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Time Warriors! The heroic trio of FRINGE return for their newly released Season Four on Blu-ray and DVD. Images: WARNER BROTHERS HOME ENTERTAINMENT. |
FRINGE: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON
Starring Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and John Noble
Available on Blu-ray and DVD from WARNER BROTHERS HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Reviewed by Scott Weller
On UK TV a few years back there was a fun and memorable series of commercials from the British Telecom phone company which urged families in their tag line, “It doesn’t cost much to keep in touch”, and maintain contact with their loved ones wherever they were across the globe. But what would happen if your loved one/s had completely disappeared not only from sight but from reality itself, from history completely, as the wheels of time marched on without any trace of their existence…?
That’s the grim fate encountered by scientist and hero Peter Bishop at the end of Season Three of the cult hit sci-fi drama series FRINGE, originally created by JJ Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, of which its fourth exciting series, now available on stunning Blu-ray HD and DVD from WARNER BROTHERS, would prove to be one of its most intriguing concept-wise as well as one of its most potent drama-wise, too, as the series continued to evolve and re-evolve, revealing new facets to our likable main cast and their relationships, alongside a reformatted series format (no time to catch your breath here!) and a building sense of quiet but no less disturbing new incidents on the fringe (excuse the pun!) of current mind-bending plotlines, building towards resolution and action from its season mid-point.
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| Sorting out the time conundrums: Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and Walter Bishop (John Noble). |
But back to the mystery of Peter, as the opening episode, Neither Here Nor There, kicks off with a subtle but no less intriguing start from events of the aforementioned and gripping season finale, where, having saved the universe-both ours and its warring cousin of the parallel universe, and brought a kind of stability to both sides continued co-existence- he’s now been seemingly disintegrated forever, much to the shock and horror of TV viewing fans across the globe, remembered for a mere few moments before time-altered obsoletion hit the rest of the FRINGE team-heroic but vulnerable Olivia Dunham (Aussie hottie Anna Torv) and Peter’s once devoted but now seemingly back to the brink of madness Walter (another Aussie marvel, John Noble. Why, oh why, he’s never won any awards for his incredible, multi-faceted performance, I don’t know!). Behind the scenes, the producers had teased us with the news that Peter might not be back in the series for a few episodes and they indeed lived up to that promise but his presence was always there, somewhere, thank goodness, seemingly in a ghost-like limbo between worlds, and causing poor Walter, already upset over his son’s death as a child, committing a partial lobotomy so as to eradicate the newly fractured spectre from his mind, and truly pulling our emotional heartstrings in the process. Peter finally, at just the right time in the new series, circa episode five, appeared alive and well (and we really hadmissed him by this point), bursting out of the lake his other self had died in as a nipper, but now having to adjust himself to a group of loved ones with mostly different histories who now no longer knew him, especially Olivia, whose role in the FRINGE division had never been impacted by his dedication, friendship and love towards her. Suffice to say, the series reset button almost acts as a new way-a clean sweep- of introducing/re-introducing much needed viewers to the series, many of whom States-side had presumably abandoned it because they find soap operas hard enough to grapple with, let alone the prospects of alternate universes, anti-matter and other snappily weird but wonderful science! And that’s the beauty of a full season box set like this, which the series has ultimately been made for, where we can really sit back and concentrate properly on it, watch and digest things in one go rather than week after week. FRINGE is complex and involving television that needs the audience to think, and that ain’t no bad thing…
(As a fun side note linked to Peter’s childhood, did anyone notice the cool little reference to Jackson’s so far, sadly unmade UFO revival movie based on the hit UK TV series by Gerry Anderson? Walter opens his late son’s 1970's UFO lunch box and it's toy souvenirs and coins. A charming touch by the series producers.)
