Olivia (Fringe)
Encyclopedia
"Olivia" is the first episode
of the third season
of the American
science fiction
drama
television series Fringe
. The episode was written by executive producers J. H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner
, and was directed by Joe Chappelle
. The third season spent its time alternating between the prime and parallel universes
, and "Olivia" was placed in the latter. This is indicated in the introduction of the episode, with the same red screen used in the last season's finale, "Over There
". "Olivia" follows the cliffhanger left by the second season, in which Olivia Dunham
is trapped in the parallel universe. The episode explores the consequences of Olivia's abduction by Walternate
, and her attempt to go back to the prime universe.
Though Fox
was initially worried about an entire episode set in the other universe, they soon came to appreciate the storyline. The episode included the first appearances of guest actors Andre Royo
and Amy Madigan
, who would both appear in several later episodes. It first aired in the United States on Fox in September 23, 2010, receiving almost all positive reviews due to the combination of emotional storylines, suspense, action, and humor. Many thought it was a good indicator of what the rest of the season had to offer, while others appreciated the numerous popular culture references that set the two universes apart.
", Olivia
(Anna Torv
) and Walter
(John Noble
) used Olivia's ability to cross from the prime universe into the parallel
one, where Walter's son, Peter
(Joshua Jackson
), was being kept. After dealing with their respective counterparts from the parallel universe, "Fauxlivia" (Torv) and Walternate (Noble), Olivia and Walter were able to successfully free Peter. As they prepared to return to the prime universe, Walternate ordered Fauxlivia to take Olivia's place, returning with Walter and Peter, both unaware of the swap.
Olivia is captured by Walternate's forces, imprisoned in the government facility on Liberty Island
and put through both physical and psychological treatments by Walternate to make her believe that she is really the Fauxlivia of the parallel universe. Olivia manages to escape the facility and make it to "Manhatan" (in the Other Side parallel universe, the island is spelled with only one "T"). She coerces a taxi driver named Henry (Andre Royo
) to drive her to the Opera House where she believes she can return home, by threatening to harm his family, but by the time she arrives, an "Amber protocol" has been issued, sealing the building in "amber", a substance that the Other Side Fringe Division deploys to envelop time fractures. She directs Henry to the address for Massive Dynamic, but finds the facility does not exist in this universe. As Henry goes to a gas station to fill his taxi, Olivia cries to herself in the station's bathroom.
Meanwhile, the Fringe division is falsely told that their Olivia has escaped. Agent Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel
), still needing hyperbaric treatment to regrow his skin after being burned, and Agent Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo
) follow a tracking device on Henry's taxi. When they arrive at the station, Olivia orders Henry to drive away, and manages to fire at a small valve on a gas tank, allowing the explosion to cover their trail. Walternate, watching the altercation on monitors, notes Olivia has gained the marksmanship ability that the alternate Olivia possesses, and begins to think the serum is working. Brandon (Ryan McDonald
) theorizes in a later conversation that the rush of adrenaline effectively enhanced the potency of his chemical agents to brainwash Olivia.
Henry removes the tracker from his taxi, having become sympathetic towards Olivia. Olivia gives him an address to a "safe house" in a suburban area, and, once there, thanks him and allows him to go. However, Henry remains parked on a nearby street. In the home, Olivia discovers her mother Marilyn (Amy Madigan
), who, in the prime universe, had died when Olivia was a teenager. Olivia, seeing her mother and the memories of her mother, cries into her arms, as she is awash in Fauxlivia's memories. By the time Charlie arrives, Olivia fully believes she is Fauxlivia, and after saying goodbye to her mother, returns willingly with Charlie to Fringe headquarters. Henry, after watching Charlie's car pull away, drives off on his own.
The episode closes in the prime universe, where Peter explains the events of his time in the parallel universe to disinterested government agents. Meanwhile, Fauxlivia engages in idle chatter with Walter, nearly slipping and revealing her identity to him due to her lack of knowledge of the prime universe's popular culture. When Peter leaves, he kisses Fauxlivia and the three leave to get dinner.
