Fringe Introduction

Hello World!

Sorry, but considering that this is the introduction to my hopefully deep and complete analysis of the TV show Fringe, that seemed appropriate.

That’s right, I’m going to analyze Fringe, a rare Sci-fi show which probably went everywhere a Scifi show could go then ended on its own terms. When it was great, it was great. When it wasn’t, it really depended on your tastes. However, from my perspective, it always remained thematically cohesive, even if the mechanics around that were at times more clunky than anyone could expect the writers to manage. It’s a show about family, identity, sacrifice, and redemption. That it uses technology to both examine these themes and ponder how its development will effect our humanity(specifically in relation to the aforementioned themes). More unique, it concludes on the side of humanity, connection, and the possibility of redemption.

Teamwork!

Awwwwww

I’ve never seen this picture before, but daaaaaamn.

And. . . just more Peter and Olivia cuteness.

Now why fringe? If it’s ever on any top TV show lists, it’s at the very bottom. It pushed the envelope in terms of how weird a show could get, but otherwise it was generally just a procedural that was a tad . . . grosser than the average viewer might like. I mean, it had great characters(Walter!), more ambition than it could handle(Alternate Universes! Time Travel! Soul magnets?), and  a style all it’s own(film noir+modern tech). But by the time it aired, all that had been done before. It was the same show, different wrapping. As such, no one’s going to look at it closely from a literary standpoint. And as someone who enjoys reading analyses of shows, as many as I can get my hands on. Books too, but I can analyze a book on my own. I want to give analyzing a TV show a try. Fringe is a show that I originally watched in real time, in middle school and high school, rewatched repeatedly on its many long hiatuses, and remains very close to my heart. Also, there’s meat on dem dere bones and if no one else is gonna pick em, then who the hell am I to stick my nose up at.

Let us play with your brain.

Walter eating his favorite.

Massive Dynamic might be reading your mind.

It might now strike you another reason this show appeals to me: I’m possibly as crazy as it is.

As such, I figure I’ll try to do 2 episodes a week, one on Wednesday and another on Saturday. I’ll do the analysis and have a separate section for any observations, a real science section(I’m a biochem major, I have to), and at certain pivotal points I’ll also include an in depth look at certain characters, separate from the episode.

So with that out of the way: grab some red vines, a root beer float, and let’s begin.