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Appearances Of FRINGE’s Hairless ‘Observer’ Have Been Compiled For YouTube!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
“Fringe” has a stealth regular, Michael Cerveris (“The American Embassy”), who since the pilot has been playing the mysterious Tabasco-loving eyebrow-challenged telepath the U.S. government has dubbed “The Observer.”
He may be an extraterrestrial. He may be a time traveler. He may be a cousin of Marvel Comics' The Watcher.
He resurrected a drowned Peter Bishop one Thanksgiving night when Peter was a boy.
Fox, helpfully, has issued footage of his appearances, now compiled by FringeTelevision.com:
The Observer didn’t get any lines until the fourth episode, with the mystery cylinder:
New episodes of "Fringe" return in January.
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seriously. Im not ususally into sci-fi. I never dug x-files and i cant seem to get into BSG. The most sci-fi thing i enjoy regulary now is lost. But i keep hearing good things about this show, Thoughts? suggestions? Foist?
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It's very good and getting better and better.
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I love this observer thing running through the show.
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is annoying, not cool.
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It started off okay, dipped a bit, got interesting in the fourth episode when The Observer was properly introduced, got progressively less interesting in the weeks following, and then in the most recent episode became absolutely unmissable. If it keeps even a bit of the momentum and WTFery of that last episode (with its brilliant cliffhanger), it could become pretty goddamn awesome.
Or it could drop the ball horribly. I look forward to finding out which way it will go. -
Aww c'mon. You knew someone was going to say it.
Anyway, compilation of the observer's appearances huh? Me thinks they needed to give the work experience kid at Fox something to do. You'd think around giftmas there'd be more envelopes needing stuffing. -
I watched the first couple, and then stopped... I just gave up all desire to watch it.
And yet here comes JJ with something that he knows I can't ignore... Secret mysterious anomalies that are only visible to people that are looking for them. There's a reason why I have surrounded myself with the number 108 and the rest of the LOST numbers. -
is my penis's new nickname.
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The last episode title Safe was truly awesome. I've had criticisms of this show in the past and in this show all of them were addressed.For the first time since the pilot I was truly hooked. It sure took awhile, but I think this show has grown into something worthwhile.
Even better, it has hooks back to the pilot episode, so that lackluster beginning is still worth something.
It's inventive, freaky, and on the cusp of feeling plausible all the time.I will say that there was an element in this episode that pushed the plausibility limit a bit far, but I'm not going to complain because I was riveted from beginning to end. -
I was thinking the same thing! LOL!!
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was really unnecessary and vastly annoying
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I lost motivation to watch it live, but kept DVRing the show in anticipation of the slow winter hiatus. I think the last episode I watched was the one with the mystery cylinder
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who wasn't thinking that? And when the hell are we getting a "Supernatural" talkback? Anyone who doesn't recogize it as the best show on network tv is stupid.
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with the exception of the mad scientist character the show is utter tripe
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Totally the only new show worth a damn
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entertaining enough to keep me coming back for more. Not the X-Files, but sort of getting there
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The season overall has been pretty disappointing. And I'm blaming Herc for this one. The show dropped in quality the week he mentioned it in a Thursday SNL story. The episode that wek was the classic monster one, and since it's been a mixed bag and has completely lost all of the steam the premiere brought. And what they've done with Ruby is insulting. I don't watch tv much nowadays, but if this (in it's current shape) is the best show on network television, then that's really sad. And as much as I wanna talk shit about Fringe after completely hating the first few episodes and despising the leads, I'll reserve final judgment until it has a season or so under it's belt (I need to catch up though).
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Yo, not only is this show fresh, but it also has great chemistry between characters, very cool sub-plots (massive dynamic, the least the observer) and just had a great mid season cliffhanger. It's well-written and has lots ofg depth. Fuck you and your line breaks sherm dog, you don't know what the fuck your watching then.
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That woman is a terrible, terrible actress, btw.
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he should appear at the end of each episode and reveal the moral of the story. this would make fringe better.
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That alone made the show better than most things on network TV.
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Probably the best one on the Internet, in AICN's The Zone! Is Herc's column the only part of this site you read?
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Wanted to catch Life on Mars and the Eleventh Hour, but dropped the ball and never tried. Fringe is good, not great. Could be better. Granted I think they hide other clues in the show that I miss. I definitely didn't catch all the scenes with the Observer in it when I watched the episodes. I did see him in the background a few times, but not nearly as many.
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Two very different environments and audiences. If you absolutely must write something about Supernatural then The Zone is the only given place in AICN for that - but don't try and sell it as a talkback.
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A Fringe talkback. Thanks Herc.
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I was watching regularly, then I just stopped. I have it on the DVR -- I am about four episodes behind -- but just haven't been interested.
