Fringe or Mainstream?

JJ Abrams is my hero. Lost is my favorite show, probably ever in my life. Alias was great for most of its run. As such, I expected to love his new show on Fox, Fringe. Where The X-Files dealt with the supernatural and paranormal, Fringe aspires to deal with fringe science.

What I love about Lost (and loved about Alias) is the deep mythology of the show. Each episode has a story arc, each season has a story arc, and the entire run of the show has a story arc. Not so with Fringe. After the first episode I already more or less know how the pieces will fall together in the end. The second episode played more like a procedural crime show like CSI or Law and Order than The X-Files or Lost, except with second rate characters, plots, and writing. It was formulaic and not engaging at all. Why should I care about an episode where at any point the borderline insane 'fringe scientist' can invent some ultra advanced method to, say, allow one person to read anothers mind, or enable them to recreate the last images they ever saw? It means that no crime is unsolvable. ZZZZ

So far I have endured two episodes. The third aired last night and sits waiting on my TiVo. Because it is JJ, I will give it one more shot. After that, on to bigger and better things. If I change my mind, I will post a follow-up.