Australia Dumbham (played by Anna Torv), or whatever her name is, to be the most wooden, uninteresting, blank sheet of papery character.  I can't even be bothered to learn her correct name.  I mostly just call her "FBI b***h."  As in "that FBI b***h needs to die so I can almost enjoy this show."  Plus, her American accent is terrible.  This one is what I call the marble-mouth American accent where the actor sounds like she is rolling a marble under her tongue when trying to say certain words. I had recognized it when I watched one episode at some point during the live run of the show, but this is nearly every episode of me not caring about her character and hating her accent. I just want the writers to set her on fire. Is that possible? She seems like a main character/actor. I can't believe I have to watch this talentless hack for TWO MORE SEASONS!

Thankfully, Walter Bishop is addictive, awesome, brilliant, adorable, and superbly acted (by John Noble)! Also, Walter's relationship with his son, Pacey Bishop (played by Joshua Jackson), is very interesting and often wildly entertaining. I am happy about this because the snoozefest that is Australia Dumbham would have made this show a torture to watch. Granted, I really, really, super really, HATE the whole sci-fi horror/gore genre. I don't like zombies, I don't like goblins or monsters or bubbling masses of cancer cells. I don't dig it, I don't get the interest, and I piss in the mouths of people who masturbate while watching that crap. So I am already predisposed to disliking this show.

But I watch and I suffer through the case-of-the-week boredom, while enjoying Walter and his relationship/exchanges with his son. Thank the gods for Walter and Pacey. I can almost cancel out the insufferable FBI b***h and the storylines. I sometimes fast forward through the episodes. It is the first time I have ever fast forwarded through episodes. That is how much I dislike the genre and Dumbham (I laugh outloud every time she answers her phone: "DUMBHAM!").

Dumbham needs to poop.

I survive season 1 but barely. Oh no... are there more episodes in season 2? This is not good.  Also, I think I just realized Walter's son's name is Peter.  Goodbye Pacey Bishop.

SEASON 2

Man... this show isn't getting any better. Walter and Peter are still great but FBI b***h is just as bad as ever. Correction, Anna Torv's American accent has improved (she has a smaller marble in her mouth now). But from a story telling perspective, this season doesn't improve much, if at all. UNTIL... the final few episodes when there is a sudden rush on a real story arc.  Oh and I should mention that there is an episode in the middle of the season left over from season 1.  Featuring a character who is dead.  Yeah.  That just happened.

Yes, he is a scientist, but he's also trippin' balls!

Now, before I tackle what leads us into season three, I want to say that there are some original elements in this show that pop up every now and then. One of those is the "Observers." This is one of those story devices that made me fall for LOST and BSG. That something much bigger and unexplainable is at work. If done right, this type of story telling device can propel an otherwise mediocre show to greatness because it invests the audience in the bigger picture, not just what happens in individual episodes.

OK, so jumping back into where season two goes at the end, I am suddenly interested starting with the end of episode 15. However, it isn't until episodes 21 to 23 where I start looking forward to what comes next. Sure, Peter's decision to leave seems out of character, since he is such a deep thinker and with such a strong will, but I suppose I can also see that he feels disconnected from the things around him and decides to see what is on the other side. Also, there has been a slow build-up of possible romantic feelings between Peter and Australia. This begins to actually reveal itself here as Peter meets the other world FBI b***h. When she asks him what the other her is like, Peter's response is very honest and likely a revelation to himself. It is probably my favorite acting moment for Joshua Jackson, up to this point, and the point where shipper hearts likely took off like I do when one of my relationships gets serious.

The season ends on a very predictable but interesting note as one Australia takes the place of the other, and FBI b***h is left behind (good, I hope they kill her). I am finally interested in where they may take this.

SEASON 3

Anna Torv is a revelation! What the hell happened here? I can't remember an actor going from a talentless hack to the one-to-watch three seasons into a show. Were the writers just giving her so little to do that it underwhelmed the actor? Is she like one of those geniuses who, if you don't challenge them, they deliver a half-assed job? Whatever it is, someone was screwing with me for two seasons.  I am just happy to see that the writers have given Torv two new characters to play.  Olivia Dunham and Olivia Dunham (the other world version who we shall call Fauxlivia to make things easier).  I know, not very original seeing as she played Australia Dumbham for two seasons, but I guess it is easier for the actor to remember her character's name if it is so similar.  After all, she is blond and you know things get really difficult for them.

Suddenly Olivia/Fauxlivia are the most interesting characters on the show. The arcs are deep. The emotions are complex. Both characters are similar but also noticeably different. Body language, facial expressions, even the way they speak is different. When Olivia smiles, it is the smile of someone who doesn't take happiness for granted. When Fauxlivia smiles, it is the smile of someone who is very happy to be who she is. But these stark differences also create a problem for Peter's character.

Someone's got some 'splainin' to do!

Peter Bishop is so smart, so aware, so detail oriented that it becomes increasingly difficult to believe that he wouldn't notice the difference. Sure, they have him note some differences but he seems to dismiss them too easily. This does his character a disservice. And this is a common issue for writers. The idea to change things up adds a new level to the show but often at the expense of another strong element. To work, Peter has to be dumbed down and I am sure fans of his character must have been livid over it.