, and was directed by co-executive producer Joe Chappelle
. The producers revealed the episode title on June 30, 2010. After they began their search in mid-June for a fifty to sixty year-old actress to play Olivia's mother, Entertainment Weekly
reported on July 2 that Amy Madigan
had been cast as Marilyn Dunham for roughly four episodes, beginning with the season premiere. The character was described as "lovely and together" and deeply devoted to her daughter. Further reporting a week later revealed that The Wire
actor Andre Royo
had been cast for the season premiere as Henry Higgins, "a soulful taxi driver who is unexpectedly forced into a tense situation with Olivia". Henry Higgins is also the name of a character in My Fair Lady
. Even before "Olivia" aired, Royo's guest appearance was extended to appear in a second episode
. Guest actor Seth Gabel
returned as the recurring character Lincoln Lee
, and required four to five hours of make-up in order to play a recovering burn victim.
Jeff Pinkner and J. H. Wyman decided to alternate the episodes between the prime and parallel universes because they "thought that the best way to really thoroughly tell these stories was to dive into them wholeheartedly... [in order to fully explore] the journey that our heroine is on and then come back over here because [Altlivia] is embedded in our team, we have point of view characters in both universes and it seemed to us the perfect opportunity to really explore in a really thorough fulsome way the alternate universe". Wyman elaborated that he felt fans "would really appreciate a mythology in two places", and showing both universes "just presented itself in such a natural organic way to evolution in our storytelling". Fox however was initially worried about the premise's sustainability, and that an episode without Peter or Walter "wouldn't feel like our show anymore," to which Pinkner responded that "not unlike a show like Lost, Fringe has to constantly evolve, to move and grow and go forward, otherwise we'll get bored, the cast will get bored, the audience will get bored". After the first three episodes, both Fox and Warner Bros.
became more favorable to the storyline.
When discussing the many differences between the prime and parallel universes in an interview, Pinkner explained that "one of the big themes of the show is how small choices that you make define you as a person and can change your life in large ways down the line". Pinkner and the rest of the Fringe production team loved the opportunity to build an entire new world, and asked themselves what life would have been like in its most mundane forms, such as within daily routines. Pinkner thought it allowed them to create and explore many "what-if" moments, such as if the September 11 attacks had occurred against the White House
instead of the Twin Towers
, or if the Statue of Liberty
still possessed its shiny copper
sheen. Pinkner elaborated in another interview that when the "perfectionist" crew were writing and constructing the parallel universe, they spent a lot of time on a high "level of attention and detail" that had all of the different departments and actors weighing in. Pinkner thought that because the parallel universe is effectively breaking down with "World War II
"-like conditions, these "sort of tough times forge more noble, stronger people". To better differentiate the two universes, the producers changed the color of the opening credit sequences by making the parallel universe red and the prime universes blue. As with the opening credits in "Peter
", the episodes featuring the parallel universe displayed certain fringe science words in that world, including wormhole
s, speciation
, pandemic
s, and telepathy
.
. A photograph of Fauxlivia wearing a gold medal in marksmanship is shown, proving that unlike the prime universe, the parallel universe has that particular event in their Olympic Games
. The radio in Henry's taxi can be heard mentioning former president John F. Kennedy
is stepping down from his role as ambassador, proving that he was not assassinated. On that same taxi, Dogs is depicted to be a musical in the parallel universe New York City
, instead of Cats
. Their mail is delivered by the "U.S. Mail Service" with a different logo, instead of the United States Postal Service
, and there are apparently daily flights to the moon.
Actor Tom Cruise
is mentioned for "kick[ing] ass" on television, implying that he is not a movie star in the parallel universe. When Olivia reminds him she knows his identification information, Henry mentions a "Jedi mind trick", a reference to Star Wars
, which is one popular culture similarity the two universes seem to share. When searching for the headquarters of Massive Dynamic, Olivia instead finds a site entitled "Martin Luther King
/Eldridge Cleaver
Memorial Park", which implies that King was also not assassinated, but instead developed a close relationship with Black Panther
militant and Soul On Ice author Cleaver. The park sign also reads "We Have a Dream", which is a slight deviation from King's "I Have a Dream
" speech, and suggests that he and Cleaver wrote it together. In the prime universe, Fauxlivia asks Walter if he is bringing Wallabees back, which are a line of shoes from C&J Clark
.
