Fringeis a five-season show from 16 years ago that predicted pretty much every modern sci-fi TV trope since. Created byCloverfield’sJ. J. Abrams,Fringepremiered on Fox in 2008 and aired 100 episodes over five seasons. While earlierFringeepisodesposed a “mystery of the week” series, the show later delved deeper into a serialized format. The sci-fi show followed a mismatched group of people (an FBI agent, an archetypal mad scientist, and his estranged son) in their daily lives as part of the Fringe Division of the FBI, which uses fringe science to investigate unexplained cases.
Fringewas arguably one of thebest sci-fi TV showsof its time, with an 80% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes.Fringewas a hybrid of many different genres, including fantasy and procedural drama, which helped it to explore strange scientific theories and phenomena in interesting ways. Featuring an entirely animated episode, imaginary killer butterflies, a detective noir episode, floating corpses, and airplane monsters,Fringeis definitely one of the strangest sci-fi shows, yet, over the years,Fringeand its castwon many major awards. However,Fringe’sdefining sci-fi tropes are what truly made it a pioneer of the genre.
Fringe Laid Out The Textbook Tropes For Sci-Fi & Superhero Shows
Many Shows Copy Fringe Concepts
Fringeprovided the textbook tropes for many sci-fi and superhero shows of late. With advancements in technology,recent years have provided some good sci-fi shows, but there is always a tendency to repeat the same sci-fi tropes. The “guy in the chair” (a person behind the scenes helping the hero via computer), time travel, the multiverse, evil alternate versions, technobabble, the mad scientist, secret laboratory bases, dystopian futures, and accidental monster creation, are some of the main modernsci-fi TV tropesseen in modern shows likeThe Flash, yet they were featured inFringeevery week for five seasons.
InFringe, glyphs can be spotted throughout the show and correspond with those seen on posters and before commercial breaks. The glyphs were a cypher that, when decoded, spelled out a word relating to the episode, current arc, or show as a whole.
Stranger Thingsfollows Eleven’s escape from a lab experimenting with giving mind powers to children, the same way FBI agent Olivia Dunham was experimented on by Walter.Fringeexplored the concept of the multiverse way before Marvel’sWhat If…?series, or before the wider MCU and DCCU. Furthermore,The Flashhas a similar setup to Walter’s hidden laboratory inFringe, with similarities extending to the equipment and language they use, as the show uses technobabble like Walter. However, while it does showcaseFringeas a pioneer of its genre, no show has matched the clever twist inFringe’sObserver ending.
Watching Fringe For The First Time Now Is A Very Different Experience
Fringe Has Aged Due To Its Tropes
Despite its high ratings, watchingFringefor the first time now would be a very different experience. At the time,Fringeintroduced a lot of groundbreaking sci-fi concepts, exploring the multiverse and using extreme computer skills in a way that sci-fi shows had not yet. WhileFringe’sparallel universe plot arc setupwas one of the most inventive and interesting payoffs for the show, the multiverse is now a frequent topic for many movies, including franchises like Marvel and DC. Therefore, years on,Fringeis no longer an inventive sci-fi show because its tropes have become commonplacein the genre.
On the other hand, it was only because ofFringe’susage that shows likeThe Flashwere able to use its sci-fi tropes.
On the other hand, it was only because ofFringe’susage that shows likeThe Flashwere able to use its sci-fi tropes. Although watchingFringetoday may be a different experience due to seemingly tireless tropes,Fringewas partly responsible for the sci-fi tropes in the first place, making it an important sci-fi series. Some fans have even vied for a reboot of the show, bringing it to a modern audience with fresh concepts, arguing that aFringerevival will answer many questionsleft by the show. Regardless,Fringewill always remain a part of sci-fi TV show history.
Fringe
Cast
This sci-fi procedural follows the FBI’s secretive Fringe Division and its agents Olivia Dunham, Walter Bishop, and Peter Bishop. Together, they investigate cases regarding strange events that threaten society, including cases of parallel universes, human experimentation, and other strange phenomena.