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| Our Olivia and Peter: finally reunited! |
With the team back in action, searchlights on, coats gamely protecting them from the chill of Canadian filming weather, and investigative nooks and crannies being explored, it’s nice to see the series settle back but also push new boundaries in this re-tweaked format, where characters who once died have returned with different or altered histories thanks to Peter’s universe changing, having not previously crossed paths with him or encountered the FRINGE Division. The show returns to it’s a roots as an almost THE X-FILES-like continuation for modern viewers, what with some crazy but highly watchable singular episode anthology story types of the kind once seen in its premiere year. Lively and intriguing tales would include a new spin of the vampire concept, a girl who can predict peoples death and warn them via her drawings (a kind of female psychic Rolf Harris!), the discovery of a strange weed-like bacteria affecting children’s state of mind, and a Groundhog Day-like town which our heroes are seemingly trapped in…
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| The alternate universe figures of Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel) and Olivia are on the hunt for a vigilante killer in Everything in its Rightful Place. |
Amidst all this, there’s further fun mixing and matching characters in the now altered and re-altered timeline of ours and the parallel universe, as Walter, a bit of an agoraphobic in our revised universe, finally gets some strong screen time with his slick and controlled Walternate opposite, whilst his lovely assistant Astrid (always warmly played by Jasika Nicole) gets her own tale, Making Angels, involving interactions with her intuitive RAIN MAN-esque counter-part in the other universe, in some sweetly written and played scenes, part of an overall plot about a wannabe savior and living euthanasiaist, able to see the past, present and future, wanting to end peoples lives and suffering before they die tragically further down the line.
Sadly, one of the shows best supporting characters, FBI boss Philip Broyles, played with friendly steel and authority by Lance Reddick, doesn’t get enough to do this year, after some promising stuff seen in Seasons Two and Three. Let’s try to fix that in Season Five, eh, behind the scenes guys and gals?
Just as the FRINGE train is speeding down the track, now much more of an ensemble series, you can always rely on its dedicated writers to up the ante ever further by mid-point, as those mysterious and sometimes pesky Observer baldies escalate their return appearances (most notably with the always welcome presence of Michael Cerveris as one of their key custodians of time), who, having not been satisfied with wrecking Peter Bishop’s life, now focus their attentions on poor Olivia; predicting her ultimate demise in a building sense of gloom and danger to come for the remainder of the season, and just as she and Peter are about to pucker up!
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| A prelude of things to come. The Observers return in Season Four's opening episode. |
And as the Baldies are back, let’s not forget the equally ingenious return of those icky and gooey Shapeshifters, but in a newly imagined way with the series revamp, now even harder to discover as they infiltrate and wreck havoc across our world, including one disguised as MASSIVE DYNAMIC scientist and now adoptive mother figure to Olivia, Nina Sharp (Blair Brown), whose clothes collection almost rivals Servalan from BLAKE’S 7 for continued use of the colour black…
Episodes Thirteen and Fourteen see another welcome twist taking us by surprise as our Olivia, seemingly getting back the memories and mind of the original version of the character we know and love pre-Peter’s disappearance, is suddenly kidnapped by the returning threat that is universe-crossing terrorist David Robert Jones, no longer the dead man from season one, played with cunning precision and quirky spookiness once again by Jared Harris. The poker tabled dramatic stakes are called with his return, as he prepares a new and even more deadly reign of terror on our heroes and their worlds.
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| Michael Massee makes a fine guest villain in A Short Story About Love. |
Episode Fifteen, A Short Story About Love, explores the concepts and power of good and evil as Olivia, temporarily sidetracked in her hunt for the escaped Jones, fights a deformed Joan Rivers-lookalike scientist, Richmond (a wonderfully creepy Michael Massee), who preys on couples for their love and pheromones so as to make the world a better place, whilst Peter discovers new truths about the universe he's in and the Olivia he loves. Then, hearkening back to its series roots with the original pilot episode, the sixteenth, titled Everything in Its Right Place, sees a nostalgic return to the superb opening of the series and an interesting inversion of its memorable pre-titles scenes- of a strange human transmogrification, porcupine-like beast let loose on an airplane. Now, history has been altered and we get a new take on what was going on within a now no longer doomed flight, its origins and ramifications clearly defined in a strong lead-in to what will be the conclusion of Season Four, given further exploration as part of a new plot linked to genetic re engineering and the Sumerian empire of the past.
Episode Eighteen, The Consultant, returns back to David Robert Jones, as our Walter, in his dressing gown no less-a Rip Van Winkle for his time, makes a stop into the alternate universe and unearths Broyles as Jones unwilling mole into the work and plans of the FRINGE team, of which the series technological Moriarty’s bigger picture involving the collapse of the two universes is truly unveiled.
