Fringe Season 3 – Release Date: 2010

Episode Guide

Olivia
The Box
The Plateau
Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?
Amber 31422
6955 kHz
The Abducted
Entrada
Marionette
The Firefly
Reciprocity
Concentrate and Ask Again
Immortality
6B
Subject 13
Os
Stowaway
Bloodline
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
6:02 AM EST
The Last Sam Weiss
The Day We Died

As Fringe moves into its third season, the quality on offer shows no sign of dropping. Creator J.J. Abrams delivers another fantastic 22 episodes that are not only on par with how the brilliance of last Season, in some ways it surpasses its brilliance. Familiar faces return again this year with Olivia (Anna Torv), Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Walter (John Noble) reprising their familiar roles and continue to deliver excellent chemistry in the episodic cases right up until an explosive climax.

After the shocking ending to Season 2, this season picks up right where we left off with our characters. After the plot arc last year about “our” universe and “their” universe, the episodes here are essentially cut back and forth between both universes with most of the focus resting on Olivia. To give away any of the plot would be to discredit this season rife with twists and turns but suffice to say it builds nicely, cleverly sticking to the episodic fringe science cases while continuing the story line about the invasion of another universe into ours. This continues to build all the way through the episodes towards a climax that’s split into three episodes. Newcomers this year will definitely be out of their comfort zone and with Fringe putting some much emphasis on its over arcing plot, this isn’t a show you can just pick up here and there. 

The actors here are given room to really show their talents with alternate versions across the universe showing a different type of persona. Olivia is the standout here though which is hardly surprising given the emphasis on her character but she shows an amazing array of talent from playing “their” Olivia, to her own role and even a possessed character later on. Each is played with conviction and shocking realism surpassing Walter Bishop who’s as eccentric and scene stealing as ever. Its nice to see Peter given a more central role than previously too and although he isn’t quite as the same level in terms of acting quality as the other two protagonists, the alternate version of his character is given enough scope to really show his acting skills which was a nice touch.

After being compared to X-Files with its familiar shady government angle and strange scientific cases, Fringe no longer feels a clone to the show it obviously draws influence from. The merging universe plot is such a clever idea and its execution is used to clever effect. Fringe has always been an outstanding show and from the get go, it hasn’t let up with its relentless pace, excellent acting and twists and turns that keep you guessing until the closing frame. The third season of Fringe is not only as good as its second, in some ways the unique way it constantly changes between universes surpasses its own quality. In terms of Sci-Fi, you really can’t go wrong with Fringe which is one of the finest shows in this genre.