To all that is weird!

Are you watching Fringe? It is a smart, scary, wonderful show that no one I know cares about. The show is about the Fringe Unit of the FBI, which investigates unusual crimes. I spend the entire hour on the edge of my seat, and then an hour the next day lurking in forums to see if I caught the same hints and details as everyone else.

I expected to be disappointed by Fringe for two reasons. First, they cast Joshua Jackson in one of the lead roles, Peter Bishop. I hated Dawson’s Creek, and I viscerally associate him with that annoying piece of teen-angst soap opera. Second, it sounded like a modernized rip-off of the X Files, which is one of my favorite shows of all time. Well, at least until it became redundant and boring.




Anyway, while Fringe definitely has an X Files feel to it, it is a unique and inventively written drama. It mixes in some comedy and horror without losing focus, and it is beautifully shot and acted. Anna Torv is FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, a kickass, stubborn girl-power lead. John Noble is Dr. Walter Bishop, a mad scientist who spent years in a mental hospital and emerged child-like and focused on righting his wrongs. And Joshua Jackson is a dream as Walter’s son and international fraud - I think by the end of Fringe’s second season, I will have forgotten about Pacey altogether! Other impressive regulars are Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, and … Leonard Nimoy!

So if you find yourself muttering at all the insipid crap passing for entertainment some night when you’re planted in your easy chair, try catching up with Fringe on-line and adding the new episodes to your DVR.