Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Fringe 1.02: The Same Old Story

Last week I had a lot going on, and with my husband being away and not getting any other help, I found myself up late every night cleaning, getting my daughter's things ready for school the next day, getting my son's things ready for the nanny the next day, and then waking up at 5:20 because my son was teething and decided that's the new "up time," as my daughter would put it.

Needless to say, this week I am exhausted.

So last night I finished up the work I was doing on the Lost book (something I thought I would finish on Sunday but instead took me Sunday, Monday night, and Tuesday night) and came down to grab one thing and then go to bed. The TV had been left on, and the PVR clicked in to record Fringe. I stood in the kitchen, which faces the living room, and watched the opening sequence of the woman, the race to the hospital, and the... thing. And by the time the opening credits started, I was already out of the kitchen, butt firmly planted on couch, and I didn't move for the rest of the show.

I thought last night's episode was even better than the first. We didn't have to worry about all that exposition this time, and instead got to focus on a fascinating corner of science: rapid mitosis. How could a woman get pregnant, grow the baby to full term, give birth, and have the baby age to an 80-year-old man, all within about an hour? If JJ Abrams is to be believed (he says that all science seen on the show is real and currently studied) then apparently it could happen... theoretically, as Walter would say.

While I'm not watching this show as closely as I am Lost when it's on, I'm already intrigued enough to be looking around to see if I'm missing anything or if there are any clues. I'm assuming Jabrams is putting a lot of things in there for us to find... At the end, where you see the three bodies, are those clones of Christopher? Could there be other rapidly aging men around? I noticed when Walter was trying to put himself to sleep he was reciting the Fibonacci sequence, something that came up on Alias and was only really on Lost insofar as a mention in The Lost Experience.

There was one cut back from a commercial break where you could see someone has pasted the letters to spell VOCES VIDEO on a one-way sign outside the building. I wonder if that's a clue? Or maybe it's a subtle way of mentioning two of the five senses that will help Olivia on her search. Voces means voices, so she must listen, and video refers to seeing, so she must look.

I'm still liking Joshua Jackson a lot, his laid-back, rather annoyed persona where he keeps a monotone when he talks and pretends to be aloof, but when he is able to help out or finds something important, you can sense the excitement in him.

I'm assuming Claus Penrose will be playing a larger role in upcoming episodes.

What did you think about it? Better than the first week? Did you catch any Easter eggs?

12 comments:

Brian Douglas said...

As to rapid growth, I have two (well three if you count "of") words to add: conservation of mass.

Btw, am I the only one concerned that Walter will become an expert on EVERYTHING?

Anonymous said...

I have it all figured out:

It is really Olivia on Page 47.

And Peter is part of Project Christmas.

And Walter is the Mad Scientist version of Jack Bristow.

:)

Nikki Stafford said...

Ah! And the ISLAND is actually Walter's brain! [smacks forehead] It all makes sense now!!! Thanks, Amy!! :-D

Anonymous said...

I wandered off and then turned to Without a Trace. I haven't watched it in awhile, and the mystery of why Jack shaved off his hair was more interesting to me than the giant old baby.

Speaking of TV, I've been watching my husband's Deadwood DVDs, and looked up Calamity Jane (who is just excellent) to see where I'd seen her before. Juliet's sister!

I watched Rabbit Fall last night on Space. I think it's going to be a keeper, though the 1/2 hour drama format will take some getting used to.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was cool when Penrose said the thing about Walters mind holding such dangerous information.

And I also thought the brief but poignant move of Peter touching Olivia's hand was great!

Crissy Calhoun said...

didn't the serial killer/experimental solider-boy look like a young Stephen Harper??

i'm lukewarm on the show, lots that i like about it, but a bit too much gross-out stuff for me.

Anonymous said...

In episode 1 you got the sense from Olivia that Walter was her "only hope."
(Princess Leia from Star Wars)

Peter kept refering to Olivia when they first met by the same pet name. (Han Solo)

Nina Sharp has a robotic arm (Anakin & Luke Skywalker) unlike these 2 it turns up missing in Episode 2.

The leaf at the end of episode 1 reminds me of the Dharma station logos.

Check out this website for more easter eggs.

http://eastereggs.fringetelevision.com/search/label/Episode%20101

Ian said...
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Ian said...

I liked it much better than the first episode. Gave a definite sense of what we can expect-or not expect-week to week. From that disturbing opening scene, I was hooked too.

After giving my friend a run-on-sentence-breakdown of the pilot and watching the second ep. together, I am proud to say Fringe is now a subscribed show on his Tivo! Now I have someone to watch it with!

K J Gillenwater said...

I liked it, too. Although another tv blog I read has been ripping it to shreds. Makes me wonder why these people even watch tv, they don't seem to like anything.

Anyway, when I saw those 3 bodies, I thought they were Peter clones. Because they showed them kinda right after the dad talked to Anna Torv's character about Peter's "medical condition."

But then I also thought they might be the same aging dude. It was too hard to see the features.

Oh, and someone mentioned on another blog that the first episode, the one with 'twins,' also may be clones. Which adds another layer to that first ep.

I also liked that this guy was related to a case she had worked in the past...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Like Brian Douglas, I'm concerned that Walter's going to become the resident expert on absolutely every mystery they come across on the show -- that's going to get old eventually.

Other than that, I'm pleased with it for the most part, especially Joshua Jackson. Can't get enough of him. :-D

The show is intriguing, although right now my main reason for watching is definitely because of the interaction between Walter and Peter -- I'm not all that attached to Olivia yet, and the mythology of the show hasn't really grabbed me yet.

Oh, and did anyone else think that baby moving around in that girl's stomach at the beginning of the episode was very reminiscent of Jasmine in Cordelia's body in Angel, or even the aliens in the movie The Faculty?

--Adela P.