The thing about Fringe for me is this: A lot of the episodes over the course of the series have been a huge disappointment. In fact, most of the third season and this final season have been a letdown. And yet, I love the show. I love the characters. I love the show’s ambition. Even when it falls on its ass, Fringe is usually trying for something different, and I think that this final season — without the show’s regular showrunner, Jeff Pinkner — it has flailed about a bit, not really executing the way it does when Fringe is at its best. But it had a good starting point, and what looks to be a promising end point, so even if the middle episodes were something of a slog, I think the payoff is going to be worth it (and last week’s episode, with the re-introduction of September was great).
In fact, John Noble has been criminally underappreciated by people who hand out awards (he’s the dramatic version of John C. McGinley), but in a series full of remarkable John Noble moments, the finale may end up being the episode that finally elicits the attention he so deserves. It’s gonna be a weeper, folks. Here’s the finale trailer:
Related: In an interview with TV Guide, Joshua Jackson revealed that he auditioned for both Captain Kirk and Bones for J.J. Abrams new Star Trek, and while he didn’t land either role, Jackson believes his auditions are what led J.J. Abrams to choose him for Fringe.
Also, here is the Fringe finale teaser poster.
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I feel exactly the same way. Its different and it busted its balls to give us some entertainment. May not be the worlds best omelet, but they broke a shitload of eggs.
This is how I suspect I’ll feel on Friday night.
DON’T LEAVE ME, FRINGE.
I am extremely upset over the plan because, and I don’t think they’ve realized this, no Observers means no Peter, means no cortexifahn, means no Fringe division, means no Olivia/Peter. I have a sinking feeling that this will be a downer.
I’m picturing Will Ferrell screaming the names of the cast in that glass case of emotion, one after the other.
We’ll always have alternate Peter. Listen it’s tv. I guarantee there will be some loophole that allows everybody to have a happy ending.
What ever happened with the First people thing? Did that ever get resolved. I don’t remember.
If i’m not mistaken, didn’t Walter and Bell do the cortexiphan trials before Peter got sick? As a way to make super soldiers or something?
@Stringer, it turned out they were the first people. Walter sent the machine back through a wormhole in the episode where Peter goes to the future.
I thought there would have been a backstory episode about them being the first people. I guess they wrapped that shit up nice and neat.
When a show lays it on the line so hard every damn week the way this one does and dares to break that mold every week, you can’t help but love it.
I love the show and don’t see as many flaws in it as you all obviously do. I will be sorry when it’s gone, but strangely I have a feeling that spot will be filled quickly in my heart mostly because I’ve bene expecting the end for a long time.
I said this on Pajiba but I’m saying it here too, we’re lucky to have gotten to see this thing through. There is very little reason for it to still be on the air, but I am eternally grateful it is.
John Noble better get a goddamn nomination this year. He’s been overlooked for so long.
Dustin couldn’t be more wrong. The 3rd season was the best one, the 4th was clearly the biggest fuck up, and this final season has been pretty fantastic. I’ll be very sad to see this show go.
The show got me back when Donald was describing how a 22nd century scientist exploited the emotion of jealousy to increase human cognition – a detail so small but so interesting.
Loved this show since someone forced me to watch it. JUst wish there were more shows like it out there.
Count me among the people who are going to miss Fringe immensely. I can’t agree more with Dustin’s post that even when this show flails, you still have to admire it for going out there and trying something totally different that you don’t see on TV anymore. The show always found a way to keep things fresh and unlike other shows of it’s ilk, *cough* LOST *cough*, it has actually managed to answer pretty much every important question. Even in this final season that’s been uneven to say the least, a good Fringe episode is better most other network hour dramas, thanks in no small part to the great acting and usually solid ideas.
It’s a network show that dared to be smart when all of America was far too happy to watch the 6th version CSI or 4th version NCIS. Shows where the most the creators dare to challenge the audience is by changing the city it’s located in.
While it’s a shame that Fringe will go away under-appreciated, I’m thankful that Fox was as dedicated to the show and it’s fans as they were to give it 5 (4.5 technically) seasons and a proper ending date. Most networks would have cancelled the show after seasons 2 or 3 given the low ratings. It’ll be sad that there’s no good hour sci-fi shows on network television for awhile.
Anyway, thanks for pushing the boundaries Fringe, you will be missed!
LOST is still up there in my top 5 all time favorites.
LOST has one of my favorite all time episodes of any hour of TV. “The Constant” in season 4 is arguably one of the finest crafted hour of network television in the past decade or so, maybe longer. I can’t think of any other show that managed to make such a compelling, thought-provoking and emotional single episode that so evenly balanced the science fiction and drama elements.
My undying love of that episode aside, I was one of the ones who felt utterly betrayed by the final episode of the series. And you know what, not even the final episode as a whole (the majority of which I liked), but the final 5 minutes of the final episode. Having it end up being that all the characters in the “alternate universe” were actually in a death limbo….. ugh. Such a cop-out. I loved the characters and the acting so much that I could have forgiven the MANY plot-holes and the insane amount of unanswered questions, but to go out with such a cheap gimmick as limbo, it just left me on such a sour note that I’m now far less willing to ignore those issues.
The part in last weeks episode between Peter and Walter where Walter said he didn’t think he could love him any more than he thought he could was fantastic. How has that guy not won any awards for this show? He’s brilliant.
I’ve been of the opinion that they are going to kill Walter in the finale since I heard they were doing a final season. Even with all my attempts to mentally prepare myself, if they kill Walter in the finale I will cry like a little bitch.
He is one of the best characters to ever appear on tv. I would like to restate my opinion that someone should make a tv show where Walter Bishop and Gary from Alphas team up to solve crime. I would watch the shit out of that show.
I want to make a thousands small awards statues and send them in bulk to John Noble’s house. He is an amazing actor.
Count me in. The dude deserves recognition for his incredible work on the series.