image from fringebloggers.com
I don’t think it’s any surprise that the ratings for Fringe are dropping. While the Tuesday night time slot was rather annoying last year (mainly, the delays from American Idol running over), it certainly gave the show the time to shine that it deserved.
And it did well. Very well. In fact, if I recall, it was one of the top shows for FOX last year. Which is why FOX probably moved it to a pivotal timeslot: 9:00 on Thursday night. Too bad it didn’t work.
Week to week, the ratings keep dropping, and fans are starting to worry. This week, Twitter started the new Save Fringe Campaign–the reason I’m writing this post. While some of my fellow bloggers don’t think that Fringe is in that much danger, I’m not sure.
It’s not that I think tomorrow the shoe will drop, and we’ll discover that it’s gone. However, with the crazy season that we’ve had for shows, who can really tell? Southland got cancelled before it was even aired. Dollhouse had low ratings and we found out FOX will air all 13 episodes as promised (yay)–right before FOX pulled it from November sweeps. Not a great sign.
So who’s to say that with low ratings, a former favorite can’t be unexpectedly lost? Especially on a network that’s less-than-trustworthy when it comes cult favorites that we love (yes, I’m talking about Firefly, Tru Calling, Wonderfalls).
But the one way to save it–other than grand gestures and making your prescense known–is easy: watch it. Watch Fringe. Why? Easy.
- Interesting, complex story arcs. It keeps you guessing. Week to week, even season to season, you want to know what you’ll discover next. What really are the consequences of Olivia’s child testing? What is Walter really hiding? What’s in Peter’s past–and who’s past is it?
- Walter Bishop. You will never find a character like this anywhere else on television. Anyone who can eat candy while cutting open a corpse (with blood on his hand at that) is just outright strange. But he’s just so sympathetic that your heart can crumble at his confusion and innocence–especially at his guilt–that you can’t help but love him and want more.
- Peter Bishop. First of all, he’s Pacey. Second of all, when will he discover who he really is? And his real relationship with his father?
- Science meets the paranormal. This show isn’t The X-Files. It goes deeper. I just find it incredibly awesome to see what’s next in store–expecially since much of the “unexplained” can be explained by Walter. My nerdiness gets madly excited by some of this show.
- It’s a suspenseful, enjoyable, smart show. We all know that the networks are lowering standards, feeding to the viewer who doesn’t want to think. Well, for those of you who do, this show lets you. Sure, there’s gore, but at the end of the hour, you’re on the edge of your seat, and it certainly doesn’t feel like you’ve wasted an hour, like some other garbage I know.
So tune in. It’s time to step up and watch some quality television. Really, it’s worth your time. And FOX? It’s worth your time to give it a better timeslot. If you move it, they will watch.
