Nina offered Olivia a job. She explicitly stated that Olivia’s quest for answers could be made simpler by the resources of Massive Dynamic. Nina then went on to flaunt the obvious power of the company in the U.S.A. and abroad. It is absolutely amazing that Walter Bishop is now the man in charge of such a powerful company. It is also somewhat mind blowing that Massive Dynamic has been so impotent in the face of the threat posed by Walternate.
Who expunged Peter’s medical records? One would think that a death certificate would be a fairly easy document for the FBI to obtain. Massive Dynamic would have the juice to hide something like that and considering the fact that Bell basically mutilated Walter’s brain maybe he felt he owed Walter one.
Broyles was more Broyles this episode. Thankfully there were no ridiculous “liaison” references. That said, he still does not know Olivia yet, he was surprised she turned down Nina’s job offer. Walter has seemed a bit off, yelling at Olivia and referring to her as a silly little girl. Maybe John Nobel was still trying to find Walter’s crazy sweet spot, or maybe Walter was flashing back to Olivia’s time as Olive at the daycare center in Jacksonville. Either way I’m glad they moved away from Walter as mostly irreverent and occasionally mean to mostly irreverent and occasionally inappropriately morbid.
I am so impressed that Fringe knew that Peter came from an alternate universe all the way back in episode two of the first season. That kind of foresight is extremely impressive for a series that many consider to be J.J. Abrams tiniest success.
Odd that the evil scientist in this episode worked with Walter. I’m glad they did not make a habit out of this type of storyline for the rest of the series. It would have been interesting to see Walter meet up with him so they could have a moment to get caught up. Of course now that I’ve written the last sentence I remember that the scientist was not captured and therefore the aforementioned meeting may have occurred later in season one.
No sign of August or the other observers as of yet. I’m sure they will show up shortly.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Fringe: Pilot
I am writing about this episode with an eye to the present of Fringe. I may reference events that have taken place in this series through the end of 2010. Also, I would like to thank my family members for reading my blog and purchasing Fringe season’s 1 and 2 for me as a Christmas present.
Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I need to give some thoughts on my re-watch of the Fringe Pilot episode. Before I do that, however, I should probably admit that I was not a huge fan of Fringe early in the life cycle of this series. I thought that the science was too easy/magic, I thought the characters were too cute by half, and I was frustrated by what I thought were pedestrian story lines.
I was wrong. Upon review the Pilot holds up remarkably well. Every key piece of the series was placed with care in the very first episode. William Bell, Nina Sharp, Astrid, Broyles, Charlie, and the Pattern were all introduced in this episode and given enough screen time to note their importance to the series as a whole. As I continue to revisit early episodes in this series the major question will have to be whether or not “the Pattern” is solely the work of Walternate or if it is something that the series will have to return to after his story is wrapped.
The plane of gelatin skeletons were not as gross this time around as I remembered it originally. In fact, I initially felt it was so repulsive that I was seriously considering dropping this series due to what I thought was an unnecessary desire to shock. I do not remember where all the pieces eventually ended up tying, but the bad guy in this episode seemed a bit lacking. What was his motivation, money, fame, or fratricide for the sake of it? How did Agent Scott tie into all of this?
I do not have the resources in studying Fringe that I did with a show like Lost. The popularity of Lost afforded me multiple podcasts which all did episode summaries (sometimes running as long as the 42 minute episode themselves), not to mention the formidable Lostapedia. Fringe does not have the massive fan community Lost did, and if it does I have not tapped into it. This is why I have decided my Fringe re-watch is my top television priority for the next few weeks.
I am a science fiction fan, with the Syfy Network’s boneheaded mishandling of Caprica and SGU, the only shows that could have challenged Fringe for the title of best show on television have now gone the way of the Firefly. Memo to FOX, please don’t cancel Fringe!
Broyles was all wrong in this first episode. His personality adjustment could be explained away by saying that he had yet to invite Olivia into his Fringe team and upon noticing her almost superhuman talent decided to not be an ass to her. However, as I have discussed in season three, Broyles is a good man and he had no excuse for make liaison a dirty word.
What was with Agent Scott’s cryptic warning about Broyles to Olivia? “Ask yourself, why did Broyles send you”. I would like to say it was one more misdirection he was sending her way, but if I remember correctly he really did love her. It was almost shocking to see how much Olivia loved Scott. She has spent so much of this series miserable, distant, and cold that her sense of overwhelming joy with Scott in that bedroom scene was more Folivia than Olivia.
The only key series aspect missing in this premier episode was an appearance from an Observer. I’ll try to make a note when that happens!
Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I need to give some thoughts on my re-watch of the Fringe Pilot episode. Before I do that, however, I should probably admit that I was not a huge fan of Fringe early in the life cycle of this series. I thought that the science was too easy/magic, I thought the characters were too cute by half, and I was frustrated by what I thought were pedestrian story lines.
I was wrong. Upon review the Pilot holds up remarkably well. Every key piece of the series was placed with care in the very first episode. William Bell, Nina Sharp, Astrid, Broyles, Charlie, and the Pattern were all introduced in this episode and given enough screen time to note their importance to the series as a whole. As I continue to revisit early episodes in this series the major question will have to be whether or not “the Pattern” is solely the work of Walternate or if it is something that the series will have to return to after his story is wrapped.
The plane of gelatin skeletons were not as gross this time around as I remembered it originally. In fact, I initially felt it was so repulsive that I was seriously considering dropping this series due to what I thought was an unnecessary desire to shock. I do not remember where all the pieces eventually ended up tying, but the bad guy in this episode seemed a bit lacking. What was his motivation, money, fame, or fratricide for the sake of it? How did Agent Scott tie into all of this?
I do not have the resources in studying Fringe that I did with a show like Lost. The popularity of Lost afforded me multiple podcasts which all did episode summaries (sometimes running as long as the 42 minute episode themselves), not to mention the formidable Lostapedia. Fringe does not have the massive fan community Lost did, and if it does I have not tapped into it. This is why I have decided my Fringe re-watch is my top television priority for the next few weeks.
I am a science fiction fan, with the Syfy Network’s boneheaded mishandling of Caprica and SGU, the only shows that could have challenged Fringe for the title of best show on television have now gone the way of the Firefly. Memo to FOX, please don’t cancel Fringe!
Broyles was all wrong in this first episode. His personality adjustment could be explained away by saying that he had yet to invite Olivia into his Fringe team and upon noticing her almost superhuman talent decided to not be an ass to her. However, as I have discussed in season three, Broyles is a good man and he had no excuse for make liaison a dirty word.
What was with Agent Scott’s cryptic warning about Broyles to Olivia? “Ask yourself, why did Broyles send you”. I would like to say it was one more misdirection he was sending her way, but if I remember correctly he really did love her. It was almost shocking to see how much Olivia loved Scott. She has spent so much of this series miserable, distant, and cold that her sense of overwhelming joy with Scott in that bedroom scene was more Folivia than Olivia.
The only key series aspect missing in this premier episode was an appearance from an Observer. I’ll try to make a note when that happens!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Fringe: Marionette
Good for you Olivia. Of course you could not let everything out at the moment Peter told you, it is not your way. You need to process information, you need to deal with it. The scene at the end where you completely unloaded on Peter was poignant, beautiful, and heartbreaking. I wanted to cheer for your bravery at confronting Peter’s inability to see Folivia for who she was, but I was also devastated that you had to go through this terrible injustice with no one to comfort you. This is a science fiction television show, how did it make the audience care so much for the characters?
Other than the emotional catharsis at the end of the episode this week’s storyline was fairly weak. After wonderfully connected stories all season long the Frankenstein's monster stuff just was not doing it for me. On the bright side the episode was sufficiently creepy. My wife could not look at the television in quite a few tension filled moments.
I missed Lincoln and Charlie. I even missed the cab driver that inexplicably helped Olivia after she took him hostage.
The Observer is back! I almost forgot they existed. After the amazing drama that played out between Folivia’s universe and ours my view of the fiction of Fringe significantly narrowed to focus on the two worlds we became familiar with. The mere existence of two worlds necessitates the existence of infinite worlds (I’m sure there is a a sound scientific theory to back up my wild assertion).
If the pieces of Walternate’s doomsday device are truly as ancient as we’ve been led to believe it is plausible that in one of the infinite paths the history of planet earth has taken the people who built that device never used it. Therefore they continued and prospered, possibly becoming the beings we know as Observers. If the Observers are in fact decedents of an ancient race of humans 1.0 they must have vast knowledge of the workings of the universes which would explain their ability to seemingly phase in and out of our world.
Walternate feels as though only one universe can survive, which leads me to believe that his reality has not caught on to the Observer visits. Unless Observers can only safely travel to our dimension for some reason or another. I love Fringe, I don’t understand it, but I love it. Actually, I’m making an executive decision, Fringe is at the top of my list for a series re-watch. Quick someone buy it for me for Christmas.
Other than the emotional catharsis at the end of the episode this week’s storyline was fairly weak. After wonderfully connected stories all season long the Frankenstein's monster stuff just was not doing it for me. On the bright side the episode was sufficiently creepy. My wife could not look at the television in quite a few tension filled moments.
