Tagged: Fringe

Fringe again on the fringe … of cancellation

The J.J. Abrams sci-fi drama FRINGE seems to be suffering without Peter Bishop on the screen so far this season. The show is drawing steadily in the 1.2 to 1.5 range, which is dangerous territory. The network almost gave up on the show last spring before it rebounded late, saving itself from the ax.

Whether it remains through the season, however, is currently in doubt, and its producers may not like their season’s greetings cards this December, as they may well contain a pink slip for the show.

Friday seems to be cure for Fringe

In case you’ve been taking too many sleeping pills and woke up recently wondering, “Where the heck did Fringe go? Did Fox cancel it?” well, the answer is, “No. And you’re in the minority.”

Why? Because the Fox sci-fi drama from Lost creator J.J. Abrams has moved to Fridays on the Fox schedule and is actually seeing its ratings improve to the point that Fox boss Kevin Reilly is talking optimistically about a fourth season. That’s great news considering the show is finally finding its grove, moving beyond its “weird crap of the week” roots and evolving the mythology of the show into something that’s become darn entertaining.

The complexity of the Olivia-Peter relationship has improved immensely, and now drives the show. The duality of the two worlds is intriguing and makes for some electric viewing. I had little hope for this show and stopped watching mid-way through the first season. Now that I see it’s surviving and is also flourishing creatively, I’m back, and I’m watching. With interest.

Fringe looks tops

When it comes to new shows this fall – genuinely new shows and not last seasons rookie-year relaunches, which have plenty of promising skeins – nothing beats the promise of J.J. Abrams’ latest effort, Fringe, on Fox.

Billed as a bit of a modern take on the X-Files concept, the show promises to be more accessible to new viewers than recent creations like Lost and Alias. While any J.J. Abrams effort is anticipated as much as an acne cure, this show marks his first effort outside of ABC in quite some time.

Fox, which is doing well with shows like House, Bones and 24, is overdue for its next runaway hit; Fringe is my best bet for delivering on that.