The Final Stretch

[Moviemath]

And once again Fringe fans we find ourselves in that unenviable position of being precariously balanced on the edge of our seats with the possible cancellation of this much loved show.

If I were to point a finger regarding this predicament it would certainly not be at the fanbase, though the show has lost many followers over the course of four seasons. Those loyal to the cause and who still remain have by and large been a vocal minority such to the extent of ensuring Fringe is TV Guide's 2012 Favorite Drama. Heh. I wouldn't point a finger at Fox either who, with Kevin Reilly at the helm of the decision making table [though I'm unsure as to whether he's still there], have struggled to keep the show on our screens. And from the rumor mill it appears even WB have been working to precipitate a deal with Fox to keep the show alive. The actors and crew have worked their butts off as evidenced throughout the series so this can only leave us with those who pen the stories, particularly ring leaders Pinkner and Wyman.

Here we are in the final stretch of the forth and possibly last Fringe season and the episode content is on the whole inadequate if series survival/continuation is the aim. Flailing may be too hard a term, but there have been indicators the writing crew may have been a little out of their depth in their efforts to re-instate Peter into the Amber timeline. There have certainly been mixed reactions to Season Four's treatment of Peter's return, the loss of character personalities of by-gone seasons including Walter's 'new' cynical insecurity and lack of a lighter side with the 're-writing' of previous timelines. In fact the whole Peter being 'erased' thing has been hotly debated given the apparent cop-out of the writers having to resolve questions raised in previous seasons and conjointly the ability to drop unfortunate plot developments [baby-gate] that ultimately resulted in a viewer shift toward the lower end of the ratings scale. The schedule shift to Friday night last season indicated an already apparent swing in viewership decline.

If this wasn't enough hard evidence for the showrunners that a whole re-think of the situation may be in order rather than a simplistic let's erase Peter then return him, wipe out all past plot developments, bring back a couple of characters, get rid of a couple [where's Charlie?], and presto! 'we should be sweet'. Not.

Far be it for me to presume the minds of Pinkner and Wyman but evdience is against them now that we're in the final stretch with four episodes remaining. Still so much to resolve and so little time. It appears to be a trademark JJ Abrams/ Bad Robot manoeuvre - more questions than answers - 'keep 'em guessing'. Well, quite frankly, this strategy doesn't work like maybe it did in the previous century. In a time and place where answers are available at the click of a mouse it appears too much, at least at this point in history, for people to have to wait for answers and resolutions... that never come. Viewers vote with their remote controls and have been for a while now but maybe Abrams & Co are stuck somewhere else in time. Sure, mystery and wonderment are great and not everything in life can be resolved but when we're dealing with fictional storylines and characters some degree of resolution is permissable. As in life, not everything is unresolved either.

For me, showrunners who develop plot threads only to leave them hanging are like tailors who make coats who similarly leave threads hanging. At some point your creation is going to come apart at the seams. There has been ample provision of time this season to resolve many things, to progress the narrative, myth-arc and characters but as mentioned in a previous thread this has on the whole been squandered. Either the writing team are ignorant of the needs of the greater fan base or they are simply writing to their own predilections. In all honesty however I've quite enjoyed Season Four if only because of my incredulity with Season Three's finale and my subsequent lowered expectations of whatever was to follow. The word lame became a vocab constant. So, yeah, Season Four has pretty much delivered to expectation, and he we are again with the spectre of cancellation hanging over the show. Even with the ever-increasing volume of the warning bells have Pinkner and Wyman continued overseeing the myth-arc development and with caring precision have guided Fringe into all but TV oblivion.

Hopes for a fifth and truncated Season are afoot, I daresay Fox may be considering sending a 13 ep Season Five to DVD and getting rid of it if only because the fall schedule needs confirming and right now Fringe is somewhat of an inconvenient anomally. Poor ratings, losing money and a hugely passionate fanbase that can't realistically sustain the commercial viability of the show. What would you do if you were Fox president? I'd be thinking it's either the show or my job! Heh. Look, I'd like to see Fringe stick around for another season. Maybe even two if the showrunners were able to maintain dramatic momentum and credible myth-arc progress but hey from what I've seen so far the little engine that could may have finally run out of puff.

