Is Fox's SLEEPY HOLLOW just a supernatural FRINGE?

Fox's new hit supernatural drama (although viewers have dipped to 7.8m since the premiere's 10.1m) was created by Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci, who co-created Fox's Fringe with JJ Abrams. And the two shows share some similarities, which are obscured quite well, but become increasingly apparent when you stop to think about...

So many of the best or most popular television shows are dead, or dying...

In the wake of True Blood announcing its final season next summer, have you noticed how many TV shows have recently finished, or are also approaching their ends? Being Human, The Borgias, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Fringe, Luther, Mad Men, Merlin, Misfits, Spartacus... I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones that spring to mind. By this time next year, none of those will be broadcasting new episodes. Quite a few will be all tapped out by October. Some are already dead.

FRINGE, 5.12 & 5.13 – 'Liberty' & 'The Enemy of Fate'

Liberty

Enemy of Fate

If you think season finales are hard to pull off, try series finales. The weight of expectation's almost crushing, particularly for science fiction shows that have passionate and demanding audiences who'll nit-pick something to death. It's almost impossible to please everyone, but ones hopes the majority of fans will be emotionally satisfied as the story concludes. After five seasons, Fringe reached its end with two-part story "Liberty" and "Enemy of the State"—although it felt strange to me, in that it felt more like the conclusion of season 5 than the overall end of things. I guess that's because this final season's felt more like a diversion, as it was the fourth season's finale that closed the curtain on Fringe mainstays like the alternate-Earth and William Bell.

FRINGE, 5.11 – 'The Boy Must Live'

The last episode before the two-part finale next Friday (which airs simultaneously in the UK, early Saturday morning), I don't have much to say about "The Boy Must Live". This hour very much an information dump, which I'm sure some people will be frustrated about. It's always best to impart information without simply having people sit around talking, but I guess certain TV shows just become so knotted there's no other option. And to be honest, I'm just glad we finally have a grasp of what Walter's (John Noble) plan to defeat The Observers is, and have been told the back-story of the boy Observer known as Michael.

FRINGE, 5.10 – 'Anomaly XB-6783746'

written by David Fury / directed by Jeffrey Hunt

I don't have much time to write a full review of the latest Fringe, so a few brief thoughts will have to suffice. I really enjoyed this episode, despite its unusual pace and a feeling of frustration that the Observer child Michael took up an entire episode as the gang struggled to communicate with him. Why didn't the boy's guardians tell them it's impossible before they took him away? "Anomaly XB-6783746" was therefore another episode where Walter (John Noble), Peter (Joshua Jackson), Olivia (Anna Torv) and Astrid (Jasika Nicole) had to find something to aide their mission—this time a headset "ecog" that can translate an Observer's complex thought patterns—but I didn't have too much of a problem with that. Why? Simple: because the story gave a great deal of screen time to excellent villain Windmark (Michael Kopsa), and had a clear focus on the even better Nina (Blair Brown).

Sky1 to simulcast FRINGE finale

In a move that's sure to delight British fans of Fox's sci-fi drama Fringe, Sky1 today confirmed they're broadcasting the series finale simultaneously with its US East Coast premiere. This is the second simulcast Sky has done with a popular US drama; the other being ABC's Lost finale back in summer 2010.

British fans will have to stay up late, though. Fringe's two-hour finale (which also marks its 100th episode) starts @1:10am in the UK on 19 January 2013, which means you'll have to stay awake until approximately 3.10am. On the plus side, this is a Saturday morning, so it won't clash with school or work for most people.

Sarah Wright, Controller of Acquisitions for Sky Entertainment Channels, commented that "Fringe has a great, dedicated fan base amongst our customers and we are thrilled to be able to show them the much anticipated series finale at the same time as the US broadcast."

If you can't stay up for Fringe's last ever episode, "An Enemy of Fate" will still be shown in its usual Sky1 timeslot on Wednesday 23 January @10pm.

FRINGE, 5.9 – 'Black Blotter'

written by Kristin Cantrell / directed by Tommy Gormley

The majority of episodes this season have been adventures where Walter (John Noble), Olivia (Anna Torv), Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Astrid (Jasika Nicole) try and collect an item, with the intention of using them in a masterplan to defeat The Observers. "Black Blotter" was just another version of that formula, but it was elevated by two things: a creative decision to have Walter spend the entire adventure tripping on LSD, and the notion of Walter having to confront the possibility that his old self is returning (i.e. the brilliant but irresponsible scientist who pushed his family away and almost destroyed two universes). As the final season's "nineteenth episode" (an hour where the writers traditionally attempt something radical and risky), it was great fun.

