By Stacey Harrison

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Liane Hentscher/FOX

You can always tell when you’re in for a mythology episode or a standalone episode by the “previously on Fringe” segments. If you see a scene from the pilot, setting up the premise of the show, then Pattern junkies are probably OK to skip the next hour. If you’re seeing Leonard Nimoy, and severed heads being reattached to bodies, then you might want to pay close attention.

The guy whose head they stole from a cryogenic factory and reattached to his body — the supposed leader of some other-dimensional group — is up and running. He’s heading up a break-in at a mental hospital where he’s either retrieving something vital to his sinister purposes from the brain of a wide-awake patient or reenacting a scene from Hannibal. You know the one. Olivia and the Bishop boys come in to investigate (an orderly was also shot and killed during the escape), and they learn that Slater has been cooped up for 14 years and been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Which always begs the question: Are there any other kind of schizophrenics? [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, Blight, FOX, Fringe, Grey Matters, Jeannot Szwarc, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Leonard Nimoy, Massive Dynamic, Recap, Stacey Harrison

By Stacey Harrison

©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Michael Courtney/FOX

First off, coolest episode name ever. Just had to say that.

We start off in Boston (which looks nothing like Vancouver, no sir, not one bit) where a man is frantically wandering the streets of Chinatown. He makes it to see a man and they start to discuss strange, oblique subjects like “the others” and taking something and “they’re all dead.” Then the frantic man lays down and proceeds to have a parasite bulge through his body, working its way out his mouth with its gaggle of tentacles showing. Ewwww. The man he came to see is not scared or surprised. He was expecting it. And more.

There are others with this affliction, but they didn’t make it as far. A cargo ship from China runs aground elsewhere in Boston and several corpses are on the shore in various stages of parasitic expulsion. Walter says it is similar to a creature found in livestock, but of course they’re not that big, or usually in humans. There is one survivor, however, a woman who it turns out is carrying no parasite. Like all of them, she came to find work and a better life. She says that everyone on board who was given a medicine for seasickness ended up with the squid. She was experienced at sea, so she didn’t take it. Olivia and Peter also learn that there’s another boat on the way, most likely packing the big uglies. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, FOX, Fringe, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Leonard Nimoy, Recap, Stacey Harrison, William Bell

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Michael Courtney/FOX

By Stacey Harrison

If you’re any fan at all of Fringe —and if you’re reading this, I’ll assume you are — you’ve heard that The Observers take center stage this week, and that we’ll find out a whole lot more about them. No one-off episode here. This one will take a permanent place in the show’s canon. So, is it any good?

It has its trouble spots, but overall a strong show, dropping plenty of tasty tidbits and making sure we’ll never view The Observers the same again.

The cold opening, which has been available for sneak preview all week, does a great job locking into the story, showing a heretofore unseen Observer kidnapping a young coed, and doing some really cool stuff in the process. You don’t notice it until later when they’re breaking down the surveillance video, but the new Observer can catch a bullet with his hand and fire a really cool — most assuredly otherworldly — handgun that can make pesky interlopers fly several feet in the air. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, August, FOX, Fringe, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick, Leonard Nimoy, Massive Dynamic, Recap, Stacey Harrison, The Observer

By Stacey Harrison

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Michael Courtney/FOX

Are the Observers human? As far as I can tell, it’s never been definitively determined on the show, but in a conference call this week, a couple of Fringe producers may have let slip that the bald, Mad Men-styled characters who pop up during important events in several episodes are in fact of another species.

Tonight’s episode, “August,” delves deeper into the mysteries of these characters, who so far have not participated directly in any of the strange goings-on that seem to be building toward a war between our dimension and another. That all changes when one of these Observers, named August, kidnaps a girl. Does he mean her harm, or is he trying to save her?

Executive producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman shared some background about how they came up with the look of the Observers, and where the rest of the season is headed. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, August, Fringe, J.H. Wyman, Jeff Pinkner, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Observer, Stacey Harrison

Credit: Liane Hentscher/FOX

By Stacey Harrison

Fringe is known for its twists and turns, but one I didn’t see coming was the premiere of a new episode last Thursday. Perhaps I was fooled by all those FOX ads claiming that the show would be back with new episodes Nov. 12. But thanks to the Yankees taking care of business in the World Series a game early (yawn), the network decided to get back in the Pattern (see what I did there?) a week early.

Long story short, I missed a week, and haven’t bothered to Hulu it yet. From what I hear, it was pretty much a stand-alone episode that didn’t add much to the mythology. And the opening “previously on Fringe” bump didn’t seem to reference it, so what the hey. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, FOX, Fringe, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Of Human Action, Recap, Stacey Harrison

By Stacey Harrison

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Liane Hentscher/FOX

How long have you been wondering whether anything Fringe-worthy happened outside the greater Boston area? Sure, there have been the occasional sidetrips to New York, maybe Chicago, but for the most part, Fringe has kept the eerie action strictly in the Northeast. That finally changed when the division’s latest case took it to Seattle, which is convenient since they didn’t have to worry about a nice, sunny day spoiling the mood. Of course, the show did switch production this season from New York to Vancouver, so we might be seeing a few more shows set in the Pacific Northwest.

