As the TV show Fringe heads into it’s third season we quickly find out the main premise is “Where in the h**l is Peter Bishop?” I don’t watch a lot of TV but I found the second season of Fringe fairly interesting. Here’s a quick summary of season 2’s premise:
In Season 2, the occurrences are found to be in conjunction with activities of a parallel universe, which is plagued by singularities occurring at weakened points of the fabric between worlds. The Fringe team deals with more cases that are leading to a "great storm" as the parallel universe appears to be at war with the prime one, engineered by human-machine hybrid shape-shifters from the parallel universe. Walter is forced to tell Peter that he is from the parallel universe, a replacement for his own Peter that died from a genetic disease, and that it is his prior experiments that caused the singularities in the parallel universe.
Did you get all of that? By the end of Season 3, Peter had entered a machine (one he could only use of course) and opened up the two worlds in order to have everyone work together instead of attempt to blow each other up to preserve their respective universe.
In any show you need an overarching storyline that helps drive the narrative. Within the overarching storyline there are “episodes” used for character development and background information while simultaneously developing the arch. The episodes themselves are essential but should never become more interesting than the overarching storyline developing in the background. As the season progresses the developing arch transitions from the background to the foreground thus revealing the conclusion of the season/story.
The problem in the Season 2 was that the episodes themselves became more interesting than the arch (e.g., parallel universe). After a while, every time an episode made in attempt to give insight into the parallel universe situation it became repetitive and fatiguing. I said to myself, “Alright, already!!! Hurry up and blow up one of the universes so we could move on!!!” At that point, I didn’t even care which universe was going to blow up or which Olivia ends up with Peter.
During this time, you followed Peter and tried to empathize with his internal conflict of which world in belonged to. You see his interaction with his father Walter and his increasing affliction for Olivia. You were pulling for his relationship with Olivia and found that his acceptance of Walter reassuring. You were invested in Peter (and other characters as well).
So guess what happened at the start of Season 4? Here is a summary:
Season 4 begins in an alternate timeline, one in which Peter did not survive his childhood illness in either universe, according to the Observers. Though major events in their past have still occurred to the main characters in this timeline, the exact means by which they occurred has changed without Peter's influence; Walter was released from the mental institution by Olivia, but without any point of stability, has become recluse and unwilling to leave his lab. The Observers note traces of Peter still appearing in this timeline and set out to eradicate them. Meanwhile, the Fringe division in the prime universe discover a new type of shape-shifter similar to those used by the parallel universe.
Sweet! So after being completely invested into Peter and wondering how the doomsday circumstances were going to play he simply “never existed?” Warner Bros. is playing with my emotions more than my ex-girlfriend. I was exhausted by the whole parallel universe situation AND IT’S STILL NOT RESOLVED!!!! Do they really expect me to watch an entire season of “Where in the h**l is Peter Bishop?” that might not be resolved by season’s end? That would be H**L NO!!!
I had high hopes for Fringe but if they’re going to play with my emotions like a crazy girlfriend then I’m playing the “We just need some space” card. I’m going to take a Sabbatical from the show until they resolve some of their issues. Once they “figure some stuff out” we’ll talk but not until then. So then, for now, please let me know if/when they find Peter Bishop. I realize that it could only take one episode but if they’re going to drag that premise out for an entire season I’m not sitting around and waiting.
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