". Time shifted viewing
gave the premiere a 44% increase, as its 18–49 rating rose to 3.1. Out of all the network shows, this was the largest gain of the week. Time shifted viewing also increased the total number of viewers to 7.837 million. Fringe faced tough competition during its timeslot from the high-rated Grey's Anatomy
and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
.
expected a big event in the vein of the second season premiere, and was pleasantly surprised to find something different: "a beautifully emotional hour with suspense, humor, and kissing... [that was] superb and surprising". Josh Wigler of MTV
wrote that Fringe "proved once again that it's one of the most the most innovative, entertaining genre shows currently airing on television," and he couldn't wait for next week's episode. Jason Hughes of TV Squad enjoyed the episode, and praised how "the show's creators have come up with a crazy, but fun, way of" showing both universes every other episode.
Brooklynne Kelly Peters from Blast Magazine praised Anna Torv's acting, because she "brings a sensitivity to Olivia's character that is heart-wrenching but so well integrated into her character that action scenes seem totally natural for her". The standout for her however, was John Noble's performance, as he played "lovable and brilliant" Walter and "chillingly conniving" Walternate, both of which makes him "an even more unforgettable character" as the audience sees what Walter could have been. A.V. Club's Noel Murray graded the episode with an A-, writing that "the third season of Fringe opened tonight with one of the strongest, boldest episodes in the whole run of the series". Murray especially praised the "well-written, acted and photographed" taxi scenes between Olivia and Henry. The Los Angeles Times
Andrew Hanson particularly enjoyed the nine-minute opening, writing that he loved the episode because of three reasons: Olivia "kicked butt" and stayed a step ahead of Walternate, her struggles with identity, and all of the careful details put into the parallel universe.
After watching the first several episodes of season three, Aaron Riccio of Slant Magazine
gave the show 3.5/4 stars, and praised it for making a "huge, game-changing step forward". He continued that "Hard science meets soft comedy, and the results are consistently surprising and rarely disappointing. The solid mythology and high stakes keep the series moving as forward as quickly as FlashForward
and The Event, but the dual tones of the two worlds offer considerably more breadth in the stories it tells... ["Olivia" was] captivating television". Robert Bianco from USA Today
praised Torv, Noble, and Jackson's performances. He however disliked the new plotline of two Olivias, explaining "It's hard to fault the execution of the first two episodes, which skillfully set up Fringe's two competing universes and two misplaced Olivias... Yet well-done isn't the same as welcome. I'm not giving up on the show, which was one of last year's best. But I don't want to spend weeks watching our Olivia suffer and their Olivia make Walter and Peter suffer. You have to give writers leeway to take you where they want to go — but at a certain point, commercial entertainment has to be entertaining, or there's no reason to watch".
", "Marionette
", and Bloodline
" for consideration in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
. She failed to receive a nomination.
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
of the third season
Fringe (season 3)
The third season of the American science fiction television series Fringe premiered on Fox on September 23, 2010, and concluded on May 6, 2011, consisting of 22 episodes. The series is produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros...
of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
. The episode was written by executive producers J. H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
, and was directed by Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle is an American film and television director and producer. Chappelle was a Co-executive producer and regular Director for the HBO crime drama The Wire...
. The third season spent its time alternating between the prime and parallel universes
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
, and "Olivia" was placed in the latter. This is indicated in the introduction of the episode, with the same red screen used in the last season's finale, "Over There
Over There (Fringe)
"Over There" is the two-part second-season finale of the Fox science fiction drama series Fringe. They are the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the season, and the 42nd and 43rd episodes of the series overall. Both parts were written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, together with...