I missed Lincoln and Charlie. I even missed the cab driver that inexplicably helped Olivia after she took him hostage.
The Observer is back! I almost forgot they existed. After the amazing drama that played out between Folivia’s universe and ours my view of the fiction of Fringe significantly narrowed to focus on the two worlds we became familiar with. The mere existence of two worlds necessitates the existence of infinite worlds (I’m sure there is a a sound scientific theory to back up my wild assertion).
If the pieces of Walternate’s doomsday device are truly as ancient as we’ve been led to believe it is plausible that in one of the infinite paths the history of planet earth has taken the people who built that device never used it. Therefore they continued and prospered, possibly becoming the beings we know as Observers. If the Observers are in fact decedents of an ancient race of humans 1.0 they must have vast knowledge of the workings of the universes which would explain their ability to seemingly phase in and out of our world.
Walternate feels as though only one universe can survive, which leads me to believe that his reality has not caught on to the Observer visits. Unless Observers can only safely travel to our dimension for some reason or another. I love Fringe, I don’t understand it, but I love it. Actually, I’m making an executive decision, Fringe is at the top of my list for a series re-watch. Quick someone buy it for me for Christmas.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Fringe: Entrada
Loved this episode. In fact, I’ve loved every episode of Fringe this season. It has simultaneously become the show I want to watch and write about more than any other show on television. While not directly related to this episode, I feel the need to lament FOX’s decision to move Fringe to Fridays. I’ve watched a lot of terrific programing die at FOX on Friday (Terminator: TSCC and Firefly spring to mind) and I hope that Fringe can somehow dodge that bullet.
Broyles was the star of this episode and it cost the character his life. I know I’ve said this before but you really have to commend Fringe on the creative direction it has taken. In what other fictional universe can you kill a character, then have that character lay himself to rest, all while somehow feeling the impact of his death? I spent my last post going on and on about what a good man Broyles was innately, genetically and it was his goodness that got him killed.
Brandon the scientist took a dark turn. Even Walternate seemed initially shocked with Brandon’s thought process, though he did eventually approve of it. If Broyles is innately a good soul what does that say for Brandon? Even Folivia for all the innocent murdering she did on this side seemed to really have warmed to Peter and wanted to do right by him.
Olivia does not give herself enough credit for escaping her very own hell dimension. Sure an apparition of Peter gave her the strength she needed to find her way out of mental prison, but it could have manifested as anyone, her niece would have been just as believable for the viewer. Admittedly not nearly as emotionally fulfilling or appropriate/inappropriate considering what/who Peter was doing. On an unrelated note, Walter’s discomfort with the Peter/Folivia relationship was extremely endearing.
If Broyles was able to trust Olivia and sacrifice himself to bring peace between dimensions, how long will it take before Folivia does the same? I’ll assume that she will take his place in the big chair now that she is privy to knowledge of the other side that no one else in Fringe Division possesses. I wonder what Walternate will tell Fringe Division about the death of Broyles. Most likely he’ll tell the team that Broyles bravely died in a Fringe event while reserving the really good lie for Folivia. Walternate will tell her that Olivia killed him.
Broyles was the star of this episode and it cost the character his life. I know I’ve said this before but you really have to commend Fringe on the creative direction it has taken. In what other fictional universe can you kill a character, then have that character lay himself to rest, all while somehow feeling the impact of his death? I spent my last post going on and on about what a good man Broyles was innately, genetically and it was his goodness that got him killed.
Brandon the scientist took a dark turn. Even Walternate seemed initially shocked with Brandon’s thought process, though he did eventually approve of it. If Broyles is innately a good soul what does that say for Brandon? Even Folivia for all the innocent murdering she did on this side seemed to really have warmed to Peter and wanted to do right by him.
Olivia does not give herself enough credit for escaping her very own hell dimension. Sure an apparition of Peter gave her the strength she needed to find her way out of mental prison, but it could have manifested as anyone, her niece would have been just as believable for the viewer. Admittedly not nearly as emotionally fulfilling or appropriate/inappropriate considering what/who Peter was doing. On an unrelated note, Walter’s discomfort with the Peter/Folivia relationship was extremely endearing.
If Broyles was able to trust Olivia and sacrifice himself to bring peace between dimensions, how long will it take before Folivia does the same? I’ll assume that she will take his place in the big chair now that she is privy to knowledge of the other side that no one else in Fringe Division possesses. I wonder what Walternate will tell Fringe Division about the death of Broyles. Most likely he’ll tell the team that Broyles bravely died in a Fringe event while reserving the really good lie for Folivia. Walternate will tell her that Olivia killed him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)