I've always maintained I'd stay til the very end and nothing has changed on that front. From the teasers leading into 4.19 my interest has indeed been piqued though my expectations remain two or three notches lower. I don't expect answers or resolutions to earlier questions raised. Sure maybe they'll resolve certain things here and there but on the whole the Abrams camp have thusly refrained from the satifactory-resolution-strategy to the point now [where it's possible] they wouldn't know how to pull it off even with a concerted effort on their part. While this may all seem incredibly cynical the evidence is pretty much in now and from where I stand at present that's how I see it.

I've very much enjoyed Fringe over the past years and no doubt will enjoy it to the end. Hope reigns eternal and if we get a fifth season - cool - if not then at least we know the production team have prepared for a final sign off in four episodes from now.

Live long and prosper fellow Fringies.

[PB]

Here, here!

I share the sentiment and completely agree with the review and criticism. I'd add more but feel like you've already said it.

[Omniscient_Jay]

Perhaps the problem is that you set expectations to begin with.

I only ever simply wanted to see what would happen, so I can't say that I am disillusioned, nor fanatical, about the direction of the show as it has progressed in time. There have been some missteps and outright faux-pas, to be sure, but there have also been moments of excellence; yet at all times, it has been interesting. So long as Fringe titillates the cerebrum in some form, it can do no foul, so far as I am concerned; if it had failed to do so, I might not still be watching (though perhaps like you MM, I might have stayed out of a masochist desire to see things to their end).

My approach has always been that of a curious observer, so I am eager to see how things will ultimately conclude. Whether that conclusion is a worthwhile one is another question, but whether it surpasses, reaches, or falls short of the mark, it will in all cases give me something to think about, and for this at least, I can be grateful.

[PB]

I only ever simply wanted to see what would happen, so I can't say that I am disillusioned, nor fanatical, about the direction of the show as it has progressed in time. There have been some missteps and outright faux-pas, to be sure, but there have also been moments of excellence; yet at all times, it has been interesting. So long as Fringe titillates the cerebrum in some form, it can do no foul, so far as I am concerned; if it had failed to do so, I might not still be watching .

This was the problem with the episode "The Consultant", it truly offered nothing in the way of titillation of the cerebrum as you've put it. The only thought provoking facet of the plot explored was that of DRJ's plan, but the experiments were so very similar to the one conducted in "Welcome to Westfield" it was like watching a whole lot more of something I'd already seen.

Perhaps the problem is that you set expectations to begin with.

Unfortunately, whether one consciously sets expectations or not, the quality of the writing itself will subconsciously set expectations for any viewer who tunes in week after week and makes a habit out of watching the show. I would argue that the first three and a half seasons set one precedent and then without explanation or reason the following episodes began to set a completely different precedent. Unfortunately for the rest of us I would suggest you are in a minority in your ability to manually render your expectations for something you look forward to each week moot. For most, expectations will be as much the result of what one learns to expect based on experience as they are the result of any arbitrary assumptions regarding where the bar should be set in terms of quality.

My approach has always been that of a curious observer, so I am eager to see how things will ultimately conclude. Whether that conclusion is a worthwhile one is another question, but whether it surpasses, reaches, or falls short of the mark, it will in all cases give me something to think about, and for this at least, I can be grateful.

Yeah, with this much I think I can agree, considering anything else is out of our hands. Though I have to admit my overall feelings of gratitude are giving way a little more each week to feelings of annoyance and impatience. Hopefully that will change, but only four episodes remain for the big turnaround I believe. . .

[Moviemath]

Perhaps the problem is that you set expectations to begin with.

Yes indeed.. I did. It's a curious case really with Fringe, I often don't have too much expectation with shows I watch but with this one it seemed Season 1 was leading to something quite extraordinary and certainly by 1.20 I was completely jazzed. Season 2, for me, never quite recovered the 'magic' of Season 1, and from there through Season 3 a measure of dissatisfaction ensued though not enough to detract from watching the show. We lost some once fervent Fringies over that time who I suspect had even greater expectations than my own .

... (though perhaps like you MM, I might have stayed out of a masochist desire to see things to their end).

My approach has always been that of a curious observer, so I am eager to see how things will ultimately conclude. Whether that conclusion is a worthwhile one is another question, but whether it surpasses, reaches, or falls short of the mark, it will in all cases give me something to think about, and for this at least, I can be grateful.

I would say you're a rather involved observer! Your cerebral Fringe lexicon is vast by comparative measure, indeed an authority here at FF, though I do understand what you're saying. I guess with the investment of time and energies my innate hope is for a conclusion that at minimum reaches the mark though it is with expectationless inclination I approach the coming two-part finale. It's worked well for me this season and has become an object lesson in how to approach shows that draw me in in the future.

