The parallels with The X Files are unavoidable. A wide reaching conspiracy of paranormal and unusual phenomenon that appear to have their source in the not so legal scientific activities of one of the world’s biggest corporations; A female FBI agent who seems more than willing to embrace the unusual and to accept that the truth can sometimes come from the bizarre and the abnormal; and an unwilling partner who provides the required dose of skepticism and reductionist rationalism.

Yet, J.J. Abrams, the producer of the new hot series ‘Fringe’, and the brain behind the hit TV series ‘Lost’, is right when he states that Fringe is not The X Files. Based on the first episode, Fringe is clearly far inferior to its predecessor.

There is something about this new series that feels a bit artificial and stitched together. It is as if the producer had assembled a group of the best writers of hip TV series, and ask them to come up with a new hip TV show, using as reference the Big Book of Hip TV Series Writing. The result is entertaining enough but it does not have enough to take it to that cult levels status. Many characters feel cliché, like the black tough FBI boss and the reluctant super intelligent soon-to-be lover, and the action seems hurried, occasionally moving the plot in awkward fashion from one scene to the next. The editing has completely transcended time, but unfortunately, this does not serve any deeper purpose than to get this first episode finished within the allocated time frame. In addition, some of the ideas brought forth are simply not explored realistically enough. A scene reminiscent of Altered States in which the lead character is immersed in a tank while on LSD feels very tame and the experience conveniently over and done with in a matter of minutes, as required by the narrative (after all, she has only 24 hours to catch the bad guy!). Haven’t these writers ever read that taking LSD is an experience that lasts for several hours, if not days? In addition, most of the scenes involving the scientist, a genius before his time we are told, are also not very plausible, from the speed at which he is let out of jail and allowed to reassemble his lab at Harvard, to the nonchalance with which he operates computers that did not exist when he was incarcerated. In summary, it all feels just very convenient.

Still, episode 1 has built enough of a mystery around the activities of the strange corporation that one is compelled to know more. One can only hope that the writing of future episodes will have improved.