Fringe

"Fringe" caught my interest when I first heard about it, primarily because of how similar it sounded to "The X-Files." It doesn't hurt any that it has Joshua Jackson in it, either. I meant to check it out on Hulu but kept forgetting until this week, and once I saw the pilot, I was hooked, for a few reasons.

The subject matter: "Fringe" deals with unusual events and is similar enough to "The X-Files" to fill that void for me. In fact, I kind of like "Fringe" a wee bit more because it doesn't just leave things dangling as paranormal events, it delves a little bit more into the scientific possibilities behind them.

Joshua Jackson: I used to grit my teeth through Dawson's Creek just for Pacey, and now I can see him every week (sort of) without having to listen to Paula Cole too. (When I called my sister this week to squeak excitedly at her about the show, her first response to the Joshua Jackson point was, "Ohhh. But...isn't he getting kind of old?" He's two years older than I am. I SUPPOSE some people consider 30 "old," but I'll continue to think that it's not.)

The level of detail: I love the little things that are woven into the episodes - clues to the next episode, the repeated appearances of The Observer (even before the episode where he's a major player), subtle references to Massive Dynamics, etc. - and the attention to detail outside of the episodes as well, to include a pretty comprehensive Massive Dynamics website.

I'm not crazy about everything on the show, but I like it enough that I'm glad it was picked up for a full season, and I'm very interested in seeing how the bigger "Fringe" picture comes together.