TV Review: Fringe - "Ability"

Ever hear of Eyes Wide Shut? The latest episode of Fringe might have been called "Eyes Sealed Shut." While Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his son Peter (Joshua Jackson) try and figure out their latest bizarre death, Mr. Jones (Jared Harris) recovers from decompression to once again wreak havoc.

I have to hand it to Jared Harris. For someone who could blend into any crowd and be barely noticed, he portrays the sinister villain with perfect pitch. Every word is spoken with a mild yet scary tone. By the way, the man strongly resembles to David Hyde Pierce. If Jones ever needed a twin...

Dealing with Jones is not for the faint of heart, as Sanford Harris (Michael Gaston) finds out. Yes, the clueless internal affairs guy is back. Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) convinces him to let her talk to Jones before innocent civilians get hurt. The death of an FBI agent helps her case, particularly since Harris gave orders which led to the death in the first place.

Mitchell Loeb (Chance Kelly) tells Olivia she has seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Pattern. He's in custody for kidnapping Agent Dunham, but I suspect he will be back before the season finale.

Thanks to Nina Sharp (Blair Brown), Olivia may be more part of the Pattern than even she realized. Even though there are little details, the implication was a preparation for her current career beginning at age three. Suffice it to say that a clinical trial took place when Olivia's father was stationed at a military base in Florida.

John Scott did not make an appearance. Although Mark Valley is a cast member, he is considered more of a recurring guest star rather than series regular. The good news is several more episodes are left in this season. Fringe has been so popular that a full run was ordered long ago. Even better news comes from the Hollywood Reporter, which is reporting that Valley has been signed for a pilot for The Human Target, based on the comic book.

With only seven episodes left, a hiatus has been imposed until April. Part of the reason is likely due to American Idol getting contestants down to the group competing for audience votes. Once Fringe returns, I have a feeling there won't be gaps between episodes. Of course, this would mean the network didn't decide to preempt for something else, say, a Presidential news conference or special programming.

Which reminds me... only seven episodes left. Due to American Idol, no new episodes will be shown until April. I'm guessing they will run straight through until the finale.

Article Author: NancyGail

NancyGail writes from her home in Georgia.

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