". "Olivia" follows the cliffhanger left by the second season, in which Olivia Dunham
Olivia Dunham
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series Fringe . Olivia first appeared in the pilot episode on September 9, 2008. She is portrayed by actress Anna Torv....
is trapped in the parallel universe. The episode explores the consequences of Olivia's abduction by Walternate
Walter Bishop (Fringe)
Walter Bishop, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by John Noble. Noble also plays Walter's counterpart in the show's parallel universe, who is referred to in the show as Walternate.-Arc:...
, and her attempt to go back to the prime universe.
Though Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
was initially worried about an entire episode set in the other universe, they soon came to appreciate the storyline. The episode included the first appearances of guest actors Andre Royo
Andre Royo
Andre Royo is an American actor. He is best known for his role as "Bubbles" in The Wire , and has had guest starring appearances in Fringe, Party Down, and How To Make It In America.-Career:...
and Amy Madigan
Amy Madigan
Amy Marie Madigan is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams and Iris Crowe in the HBO television series Carnivale...
, who would both appear in several later episodes. It first aired in the United States on Fox in September 23, 2010, receiving almost all positive reviews due to the combination of emotional storylines, suspense, action, and humor. Many thought it was a good indicator of what the rest of the season had to offer, while others appreciated the numerous popular culture references that set the two universes apart.
Plot
In the previous episode "Over ThereOver There (Fringe)
"Over There" is the two-part second-season finale of the Fox science fiction drama series Fringe. They are the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the season, and the 42nd and 43rd episodes of the series overall. Both parts were written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, together with...
", Olivia
Olivia Dunham
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series Fringe . Olivia first appeared in the pilot episode on September 9, 2008. She is portrayed by actress Anna Torv....
(Anna Torv
Anna Torv
Anna Torv is an Australian actress known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox television series Fringe.-Early life:...
) and Walter
Walter Bishop (Fringe)
Walter Bishop, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by John Noble. Noble also plays Walter's counterpart in the show's parallel universe, who is referred to in the show as Walternate.-Arc:...
(John Noble
John Noble
John Noble is an Australian film and television actor, and theater director of more than 80 plays. He was born in Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia and is currently starring as scientist Walter Bishop in the J. J. Abrams television series Fringe.He made occasional appearances on the...
) used Olivia's ability to cross from the prime universe into the parallel
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
one, where Walter's son, Peter
Peter Bishop
Peter Bishop is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by Joshua Jackson.-Fictional character biography:...
(Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian American actor. He has appeared in primetime television and in over 32 film roles. He is best known for playing Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Pacey Witter in the television series Dawson's Creek and Peter Bishop in the television series...
), was being kept. After dealing with their respective counterparts from the parallel universe, "Fauxlivia" (Torv) and Walternate (Noble), Olivia and Walter were able to successfully free Peter. As they prepared to return to the prime universe, Walternate ordered Fauxlivia to take Olivia's place, returning with Walter and Peter, both unaware of the swap.
Olivia is captured by Walternate's forces, imprisoned in the government facility on Liberty Island
Liberty Island
Liberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the turn of the century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D...
and put through both physical and psychological treatments by Walternate to make her believe that she is really the Fauxlivia of the parallel universe. Olivia manages to escape the facility and make it to "Manhatan" (in the Other Side parallel universe, the island is spelled with only one "T"). She coerces a taxi driver named Henry (Andre Royo
Andre Royo
Andre Royo is an American actor. He is best known for his role as "Bubbles" in The Wire , and has had guest starring appearances in Fringe, Party Down, and How To Make It In America.-Career:...
) to drive her to the Opera House where she believes she can return home, by threatening to harm his family, but by the time she arrives, an "Amber protocol" has been issued, sealing the building in "amber", a substance that the Other Side Fringe Division deploys to envelop time fractures. She directs Henry to the address for Massive Dynamic, but finds the facility does not exist in this universe. As Henry goes to a gas station to fill his taxi, Olivia cries to herself in the station's bathroom.
Meanwhile, the Fringe division is falsely told that their Olivia has escaped. Agent Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel is an American actor. Gabel plays the role of agent Lincoln Lee on Fox's television series Fringe.-Career:...