FRINGE, 5.8 – 'The Human Kind'

written by Alison Schapker / directed by Dennis Smith

"I know that our hearts are broken and that it hurts, but that's what makes us human." – Olivia

After a frustrating two-week hiatus, Fringe's final season returns strongly with "The Human Kind", which effectively concludes the story arc about Peter (Joshua Jackson) out to avenge Etta's death by installing Observer-made brain technology that gives him the gift of precognition at the cost of emotion and, essentially, the humanity he's fighting for. I thought this was a really great way to bring the story to a close, distilling Fringe's key theme of "technology versus humanity" down to its very essence.

FRINGE, 5.7 – 'Five-Twenty-Ten'

written by Graham Roland / directed by Eagle Egilsson

A part of me still misses the sense of randomness Fringe used to have, as each episode of the fifth season is just a different chapter of the same story, but it's doing a good job keeping things interesting. "Five-Twenty-Ten" was another story hinging on the search for another object to help get rid of The Observers (two of those mysterious burrowing cylinders first seen in season 1's "The Arrival"), and this again required the use of some fringe-y science (Observer technology to turn solid objects into gas, so they could access Kelvin Industries laboratory). In that regard, this episode was entertaining but just another variation on the type of story this year's been doing very regularly: the little missions collecting things required to put an all-encompassing plan into action.

FRINGE, 5.6 – 'Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There'

written by David Fury / directed by Jon Cassar

I liked this episode, although in retrospect it was a little thin and didn't really present us with any huge forward momentum. This fifth season has been a year of incremental nudges in terms of narrative, but "Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There" was at least entertaining and suitably intriguing for long stretches. I just wish the end result felt more worthwhile, without instead leaving us with so many unanswered questions. For that reason, I can't really say this episode left me rapt, but there was some interesting stuff to consider.

FRINGE, 5.5 – 'An Origin Story'

written by J.H Wyman / directed by P.J Pesce

After last week's shocking death of Etta (Georgina Haig), it was only right that "An Origin Story" should focus on the grief felt by parents Olivia (Anna Torv) and Peter (Joshua Jackson), and I'm glad it wasn't hurriedly brushed under the carpet with some token scenes before the show got back to business. Instead, this hour gave us a good insight into how they're both choosing to mourn their daughter's loss: Olivia focusing on their mission, ignoring Walter's (John Noble) advice to embrace her emotions rather than build walls around her heart; and Peter taking desperate measures to avenge Etta's death, by interrogating a captured Observer (David Stuart) for information about how to reconstruct a high-tech cube capable of opening a wormhole to Earth's future...

FRINGE, 5.4 – 'The Bullet That Saved the World'

written by Alison Schapker / directed by David Straiton

After a week's break so early in the season (I hate US scheduling), Fringe bounced back with "The Bullet That Saved the World", which helped put the previously disappointing "The Recordist" out of everyone's mind. The strange thing about this episode is that it actually wasn't anything too extraordinary, with Olivia (Anna Torv), Peter (Joshua Jackson), Walter (John Noble), Astrid (Jasika Nicole) and Etta (Georgina Haig) resuming their scavenger hunt around the city, looking for some important blueprints Walter stashed under a train station, but there were so many excellent moments that elevated it considerably. Peter having his mind read by an Observer while buying his daughter a necklace from a pawn shop; the return of an aged Broyles (Lance Reddick) as a resistance man deep undercover amongst The Observers; and the fun reveal that Walter's been hoarding "fringe event" paraphernalia under the lab, with one device from season 1's "Ability" being used as a distraction during a key action sequence—sealing people's orifices closed. Naturally though, the biggest surprise was the death of a regular character...

MSN TV: Sky1's FRINGE review - 'Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11' (season 5 premiere)

Today over at MSN TV, I've reviewed the fifth and final season premiere of sci-fi drama FRINGE, which was broadcast on Sky1 last night. (Please note: this is a condensed version of my original review from a month or so ago, after it aired on Fox.)

