Fringe: The Pilot

[no real spoilers for anyone who hasn't yet watched]:
Earlier this year, a colleague of mine whose book (on Lost!!) I am editing right now emailed me about a new show called Fringe. "This will become your new obsession," she wrote, and she'd already gotten the inside scoop from the producers of the show, whom she knows.

After the first episode, I can say, yep, you just might be right, my friend.

As a longtime fan of J.J. Abrams, I could see his earlier work in there, and that's what made the show seem instantly familiar to me. Michael Giacchino's score, complete with those strings that rise to that eerily high pitch and suddenly screech to a halt right before a commercial break, just on Lost. The tongue in cheek humour with the production, like where they show the names of the places in front of the actual place, and the camera moves through one of the letters like it's actually there and not digitally overlaid (ok, that's also borrowed from Heroes). The fast-paced twists and cliffhangers, like on Alias. The borrowing from the cast of Oz (hello, Alvarez!!) Oh, and Matthew Abaddon's here, too. And he's a real S.O.B.

The opening scene is gory and grotesque. I could handle it to a point, but when the bottom of the co-pilot's face fell off... well... I was a little worried my dinner would make an unexpected reappearance. However, that horrific jolt is needed to make the situation of Olivia's lover more tenuous throughout. The show had great moments of humour (when Charlie walks into the lab and says, not asks, "Is that a cow." his delivery made me laugh out loud).

I loved the effects when Olivia stepped into the dreamscape, and the colour throughout made it feel very other-worldly... a little X-Filesy in places, actually. I adore Joshua Jackson. I was never a Dawson's fan, but he was always the best part of the few episodes I saw, and I think he's fantastic in everything I've seen him in since, so it's great to have him back on television. The tension between he and Olivia is clearly going to be a focus of the show. The twists were fun, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next episode.

Spoiler (highlight to see): I knew the lover was going to die somehow, though, because he needed to be out of the way so that we could have that sexual tension between Olivia and Pacey, but I really didn't see the WAY he died coming. Kinda sucks, though, doesn't it? That you somehow survive your skin becoming translucent and your body liquefying, and then die a few hours later in a stinkin' car crash. THAT would be annoying. My major objection to this episode would be his very fast recovery from what had happened to him. From what we saw on the place, people liquefied and died within seconds, yet he survives, becomes translucent, and a simple blood transfusion restores him to almost perfect health, with the exception of a few veins on his face? A little too hokey. But hey, I'm still in.

If you haven't yet watched it, the pilot will re-air this weekend. If you did, what did you think?