Fringe – The Complete First Season (2009/Warner Blu-ray + DVD)
Picture:
B/B- Sound: C Extras: C- Episodes: B
FOX has a
history of rolling out great series (as long as they don’t cancel them) and JJ
Abrams has a history of creating great shows; so together the duo for all
intents and purposes had aces in hand from the start with Fringe. Fringe is your weekly crime drama series covered in a not-so-thin
coating of Sci-Fi greatness. After
creating Alias and LOST it is no
shocker that JJ Abrams has more tricks up his sleeve; and Fringe is no exception. The
series from the beginning feels like a sleeker version of FOX’s own X-Files; as it quickly sets off on a
mission of mystery, darkness and “do you believe” action.
The
series centers on an investigative team known as the “Fringe Division;” which
consists of a Homeland Security Director (played by Lance Riddick), a mad
scientist type named Walter Bishop (John Noble), a resident hottie names Olivia
Dunham (Anna Torv) and son of Walter, Peter Bishop (played by Joshua Jackson of
Dawson’s Creek fame). The premise of the series is that there are a
host of mysterious events (i.e. - crazy experiments) occurring throughout the
world that are aptly named “The Pattern.” The Pattern sums up to be an immense societal
experiment that involves things like monsters, disasters and viruses; all with
a seemingly larger meaning, rather than merely being coincidental. Walter Bishop was sprung from the Mental
Institution due to his involvement with the aforementioned experiments and his
son Peter is more or less his wrangler; while dealing with other “aspects” of
the law. The “larger plot” of Fringe is quickly revealed early on in
the season as it is explicitly spells out that “The Pattern” is part of a larger
terrorist plot to annihilate humanity through the use of technology. Throughout the First Season JJ Abrams does a fine job of balancing the
“procedural/political” aspect of the series with the wonderfully grotesque
Sci-Fi edge that holds Fringe together;
something that will have to be carefully monitored, because if either overtakes
the other it could be the series downfall.
I greatly
enjoyed Fringe’s First Season, but
it is most definitely a series (like LOST)
where if you miss an episode you can expect to quickly be out of the loop. To some degree the series seems to still be
getting its footing, but that is not unheard of for a brand new series;
especially one as creative as Fringe. I look forward to seeing what else this
landmark FOX series has to offer, but I predict as of now it is a lot.
The
technical features of this 5-Disc Blu-ray set are not the best (and far from
bad), but the DVD release is a clear downgrade for this series. The picture on the Blu-ray is presented in a
1.78 X 1 1080p/AVC-1 image (from Super 35mm film) that brings the “bang &
pow” of a Hollywood blockbuster with great textures, fine detail, solid
contrast and vibrant colors. Even with a
bit of edge enhancement the image is great throughout and makes me ask why all
TV series don’t look this great. The
picture presentation truly establishes an atmosphere on Blu-ray, but the DVD
falls a bit flat on color, contrast, and texture as the image seems too big of
a downgrade from Blu-ray. The audio on the
Fringe Blu-ray is far from perfect
as its Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track is a poor choice on Warner’s part; yes
it should have been a TrueHD presentation at least! The sound is just ‘blah’ to this reviewer as
the depth is lost and the sound never ‘pops’ as it should; whereas I am bombarded
with a wonderful image, the experience on crawls as the sound slows it
down. The DVD is at the same level of
gruesome and Warner would be smart to upgrade the sound for Season Two.
The
extras are mediocre at best and don’t give fans much to care about as they are
the same old “series promos” that so many shows on DVD suffer from. Extras include the following:
- Audio Commentaries – 3 in all that are not very exciting, save
the Pilot’s commentary that Abrams hosts and gives great insight to his
vision.
- Deciphering the Scene – basically give a 2-minute
look into a particularly taxing part of each episode; too short to really
tell anything and all in all annoying.
- Dissected Files – i.e. Deleted Scenes that neither add nor
detract from the episodes
- Massive Undertaking
- Evolution: The Genesis of Fringe
- Behind the Real Science of Fringe
- Casting of Fringe
- Roberto Orci’s Production Diary
- Fringe Visual Effects
- Unusual Side Effects – boring Bloopers
- Gene the Cow – a look at an unusual cast member…who seemingly has
multiple personalities
**HD
Exclusive extras:
- Audio Commentary on the
Season Finale
- Fringe Pattern Analysis
Featurette – a poorly done extra that looks more at the science of the
series
I highly
recommend this series as it will have you hooked from the very first (massive)
episode.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
