Walter Bishop has always been one of the central characters to Fringe. This is hardly a revelatory statement. But as the series has progressed it becomes more and more apparent that he may be the central figure of the series — the one on which the mythology of the series hinges. This episode, in which the team investigates three mental patients' sudden rehabilitation, only underlines that fact as it shows how important Walter is to the enemy as well as the good guys...
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J.J. Abrams is a former actor (he was hilarious in Six Degrees of Separation) who also happens to direct, produce, write, and dream. We can't be too sorry he's focusing on his work behind the camera. If he hadn't, we might never have been formally introduced to Alias' Sydney Bristow, Fringe's Dr. Walter Bishop or any of Lost's fascinating ensemble of enigmas. We spoke to Abrams, who is one of the influential television industry players interviewed for TVGuide.com's Best of the Decade section, about the impact his shows have made, why he creates so many strong female characters and who inspired him.
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Fringe pulled in its highest ratings since the season premiere, according to early Nielsen estimates.
The supernatural Fox procedural pulled in 6.9 million viewers and climbed in the adults 18-to-49-demo. Its lead-in, Bones (9.9 million viewers) was also way up compared to the last several weeks.
Conversely, FlashForward's final episode before a just-announced long hiatus slipped 8 percent in the demo to a new series low and pulled in 7.3 million viewers. ABC rebounded, however, with a two-hour Private Practice, which averaged 9.5 million viewers and helped ABC tie with CBS to win the night.
CBS was led by...
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"Did you eat?"
"Yeah"
"Well, that's unfortunate."
Fringe has never shied away from the viscera and gore that the sci-fi genre so often demands, but "Snakehead" was an especially stomach-churning addition to the series. The team investigates a case involving large parasitic worms that are growing inside groups of Chinese nationals, and while this was a great freak-of-the-week, it was Walter's search for independence that gave the episode its beating heart.
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After a few weeks of less-than-stellar self-contained episodes, Fringe turned its attention to one of the most interesting aspects of its mythology: The Observer. Or as it turns out, the Observers. When a rogue Observer kidnaps a young woman, the Fringe team and the other Observers try to figure out why and Walter worries that they've come to collect a debt.
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