About a year ago my wife decided to give Fringe a shot. At the time I had declined her invitation to join in, and was subsequently exposed to so many of her chuckles with her headphones on that I began wondering if the show was more comedy than science fiction. The answer? Emphatically both.

Anna Torv stars as Olivia Dunham, an FBI agent tasked with the unexplained phenomena that lies on the fringe of science (oh, hello title!). Most of us would think that’d be a pretty awesome job if we were put in her shoes, until she realizes she has to work with Peter Bishop – a “civilian consultant” who’s essentially a con man – and his father, Dr. Walter Bishop; a brilliant scientist who’s crazier than a bag of cats. Throw all that in together and let it simmer, for after 20 episodes you’ll have a good start.

Sadly, there’s only one reason that this first season wasn’t a home run for me, and that’s due to Dunham. Let me be clear: Anna Torv (at least in the inauguration) is not the problem; her character is. Whenever you deal with a show like this there’s plenty of suspension of belief to make it work. Obviously, I won’t sit there screaming at the television because a non-existent virus didn’t work properly; but Dunham is written as the most terrible FBI agent the agency has ever produced. Practically every decision she makes is mind-numbing; so much in fact that I can’t believe she’d ever be an agent of any kind regardless of how many alternative worlds there are.

We’re sad to see it go because Fringe is one of our favorite shows. Still, if you have to go, this looks like a great way to do it.

Also, kudos to Fox for letting the gang at Fringe write their way to the conclusion instead of the alternative. So much better way to deal with the ending of a show than some other times we could mention.

Anyway, Fringe is coming to an end and we’ve got this trailer for you which shows that things will most definitely be going out with a bang. Just as it should be.

Check out the trailer after the break. Look for the 2-hour Fringe series finale this Friday on Fox. Walter, I think we’ll miss you most of all.

Fox’s Fringe is one of those we just really love. It’s so fun and has so many mind-bending twists and turns it’s always entertaining. Plus, it features a host of cool characters who make it even more fun to watch each week.

Fortunately, the show is coming back for a fifth season in the Fall and to get fans ready, Fox released a brand new trailer for the season at Comic-Con. Of course, we grabbed it as soon as it was available.

Let’s just say the trailer is cool and we’re very excited for the new season. Check out the trailer after the break.

To be honest, we kinda lost interest in both of these shows almost as soon as they started. So, it isn’t really much of a surprise that Fox has given the axe to both The Finder and Alcatraz.

Both series had dropped considerably in the rating since their debut and were, if we’re being brutally honest, not all that engaging or entertaining. Even though it was nice to see Michael Clarke Duncan getting more work.

Fox does like being in the Kiefer Sutherland business and consequently has given his series Touch, Exec. Produced by Heroes alumni Tim Kring, a second season. I’m sure that decision may have something to do with Sutherland’s participation in some 24 movies, regardless of Touch’s relative quality. Still, good for Kring and company.

In addition, Fox has also given series orders to Mindy Kaling’s It’s Messy and other shows like Goodwin Games and Ben & Kate. Other series commitments are expected to be announced soon.

Fortunately, all is not lost for J.J. Abrams current TV career as Fox did have the smarts to give Abram’s other show, the awesome Fringe, a final 13 episode season. That was a good move on Fox’s part and we could not be happier about it.

Fans of Fox’s quirky Sci-Fi/paranormal series Fringe can relax. It seems the network is happy enough with the show’s performance and dedicated fanbase that it has decided to renew the series for fa fifth and final season.

That’s right, the show will live on at least one more year and debut with a final 13 episode season in the Fall, the last episode of which will mark the show’s 100th. Fox made the announcement today and of course, fans are not the only ones happy about this development.

“We are thrilled and beyond grateful that FOX — and our fans — have made the impossible possible: ‘Fringe’ will continue into a fifth season that will allow the series to conclude in a wild and thrilling way,” series co-creator/executive producer J.J. Abrams said.

No word yet on the exact premiere date for the final season. However, don’t get too down about that because there’s already a promo for season 5. Check it out after the break. Fringe airs Friday nights at 9/8C on Fox.

Fox announced the renewal of three more of their series for next season.  The three series are freshman comedy New Girl, musical comedy Glee and family comedy Raising Hope.

These renewals mean a second season for New Girl, a third season for Raising Hope, and that Glee will get a fourth season. The three comedies join recently renewed Fox drama Bones.

