The TV Zone

In all the excitement yesterday about "Lost," I almost entirely forgot to mention: Fox gave critics a first look at "Fringe," the new J.J. Abrams series for the fall. (Was the timing a coincidence, on the day of the "Lost" finale? I think not...)

Here's my quick read: Good, very good on occasion, though not quite the spectacular eye-candyfest I expected. It also skirted self-parody at moments, but that's OK. Near-self-parody is, after all, par for the course with a lot of TV sci-fi...

Why is "Fringe" such a huge deal? Because it's Abrams and was the subject of a network bidding war and because - to a certain extent - this a retro-"X Files," with a truth-is-out-there ethos and a tug at the hearts and souls of those many millions who have made "Lost" (not to mention "Battlestar Gallatica," "Heroes," and...) a small screen classic.

"Fringe," by the way, WILL be a hit. That is a given.

There's much much to commend the production - notwithstanding the off-screen bloodline, which includes "West Wing's" Alex Graves and big screen scribe Alex Kurtzman. Joshua Jackson - "Dawson's Creek" - is on a career revival bender with this, and newcomer Anna Torv - who I honestly believe I have never seen in ANYTHING - is terrific. (Torv's an Aussie and was born in Melbourne.) Plus...Lance Reddick is here, while Mark Valley lends a whole new meaning to the word "transparency..."

Best of all is John Noble, though. He plays mad scientist Dr. Peter Bishop, released from his padded cell to help Torv's FBI agent Olivia Dunham find the secret formula that will save...Sorry, I can't say anymore or Fox will do what they do to crix who give away plot lines four months before show premiere (See: John Locke.)

Noble is quite a story: A veteran Aussie actor and a star theater director down under, he was also Anatoly Markov on "24," while "Lord of the Ring" fans will vividly remember him as Denethor, the foul-tempered lout of a king willing to hand over his kingdom to the Orcs.

(Above, Torv; picture from Scificool.com.)