Fringe: "Amber 31422" - Nov. 4 - Grading & Discussion

[NCC1701MF]

The first glyph is an E.

[Tom]

I think the back and forth alt-universe pattern is great and original. My only fear is it will totaly confuse anyone who is just trying to get into the show.

[Samurai8472]

I like the original but love the advances in the alt world. Nice to see the advanced drug tank.

[Samuel Walters]

The episode isn't bad, but it's not quite grabbing my attention like the first few episodes of the season.

[NCC1701MF]

So far the glyphs spell E V E.

[Samuel Walters]

Good ending to the brothers. I really liked the "villain" of this episode. Very plausible and a decent story. And I really liked the exploration of the ethics (and consequences) of the amber. And Olivia is finally surfacing! I just wish that the pacing was a bit tighter.

[NCC1701MF]

OK the glyphs translated to E V E N T.

Think the aliens in that NBC series are from the Fringe alt universe.

[Samuel Walters]

Considering the accepted fact that the pop culture alt-verse pales in comparison to our own, I'm not surprised.

[DarthPipes]

Above Avearge. Very good episode.

[NCC1701MF]

So in the alt universe Cary Grant was in the Maltese Falcon instead of Bogart.

[startrekwatcher]

Well it looks like Fringe's unevenness in terms of quality is to persist into this season. The odd/alternate universe stories are dull--although the season premiere was the strongest of the three.

The alternate universe Fringe team just isn't that interesting and alternate Astrid is just bad--the actress does good with her regular persona but she doesn't have the range to pull off this--we are talking cringe-worthy here. The efforts to give some personality to the rest of the team has failed miserably. I can't take any of them seriously--it is like a team full of Harry Kims--weak actors portaying bland goofballs--some of the dialog was just embarrassing. And Broyles is as wooden as Robert Beltran's Chakotay. And I can see that one of the writers goal is to have Olivia invest in these people--but I could care one iota what happens to them--so on that front they have failed miserably--just cardboard cut-outs.

I guess they've decided this season to relegate forgettable standalone MacGuffin plots to the alternate episodes--I don't even know why they bother--it is clear even the writers' hearts aren't into them. This one wasn't the least bit interesting--if you are going to do a standalone story at least make them worthwhile and entertaining not some baggage that drags the whole hour down. Standalones actually used to be fairly entertaining but with Fringe they are just used as necessary filler to drag out the arc storyline.

The only interesting parts--which add up to oh say maybe 4 minutes of the hour--centered on Olivia's brief visit to her universe and the realization that something is up but I hated the tired cliched use of a person in her life--Peter--representing her original buried personality. And of course we get the standard scientific mumbo jumbo with Olivia finding herself once again in a tank of water--the only difference is that it is a tad more modern than the rust bucket Walter would occasionally dump her in.

A very mediocre offering. Average.

[sojourner]

I find it odd they couldn't find Olivia a wetsuit/swimsuit to wear in the tank. I mean really, a nightgown???

[Hyperspace05]

Excellent! Best of the season so far, IMO.

- Nice tie-in to the phasing technology used in "safe"
- cool info about the Amber

Next episode looks veeeery interesting. It looks like the show is picking up the thread about "first people"/ancient technology that had been hinted throughout the show.

Overall I think this season had started out strongest out of the three. Season 1 & 2 both had a bunch of weak episodes in the first half of the seasons. It is the latter parts of the seasons that have been their saving grace. But I am really enjoying season 3 so far. And IMO the alt-verse episodes have been the best ones overall.

[Jack Bauer]

sojourner wrote:

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I find it odd they couldn't find Olivia a wetsuit/swimsuit to wear in the tank. I mean really, a nightgown???

I was hoping for bra and panties...

Fringe is firing on all cylinders this season. The mythalones approach they're doing this season is really nice. The case of the week is tying into the arc every week is a good idea and makes it feel like there's not so much filler. Almost everything is related to the overall story yet it also has a beginning, middle and end to each episode.

[Emh]

Excellent episode. Both the twin brothers story and Olivia resurfacing b-story were interesting. I've really enjoyed the alternate universe episodes and just for the different take on Fringe division while seeing the same characters in different ways. I've also really enjoyed the unique universe the writers have created both culturally and sociologically. I'm regularly thinking about how their world has been effected by the breaches.

Tom wrote:

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I think the back and forth alt-universe pattern is great and original. [

On a simple narrative level, I would argue it's not completely original. I was immediately reminded of what Farscape did in season 3, but Fringe has taken it to a new level.