Fringe and The X-Files
Published September 10, 2008
As I promised yesterday, today we talk Fringe. I'm just not sure how I feel about it yet. There's so much potential there, there's so much possibility for the show to be great, but it wasn't great in its premiere. I wanted it to be, but it wasn't.
First, let's face it, it's very The X-Files. No, it's not an exact copy, but it is still very similar and certainly seems heavily influenced by The X-Files. It's just impossible to watch Fringe and not think "I wonder if that's what Mulder and Scully would do," or "Mulder totally would have solved the case a half-hour ago," or "Scully would definitely synthesize the reagent faster than that."
Unfortunately for Fringe, comparing it to The X-Files is not good for the show. The X-Files wasn't always spectacular, but there were definitely some truly outstanding episodes. The show was a part of our popular culture for an extended period of time, and even if the most recent movie failed, people still look back on the show with fondness. The mythology surrounding The X-Files was mammoth. There were plots within plots, evil groups, good aliens, bad aliens, and the Cancer Man (you might call him Cigarette Smoking Man, but to me he'll always be Cancer Man).
There's no way that Fringe could possibly establish such a deep mythology in such a short period of time. The X-Files was on for nine seasons and had a major motion picture under its belt by the time it went off the air. The mythology didn't spring fully developed from the pilot episode a la Athena from Zeus. The groundwork was established in the first episode, but it took years to fully explore it. Fringe comes up short though, because it's so easy to look at The X-Files now and see the fully formed mythology, and Fringe isn't as deep… yet.
Fringe could end up with an overarching story as, or more, compelling than The X-Files, but those are some pretty big shoes to fill. Only time (if the show lasts) will tell if that happens.
- Fringe and The X-Files
- Published: September 10, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Drama, Video: SF, Video: Television
- Part of a feature: TV Nights
- Writer: Josh Lasser
- Josh Lasser's BC Writer page
- Josh Lasser's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
I had no mixed feelings, and I know exactly how I felt about it: I thought it sucked.
The "fringe" science was simply ridiculous, ludicrous, and nonsensical. The X-Files did us the favor of including a skeptic who insisted on a rational explanation for everything. Fringe gives us a guy who mainly doesn't like his dad, but helps wacky experiments anyway. Ugh.
I didn't really like the lead actress, and I'm ambivalent on the aforementioned guy. THat is, his character is okay, but he's a poor actor -- or working with a really bad script; I couldn't decide.
The only reason I watched to the end was to see Doctor Bishop. Sure, he seemed to get normal a bit quickly, but what a fantastic actor!
All in all, though, it sucked. I don't think I'll even be watching episode #2.
Well, I liked it and am willing to give it a chance. I will watch for several weeks....
So there:)
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/81070)
John,
I too had mixed feelings about the show last night. I tried not to compare it to X-Files at all, since right now the wife and I are going through the entire X-Files series. While I've been watching X-Files everyday, I do have to note that there are a few similarities, but they weren't really all that noticeable to me.
The more noticeable similarities were the ones from Lost. Like the same exact creepy violin music at the end of every act or when something creepy was going to happen.
The fact that everything is being conducted by some giant, crazy coporation a la the Hanso Foundation.
Oh and that it all started on a plane, lol! I rolled my eyes at that one.
I liked it a bit more than you did, but I wasn't overly joyed with it. It moved WAY too slow the first hour. If it weren't an hour and a half premiere it would've been really boring. But, the last half hour really got things going. I didn't enjoy the Joshua Jackson one-liners either. Going back to the X-Files, Duchovny had the great ability to deliver dry one-liners, which he still does to perfection in Californication. But, I didn't buy Jackson being a hard ass smarty pants.
I must admit though that it looked stunning in HD. It looked like what Lost looks like in HD. The dream/mind connecting sequence looked really great I have to say. I may just watch it because it's a fantastic looking show.
Anyway, that's my two cents. Lets see how it plays out.