The second season of the American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
television series ''
Fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts
* Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe"
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* The Fringe, the ...
'' commenced airing on the
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
on September 17, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2010. The season was produced by
Bad Robot Productions
Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999 and led by J. J. Abrams and Katie McGrath as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series ''Alias'' ...
in association with
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
, and its
showrunner
A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...
s were
Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner (born November 16, 1964) is an American television and movie writer and producer.
Life and career
Born to a Jewish family,[J. H. Wyman
Joel Howard "J. H." Wyman (born January 5, 1967) is a film and TV producer, screenwriter, director and musician. He is best known for his work on the Fox science fiction shows ''Fringe'' and '' Almost Human'', and wrote and produced the films ...]
. Actors
Anna Torv
Anna Torv (born 7 June 1979) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox science-fiction series ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for ...
,
John Noble
John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Denethor in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Dr. Walter Bishop on the science fiction series ''Fringe'', Henry Parrish on the action-horror series '' ...
, and
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in '' Mighty Ducks'', as Pacey Witter in The WB teen drama series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the ...
reprised their roles as FBI agent
Olivia Dunham
Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and the main protagonist from the science fiction television series ''Fringe'', which aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States from 2008 to 2013. The character was created by series' co-cre ...
and father-son duo
Walter
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
and
Peter Bishop
Peter Bishop is a fictional character of the Fox television series ''Fringe''. He is portrayed by Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in ...
, respectively. Previous series regulars
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...
,
Jasika Nicole
Jasika Nicole Pruitt (born April 10, 1980), is an American actress and illustrator from Birmingham, Alabama. She is known for her role as Agent Astrid Farnsworth on the Fox series ''Fringe''. She has guest-starred in ''Scandal'' as Kim Munoz. She ...
,
Blair Brown
Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play ''Copenhagen'' on Broadway, the leading actress in the films ''Altered States'' ( ...
, and
Kirk Acevedo
Kirk M. Acevedo (born November 27, 1971) is an American actor. He is primarily known for his work on television for the portrayals of Miguel Alvarez in the HBO series '' Oz'', Joe Toye in '' Band of Brothers'', and FBI Agent Charlie Francis i ...
also returned, though with Acevedo in a limited capacity.
The season followed the continuation of a war between two universes, the prime and the
parallel
Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to:
Computing
* Parallel algorithm
* Parallel computing
* Parallel metaheuristic
* Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel
* Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of IBM ...
. It was set in the former, until the last several episodes when
Peter Bishop
Peter Bishop is a fictional character of the Fox television series ''Fringe''. He is portrayed by Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in ...
(Jackson) journeyed back to the parallel universe after being lured there by his real father,
"Walternate" (Noble). While co-creator
J. J. Abrams
Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...
described the first season as "identifying that there is an enemy", he referred to season two as "getting to know the enemy" as it "build
to a very specific type of confrontation" between the two universes. The writers focused on their characters' development, in particular making them more comfortable with each other while solving cases for Fringe Division. By inventing the "mythalone" style of episode, the producers sought to create the perfect episode that mixed standalone episode qualities for casual viewers with the further development of the series' mythology for regular viewers.
In a departure from the
previous season, the second season aired in a new competitive timeslot at 9:00 pm on Thursdays. It contained 22 episodes, plus an unaired episode that was produced during the first season; "
Unearthed" aired as a special as episode 11 of season two, days prior to "
Johari Window
The Johari window is a technique designed to help people better understand their relationship with themselves and others. It was created by psychologists Joseph Luft (1916–2014) and Harrington Ingham (1916–1995) in 1955, and is used primaril ...
", the first new episode of 2010. Also part of the season was the series' only musical episode, "
Brown Betty", which was produced at the request of the network. The season finale, "
Over There
"Over There" is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the "Hun". The song i ...
", fully introduced the parallel universe and laid the groundwork for the
third season.
''Fringe'' ended its second season with a per episode average of 6.252 million total viewers and a 2.3 ratings share in the 18–49 demographic. The season was generally well-received by critics, though most agreed that the second half was a considerable improvement over the first. The series was chosen for a number of 2010 "best of television" lists, including ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', the ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was foun ...
'', and ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''. Despite its critical acclaim, ''Fringe'' failed to earn any major category nominations at the
62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, were held on Sunday, August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT (00:00 UTC; August 30). Come ...
, but did receive nominations at the
Creative Arts Emmy Award
The Creative Arts Emmys are a class of Emmy Awards presented in recognition of technical and other similar achievements in American television programming. They are commonly awarded to behind-the-scenes personnel such as production designers, set ...
s,
Golden Reel Awards, and
Satellite Award
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
s; at the
Saturn Award
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
s, Torv and guest actor
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...
won in their respective categories. The second season was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
and
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in region 1 on September 14, 2010, in region 2 on September 27, and in region 4 on November 10.
