Fringe: Final Season Box-Set

Fringe was one of those series that was incredibly easy to write-off in its earliest run.  It's weird-and-wonderful mystery-of-the-week was glossy and stylish but it positively dripped with X-Files comparisons and though well executed and populated with good actors/chharacters - John Noble's Walter , Joshua Jackson's Peter, Anna Torv's Olivia  as its heart -  there was a feeling that a renewal was never a sure thing. TV fans were already weary of shows that weaved questions into their story-arcs that they thought looked great but for which the productions hadn't planned equally-good answers. The ratings were decent but not stellar and when the show got a second season there tended to be a nod and a shrug from the audience rather than wild delight.

But the show proved to be a slow-burner, gradually getting more confident in its own internal logic, if not exactly increasing its ratings. In an era where standalones appeared to be the pragmatic default of an industry that wanted to attract the casual viewer to boast numbers  Fringe seemed less afraid to presume that its audience were loyal and up-to-date with the ever  more offbeat plot. Yes, there was always the feeling that the destination might not ultimately be as good as the journey, but the journey itself kept us on our toes, throwing us bones and curves in equal measure. As the second season progressed to the third and fourth, the following may not have grown but at least consolidated...

The fourth season, which got a mixed reception from its core-base had a finale that had been created as a possible series finale, just in case the renewal didn't happen. When a curtailed fifth series - reduced in number from the usual twenty-two to thirteen - received the green light,  the Powers That Be knew quite specifically what they had left to address and resolve and the time they had left to do so. That means that though various aspects remained frustratingly ambigious, there was very little padding beyond the deliberately intended - they could indulge themselves to finish their tale as they wanted to, building to something a little more definitive in intent rather than accomodate a Schrödinger situation of when renewal might or might not happen.  There was no need to seek a bump in ratings, this would be for the party-faithful. The structure and planning even allowed for a temporary hiatus when John Noble had to take some time off for a persistent sleeping disorder that left him feerling as if he was  'hitting a wall' energy-wise during the early days of filming.

It will be up to the individual fan as to whether Fringe bowed out in style - those looking for a neat bow and a conventional goodbye might well have been fooling themselves - the whole idea of Fringe was about the multitude of possibilities and alternatives.  Certainly there's an argument to be made that the very last episode isn't quite as dynamic as we could have hoped for - this is after all another project from J J Abrams, a creator more known for his concepts than his ultimate conclusions. However looking back on the five years, this was a series that defied the odds and left the stage largely under its own terms - something rare for a genre show at the mercy of bean-counting. In that sense Fringe will remain both a successful experiment and a cult success. 

The show left screens early in 2013 and we're now getting the box-set of the final run. Along with the universe-bending aspects of the plot, we also get a number of extras including a special featurette, footage from the panel the show held at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con and that inevitable staple of a gag-reel (always welcome, especially in the attempts to film the more serious moments, but rather short).  Commentaries, usually another mainstay of box-sets are also noticeably thin.

However, one for completists, Fringe should find favour with the faithful.

8/10

The Fringe Fifth Season Box-set is out now, distributed by Warner Home Video.  £29.99 (DVD)/£39.99 (Blu-ray)