Thankfully, once Peter begins to piece things together and, more importantly, when he is confronted by the real Olivia about it, the writers give Peter a believable (or close enough to it) explanation. Should he have known right away? Maybe. Did he? Maybe. But he wasn't thinking clearly because he wanted to make things work, even if he knew something wasn't right. Is it a bit tough to swallow? Yeah. But it also makes for an interesting dynamic between the three characters since... dundundun... Peter and Fauxlivia kind of fell for each other realzies like. Oh, and she is preggers! But Peter is in love with Olivia, or so it would seem, so this could get interesting.

Meanwhile, we have been dealing with a weapon that can destroy worlds and Peter's quest to discover what it is all about and his place in all of it. It seems that Peter is the juice the machine needs to work. At this point I begin to make bets with people that Peter will step into the machine in the finale and destroy one of the worlds, then scramble to take it back in season 4. The writers pull a CHUCK on this one and accelerate the storyline instead of using it for another season. But before I go there, the show deals with the Peter and Olivia romance, as well as the Fauxlivia pregnancy.

The Fauxlivia pregnancy is dealt with very quickly but with some fun dramatic beats (I am of course leaving out a ton of episodes between all of this just to get to the main points) and I get the feeling that the birth of her and Peter's son will have a greater deal of importance in season 4 than it did in season 3 (as nothing more than a tool for DNA). Meanwhile, after roughly 20 dramatic conversations (exhausting but sometimes believable and well written) about their relationship, Peter and Olivia finally become a couple and now I am sure one of them is going to die!

Somewhere along the way Peter has become my favorite character. Now, I am a heterosexual male with no bisexual tendencies but I am willing to go back to college to experiment.  Peter is dreamy.  I don't care how that makes me sound. It is the truth. I want him to snuggle me and tell me everything will be alright. Is that wrong? If it is, then I am prepared to wage a war against right. That man is just intoxicating. I want to go watch reruns of his other show, Richard Dawson's Creep.  Stop looking at me like that, guys!  Oh... Pacey.  Peter!  I meant Peter!  I wish I was a woman right now.... I sure hope that doesn't come back to haunt me some day when I run for president.  But I digress.

Peter tries to clone himself the lazy way. If only...

And so that brings us to the finale. The series finally pays off this Peter and Olivia connection that has been threatening to save or destroy worlds. I love it.  I also love the fake-out future where Olivia is murdered by other world Walter.  Sure, they do away with it quickly but the drama and emotions Jackson and Noble deliver in their sit-down confrontation is intense.  But I am beyond furious the moment Peter winks out of existence after "saving" both worlds. I throw things at my TV. I kick my PS3 across the room. I swing my arms around in the air like a monkey. But then I start thinking about the meaning of what I just watched.

I am sure that even though Peter went poof, he exists somewhere. He just doesn't exist to these characters at this time. But will they begin to remember him over time? Will they feel a loss, even if they can't remember why they feel it? Peter made an enormous impression on two worlds, he can't just be wiped away for eternity. And does Peter exist on a different plane? Can he now travel between worlds? Is he invisible? Is he a god? Can he remember everything and see everyone? Is he suddenly all-knowing? Does he go back in time and return to his body as a child but with all the memories of a man who just saved two worlds? Does he become Neo?  Can he appear in my bed right now?  Arrrgh!  Damn you, Peter! Why must thou be so full of wonderful?

This is why I am interested in seeing FRINGE season 4. Because the writers didn't play it safe. They elevated the game. And while I never had much interest in watching this show, I am glad I did. I am not glad to have suffered through about 36 episodes in seasons 1 and 2, but more than happy that the show creators figured out how to take what was working and to keep it interesting. And to take elements that weren't working and make them work. And most importantly, for realizing that the show they had been writing for two seasons was nothing more than an X-FILES wannabe with X-FILES homages. So, instead, they created a unique show out of the best material. Oh and I am sure fanboys and fangirls of this show will tell me how nearly two useless seasons of snail-paced exposition was necessary, but I will counter with season 3. This show never needed the long setup or the case of the week focus. It just needed to tell an exciting and well constructed story.

SERIES GRADE
(Non-Americans: A = awesome, B = good, C = ok, D = not good, F = failure)

SEASON 1
C : If not for Walter and Pacey, I would not have made it through this one.  The case of the week rarely interests me and the show focuses too much on my least favorite character, Australia.

SEASON 2
B- : Walter and Peter help me get through to the final three episodes where the show really takes off.  Also, there are a couple of pretty good episodes scattered throughout the season that set up the grander arc.

SEASON 3
A : The lame case-of-the-week structure is diluted into backwash.  Almost every character is interesting. I really enjoy Olivia (that's what he said).  Most of the stories rule.  The acting and writing is top notch.  On par with a very good season of LOST or BSG.  And the final few minutes of the finale had my heart pumping in ways only the best shows ever do.  I would have given it an A+ but there is at least one season left.  If all three seasons had been this good, FRINGE would be my favorite show on TV.

SEASON 4
TBD : As long as the writers pay off characters arcs, this one should be on the level of season 3.

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