DVD Corner

Fringe Season 4 Blu-ray Review

The fourth season of “Fringe” will divide fans.

In the 22 episode fourth season, a bridge between the two universes  now exists thanks to Peter. So now, the two Fringe divisions are collaborating on certain cases. Fans can expect to see cases about multiple killers, a fungus, Cortexiphan, time errors, universe jumpers, a psychic, murders, and spontaneous combustion. Aside from that, there are several major story arcs involving shapeshifters, Peter Bishop, the Observers (and September), and a fiendish universe changing plot by the mysterious villain David Robert Jones.

With the prime and parallel universes becoming the major focus of season 4, fans were undeniably split on how they felt about it. Some fans felt it was unique and well written while others thought the mythology was spiraling out of control. Personally, I’m with the latter group. While I was never much of a fan of the series, it does feel like the writers are in over their heads here as they are trying to write themselves out of convoluted stories and arcs. Upon introducing the two universe concept, I found it to be compelling and thought it strengthened an otherwise bland show. Now, however, it has become a tiresome mess and it’s not surprising to see that viewership continued to plummet throughout the course of the fourth season.

Summary: If you embrace and enjoy the multi-universe plotlines, I’m sure you will be thrilled by the double adventures of Olivia, Walter, Lincoln, and Peter. If you miss the first season era of “Fringe,” you will likely not be interested by this season much.

Note: The fifth and final season of “Fringe” is currently airing on Fox on Fridays.

Video/Audio:

Presented in 1.78:1 1080p, this fourth season Blu-ray set makes the show look better than it ever has. You can’t ask for a better transfer.

The 5.1 DTS-HD audio track is definitely layered. The series has an impressive use of sound and it shows in the episode tracks.

Extras:
* A 2 minute gag reel.
* “Beyond The Comic Book”- A brief featurette about the DC Comics “Fringe” comic book mini-series.
* “Beyond The Fringe: Peter and the Machine Excerpt”- 4 pages from the comic book.
* “A World Without Peter”- A featuette about how Peter’s disappearance impacted the cast and story.
* “The Observers”- Another featurette (this time about the Observer characters).
* “Have You Seen Walter Lately?”- A 2 minute collection of some of Walter’s most memorable moments in the show.
* “The Culture Of Fringe”- The center piece of the extra features. This is a half hour roundtable discussion between critic Jeff Jensen, actor John Noble, producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman, and academic college professors Shomo Sher and Nicholas Warner. Discussions range from scientists and philosophy to fringe science and ethics.

*Ultraviolet Digital Copy.

November 8, 2012 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Anna Torv, Fringe Season 4 Blu-ray Review, Fringe Season 5, John Noble, Joshua Jackson