Fringe (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The alternate universe's World Trade Center was untouched by the September 11 attacks, leaving the buildings as landmarks in 'Manhatan'.
• The South Tower of the World Trade Center in the alternate universe was used as the office of William Bell.
• The series spawned two six-part comic book series, an alternate reality game, and three novels.

Overview

The first season of Fringe follows the Fringe Division as they look into a series of strange events called 'the Pattern,' all clustered around Reiden Lake in New York. Most of these events are set in motion by a global group of rogue scientists called ZFT, led by David Robert Jones, who believe a doomsday event is coming. This threat seems to end when Peter kills Jones just as he tries to move into a parallel universe. Olivia discovers that years ago, Walter used her as a child test subject for a drug called Cortexiphan, which gave her faint psionic powers. Walter also has to adjust to everyday life after spending seventeen years locked up in a mental hospital, with Peter looking after him. In the second season, the strange events turn out to be connected to a parallel universe. That universe is suffering from singularities that appear where the barrier between worlds is weak, and its scientists use an amber-like material to seal off those spots. The Fringe team handles cases that build toward a 'great storm,' as the parallel universe seems to be fighting the prime one using shapeshifters that are part human, part machine. Walter is forced to admit that Peter actually comes from that other universe, taken as a replacement after Walter's own son died from a genetic illness. In 1985, Walter crossed over on the frozen Reiden Lake to give the alternate Peter a cure, but after accidentally ruining one dose during the trip, he brought the boy back with him instead. The Observer September saved them when they fell through the ice, telling Walter that 'the boy' was important—which Walter took to mean Peter. That crossing created the singularities, with Reiden Lake as their epicenter. Walter now searches for a white tulip as a sign that he has been forgiven.

Cast and characters

Anna Torv plays Olivia Dunham, an FBI agent who later discovers Walter performed Cortexiphan tests on her as a child, giving her unusual abilities; Torv also portrays Olivia's parallel universe counterpart, dubbed 'Fauxlivia', as well as William Bell. Joshua Jackson plays Peter Bishop, a civilian consultant who is actually the son of Walternate from the alternate universe, abducted by Walter after his own Peter's death. Lance Reddick portrays Phillip Broyles, the Homeland Security agent who runs Fringe Division; Reddick also plays Broyles' alternate, Colonel Broyles, who sacrifices himself in season 3. Kirk Acevedo plays Charlie Francis, Olivia's colleague and close friend, killed early in season 2; Acevedo reprises the role in the alternate universe. Blair Brown plays Nina Sharp, COO of Massive Dynamic and friend of Walter and William; her doppelganger appears in the alternate timeline of season 4. Jasika Nicole plays Astrid Farnsworth, an FBI Junior Agent and assistant; her alternate universe counterpart has behaviors similar to autism. Mark Valley plays John Scott, Olivia's former partner and secret lover, whose death leads her to join Fringe Division.

Development

Fringe was dreamed up by J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman while they were working on the Star Trek movie. The trio met at a Comic-Con during that film's production to hash out the show, which was then produced by Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television under an earlier studio commitment from Abrams. He later brought in Bryan Burk, a frequent collaborator on his films, to help shape the series. Abrams pulled inspiration from Michael Crichton and Robin Cook novels, the film Altered States, David Cronenberg's movies, and TV shows like The Night Stalker, The X-Files, and The Twilight Zone. Orci called Fringe a "new kind of storytelling," blending the procedural format of Law & Order with the dense serialization of Lost. The procedural element was a practical choice: at the time, six of the ten most-watched shows were procedurals. Abrams initially wanted to call it The Lab, since Walter's laboratory was meant to be the show's central hub where anything could happen. The creators aimed to deliver "mystery of the week" episodes but focused on telling those stories in surprising ways, knowing their audience had seen similar mysteries before. Serialization drove the larger plot, but Abrams, aware of how Lost and Alias had struggled with casual viewers, wanted each episode to make sense on its own. Fox requested standalone episodes, so the writers balanced that by letting the serialized elements play out through character growth and development.

Reception

Early reception through the first season was generally lukewarm, with many noting its lackluster start and dullness of characters. Changes in approach and storytelling in the second and subsequent seasons led to more positive critical reception and made it a media favorite. The pilot episode was watched by 9.13 million viewers, with ratings improving for the second episode, 'The Same Old Story', which 13.27 million people watched, making it the fifth most watched show of the week. By October 2008, the show had achieved first place in the 18–49 demographic among new shows. Barry Garron at The Hollywood Reporter found it promising and reminiscent of battle-of-the-sexes charm. Robert Bianco of USA Today praised Abrams' director's eye for plot and pace. Travis Fickett of IGN gave the pilot 7.6 out of 10, calling it a lackluster pilot that promises a pretty good series. Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle remarked it was boundlessly ambitious, while Misha Davenport of the Chicago Sun-Times called it an update of The X-Files. In a 2016 retrospective, A.V. Club writer Joshua Alston noted that similarities to The X-Files had turned audiences off the show.