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

Fringe: The Complete First Season Review B001C4CI8U

Fringe is unlike many series because it sets a pattern and is literlly about a pattern of events and a overall storyline that is very well written and thought out. If you have seen later seasons then you know what the pattern is about. But at this point some viewers who didn't stick with this show and were convinced it was like the x-files really blew it by not watching into the second and third seasons, they would have discovered that few shows have ever been this intriguing and different. Yes . lost was regardless of it's ending, and z files was too , among the shows that spin their own mythos though this one is at the top of television science fiction and drama in overall quality, acting and general intelligence in overall direction and writing. However you have a storyline that must be watched and like all shows that tell a storyline over seasons you have to stick with it to see what's going to happen. There is no way in the first 8 episodes that you'd really know where things are heading but later on you can rewatch the show and understand the pattern of what was happening. So start here. And even if you started watching this show from a later date it's still great to watch this overall story develop. The blu ray version
looks fantastic with no artifacts and a perfect looking picture so this is the way to go. Yes there is a huge difference in blu ray and standard dvd quality don't kid yourself about that. I love sci fi but even if you don't this show presents a mystery that takes seasons to begin to unravel so grab this one on blu ray.

Fringe: The Complete First Season Overview

Teleportation. Mind control. Invisibility. Astral projection. Mutation. Reanimation. Phenomena that exist on the Fringe of science unleash their strange powers in this thrilling series, co-created by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias), combining the grit of the police procedural with the excitement of the unknown. The story revolves around three unlikely colleagues – a beautiful young FBI agent, a brilliant scientist who’s spent the last 17 years in a mental institution and the scientist’s sardonic son – who investigate a series of bizarre deaths and disasters known as “the pattern.” Someone is using our world as an experimental lab. And all clues lead to Massive Dynamic, a shadowy global corporation that may be more powerful than any nation.

DVD features:
Evolution: The Genesis of Fringe featurette - The creators of the show discuss how the series unfolded and the qualities that make it so unique
Behind the Real Science of Fringe featurette - From teleportation to re-animation, Fringe incorporates recent discoveries in science. Consulting experts and scientists who are the authorities in their field address the areas of science which are the inspiration for the show.
A Massive Undertaking: The Making of Fringe (on select episodes) - An in-depth exploration of how select episodes came to be made: from the frozen far reaches of shooting the pilot in Toronto, to the weekly challenges of bringing episodes to air
The Casting of Fringe- The story, as told by producers and cast, of how Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble and others came to be cast in the series.
Fringe Visual Effects featurette - Goes deep into the creation of the shared dream state with some of the biggest VFX shots of the show.
Dissected Files: Unaired Scenes
Unusual Side Effects: Gag Reel
Fringe: Deciphering the Scene
Roberto Orci Production Diary
Gene the Cow montage
Three Full-Length Commentaries from writers/producers, including J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtman, J.R. Orci, David Goodman, Bryan Burk, Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner

Fringe: The Complete First Season Specifications

Teleportation, mind control, astral projection, invisibility, precognition, spontaneous combustion, reanimation: these are among the peripheral sciences--or "pseudo-sciences," as one skeptic puts it--examined during the first season of Fringe, a Fox network TV drama debuting on DVD with the full first season (twenty episodes) offered on seven extras-laden discs. The notion that those phenomena could have a genuine scientific basis is intriguing enough. But co-creator J.J. Abrams (whose bulging resume as a director, writer, and producer includes Lost, Alias, and the 2009 Star Trek feature film) has even more on his mind. Along with the weird science, the series features a multi-agency task force investigating related acts of terrorism that may very well add up to a threat of unimaginable global proportions; people who are exactly what they appear to be (i.e., insane) and others who are anything but; plot twists galore; family drama, interpersonal relationships, corporate evil, cop chases... There's a lot in play here, and while it doesn't always hold together (and like any new series, it takes a while to hit its stride), Fringe is rarely boring, and never less than impressively ambitious.

The pilot introduces us to the main characters, principally FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv, good but not great in the show's central role) and others on the task force brought in to investigate some gross goings-on aboard a jumbo jet (a "self-eradicating, airborne toxin" reduced everyone to blood and bones). Seems this is but one part of "The Pattern," a series of synchronous, similarly shocking events that unfold as the show progresses; in subsequent episodes, lots of people are killed in graphic fashion by all manner of horrors, including scary monsters (slugs as big as a football, teethed parasites that can crush your heart), a gas that freezes a busload of passengers "like insects trapped in amber," people so radioactive they can literally make your brain boil… it goes on. Helping Dunham and the rest of the force figure it all out are scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (an appealing John Noble), who's spent the past 17 years locked up in the loony bin and whose research may be responsible for some of the crimes we witness, and his son-babysitter Peter (Joshua Jackson). As for the "fringe" element, Dr. Bishop and other, less benign geniuses jump-start a dead man's brain, photograph another victim's cornea in order to access the last thing she saw before death, connect Dunham to her boyfriend so she can experience his memories of the incident that left him comatose, use high-frequency vibrations to enable bank robbers to pass through a solid vault wall, and much, much more. As for where and how all of this ends up, let's just that inquiring minds will have to hang in for the long, complicated run.

Bonus features are many and varied; among the best are "Deciphering the Scene" (brief explications of key scenes in every episode) and "The Massive Undertaking" (detailing how certain special effects sequences were pulled off). --Sam Graham

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Customer Reviews

one of a kind - glenn -
this is by far the best si-fi show ever, it has a great storie line,and adventure, with the perfect actor to play walter. i plan to own every season



Bought It a lot cheaper. - DanTheHorrorMan -
I bought season 1 of fringe at sam's club for only ! If you want it for a lot less go there.






Fringe Starter - William Reger -
A good start to an interesting premise. Well acted and written. You know more is going on but you are not sure who are the "good" guys and who are not.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 04, 2010 08:10:57