Wow, I can't believed I actually finished watching the first season of Fox's Fringe in a couple of days! I have to say that this show is definitely worth to watch. It just might be one of the most perfectly executed show I've ever watched. The first episode can be a movie in itself, of course towards the end of it we can see that there will be events to come. The episodes after that were also done brilliantly. Although I found some weaknesses regarding the story development and also on the science related facts, these weaknesses are unimportant compared to the overall quality of the show.
Other than the exceptional quality, I have to point out the excellent storytelling. Each episodes brings both new thrills as a show, and is strong enough to be big screen spectacle all on its own. The brilliance of executive producer J.J Abrams, can easily be seen all over the show, from beautiful vantage points, thrilling moments, abundant mysteries and so much more.
I have to take proud of myself of not getting swayed into believing a certain company is the evil mastermind behind all the events. Although ultimately, we cannot know for sure who is responsible which leads us to a very... hanged ending as we say in Bahasa Indonesia. This I believe is a recipe for an excellent TV show.
Heroes
Many TV shows were ultimately made and tailored for only one season. One of which is NBC's Heroes. Its first season was a nail-biting action packed drama. The many faces of super-powered people with their own story, was all connected in a way that brings together a chaos into a beautiful harmony that left viewers drooling for more. That of course, until the second season appeared. I would blame the writer's strike, but when I look back, it was obvious that the second season will go downhill.
The first season's focus was on the phrase "Save the cheerleader, Save the world". For us viewers the catastrophe that could happen is the big explosion in the middle of New York which could lead to the chaos of the world. Believe it or not, it could. Ultimately, we saw that the world was saved because the cheerleader was saved. Where do we go from there?
The second season went downhill. Both because of the writer's strike, and the fact that the show already had a firm grip on its first season. In a word, it's like a bad sequel of a perfectly good movie. Now then, what makes a good TV show?
Lost
Personally, ABC's Lost is not my cup of tea; perhaps it was because my sister keeps on watching it without me and I won't watch it without her which made me miss a lot of episodes; but it is a perfect example of a carefully structured TV show. Seeing glimpses of its story made me realize something, this show doesn't give answers, it only made more questions!
In the first season, the only season I actually watched (only some episodes, but compared to the other seasons, my knowledge of the first is a lot), we can see the chain of events following a plane crash. We saw flashbacks of our marooned characters and their backgrounds. That much I know. After that, I can only ask my sister (which I won't because I'm still not interested in this particular TV show).
Despite my disinterest on the show, many people say that Lost is an addicting series. My sister kept on telling me how suspenseful it is. The internet kept on showing me how brilliant it is. And the TV kept on inviting me to watch it. It even got the honor to be called on of time.com's Top 10 TV Series of 2009!
In the years, I've ignored all that is about Lost, but living in the modern world it is impossible not to be somewhat exposed by it. In the many commercials regarding the show, I've asked myself a lot of questions. One question after the other popped out after new teasers appeared. Who are the other survivors? Are there really inhabitants on the island? When will the be saved? What is this dharma thing I don't even know? Where are the answers? Why more questions?
It led me to an enlightenment. A good TV series, is one that gives more questions than it does giving answers. Like how the Harry Potter series shoved us with a ton of questions that in the end had to be answered in the 759 pages of conclusions.
Conclusions
As the readers can see, I've realized this long before I discover Fringe, but the moment I saw the conclusion of the first season, where our main heroine was suddenly in a parallel world where the World Trade Center (the big black one in New York) still exists, and they're white! I was struck again by this 'revelation'. It shows that viewers doesn't necessarily want answers. What do they want? I was satisfied with the constant lack of information in Fringe. The whole season never gave me answers, only questions. I feel that this is a recipe of a perfectly good TV series, the next question is whether they will over do it, or they will end it in an honorable way.