It's remarkable we're watching a fifth season of Fringe, considering how low it's rated on the other side of the Atlantic. You have to give its US network Fox credit for supporting a drama that never charmed the masses--despite a first season designed to do exactly that. "Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11" the fifth season opener, heralded another major shake-up as we jumped forward 21 years to a dystopian world of 2036.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

FRINGE, 5.3 - 'The Recordist'

written by Graham Roland / directed by Jeff T. Thomas

A big misstep for this season's Fringe, I'm hoping "The Recordist" isn't going to be indicative of more episodes about the Fringe team having largely superfluous adventure while on their treasure hunt for Walter's (John Noble) tapes and following its instructions. This week, the gang arrive in a woodland deep in Pennsylvania, after being told to descend on that location by the third of Walter's non-consecutive video-tapes. There they discover a secretive group of people infected with a bark-like skin condition, led by Edwin Massey (Paul McGillion), a man who's taken it upon himself to catalogue the history of mankind to protect it from being rewritten by The Observers. More importantly, Walter realises that Edwin's people live near a mine that contains precious quartz required to defeat The Observers—but it's unfortunately the source of everyone's infection...

FRINGE, 5.2 – 'In Absentia'

written by J.H Wyman & David Fury / directed by Jeannot Szwarc

A far stronger episode than last week's busy premiere, "In Absentia" had a much clearer focus and better characterisation. This season already feels like one big story split into hour-long chunks, which probably won't please fans that enjoyed the freak-of-the-week aspect of Fringe, but delight those who always enjoyed the show's on-going mythology. Unless the parts of the mythology you enjoyed had nothing to do with The Observers and a deep yearning to see them as Earth overlords in yet another sci-fi dystopia.

Review: FRINGE, 5.1 – 'Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11'

written by J.H Wyman / directed by Miguel Sapochnik & Jeannot Szwarz

It's remarkable that we're even watching a fifth season of Fringe, considering how low-rated the show's been throughout its run. Fox haven't even enforced a budget cut, so you have to give credit for the studio's support of a terrific sci-fi drama that just never found a way to charm the masses—despite a first season designed to do so, which quickly realised its strengths lay in the serialisation preferred by devout fans. Characteristically, "Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11" was another premiere that signified major changes to the make-up of the show—which has already given itself various face-lifts via a parallel universe and an alternate timeline. The show has been impenetrable to casual viewers for years, but even as a committed fan I sometimes feel a little bewildered by the sweeping changes the writers throw at us.

Autumn 2012: What I'll Be Watching

It's that time of year again; the tantalising brink of the autumn/fall season, where the TV networks premiere their brand new shows, together with returning favourites. As always, it promises to be a very busy time of year, and I probably won't be covering as much as usual. Instead, I'll sample the majority of pilots, write about the ones I have a strong reaction to, and then watch a few more episodes to determine if they're worth persevering with. Only the most interesting shows will become regularly reviewed here, as I just don't have the time to plough through everything.

Trailer: FRINGE, season 5

Here's another trailer from the San Diego Comic-Con, this one previewing the final season of Fringe. As expected, it looks like the show will be entirely set in the future glimpsed in season 4's "Letters of Transit", with Fringe Division trying to rid the world of the conquering Observers. One would assume this leaves little room for freak-of-the-week investigations, being more of a serialised action-adventure with freaky science as the freedom-fighter's weapon of choice. A change of pace, perhaps, but one that should be a great deal of fun. Much of this preview is comprised of footage from the previous seasons, but there's enough new material to raise eyebrows and anticipation levels—such as the apparent return of William Bell (again) to help Walter defeat The Observers.

As a fan of the show, it's just great to be reminded that we're lucky enough to be getting closure—although it could be argued season 4 already provided that. I just hope this final season won't feel like an unnecessary addendum, once it's over, but I have faith in the writers—despite some of last season's storytelling decisions splitting opinion amongst the fan-base.

FRINGE returns to Fox for a final season of 13 episodes on 28 September, taking the series to a grand total of 100. There's something very satisfying about that, isn't there.

FRINGE, 4.22 – "Brave New World: Part 2"

Last week I mentioned how hard it is reviewing the individual halves of two-part episodes, and unfair in many ways. Would you review a novel after only reading half the book? "Brave World: Part 2" was a strong conclusion to last week's setup and the fourth season in general; containing some inventive sequences and blessed with a confident sweep of enjoyable action and drama. It made sense of a few long-standing issues, or at least made you accept the "mad science" behind them, and like all good finales it ended on a note that left you desperate for more.

It's interesting to dissect "Brave New World: Part 2" as a series finale, which it so very nearly became until Fox renewed the show for a final season. I mean, would this have been a satisfying end to Fringe as a whole? I think the answer's yes, but with caveats. I would have been disappointed to have never properly explored The Observers, and to have been knowingly teased with future adventures via "Letters Of Transit" that were never to be, but most of the show's core issues were explained or resolved.