“Over the past season, New Girl has become the hottest new appointment series for young adults; Raising Hope has established itself as one of the smartest and most unique offbeat comedies on television; and Glee has continued its success as a genre-defying, global cultural phenomenon,” said Fox’s entertainment president Kevin Reilly. “All three of these comedies add a fresh and distinctive flavor to our Tuesday nights, and I’m really happy to bring them back to our air next season.”

As is the usual practice almost anywhere were column inches or post counts matter, writers such as myself take to their keyboards and make lists. I am no exception and, with a great deal of difficulty and toil, have managed to cobble together a list of what I think are some of the best things of 2011.

I don’t really want to bore you with a lot of explanations as to why I picked what I did. Suffice it to say these picks are mine and mine alone. Also, they are not in any particular order, mostly because I find it hard to rank them that closely. Or, I was just too lazy.

Either way, here you go.

Movies

Drive
The Artist
Attack the Block
X-Men: First Class
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
The Descendants
Thunder Soul
13 Assassins
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo

For whatever reason, many of our favorite shows discussed at length around The Flickcast water cooler are on NBC. Because of that we often feel compelled to share previews of upcoming shows with you when we get them.

Today is no exception. This time around, in honor of Friday, we’ve got previews for tonight’s all new episodes of Grimm and Chuck.

First up on Chuck, Morgan is going rogue and Chuck needs to bring him down to Earth and back into the fold. Then, on Grimm, the line between good and evil gets blurred when Nick’s job forces to protect an enemy.

All the fun begins at 8/7C with Chuck. Check out all the previews after the break. As a public service, we should also mention that Fringe is all-new tonight too. We also love that show. Set your DVRs!

As with NBC earlier today, Fox jumped into the fray and announced its primetime schedule for next season also. The network has one new drama, Terra Nova, three comedies, New Girl, I Hate My New Daughter and the animated Allen Gregory, launching in the fall.

Dramas Alcatraz, the Bones spinoff Finder and animated comedy Napoleon Dynamite drop in midseason. Prehistoric drama Terra Nova wil anchor the network’s Monday lineup at 8 PM with House moving to 9 PM. House will return to 8 PM in midseason to help launch the J.J. Abrams show Alcatraz.

Fox is keeping the Tuesday comedy block with New Girl joining Glee and Raising Hope. I Hate My Teenage Daughter will launch after X-Factor. Also remaining where it is is American Idol on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Thank goodness for that, right?

Obviously, we’re happy to see Family Guy and Fringe back for next year. It just would have been nice to see Human Target get another chance. That could have fit nicely in the hole left by Terra Nova once it gets cancelled.

Yes, we’re cynical about Fox so we assume they will cancel the show just when it starts to get interesting. Fox, this is why we can’t have nice things.

Here are Fox’s fall and midseason schedules followed by descriptions of the new shows:

FOX FALL 2011 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM  – TERRA NOVA (new)
9:00-10:00 PM  – HOUSE

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM  – GLEE
9:00-9:30 PM  – NEW GIRL (wt) (new)
9:30-10:00 PM  – RAISING HOPE

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:30 PM  – THE X FACTOR Performance Show (new)
9:30-10:00 PM  – I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (wt) (new)

Apparently, the Christian Slater TV curse is starting to affect shows he’s not even on. Although, I guess we can’t really blame him for these latest Fox cancellations.

After all, the writing was pretty much on the wall for Human Target already, what with the eleventh-hour renewal last year. That’s right folks, late yesterday Fox announced the cancellation of Human Target, Breaking In and The Chicago Code.

Even though Human Target had been given a second season, the show had continually struggled in the ratings and I was actually surprised it came back for season two at all. It’s sad, though, as the show was really finding just the right blend of action, drama and humor with a cast that was clicking very well.

Same with Chicago Code. It was an interesting show that really seemed to be finding its way.

Oh well. I though the same thing about Firefly, Dollhouse and a lot of other shows and look where that got me.

As for Slater’s show, even though it started strong with a good lead in from American Idol, it was just a matter of time. Apparently, audiences don’t want to see Slater on TV. Perhaps he should go back to making movies?

With Human Target gone, Smallville ending this week and Chuck currently on the bubble for next year, there’s only a few genre shows left on network TV. What to watch?

At least we still have Fringe — for now.