"Fringe" - TV review

Last night I watched the 1-1/2 hour series premiere of "Fringe," the new sci-fi series on Fox that was created by J. J. Abrams, who is also responsible for "Lost," which I think this is best show currently on television.  Considering that I had been severely disappointed with the most recent new series I'd tuned in to see (that would be "90210"), I was hoping "Fringe" would be a success rather than a bust.  And good news; it most definitely is a success.  In fact, if it keeps up the quality of the pilot, I could easily see this being a show we'll be watching for some time.

The series centers around Olivia Dunham (newcomer Anna Torv), an FBI special agent who gets drawn into a series of strange events happening all over the world that people are calling "the Pattern."  In the first episode, she is brought in to help investigate what happened to the passengers and crew of an international flight that landed in Boston airport with no signs of life (Abrams sure seems to have a thing for problems involving airplanes, doesn't he?).  After the life of her partner is put in jeopardy, she tracks down Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble from "Lord of the Rings"), a scientist who was once famous for conducting experiments involving "fringe science" (teleportation, mind control, etc), but has been rotting away in a mental hospital for 17 years.  In order to get to him, Dunham is forced to find and bring in his estranged son, Peter (Joshua Jackson, whom some of you may remember as Pacey on "Dawson's Creek").

Although there are some similarities in tone and style to "Lost," "Fringe" most closely resembles "The X-Files," as it seems to focus more on mystery-of-the-week plot-lines rather than a series-long mystery (which should make it much easier for people to get into and follow).  Thankfully, the makers of "Fringe" focus just as much on the relationships between the characters as they do on the science-fiction elements.  Torv, Noble and Jackson all have great chemistry together, and the show doesn't look as if it'll get bogged down in conspiracy theories and such (as many people believe "The X-Files" and "Lost" did in later seasons).

If you missed the premiere last night, Fox will be re-airing it at 8pm on Sunday, and new hour-long episodes will air Tuesdays at 9pm.  Whether you're a fan of sci-fi or just great television, you absolutely owe it to yourself to check out "Fringe."  It's easily the best new series of this year.