The X-Files – are left with tantalising echoes of all that might have been.
Like a number of its forebears, it was cursed with poor ratings and an untimely end, yet
Fringe succeeded on multiple levels. Bold, boundary-breaking and often brilliant, its five seasons (2008–2013) whirled from one high-concept premise to another, anchoring its flights of sci-fi fancy in emotional depth with as much skill as the best examples of its genre.
FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) finds herself embroiled in a succession of mind-bending, grisly cases as she’s drawn further and further into a whirlpool of weirdness with mismatched father-and-son team Walter and Peter Bishop (John Noble and Joshua Jackson). Aided by wise and witty Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole), their stern superior Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick), and thoughtful colleague Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo), Olivia’s quest for answers sees her regularly cross swords with the mysterious Nina Sharp (Blair Brown), COO of deeply dodgy biotechnology firm, Massive Dynamic. The newly formed Fringe Division is forced to contend with sinister forces, deadly creatures, and mentally-altered scientist Walter’s tendency to wander off, spiritually and otherwise, at inopportune moments. And that’s all before they meet their alternate selves…