I’ve already said I don’t have anything against the show and would like to see it be more appealing and do better, specifically because it is so much like X-Files – doesn’t matter if it is a rip-off, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that if it’s done well, and everything if not. Obviously Fringe has its fans as is, just not nearly enough to keep it safely on the air. Like the latest Star Trek film, those fans should hope the producers are able to improve the show and make it more accessible to a wider audience in order to keep it on the air. But I’m gonna call a spade a spade when I see one.

#42 thanks Bob, am looking forward to what you guys come up with next!

I’m very excited about a third season! Great news!

“I think most people who don’t like the show just didn’t connect with the characters. You want to spend time with characters, you know?”

And that is exactly what I’ve written here. Fringe does not resonate with me, and I want it to so badly. I also think the direction and ultimately editing by the producer’s takes its toll as well. The pacing is just not there for me. And yet I want it to improve so I will want to watch it – it has so many elements that attract me, yet do not compel me to watch it.

Lost has this in spades, despite its extremely weak story. It’s like the dramatic version of Family Guy some weeks and has wandered all over the map (alienating others in the process). But the cast is solid and dynamic and the show is structured, directed, and edited in the most compelling way. Sometimes I find myself wondering why I’m watching such a silly show, but every act break sucks me back in for more.

Fringe simply hasn’t found that for me, despite being a more cohesive story than Lost. But I’m happy it has a strong enough fan base that it will get another opportunity to find a wider audience. Considering how poorly Fringe has done, the producers will hopefully see this as a challenge to change, rather than a mandate to stay the course.

And that, to all of those who are continually perplexed why anyone who doesn’t like something would show up to comment on it, is why I do. I can’t speak for others, but I would like to see Fringe succeed, and all I can offer is my criticism of what doesn’t work for me.

It is like X-Files, except 10 times better and I can actually watch every single episode.

Fringe does this well. There’s an interesting story that resolves itself in every episode, and sprinkled throughout, there are little pushes forward in the characterization.

This is unlike most episodic television. Star Trek, Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Voyager, early Stargate, The A-Team, MacGuyver, etc. etc. — in those show, the tension was simple: how will this plot be resolved so that by the end of the episode, everything is back to normal and every one is in the same emotional place they were in when the episode began. Data gets an emotion chip? Well, he’s going to hide it. Until the movies, when the REAL characterization is allowed to begin. Picard was assimilated? We’ll write an episode wherein he deals with it so we can move on to the regular stories. (Yeah, I know, broad strokes — but you get the idea.)

I like series like Fringe, where anything can happen in an episode and it has lasting consequences. When Olivia’s partner . . . I’ll avoid the spoiler, but it bothered me because something happened that was not going to be undone.

But the other thing, whether episodic or serialized or a mix of both like Fringe, is whether or not you connect with the characters. I think most people who don’t like the show just didn’t connect with the characters. You want to spend time with characters, you know? I like the characters (testament to the writers and the actors) and as a result, I want to see what happens to them.

No I wouldn’t but TNG was a much better show

Captain Neill: What if someone said to you in the middle of the third season of TNG they hope it would get cancelled? You wouldn’t like it one bit.