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So why do I keep watching? I certainly don't hate the show. There are a couple of reasons, with the first being Fringe's secret weapon, John Noble. He play's Peter's father Walter (or does he?). His part is a bit of a stock character, too. He's the mad scientist, but he's just so hilarious and fascinating in the role. Some of the gags they give him are awful TV genius clichés - poor social skills, geeky enthusiasm, bodily functions - but I'll be damned if that man doesn't sell them all, giving them a fresh take and a twinkle that makes them seem new again. He also has a chemistry with Jackson that Torv just can't seem to summon, a chemistry that results in some genuinely moving father/son pathos. Between this and Lord of the Rings, Noble is proving to be quite the bad father type, but on Fringe, he wants to repair the rift, rather than set himself and his son aflame as he tries to do in Rings. Not that the Rings reference has anything to do with Fringe, it's just that he's so compelling as a bad father, it elevates the show beyond what it deserves to be.

The other thing I'm really digging on Fringe is the Pattern. I don't like redundant procedural television, but I do love me some mystery conspiracy. Many critics have taken Fringe to task for dipping into the big-evil-company-as-villain well, which is fair, I guess. Fringe is far from the first show to feature a corporate baddie like their Massive Dynamic. Maybe it's the leftie in me who dislikes big business, or maybe it's my aesthetic preference for shows that seem like they're working towards a greater whole, but it doesn't bug me. I love the idea that Massive Dynamic knows more about what the Pattern is and what it means for the very existence of Earth as we know it. There are some significant mythological threads about alternate dimensions, and the evil company's role in a conflict between them, that indicates a far more epic overall vision for the show's arc than its weekly adventures would indicate. I may not like the way Abrams and co. present this arc, but I have hopes, and reason to believe, that the final result will be pretty damned awesome.

This is of course assuming Abrams gets a chance to realize his vision. Like I said, the ratings ain't so good in season two. Having said that, we are in a new television environment, and time shifting is becoming more and more the norm. I understand Fringe is one of the bigger DVR'd and Hulu'd shows on the schedule. Look, even if it lasts for ten more years, I just wish Abrams would speed up the storytelling. The weekly procedural grows tiresome, and Anna Torv isn't interesting enough to overcome that. Gimme more mythology and more John Noble and I'll be happy. It'll never be a keeper like Lost, but I'll stop watching it last on my weekly queue.

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