Season summary
Olivia, having been taken to William Bell's office in the
parallel universe, is returned to the prime universe but with short term amnesia, unable to recall her experience there. Massive Dynamic's Nina Sharp directs her to Sam Weiss, a bowling alley manager, who gives her cryptic but helpful advice to overcome her amnesia. Meanwhile, the Fringe division has discovered several shapeshifters - a human/machine hybrid that bleed mercury - have crossed over, but unbeknownst to them, one takes the form of Olivia's partner, Charlie. When Sam's advice allows Olivia to recall what Bell told her, she unwittingly gives this information to the shapeshifter, who calls its agents to use the information to recover the body of Thomas Jerome Newton, an agent for some entity operating from the parallel universe. Nina provides Olivia with cautionary advice, alerting her to a "great war" that Bell postulated would occur between the two universes. During this time, Peter has come to forgive Walter for his past, and Walter has grown accustomed to normal life outside of the institution, but is still troubled by a secret.
Newton, using old technology from Walter and Bell's research, is able to pull an entire building from the parallel universe to the prime, and the team races against time to prevent harm when, due to the laws of mass conservation, a building from the prime is pulled to the parallel one. This event forces Walter to try to coax Olivia to recall her Cortexiphan abilities as to identify things affected by the parallel universe. Initially unable to do so, her fear of failure enables her ability, allowing them to save the people within the target building, but also revealing to her that Peter is from the parallel universe. Walter explains to Olivia that in 1985, he and Bell had devised a way to observe the parallel universe, where he found his doppelgänger, "Walternate", was also close to losing his son. Though Walter's Peter had died, Walternate continued to search for a cure, but missed the telltale sign when the Observer September arrived at his lab. Walter resynthesized the cure and aimed to cross over using untested equipment at Reiden Lake, though stalled by Nina and his lab assistant Clara. Nina tackled him on his way over, losing her arm in the process, while Walter, on the other side, found the cure vial broken. Intent on curing the alternate Peter, he posed as his father and crossed back with Peter, intending to administer the cure at the lab and then return Peter. However, on the return, the ice on Reiden Lake broke, threatening to drown both, but they were saved by September, who cautioned Walter "the boy must live". While Walter successfully administered the cure, his wife Elizabeth saw Peter, and Walter realized he could never return Peter to the parallel universe. After Walter reveals this truth, he considers letting Peter know but struggles with how to do so, hoping to seek repentance from God for his actions.
Meanwhile, Newton has continued to use Walter's technology to bring into temporary existence elements from the parallel universe. This enables Newton and his agents to bring over a figure known as "Mr. Secretary", despite Fringe's attempts to stop them. Peter, from this action, deduces that he is from the parallel universe, and furious at Walter for hiding this information, leaves on his own. While hiding in the Pacific Northwest, Peter meets Mr. Secretary - Walternate, his true father, who offers to take him back to the parallel universe, which Peter accepts. Olivia and Walter are alerted by September that Walternate plans to use Peter to initiate the operation of a strange device that threatens to destroy the prime universe, and the two launch a rescue attempt. In the parallel universe, they find that it suffers from singularities caused by Walter's crossing in 1985, forcing Walternate's Fringe team to use an amber-like substance to surround and quarantine such areas, regardless of innocent lives trapped within. They meet with William Bell, and Walter and Bell resolve their past differences. Olivia faces off against her doppelgänger, "Fauxlivia", who works for Walternate in the Fringe Division under the U.S. Secretary of Defense; she is able to recover Peter, who has seen the device and recognized that it reacted only to his biology, and wants nothing of it, willing to return with the others. As Olivia, Walter, and Peter attempt to return, they are engaged by Fauxlivia and others in the Fringe Division. Bell sacrifices himself to provide energy into a device to allow the three to cross over, but none of them are aware that Fauxlivia has secretly switched places with Olivia under Walternate's orders, while Olivia is captured and held in a secured facility by Walternate.
Episodes
Development
Crew
The season was produced by
Bad Robot Productions
Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999 and led by J. J. Abrams and Katie McGrath as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series ''Alias'' ...
in association with
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
.
Though still set in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, the show's production for the second season moved from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
out of financial necessity, as it lost access to New York's
TV production tax incentive program. ''Fringe'' consequently got a mostly new writing staff and production team, though co-creators
J. J. Abrams
Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...
,
Roberto Orci
Roberto Gaston Orcí (born July 20, 1973) is a Mexican-American film and television screenwriter and producer. He began his longtime collaboration with Alex Kurtzman while at school in California. Together they have been employed on television s ...
, and
Alex Kurtzman
Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''Star Trek'' franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to ''Transformers (film), Transformers'' (2007), ''Transformers: Revenge ...
, and producer
Bryan Burk
Bryan Burk (born December 30, 1968) is an American film and television producer.
He is mostly known for producing movies in collaboration with J. J. Abrams, including the Star Trek (film series)#Reboot films, ''Star Trek'' reboot series, the ...
remained involved with the series.
[ ]Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner (born November 16, 1964) is an American television and movie writer and producer.
Life and career
Born to a Jewish family,[J.H. Wyman
Joel Howard "J. H." Wyman (born January 5, 1967) is a film and TV producer, screenwriter, director and musician. He is best known for his work on the Fox Broadcasting Network, Fox science fiction shows ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'' and ''Almos ...]
returned as executive producers and showrunner
A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...
s. Jeff Vlaming
Jeff Vlaming (sometimes credited as Jeffrey Vlaming) is an American television writer and producer. He has worked on numerous series throughout the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, including ''The X-Files'', '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', '' Battlestar Gal ...
and previous episode director Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making motion pictures and adaptations of popular novels.
Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel '' Ba ...
joined the crew as consulting producers. While Abrams had six episode writing credits for the first season he remained much more hands-off for the second, instead focusing on other commitments like the film ''Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
''.[ He explained, "Sometimes we'll talk every day. Then there will be a period of a couple weeks where we don't speak. But we're emailing a lot. There's a lot of stuff that happens that way."] Eden FX and Zoic Studios
Zoic Studios is an American visual effects company based in Culver City, California. They specialize in visual effects for feature films, episodic television, commercials, video games, advertising design, and interactive online media.
History ...
stayed as vendors for the series' visual effects, effectively giving ''Fringe'' a sense of continuity. Jay Worth, the overall visual effects supervisor, commented that having these two companies "helped the show not feel as a big of a bump from one season to the next, particularly with different crews and a different vibe a little bit."[ Despite his decreased involvement, Abrams was sent all of the visual effects for the series during production, and responded back with notes and tweaks.][
]
Writing and filming
Responding to criticism that some first season episodes were too neatly wrapped and solved, Jeff Pinkner commented towards the end of that season, "We found that, absolutely, early on, we were falling into the trap of—the tease would be fantastic. And then we would too quickly answer it and educethe tension. And we've tried to course-correct and have the tease promise" questions that don't get answered right away.[ He further elaborated that the goal now is to "have the energy of the show get bigger as n episodegoes along... We're learning how to tell this version of a detective story. It's not really a police procedural. There are elements of that. But it's an incredible mish-mash of genres. I think we're getting better at finding our way through these stories."]
Pinkner, Abrams, Orci, Burk, Kurtzman, Wyman, and Goldsman developed the second season's storyline together.[ Goldsman explained that they "mapped" out the season "in a way that we remained fundamentally faithful to".] Though they changed certain aspects, they knew where Olivia and Peter were going to start and end up but "got there at different paces than what hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
originally planned".[ While the first season both focused on Olivia][ and dealt with discovering the existence of an enemy, the second was designed to " uildto a very specific type of confrontation" between the two universes. Explained Pinkner, "Season 2 is about the people from 'over there' putting the final pieces of the invasion into play, and explaining why".][ At the same time, the producers approached the second season as a "journey of self-actualization"][ and "maturation for our characters."] They wanted to make the three main cast members become more comfortable as a team in Fringe Division; Peter thus was written to be more heroic and to go from reluctance to a desire to help his father, while Walter became gradually more independent and "grounded as a human being".[ They made the secret of Peter's origins one of the main story focuses of the season. While the audience had been made aware of Walter's secret in the season one finale, the producers wanted to "acknowledge it to our characters".] All the while Walter was "suffering... and desperately trying to keep it all quiet", Olivia and Peter grew closer to the truth. By "giv ngthese things time" to develop, Pinkner strove to avoid focusing just on "event, event, event", instead concentrating on the real consequences of Peter and Olivia's eventual discovery.[
The second season's mythology was intended to be revealed in small parcels.][ Throughout the season, Pinkner and Wyman tried to create an episode that best bridged "standalone" traits—needed for casual viewers—with the further advancement of the show's mythology for those who watched regularly. At the start of the season Pinkner believed they had found a "good rhythm" between the two, as the mythology "really tarted toaffect the characters, to the point where even the standalone pisodesadvance mythology".][ After the season ended, Wyman commented at ]San Diego Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
, "We learned that the fan fans love mythology but there are needs from the networks. We started experimenting with a thing we called 'mythalones', not standalone or myth."[ Wyman cited the season's 18th episode, "]White Tulip
"White Tulip" is the 17th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series ''Fringe''. It follows a scientist (Peter Weller) in his quest to time travel back and save his fiancée, while the Fringe team invest ...
" as a prime example, noting "You can see that you're following Walter's journey, it's the right mix." The ''Fringe'' producers strove to avoid becoming bogged down in mythology, an issue that they perceived happened in ''Alias
Alias may refer to:
* Pseudonym
* Pen name
* Nickname
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film
* ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006
* ''Alias the ...
'', another J. J. Abrams television series. In a joint statement released midway through the season, Abrams, Pinkner, and Wyman noted that their "only internal rule is that we make every effort to not raise mythological questions merely to string viewers along, but rather to provide answers that generate consequences."
At Fox's request, the writers developed a musical episode, " Brown Betty" to fit into the network's "Fox rocks" campaign in the same vein as its series ''Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
''. While the episode already had most of the necessary elements in place before Fox's request, the producers were able to add the musical theme as a "narrative device" to "explore Walter's feelings" in the aftermath of Peter's discovery and flight. To prepare for the season finale, the producers began developing characteristics of the parallel universe relatively early on. Relating to the two universes' idiosyncrasies, Pinkner and Wyman were both interested in world building and "the concept of choices", such as the differing events that led to the Other Side possessing a still-standing World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
but destroyed White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. Other historical idiosyncrasies included the oxidation
Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...
of the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
and the use of zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
s as transportation. They believed that all of their additions were "the texture that actually makes it a world. The richness of detail is what makes it feel real".[
As the series began filming in Vancouver, the ]University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
campus served as a substitute for Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. Because of its heritage buildings and antique storefronts, many of the scenes set in the alternate universe were shot in New Westminster
New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
, an area outside Vancouver. Consulting producer and previous ''Fringe'' director Akiva Goldsman returned to direct several episodes, as did producer Brad Anderson, executive producer Joe Chappelle
Joseph Chappelle is an American screenwriter, Film producer, producer, and Film director, director of film and Television director, television. He is perhaps best known for his work on the critically acclaimed HBO series ''The Wire'', where he d ...
