I started to watch Fringe in the fall of 2008 when it began airing.  The show is a bit different, but I think it is very entertaining.  I decided to pick up Fringe - The Complete First Season when the DVD set came out.

Fringe is an hour long science fiction series that airs on FOX.  During the first season, FOX aired the episodes with limited commercial breaks, making the episodes longer than most other hour long shows.  FOX did the same thing with Dollhouse, but they haven't continued the practice in the second season.  The second season of Fringe began airing on September 17, 2009.  The show has a new time slot at 9:00 P.M. EST on Thursday nights.  I know last year that the show was preempted at different times, mostly for American Idol, something that really annoys me.

Fringe is about a special unit of FBI agents, led by Agent Broyles of Homeland Security.  The special unit investigates strange things that happen that are part of what is called the Pattern.  FBI agent Olivia Dunham joins the team after her partner John Scott is injured while they are investigating a plane crash.  He has a very odd injury and Oliva discovers that Dr. Walter Bishop might be able to help.  The only problem is that Walter has been in a mental hospital for almost twenty years and only family members are allowed access to him.  Olivia tracks down Walter's son Peter and convinces him to help.  Walter has some unique issues, though he is able to help.  Olivia decides to stay with the special unit and she continues to work with Peter and Walter to figure out the strange things going on.  They discover more connections to Walter's former friend and partner, William Bell, who is in charge of Massive Dynamic, a company that makes things with cutting edge technology.

The episodes during the first season of Fringe deal with the various investigations that Olivia is assigned.  Walter and Peter end up helping with the different cases in some way.  There are different things going on, though the cases end up being designated as being part of the Pattern.  Important things are slowly shared over the course of the season.  I do think it is best to watch the episodes in order, though viewers can miss an episode here and there and not be completely lost when they watch the following episode.  In addition to the different investigations, time is also devoted to dealing with some personal issues for characters.  That makes the characters stronger and more interesting in my opinion, which in turn makes the show stronger overall as well.  One thing develops early in the season that seem like they were intended to play a large part in the season.  That ends up changing when the thing is dealt with earlier in the season.  I do think certain elements of the show got stronger as the series progressed.

I think there is a good amount of mystery to what happens in every episode of Fringe.  While watching the episodes, I was frequently wondering what was going to happen next and I was surprised more than once by different developments.  There is a decent amount of suspense to what is happening in several episodes and I was startled so much I jumped by what happens in one episode.  I really don't think the show is predictable even though most of the things going on end up with some kind of connection to Massive Dynamic.  

Olivia, Peter, and Walter travel to locations all around the country for the cases they are working on during the first season of Fringe.  At one point, Olivia even goes to Germany to question someone she thinks will have information useful to the investigation.  The different locations are identified in every episode, and even locations that turn up in every episode, like the Federal Building in Boston that Broyles and his team work out of, are identified.  Instead of the location information always being in the same spot on the screen, it can be anywhere.  The text sort of seems to blend in with the scenery that is being shown.  That helps to give the show a more unique look and feel.  

The unit that Olivia joins investigates strange or even downright bizarre things.  Years ago, Walter and William had been working together doing questionable experiments that pushed the limits of science.  Many times, that research is somehow tied in to the current case that Olivia is investigating.  Walter and Peter travel to the crime scenes to gather evidence and Walter frequently examines dead bodies and run tests that ultimately help figure out what is going on.  Some really weird stuff happens in the episodes, but it is handled in a believable way.  I think that makes things more interesting and entertaining.  I have heard Fringe compared to The X-Files because of the strange nature of some of what happens.  The similarity is there, but this is a different show and not just a knock off of The X-Files.  Several things that happen are creepy or even downright freaky, which won't appeal to some viewers.  I think the creepy or freaky things help to make the show more entertaining and interesting even though those things limit the appeal of the show overall.

Special effects are used at least briefly in all the episodes during the first season of Fringe.  Some very odd things happen during the season that require effects of some kind.  I think the effects are done well and help to make what is happening look more believable.  Some of the things shown are a bit gory or disgusting, especially once Walter starts running some of his tests.  Those things may turn some viewers off.  Violence does turn up in several episodes and different characters are injured. The violence isn't too explicit, but it may be too graphic for some viewers.  Olivia ends up involved in action scenes during many episodes when she is chasing suspects.  She even fights with some of them.  The action scenes are done well for the most part, though the shaky camera work tends to show up during those scenes, making it harder to tell exactly what is going on.  

The first season of Fringe establishes a core group of characters who are at least briefly in all the episodes.  Olivia Dunham is a dedicated FBI agent who gets discovers that all sorts of weird things have been going on after she is part of a team investigating a strange plane crash.  She has to deal with some shocking things, but she keeps pushing to find out exactly what is going on.  Things about her past, mainly from her childhood, start coming out as the season progresses.  Anna Torv does well with the part.

Walter Bishop was a brilliant scientist before something happened that sent him to a mental hospital.  He has forgotten many things, though every so often, he'll remember something.  He does have some trouble staying focused since his mind tends to wander.  He insisted on returning to his old lab at Harvard and on having a cow.  He is basically a mad scientist, but I think he is a really interesting character and likable overall.  Walter adds humor to every episode through things he says and does.  Granted it is usually a bit twisted, but I think it works with what is going on.  John Noble is wonderful in the part.