), still needing hyperbaric treatment to regrow his skin after being burned, and Agent Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo
Kirk Acevedo
Kirk Acevedo is an American actor. He is primarily known for his portrayals of Miguel Alvarez in the HBO series Oz, Joe Toye in Band of Brothers and FBI Agent Charlie Francis in the science-fiction series Fringe....
) follow a tracking device on Henry's taxi. When they arrive at the station, Olivia orders Henry to drive away, and manages to fire at a small valve on a gas tank, allowing the explosion to cover their trail. Walternate, watching the altercation on monitors, notes Olivia has gained the marksmanship ability that the alternate Olivia possesses, and begins to think the serum is working. Brandon (Ryan McDonald
Ryan McDonald
Ryan James McDonald is a Canadian actor born 5 August 1984 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. He is sometimes mistakenly credited as Ryan MacDonald.-Filmography:* "The Ballad of Jack and Rose" * "Terry"...
) theorizes in a later conversation that the rush of adrenaline effectively enhanced the potency of his chemical agents to brainwash Olivia.
Henry removes the tracker from his taxi, having become sympathetic towards Olivia. Olivia gives him an address to a "safe house" in a suburban area, and, once there, thanks him and allows him to go. However, Henry remains parked on a nearby street. In the home, Olivia discovers her mother Marilyn (Amy Madigan
Amy Madigan
Amy Marie Madigan is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams and Iris Crowe in the HBO television series Carnivale...
), who, in the prime universe, had died when Olivia was a teenager. Olivia, seeing her mother and the memories of her mother, cries into her arms, as she is awash in Fauxlivia's memories. By the time Charlie arrives, Olivia fully believes she is Fauxlivia, and after saying goodbye to her mother, returns willingly with Charlie to Fringe headquarters. Henry, after watching Charlie's car pull away, drives off on his own.
The episode closes in the prime universe, where Peter explains the events of his time in the parallel universe to disinterested government agents. Meanwhile, Fauxlivia engages in idle chatter with Walter, nearly slipping and revealing her identity to him due to her lack of knowledge of the prime universe's popular culture. When Peter leaves, he kisses Fauxlivia and the three leave to get dinner.
Production
"Olivia" was written by executive producers J. H. Wyman and Jeff PinknerJeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
, and was directed by co-executive producer Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle is an American film and television director and producer. Chappelle was a Co-executive producer and regular Director for the HBO crime drama The Wire...
. The producers revealed the episode title on June 30, 2010. After they began their search in mid-June for a fifty to sixty year-old actress to play Olivia's mother, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
reported on July 2 that Amy Madigan
Amy Madigan
Amy Marie Madigan is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams and Iris Crowe in the HBO television series Carnivale...
had been cast as Marilyn Dunham for roughly four episodes, beginning with the season premiere. The character was described as "lovely and together" and deeply devoted to her daughter. Further reporting a week later revealed that The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
actor Andre Royo
Andre Royo
Andre Royo is an American actor. He is best known for his role as "Bubbles" in The Wire , and has had guest starring appearances in Fringe, Party Down, and How To Make It In America.-Career:...
had been cast for the season premiere as Henry Higgins, "a soulful taxi driver who is unexpectedly forced into a tense situation with Olivia". Henry Higgins is also the name of a character in My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
. Even before "Olivia" aired, Royo's guest appearance was extended to appear in a second episode
The Abducted
"The Abducted" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The third season spent much of its time alternating between the prime and parallel universes, and "The Abducted" was set in the latter...
. Guest actor Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel is an American actor. Gabel plays the role of agent Lincoln Lee on Fox's television series Fringe.-Career:...
returned as the recurring character Lincoln Lee
Lincoln Lee
Captain Lincoln Lee is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe . Lincoln first appeared in the season two finale on May 13, 2010. He is portrayed by actor Seth Gabel....
, and required four to five hours of make-up in order to play a recovering burn victim.