, and producer Paul Edwards. One time guest directors for the season included Bryan Spicer
Bryan Spicer (born April 9, 1964) is an American film and television director. As a television director some his credits include ''Castle'', '' 24'', ''House'', ''Heroes'', ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''Hawaii Five-0'', and ''Magnum P.I.' ...
,[ ]Jon Cassar
John Francis "Jon" Cassar (born 27 April 1958) is a Maltese-Canadian television director and producer, known for his work on the first seven seasons of '' 24''. In 2006, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series ...
,[ Dennis Smith,][ ]Paul Holahan
Paul Holahan is an American film, television director, cinematographer, producer and photographer.
Career
He has directed episodes of ''Witchblade'', ''Numb3rs'', ''Las Vegas'', ''Shark'', ''Ugly Betty'', ''Burn Notice'', ''The Mentalist'', ' ...
,[ ]Jeannot Szwarc
Jeannot Szwarc (born November 21, 1939) is a French director of film and television, known for such films as ''Jaws 2'', ''Somewhere in Time'', ''Supergirl'' and '' Santa Claus: The Movie''. He has also produced and written for TV.
Life and ca ...
, Frederick E. O. Toye
Frederick E. O. Toye (born September 26, 1967) is an American television director and occasional producer. His directorial work in 2016 includes an episode in the final season of ''The Good Wife'', the 100th episode of '' Person of Interest'', ...
, Deran Sarafian
Deran Sarafian is an American film and television director and actor. He directed ''Death Warrant, Gunmen,'' and ''Terminal Velocity''. He has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Life and career
Sarafian is the son of film directo ...
,[ Adam Davidson,][ Charles Beeson, ]David Straiton
David Straiton is a Canadian television director.
Career
His directorial debut was a special of the Nickelodeon series ''Weinerville''. Some of his other television credits include: ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'', '' Dark Angel'', '' Fastlane ...
,[ ]Thomas Yatsko
Thomas Yatsko is an American cinematographer and television director, known for his work on television series like ''CSI: Miami'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', and ''Fringe''.
Career
In his capacity as a cinematographer, Yatsko has worked on the tel ...
, Jeffrey Hunt
Jeffrey Glen Hunt (born February 15, 1973) is an American television director and former steadicam and camera operator.
Career
As a steadicam and camera operator he worked on the films ''Casper Meets Wendy'' (1998), '' With Friends Like These... ...
, and Seith Mann
Seith Mann (born 1973)"March 14, 2007...At 33, the D.C. native is one of the youngest African Americans directing television dramas" is an American film and television director. He directed ''Five Deep Breaths'' and has gone on to direct for ''The ...
.
Cast
Main cast
As with the previous season, the second season featured three main characters all working together to solve various Fringe cases. Anna Torv
Anna Torv (born 7 June 1979) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox science-fiction series ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for ...
played determined FBI agent Olivia Dunham
Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and the main protagonist from the science fiction television series ''Fringe'', which aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States from 2008 to 2013. The character was created by series' co-cre ...
, who is able to travel between universes as a result of childhood experiments performed on her with the nootropic drug, Cortexiphan. The man responsible for these experiments, Dr. Walter Bishop
Walter Harold Bishop, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the Fox television series ''Fringe''. He is portrayed by John Noble. Noble also plays Walter's counterpart in the show's parallel universe, who is referred to in the show as Walternate.
A ...
, was played by John Noble
John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Denethor in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Dr. Walter Bishop on the science fiction series ''Fringe'', Henry Parrish on the action-horror series '' ...
. Walter's son Peter Bishop
Peter Bishop is a fictional character of the Fox television series ''Fringe''. He is portrayed by Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in ...
, whom he stole from the parallel universe, was portrayed by Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in '' Mighty Ducks'', as Pacey Witter in The WB teen drama series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the ...
. Other members of the main cast included Jasika Nicole
Jasika Nicole Pruitt (born April 10, 1980), is an American actress and illustrator from Birmingham, Alabama. She is known for her role as Agent Astrid Farnsworth on the Fox series ''Fringe''. She has guest-starred in ''Scandal'' as Kim Munoz. She ...
as Junior FBI Agent and Walter's lab assistant Astrid Farnsworth, Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...
as Agent Phillip Broyles, Blair Brown
Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play ''Copenhagen'' on Broadway, the leading actress in the films ''Altered States'' ( ...
as Massive Dynamic executive Nina Sharp, and Kirk Acevedo
Kirk M. Acevedo (born November 27, 1971) is an American actor. He is primarily known for his work on television for the portrayals of Miguel Alvarez in the HBO series '' Oz'', Joe Toye in '' Band of Brothers'', and FBI Agent Charlie Francis i ...
as Agent Charlie Francis. Acevedo's character was killed off in the season's fourth episode, though at the time Pinkner and Wyman hinted of the actor's possible return later in the season. Acevedo returned to guest star in the season finale
A season finale (British English: last in the series; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will try to ...
as the parallel universe version of Charlie Francis. Acevedo was also featured in " Unearthed", a special episode that was filmed during the first season, but aired as the eleventh episode of the second season.
