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Editorial Reviews
Who are you? After sacrificing himself to save both worlds, Peter mysteriously returns to ours. But he has been forgotten - by Olivia, by Walter, by everyone. It's as if he never existed. At the same time, shape shifters controlled by an unknown master begin an onslaught of destruction, and now the two former enemy universes must cooperate to defy a common foe. Fringe's thrilling 22-episode fourth season continues the inspired series' synthesis of astounding phenomena, baffling secrets and dramatic, character-driven stories. And in this season, events may prove that the most powerful force in our universe - or theirs - is not a doomsday device, not a paranormal force, but human love.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 29 people found the following review helpful
For its first three seasons, "Fringe" gave sci-fi junkies the type of show that had gone longing since "The X-Files" left the airwaves. It is cerebral, it is emotional, it is at times funny, and (most of all) it is well thought-out. Essentially, it is all the things that 99% of television programs these days are not. While this fourth season of the show is a bit uneven and doesn't quite live up to its previous cannon of work, it is still a quality show that provides some much-needed scripted drama to a TV market over-saturated by reality and competition shows.
(Minor spoilers ahead)
Like many TV show seasons, this fourth season of "Fringe" is broken down into three primary plot-arcs:
1. The search for Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), gone missing after the activation of the machine that brought the two universes together.
2. The Peter/Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) relationship, further complicated by the sheer number of universe-related possibilities that could be at play.
3. The return of David Robert Jones (Jared Harris) and the havoc he wreaks in trying to control the grand scheme of things, necessitating some brilliant thinking/actions from Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) to (hopefully) set things straight.
Where this season primarily succeeds is in its ability to (once again) tell stories from a completely different angle than one might think. For example, one episode jumps years into the future to see what may happen to our protagonists. Simply put, there is never a lack of creativity on the part of the show creators! Also, it never ceases to amaze how far the characters in "Fringe" come in any given season. There are some incredibly poignant scenes towards the end of season four that one would not have even dreamed of during the season premiere.
The reason for the one-star dockage? Perhaps because of the threat of cancellation, this season is more up-and-down than its previous three installments. The action & character development occurred in fits and starts instead of a intelligible pattern. One week would promise a "slow burn", while the next week would bring quick resolution. Perhaps the writers cannot be blamed for this, what with the "Sword of Damocles" hanging over their heads, but either way it just isn't as air-tight as the writing of seasons 1-3.
Overall, I am incredibly excited that Fringe is getting a final mini-season to wrap up its many plotlines and character arcs. With a defined length of time with which to end the show, there is no telling what the writers will give us next!
(Minor spoilers ahead)
Like many TV show seasons, this fourth season of "Fringe" is broken down into three primary plot-arcs:
1. The search for Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), gone missing after the activation of the machine that brought the two universes together.
2. The Peter/Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) relationship, further complicated by the sheer number of universe-related possibilities that could be at play.
3. The return of David Robert Jones (Jared Harris) and the havoc he wreaks in trying to control the grand scheme of things, necessitating some brilliant thinking/actions from Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) to (hopefully) set things straight.
Where this season primarily succeeds is in its ability to (once again) tell stories from a completely different angle than one might think. For example, one episode jumps years into the future to see what may happen to our protagonists. Simply put, there is never a lack of creativity on the part of the show creators! Also, it never ceases to amaze how far the characters in "Fringe" come in any given season. There are some incredibly poignant scenes towards the end of season four that one would not have even dreamed of during the season premiere.
The reason for the one-star dockage? Perhaps because of the threat of cancellation, this season is more up-and-down than its previous three installments. The action & character development occurred in fits and starts instead of a intelligible pattern. One week would promise a "slow burn", while the next week would bring quick resolution. Perhaps the writers cannot be blamed for this, what with the "Sword of Damocles" hanging over their heads, but either way it just isn't as air-tight as the writing of seasons 1-3.
Overall, I am incredibly excited that Fringe is getting a final mini-season to wrap up its many plotlines and character arcs. With a defined length of time with which to end the show, there is no telling what the writers will give us next!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray review: Fourth season of "Fringe" takes some unexpected turns, nice set
September 4, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase
All shows evolve and sometimes they evolve in ways that are popular with the fans challenging their preconceptions as to what the series is about and sometimes not. In the case of "Fringe: The Complete Fourth Season" producers and showrunners J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinker decided to do something bold and radical--eliminate one of the characters for part of the fourth season.
