FringeWBSundays,9 pmRating **** Whats it about?What do you get when the creator of Lost gets together with the team that produced Star Trek and Alias? A series that borders on science fiction,but plays out like a crime show. WBs new show,Fringe is named after the term fringe science which deals with bizarre stuff like ESP and,genetic mutation. Fringe follows the adventures of FBI agent Olivia Dunham,assisted by a brilliant scientist and his son,as she deals with bizarre occurrencesevery single person in a flight dissolves into a mass of blood and pulp,a baby is born,ages 80 years and dies,all within the span of a few hours.The incidents seem unique,but its eventually revealed that theyre all following something called The Pattern. This involves a series of experiments being performed all over the world. Also involved,in a suggestively sinister manner,are a corporation known as Massive Dynamic which holds the patents to some of the most advanced technologies of the day and ZFT,a bio-terrorist organisation that seems to be orchestrating the strange occurrences. Whos in it?Anna Torv stars as federal agent Dunham,with John Noble as the modern day Mad Scientist,Dr Walter Bishop,stands out in his performance. Joshua Jackson plays Peter Bishopa genius who reluctantly becomes his fathers guardian. Also starring is Mark Valley,of Boston Legal fame,who plays Dunhams former partner and lover John Scott. Whats hot?Fringe brings back the crazy conspiracy theories and weird experiments that were the hallmark of The X-Files and does it with panache. The acting doesnt disappoint either; especially brilliant is Noble whose tortured genius act is far from the caricature that such roles generally degenerate into. He brings a touch of King Lear to a role that could so easily have been ridiculous and exaggerated. Sci-fi geeks will delight in the oblique Futurama reference; Dunhams assistant Astrid Fansworth is named after the mad scientist from the hit animated series. Whats not?While overall,the acting is of a top order,Torv is wooden. Also,the pacing of the show needs to pick up; the two-hour long pilot episode is especially excruciating. Should you be watching it?You may wonder what its all about in the beginning,but with Fringe,patience definitely pays. Persevere and youll be rewarded with an exciting thriller that has all the makings of being the next cult hit.