Peter is Walter's son.  The two have a strained relationship because of things in the past.  Peter doesn't want to deal with his father or even see him, but Olivia convinces him.  Things with their relationship do seem to improve some during the season.  Peter is a genius who has had some run ins with authority.  He does well with keeping Walter on track most of the time.  Peter has the knowledge to be able to assist Walter in most of the experiements.  He and Olivia develop a good working relationship and friendship over the course of the season.  I think Joshua Jackson does well with the part.

Agent Philip Broyles is with Homeland Security and he is in charge of the special unit that Oliva joins.  He seems kind of nasty at first, especially toward Olivia, but he seems to become a bit nicer during the season.  He sees what a good agent she is and comes to respect her work.  He is very serious and can seem intimidating.  Lance Reddick does well with the part.  Charlie Francis is an agent that has known Olivia for a while.  He is more skeptical about some things going on, but that doesn't stop him from doing his job.  Kirk Acevedo does well with the part.

John Scott is technically only in the first episode, though he is back in more episodes over the course of the season in a unique way that I'm not sharing.  John and Olivia were partners and very close, though several things come out concerning John that cause issues for Olivia.  Mark Valley does fine with the part.  I think John is ultimately an interesting character.  Astrid Farnsworth is an agent who is sort of an assistant to Olivia.  Astrid ends up spending most of her time helping Walter.  That involves helping with experiments, making runs to the store for his favorite snacks, and helping take care of the cow.  Jasika Nicole handles the part well.  

Nina Sharp has a high ranking position with Massive Dynamic and she has worked closely with William Bell for years.  Nina knows things about the Pattern and has also known Agent Broyles for a while.  Nina will share information with Olivia at times to help in investigations, but her first priority always seems to be protecting the company.  Not much is known about Nina yet.  I think Blair Brown does well with the part.  William Bell is mentioned many times throughout the first season.  He is always out of town when Olivia wants to talk to him about something pertaining to an investigation.  His voice is heard on an old video of an experiment during one episode and he finally makes an appearance in the last episode of the season.  Since his appearance is so small, Leonard Nimoy really didn't have much to do.  I'm thinking Bell will end up being more important in future episodes.

Main Cast
    
Kirk Acevedo - Charlie Francis
Blair Brown - Nina Sharp
Joshua Jackson - Peter Bishop
Jasika Nicole - Astrid Farnsworth
Leonard Nimoy - William Bell
John Noble - Dr. Walter Bishop
Lance Reddick - Phillip Broyles
Anna Torv - Olivia Dunham
Mark Valley - John Scott

DVD Information

Fringe - The Complete First Season has the twenty episodes from the first season on seven discs.  The extras are spread across all seven discs as well.  Most of the extras are connected to a specific episode, though a few of them cover the entire season.  There are commentaries on some episodes that I haven't listened to yet.  Four of the discs have an extra called The Massive Undertaking.  Each of those is focused how certain things were done in specific episodes.  The first one of these extras is about the making of the pilot and is the longest one as well.  Different people connected to the show talk about different aspects of making the episodes in question and some of the filming is shown.  They are really interesting and I enjoyed them.

Many of the episodes have an extra called Deciphering the Scene connected to them.  These are short, usually only a few minutes long, and they tend to focus on a certain aspect from the episodes.  They tend to deal with the special effects required for a specific scene or on setting up a special location and some of the filming will be shown.  These extras are interesting as well.  Dissected Files are the deleted scenes available for a few episodes.  Roberto Orci's Production Diary is on the first disc.  This has footage from the filming of the pilot in Toronto and there is a focus on some of the stunts.  Different cast and crew members are featured and some of the filming is shown again.  The weather conditions during the filming are brought up as well since they did impact filming a bit.  There is footage that shows the snow falling and how fast it is piling up.  The production diary is about thirteen minutes long and is entertaining.

Evolution: The Genesis of Fringe share more information about the show in general instead of being specifically focused on certain episodes.  It is on the first disc and there is actually a spoiler warning on the screen, saying that this extra shouldn't be watched until after all the episodes of the season have been watched.  The creators of the show talk about the creation of the show and how they were influenced by some other science fiction shows.  The three main characters of Olivia, Walter, and Peter are also talked about during this part.  The Casting of Fringe, on the second disc, is focused on the casting of the show.  This extra also has a spoiler warning.

The Fourth Disc includes Gene the Cow, a short bit about the cow that is in Walter's lab.  Behind the Real Science of Fringe, on disc six, has people talking about how the things in the show have a foundation in real science and some examples are given.  Unusual Side Effects: Gag Reel last a few minutes and has some funny things in it.  Fringe Visual Effects, on disc seven, has different people talking about some of the special effects that were used throughout the season and how some of them were created.  I thought all the extras were interesting and I enjoyed all of them.

Episode List

Pilot
The Same Old Story
The Ghost Network
The Arrival
Power Hungary
The Cure
In Which We Meet Mr. Jones
The Equation
The Dreamscape
Safe
Bound
The No-Brainer
The Transformation
Ability
Inner Child
Unleashed
Bad Dreams
Midnight
The Road Not Taken
There's More Than One of Everything

Fringe is a different type of show that won't appeal to all viewers.  It is very entertaining and I think it is worth watching.  Fringe - The Complete First Season is a great DVD set for fans of the show.
 

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD