Channel Nine Rushes New US Show To Screen

Unlike the Australian television season which runs from February to November, in America it's all about the Fall Season.

That's the time of year when all the BIG shows kick off, and it's about to get underway. It's usually signalled by the Emmy Awards (Arena will screen it live in Australia on Monday 22 September - Rachel Griffiths is up for an award!). From there it's all new Desperate Housewives, Heroes, CSI, Criminal Minds, Lipstick Jungle, Grey's Anatomy etcetera.

But some of the shows are kicking off earlier. Prison Break had its fourth season premiere this week - but no word from Seven when it might screen here.

Nine, however, has decided to premiere the new series of Fringe, just a week after its US launch.

The series is put together by the critically acclaimed J. J. Abrams. Lost is his best-known achievement, but he also has Alias, Felicity, What About Brian, Six Degrees and the movie Cloverfield. While there are some big hits, there are also some misses.

Fringe, which Nine premieres at 8.30pm Wednesday, 17 September, is an X Files-style show that begins when a virus breaks out aboard a plane landing in Boston. Australian actress Anna Torv, who had a fleeting role in The Secret Life of Us, stars as an FBI agent who investigates alongside Mark Valley. You'll also see Dawson Creek's Joshua Jackson and film actress Charlotte Rampling.

But the mysterious plane is just the tip of the iceberg, and a much bigger conspiracy begins to unravel, fusing action, drama and science fiction.

How well this kind of show will sit with Nine's audience remains to be seen. Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles didn't exactly set the world on fire. It started at 8.30pm on Nine too, but was soon pushed out to 9.30 and 10.30pm. Moonlight is another of the dark, hip dramas the network didn't stick with. Ironically, Nine keeps telling us they want the advertiser-friendly demographic 16-39 year olds. At least it's giving Fringe a push.

And while we're talking rushing shows to air, how can we forget the calamity that was Viva Laughlin?

David Knox for Citysearch, September 2008

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