...Though I have to admit my overall feelings of gratitude are giving way a little more each week to feelings of annoyance and impatience. Hopefully that will change, but only four episodes remain for the big turnaround I believe. . .

Understood

[Omniscient_Jay]

This was the problem with the episode "The Consultant", it truly offered nothing in the way of titillation of the cerebrum as you've put it. The only thought provoking facet of the plot explored was that of DRJ's plan, but the experiments were so very similar to the one conducted in "Welcome to Westfield" it was like watching a whole lot more of something I'd already seen.

The biggest titillating development was indeed DRJ's plans. When they brought in frequencies, I immediately connected it to wave functions and other quantum mechanical concepts, placing DRJ's plans in a new light. Each possible reality on a universal wave function would have a specific frequency, so if two worlds resonate at the same frequency, then they are one and the same. I found this possibility to be real cool.

I was also pleased to see that my prediction that B-Royle's complicity was rooted in Christopher's ailing Candyman-enabled state had come to fruition. The character interactions were also interesting, particularly with Walter/Altlivia and Astrid/Altstrid.

There wasn't much in this episode to chew on, I agree, but I ascribe this to the convergence of all the season-long plot threads, as part of the series coming to an overall resolution.

Unfortunately, whether one consciously sets expectations or not, the quality of the writing itself will subconsciously set expectations for any viewer who tunes in week after week and makes a habit out of watching the show. I would argue that the first three and a half seasons set one precedent and then without explanation or reason the following episodes began to set a completely different precedent. Unfortunately for the rest of us I would suggest you are in a minority in your ability to manually render your expectations for something you look forward to each week moot. For most, expectations will be as much the result of what one learns to expect based on experience as they are the result of any arbitrary assumptions regarding where the bar should be set in terms of quality.

I acknowledge that my approach is not of the norm; the closest approximation of my experience is of a passive observer. As for expectations, I don't think I quite have any, at least not in the sense of having personal standards I expect the show to meet on a weekly basis. The only thing I expect is that the players and the scene of the show remain consistent from week to week (with onscreen and offscreen information announcing changes in this consistency); beyond that, I simply sit back and watch.

I treat the show as a large canvas being painted upon episode by episode; my ongoing eagerness lies in seeing the final result, especially now that the painting is nearing its completion.

Yeah, with this much I think I can agree, considering anything else is out of our hands. Though I have to admit my overall feelings of gratitude are giving way a little more each week to feelings of annoyance and impatience. Hopefully that will change, but only four episodes remain for the big turnaround I believe. . .

I can't say I have any impatience or annoyance at this point, probably because I don't expect anything from the ending other than as all endings, it is the conclusion of the story. Or, the final touches on the painting, which is what I am truly interested in.

I find my ways as strange as others undoubtedly do, but things are as they are. *shrug*

EDIT:

Yes indeed.. I did. It's a curious case really with Fringe, I often don't have too much expectation with shows I watch but with this one it seemed Season 1 was leading to something quite extraordinary and certainly by 1.20 I was completely jazzed. Season 2, for me, never quite recovered the 'magic' of Season 1, and from there through Season 3 a measure of dissatisfaction ensued though not enough to detract from watching the show. We lost some once fervent Fringies over that time who I suspect had even greater expectations than my own .

I have a very que sera, sera attitude with pretty much everything, so Fringe has never lost its magic, or gained it; it is as it has been, and that's that and all that jazz.

Boy, aren't I an interesting individual.

I would say you're a rather involved observer! Your cerebral Fringe lexicon is vast by comparative measure, indeed an authority here at FF, though I do understand what you're saying. I guess with the investment of time and energies my innate hope is for a conclusion that at minimum reaches the mark though it is with expectationless inclination I approach the coming two-part finale. It's worked well for me this season and has become an object lesson in how to approach shows that draw me in in the future.

It pleases my bald and eyebrowless head to see that I am held in such high regards.

My interest is more in the is than the ought; perhaps it's because I realize that the show will never yield to my vision, it's shape being determined by forces beyond my control, and so from the onset I simply accepted what flashed by my screen, expressing satisfaction with the better bits and dissatisfaction with those less so.

It's all you can really do, in the end. Though for me it's not so much a compromise as it is a way of life, so it's just business as usual for me.