Fringe is Clever Television, Snookie.

24Jan11

Three years ago I saw my first episode of Fringe. Hooked since episode 1, I was literally fuming when I heard Fox, and the geniuses that run that channel, moved Fringe to the dreaded Friday time slot. This time slot killed another smart show from the past, one called “Firefly” – you may remember. Well, some relief washed over me when I heard that Fringe had a total of 4.9 million viewers and actually increased from 1.7 million to 1.9 million “viewers that count”  (adults aged 18-49 which is the age range that really matters, I’m guessing). I am holding on to hope.

I’m not sure if this was intentional – but the Friday debut of Fringe (after a six-week break) was titled “The Firefly”, that’s pretty damned clever in my opinion. I found the image below here.

So let’s save Fringe. Keep watching, readers. And if you’ve never watched the show, check it out. It’s smart, funny, emotional, and beautifully written and performed.

I’m so tired of smart TV being canceled. What is it about television that makes you think, that keeps you guessing, and that dares to be original that scares people away? Seriously… Jersey Shore. Where is the quality in that piece of shit show? That is something that seriously worries me about our society. Ridiculous shows like Jersey Shore and The Hills and basically anything on VH1 or MTV do nothing for society. Yet our future generations – high school and college kids obsess over these programs… and they are the future of this country and this society… and they are spending their time watching Jwoww pissing behind a bar and diluting the puddle with water from the beverage gun. Seriously.

OK so I’m not going to take the über elitist stance that you are everything wrong in the world (refer to photo)… but think about it. If you look at entertainment in this culture, specifically television and movies – we lack the interest in Science. Shows like Fringe (which happen to have lesson plans covering all the science they feature on the show), and other shows on the Science Channel / Discovery Channel – mainly “Through the Wormhole” and “Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking” really didn’t get the attention and longevity they deserve. Yet, Jersey Shore is on season three or something – as well as some spin-off called Jerseylicious or something stupid like that. But that lack of interest relates directly back to the growing epidemic our students / schools face – we are more focused on business (not a bad thing) or organized sports (again, not necessarily a bad thing) in our education system – and that would need to change to catch up with the world! (more on this maybe later)

Aside from purely science driven shows, both fiction and non fiction – I need to give some shout outs to a collection of some great television that has been canceled over the years:

Arrested Development, Firefly, Caprica, Legend of the Seeker – most of which have or will have movies made. I’d love to see your comments on some of your fave’s that have been given the boot.

Wrapping up, I really enjoy TV. I really enjoy learning, and when those things are combined it makes for really good entertainment for me, and my friends/family. I just wish our society could see more value in learning – rather than idiocy or even sports (that’s an entirely separate topic, maybe PT can write that entry for me).

For nostalgia purposes…. Top 50 Science Fiction Shows of All Time

Filed under: Fringe, Science Education, scifi, TV   |  2 Comments
Tags: Anna Torv, Firefly, Fox, Fringe, Jasika Nicole, JJ Abrams, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Smart Television, Snookie