“There really isn’t a point where things just can’t get weirder, is there?” That’s FBI consultant Peter (Joshua Jackson) talking to his mad genius dad (John Noble) in the season premiere of Fringe, and it’s as good a summary as any to describe Fox’s wigged out sci-fi series.
Thursday’s Season 2 premiere, “A New Day in the Old Town,” literally starts with a bang, then races through the characteristic cavalcade of invasive technologies, gruesome surgeries and wisecracks. Be warned: The year’s most startling grand entrance marks the return of Anna Torv, who continues to anchor the action as stern FBI Agent Olivia Dunham.
Judging from this debut episode, producers plan on hewing to the formula that made Fringe last year’s highest-rated new scripted series among 18-to-49-year old TV viewers. Torv (pictured above, with John Noble) holds down the fort as the intense investigator whose mission has become increasingly personal. Jackson hits just the right sardonic notes in portraying natural-born skeptic Peter Bishop while Noble, as scientist Walter Bishop, sticks to eccentric form by going off-message with food-related obsessions between his gruesome experiments.
New this fall is feisty Junior Agent Amy Jessup, capably played by guest star Meghan Markle.
From where we sit, Fringe keeps it fresh for season two … or does it? Weigh in below with your thoughts on the Walter / Peter sideshow, Agent Olivia Dunham’s new situation, Meghan Markle’s acting chops and the unexpected twist from corporate whip-cracker Nina Sharp (Blair Brown).
Also after the jump, check the clip of Fringe cast members striking poses for a photo shoot.
In the video embedded above, Joshua Jackson and John Noble horse around during a photo shoot in Vancouver, the show’s new home base.
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