Tv Nibble: On the Fence About Fringe

I’ve spent the last year being “just about to give up on Fringe” and yet, inexplicably I keep coming back to it. Last week for example, in the episode entitled “Night of Desirable Objects” I was all but ready to leave it be for good and then Peter goes and tells that charming story about wanting to go fishing with his Dad and for some reason that draws me back in.
I just don’t understand why. This show has barely moved beyond the Monster of the Week format, something that Fox’s other new comer last year, Dollhouse, did after the first five episodes. Sure there is a deeper mystery in Fringe, but it doesn’t hold me spellbound by any stretch of the imagination. The X-files, to which Fringe is often compared, had the Cigarette Smoking Man, Deep Throat, X and many others that were beyond intriguing. Don’t get me wrong, the X-files was filled with bad story decisions and completely inconsolable plotlines, but it worked and I’m just not sure that Fringe does.
If there is one thing that keeps me coming back to Fringe, it’s John Noble, his performance is fantastic and the interaction between him and Joshua Jackson is at times hilarious and yet, at times, touchingly sweet. I just don’t know if Walter Bishop is really a good enough reason any longer to keep going with Fringe…
We’ll see next week I guess…