Jeff Pinkner and J. H. Wyman decided to alternate the episodes between the prime and parallel universes because they "thought that the best way to really thoroughly tell these stories was to dive into them wholeheartedly... [in order to fully explore] the journey that our heroine is on and then come back over here because [Altlivia] is embedded in our team, we have point of view characters in both universes and it seemed to us the perfect opportunity to really explore in a really thorough fulsome way the alternate universe". Wyman elaborated that he felt fans "would really appreciate a mythology in two places", and showing both universes "just presented itself in such a natural organic way to evolution in our storytelling". Fox however was initially worried about the premise's sustainability, and that an episode without Peter or Walter "wouldn't feel like our show anymore," to which Pinkner responded that "not unlike a show like Lost, Fringe has to constantly evolve, to move and grow and go forward, otherwise we'll get bored, the cast will get bored, the audience will get bored". After the first three episodes, both Fox and Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
became more favorable to the storyline.
When discussing the many differences between the prime and parallel universes in an interview, Pinkner explained that "one of the big themes of the show is how small choices that you make define you as a person and can change your life in large ways down the line". Pinkner and the rest of the Fringe production team loved the opportunity to build an entire new world, and asked themselves what life would have been like in its most mundane forms, such as within daily routines. Pinkner thought it allowed them to create and explore many "what-if" moments, such as if the September 11 attacks had occurred against the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
instead of the Twin Towers
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, or if the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
still possessed its shiny copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
sheen. Pinkner elaborated in another interview that when the "perfectionist" crew were writing and constructing the parallel universe, they spent a lot of time on a high "level of attention and detail" that had all of the different departments and actors weighing in. Pinkner thought that because the parallel universe is effectively breaking down with "World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
"-like conditions, these "sort of tough times forge more noble, stronger people". To better differentiate the two universes, the producers changed the color of the opening credit sequences by making the parallel universe red and the prime universes blue. As with the opening credits in "Peter
Peter (Fringe)
"Peter" is the 16th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 36th episode overall. Considered a keystone episode of the series, "Peter" is a flashback episode, told as Walter Bishop reveals to Olivia Dunham that his son Peter is really the...
", the episodes featuring the parallel universe displayed certain fringe science words in that world, including wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
s, speciation
Speciation
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which new biological species arise. The biologist Orator F. Cook seems to have been the first to coin the term 'speciation' for the splitting of lineages or 'cladogenesis,' as opposed to 'anagenesis' or 'phyletic evolution' occurring within lineages...
, pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
s, and telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
.
Cultural references
Many differences between the two universes were related to popular culturePopular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. A photograph of Fauxlivia wearing a gold medal in marksmanship is shown, proving that unlike the prime universe, the parallel universe has that particular event in their Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. The radio in Henry's taxi can be heard mentioning former president John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
is stepping down from his role as ambassador, proving that he was not assassinated. On that same taxi, Dogs is depicted to be a musical in the parallel universe New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, instead of Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
. Their mail is delivered by the "U.S. Mail Service" with a different logo, instead of the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
, and there are apparently daily flights to the moon.
Actor Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
is mentioned for "kick[ing] ass" on television, implying that he is not a movie star in the parallel universe. When Olivia reminds him she knows his identification information, Henry mentions a "Jedi mind trick", a reference to Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, which is one popular culture similarity the two universes seem to share. When searching for the headquarters of Massive Dynamic, Olivia instead finds a site entitled "Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
/Eldridge Cleaver
Eldridge Cleaver
Leroy Eldridge Cleaver better known as Eldridge Cleaver, was a leading member of the Black Panther Party and a writer...
Memorial Park", which implies that King was also not assassinated, but instead developed a close relationship with Black Panther
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
militant and Soul On Ice author Cleaver. The park sign also reads "We Have a Dream", which is a slight deviation from King's "I Have a Dream
I Have a Dream
"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...
" speech, and suggests that he and Cleaver wrote it together. In the prime universe, Fauxlivia asks Walter if he is bringing Wallabees back, which are a line of shoes from C&J Clark
C&J Clark
C. and J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British, international shoe manufacturer and retailer based in Street, Somerset, England...
.
