Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #324 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-09-28
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 7
• Running time: 1221 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Easily one of the most interesting and unusual science fiction shows of recent times, Fringe comes from J.J. Abrams, the very same man who had a hand in Lost, Alias and the quite brilliant recent Star Trek movie reboot. And while this may be lower profile than some of those projects, it’s nonetheless equally as worthy of attention.

The central concept is actually quite similar to The X-Files, with a core of three main characters investigating what they call ‘fringe science’. This manifests itself with a series of unusual situations and happenings, that the team proceed to investigate and try and get to the bottom of.

The Fringe crew consists of FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, Peter Bishop and the quite brilliant creation that is his father, Walter Bishop. Walter, played expertly by John Noble, is like every mad scientist in the world wrapped into one wonderful character, and Fringe is often at its strongest when he’s is stage centre.

This first season of Fringe runs for 20 episodes, all of which are included on this set, and it does occasionally struggle to find its feet. That’s no surprise given the show’s infancy, but it also hits some spectacularly good highs, including a marvellous cameo in the season finale that’d be remiss to spoil here. It also throws in a smart underlying narrative, and leaves things finally poised for the already-commissioned second season. In short, a strong show, and one with real potential to get even better. --Jon Foster

DVD Description
Created by J.J Abrams (the man behind Alias, and Lost), Fringe is a television drama centered around a female FBI agent (Anna Torv) who is forced to work with an institutionalised scientist in order to rationalise a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.
Teleportation. Mind control. Invisibility. Astral projection. Mutation. Reanimation. Phenomena that exist on the Fringe of science unleash their strange powers in this thrilling series, co-created by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias), combining the grit of the police procedural with the excitement of the unknown. The story revolves around three unlikely colleagues – a beautiful young FBI agent, a brilliant scientist who’s spent the last 17 years in a mental institution and the scientist’s sardonic son – who investigate a series of bizarre deaths and disasters known as “the pattern.” Someone is using our world as an experimental lab. And all clues lead to Massive Dynamic, a shadowy global corporation that may be more powerful than any nation.

Customer Reviews

Slightly hit and miss, but mostly excellent
There's no denying it, really: Fringe treads precisely the same ground as The X Files. Except, where X-Files was almost uniformly supernatural or alien-y, Fringe approaches it all with science. Or, rather, "fringe science". So while it deals with the same topics, (such as telekinesis, telepathy, ghosts, "alien" parasites, spontaneous combustion and even vampires) each is given an entirely earthly scientific explanation. The explanations are, of course, as fanciful as any explanation given in the X-Files, and that's a part of its charm.

It has 3 leads, really: Anna Torv as Olivia Dunn, an FBI agent, Joshua Jackson as Peter Bishop and John Noble (the unmitigated gem and joy of the entire series) as mad scientific genius, Walter Bishop. Walter is Peter's estranged father, and watching their relationship gradually develop is really very lovely.

Fringe is a complex and wildy twisty series, so describing any one part of it is immensely tricky as it's a little like a knotted ball of string, so everything is connected to everything else.

Each episode is stand alone in terms of topic, ie, telepathy, but arcing throughout the series are multiple threads and you need to watch every episode to keep a handle on them. There's the mysterious, unseen William Bell, Walter Bishop's former lab partner; there's a shadowy, seemingly emotionless, hairless man who seems to be everywhere you look; Nina Sharp, the secretive face of "Massive Dynamic", a huge science and technology conglomerate started by William Bell; Olivia Dunn's past: the tests she went through as a child, and Bell and Bishop's involvement; the big mystery about Peter's childhood and "death"... on and on it goes, everything inextricably linked with everything else, and everything revolving around Walter.

Some of the episodes are phenomenally good and some are terribly lacklustre, making the series so far quite hit and miss. Without John Noble as Walter Bishop, Fringe would be mediocre - he is absolutely its heart and soul - so everything combined, so far so watchable.

However. The final episode is breath-taking. Actually, that needs to be condensed even further: the final scene is breath-taking. I can't possibly overstate how powerful it is. The entire episode is hugely intriguing, and asks as many questions as it hints the answers to. Plus there's a lovely cameo from a sci-fi legend, so it was already rubbing the elbow of greatness. Then the final scene came, and I watched it blithely and contentedly, thinking nothing of it. The camera pulled back slowlyslowly for the big reveal and when realisation sunk in, my skin literally prickled. It was eerie, and it made my head fuzzy for about an hour.

I find myself thinking of it, and wondering, "What if?" The entire series is almost worth watching for that one scene alone. Luckily, the entire series is, overall, really very good, so it won't be a big ole waste of your time. Yes, Fringe is most certainly an homage to X-Files. But it's done well, so no harm done. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter is an homage to butter... but it's still lovely on toast.

Hugely enjoyable, very funny sci-fi romp
I am afraid there is an element of 'resistance is futile' about Fringe, which is an utterly compelling, wonderfully silly show that entertains, amuses and grips from the first few minutes of its first episode - zombies on a plane - to it's stunning last shot in a very strange New York.

The three leads - Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and John Noble - are superb. Torv is not the most charismatic of leads, but she provides a hard-edged, rugged heroism in counterpoint to the louche Jackson and the downright nuts Noble. She actually reminds me a bit of - don't laugh - Russell Crowe in Gladiator; tough as nails; doing the right thing.

Lance Reddick from The Wire plays - er - exactly the same guy as in The Wire - all twitching intensity and stern parent figure authority. He's great.

The formula is 'weird thing of the week' procedural with an underpinning 'alternate reality' arc that will be familiar to anyone who trekked out to see JJ Abrams reboot of the Star Trek saga (which also gets a cheeky plot nod in one of the latter shows). Some episodes are stronger than others; all are lifted by the wonderfully witty mad scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble), who manages to transcend caricature to give a warm, human face to his sometimes funny, sometimes frightening creation.

In short, this is pure entertainment; glitzily shot, very snappy and, most importantly, very, very witty. Buy, enjoy...

Brilliant
Short and sweet, one of the best series ever. I enjoyed every episode and was thrilled to find out there is going to be another.