Available on DVD as of September 8, 2008
Synopsis: Teleportation. Mind control. Invisibility. Astral projection. Mutation. Reanimation. Phenomena that exist on the Fringe of science unleash their strange powers in this thrilling series, co-created by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias), combining the grit of the police procedural with the excitement of the unknown. The story revolves around three unlikely colleagues: a beautiful young FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Walter Bishop (John Noble) a brilliant scientist who has spent the last 17 years in a mental institution and the scientist’s sardonic son peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) who together investigate a series of bizarre deaths and disasters known as “the pattern”. Someone is using our world as an experimental lab. And all clues lead to Massive Dynamic, a shadowy global corporation CEOed by Bishop’s former lab partner, Dr. William Bell (veteran scif actor Leonard Nimoy), that may be more powerful than any nation.
The season of Fringe, which debuted on the FOX network in the 2008-2009 television season, introduced viewers to a world where there is something known as “fringe science” and a special FBI unit has been assembled to look for something known as “the pattern” in which, strange and often horrifying things happen. Co-Creator J J Abrahms assured viewers that, unlike his other series Lost, Fringe would have less complicated and convoluted story arcs. Fringe would be more straightforward and easier for the casual viewer to tune into watching even if they had missed an episode of two. Abrahms stayed true to his word for the most part, but I still found Fringe somewhat hard to keep up with especially when it too started going into the concept of parallel universes ala Heroes. Though I have to admit I continue to be intrigued by a series that has a genetically mutated cow as one of it’s recurring characters.
Fringe The Complete First Season takes the viewer on the exciting and often times horrifying journey with Olivia, Walther and his son Peter as they set out to discover why and how the Pattern is connected to Bell’s Massive Dynamic, which is leading global technology company that holds the patents for a number of new and important technologies. To dealing with bioterrorist organization known as ZFT who is behind the creating all of the strange occurrences as part of their preparation for a destructive technological singularity. And that both sides are somehow linked together by a nootropic drug, called Cortexiphan, that was developed by by Walter Bishop and William Bell back when they were partners and which was given to Olivia and others when they were children.
Fringe has great production values and the special effects are some of the most startling and shockingly vivid every created for television series. The characters are solid and the presence of Leonard Nimoy and the rich history of scifi television that this legend brings with him gives Fringe the kind of scifi “street creds” few shows like it get to boast.
Fringe: The Complete first season comes in box that features a way cool holographic image and contains all 22 episodes from season one plus some outstanding special features:
· Gag Reel
· A special look at Gene the Cow
· Roberto Orci’s Production Diary
· Unaired and Deleted Scenes
· A special featurette on the casting and special effects.
Fringe season 2 is currently airing on the FOX Network Thursday nights at 9PM EST.