Fringe (J.J. Abrams) - General Discussion Spoilers and Speculation

[Pandora's_Box]

Thanks for the promo, MrsB.

Fringe episode 3 - The Ghost Network

Certainly an interesting concept and episode that seems to have raised more questions than it answered.

We're introduced here to the idea that there are a spectrum of electromagnetive waves lying outside the edge of those already discovered and that they could be used to communicate information. The Ghost Newtork, as it came to be called by the American governement who wanted to use for their own nefarious purposes.

Bishop and Bell (in their secret experiment, Harvard days) tested out this hypothesis on a lowly sophomore by injecting an iridium-based organo-metallic compound into the subject's brain and to create sort of reciever for these messages, if you will.

Over time, the compound multiplied (due to environmental exposures, it's not really made clear) and the subject did become an inadvertent reciever for messages sent by some secret organization who'd perfected Bishop's theory while he was cooped up in the loony bin.

Turns out, some undercover DEA agent overhears some talk about the Pattern (which is a no no) and so the unidentified bad guys launch a chemical attack utilisizing a silicone-based gaseous compound that solidifies when exposed to nitrogen on a bus in order to grab the backpack she's carrying because they think it contains information about the Pattern that she's turning over to her handler in the DEA.

Not so, apparently. Turns out she'd had some sort of chip implanted into her hand that somehow recorded her brain waves and thus enabled whomever had the technology to read the data and see and hear exactly what she had seen and heard.

This disk makes it into the hands of Nina at Massive Dynamec after the DEA agent's handler secretly extracts it from her hand in order to turn it over to the Pattern-wielding bad guys. He gets caught, the Pattern agent gets chased down, the FBI gets ahold of the chip, and the Pattern agent throws himself in front of a bus (how very Tolstoy-esque of him) instead of allowing himself to get captured.

Nina hands the chip to some scientist to decrypt and then informs us that she's doing the same to the ship that had been implanted in Agent Scott (dun dun dun).

What will happen to Scott and his memories after this, we don't know.

All in all, I have to say it managed to keep me interested. And only because I'm refusing to actually allow my brain to refute the "science" being thrown out into the open here.

[Pandora's_Box]

I am left with some questions (HA!) after this however,

How much does Boyles know about what Nina and Massive Dynamec are up to? He seems to be heading this anti-Pattern group, but I wonder if he's not really in the dark instead.

What exactly did Bishop do to Peter? Obviously something otherwise he would't have mentioned the medical history. And the more I think about it, and think back to the first episode, the more his initial reaction to Peter starts to sound less like crazy-man talk and more like curious scientist talk. Maybe he was expecting Peter to be more filled out because he'd manipulated his genome in some way. Maybe he checked Peter's pupils not because he's insane, but because something he did had changed them from before (maybe part of what had been wrong with Peter, if anything) and he wanted to make sure they were still alright. For that matter, maybe he didn't actually want to see Peter out of any fatherly concern in the asylum, but out of professional interest.

Bishop continues to baffle me, so kudos to the actor for playing him so well.

Did the DEA agent know she was in possession of that implanted chip? If not, then is every agent implanted with one? Scott was. And if the Pattern agents knew about the chip (they did, didn't they?) why didn't they know it was in her hand.

Best line delivery:

"Someone else it seems, and I'm somewhat jealous of this..." - Bishop

Another question (always with the questions):

What's with the images at the end of every episode. After the second it was the brain MRI image what doubled like an apple with two seeds shaped like babies-in-utero on either side of the longitudanal fissure of the brain.
In the third episode we have the frog with the upper-case Phi symbol on its back.
I can't recall what the pilot episode had, if anything.

Meaning?

[Caldwell's 2IC]

After watching last night episode, I'm a devoted fan of Dr. Bishop !

Spoiler:

When he asked if they wanted the test subject guy back dead or alive , and when he said you could get free cable out of this guy... I couldn't help myself and started laughing out loud.

For those of you who ever wondered what would happen if Dr. House was nicer...well, he would become Dr. Walter Bishop !

[poundpuppy29]

I loved this ep it keep me very interested. I was swaping back and forth between this and CBS's The Mentalist Premire and it was no contest really. I hope this show makes it now. Great Job on the recap Pandora's_Box

[Pandora's_Box]

I remembered what the image at the end of the pilot was; the leaf with the delta symbol on it.

Thanks, poundpuppy.

Here's a site with some easter eggs from the first two episodes;

Pilot Episode easter eggs

Episode 2 easter eggs

Interesting stuff. Gotta love conspiracy theory shows.

