Fringe Benefits

Things I liked about the premiere episode of Fringe:

• Crisp dialogue, even when they were talking a bunch of science-y mumbo jumbo. Seems like Josh Jackson's Peter is there in large part to translate some of the "blah blah" into English for the viewers and in the hands of a lesser writer or actor, that would have put me off right out of the gate, but Josh (and JJ Abrams) are quite skilled at making it seem less patronizing and more like he's snarking through the hoo-ha for his own sarcastic amusement. That it helps the audience out is merely serendipitous.
• Anna Torv. Watching the commercials all these months, I expected her to be the weak link in my enjoyment of this show but I actually found her much more lovely and enjoyable than the previews had led me to believe I would.
• Some of the "fringe science" that they're doing. I kind of love when shows make up things that are patently ridiculous but pass them off as if they're totally doable. Give someone an OD, plop them in a tank of water and they'll be able to walk through the dreams of their unconscious lover? Sure. Splash some random chemicals on folks and turn their skin hard and see-through? Why not. Melt the flesh off a plane full of people with a single epi-pen? Natch. Of course it's crazy, but if I wanted realistic entertainment I'd watch the History Channel. Alias was awesome for this and it looks like JJ's at it again here.
• The chemistry between the three "leads" - John Noble (Dr. Walter Bishop), Anna Torv (Special Agent Olivia Dunham) and Josh Jackson (Peter Bishop).
• The cow.
• Joshua Jackson. Look, I could pretend that it's because he's a talented actor (which he is) or whatever, but I'm just going to be real with you - he's hot and I love him. He got hotter with every scene last night and I think I may have over-heated and passed out for a moment during that last conversation between he and Torv.

Things I didn't love about the show:

• The 3-D title cards are distracting, showy and completely unnecessary.
• Starting with a plane disaster? Again? JJ should have gone another way here because he wasn't going to do it better than he did in the Lost pilot and if all he needed was for an enclosed space full of people to have their flesh melt off their body (and have some one's jaw drop off...shudder!), he could have done it on a train or a boat or in a damn office building...it didn't need to be on an airplane. Again.
• Blair Brown's robot arm. I know I said I like it when they make fake science and all but...that thing is just creepy.

Overall, more good than bad in the show. It gets a season pass.