SPOILERS:
Peter (Joshua Jackson)ceased to exist, or rather, died as a child once he had established the link between the two universes and provided stability. As a result the relationships and the events of the past three years are altered for Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Walter Bishop (John Noble--who still hasn't been nominated for an Emmy--REALY Emmy committee? Have you actually WATCHED his performances?)and Astrid (Jasika Nicole). The Fringe team now includes Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel) on our side as the team struggles with visions and voices of Peter; it seems that he hasn't entirely been erased by September. Suddenly, Peter returns appearing out of nowhere as a man with no past, no present and no future who knows everybody but nobody knows him.
We also have an episode that flashes forward to the future where Baldos (or the Observers as they are really known)control our world after destroying THEIR future world. This flash forward also gives us the opportunity to see how the 13 episode fifth season may play out.
END OF SPOILERS:
The changes during the fourth season essentially allowed the producers to reboot the show recreating the series again and altering the dynamic of the series. Whether or not you enjoy the changes will depend on how invested you were in the previous three seasons but if you trust the producers/writers and give them a chance, you just might find a fourth season that is challenging and rewarding.
As with the previous seasons of "Fringe" the transfer is exceptionally good for the Blu-ray (I haven't seen the DVD so can't comment on it). Detail is remarkably sharp and we get improved depth as well as better definition particularly during dark sequences.
The lossless audio is presented in 5.1 and sounds marvelous.
I am a bit disappointed in the special features. "Fringe" has always had interesting commentary tracks unfortunately either due to budget constraints for this set or an oversight on the part of Warner Home Video, this set has no commentary tracks. Since these are often among the best of the special features (at least for me--giving new insight and making an episode "fresh" again), I'm a bit disappointed that the producers of this set didn't consider providing this option.
On the other hand we get a number of good featurettes on the series. "The Culture of Fringe" is a roundtable discussion featuring the producers of the show discussing the science of the show. We also get "Have You Seen Walter Lately?" which gathers some of the cast and crews' favorite moments from the show (it's essentially a clip featurette) as well as "A World Without Peter" which discusses the void left by Peter and how it impacted all the characters.
"The Observers" gives us some insight into the Baldos that occupy the world of Fringe. Star Joshua Jackson and the producers introduce "Beyond the Comic Book" discussing the creation of the "Beyond The Fringe: Peter and The Machine". We also get an digital excerpt from this title.
Finally we get the season gag reel as well as the option stream the series via Ultraviolet for laptops, etc. The deadline to use this option is September 2014.
I enjoyed the fourth season of "Fringe" and the risks that the producers took in eliminating a major character for the first third of the season. This altered the dynamics (not in a "massive" sense) of the show (for example Walter can't stand Nina in the new timeline and he rarely leaves his lab; Olivia was raised by Nina)but also allowed the possibility of exploring older characters in new ways.
If you haven't seen the fourth season yet give it a chance--it is DIFFERENT than what came before but, then again, each season has had its differences and that's what has kept the show (to me at least)vital and interesting.
Recommended.
SPOILERS:
Peter (Joshua Jackson)ceased to exist, or rather, died as a child once he had established the link between the two universes and provided stability. As a result the relationships and the events of the past three years are altered for Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Walter Bishop (John Noble--who still hasn't been nominated for an Emmy--REALY Emmy committee? Have you actually WATCHED his performances?)and Astrid (Jasika Nicole). The Fringe team now includes Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel) on our side as the team struggles with visions and voices of Peter; it seems that he hasn't entirely been erased by September. Suddenly, Peter returns appearing out of nowhere as a man with no past, no present and no future who knows everybody but nobody knows him.
We also have an episode that flashes forward to the future where Baldos (or the Observers as they are really known)control our world after destroying THEIR future world. This flash forward also gives us the opportunity to see how the 13 episode fifth season may play out.
END OF SPOILERS:
The changes during the fourth season essentially allowed the producers to reboot the show recreating the series again and altering the dynamic of the series. Whether or not you enjoy the changes will depend on how invested you were in the previous three seasons but if you trust the producers/writers and give them a chance, you just might find a fourth season that is challenging and rewarding.