I think when I saw the preview of the chick going back in the tank, and they were talking to dead people again, I thought it was getting repetitive. I am sure over the holidays when I get bored I will check it again, but it just didn't capture my attention.
It feels like X-files light for some reason. -
is annoying, but there were a couple that I didn't catch when I watched the episodes, so good video.
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I have to admit they dropped the ball on the last episode going into the hiatus. The whole getting the grace back bit....meh. But the rest of the season has been spot on. I like where they're taking Sam and Dean, and I think they're going to end up playing the brothers against eachother. Katie Geek- where can I find this fabled chat? Everytime I look, its never there.
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So why are you not giving us weekly FAQ's?
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Dec 08, 2008 12:50:04 AM CST
"Massive Dynamics is hell, and Charles Bell is the Devil."
by lordenigma
So what does that make Walter? Is Walter god's avenging angel sent out back into the world to bring the truly evil man down? If so; GO ON REED RICHARDS BISHOP! DROP YOUR MENTAL FOOT IN HIS ASS, AND LET PETER HELP!
Im also convinced that Nina Sharpe's body woman is a fucking robot. The way she acts is way too robotic, and has to be that way for a reason. I -
Seriously; the Zone was a board created by the denizens who run this site because they dislike talkbackers. Only the most ridiculous of AICN members would join such a board, that's about giving the finger to talkbackers.
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The US has been at war with them and a lot of Walter Bishop's work was designing ways to fight them.
When he found out the truth, he was locked up and his mind was messed up. Charles Bell on the other hand, is committed to their destruction, as is Massive Dynamics.
"The pattern" is collateral damage from the war, often triggered by both sides. Bishop and the Watching dude will team up to stop the war.
Oh, and Peter is a clone of Walter. But you'll find that out before the end of the first season. -
If you like Lost, you'll probably like Fringe. You'll certainly recognise a lot of similarity of style (editing, music, an actor, writing & directing all feel very Lost-like) due to being made by the same folks. Give it a try, I think it's pretty good with potential to be great.
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I gave the first episode a chance, was really underwhelmed, and decided to write this thing off.
Now I'm going have to go back from square 2 and play catch up... -
The first three episodes were some of the worst television I've ever been subjected to. Is it still awful? Is the female lead still managing to be mysteriously sexless and unattractive?
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And yet every week, I have no memory of the previous episodes.
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Welcome to Walter's world :)
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I agree, there's a LOST-ish vibe to it (obvious given who's involved, but conspicuous even if you didn't know).
It also seems to have about the same rate [as LOST] of doling out info (and introducing new questions). It's one of the very few shows we make a point to catch "live". -
...from several decades from now in a future era where the Singularity has occurred. That's my theory anyway.
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it hurts...the female lead is such a poor actress and one with no presence whatsoever....you could hear the producers say: "Lets make the tough dude a girl, and the scientist girl, a dude..yeah rocking!...Ugh...the show has storylines that are forgettable...that aren't compelling and sadly makes me miss X-files more and more with each passing day....average television. There are better shows to watch. Some 'observer' guy will not make me want to watch this nonsense.
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Last time a thread was started about Fringe, I mentioned that aside fromthe bald dude popping up everywhere, you could also see a blue flashy light flare thingy at times. The first time I noticed it was when the Bald dude was standing over the crater of the drill-bomb. Another talkbacker said that it was explained as some sort of side effect of the bomb. (which it wasn't) Now the blue flare thingy seems to be popping up alot. Most recently whenever Olivia has a "Shared memory" episode with John Scott. Last time, she went into the tank and walked through his memories, that blue flashy thingy was all over the place! Nobody else seems to be mentioning this anywhere, and I hope that other people are seeing it, and that I don't have a tumor.
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as she is sucking the life out of this show. She put me to sleep and I missed the ending of the episode last week (AUGH)
My wife--who has questionable taste in television--commented afted the second episode how awful the Dunham character was.
I wonder if they could work out a way to kill her off (or have her brain removed by the "bad guys", or god knows what) and have Agent Francis take over her work. He's a marginally better actor, and could easily be brought into the loop.
This story has SO much potential, but will meet an early doom if she's not remedied. She absolutely cannot carry this show. The lab assistant, Astrid, has more charm and screen presence than Olivia. -
observers... WHO IS PLAYING JUDGE HOLDEN?!?!?!
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Damn, I don't see why people are complaining about her so much. I think she's very hot, has the professional government agent thing down pat, and I like her a lot. I wish they'd get more into her personal life, and let her have a little more fun though (it would've been nice for her to actually have gotten that time off, when again, she looked sexy in that black dress). Perhaps I'm biased because I liked her in Heavenly Sword.
