J.J Abrams sure knows how to pick up-and-coming female starlets.
It started with Keri Russell, the star of his first television series, “Felicity,” and extended to Jennifer Garner on “Alias” and even Evangeline Lilly on “Lost.”
Add talented Aussie Anna Torv to that list.
Torv plays Boston-based FBI agent Olivia Dunham in Abrams’ latest, the sci fi thriller “Fringe,” which premieres Tuesday at 8 p.m. on Fox.
I love this show. It’s got all the elements of a good thriller: shady bad guys, freaky plot twists and a compelling, overarching mystery that will have you enthralled and, occasionally, scratching your head.
It also has one of my favorite actors, Joshua Jackson. You really can’t get much better than him. His brand of smart alecky charm is perfect for the role of Peter Bishop, a skeptical ne’er-do-well who can’t hold down a job and has a, shall we say, colorful past.
Dunham and Bishop come together in the aftermath of a strange, scary incident on a plane (Warning: do not, I repeat, do not watch the pilot’s opening moments over dinner. You’ll regret it).
Her investigation leads her to Bishop’s estranged father, Walter (John Noble), a once-brilliant chemist who’s been institutionalized for 17 years. Before he was put away, Walter dabbled in fringe science — things like teleportation, mind control, invisibility and reanimation.
Bishop is still brilliant and often astute, but it comes in fits between incoherent stammering. Noble is great as the eccentric scientist, whose odd ways and random comments also provide a few laughs here and there.
Lance Reddick, whom you might recognize as the mysterious Matthew Abaddon on “Lost,” is similarly creepy and cryptic here as Homeland Security agent Phillip Broyles. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that he’s not telling Dunham everything he knows.
Also keep an eye out for a series of random images that are shown before every commercial break. This is J.J. Abrams, so I’m sure they mean something, and I’d love to hear what you think.
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