So guess what, as we prepared for the EIGHT MONTH hiatus for our most favourite TV Show (”LOST”) we only went and found another obsession! Along came “Fringe” to ease the pain of LOST being off the air, but it became so much more than just a pacifier, this show actually does rock. Here are eight of our favourite things about Fringe in 2008(we could have included more, but eight is such a perfect number for this year, dontcha think?):
(No particular order)
The Observer: What started off as a curious occurrence has turned into a full-blown obsession. The Observer has got many fans watching that bit more closely, searching for any sign of his shiny bald head. His appearance in every episode so far is no coincidence, he’s the hook that reeled many people in and the skill with which he was formally introduced in “The Arrival” was brilliant. He adds an ‘other-worldly’ feel to the show, that’s not to say he’s an alien (that’d be lame), but there are many things about our own world that we do not yet understand, including the notion of time, space and reality - should the Observer offer a solution to these mysteries, we could be closer to perceiving our own world in a different light.
Father/Son Relationship: As a LOST fans we’ve been conditioned to approaching mythical father/son relationships with trepidation, after all, the law of LOST suggests that the son must overcome the father (usually by murdering him or by stealing his company from underneath him). However, the “Fringe” father/son angle is a more hopeful one. Sure, Peter still has resentment for his nutty father, but clearly there’s so much love there - did you see the way he looked at him when Walter asked whether the world sees him how he sees Dashiell? You wouldn’t catch Jack, Walt, Locke, Ben or Kate looking at their dads with such love (partly because they’re already dead). Likewise, Walter, as self-interested as he is, obviously adores his son - heck, he tried to go back in time to change the fate of the ‘bird-flu’ ridden Peter. That’s love right there.
Agent Dunham: Many people gave her grief for being “cold” and “distant”, but Agent Dunham has warmed our hearts. She’s been one of the best new female characters on TV in many a while. She can’t be ’smiles a minute’ because her life has been turned upside down and she has two strange men stalking her every waking (and sleeping) moment - give a sister a break! What we like about Dunham is her duality - she’s smart, yet she clearly doesn’t know it all (nor does she claim to), she’s hot but naturallyso, she’s tough but has vulnerabilities that she clearly has to battle through (and boy does she battle!), she can drink your ass under the table but she retains her femininity - We could go on but you get the idea. She’s a cracking character who we’ve barely scratched the surface with. We love Walter but Olivia has been a treat because we didn’t expect Torv to do such a good job so quickly.
Massive Dynamic: Would “LOST” be the same without the Dharma Initiative? Would the first season of the once great “Heroes” have been the same without Primatech? Doubtful. Every mythology-laden show needs a shadowy organisation that toes the line of ambiguity. Massive Dynamic are brilliant because you can clearly see how they could relate in that thing we call the ’real world’. Multi-industry corporations are so common that we sometimes forget to ask ourselves ‘why?’. Why does company “A” do so much, is it because they can, because they should, or because no one else does it better? How can such control be regulated, monitored and shared when the same company who runs your email service, also controls your web browsing and your search engine results (yes Google, I’m talking to you *smiles sweetly*). There are far better examples, but we thought Google could use the linkback.
Nina Sharp: Oh Nina, we do love you. Not only are you a strong woman in charge of the worlds most forward-thinking company (Willam Bell? Pah!), you’re not a hard-ass like so many TV shows try to do with powerful woman at the top. No no no, our Nina is funny, charming, endearing, charismatic and she has a bionic arm that terrifies me senseless. We all need a bit of danger to go with our favourite characters! In all seriousness, Nina is great, she lights up the screen with her red hair and mind f*cks Olivia on the regular. Sorry Olivia, but she does own you.
The Science: Popular Mechanics have struggled to muddy the science portrayed on the show, and no wonder, it’s been fascinating! Some of it might be unbelievable, but if I wanted to stay within the safe confines of commonly held beliefs then I’d watch a documentary. Even then Fringe would probably contain more truths!
Mythology: The reason why mythology works so well in shows like “Fringe” is because we are all brought up on myths. We all have a spiritual leaning towards a good story involving mystery and the human condition. Fringe has been blessed with a sprinkling of intriguing mythological aspects from the strange blue lights, to the Observer’s writings, to the cylinder, to Peter’s childhood illnesses, to the reason for Astrid existing, to name a few. If you’re a fan of mythology then Fringe is a veritable rabbit-hole with your name on it. Long may this continue in 2009!
Giacchino Magic: The talented composer really understands where, when and how to place a piece of music to convey emotion. The early indications with FRINGE are good, and all LOST fans know how integral his score is to the success of that show.
With that, it’s farewell to 2008 and possibly FringeBloggers. There’s this great show called Eleventh Hour that we’re desperate to blog about. Haha, we kid, we’ll be around in various forms. We’d just like to thank those who have taken the time to read our blog, it’s been fun following this show. We’d also like to thank a certain Fringe blog for their arrogant threat to blow us out of the water (ha!) and for making us stronger in the knowledge that we are genuine fans, not power hungry freaks. Finally, we’d also like to thank all parties involved with the show for keeping us entertained during this most difficult of years for the industry. We may not kiss your ass like a certain blog, but we respect what y’all do. KEEP DOIN’ IT.
Now, we’re off to get very very drunk, fear not observers, we’ll be sticking to the root beer floats all night.
![](http://www.fringebloggers.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/110_safe.jpg "1.10 \\"SAFE\\" - Fringie of the Week")
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