As with the previous seasons of "Fringe" the transfer is exceptionally good for the Blu-ray (I haven't seen the DVD so can't comment on it). Detail is remarkably sharp and we get improved depth as well as better definition particularly during dark sequences.
The lossless audio is presented in 5.1 and sounds marvelous.
I am a bit disappointed in the special features. "Fringe" has always had interesting commentary tracks unfortunately either due to budget constraints for this set or an oversight on the part of Warner Home Video, this set has no commentary tracks. Since these are often among the best of the special features (at least for me--giving new insight and making an episode "fresh" again), I'm a bit disappointed that the producers of this set didn't consider providing this option.
On the other hand we get a number of good featurettes on the series. "The Culture of Fringe" is a roundtable discussion featuring the producers of the show discussing the science of the show. We also get "Have You Seen Walter Lately?" which gathers some of the cast and crews' favorite moments from the show (it's essentially a clip featurette) as well as "A World Without Peter" which discusses the void left by Peter and how it impacted all the characters.
"The Observers" gives us some insight into the Baldos that occupy the world of Fringe. Star Joshua Jackson and the producers introduce "Beyond the Comic Book" discussing the creation of the "Beyond The Fringe: Peter and The Machine". We also get an digital excerpt from this title.
Finally we get the season gag reel as well as the option stream the series via Ultraviolet for laptops, etc. The deadline to use this option is September 2014.
I enjoyed the fourth season of "Fringe" and the risks that the producers took in eliminating a major character for the first third of the season. This altered the dynamics (not in a "massive" sense) of the show (for example Walter can't stand Nina in the new timeline and he rarely leaves his lab; Olivia was raised by Nina)but also allowed the possibility of exploring older characters in new ways.
If you haven't seen the fourth season yet give it a chance--it is DIFFERENT than what came before but, then again, each season has had its differences and that's what has kept the show (to me at least)vital and interesting.
Recommended.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Mike
Fringe is filled with tense moments, witty dialog, chilling discoveries, and great chemistry between characters. It's perfect science fiction. The cast is superb, and the stories are written beautifully. What sets it apart from other science fiction is everything happens for a reason, and the writers are quite adept at filling in the missing pieces. (You just have to be patient enough to wait for the answers, sometimes coming a season or two later.) My recommendation to anyone is to begin with season one.
My only problem with the show is not enough people are watching. FOX needs to be creative in finding a way to keep this wonderful series alive. The only negative for some might be it is quite graphic at times, but never needlessly.
My only problem with the show is not enough people are watching. FOX needs to be creative in finding a way to keep this wonderful series alive. The only negative for some might be it is quite graphic at times, but never needlessly.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Favortie Among 5 I Love!
I don't know why but the Fringe seasons just seem to get better and better until the 4th season arrives with a twist. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Tamaran
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fringe
Love the show, got into it late so picked up the seasons here. Product was as described, no issues and got to watch complete season on my time
Published 5 days ago by J. Ross
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good
It was a season that was as good as any of the others. I can't really think of any episodes that REALLY stood out. Enjoyable.
Published 11 days ago by April R. Biggs
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another excellent Series
I have been a fan since day one and thought some of the storylines are getting a little tired it is still an excellent show
Published 13 days ago by Swissajs
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Just keeps getting better. I stopped watching it on TV because I didn't have Friday nights open any more, and no time to watch it on my TiVO. So I'm watching it on Blu-ray. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Eric Welch
4.0 out of 5 stars
Really intricate show, worth watching. Losing a bit of steam in the...
Well written and acted. Good plot line, usually. This whole parallel universe thing is getting out of hand. If they don't reel it in pretty soon, they will lose me. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Dentish
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid season (Would have been OK if the show ended this way)
I loved the revisionist history that Fringe did and the temporary non-existence of Peter in the 2 realities. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kaulana310
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fringe 4
All episodes present and accounted for! Now we wait for the last (5th) season to be released on DVD so we can complete our 're-viewing".
Published 1 month ago by Mamawolf
5.0 out of 5 stars
Walter, Walter, Walter
The fourth season finds our team in a strange limbo, a land where they know they only have one more season to air and need to start wrapping it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by G. Uhl
4.0 out of 5 stars
It gets weirder and weirder...
Fringe is Fringe... if you have seen the first three seaons you HAVE to buy the fourth season and you are going to buy the fifth one! right?
Published 1 month ago by R. Dumont
