TV-Reviewed

Fringe was one of my favorite new shows last year. It’s the closest thing to a successor to The X-Files and I really enjoyed the quirky characters, principally Walter. His unusual cravings for various foods were a source of a lot of laughter.

I almost forgot that tonight was the night for the premiere of season two. Luckily I remembered it just in time to catch it on Fox. I knew from a friend of mine who saw a screener of the premiere that there would be several shocking moments and I wasn’t let down.

Watching Olivia Dunham come flying out of that SUV from another dimension was awesome, to say the least. I wish I could have seen my own face when that happened. I wasn’t quite sure why Walter was getting out and away from the SUV so quickly, but it made a lot of sense afterwards.

With Olivia out of commission for the most part, it was up to Peter to hold down the show. Peter is no stranger to taking the initiative, but seeing him as the lead character for an episode IS out of the ordinary. Peter looked into some unusual deaths where the victims had a set of three puncture wounds in the roof of their mouths. It was highly unusual.

Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham

The device used to create those wounds proved just as intriguing. Some type of shape-shifting super soldier from the other universe is using a device to alter his appearance, taking on whomever he kills. It was unusual to watch him perform the procedure. It was all the more shocking in the end when it was revealed that Charlie Francis is no longer going to be the Charlie we grew to respect from season one. His appearance has been taken over by the super soldier and no one knows about it yet.

I’m not sure how many others took note of Peter’s many mentions of how his father looks after him so intently to make sure he’s alive. This all comes in the light of us knowing that Peter died as a child and that the Peter we know was the Peter that Walter brought with him from the other universe. Walter seems to have a hard time with it. I wonder how it’ll be until Peter learns of his origins.

I enjoyed getting to meet the new agent on the show, Agent Amy Jessup. Meghan Markle did a good job with the character, but there is room for improvement as she gets the hang of the show and the character.

I didn’t care for the scenes where the government was threatening to shut down the division. It seemed like an unnecessary plot to throw into this already busy episode.

“A New Day in the Old Town” did a splendid job of wrapping up some of season one and setting up the new season. I’m eager to see how all of this plays out.

Rating: 8.9