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She seriously is the most uninteresting person on the show. This past episode was great though. There are some characters that are an absolute delight to watch though (Broyles, Walter the mad scientist, neck-snapping creepy prisoner dude, robotic arm lady from Massive Dynamic) and the title card sequence on this show is one of the coolest around. I have been iffy on the show for it's run so far, but I'll be back watching it in January... the episode with the Mystery Cylinder and the episode last week tell me that the show can be brilliant at times.
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Well, there's always a clue to the next episode in the preceding one. Watch the bit with Olivia coming out of the house on her cell phone: between her and the Observer you can see a garbage can with a butterfly on it. The next episode had... killer butterflies. They've also had references to the number 47 (a Abrams favorite), FBI agents Scrimm and Coscarelli (figure it out :) ), and a person who had a trip booked on Oceanic Air...
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I'm pretty sure that was made apparent in the pilot. I only watched the pilot and half of the 2nd episode and even I knew that.
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All of which were linked to the pattern?
I'd like to know because I couldn't tell from that video.Also, blatant rip of that #7 dude from Futurama. -
Not #7. Whoops.
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With tons of potential. Kind of like the Xfiles on steriods. Love the characters especially Walter Bishop. He makes the show extra special! Great production values, acting, and writing. Anyone who says anything different is brain dead.
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For not noticing The Observer in episodes after he was formally introduced and given a name. My obsessive nerd cred is at stake.
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Nobles and Reddick are the only real standouts. Tolv and Jackson are... adequate. "Safe" gave them a few good moments in the bar. Acevedo is a decent actor but a waste of regular actor space: the actor isn't bad, they just don't give him anything for the character to do. Mark Valley ain't really around enough to make a presence. Ditto with Blair Brown. Jasika Nicole could stand to do a Playboy spread, but she seems to have fun with what they give her.
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complaining about Anna Torv; it;s not entirely the actor's fault. Unfortunately I just don't care what happens to Agent Olivia Dunham, and "I don't care what happens to this character" is deadly to a show like Fringe: you need some kind of investment. Pacey's good in it though.
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It's almost impossible to care about Agent Dunham. Her "unguarded" moments are too far and few between, and are poorly acted and developed. A "superagent" such as her just doesn't create any connection to the audience.
The agent should have been more green, so you could evoke more wonder from her from all the crazy shit going on. Kinda like a Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs.
So, instead of having a character that the writers can build and mold, we have one already constructed that now only acts as an indifferent sounding board for plot exposition.
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.. he's a pretty good tipper.
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I love the show.
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At least with Pushing Daisies on it's way out. It stands out in a field of CSI and Numbers clones. Unfortunatelyn saying it's my favorite isn't saying much, since network TV went from brilliant to crap over the course of one writer's strike. I think it seems better then it is, a merely "good" show, in contrast to all the boring crime procedureals and the mess that Heroes has become.
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That... that isn't good storytelling. You have to actually push to find this out? So if you don't push, then you miss out on what is obviously a vital part of the show?
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It took a few boring episodes but the build up made what happened last week very exciting. The conceit of having Dunham mistake John's memories for her own is also very nifty. Oh and if by "push" you mean "pay attention" then yeh... that is good story telling it just isn't meant for everyone.
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Criticisms about her acting aside - I think she does a good job - not all women on TV have to be sexy. It's that kind of attitude which gives us 94.7% of the shit TV out there.
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is that it hits you with a nonstop, unrealistic stream of 'miracle luck'. Meaning the idea that whatever these people need to solve a mystery, no matter how extraordinary, this austistic scientist can cook up an invention that does it in 15 minutes flat. And then that's it, throw it in the junk drawer and forget about it.
Maybe it's just me, but if I missed my flight to London and my dad built a teleporter out of ham radio to get me there, that would be more than a mild curiosity. That would be a 'holy living shit you built a teleporter! Mankind will benefit from this, we've changed the world as we know it. Patents need to be drafted, the media alerted, we need lawyers...'. I wouldn't just use it that one time, then throw a sheet over it and then be like 'so what's on tv tonight?' These people get confronted with things that utterly obliterate their belief systems about how the world works and they are barely interested. For realism...how about this guy decides we need to talk to the dead to get a clue...starts building the machine to do it...only it doesn't work because developing revolutionary technology that leaps the boundaries of modern science in less than an hour has a pretty effing slim chance of working. Like billion to one odds. And this guy manages to hit that 1 out of a billion odd every tuesday. -
"of course it didn't work you retard. Why would you think you can make something in an hour that people have been unsuccessfully trying to do for....ever? Based on what, a whim? Don't you think if it was that easy that all it takes is someone deciding 'hey I'd like to do that, lets start soldering some appliances together and see what happens' it would have been done already and have models and british people in sweaters caressing it on QVC as we speak? How freaking arrogant can you be to think you can just decide to so something on the spot and have it work on the first try?"
