Fringe

8.1
2008

FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, brilliant but formerly institutionalized scientist Walter Bishop and his scheming, reluctant son Peter uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

Production

Logo for Warner Bros. Television
Logo for Bad Robot

Trailers & Videos

Thumbnail for video: Fringe -  Trailer DVD Season 1

Fringe - Trailer DVD Season 1

Seasons

20 Episodes • Premiered 2008

As the first season begins, FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is called in to investigate a mysterious outbreak that nearly kills her partner. The only person with any answers is an institutionalized scientist, Dr. Walter Bishop who can only be released under the care of his estranged son. Together, the three discover that the answer to this mystery is only a small piece of a much larger, more shocking truth.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 1: Pilot

1. Pilot

7.6

When all the passengers on a plane die, FBI agent Olivia Dunham investigates the events and her partner almost dies. A desperate Olivia looks for help from Dr. Walter Bishop who has been institutionalized. Olivia, Dr. Bishop and his son Peter begin to discover what really happened on Flight 627 and begin to uncover a larger truth.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 2: The Same Old Story

2. The Same Old Story

7.0

Olivia, along with Peter and Walter Bishop, investigates the strange death of a woman who had an even stranger child. The woman was pregnant for only hours, yet the baby she birthed was fully developed - and also aged eighty years in the span of a few minutes. Olivia asks Nina Sharp of Massive Dynamic for help.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 3: The Ghost Network

3. The Ghost Network

7.5

The team investigates a bus full of dead commuters that appear to be fossilized and uncover a man who has visions of pattern-related disturbances before they happen; Dr. Bishop requests a piano in the lab to help him process data.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 4: The Arrival

4. The Arrival

7.5

Broyles calls in the team to investigate a deadly explosion and its source: a strange cylinder unharmed despite the destruction. Olivia determines that the same cylinder, or a similar one, is responsible for similar events in widely diverse locations.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 5: Power Hungry

5. Power Hungry

7.2

The team investigate the case of a man who can project electricity... and is at the center of a series of strange deaths involving electricity.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 6: The Cure

6. The Cure

7.4

The team investigates a woman that re-appears after weeks of being missing with a rare disease. She also inexplicably causes pain and death to the people she meets. During the investigation, dangerous level of radiation are detected. Walter obsesses about cotton candy; Peter strikes a deal with Nina Sharp; and a truth about Olivia is discovered.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 7: In Which We Meet Mr. Jones

7. In Which We Meet Mr. Jones

7.5

When a strange parasite attaches itself to the internal organs of a dying FBI agent, Olivia suspects a connection to the Pattern; Peter and Walter tap into a dead man's brain waves.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 8: The Equation

8. The Equation

7.5

Walter thinks the abduction of a young music prodigy is linked back to his old bunkmate at St. Claire's Hospital. When he kidnaps the child he sees a sequence of flashing lights. Olivia wants Walter to return to the mental institution much to Peter's outcry, but Walter's determination to help ends up having chilling ramifications.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 9: The Dreamscape

9. The Dreamscape

7.4

The team is called in to investigate why a man jumps out a window because he thinks he's being attacked by butterflies. Olivia gets some breaks in solving the case from her former partner and that she is so desperate to rid herself of him that she demands to go back into the tank. Meanwhile, some former friends and current foes of Peter find out that he's back in Boston.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 10: Safe

10. Safe

8.0

The team is called in on a bank robbery similar to other robberies in the area but this particular bank has the thief embedded inside the steel wall of the bank. Somehow the thieves have found a way to defy the law of physics. Walter thinks they're after something of his. As the investigation deepens it all comes to a head when the thieves ambush one of the team.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 11: Bound

11. Bound

8.0

Olivia's sister, Rachel, visits; Walter, Peter and Olivia try to solve the murder of an esteemed epidemiologist, which may be linked to Olivia's abduction.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 12: The No-Brainer

