Have We Met Before?

Fringe, the new drama from J.J. Abrams premiered tonight on Fox, and I've got to tell you, it feels like coming home again. J.J. is an auteur, and the show gladly revels in the lineage its predecessors, Lost and Alias, have left for it. Here's how:

• There's a butt-kicking female lead. This time she's an FBI agent named Olivia Dunham, played by the statuesque Anna Torv, who looks like Blake Lively but runs like Jennifer Garner, and shares some similarities with her predecessor, the wonderful Sydney Bristow. First off, the pilot has her trying to save the life of her lover (In the Alias pilot, Sydney was trying to avenge the death of her fiance). Second, she may have some kind of greater purpose (given that her dying lover asked her to ask why she was chosen to investigate the thing that set the whole episode off), just like Sydney (who as we all remember was the "Chosen One.")
• There's mysterious events occurring that no one can explain. I think Alias and Lost both heavily depend on such plots. That's what keeps people coming back.
• There's a mysterious corporation/group. Please see: The Alliance, The Covenant, Prophet Five, The Widmore Corporation, and The Dharma Initiative.
• The show opens with something going wrong on a plane. Do I even need to map this one?

I could keep going, but I think you get the point. The premise is familiar. But it's also well-executed. I've got to tell you, I'm already hooked. Here's why:

• Torv. I think she's got a lot of potential and she's just great to look at.
  
• It's a good premise. Who cares if we've seen it before?
• PACEY is back! And he and Olivia have good chemistry.
• The old doctor is kooky. He'll be good comic relief.
• The creepy guy from LOST is Olivia's boss. Enough said.

I will definitely keep watching, and I can only hope this show doesn't suffer the same problems Alias did. What about you guys? I will leave you with some quotes:

"I'd thought you'd be fatter." --Walter Bishop to Pacey.

"What happened?" "I just pissed myself. Just a squirt."--Olivia, and Dr. Bishop

"Did you learn that at MIT." "I picked that up reading books. It's fun. You should try it sometime."--Olivia and Pacey

"You know what's great about that? It's insane."--Pacey

'The man who was just released from the mental institution...he wants to give you a drug overdose and stick a metal rod into your head and put you naked into a rusty tank of water."--Pacey
"No, I don't 'want' to. No, I'd rather not. I'm just saying I can."--Dr. Bishop