The Show Itself – A J.J Abrams production, Fringe is a wonderful story blending sci-fi with “realistic” investigations. I’ll be honest and say that I never saw the first season. So, I popped Season 2 on my PS3 not knowing what to expect. The first episode holds my attention. It starts off with a car accident, but when investigators arrive, the cars are empty. One man ran off, and this is where it gets strange, he breaks into somebody’s apartment, and shapeshifted. Yes, he’s a shapeshifter. The theory is that he was sent here by Aliens. Why? We don’t know just yet.
This is an entertaining series, but not consistent. There are episodes that can be easily forgotten, but the good episodes are stellar. I enjoyed the episode with Robocop’s Peter Weller, his performance was creepily entertaining. I also enjoyed the throwback episode called “Peter”, where it takes us back to the 80s, it even has its own intro. The show as a whole is fun, but there are issues that drag through multiple episodes, and the pay-off isn’t that great. With that said, the Finale has something that will want you coming back.
The Show: B-
Video – The video transfer in HD is excellent. The colors are well-controlled, no bleeds or weird skin-tones. For a Sci-fi series, I’m surprised that they use a lot of clear daylight scenes. It’s not at all dark, like The X-files. There are occasional hiccups with the picture quality, but only when it gets too dark. The colors become flat, and somewhat muddy. But, it’s not a big deal, as the majority of the picture quality is amazingly good. This could be one of the best Blu-ray transfers I’ve seen for a TV show.
Video: A
Audio – The audio is impressive. Although, not lossless, it’s surprisingly good. When I first saw that it wasn’t transferred in lossless, I couldn’t help but pre-judge the set before trying it out. I was ready to whine about why WB wouldn’t go the lossy route. But, I was wrong. This set has a very strong audio transfer, the umpphhs are great, and the background noises are well balanced. Although, the dialogues are crisp and clear, it’s a little weak. I had to turn my receiver way up to hear them talk. Overall, a small complaint on a stellar audio track, I can only imagine how much better it would have been if it was Lossless.
Audio: A-
Extras – A lot of good informative material here, let’s take a look:
– “Unearthed” – an episode that was never aired from Season One.
– “The Mythology of Fringe” – information about the timeline of the show.
– “Fringe: Analyzing the Scene” – used on 6 episodes
– “In the Lab with John Noble and Prop Master Rob Smith” – A small tour of the weird lab that Noble uses.
– Commentary on 4 Episodes by Series Stars and Creative Team
– “Unusual Side Effects” — Gag Reel
– “Dissected Files” — Unaired Episodes
Extras: B+
Overall – This is a good show, but the inconsistencies dropped my interest a little bit. But, there are enough good episodes to keep me hoping for more. Think of this as J.J. Abrams’ X-files. John Noble’s acting is superb, he pretty much puts everybody else to shame. This show has something to offer for the Sci-fi geeks in all of us. I recommend this show a buy if you like The X-files or Lost. But, if you’re in the “others” category, I would suggest this a rental, the picture and audio quality alone is worth a look.
Overall: B+
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