12. The No-Brainer

6.9

Olivia, Walter and Peter are called in to investigate the death of a car salesman who was found in a pool of "goo," exactly like another man across the country. When Walter discovers that the "goo" is brain matter, the trio tries to figure out how the killer can liquefy human brains. As the deaths pile up, the investigation reveals a common thread linking the victims together in an unthinkable manner. Meanwhile, Olivia is horrified when the case places a loved one in harm's way

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 13: The Transformation

13. The Transformation

7.6

When the Fringe Division delves into another bizarre occurrence aboard an international jumbo jet, freakish remains are discovered at the crash site. Memories tip the team toward some promising leads, but the bigger picture and mysterious threat eludes them. With limited options and insufficient intelligence, Olivia and Peter go undercover.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 14: Ability

14. Ability

8.2

German agents question Olivia about her "relationship" with David Robert Jones, an escaped prisoner questioned months earlier now living in the U.S. The Fringe Division investigates a threatening case where victims die faceless from their orifices suddenly sealing.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 15: Inner Child

15. Inner Child

7.9

Just seconds before a building is demolished, a mysterious mute child that has been living alone underground is discovered. When the FBI's Fringe Division investigates, the boy forms an unspoken connection with Agent Olivia Dunham. Meanwhile, an especially gruesome serial killer resurfaces and showcases his "artistry" by displaying his work publicly. As the boy gradually assimilates into a new environment, Olivia and the team must race against the clock to prevent the mad man from causing further massacre.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 16: Unleashed

16. Unleashed

7.3

As animal rights activists ransack a laboratory, they get more than they bargained for when one of the caged "animals" unleashes a ferocious appetite. Leaving grotesquely mutilated dead bodies in its wake, the scientifically engineered beast with the body of a lion, claws of an eagle, fangs of a viper, skin of a rhinoceros and tail of a serpent attacks Charlie. With Charlie’s life on the line, Walter must come face-to-face with both his past and the beast.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 17: Bad Dreams

17. Bad Dreams

7.6

Olivia dreams about a suicide as the event really happens at Grand Central Station; shocking information about the Z.F.T. manuscript is revealed.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 18: Midnight

18. Midnight

7.5

The Fringe Division is on the case when severely mutilated bodies drained of spinal cord fluid begin to pile up. After their investigation leads them to a scientist with possible ties to the Z.F.T. bioterrorist cell, they are shocked to discover the identity and motive of the killer. When the kills occur with increasing frequency, Olivia, Peter and Walter go to desperate lengths to stop them.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 19: The Road Not Taken

19. The Road Not Taken

8.1

Olivia experiences "awake dreams," seeing elaborate visions of things not really there. While investigating a disturbing case of a woman who apparently spontaneously combusted, Olivia throws caution to the wind and explores her unexplained visions further. Meanwhile, Walter discusses key information about the Z.F.T. manifesto, and Peter reveals a secret that yields unexpected results in the case.

Still image for Fringe season 1 episode 20: There's More Than One of Everything

20. There's More Than One of Everything

8.4

Setting the stage for the dramatic and revealing first season finale are a sudden and unexpected attack on someone with close ties to Fringe Division, the return of bioterrorist David Robert Jones and the inexplicable disappearance of Walter. Find out more about the mysterious events surrounding our trio when questions are answered, observations made, loyalties are tested and the elusive William Bell is finally introduced.

Cast

Photo of Anna Torv

Anna Torv

Olivia Dunham

Photo of Joshua Jackson

Joshua Jackson

Peter Bishop

Photo of Jasika Nicole

Jasika Nicole

Astrid Farnsworth

Photo of John Noble

John Noble

Walter Bishop

More Like This

Reviews

A

Rob

7/10

No, it's not a remake of The X-Files. This show is delightfully strange, has a great lineup of characters and shows great imagination. I was hooked...until season 4 when things began to wane. And then season 5 which was abysmal. So much so I couldn't watch the season right to the end. Such a shame.

You've reached the end.