Late Night Rambling: Fringe

So, i've just finished watching the last episode of the first series of Fringe. Oh my, it's good! The characters are well written and beautifully interesting, the plot is rich and unique and some of the dialogue is brilliant too. Anna Torv is sexy also.

The series itself took me back to around this time last year when I was chain-watching the Lost series, it's got that same sort of loaded mystery, deep-rooted conspiracy and 'what the fuck is going on' sort of feel to it and I love it. They are made by almost the same people after all, but I really recognised the similar aesthetics, they even used some of the same bits of music.

My favourite thing about Lost, and Fringe so far, is the sense of yearning for more information. With other TV series I've seen, yes there are cliffhangers, but the suspense isnt anything near that of Lost and Fringe. Lost, for instance, brought ideas to the table in series one that weren't even explained till the very end of series 6, you had to piece together all the little clues they gave you. I loved how the series escalated on a noticeable level in each series of Lost. In the first series they were just in a small remote part of the island, they had no idea what was outside their little camp. Series 2, bam, they open the hatch, their world gets a little bigger. Series 3, 'the others come along', more exposure for the Losties.
I'm guessing it's going to be the same for Fringe, this first series only feels like the start of something.

Anyway, this got me thinking about what it means to be an active audience. I for one, when watching Lost, toiled away online, trying to work out what was happening before it did. Call me a nerd, i just enjoy that sort of thing xD This idea of Lost becoming something outside of just a TV series. It was a catalyst for discussion, and meaningful, philosophical discussion. Not the kind of discussion about jokes on Friends or what's what in Desperate Housewives. Lost made you think outside of the box. Say a shot lingered on something a bit out of the ordinary, you'd be like 'Shit, what does it mean? Is this some sort of complex plot device?'. No, most of the time it wasn't, but the way it was made presented an extremely active viewing experience for me.

In my opinion, this is the way forward for long-form television writing. Narratives should be engaging and spark analytical conversation between people, whether it be face-to-face or online. Plotlines should be rich and full of enigma. We see it in film, but they're only 120mins long, we need to see it more in TV.
Okay, i've ended up talking more about Lost than Fringe, but hey, Lost is awesome. Poo you Haters.