Josh-da-man

Good call; I had forgotten about that. At the end of last season, we saw other crossover sites that were filled with what was called "amber" with people stuck in it like insects. Last night we saw people carrying signs protesting "amber." I had sort of assumed that the "amber" we saw with the people in it was some kind of side-effect of the universes bleeding into each other, but it now looks like something they're doing intentionally.

Hey, that was Bubbles driving the cab!

I wonder if that bicycle wasn't sort of a shout-out to The Prisoner.

Anyone notice the alternate universe's Capitol had a different dome? I know that the current dome on the Capitol is the second one, and there were a couple of proposed but never-constructed designs. Wonder if that was one of them...

DJariya

Great episode to start to the season. It's good to see that the show is still in high form.

A little factoid for those who may not have caught it. This episode had a mini-The Wire reunion of some sorts. Joe Chapelle, who directed this episode and is a producer on Fringe, also worked on The Wire as an Executive Producer and Director.....The Cab driver was played by Andre Royo, who was "Bubbles" on The Wire.

I loved that pretty much the entire episode took place in the alternate universe. It's going to be interesting to see how long that mind control formula makes Olivia think she's Bolivia. The one thing I don't quite understand is what is Walternate's motive for transforming her to Bolivia? I have to say that Anna Torv's acting on the show has improved dramatically since season 1. I especially loved her scene when she reunited with Bolivia's mother.

I liked Olivia having an ally in the alternate universe and I thought Bubbles was a good one. My guess is he will return again in another episode.

DJariya

It's going to be at least a few episodes. Right now she thinks she's Bolivia and Walter and Peter have no idea what's going on in our universe. Plus, she has no way of getting home.

Josh-da-man

With Olivia getting access to BOlivia's life and memories, I have to wonder if she will keep them when she gets back to our side. Since she's taking BOlivia's place in their Fringe division, she's going to have access to a lot of their secrets.

riley_dude

I hated Nikita. Took it off DVR after one episode.
Top Notch premiere episode tonight. Interested to see where they are going with this and how our Olivia will get back.

Pointyskull

Well, the season opener did not disappoint. Looking forward to see how the rest of the story arc plays out.

Man, I love this show.

n.phelge

Most shocking thing about the alternate universe: the gas station had a sign that said "Full Service".

superfro

Seeing Bubbs again is always awesome. I'm guessing once displaced Olivia returns she'll be looking him up on the normal side and possibly helping him out. Just the feeling I got from his talk about his wife and her helping him when no one else would.

mugwump

I've been catching up on The Wire through DirecTV's 101 channel so the appearance of Bubbs as pretty much an alt-universe version of his Wire character all cleaned up and sober was awesome. Great season premiere.

Deftones

awesome premiere. i honestly thought when i heard they were keeping Olivia in the other universe, they'd keep her locked up. i was pleasantly surprised when she bolted. i really like how they are going to put her into the fold in Fringe over there.

Shazam

Wow, TONS of setup. Great direction they're taking.

This is going to be an AWESOME season.

Easy

Peter is a pretty sharp guy. I'm guessing something alternate Olivia says or does will make him suspicious.

redrum

We still don't really know much about the observers, so that's another pretty cool mystery they got to work with

outcastja

This is probably my favorite network show, so it sucks to see how shitty the ratings are. It's probably an expensive show to make and if it doesn't bring viewers in I'm worried Fox will just end up canceling it soon.

DJariya

It's not going anywhere.

redrum

Ratings were up 5% from the May finale

Geofferson

Nice. Still kind of surprised FOX kept it in this competitive timeslot.

NiCK Crush

It seems to me that this season won't really have room for any filler episodes given the position Olivia is in.

Giantrobo

yeah that's exactly the vibe I got while watching.

It's like they ep was saying..."here's where we are....get ready for the ride..."

NiCK Crush

The taxi driver? I don't remember him from any other season?

superfro

We haven't. I'm saying I see her looking him up when she gets back to her proper timeline and helping out the regular universe version of him.

Deftones

anyone notice the name of the gas station?

shexxon. i assume that's shell/exxon merger.

NiCK Crush

the hit musical DOGS

rw2516

Walternate wants to use her to open portals to our universe. They have to "brainwash" her so she'll willing cooperate. How Walternate found out this I didn't catch. And if the other side doesn't know how to move between universes, how did the shape shifters get here?

SteelWill

This show has been pretty inconsistent with the rules for crossing over. They can send the shape shifters no problem, but it took a big production to bring Walternate over, and then he just popped right on back with Peter. Seems there were some inconsistencies with the portals Walter created initially as well but I can't remember what they were. And William Bell was apparently popping back and forth despite all the supposed dire consequences from doing so.

As for the episode, I liked it enough, but I really liked the dynamic the characters had before and I hope they get back to that soon.