Sometimes, it’s tough to tell Chris Carter’s seminal TV
series The X-Files apart from J.J.
Abrams newer Fringe.
They’re both about subdivisions of the FBI investigating weird, pardon the
term, crap. Fringe has even made reference to The X-Files on occassion. Clearly, they’re aware of the similarities. But how aware? We take a look at a helping of episodes from both FOX shows to determine which is the real deal and which is from a parallel universe.
Fringe vs. The X-Files: Which Does Weird Science Better?
One is about a series of paranormal investigators working with the FBI to take down monsters and weird science experiments. So's the other one.
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April 5, 2010
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Rapid Aging
Fringe: Episode 1.02 – “The Same Old Story”
The X-Files: Episode 2.19 – “DØd Kalm”
The Plot: Dear Fringe: please stop doing our work for us by titling your episodes that way. Thanks, love Alex. Anyway, both episodes deal with premature, rapid aging. On Fringe, that meant a woman gets pregnant, and mere hours later, gives birth to a baby who immediately grows old and dies. On The X-Files, a Navy ship in the Norwegian Sea is suffering from premature aging, as the whole crew quickly grows old, and yes, dies.
The Explanation: Here’s where the two shows differ. On Fringe, it’s a killer who steals people’s pituitary glands to keep his own rapid aging in check. On The X-Files, there’s a high level of free radicals in the sea water. Yeah, we didn’t buy that, either.
The Verdict: Fringe wins this one, just for having a slightly less stupid explanation.
Messages From Deities
Fringe: Episode 1.03 – “The Ghost Network”
The X-Files: I Want To Believe
The Plot: On Fringe, a deeply religious man thinks the Devil is sending him visions of horrible events, right before they happen. In the second (Why? Why???) X-Files movie, a pedophile priest thinks God is sending him visions of horrible events, long after they happened.
The Explanation: Turns out, the dude on Fringe was just picking up radio signals from science terrorists, after Walter Bishop messed with his brain years ago. Over in Mulder and Scully land, the priest is having visions because he’s linked to a severed head or something.
The Verdict: Man, that X-Files movie was just no good. Fringe wins.
Ancient Ice Worms
Fringe: Episode 2.12 – “What Lies Below”
The X-Files: Episode 1.07 – “Ice”
The Plot: On Fringe, oil drillers accidentally unearth an ancient parasitic ice worm that can control people’s minds, forcing them to spread by exploding a blood mist everywhere. On The X-Files, basically the same thing happens, minus the blood mist.
The Explanation: I mean... ancient parasitic worms? No twists here.
The Verdict: Though both episodes are very good, “Ice” is one of the best X-Files hours ever, perfectly channeling – but not ripping off – John Carpenter’s The Thing.
Walking Through Walls
Fringe: Episode 1.10 – “Safe”
The X-Files: Episode 6.17 – “Trevor”
The Plot: Over in Fringe-ville, a bank robbery goes down without setting off any alarms or opening any doors. In X-Files-land, a man escapes from jail, somehow, slips his cuffs later and bullets seem to pass through him. In both cases, the crime is discovered when a body is left, split completely in half.
The Explanation: The Fringe squad discovers the robbers are able to move through walls by using a high frequency vibration. Mulder and Scully, on the other hand, think it has something to do with a magical tornado.
The Verdict: Magical tornado? Fringe wins this round.
Inbreeding
Fringe: Episode 2.02 – “Night of Desirable Objects”/Episode 2.11 – “Johari Window”
The X-Files: Episode 4.3 – “Home”
The Plot: We’ll just come out and say it: the two Fringe eps are basically the one X-Files ep split in two. In The X-Files, our team discovers a horribly mutated child, and after investigating a mysterious house, uncover a whole family of inbred people. On Fringe, a horribly mutated child is found (“Johari Window”); in “Night of Desirable Objects,” they investigate a mysterious house, discovering a whole family of inbred people. The latter episode even includes visual shout outs to the seminal X-Files episode.
The Explanation: I mean, inbreeding for “Home” and “Night of Desirable Objects.” “Johari Window” creates a twist: the whole town is mutated by radiation, but is using a radio signal to mask their appearance.
The Verdict: Clearly, “Home” was a good enough episode to inspire two Fringe eps. Advantage? X-Files.
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