In particular, Walter (John Noble) got to witness science abused at its highest level by erstwhile friend William Bell (Leonard Nimoy), who wanted to collapse two universes to create a Utopian third of his own design, before saving the day and closing the book on many of series' recurring ideas. Bell might return because the door's left open for Nimoy's fickle retirement plans, but you sense that much of Walter's issues have been resolved as a character now (his son accepts and loves him, his counterpart from the alternate-universe has forgiven his sins, he even remembered Astrid's name for once...)

In this season finale, Bell underscored his God Complex and Noah's Ark-style masterplan with a container ship of chimeras, literally floating between universes in open water, while explaining why Walter had demanded parts of his brain be surgically removed once. It was all because Walter had the same megalomaniacal idea Bell's belatedly come to accept himself, because he's dying of cancer and, I guess, creating an entire universe is the ultimate expression of immortality. Well, in crazy Bell's head simply fathering a child isn't enough. But who's going to remember a mortal God; the squid creature or the caged thing-y with the tentacle?

Olivia's (Anna Torv) super-powers flourished, even exceeding that of The Observer (Michael Cerveris) in one standout sequence where she caught "hyper-speed bullets" designed to elude September's lightning fast reflexes. I even enjoyed the twist that last week's "innocent bystander" Jessica (Rebecca Mader) was actually a henchman of Bell's, planted as part of a ruse to capture September and further "activate" Olivia's Cortexiphan-dosed mind. Then again, this is Hollywood: Mader's English, ergo a villain.

Did it all get quite silly? Of course it did, but that's half the fun of pop sci-fi like Fringe. Setting Olivia and Peter (Joshua Jackson) setup as the Adam and Eve of Bell's new universe was pulp nonsense. Just how do two people breed a new human race? Is Bell a quasi-Creationist now? But I was constantly entertained by everything going on, as Fringe is often at its best when it's delivering big ideas and dealing with crazy things.

And while last week's threat to kill Astrid (Jasika Nicole) wasn't carried through, for a second it genuinely looked like Walter had killed Olivia with a bullet to the head in order to shutdown Bell's operation and save the worlds. The manner in which she was revived, referring back to Part 1's lemon cake experiment, also made enough sense for Olivia's Lazarus moment to feel earned. And speaking of resurrections, it's worth mentioning the fantastic scene where Jessica was brought back to life to be interrogated, which employed a simple but effective visual trick of having her eyes blink and roll independently of each other in their sockets. Beautifully unnerving stuff.

Looking ahead to season 5's climactic half-season, what can we expect? I'm not sure if we'll return to alt-Earth again, now the Bridge is closed and Olivia's lost her dimension-hopping powers, but it would be a shame not to revisit those doppelgangers and check-in on Agent Lee. But it seems likely the final season will concern a threat from The Observers, tying into the future seen in "Letters Of Transit" where they've taken over the world and Fringe division were forced to "amber" themselves for murky reasons. That sneak peek episode becoming something of a target for season 5 to work towards. But maybe the two universes will have to work together to stop The Observers, if it's not just one dimension they're interested in conquering?

Interestingly, September's warning to Walter in the denouement that "they're coming" hints that the world-conquering Observers may be a rogue faction of his people. Perhaps a cult who've grown tired of observing history without interfering, that now want to use their superior technology for world domination? And Olivia's announcement of her pregnancy suggests her daughter Henrietta will be the "Etta" we saw as an adult in "Letters Of Transit", which clears up some confusion that Etta was assumed to be Fauxlivia's baby—named after Henry, a male taxi driver. I'm glad that confusion's been neatly cleared up, and it's a fun distinction if the two Olivia's have children of different genders: Henry and Henrietta.

Overall, there was lots to digest and speculate on here. Fringe is great at producing entertaining finales, and I'm glad the writers reinvigorated my passion in recent weeks. Season 4 wasn't great when viewed as a whole, mainly because the half-season notion of Peter existing in an "alternate timeline" undermined the characters and their relationships in unexpected ways. But I've made peace with that problem now. Once Fringe got back to presenting the team with crazy geniuses plotting to destroy entire universes, it felt like a relief. I'm glad the year ended on a high-note, too, with the potential to explore even more exciting issues next season. Don't you agree?

