"Fringe" Review: Just Not My Kind of Good

I am a big fan of Mark Valley and I have wanted him to find a good role ever since “Boston Legal” hosed him…

But I knew from his absence from the “Fringe” publicity materials that he was doomed. And if that didn’t give it away, his character telling the female lead he loves her did.

The good news for Mark Valley fans is that before he exited the show, he took us on a crazy ride that left us wondering just who his character was anyway.

Plus, it looks like in the world of “Fringe,” it’s possible that we haven’t seen the last of him…

To try and break this show down is no easy task. After all, it comes from the brain of J.J. Abrams and we know how he loves complex themes. But I will do my best…

Warning: If you have not seen the season premiere of “Fringe” and plan to do so, stop reading now…

Olivia (Anna Torv) is an FBI agent. She’s carrying on a secret relationship with a fellow agent, John (Valley). They’re both called to investigate a strange case—all the passengers on an airplane melted away to bones. And then while investigating the case, John is infected with the mystery toxin, which makes his skin translucent and will kill him within 24 hours.

To save the man she loves, Olivia decides she needs Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) who was doing similar experiments 17 years ago. But he’s in a mental institution where his only visitor can be his son, Peter (Joshua Jackson). Peter reluctantly agrees to help Olivia and the three form an uneasy alliance. Walter discovers that he can help John, but it takes a lot of strange steps to get there.

It’s at this point where the show starts to drag as Walter connects Olivia and John’s brains in an overly long segment. But then in a blink of an eye, Olivia finds who she’s looking for, they get the answers they need and John’s life is saved.

But if you think that’s the end, then you don’t know J.J. Abrams…

During her investigation, Olivia learns that Walter did his experiments with William Bell, who went on to start the company, Massive Dynamic, which once employed the man who injured John. While investigating the company, Olivia hears about “the pattern” that she doesn’t have clearance to receive details about.

But apparently the Homeland Security agent that has been working with the FBI on the airplane case does. Agent Boyles (Lance Reddick) asks Olivia to come work for him and help stop “the pattern,” but Olivia refuses.

However, she begins to change her mind after the person responsible for releasing the toxin on the plane drops a bomb on Olivia—he was taking orders from a member of the FBI.

Do you even have to ask who? Of course it’s John, who kills the accomplice and flees the hospital. Olivia pursues him and John is killed in the ensuing accident, but not before he leaves Olivia a cryptic clue. He tells her, “Ask yourself why Boyles sent you to the storage unit.”

Realizing that someone must stop “the pattern” before it’s too late, Olivia convinces Peter to stick around and be his father’s guardian so they both can help her.

But the show ended with John’s body being wheeled into Massive Dynamic so he can be questioned (And yes, you’re reading that right.)…

“Fringe” (which comes from the term “fringe science,” i.e. the paranormal) has already been called the best new drama of the season and it definitely has elements that help it make a claim to that title.

First of all, let me say that the cast is fantastic. Anna Torv is a revelation in the lead and Joshua Jackson is surprisingly strong as Peter. And John Noble does a fantastic job of weaving in and out of lucidity. Plus Lance Reddick (who “Lost” fans will recognize as the creepy Matthew Abaddon) is always perfect to play a mysterious authority figure.

Second, the show looks amazing. Abrams didn’t direct the pilot, but he clearly found someone (Alex Graves) who shares his fantastic eye for detail.

The first 40 minutes or so had me totally entranced as I tried to figure out how I was going to add another show to my must-see list. And then, the show just lost me and I never came back.

Granted, I was super-psyched by the John plot twist, but then he died…

I guess my biggest problem is that this isn’t my kind of show. And even though Abrams has insisted in interviews that the “Fringe” mythology will not be that complicated, there’s still a mythology and I just can’t get into that.

But if that is the kind of thing you get into, you’ll love “Fringe.” It’s really good, it’s just not my kind of good…

“Fringe” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on FOX. You can catch an encore of the premiere Sunday, September 14th at 8 p.m…

And if you watched it, let me know what you think…

Photos Credit: Ben Mark Holzberg/FOX