Fringe is the best show on TV.
There. I said it and I meant it. Fringe is on the verge of becoming a cult favorite in the vein of LOST and The X-Files. It may not have the viewership, but it has the smarts. You can’t get any better writing on TV, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a season premiere better than tonight’s “Olivia,” which was by far one of the best episodes the show has offered. While last year’s “White Tulip” still holds my pick for being the top episode, I have to say that I was completely blown away with the direction that this episode took.
We’ll go for the strong points of the episode. The first of those is Andre Royo’s Henry. I can’t stress enough how fantastic he was in the episode. He was perhaps better than the sheriff from last year’s “Northwest Passage,” in that he as a minor character with so much depth that it was hard to imagine that he wasn’t completely integral to the show. He’s a perfect example of the show’s writers showing how good they are with both character and mythology.
And let’s get the twist of Olivia’s memory transfer out of the way. If you thought that she would be struggling to get out of the universe for the entire season (and who didn’t?), you were absolutely sorely mistaken. And that’s part of the great all-bets-are-off nature of the show.
I’d also like to say that I’m especially glad the red titles were recycled from last season’s finale. Having seen episode two of this season, I can confirm that the red titles will be used only for the episodes set in Over There, in the alternate universe. It’s very nice, and they’re almost as cool as the eighties-style credits used for “Peter.”
Finally, I have to say that having the alternate Brandon be a sinister character is especially neat, considering how awesome he is Over Here. For such a peripheral character, he’s really a lot of fun when he decides to pop up (which I hope will be more often).
Obviously, this review isn’t long, but our resident Fringecapper will be along to take care of the details before long. I’m only around to tell you how I liked the episode, and here’s the understatement of the century: I liked it.
What did you think of Fringe “Olivia”? Sound off in our all new FRINGE Discussion Forum!
Follow Us
Yes sir! The premiere was amazing! I hope we see Henry again!
Loved the premiere, I think it remains to be seen whether Fringe is "the best show on TV," right now I think its Mad Men, and lets not forget a new season of Dexter starts on Sunday, but Fringe is a very nique show in the sense its the only show I can think of where it actually gets significantly better each season. Im super excited to see how things develop over the course of this season.
Fringe and Supernatural are the only hour-long shows I bother watching. (I also like Modern Family but thats a little beside the point).