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Fringe: The Complete Second Season Review B002JVWRD6

The first season of Fringe split itself down the middle in terms of quality. Between the first and second half of the season is a divide in quality as stark as the difference between night and day. The show stumbled countless times in its first half season to find a voice that wasn't childish and a pale imitation of many better series that came before. Midway through it found its stride and suddenly Fringe wasn't a joke of a television series but a potential up-and-comer with promise for its second season. There was hope that it would hit its stride, but it never managed to evade the feeling that it was just X-Files 2.0 for a new generation. Sadly, it takes yet another half season (the first half of the second season) before it finally shakes that impression, but by the time the second season comes to a close, there's no doubt that Fringe has become its own source of sci-fi mythology, and it's infinitely more watchable for it.

The comparisons to the X-Files remain during the first half of the season due in large part to what can only be the writers feeling some form of compulsion to pay respect to the series that preceded it. In its opening scene, it even features a clip from X-Files playing on a television as a shapeshifting soldier steals someone else's form. It'd be nice to say that was the point where the show put its X-Files formula behind it, but sadly that doesn't happen until about 10 episodes later. In fact, if you followed X-Files closely, you might notice an odd similarity between the two shows' secret invasion plots; where they part ways however is the sci-fi concept grounding each. While the X-Files went towards a conspiracy to cover up colonization efforts of an alien race and the clandestine human groups attempting to help or foil them, Fringe delves into an almost philosophical take of parallel dimensions, matter shifting, and discussions about the crossing of matter over temporal planes. Yeah, the difference is noticeable, unfortunately it takes half a season to decide that this is what it wants to be.

In between the mythology episodes, we're treated to a few startlingly familiar X-Files premises including a crop of genetically engineered children, a person with the ability to exert their own will over others, a Groundhog Day-esque scenario, and a few others. Now, we can't give X-Files credit for being the genesis of all science fiction stories, and consequently those who've been into paranormal shows since the early days of film and television will notice a few Twilight Zone plots added to the mix as well.

Through all of this, the two character-driven plotpoints lending emotional weight to the situation of two universes at war include the painfully obvious romance brewing between Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), who hangs around to take care of his absent-mindedly brilliant father, Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), and offer knowledge that no one else on the team would have (nor that he should have) but is necessary to solve a case. The relationship between those two is obvious and never all that clever. However, once you add in Walter - the entire dynamic of the show has some pull. It turns out that Walter, while an amusing sideshow for the monster-of-the-week episodes of the first season, is the lynch pin upon which everything in Fringe hangs. We learn through a series of clues that Walter was the man responsible for the collision course of these two universes and that his peculiar treatment of both Peter and Olivia stems from deep-seated guilt over what he did to both of them as children. The Walter Bishop storyline makes Fringe worth watching, and luckily the entirety of the second half of the season is devoted to him - unfortunately, watching the season's episodes back to back without weekly breaks might make some of the plot twists really obvious (almost groan-worthy).

While we're talking about groans, let's discuss the shapeshifting soldiers and the observers. Two classes of characters who have an odd resemblance to the assassin drones and the spook informants of X-Files. The observers could be potentially interesting down the road, and their involvement in Walter's life adds a dimension to their roles, but the shapeshifters never materialize into more than just a convenient tool for large plans to fall together really quickly with minimal storytelling effort.

Fringe improved drastically in its second season. Performances are better and the writers have finally escaped the gravitational pull of X-Files. With where the show ends, there's definite potential for a great third season (assuming they don't undo the cliffhanger in the first two episodes of the next season).

Blu-ray Bonus Features

The extras in the set are quite entertaining once you get past the filler pieces like a gag reel, unaired scenes, and a meager 4-episode audio commentary selection. First and foremost they've created a feature covering the show's budding mythology (the role of Leonard Nimoy's character, the concept of multiple universes, shapeshifters, etc.). A few episodes have "Analyzing the Scene" featurettes devoted to opening the audience's eyes to key references thrown into key scenes from a few episodes. An extra episode about a nuclear submarine is also included (it's pretty solid in terms of quality - not sure why it was dropped from the season), and finally, the most amusing and interesting extra, sees John Noble and the show's prop master Rob Smith exploring the set of the team's lab. If you're not a John Noble fan after his great performance in this season, you weren't paying attention.

