Fringe: The Complete First Season
DVD Reviews | Sep 5th, 2009
Starring: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Kirk Acevedo, Blair Brown, Michael Cerveris, Jasika Nicole, Mark Valley, Michael Gaston
Created by: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
Studio: Warner Bros
Buy on Amazon.com
I’ve been a fan of Fringe since day 1. If X-Files and Lost fans are looking for another show to fill the void, look no further than Fringe starring Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and John Noble! The DVD (and Blu-Ray) will be something to own just so you can watch the episodes over and over again. I’ve seen each episode at least once and still can’t figure out what’s going on!
Fringe was created by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias, Star Trek), Alex Kurtzman, and Robero Orci and follows a small FBI team that specialize in fringe science. Most of the show takes places in the Boston and New York areas, but things start to branch out a little towards the end of the season. The head of the team is Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), an FBI special agent who takes her job very seriously. Mad scientist & former Government researcher Walter Bishop (John Noble) is released from looney bin to help with the team. Many of the mysterious cases revolve around Walter and his ex-partner, William Bell (Leonard Nimoy). William Bell is the head of Massive Dynamic, a leading technology company that is tied to many of the crimes and incidents that the Fringe team is discovering. Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), Walter’s sarcastic and jack of all trades son helps out the group with what he knows and who he knows. He also helps with controlling Walter, who has a few screws loose in the head. Helping out the 3 main characters is Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick), homeland security agent and Olivia’s boss who heads the Fringe division; Charlie (Kirk Acevedo), a friend of Olivia and colleague at Fringe division; then there’s Astrid (Jasika Nicole), who assists with Olivia and Walter. Each episode finds the group going up against strange things like rare diseases, super humans, man-made evil creatures, parallel universes, teleportation and many other strange sci-fi things. The pattern of all these things leads back to Massive Dynamic, William Bell and Walter Bishop.
I loved just about every episode of Fringe. I was never a fan of X-Files but this show appeals to me for some reason. I found it hard to keep up with watching it weekly but I would watch the show in spurts on the DVR. The usual time I would watch an episode is dinner time. If anyone has seen the show, you know eating while watching is a bad thing. Usually the first 5 minutes is when something really gross would happen and then the rest of the episode was fine. I prefer the episodes when it doesn’t get too gross. For being a TV series, the special effects are done really well. The season takes a little bit of time to get going, but towards the end of the season you should be hooked. I love all the characters and think John Noble deserves an Emmy for his role as Walter Bishop. The stuff that he says is truly hilarious. Even Joshua Jackson is really great on the show, and offers up a lot of laughs. Some people might be turned off by his constant sarcastic tone but I like it. Maybe because I’m a sarcastic wiseass myself? Anna Torv does a good job with her character as well. Not sure if the rumors are true about Kirk Acevedo getting fired from the show, but I hope his character stays on for the next season. We’ll see I guess.
For the DVD extras, there’s a lot to watch that’s spread out over 7 discs. Just about each episode has some type of bonus feature like commentary, featurettes on certain scenes or deleted scenes called “dissected files.” I really like the production diaries from creator Roberto Orci as well as the Massive Docupods on certain episodes. I loved seeing on the set, behind the scenes stuff. You see the crew working in snowy & cold conditions in Toronto, or shutting down a tunnel in New York City. The special effects are decent and show you how they did some of the effects. It’s kind of annoying that the extras aren’t all in one place but after you’re done with the episode, you can watch the extras for that episode. I would have liked them all on the last disc though.
All in all, this was the best new show last year and I hope Fringe continues its success and fills the void of Lost, when that show comes off the air this year. I need a show that I can talk to other co-workers about the next day, and I think Fringe will be that show! Check out the DVD or Blu-Ray now before the next season airs this month on Fox.
Features:
– Uncloak This Extraordinary Series’ Secrets Via Featurettes on Its Genesis and Casting, the Real Science Behind It and the Remarkable Visual Effects Fringe: Deciphering the Scene Sidebars on Every Episode
– Dissected Files/Unaired Scenes and The Massive Undertaking Docupods on Select Episodes Unusual Side Effects: Gag Reel
– Roberto Orci’s Diary
– Gene the Cow
Video:
Widescreen 1.78:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
Subtitles:
English
Bottom Line: Each Fringe episode is exciting, fresh, and different from one another.
Rating: NR
Running Time: 1272 mins
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
