TV PREMIERE REVIEW: New FOX Debuts

It took me a while, but I FINALLY found a window of time to sit down and watch the new highly anticipated Fox sci-fi series "Fringe" as well as the network's new comedy, "Do Not Disturb".


Sorry for the delay, I know you've been waiting with bated breath!

- "Fringe" comes from J.J. Abrams (he created "Alias" and "Lost" and is directing the upcoming "Star Trek" prequel) and it seems to be kind of a updated blend of "X-Files" and the multiple "CSI" shows.

It's definitely not the kind of show that I would be into or watch regularly, but I can imagine that it will find a strong cult following (despite not doing as well as expected in the ratings). It sports a nice style and tone and feels new and fresh as it deals with paranormal or (duh!) "fringe" science (re-animation, invisibility, etc.) but in a practical FBI/"CSI" kind of way.

Anna Torv is serviceable as the lead, agent Olivia Dunham but it's Joshua Jackson (you might remember him as Pacey from "Dawson's Creek" or all the way back as Charlie from the "Mighty Ducks" movies) who stole - and saved - the pilot for me. The rest of the cast is decent, but there's always just too much lame "tough guy" talk for me in shows like this (Poor Lance Reddick has to play waaay over the top as the hard-as-nails head of the Fringe division).

Maybe I've gotten smarter than I realized or maybe the writers conscientiously decided to keep this first installment more conventional, because it was pretty predictable and followed the How to Write a Pilot Episode 101 guidelines fairly to a tee. I guess I was just expecting some convoluted plot that would have me more confused throughout; but maybe they just wanted to appeal to as many people as possible before things get too crazy??

The thing that really impressed me, however, was how FOX handled the commercial breaks. They kept most of them (if not all of them) down to a minute and I don't think there was any breaks for the first 20 minutes or so (don't worry, they made up for it in the last 45 minutes). But that definitely kept you involved in the story at the beginning and kept you from wandering too far during the usual deluge of advertisements.

- As far as FOX's other new show that debuted this week, "Do Not Disturb" should have just been called "Do Not Bother".

My gosh, how shows like this continued to get made and put on the air baffles me beyond any comprehensible reason. Someone seriously had the idea for this show, wrote it, thought it was good enough to pitch it to someone at the network who then thought it was good enough to produce a pilot and subsequently air it.

Can I seriously have any one of those jobs??

I honestly don't know which was more insulting: the stereotypical plot lines, the stereotypical horn-dog playboy, the stereotypical African-American characters, or the stereotypical insecure gay guy. This wasn't a sitcom, this was a parody of a sitcom (are we sure this wasn't just an extended bad skit from Fox's "Mad TV"?). This was the sitcom you would come up with if you were writing a movie about someone who stars in a bad sitcom - or like "When the Whistle Blows" from Ricky Gervais' HBO series "Extras".

I actually felt compelled to apologize to my DVR for asking it to record a trainwreck like that for me.

- So, we are a week and a half into the new TV Season and I've yet to find a new Can't Miss Hit thus far. And from what I've seen or heard about, there's nothing major looming either. There's a couple more new shows that I will definitely check out and write about, but I don't have my hopes up for another surprise-find this year like "The Big Bang Theory" was last fall.

Speaking of, the Hour of Power can't return soon enough!

PS. I also finally got to see the movie "Baby Mama" (starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler from "SNL") last night. I don't know if I was just in the right mood, or that it only cost a dollar from redbox, or if it was actually a good movie, but I really enjoyed it. Fey and Poehler displayed an almost Farley and Spade-type chemistry and I always enjoy seeing their buddies from "SNL" pop up in movies (I know there's no real big star right now, but "SNL" does have a very good, very underrated cast right now - oh, and the season premiere is this Saturday at 11:30PM on NBC!)

- Josh Mahler