FRINGE: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON
(2011, Blu-ray released September 4, 2012 – MSRP $69.97)
THE SERIES:
- “Who are you? After sacrificing himself to save both worlds, Peter mysteriously returns to ours. But he has been forgotten – by Olivia, by Walter, by everyone. It’s as if he never existed. At the same time, shape shifters controlled by an unknown master begin an onslaught of destruction, and now the two former enemy universes must cooperate to defy a common foe. Fringe’s thrilling 22-episode fourth season continues the inspired series’ synthesis of astounding phenomena, baffling secrets and dramatic, character-driven stories. And in this season, events may prove that the most powerful force in our universe – or theirs – is not a doomsday device, not a paranormal force, but human love.“
WHO SHOULD BUY:
If you’ve picked up the first three Blu-ray season sets of Fringe, don’t hesitate to grab this one up as well. You pretty much know what you’re in for – absolutely not knowing what you’re in for! As much as last season brought a lot of plot lines together to seemingly finish them off, it departed on a fairly strong button. And this fourth season reels from that occurrence.
Everything is changed as a result. Character relationships are different, timelines have shifted, and the whole plot may have been changed. I’m sorry for speaking in such vague terms but to say anything specific about where this story goes in potentially spoilerific. You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that the only frustrating thing about the whole season is a bit of romantic push-and-pull nonsense between two characters. And the rest is pure twisted-science gold!
THE BLU-RAY DISC:
If you watched these episodes on television, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet! The Blu-ray sports hi-def transfers the likes of the previous Fringe season sets – spectacular! Black are striking, detail is plentiful and colour is rich. It’s easy to forget you’re watching TV when it looks this good. Audio is once again presented in a splendid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, thank goodness, after a couple of seasons of compressed DD Audio.
Special features could be more plentiful (where are the commentary tracks?!) but, on the whole, well presented. The half-hour long Culture of Fringe roundtable discussion is undoubtedly the highlight of the extras, with the truncated, mostly-shots-of-people-laughing, 2-minute long “gag reel” the most disappointing.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- A World Without Peter: Insights into how the absence of Peter Bishop impacts the Fringe world
- The Observers: Explore how Season 4 goes deeper into the mythology of the mysterious Observers
- Beyond the Comic Book: With an introduction by series star Joshua Jackson and Executive Producers J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner about the inception of the comic book Beyond the Fringe: Peter and the Machine
- DigiComic excerpt from the Comic Book Beyond the Fringe: Peter and the Machine
- Gag Reel
- The Culture of Fringe: A discussion of the science and moral implications of the series
- Have You Seen Walter Lately?: Favorite Walter moments
- Ultraviolet copy of all 22 episodes!