Recurring cast
The second season marked a large number of recurring guest appearances. Michael Cerveris
Michael Cerveris (born November 6, 1960) is an American actor, singer, and guitarist. He has performed in many stage musicals and plays, including several Stephen Sondheim musicals: ''Assassins'', ''Sweeney Todd'', '' Road Show'', and '' Passio ...
played September/The Observer, a mysterious man that observes important events and appeared in every episode of the season, often merely in brief glimpses. Further Observers were revealed, including August
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...
(Peter Woodward
Peter Woodward (born 24 January 1956) is a British actor, stuntman and screenwriter. He is probably best known for his role as Galen in the ''Babylon 5'' spin-offs '' Babylon 5: A Call to Arms'', ''Crusade'' and '' Babylon 5: The Lost Tales''. ...
) and December
December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the last of seven months to have a length of 31 days.
December got its name from the Latin word ''decem'' (meaning ten) because it was or ...
(Eugene Lipinski
Eugene Lipinski (born 5 November 1956) is a British-Canadian character actor and screenwriter. He was born in Wansford Camp, Soke of Peterborough, England, and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He began acting at the age of twelve in amateu ...
). Ryan McDonald portrayed Massive Dynamic scientist Brandon Fayette
This article lists the major and recurring fictional characters on the science fiction television series, ''Fringe'', created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.
In the overarching storyline for the five seasons of the show, several ...
, while its founder, Dr. William Bell was played by Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...
, despite the actor's recent retirement. Thomas Jerome Newton, one of the season's main villains, was played by Sebastian Roché
Sebastian Roché (born 4 August 1964) is a French-American actor. He is known for his roles as Kurt Mendel in ''Odyssey 5'', Jerry Jacks in '' General Hospital'', Thomas Jerome Newton in ''Fringe'', Balthazar in '' Supernatural'', Mikael in bot ...
. Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Corrigan (born ) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances include support ...
portrayed Samuel Weiss
Samuel Weiss (born 1955) is a Canadian neurobiologist.
Biography
Weiss was an undergraduate at McGill University, where he received a B.Sc. in Biochemistry in 1978. He then went on to take his Ph.D. in Neurobiology at the University of Calgary ...
, a mysterious man who helps Olivia recover from her injuries. Ari Graynor
Ariel Geltman Graynor (born April 27, 1983) is an American actress, known for her roles in TV series such as ''I'm Dying Up Here'', ''The Sopranos'' and ''Fringe'', in stage productions such as ''Brooklyn Boy'' and ''The Little Dog Laughed'', and ...
appeared as Olivia's sister Rachel Dunham
This article lists the major and recurring fictional characters on the science fiction on television, science fiction television series, ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'', created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.
In the overarching ...
, while Lily Pilblad played Rachel's daughter and Olivia's niece Ella Blake
This article lists the major and recurring fictional characters on the science fiction television series, ''Fringe'', created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.
In the overarching storyline for the five seasons of the show, sever ...
. Orla Brady
Orla Brady (born 28 March 1961) is an Irish theatre, television, and film actress born in Dublin. She has been nominated for several awards from the Irish Film & Television Academy for her work in televised programs, as well as starring in the ...
played Walter's wife Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American people, American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the N ...
. A new FBI agent, Amy Jessup, was portrayed by Meghan Markle
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III.
Meghan was ...
. Roger Cross
Roger Cross (born October 19, 1969) is a Jamaican-born Canadian actor who has made numerous appearances in several films and television series, mostly on productions shot in Canada. He is known for his work as CTU Agent Curtis Manning in the ...
appeared as a shapeshifter
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...
. Former Cortexiphan subjects James Heath James Heath may refer to:
* James Heath (historian) (1629–1664), English royalist historian
* James Heath (engraver) (1757–1834), English engraver
* James P. Heath (1777–1854), U.S. congressman from Maryland
* James E. Heath (active since 18 ...
and Nick Lane
Nick Lane (born 1967) is a British biochemist and writer. He is a professor in evolutionary biochemistry at University College London. He has published five books to date which have won several awards.
Career
Educated at Imperial College, Lon ...
were played by Omar Metwally
Omar Metwally is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Vik Ullah in the Showtime television series '' The Affair'', as well as for '' Rendition'' (2007), ''Munich'' (2005), and ''Miral'' (2010). He has also appeared in the r ...
and David Call
David Steven Call (born August 14, 1982) is an American actor.
Personal life
Call was born in Issaquah, Washington. He is a graduate student of the Tisch School of the Arts and the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School.
Acting career
Call's ...