[unluckynumber11]

I remembered what the image at the end of the pilot was; the leaf with the delta symbol on it.

Thanks, poundpuppy.

Here's a site with some easter eggs from the first two episodes;

Pilot Episode easter eggs

Episode 2 easter eggs

Interesting stuff. Gotta love conspiracy theory shows.

thanks for that, i finally have another show to look under a deep microscope until lost comes back

Also i thought it was kind of funny that the dea agent with the implant has the same last name as me

also, i can't wait to see an episode about teleportation, that will be interesting.

[the fifth man]

Overall, I am very pleased with this show so far. I can't wait until next week.

[Morbo]

entertaining thus far.
not amazing.
but certainly worth watching for the most part.

the only hitch will be is if every week it's something that the dr. did research on in the past. that will get old fast.

[the fifth man]

the only hitch will be is if every week it's something that the dr. did research on in the past. that will get old fast.

Yeah, I don't want that to always be the case either. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

[Pandora's_Box]

entertaining thus far.
not amazing.
but certainly worth watching for the most part.

the only hitch will be is if every week it's something that the dr. did research on in the past. that will get old fast.

Isn't that the premise of the show though?

Bishop and Bell did this research for the U.S. Army back in the 70s and now some group has managed to expand on it and semi-perfect it. So what we're seeing are going to be major elements of that initial research.

Or am I totally off base?

[USS Defiant]

Why do I even bother with Fox anymore. Fringe IMHO is drivel and bad drivel at that. I thought ok, the pilot was hit and miss (more miss), so I got suckered in to watching the next 2 episodes. Well, it went bad to worse, if this wasn't on Fox it would have never been made or been shelved by now.

And to think Fox canceled New Amsterdam (which was at least a decent show) to give us this.

[Pandora's_Box]

Why do I even bother with Fox anymore. Fringe IMHO is drivel and bad drivel at that. I thought ok, the pilot was hit and miss (more miss), so I got suckered in to watching the next 2 episodes. Well, it went bad to worse, if this wasn't on Fox it would have never been made or been shelved by now.

And to think Fox canceled New Amsterdam (which was at least a decent show) to give us this.

Oh man.

I feel exactly the opposite. While New Amsterdam wasn't horrible, I honestly don't think it was that awesome. Certainly not worth keeping around in my opinion.

but I can see how Fringe may not be everyone's cup of tea. Is it the "pseudo-science" you have a problem with, the acting, or the general concept and delivery of the show?

[Pandora's_Box]

Every week Popular Mechanics writes an article about the previous episodes "science" and analyzes whether what Fringe is showing is more fiction than fact. Here are the first three;

From LSD Brain to Dead Autopilot, Fringe Premiere Skirts Reality

Fringe Gets Fast Aging and Frozen Optics Wrong in Episode 2: Reality Check

Fringe's Brain Science Flirts with Facts in 3rd Episode: Hollywood Fact vs. Fiction

[MrsB108]

Small spoiler from tv guide:

Spoiler:

I thought the second episode of Fringe was better than the first! Any scoop? — Andrew
Mickey: When I spoke to Anna Torv recently, I half-seriously asked her if Olivia was ever going to crack a smile. She told me that a future episode may help explain her staid demeanor, as we'll meet her family.

[Caldwell's 2IC]

Why do I even bother with Fox anymore. Fringe IMHO is drivel and bad drivel at that. I thought ok, the pilot was hit and miss (more miss), so I got suckered in to watching the next 2 episodes. Well, it went bad to worse, if this wasn't on Fox it would have never been made or been shelved by now.

And to think Fox canceled New Amsterdam (which was at least a decent show) to give us this.

FOX is not the only network cancelling promising shows. ABC pulled "Daybreak" of the air after just nine episodes and it wasn´t that bad. CBS axed "Moonlight" just when the show was getting better and NBC took "Life" out of their line-up, then they bring it on again; I don't know yet if it is in or out. And "Bionic Woman" was heavily promoted but it just never had a chance.

I liked "New Amsterdam". It wasn't the best of shows but it was interesting. I don't know how the TV execs' brains tickle, but sometimes I doubt there's a brain in there at all. Bringing back "Forever Knight" ???? P-L-E-A-S-E !

Maybe the most famous case of sudden wrongful death was "Firefly".

To me, "Fringe" is quite interesting so far even when some characters are far out. Mysterious Lady With Robotic Arm ? Mysterious FBI Deceased Agent Who May or May not Become a Frankenstein Monster ? So far, so good, and I'll keep watching the show.