There are a lot of good television shows. There are some truly great television shows. And then there are shows that can really only be described as masterpieces. These are the series are practically perfect from beginning to end, series that push boundaries and help redefine their genre. Sometimes, they’re the shows that take the standard mechanics of episodic storytelling, like the classic mystery-of-the-week format and turn them into something that’s so much more. Masterpieces series are rare, but 13 years ago a sci-fi series that can only be described as one — and might just be among the greatest sci-fi series of all time — ended its run and now, every episode is available to stream for free thanks to Pluto TV.
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As of March 1st, all 100 episodes of Fringe are available to stream on Pluto TV. The addition of the critically acclaimed, cult classic series that ended before it’s time is just the latest addition to the platform’s sci-fi channel, which also includes other greats including The X-Files, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Stargate SG-1, Doctor Who, and more.
Fringe Ended Too Soon, But Also Ended Perfectly
If you’re not familiar with Fringe, obviously it’s new streaming status makes this a perfect time to jump in, but here’s what you need to know. The series follows the work of a Joint Federal Task Force largely supported by the FBI called the Fringe Division. As their name suggests, the task force uses “fringe science” to investigate a series of unexplained events related to a parallel universe. The series stars Anna Torv as FBI agent Olivia Dunham who is made to work with a mad scientist type Walter Bishop (John Noble), his son Peter (Joshua Jackson), task force director Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick), and Agent Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole) in these investigations.
The series is brilliant and smart, very much a thrill-ride from start to finish, but like most brilliant television series it didn’t necessarily get the appreciation it deserved at the time. While the series was largely a critical hit, a media favorite, and quickly developed a cult following, Fringe didn’t have the best ratings. The show was ultimately cancelled with its fifth season and, more than that, that fifth season was a shortened one — 13 episodes as opposed to the 22 it averaged in previous seasons. This put the series in the unique position of not only ending its season and series at the same time but doing so on its milestone 100th episode. And Fringe managed to wrap things up perfectly despite it being over too soon.
The final episode, “An Enemy of Fate”, is one of the finest hours of television ever. Like the series as a whole, it’s a complex, detailed story (this one including some serious time travel) but it still managed to leave the characters and the story in a deeply emotional and richly satisfying place while also leaving the door open for the imagination or future stories as well. We’re not going to spoil how things end for you just in case you haven’t seen Fringe for yourself, but it’s a perfect conclusion in every sense. Now that it’s coming to Pluto TV, maybe the series will finally get the appreciation it deserves.
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