, respectively. Karen Holness appeared as Broyles' ex-wife Diane, and Clark Middleton
Clark Tinsley Middleton (April 13, 1957 – October 4, 2020) was an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in '' Kill Bill: Vol. 2'', ''Sin City'', ''Fringe'', ''Snowpiercer'', and ''The Blacklist''.
Career
Middleton's first ...
played rare book seller Edward Markham. Philip Winchester
Philip Charles Winchester (born March 24, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' The Patriot'', ''The Hi-Line'', '' LD 50 Lethal Dose'', '' Thunderbirds'', ''CSI: Miami'', ''King Lear'', '' Strike Back'', '' Flyboys'', ''In M ...
appeared as Fauxlivia's boyfriend Frank Stanton, while Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel (born October 3, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for his roles of agent Lincoln Lee on Fox's television series ''Fringe'', Cotton Mather on WGN America's series '' Salem'', and Adrian Moore on the FX series ''Nip/Tuck''. He ...
played Agent Lincoln Lee
Lincoln Lee is a fictional character on the Fox television series ''Fringe'' (2008–2013). Lincoln first appeared in the season two finale on May 13, 2010. He is portrayed by actor Seth Gabel.
Initially, Gabel was cast for just the finale, and ...
from the parallel universe, both in the finale. J. R. Bourne
David Bourne (born April 8, 1970), known professionally as JR Bourne, is a Canadian actor. He portrayed List of Teen Wolf (2011 TV series) characters#Chris Argent, Chris Argent on all six seasons of the MTV supernatural drama series ''Teen Wolf ( ...
played Agent Edwards, and Gerard Plunkett appeared as Senator James Van Horn.
Further notable guest stars included Andrew Airlie
Andrew Airlie (born September 18, 1961) is a Scottish-born Canadian actor.
Early life
Airlie was born in Glasgow, Scotland on September 18, 1961.
Career
He has starred in television series including ''Breaker High'' and his TV credits include g ...
, Stefan Arngrim
Stefan Arngrim (born December 23, 1955) is a Canadian actor and musician, sometimes credited as Stephan Arngrim.
Biography
He is perhaps best known for his role as Barry Lockridge on the Irwin Allen television series ''Land of the Giants'' which ...
, Demore Barnes
Demore Barnes (born February 26, 1976) is a Canadian actor. Barnes is best known for his roles as Sergeant First Class Hector Williams in the CBS television series ''The Unit'', the archangel Raphael in '' Supernatural'' and Deputy Chief Christia ...
, Jenni Blong
Jenni Blong, sometimes credited as Jeni Blong or Jenny Blong, is an actress who has worked in American film, television, and theater. She has guest starred in a variety of television series, including ''Big Love'', '' True Blood'', ''Lost'', '' ...
, Pascale Hutton
Pascale Hutton (born June 14, 1979) is a Canadian actress. She was born in Creston, British Columbia. Hutton attended the conservatory acting program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadia ...
, Ravil Isyanov
Ravil Akhmedullovich Isyanov (russian: Равиль Ахмедуллович Исьянов; 20 August 1962 – 29 September 2021) was a Russian actor who appeared in over 70 film and television roles, primarily in the United States. He was most ...
,[ ]Ravi Kapoor
Ravi Kapoor (born 27 June 1969 in Liverpool, England) is a British actor of Indian heritage best known for his roles on ''Gideon's Crossing'' and ''Crossing Jordan''. Before relocating to Los Angeles, Kapoor worked for ten years as an actor in E ...
, Alice Kremelberg, Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger ( Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German and American actress. Early in her career, Kruger gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival.
Kruger became known for her roles in f ...
, Quinn Lord
Quinn Edmond Julian Lord (born February 19, 1999) is a Canadian actor. Beginning his professional acting career at the age of five, Lord played Sam in the 2007 feature film ''Trick 'r Treat'' and was nominated for the Young Artist Award as Best ...
,[ ]Tzi Ma
Tzi Ma (;) is a Hong Kong-American actor. He is well known for his roles in television shows, such as ''The Man in the High Castle'' and '' 24'', and films, such as ''Dante's Peak'', ''Rush Hour'', ''Rush Hour 3'', ''Arrival'', '' The Farewell' ...
, Stephen McHattie
Stephen McHattie Smith (born February 3, 1946)Other sources cite 1945, 1947, and 1948. is a Canadian actor. Since beginning his professional career in 1970, he has amassed over 200 film and television credits. He won the Genie Award for Best Sup ...
, Jennifer Missoni, Cameron Monaghan
Cameron Riley Monaghan (born ) is an American actor and model. He is known for his role as Ian Gallagher on the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Shameless'' and as twins Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, who serve as origins for the Joker, on th ...
,[ Michael O'Neill, ]Geoff Pierson
Geoff Pierson is an American actor known for his starring television roles on '' Dexter'', ''Unhappily Ever After'', '' Grace Under Fire'', '' 24'', '' Ryan's Hope'', and '' Designated Survivor''. He has guest-starred in dozens of other TV shows. ...
,[ ]Martha Plimpton
Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress. Her feature-film debut was in '' Rollover'' (1981); she subsequently rose to prominence in the Richard Donner film ''The Goonies'' (1985). She has also appeared in '' The Mosquito ...
