Jamie Finally Started Watching Fringe (Please don't cancel it yet!)

After much pushing from Kacey and the use of Netflix, Amazon Instant Watch, and Xfinity On Demand I am completely caught up on Fringe.  As I worked my way through these three and a half seasons I could not help but think of other shows created by JJ Abrams.  I’ve comprised a list (super spoilery!!) of what you can expect when watching a JJ show, or, if you are an aspiring writer, what you may want to include in your show to get his backing:

Doubles – What a brilliant tactic, you kill of a major character, but keep the actor by putting in an imposter and waiting a few weeks (or longer) for the other characters to figure it out.  On Alias it was Francie, dead in the kitchen only to be replaced and then use poor Will to learn CIA secrets.  On Fringe we not only saw it happen to Charlie, but you never know when the shapeshifters might do it again. 

Prophesy – When they first pulled out that picture of Peter in the machine and again with Olivia playing a roll in the process, my first thought was of the image of Sydney in the Rembaldi prophesy.  I haven’t looked it up, but I feel like they used the same artist for both shows.  It is an excellent way to deal with the issue of fate vs free will, something that comes up time and time again in all of Abrams’ shows.

Romantic leads with the wrong person – Okay, so this isn’t unique to an Abrams series, but when Peter was shacking up with other Olivia I was yelling at the TV in the exact same way I was when Vaughn couldn’t see that Lauren was evil.  How could they not know? So, really, it's not just that they are with the wrong person, it's that the person they are with is actually evil. Or at least acting in an evil manner.  But I'm getting into the good vs evil topic and that comes later.

Daddy issues – So this is pretty much always present.  Peter & Walter and Peter & Walternate’s relationships are complicated in every timeline and every universe.  You could write an entire dissertation on the complicated back and forth relationship of Sydney & Jack.  But we can leave that for Sarah to handle in a future entry.  And Lost was a mass of characters whose issues with their fathers could keep a therapist busy for decades.  I wouldn’t want to make any assumptions about Abrams, but it is very consistent. Just saying, JJ, if you need to talk, we’re listening.  Let it out.

Badass chicks – As certain as you can expect to see some complicated father-daughter or father-son relationships on an Abrams series, you can also expect that the female lead could kick your ass.  I don’t really care who you are, her only competition would be one of Joss Whedon’s leading ladies.

Good vs Evil is not simple as it initially seems – Again, this is certainly not unique, but when watching Fringe I found that the relationship between the first universe we encounter and the second – from the perspective of both the audience and the characters – is very similar to the crash survivors and the Others on Lost.  We meet one group first and our initial introduction to the other side is so evil. The shapeshifters are killing people and causing chaos, the Others are kidnapping people. However, as we learn more about the other side and see things from their perspective, who is good and who is evil is far less certain.  While we maintain a certain degree of loyalty to our initial characters, we definitely abandon our black and white view of these complicated worlds.

Yell at the TV Cliffhangers and a constant fear of cancellation - Now that I’m finally watching a JJ Abrams show as it unfolds (I watched Alias on DVD and Lost on Netflix Instant Watch, both after the series had ended), I can now share the frustrations that come with taking such a risk.  First you live with the horrible cliffhangers week after week, and worry that the end of season will come with an even more insane ending and you’ll be stuck waiting all summer wondering what will happen. Like when Syd woke up and it was 2 years later and she had no memory of it or when Peter just up and disappeared… from existence.  And worse, as I am sucked further into the story and the lives of the characters I live in constant fear that some idiot at the top of the corporate food chain at Fox will cancel this show.  I mean really, what kind of ratings can you expect on a Friday night in the age of the internet and DVR.  Fingers crossed for season 5.

All in all, these are elements of great TV.  This is definitely not a criticism.  I like that I know what I'm getting when it says, from writer/creator/executive producer JJ Abrams, I'm getting quality, well-written TV and if lucky some time travel and red matter. 

Coming soon Sarah will write an epic poem on the adventures of Malcolm Reynolds, in iambic pentameter.