Before all that, though, we get another Fringe rarity, a prologue that starts with one of the main characters. Olivia heads back to the bowling alley, which apparently she can visit only when it’s dark out, to thank Sam for helping her recover her memories, and her ability to walk without a cane. He can tell right away something is wrong, and Olivia opens up about Charlie’s death. Sam then tells her he has another project for her, and that he hopes she has nothing against the color red. Hmm … [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, Dream Logic, FOX, Fringe, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Massive Dynamic, Recap, Stacey Harrison

By Stacey Harrison

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Liane Hentscher/FOX

First off, sorry about missing last week. Had a non-H1N1 bug that made it tough to concentrate on keeping track of the Pattern. But I’m back with a vengeance, baby, and what better time, since we have another William Bell episode! Welcome back, Mr. Nimoy.

We don’t get to him for a while, but at least we have some frozen heads to give us a nice start. They’re wrapped up and being transported somewhere until a couple of goons ambush the delivery. One drives away with the cryogenically frozen noggins while the other gets taken out by a security guard. But he has to be shot several times, and the substance oozing out of him doesn’t resemble blood, but something like liquid metal. To be real specific, it looks like T2. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009 by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, blended worms, cryogenic, First Wave, FOX, Fringe, frozen head, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick, Leonard Nimoy, Momentum Deferred, Stacey Harrison, Theresa Russell

© Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Liane Hentscher/FOX

By Stacey Harrison

In Pennsylvania, a construction worker is drawn toward a strange object in a cornfield. It’s a pile of blue liquid, and as he bends down to inspect it, it reaches up and grabs him, pulling him underneath the earth, giving this episode one of the better BOO! moments of the series. He later wakes up in a tunnel and finds his leg all messed up, and a strange, Gollum-like creature coming at him, about to finish what it started.

Olivia is released from the hospital just in time to benefit from Peter’s newfound clout with the Fringe Division. He’s taken it upon himself to research similar cases to Olivia’s disappearance and comes across the Pennsylvania town where apparently six — now seven — people have vanished seemingly into thin air.

Before they leave, with Broyles’ approval, Walter hits Olivia with his theory that she visited another universe, about to go through another explanation of string theory before she cuts him off. She believes she went somewhere, and met with someone, but is still fuzzy on the details. In a nice moment between the two, made all the more poignant because Olivia is not aware of all that is behind it, Walter quivers his lip as he tells her he doesn’t know what he would have done had she not survived. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, FOX, Fringe, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Kirk Acevedo, Massive Dynamic, Night of Desirable Objects, Recap, Stacey Harrison

By Stacey Harrison

© Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Liane Hentscher/FOX

Greetings, fellow Fringe fans. Judging from the heavily increased hype accompanying the start of Season 2, it looks like we have more company than we did at times last year. Well, welcome aboard the bandwagon, all. You’ve come along at a great time. That pesky first-season setup is past and the characters are settling into themselves, and the extreme science — and accompanying mind-boggling exposition — has never been better.

When we last left Olivia, she was meeting with Massive Dynamic CEO William Bell. I’m just tempted to always refer to him as Leonard Nimoy, but I’ll do my best to use the character’s name. Several clues lead us to the conclusion that she has crossed over to a parallel dimension, including some curious headlines about the Obamas and JFK and — most dramatically — a panning out shot to reveal that their little tête-à-tête is taking place in one of the World Trade Center towers. So there’s that, plus the matter of a tombstone indicating that Peter Bishop had died as a child, and Walter’s sketchy memory and how that might relate to his involvement with the Z.F.T.

Heck of a lot for one episode to tackle. So let’s get started. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009 by sharrison76
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Tags: A New Day in the Old Town, Anna Torv, FOX, Fringe, Jasika Nicole, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Kirk Acevedo, Recap, Stacey Harrison

© Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Liane Hentscher/FOX

By Stacey Harrison

In the lead-up to last year’s fall season, Fringe was one of the most hyped shows on the schedule. Having come from the mind of TV (and now movie, thanks to Star Trek) big-shot J.J. Abrams, the trippy sci-fi show was seen as an heir apparent to The X-Files and a possible successor to Lost. Going into its second season, not much has changed.

Fringe is enjoying another boost of hype, but this time it feels much more earned. While the ratings were never bad, they weren’t the out-of-this-world numbers many had expected, and buzz was minimal. Long breaks between episodes also hurt dramatic momentum as the show built toward its season-ending cliffhanger. But a loyal following gradually emerged, and it is with bated breath that fans await tonight’s Season 2 premiere, which shows what happens when Olivia returns from the parallel world.

Joshua Jackson, who plays brilliant ne’er-do well con man Peter Bishop, spoke to reporters this week about Fringe finding its groove, what to expect this season, and what it’s like now that the show has moved from shooting in New York to Vancouver.

Be warned, there is some spoiler-ish material for those who haven’t seen the first season. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, FOX, Fringe, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Leonard Nimoy, Stacey Harrison