, Paul Rae
Paul Rae (born June 27, 1968) is an American film and television actor.
Biography
Rae was born Paul Rae Stuart in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Jean Rushing and the late Norman Stuart, and was raised in Bogalusa, Washington Parish, Louisian ...
,[ John Savage,][ ]Peter Weller
Peter Weller (born June 24, 1947) is an American film and stage actor, television director, and art historian.
He has appeared in more than 70 films and television series, including ''RoboCop'' (1987) and its sequel ''RoboCop 2'' (1990), in whic ...
, and Craig Robert Young
Craig Robert Young (born 4 October 1973) is a British actor who began his acting career at age ten, starring in the stage production of ''The Price of Coal''. By the time he was 17, he moved to London to attend the Central School of Speech and D ...
.
Reception
Ratings and broadcast
''Fringe'' first season ended with an average of 9.96 million viewers, and among the season's new series, it was the first rated show for adults 18–49.[ On May 4, 2009, a week before the season one finale, Fox renewed ''Fringe'' for a second season, giving it a full season pick-up of 22 episodes. The network's president of entertainment, Kevin Reilly, explained "''Fringe'' proved to be a notable addition to our schedule all season and it really has fans buzzing as it builds to a fantastic season finale."]
Later in May, Fox announced ''Fringe'' would be moving from Tuesdays to Thursdays for the second season, to be aired in the competitive 9:00 pm timeslot. Kevin Reilly explained the move, "The door is more open on this night than it has been in a long time. ''Fringe'' is a real alternative to both Grey's''_and_''CSI:_Crime_Scene_Investigation.html" ;"title="Grey's_Anatomy.html" ;"title="'Grey's Anatomy">Grey's'' and ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation">Grey's_Anatomy.html" ;"title="'Grey's Anatomy">Grey's'' and ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'']."[ However, after a perceived "healthy" first season,] the second season premiere was watched by an estimated 7.817 million viewers. Ratings for the season continued to decline, culminating in 5.68 million viewers watching the finale.[ ''Fringe''s second season ended with an average of 6.252 million viewers per episode and a 2.3 ratings share for adults 18–49, causing the series to finish in 79th place out of all the season's network television shows. However, ''Fringe'' and its lead-in, '']Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
'', did help the network increase 52% among adults aged 18–49 and 65 percent among total viewers from the same night the previous year. Despite its middling ratings, ''Fringe'' received a full-season renewal on March 6, 2010.
Reviews
The second season of ''Fringe'' received generally very favorable reviews. At the beginning of the season, the series was featured on the September 18 cover of ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', which promised to give readers a "deep dive into the gory, witty world of Fox's ''Fringe''. On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the season has an approval rating of 81% with an average score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 16 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Fringe'' surpasses expectations in season two with stronger character development while maintaining its creepy sci-fi angle." Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, a review aggregate website, gave the second season 75/100 based upon ten reviews, indicating a "generally favorable" reception. After viewing the first eight episodes, ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' columnist Ken Tucker gave the series an A−, calling it "one of the fastest, smartest, wittiest shows on television now... ''Fringe'' successfully mixes the crime genre with sci-fi, and cold conspiracies with heartfelt emotion." Peter Swanson from ''Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' gave ''Fringe'' two and a half stars after watching the first six episodes. He believed the second season had "floundered a little, stuck in that creative hinterland between the desire to grab new viewers and the need to build on the mythology of the show's universe."[ While Swanson understood the need to attract a larger audience, he thought the standalone episodes to be "less than stellar", as "they've yet to get scary, or even vaguely unsettling".][ Swanson did however find the war between two universes to be "particularly compelling", and expressed hope that "''Fringe'' ]ould Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames.
Notable p ...
find its footing."
In a review of the entire second season, IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
believed that despite the premiere's "great start", the first half contained "some rather lackluster episodes" that "made a lot of fans worried and got the rumors of cancellation circulating"; the second half however "showed that ''Fringe'' is still one of the best sci-fi series on TV". The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
agreed, and called the first half "entertaining" but "never essential" while noting a great improvement mid-way through the season, as "the show finally grounded its freak-of-the-week weirdness in deep sadness".[ The A.V. Club continued, "...The season-two episode "]Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
" finally dramatized the moment that changed eter'slife, giving the series' overarching storyline a devastating emotional core, based in a father's love instead of in theoretical concepts. It only got better from there, as the series expanded its world by further making those concepts concrete. ''Fringe'' is that rare blend of inventive ideas, wild ambition, and unexpected soulfulness."[ The '']Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was foun ...
'' believed that by the end of the season "''Fringe'' had truly found its footing, doing daring, experimental episodes like the musical " Brown Betty"... and heartbreaking stand alone episodes, like "White Tulip
"White Tulip" is the 17th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series ''Fringe''. It follows a scientist (Peter Weller) in his quest to time travel back and save his fiancée, while the Fringe team invest ...
", (which might be my favorite hour of television this year that wasn't ''Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
''-related)."[
In particular, critics highlighted the season premiere "]A New Day in the Old Town
"A New Day in the Old Town" is the season premiere and first episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series ''Fringe'', and the 21st episode overall.
