We’ve already done a little bit on Fringe, JJ Abrams’ latest twisty-turny weirdness series (it’s coming to the UK very soon, thanks to Sky1), but the (considerable) hype was over earlier in the week when it made its debut on the Fox network in the US. It drew respectable nine million viewers (here that would be very decent, over there pretty average). At some point in the near future, it’ll move behind the new series of House, so it should get more viewers off the back of that particular rating-smasher. But I digress. You want to know if this supernatural/X-Filesy drama is actually any good. Over the jump you can see what the critics said…

Fringe is big. Fringe has JJ’s name attached to it. Fringe is very obviously trying to fill the X-Files holes that existed for years now. We’ll get to see it soon enough. It made its debut on Tuesday night, and I was interested to see what the critics said. Predictably, for such a niche sci-fi-style show, it got a mixed response…

USA Today said this:

“What Abrams brings to Fringe is a director’s eye for plot and pace, a fan’s love of sci-fi excitement, and a story-teller’s gift for investing absurd events with real emotions and relatable characters. But more than anything, he’s an entertainer; what permeates his shows is the joy he takes in the medium, in contorting conventions and genres into something new.

Fringe’s premiere lacks the beauty and resonance of Lost, but it provides a solid framework for a series, which is what a pilot is supposed to do. You can see where it’s going, and assuming Abrams doesn’t let it get lost in its conspiracy, it should be fun to ride along”

The Boston Herald, meanwhile, were more forward in its views:

“Despite what the relentless promos would lead you to believe, JJ Abrams’ newest series, Fringe, is nothing like Lost.

Think of Fringe as Found: Bad TV.

Fringe feels like… one rambling detour designed to fill time rather than entertain. Pull on any thread of the inane script and the show crumbles.”

Zap2It.com also waded into the argument, by saying this:

“Expectations rather than execution somewhat hamper Fox’s Fringe.

The extra-long pilot has allowed Fox to event-ize the Fringe premiere, but it often feels padded and remote from what I suspect the actual week-to-week series is going to be and the set-up for those subsequent episodes is rushed through at the very end. It’s still fast, fun and occasionally fascinating, but damn JJ Abrams for making me expect just a bit more.”

So there you have it (so far). Average viewing numbers, and an average response. By the sounds of it, Fringe will be nothing more than an hour of sci-fi okness. Nothing more, nothing less.