30 December 2024

'Fringe' 1.12, "The No Brainer"

It's been eight years since I watched an episode of this show. Barack Obama was President, David Cameron was Prime Minister, Brexit hadn't been voted on and I had never heard of The Last of Us. We have also lost Lance Reddick to heart disease.

Anyway, I intend to resume watching this, especially as I am approaching the end of Star Trek with a plan for a fortnightly post.

As this show is from the same production company as Alias and shares a bunch of behind the scenes personnel - such as Shauna Duggins, who did some of the stunt doubling for Anna Torv here, comparisons between the two are inevitable.

Sydney Bristow and Olivia Dunham could have a fascinating lunch together.

Anyway, this one involves people's brains liquefying after they click on a pop-up and watch some weird video. In 2009, most of us already knew not to engage with strange pop-ups...

So, onto my points on this:

  • I bet that wasn't the only time the effects people have been asked for liquified brains on something.
  • What could Walter Bishop, who remains gloriously on his own track, need $2,000 of baboon semen for? I don't need answers on a postcard, thank you.
  • Ah, how the internet has changed...
  • This is a rather convoluted way of murdering someone that relies on the target clicking the pop-up.
  • Does Olivia not have a portable siren in her car? If not, she should get one?
  • Olivia, Olivia, Olivia... looking bad is better than looking dead!
  • I see Olivia Dunham shares Sydney Bristow's penchant for being distracted by a computer screen enough for someone to get the drop on her.
  • I've managed to remember some of the key names even after eight years away. Not all though.
  • Where did the killer get all the money for those computers? Massive Dynamic, perhaps?
  • The scene between Walter and his lab assistant's mother is a great use of height differences in demonstrating power imbalances, if I may say so myself. 

Conclusion

An enjoyable episode, but occasionally goes a bit too far for suspension of disbelief to work.

7/10

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