It was co-written by J. J. Abrams and Akiva Goldsman, wi ...
"[ as well as regular episodes "Peter"] and "White Tulip", and the season finale "Over There
"Over There" is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the "Hun". The song i ...
". The main three cast members' performances were praised,[ and various critics noted the series continued the sense of humor seen in the first season.][ ''Fringe''s second season was chosen for a number of 2010 "best of television" lists, including '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''Entertainment Weekly'', Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
, the ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', ''The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'', the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was foun ...
'', AOL
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017 ...
's TV Squad
Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...
, as well as IGN, which named ''Fringe'' the best sci-fi series of 2010, beating fellow nominees ''Lost'', ''Caprica
''Caprica'' is an American science fiction drama television series. A spin-off prequel of the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), Caprica is set 58 years before the main series. ''Caprica'' shows how humanity first created the Cylo ...
'', and ''Stargate Universe
''Stargate Universe'' (often abbreviated as ''SGU'') is a military science fiction television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient ...
''.
Awards and nominations
At the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, were held on Sunday, August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT (00:00 UTC; August 30). Come ...
, actor Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in '' Mighty Ducks'', as Pacey Witter in The WB teen drama series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the ...
and actress Anna Torv
Anna Torv (born 7 June 1979) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox science-fiction series ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for ...
submitted their work in the second season for consideration in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series categories, respectively. Actors John Noble
John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Denethor in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Dr. Walter Bishop on the science fiction series ''Fringe'', Henry Parrish on the action-horror series '' ...
, Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...
, Kirk Acevedo
Kirk M. Acevedo (born November 27, 1971) is an American actor. He is primarily known for his work on television for the portrayals of Miguel Alvarez in the HBO series '' Oz'', Joe Toye in '' Band of Brothers'', and FBI Agent Charlie Francis i ...
, and actress Blair Brown
Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play ''Copenhagen'' on Broadway, the leading actress in the films ''Altered States'' ( ...
submitted their work for consideration in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...
categories, respectively. The second season of ''Fringe'' was submitted for consideration in the Outstanding Drama Series category but failed to garner a nomination. The failure of the series to garner any major category nominations at the Emmys was perceived as a notable snub by many media outlets.
The second season received nominations for Sound Editing at the Creative Arts Emmy Award
The Creative Arts Emmys are a class of Emmy Awards presented in recognition of technical and other similar achievements in American television programming. They are commonly awarded to behind-the-scenes personnel such as production designers, set ...
s and at the Golden Reel Awards. The season's sole musical episode, " Brown Betty", received a nomination for Short Form Musical In Television at the Golden Reel Awards. Noble, Torv, and guest actor Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...
were nominated at the 2010 Saturn Award
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
s, with Torv and Nimoy winning in their respective categories. Noble also received a nomination at the 2010 Satellite Award
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
s, but lost to ''Dexter
Dexter may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003
* Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...
''s John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...
.
Home video releases
The second season of ''Fringe'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on September 14, 2010, in region 2 on September 27, 2010 and in region 4 on November 10, 2010. The sets includes all 22 episodes (plus an unaired episode) of season two on a 6-disc DVD set and a 4-disc Blu-ray set presented in anamorphic widescreen. Special features on the sets include four commentary tracks—"Momentum Deferred" with Jill Risk, Matthew Pitts
Matthew Pitts is an American television writer, best known for his involvement with J.J. Abrams.
Career
Pitts began his career working as J. J. Abrams' assistant on the film ''Cloverfield'' and held the same position on Abrams' '' Star Trek'', ...
, Danielle Dispaltro, Justin Doble and Charles Scott IV; "Peter" with John Noble
John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Denethor in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Dr. Walter Bishop on the science fiction series ''Fringe'', Henry Parrish on the action-horror series '' ...
, Blair Brown
Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play ''Copenhagen'' on Broadway, the leading actress in the films ''Altered States'' ( ...
and Damian Holbrook; "Brown Betty" with Tanya Swerling, Billy Gottlieb, Chris Tilton
Chris Tilton (born June 9, 1979 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States) is an American soundtrack composer and has helped compose several television, film and video game scores. He has collaborated with Michael Giacchino and J. J. Abrams on s ...
and Jay Worth; and "Over There, Part 2" with Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner (born November 16, 1964) is an American television and movie writer and producer.
Life and career
Born to a Jewish family,[J. H. Wyman
Joel Howard "J. H." Wyman (born January 5, 1967) is a film and TV producer, screenwriter, director and musician. He is best known for his work on the Fox science fiction shows ''Fringe'' and '' Almost Human'', and wrote and produced the films ...]
and Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making motion pictures and adaptations of popular novels.
Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel '' Ba ...
. Episodic behind-the-scene featurettes include "Analyzing the Scene" on six episodes, "Dissected Files: Unaired Scenes" on select episodes and "Unusual Side Effects: Gag Reel". Other featurettes include "In the Lab with John Noble and Prop Master Rob Smith" and "Beyond the Pattern: The Mythology of ''Fringe''". The unaired episode from season one, " Unearthed", is presented as a special feature, separate from the other episodes.[
]
Notes
References
External links
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{{Fringe (TV series)
2
2009 American television seasons
2010 American television seasons