Fringe is one of those TV shows that I’d have never watched if it wasn’t for the fans affirming it was getting much better after the first season. The couple of episodes I watched were cliched and forgettable. It seemed like an homage to X-Files without anything worthwhile to say on its own. Homages are all good, but only as long you can also raise the stakes at some point.
Fringe did it. The second season started right at a beginning like an “all in” attempt. They pulled out all the stops and started daring. Many episodes were still weak and dull, but overall it was gaining steam and the characters strong enough that they could carry the show during the slow moments. Season 3 was even better, it felt like the writers were having fun. Still plenty of weak spots, but tolerable. The two parts ending to Season 3 was half made of suck and half made of win, in the end still keeping hopes up for a wonderful continuation.
Season 4 started… fine. Definitely a low key compared to the beginning of season 2 or 3. But at least they seemed to do something interesting with the mythological device of the Observers. But it was an HOAX. Instead of building momentum and grow, it sank into the mud. Sluggish and contrived.
From the third episode onward, and for what seems going to comprise the entire season, it became full of indulgent wankery. The whole arc is essentially an USELESS SEASON-LONG DETOUR. Meaningless because the whole time is wasted re-introducing clones of former characters in cloned universes that ultimately will disappear when this season is over and Peter returns to the former timeline. I wonder WHO among Fringe writers believed this was a good idea. Make a whole season of cloned characters in rewritten/rebooted universes while expecting the public will give a fuck. WORSE than comic books reboots. Nothing relevant is being added, episode after episode with recycled characters and stories in a “what if” flavor. Reheated food, formulaic writing and self-referential homages.
I’m pissed at J. J. Abrams because this is clearly the result of “too much love”. You know, when a guy breaks through in BOTH Hollywood and Television. All he does gets a huge attention, so the guy believes his ideas are made of gold and he is a Genius. Currently he has three shows going on TV at the same time, along with his “minor side projects” like blockbusters in the cinemas. Fringe is one of the things that go to shit because HE COULDN’T CARE LESS. Both Hollywood and television love him and he’d always have his other gigs to really care about anything specifically. Success leads to pampering, and suck. Nothing is at stake for him and I even doubt he is involved in production. He’s the Boss now, others can do the work for him and took the blame. He’ll surely be there to take the praises.
If the creator of a series shows no interest for it, why should the fans?
Fringe will be obviously cancelled. It deserves to be cancelled because the writers decided it was better to plan a whole season around a formulaic “what if” than to actually solve any mystery. They had PLENTY of time to bring the show to a wonderful conclusion, but decided to piss all over it because of OVERCONFIDENCE (the one thing that Abrams himself surely has provided on his own). The kind of overconfidence that makes you think it’s a good idea to revisit the same stuff over and over and over through a sly, clever, full-of-itself perspective.
So the show is going to be canceled because it lost most of its public and the writers decided that it was better to use what (plenty) time they had left to go on a full wankery detour than to actually give the show the conclusion it deserved. I hope they do not give it any second chances because they clearly do not deserve them. Abrams replied to the concerns by saying: “I would say without question that if Fringe comes back, I would do anything in my power to direct an episode.”
My reply is this:
WHO FUCKING CARES!
Not only he helped dig Fringe’s grave, but now he wants to come back in a time of need so that he’ll look like a SAVIOR. Go fuck yourself, and possibly regain some humility and sincere interest in what you do. Next time do one thing, and give it your best.
