Pilot

“Fringe” has been a highly anticipated series for Fox, and many of us here at TV Jab have been waiting for it as well. I have purposefully stayed away from any information about the series other than a bit of casting info.

So, I have approached this series cold, without even knowing what the show was about. Less than 5 minutes into the episode I felt like I was watching a show that was pitched as “CSI+X Files by way of House”.

The first hour of the show was predictable, boring, and filled with things that I have no interest in watching on television.

In the last 30 minutes, however, the show makes a switch from show set in the present with some sci-fi elements to sci-fi show set in the present day or very near future. When that happens, the show becomes slightly more interesting, but I still found most of it to be less than fascinating.

The show is jumbled mess that doesn’t seem to be sure if its a comedy, a horror film, or a sci-fi movie. Joshua Jackson’s character is largely unlikeable (with the exception of one scene that was clearly inserted to make him more friendly…even though in the context of this episode it seems totally out of character), and most of the other characters are shockingly one dimensional.

Laws don’t seem to apply to this show in any way shape or form. From Jackson assaulting a prisoner (which is apparently ok because he isn’t officially with the FBI), to Anna Torv’s character running around the world breaking a crazy man out of a hospital (which apparently he doesn’t have to go back to)…the list goes on and on.

Like “Lost” the show has a larger mystery that will unfold throughout the series, but I’m not all that interested in finding out what it is. I’ll give the show another week to capture my interest, but as far as this pilot is concerned, I didn’t care for it at all.