'The Same Old Story' - Fringe, Season One

Fringe

Season One

Episode Two

'The Same Old Story' - 8.0

This is the same scene in which John Scott's baby nearly erupts from Anna Torv's womb. I'm not even joking.

Like most shows that begin with a movie-style pilot, the transition to a more television-friendly hour-long episodic format creates a massive and noticeable change in quality and appearance. 'The Same Old Story', Fringe's first normal episode, manages to hold on to the expectations of those of us who watched the thrilling double-length pilot, while also catering to the characterisation needs that become apparent in television.

Fringe's pilot was very expensive, and it showed. The lighting, the cinematography, the music, the locations and sets, all looked immaculately chosen and modified - the episode had a distinct aesthetic; it was cold, but not uninviting, the colours of technology and the future as we believe it will be. Luckily, this second outing manages to continue the look and feel that was so captivating before. Once again, the director does not shy away from the great violence that a story like Fringe would realistically contain; tonight, a prostitute is impregnated by a brain-surgery-performing serial killer, only to have the baby grow at an incredible rate, killing her only minutes after the conception then dying of old age half an hour later.

You can probably guess the degree of crazy, but the makers here manage to keep the show extremely grounded. The characters react in a reasonable way to everything they encounter, and even the explanations for why the impossible is suddenly happening are so well scripted it doesn't appear overly implausible.

The cold open is typically memorable and shocking - there is a lot of screaming, which is a sign of a great scene. I believe body horror, though a bit lazy, is incredibly effective if you wish to scare or disturb the viewer, and that was obviously the aim in the painfully three, four minute sequence.

'The Same Old Story' only really pulls great performances from Anna Torv and John Noble - Josh Jackson doesn't get too much to do. Noble is almost always fantastic, and tonight is not really any different. He has perfected his facial expressions, mannerisms and speech to depict true insanity under the occasion guise of lucidity. We know Walter could say or do anything on less than a whim, and he rarely disappoints. Torv, though she is not given a great deal to do either, completely sells Olivia's confused and overwhelmed state-of-mind from the things she has seen over the past few weeks. Probably her best moment in 'The Same Old Story' is non-verbal work as she watches the killer age from young to old over only a few minutes. The lighting is amazing, and the scene is underplayed and chilling, it would not be out of place in a good horror film.

Something I didn't remember occurring in this episode from my very first viewing was the clue at end. I won't call a lot of attention to it, but a hint into the 'medical records' of Peter refers to a story line that will run until the end of the show, though the big reveals only happen in Season Two. I am more impressed knowing that such important plot points are referenced this early on.

Something I don't really understand is the inclusion of Olivia's dream sequence at Massive Dynamic. It might be the show running with the horror-motif, as such a scene is indeed scary and shocking, however quick and irrelevant it is. I get that it represents Olivia's uncertainty in regards to her former partner/lover, but we did already know enough about that. Oh well, it was a well shot moment, I can't fault it there.

Many shows suffer an increase or decrease in quality in their second episode - most often because it is shot a considerable amount of time afterwards - but Fringe manages to make the best out of the hour. 'The Same Old Story' is more enjoyable and accessible than the original pilot, but the show still maintains its feature-quality cinematography and science-fiction aesthetic.