Reception
As with other Fringe episodes, Fox released a science lesson plan for grade school children focusing on the science seen in "Olivia", with the intention of having "students learn about the types of hormones and how they are used to regulate various functions in an organism."Ratings
"Olivia" premiered to 5.83 million viewers in the United States, with a 2.1 rating for viewers 18–49. Fringe was down thirty percent from the previous season's premiere, "A New Day in the Old TownA New Day in the Old Town
"A New Day in the Old Town" is the season premiere and first episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 21st episode overall. It was written by co-creator J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, with Goldsman also directing...
". Time shifted viewing
Time shifting
Time shifting is the recording of programming to a storage medium to be viewed or listened to at a time more convenient to the consumer. Typically, this refers to TV programming but can also refer to radio shows via podcasts....
gave the premiere a 44% increase, as its 18–49 rating rose to 3.1. Out of all the network shows, this was the largest gain of the week. Time shifted viewing also increased the total number of viewers to 7.837 million. Fringe faced tough competition during its timeslot from the high-rated Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
.
Reviews
Ken Tucker from Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
expected a big event in the vein of the second season premiere, and was pleasantly surprised to find something different: "a beautifully emotional hour with suspense, humor, and kissing... [that was] superb and surprising". Josh Wigler of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
wrote that Fringe "proved once again that it's one of the most the most innovative, entertaining genre shows currently airing on television," and he couldn't wait for next week's episode. Jason Hughes of TV Squad enjoyed the episode, and praised how "the show's creators have come up with a crazy, but fun, way of" showing both universes every other episode.
Brooklynne Kelly Peters from Blast Magazine praised Anna Torv's acting, because she "brings a sensitivity to Olivia's character that is heart-wrenching but so well integrated into her character that action scenes seem totally natural for her". The standout for her however, was John Noble's performance, as he played "lovable and brilliant" Walter and "chillingly conniving" Walternate, both of which makes him "an even more unforgettable character" as the audience sees what Walter could have been. A.V. Club's Noel Murray graded the episode with an A-, writing that "the third season of Fringe opened tonight with one of the strongest, boldest episodes in the whole run of the series". Murray especially praised the "well-written, acted and photographed" taxi scenes between Olivia and Henry. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Andrew Hanson particularly enjoyed the nine-minute opening, writing that he loved the episode because of three reasons: Olivia "kicked butt" and stayed a step ahead of Walternate, her struggles with identity, and all of the careful details put into the parallel universe.
After watching the first several episodes of season three, Aaron Riccio of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
gave the show 3.5/4 stars, and praised it for making a "huge, game-changing step forward". He continued that "Hard science meets soft comedy, and the results are consistently surprising and rarely disappointing. The solid mythology and high stakes keep the series moving as forward as quickly as FlashForward
Flashforward
A flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
and The Event, but the dual tones of the two worlds offer considerably more breadth in the stories it tells... ["Olivia" was] captivating television". Robert Bianco from USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
praised Torv, Noble, and Jackson's performances. He however disliked the new plotline of two Olivias, explaining "It's hard to fault the execution of the first two episodes, which skillfully set up Fringe's two competing universes and two misplaced Olivias... Yet well-done isn't the same as welcome. I'm not giving up on the show, which was one of last year's best. But I don't want to spend weeks watching our Olivia suffer and their Olivia make Walter and Peter suffer. You have to give writers leeway to take you where they want to go — but at a certain point, commercial entertainment has to be entertaining, or there's no reason to watch".
Awards and nomination
Anna Torv submitted "Olivia", along with the season three episodes "EntradaEntrada (Fringe)
"Entrada" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 51st episode overall. The third season spent much of its time alternating between the prime and parallel universes, and "Entrada" was the first of the season to have time...
", "Marionette
Marionette (Fringe)
"Marionette" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The episode was written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker, and directed by Joe Chappelle...
", and Bloodline
Bloodline (Fringe)
"Bloodline" is the 18th episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 61st episode overall.-Plot:...
" for consideration in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in primetime television programming from June 1, 2010 until May 31, 2011, was held on September 18, 2011, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Fox televised the ceremony within the United States. Actress Jane Lynch hosted...
. She failed to receive a nomination.
External links
- "Olivia" at FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...