Fringe: The Complete Second Season Overview

From J.J. Abrams (Lost), Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci – the team behind Star Trek and Alias – and executive producers Jeff Pinkner, J.H. Wyman and Bryan Burk, Fringe returns for a second thrilling season and continues to explore the unexplained phenomena and terrifying occurrences linked throughout the world – known simply as "The Pattern“ – in pursuit of a larger, more shocking truth. Set in Boston, the FBI's Fringe Division formed when Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) enlisted the help of institutionalized "fringe" scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his son, Peter (Joshua Jackson), to save her partner and lover from a mind-bending death. Through unconventional and unorthodox methods, the Fringe team imagines and tests the impossibilities while investigating unbelievable events, macabre crimes and mystifying cases involving teleportation, reanimation, genetic mutation, precognition, artificial intelligence and other fantastical theories. When the unimaginable happens, it's their job to stop it.

Fringe: The Complete Second Season Specifications

"Lost meets The X-Files" is a not inappropriate description of Fox TV's Fringe, especially considering that cocreator J.J. Abrams was also one of the Lost masterminds. But this ambitious and often exciting series (with all 22 episodes from its second season, plus plenty of bonus material, released here on six discs) merits more than that glib label. As before, the members of the Fringe Division, an obscure wing of the FBI barely recognized (and this season threatened with elimination) by the government at large, are the "cleanup crew" summoned when the universe is on the verge of shredding at the seams. Led by Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), brilliant but mad scientist Walter Bishop (with John Noble as the show's most appealing character), and Bishop's son Peter (Joshua Jackson), they investigate crimes and occurrences involving the seemingly inexplicable, ranging from garden-variety phenomena like ESP, mind control, and hypnosis to really strange stuff like "clairaudience" (receiving messages or thoughts from another realm), cryonics (as in frozen, disembodied heads), and the existence of a parallel universe. Once again there's also a healthy dose of scary monsters, including a hideous mutant who drags its victims underground before devouring them, a community of deformed victims of scientific tests gone awry, two-foot-long parasites with human hosts, and a walking shadow that renders whoever it passes through into dust and ash. But it all gets more personal for our three heroes this time around, as they realize that Walter's long-ago research and experiments had serious consequences not only for him (he spent 17 years locked up in a rubber room) but especially for Olivia and Peter, who must deal with shocking revelations about their childhoods.

If Fringe has a weakness, it's that its reach sometimes exceeds its grasp. There are so many ideas here that overarching themes like "the Pattern" (a series of terrifying, synchronous events throughout the world) disappear for episodes at a time; the notion of "the other side," a parallel universe where things are largely similar but different in very peculiar details (JFK lived to be an old man, while the Department of Defense is housed beneath the Statue of Liberty), is introduced in the first episode but then rarely mentioned until the second half of the season, which culminates with the Fringe team traveling to the other side and confronting their alternate selves (fortunately, the final two episodes help tie up various loose ends from this season and set the stage for the next one). But a surfeit of good ideas is a lot better than a shortage of them, and the series is rarely less than interesting even when it loses its focus, and the direction, sets, special effects, and other technical elements are consistently excellent. As was the case the first time out, bonus material is generous and varied. It includes a newly "unearthed episode," audio commentary, deleted scenes, features like "The Mythology of Fringe" and "Analyzing the Scene" (brief explications of key scenes in six episodes), and more. --Sam Graham

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Customer Reviews

Great second season - Alaska Reed - Dallas, TX USA
I think the second season is even better. The cast is getting more into their roles. Can't wait to see Season 3.






Fringe: what's not to like! - A. Peeples - Orlando, FL USA
As a huge fan of J.J. Abrams, I bought Season 1 and was whisked away into the world of Fringe. A trip. Had to rewind several times to get it! I love that about a multi tiered story. Now I have Season 2, and it just keeps getting better. As other reviewers have commented, we get more of a peek into character's personal lives and past.

I find echos of Lost and Alias in Fringe. Strong female lead, intelligent and athletic. Until the end of season, no change of appearance...but then. The cliffhanger is a dilly!

Buy it. It is entertaining on so many levels. The features enhance viewing enjoyment. I am going back to Season 1 to refresh memory of how characters came together. The Walter Bishop character is my favorite: brilliant acting, especially when those alternate world are revealed!!!

My set arrived ahead of schedule and in perfect condition. Thanks Amazon. DVDs are my life. No TV ...by choice. Keep 'em coming.



DVD QUALITY - 2486 -
IN ALMOST EVERY EPISODE THERE WAS A "BLANK SPOT" WHERE THE DVD JUST STOPPED WITH THE SCREEN DISPLAYING VERTICAL COLORED LINES. aFTER STARTING THE EPISODE FROM THE BEGINNING IT PLAYED WITHOUT 'HANG UP.'

I HAD A SIMILAR MAL-FUNCTION WITH 'FRINGE SEASON 1' AND HAD TO SEND THE WHOLE DVD PACKAGE BACK FOR A REPLACEMENT.

I WOULD APPRCIATE BETTER QUALITY CONTROL.

THANK YOU



*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 07, 2010 22:26:16