Lower Decks

The following contains spoilers through the episode “Jacksonville,” originally broadcast 2/4/10.

It appears that we’re headed back into strictly arc-driven territory, something this season has been reluctant to do, even though last year ended on so many notes that would have suggested its inevitability. This was the “winter finale,” the last episode until April, at which point there will be eight episodes, leading to 5/20/10, which happens to be numbers Walter mentions this episode as important for reasons he can’t remember…

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The following contains spoilers through the episode “The Bishop Revival,” originally broadcast 1/28/10.

Well, I gotta say, all that negative talk I had going on last week is completely irrelevant this week. This was a wickedly good episode all the way around, not only terrifically compelling but a good one for both a casual and committed fan of the show. It’s funny, because on the surface, there are a lot of common elements between “What Lies Beneath” and “The Bishop Revival.” But where the former episode teases things we know, the latter exploits them in new and interesting ways, and even tells us some new ones.

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The following contains spoilers through the episode “What Lies Beneath,” originally broadcast 1/21/10.

Wow, so I’ve never really had a problem with Wikipedia before, but now I’m starting to think it hates me. That or the ‘Fringe’ creators do. This week I found new episode entries that remove “Unearthed” from the official second season listings and changed the title of “Edina County Limits” to “Johari Window,” and has become almost a tradition this season, postponing another episode (“Jacksonville”) to a later date. I just thought I’d make a note of this stuff, in case the way I list some of this stuff here at Lower Decks begins to confuse anyone, y’know, the way Walter Bishop confounds local authorities who aren’t prepared to deal with his eccentricities.

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The following contains spoilers through the episode “Edina County Limits,” originally broadcast 1/14/10.

Returning to the small town tactics of “Night of Desirable Objects” (the first regular episode of the season), “Edina County Limits” is probably the most enjoyable standalone episode of the series to date.

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The following contains spoilers through the episode “Unearthed,” originally broadcast 1/11/10.

If you were a little confused as to why ‘Fringe’ had an episode on Monday (for those of you who don’t know because you might watch the show via the Internet, it’s usual night since the fall has been Thursdays), it’s an infrequently publicized fact that there were twenty-one episodes produced for the first season. Thanks to the events of the first few episodes this season, it became increasingly complicated as to when the “lost” episode would air. Fox did a good job of reminding viewers that ‘Fringe’ was going to be airing twice this week, but kind of emphasizing that the “new” episode was on Thursday. “Unearthed” was free to be seen or not by those who ended up watching.

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The following contains spoilers through the episode “Grey Matters,” originally broadcast 12/10/09.

Okay, so this is the first time I’ve missed ‘Fringe’ completely in its first two seasons. For the record, the missing ones from these reviews are 2×8 “August” (the Observer episode) and 2×9 “Snakehead” (no idea). There was a slight uptake in the ratings after “August,” so that’s a good thing. Regardless of what “Snakehead” did, “Grey Matters” was another don’t-miss episode, dealing directly both with the season arc and long-standing character arcs.

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I won’t be able to review tonight’s episode, “August,” but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out. In fact, other than finally learning about Olivia Dunham’s conversation with William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) and the final fate of Charlie Francis, this is easily the most important episode of the season so far. Why? The Observer’s back in the spotlight.

The following contains spoilers through the episode “Of Human Action,” originally broadcast 11/12/09.

One of those episodes that changes on a dime, “Of Human Action” spends the majority of its time acting like an amateur ‘Twilight Zone,’ featuring some stupid kind with mind control powers, redeemed only by its reminders about a few long-standing arcs. Then the final few minutes makes it pretty much completely essential, relevant, and easily the biggest surprise of the season.

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The following contains spoilers through the episode “Earthling,” originally broadcast 11/5/09.

I really can’t believe I haven’t mentioned it yet here at Lower Decks, but there’s another show that’s probably pretty relevant for our readers, one you’re probably even watching, and it’s something worth mentioning in this week’s ‘Fringe’ review, thanks to the connection between characters named Walter and Sheldon. It’s ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ of course, the only sitcom within light-years (not a term of distance!) that handles our kind of entertainment, steeped as it is in “geek culture.” Sheldon is the genius on that show, but whatever the context, he’d fit right in at the lab. Let’s just say that among other things, watching Walter figure out a formula was a highlight this episode.

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The following contains spoilers through “Dream Logic,” originally broadcast 10/15/09.

Part of the fun of watching ‘Fringe,’ it sometimes occurs to me, is also the thing that can be frustrating, in that the show very deliberately straddles the line between episodic and serialized storytelling, which I’ve mentioned in numerous reviews. Sometimes, an episode will cover both grounds within a single story. More often, however, it becomes necessary to follow what a dedicated viewer will notice more keenly than a casual one with a fine eye. This week, for instance, we get a few more hints about the biggest development from late last season, the revelation that Walter Bishop’s son Peter is not entirely the one he started out with. Of course, none of this is ever explicitly stated, and it hasn’t even been acknowledged yet this season, certainly not to the extent of Olivia Dunham’s trip to the alternate reality Peter probably came from, where she met William Bell (for a good chunk of details, watch last week’s essential “Momentum Deferred”).

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