Fringe #4: The Arrival/Sept 2008

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The Arrival


Stars:Mark Valley (John Scott)
Blair Brown (Nina Sharp)
Jasika Nicole (Astrid Farnsworth)
Anna Torv (Olivia Dunham)
Kirk Acevedo (Charlie Francis)
John Noble (Dr. Walter Bishop)
Lance Reddick (Phillip Broyles)
Joshua Jackson (Peter Bishop)

Guest Star:Michael Kelly (Rouge)
Nestor Serrano (Colonel Jacobson)
Michael Cerveris (September)


The team investigates a strange cylinder, found in a deadly explosion at a construction site in New York City. The cylinder was in the middle of the explosion and was completely unharmed. Olivia uncovers a correlation between different disturbing events
 

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No replies yet - am I the only one watching the show?

Some interesting, yet still mysterious stuff. I think I found it more entertaining then the previous episodes so far.
 

No replies yet - am I the only one watching the show?

Some interesting, yet still mysterious stuff. I think I found it more entertaining then the previous episodes so far.

I hadn't seen the previous episodes, so this was my first viewing. Didn't click with me. It's all way too overdramatic and the character chemistry just doesn't seem like a workable group. The super-science-without-explanation stuff, just doesn't matter to me. I think they failled to make it "mysterious", and it has a feeling of "arbitrary plot device" to me.
 

I hadn't seen the previous episodes, so this was my first viewing. Didn't click with me. It's all way too overdramatic and the character chemistry just doesn't seem like a workable group. The super-science-without-explanation stuff, just doesn't matter to me. I think they failled to make it "mysterious", and it has a feeling of "arbitrary plot device" to me.

Personally, I think you should watch one of the previous episodes before totally giving up on this show. I thought this most recent one, while giving us another couple of mysteries that need to be solved eventually, wasn't the worst of the first four episodes.

The main thing I found was annoying that like nothing was ever explained in this episode except how Walter had met the bald dude previously. That was it. And surprisingly, they didn't follow the same formula as the last three episodes, which was to use one odd invention to solve the problem that another was creating [at least that's basically what happened].

I hope the others are more like the first few episodes than this one.
 

And surprisingly, they didn't follow the same formula as the last three episodes, which was to use one odd invention to solve the problem that another was creating [at least that's basically what happened].
That's what I liked about this episode. With the first three, the show was in danger of becoming very formulaic (fringe science-related death, link exists to Walther's work, Walther fixes up some counter-invention, spooky Massive Dynamics overtones). Episode 4 broke out of that mold a little, and even had a Man in Black (though the suit was more blue, I thought), showing that there's more to Fringe than the formula.
 

Personally, I think you should watch one of the previous episodes before totally giving up on this show. I thought this most recent one, while giving us another couple of mysteries that need to be solved eventually, wasn't the worst of the first four episodes.
I'm not sure I understood correctly, I didn't care for this ep, so I should watch the others, at least 1 of the three being worse than the one I didn't like? :)


The main thing I found was annoying that like nothing was ever explained in this episode except how Walter had met the bald dude previously. That was it. And surprisingly, they didn't follow the same formula as the last three episodes, which was to use one odd invention to solve the problem that another was creating [at least that's basically what happened].

I hope the others are more like the first few episodes than this one.

See, my main issue is one of rationality. I don't know if you ever watched King of Queens, but it's on during the day so I watch it, and it's okay. Eventually though, the father-in-laws antics are not "amusing", they're offensive.

That's how I feel about this show, it depends on this "mysteriousness" of "fringe science", meanwhile the guy that understands it doesn't evoke any empathy, nor does he try to provide an understanding of it in those around him. "Trust me" doesn't work after a while.

Now, I missed the other episodes, so I'm sure they have at least some basic "son has to help father" vibe or something, but it's too thin in this episode. When you meet a man that reads minds, after having been tortured by somebody using a machine that reads other peoples minds through genetics/ psychometry, whatever....

Well, a rational main character would demand answers, and a sympathetic "mentor" would provide SOMETHING.

Instead, he says "there's things you don't understand".

In XFiles, they were investigating things togethor, whereas this show, there's a guy that knows a lot of it apparently and just doesn't feel like explaining it.



Again, maybe the formula works better in the first three episodes, where there is a device and such, but in this episode it just didn't click.

The other part of it is the actor's chemistry, or lack thereof. If Lead Guy felt connected to Father or Father felt connected to Lead Guy, maybe it would have worked. Both seemed to be acting in isolation though, and Lead Girl felt totally outside.


I didn't watch the other shows because it was against Eureka. I watched this one since it was after House. If around mid-season, folks rave enough about it, I may watch all the eps in sequence at once, it's much more fun that way and easier to gloss over the failed episodes, since you're not thinking about it for a week. :)
 

That's what I liked about this episode. With the first three, the show was in danger of becoming very formulaic (fringe science-related death, link exists to Walther's work, Walther fixes up some counter-invention, spooky Massive Dynamics overtones). Episode 4 broke out of that mold a little, and even had a Man in Black (though the suit was more blue, I thought), showing that there's more to Fringe than the formula.

I have to agree with this. My favorite episode so far.
 


In defense, this episode was very different from the first 3, that's not to say that the first 3 were better, its just that this was a bad episode to jump into. At this time the characters have been established a bit and the disjointeness you may have felt is there on purpose, as I felt the previous episodes sort of through them into a situation, and now we see them more relaxed a bit and jelling in their new surroundings with episode 4. Now that its introduced these strange phenomenon we're going to investigate why she is chosen and just what it isshe's suppose to do.

Very good series so far.
 

That's what I liked about this episode. With the first three, the show was in danger of becoming very formulaic (fringe science-related death, link exists to Walther's work, Walther fixes up some counter-invention, spooky Massive Dynamics overtones). Episode 4 broke out of that mold a little, and even had a Man in Black (though the suit was more blue, I thought), showing that there's more to Fringe than the formula.
Exactly so. I enjoyed this episode, much like the others.

Vocenoctum said:
I hadn't seen the previous episodes
Ah, that pretty much explains your reaction. Don't really blame you, if that's all you've seen.
 

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