1x05: Power Hungry

Okay, of all the promotional images I've used, this one might be the funniest. Like, in what possible situation would all these people be hanging out together in what appears to be a greasy spoon diner? (The background reflections are pretty neat, though. Hint hint.)

"Power Hungry," the fifth installment of Fringe, first aired on October 14, 2008. And I am hoping against hope that this is a monster-of-the-week episode that has nothing to do with the Pattern. I just need a break. Just one little tiny little teensy weensy little baby break. 

1x04: The Arrival

WYD when my gang pull up? I find it very funny when shows do promotional images that are just the entire cast striding purposefully towards the viewer as one. Like, are they coming to beat my ass? Do I need to flee for my life? Feels very intimidating. Activates my fight or flight response. 

Anyway, “The Arrival” is our fourth episode, which first aired on September 30, 2008. I’ve been remiss not to mention that Fringe's timeslot was on Tuesday nights. This becomes important later, when the whole Friday night death slot (I feel like this term is self-explanatory) debacle goes down. But at this point, the show was airing weekly on Tuesdays. Let's get into it.

1x03: The Ghost Network

"The Ghost Network" first aired on September 23, 2008, as the third episode of Fringe. I don't remember what this one is about, but I can only assume there will be ghosts in it. Time will only tell if my assumption is rightful. Let's dive in.

1x02: The Same Old Story

Welcome to the second episode. The second episode of Fringe. The second episode that they made specially for Fringe. Fringe's second episode. 

"The Same Old Story" first aired on September 16, 2008, and was the series' first monster-of-the-week episode, setting a precedent for what viewers could expect from Fringe. The answer: gooey, disgusting monsters every week. Pretty straightforward. Exactly what it says on the tin. 

1x01: Pilot

Let's go, I guess! The pilot episode of Fringe aired on September 9, 2008 (14 years ago, holy shit) and was movie length, being a full 81 minutes long. This is the only episode I've seen relatively recently (I tried to start a rewatch a couple years ago that fizzled because my rewatch partner was uninterested in continuing. Life gets in the way, I guess), and I remember it as a pretty intriguing, if not particularly special, introduction to this world. My other main impression is that Broyles is kind of a dick in it? For no reason? And his arc revolves around defending his sexual predator friend whilst being as sexist to Olivia as humanly possible?? They sure retconned THAT real fast!! Anyway, let's dive in. 

Intro Post

In the summer of the prehistoric Year of Our Lord 2011, I was twelve, television was my only hobby, and one evening I stumbled on a rerun. This show was, structurally, your run-of-the-mill early-2010s procedural. Except it wasn’t, because the FBI agents in question were investigating not a disappearance or a terrorist threat, but a town full of deformed monsters, formerly regular people transformed to a hideous state by a secret army project, who use a special electromagnetic signal to disguise themselves. 

I loved it. It ruled. I have all the memory of a particularly stupid goldfish, but I still remember how I felt watching this for the first time. It was, at turns, eerie, funny, horrific, and moving, with equally awesome and gross horror makeup going on, too. In short, it had everything. As a weird loner of a kid who watched a lot of age-inappropriate CSI stuff, I was hooked.