Asides

• I've never found a suitable place to ask this question all season, so I'll insert it here: why have we never seen female Observers? If they're just humans from 600 years in our future, have we somehow evolved past gender in a half-millennia? (More likely they were never conceived as being future-humans to begin with, but this was settled on quite recently and they've yet to explain the lack of female Observers in a plausible way. Maybe the women don't get to time-travel, meaning the future's still very sexist. Or they just don't look good in trilby hats.)
• Where did Bell get the technology to root The Observer to the ground? Is this a hint that he's in league with people from the future? Perhaps the same people The Observer warned Walter about in the denouement?

written by Jeff Pinkner, J.H Wyman & Akiva Goldsman / directed by Joe Chappelle / 11 May 2012 / Fox

FRINGE, 4.21 – "Brave New World: Part 1"

I enjoyed Part 1 as an hour's set-up and (almost literal) moving of chess pieces, but I'm glad Fox have renewed Fringe, because it's hard to imagine Part 2 being anything but unsatisfying as a would-be series finale. Strangely, there's still little indication we'll return to the future-world from "Letters Of Transit" (which feels more and more like a bizarre indulgence), unless next week's climax works as a dual setup for those events. I guess we'll have to see.

"Brave New World: Part 1" was in many ways a standard investigative episode of Fringe, told in a slightly garbled way, but enlivened by its connections to the four-year-long plot-arcs: such as the return of David Robert Jones (Jared Harris), but more importantly the reveal he's working for William Bell (Leonard Nimoy, the actor who keeps coming out of retirement for "one last job"). It's great to see Star Treklegend Nimoy back on the show, but more for his status in geek culture than anything else. Although I was initially confused about Bell's return because I thought he'd died, leading to those divisive season 3 episodes where Olivia (Anna Torv) was possessed by his croaky-voiced spirit. But this was, of course, the alternate-timeline's version of Bell, conspiring with the alternate-Jones? Confused yet? Unless you have Fringepedia bookmarked and regularly re-watch the box-sets, the answer's probably yes. (There are so many alternate-versions of characters wandering around you forget who's who and what's what.)

There were some excellent scenes that helped keep this episode rattling along, though; from the brilliant teaser (where a group of commuters "spontaneously combusted" after using an escalator tainted with nanites), to a fun-if-clichéd moment where Jones and Bell discussed their masterplan via a chess analogy (the second such moment for Harris post-Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows), and a lovely F/X shot of a reflected sunbeam destroying a high-rise building in Boston. That's how someone like Bell gets people's attention, forget unsigned letters.

But I was also disappointed by Jones' climactic moment and death scene, considering he's arguably Fringe's greatest nemesis. Harris is certainly the best guest-star they've ever had on the show. The magnificently slimy Jones deserved more than a rooftop tussle with a wounded Peter (Joshua Jackson), being physically-manipulated by Olivia. (Although Jones' disintegrating face after being electrocuted on an antenna was beautifully done). This episode also contained two significant examples of Olivia's super-powers quadrupling in strength: first by helping lower someone's body temperature by willing it to happen, then with the aforementioned scene where she seized control of her boyfriend's body from afar. (As a girlfriend, this talent will undoubtedly be very useful.) It's ludicrous stuff, to be sure, but Fringe is the master at making bullshit work on screen; as a scene where Walter used pig's brains and lemon cake to regenerate almond-smelling fingerprints on a scrap of paper can attest. I'm still shaking my head in bafflement over that one...

Overall, I had fun watching "Brave New World: Part 1", but like most two-parters a lot rests on how well the second half of this story wraps things up. I'd certainly like clarity with Bell's motivation, a better understanding of the logic behind collapsing two universes to create a third, and possibly something to make "Letters Of Transit" feel less like fan-fiction they arbitrarily chose to film. But my abiding thought is one of gratitude this show's coming back for a fifth season, because it's clear the writers need more time to give Fringe the send-off it deserves.

Asides

• The imperilled Jessica Holt was played by actress Rebecca Mader, who should be familiar to fans of Lost, where she played Charlotte. Mader splits opinion as an actress, but I thought she did remarkably well here; crafting a character who felt more rounded than her negligible screen time should have allowed. It was just strange how that entire subplot with the nanites dissolved to nothing halfway through the episode.
• Does anyone think Astrid will die from her gunshot wound? Might she become leverage for Bell to get "old friend" Walter to help him with something? The great thing about Fringe giving most characters counterparts is it means nobody's safe. Astrid really could die, and Jasika Nicole will simply continue playing her autistic counterpart next season. But I somehow doubt that will happen...

written by J.H Wyman, Jeff Pinkner & Akiva Goldsman / directed by Joe Chappelle / 4 May 2012 / Fox