Well, Fringe’s first season is over now and it passed the test, we can say it’s because of American Idol, and yes FOX gave FRINGE a huge, huge leading show…but we have to agree Fringe is not an awesome tv series, let’s face it, Fringe is not a CSI, or a Grey’s Anatomy or a Desperate Housewives…it’s in the same level that CSI:NY or Lost, middle quality show. So why FOX is so committed to Fringe? It’s just a word: potential.
Fringe has the potential to attract a big spectrum of viewers, the expected to be a mix between the sci-fi/dramatic tone of the X-files (maybe somehow like LOST) and the homeland security issues/ evil company/ terrorists groups like 24.
Fringe also explore the individual evil, just one man able to do horrible things (pretty much like CSI); and finally a female leading, having boyfriend issues and conflicts between her job and her personal (I wanna say sexual) life.
The family conflict between the Bishops is also a great aspect of the show, the crazy scientist father and the funny but boasting son, with legal issues it’s also good stuff.
Yes, FRINGE has got everything to be a huge hit (I’d like to see how it’d work a face to face between CSI, Grey’s Anatomy and Fringe) the strategy to atract viewers is also excellent: every episode start with an independent storyline, a weird case so we can follow the episode 15 or 9 or 18 with no information about previous episodes, but eventually we find out, that even when the particular case is solved, there is an opening ending, this lead us to watch more episodes (I watched the first episode, didn’t like it…but started in episode 10, and I’m watching them all), so this strategy is good.
What’s the problem then? Fringe’s got a floating audience, yes it’s like a dancefloor…it’s always full of people but it’s not the same people. It’s got so many good elements that sometimes it loses focus, I’d like to see how works an episode only Olivia-oriented (she’s my favorite character) no Walters, no Peters, no Massive Dynamics, no black-boss-who-used-to-be-in-Lost. A girly episode including sex and hot guys, would it like to the action fans? to the sci-fi fans? to the evil characters/ conspiracy fans?
I wanna see how Fringe works without the fabulous leading of “Idol” and “House” on a Thursday night, it will be the test FOX must give to Fringe to see if FOX has the potential to beat ABC and CBS asses and become the first major network