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| John Noble continues to excel in his multi-layered performances as Walter and Walternate (pictured here). |
Events beyond that frightening scenario look even worse for our universe in fan favourite Episode Nineteen, Letters of Transit, as, with the writing on the wall indicating that the show may or may not be renewed by FOX executives, sees the writers have a little fun projecting a possible future for our FRINGE team in 2036, with our one and only Earth now subjugated by The Observers. Our heroes, believed dead and a part of old history, are now reawakened from their amber covered sleep to lead a new resistance force. LOST’s Henry Ian Cusick is a fine guest presence in this episode alongside Walter and an older Peter Bishop, happily reunited with his daughter-to-be, Henrietta (played by Georgina Haig). Full of enjoyable references to other sci-fi like BLADE RUNNER, with its opening title and music pastiche, alongside dialogue quotes from STAR WARS, Letters showed tremendous future potential. Even better, we got a brief visual appearance from genius William Bell, aka Leonard Nimoy, the actor once more happily coming out of retirement to play the scientific guru (and opposite to Walter), for the upcoming two-part finale, as the duo’s past Cortexiphan experiments have grave consequences for the two universes when their childhood experimentee Olivia becomes a super weapon from its effects: one of their most powerful test subjects ever, and an object of desire for David Robert Jones and Bell, now unveiled as the mastermind behind him, to complete their plans.
Brave New World, the two-part finale, sees the final battle against Jones sadly coming to an end in a mildly unsatisfying and slightly underwhelming way, as Olivia’s latent psionic abilities grow against him, of which she also saves Peter’s life in the process. Meanwhile, Walter and Astrid make a fine sleuthing pair investigating the return of Bell in his revised evil persona…
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| Lincoln and the Alternate Universe FRINGE heroes (including Jasika Nicole's Astrid) say goodbye... |
Another door closes, too, as the alternate universe explored since Season Two says goodbye to the other, in an important event well-handled within the series, with poor agent Lincoln Lee, played by Seth Gabel (who I never really took to as a character in the series), having lost the chance to love our Olivia, deciding to stay with the other, spunkier version of her character across the timescape. I’m sure the sparks will fly there…
By the fast-paced part two, William Bell’s ambitions as the universe collapsing Noah, with his all-consuming genetically engineered ark of humans turned mutated animals, gains critical mass, thanks to the powers of Olivia (aka Hurricane Libby), whose abilities, almost at critical mass, are only just deflated. Nimoy as Bell is, thankfully, just too good a character to kill off, ultimately disappearing rather than confirmed dead in the final conflict, for one more hopeful re-match or encounter?
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| Move and counter-move. Walter confronts his old friend, renegade scientist William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) in Brave New World. |
Another LOST veteran, sexy Brit-star Rebecca Mader, adds some good support in this finale alongside Bell, helping to conclude it all on a strong and effective note. The threat from Bell, and the then seemingly wrap-up character moments for our heroes, would have made a fine series finale if the show had indeed been finished there, instead of what would also be the equally well deserved fifth season renewal announcement that occurred not a moment too soon from the FOX network: surely one of the best creative/commercial decisions in its history of television making, of which the writers plans for the Observer invasion can now be initiated, and teasingly launched in the last episodes final moments, with the arrival of baldy man Cerveris in Walter’s lab at Harvard, interrupting his peanut butter and jello sandwich consumption no less, with the bad news that “They are coming...”
With it’s confident, often inspired, scripting, great acting and strong visual realisation, this high quality season of FRINGE was one of the most enjoyable yet, with most of its big ideas and character changes working well, resurrecting strong links to the shows past and keeping its legs striding firmly to it's eventual finale destination.
The episodes continue to look stunning in their Blu-ray incarnation, with terrific sound design. The lack of episode audio commentaries is annoying, but there’s some encompassing, if still not long enough, special featurettes to enjoy, including A World Without Peter, where the behind the scenes team talk about the absence of Peter Bishop from the series and how it impacted on the show and its characters and format, The Observers: a look at the mysterious race and their origins and mythology, and Beyond the Comic Book, which takes a look at Joshua Jackson’s comic book linked to the series: BEYOND THE FRINGE: PETER AND THE MACHINE, of which an excerpt is also available on the disc as a DigiComic. There’s also some fun with Have You Seen Walter Lately? - A look at some of his classic moments of humour and greatness from the series, a mostly funny gag reel and The Culture of FRINGE: a thirty minute look at the way the show mixes science fiction, science fact and morality within its format.
For fans in both ours and alternate universes, FRINGE: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON is another essential purchase to your collection, at a time when really goodquality modern sci-fi TV is very hard to find….
KOOL TV OVERALL RATING: 4 out of 5
The UK premiere of Season Five of FRINGE begins on SKY ONE Wednesday 24th October at 10pm.
