Fringe proves to be just as enthralling, gripping and satisfying in its second season as it was in its first. The second season picks up after the fateful meeting that Olivia had with William Bell, the mysterious founder of Massive Dynamic whom the last episode of the first season showed to be living in a parallel universe. Unfortunately, any details of the conversation between Olivia and Bell is put on hold, because when Olivia returns to our universe, she does so in a spectacular and grisly fashion. When she crossed over to Bell’s universe, Olivia’s car was still in motion. But although Olivia’s car had stopped when she returned, Olivia herself was still in motion, and there she smashes straight through the windshield and takes a nasty tumble along the street.
But as the X-Files, this series’ precursor, had proved time and time again, you
just can’t keep a good FBI agent down. Olivia eventually regains her strength,
thanks to help from a Jedi Master/ bowling ball alley manager (well-played by Kevin Corrigan)
who gives her advice and slowly rebuilds her confidence with a series of
seemingly senseless exercises, such as asking for a card from whoever she meets
who’s wearing red. While Olivia works on getting her game back, Walter is facing
a crisis of his own. Over the first half of the second season, ominous clues
have been dropped about something he did in the past, which all comes to a head
in the marvelous episode Peter.
Other outstanding episodes include White Tulip, starring Peter Weller (Robocop)
as a scientist on a poignant mission; Olivia. In The Lab. With a Revolver deals
with the hunt for a man armed with the literal touch of death; The Bishop Revival
chronicles a killer who’s using a virus that targets specific people; August deals
with an Observer with a difference, and Northwest Passage offers a much more offbeat adventure, with Peter teaming up
with Martha Plimpton (The Goonies) as a local sheriff to solve a series of crimes.
The only misstep this season is Brown Betty, an awkward fantasy episode ordered
by the network to fulfill a musical theme night (thanks to the idiotic American
Idol/Glee craze, whose dorky lameness is now being forced on other Fox shows).
The second season is packaged just like the first, in a neat, plastic book-like
case that offers easy access to all of the discs. The special features include
commentaries on selected episodes, and plenty of behind the scenes documentaries.
There’s also a gag reel that’s very funny. But don’t miss Unearthed,
an extra episode of Fringe that’s located in the special features section of the
last disc. Shot back at the tail-end of the first season, when Fringe was still
shooting in New York City, Unearthed stars Amy Carlson (Law & Order: Trial By Jury)
as a mother whose teenage daughter mysteriously returns from the dead. Fringe is
now shooting in Vancouver, Canada, the X-Files’ old stomping grounds, and it’s
quickly surpassing that series in terms of sheer brilliance in its writing,
acting and style. It’s highly recommended.
--SF
Main Review Page | TV Reviews |Fringe: The Complete Second Season