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After a showing of Tommy on Broadway (he's the original Tommy, also on the cast recording; he's also on the Titanic broadway soundtrack). Cool guy.
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the Cigarette Smoking Man. Nice to know they're ripping off all aspects of X-Files. You can never top that black lunged son of a bitch though.
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It's sci-fi. It gives into suspension of disbelief. The show is about a guy who is beyond genius, locked up and his ideas were stolen. What the fuck, are you a lawyer? "something people have been trying to do unsuccessfully forever...." It's fucking fiction and the guys an insane mastermind that we haven't even learned everything about. Maybe he was really on the ball when he cooked all this shit up. His fuckin teleporter worked tho, right you fuck? Why would they have gone after his shit if it wasnt all good? Kill yourself idiot.
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it's also been established that many of the ideas were derived from Walter's research before his instituationlization, when he was working with Bell. So of course he's going to have insights into it that nobody else has. Wasn't Cerveris also Sweeney Todd? And, umm... he's not really anything like the Cigarette Smoking Man. He's the Observer, not the "make sure the Broncos win the Superbowl" secret behind-the-scenes Manipulator.
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(1) I can't give a s#%& about Olivia Dunham because while I might potentially like the character, I lose all respect I might otherwise have for her every time she proclaims her love for John Scott. Maybe it's just bad casting, but the guy is so obviously a total douchebag that I can't possibly sympathize with anyone who would like him, much less want to marry him. Maybe if he'd been significantly more likable I could actually feel for Dunham. (2) The "Oh, I just now remembered this one bizarre experiment I did 20 years ago that relates to this case, and the one part I need to do it is hidden in my old house" thing has got to stop. Walter, you didn't actually perform every experiment you ever need to do already years ago. Give the guy a three or four-episode arc where he's working to invent some mysterious contraption that keeps failing and stop making s#%& up in the past.
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That actress is abysmal. I love the crazy doc character (although all I could think of when I saw him in the first few episodes was LOTR). I would really like it if the showrunners replaced her with someone more dynamic, like a table lamp or fern.
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i really cant believe no one's mentioned this. i was hooked with the pilot with the whole LSD/depravation tank thing. it was like altered states meets x-files meets lost, how cool is that, i had never seen anything like it on network tv. every ep has some kind of mindfucking WTF!?! moment courtesy of j.j. and the john noble character is one of the best written characters on tv. this show has already out x-filed the x-files (which was my fav show until lost came along; the best written sci-fi since serling and matheson wrote the twilight zone) and already we have the basis for a more promising mythology than 'the goverment's been hiding UFO's and my sister was abducted'. but the most recent episode blew me away. not the teleportation thing, but what is probably one of the most important "fringe" areas of science, and that is the existence of the simple molecule Dimethyltryptamine in the brains of humans and higher mammals as well as other animals,plants, roots, barks, fungi, etc... now, bishop didn't mention it by name, this is still network tv were talkin about here, and to most of the populus, this is still a "drug". but the ep delt with the bufoalvarious toad which secrets DMT, and then when walter put her back in the tank, it was obvious, the way he described it, that he was injecting her with DMT. no other show has had the balls to deal with this subject matter. and most people haven't even heard of this substance because scientists dont even fully understand it. and those of you who have dropped shrooms or acid and think u know what im talking about, you have no idea. and those of you who think this is no big deal, go read a book. this is one of the most important human discoveries, and it will be the key to understanding ourselves as well as the universe.
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Seems Miss Dunham has all of Brad Chase's marbles.
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The show is a total and utter piece of shit.
I'd rather be forced to watch every episode of 'Manimal' before suffering through 5 more seconds of this turd. My God. -
I noticed that, too. As a reader of the writings of late, great Terence McKenna, I was pretty blown away by that episode. Isn't it the coolest thing on TV right now? Walter always has something subversive flowing out of his unfiltered mouth, there's always some cool, actual "fringe" science going on in the story, the writing is amazing (especially for Walter and his boy), it's funny and then there's the singularity...
I mean... "the pattern". heh.
Don't buy it when people call this show shit. They either have not watched, or just hate the idea of the show in the first place, which is fine. But if you find any of the subjects they cover even remotely interesting, you're in for a hell of a ride. It's magic.
You should join us in the #room23 channel. We get to talking about pretty much every episode the night that it airs. You can join it by going to chat here and when you get there, just type /join #room23 . Love to have ya. -
I too must stop calling mine "the hammer" and switch to calling it "the hairless, one-eyed observer".
I actually had tears in my eyes after I read your post. -
Don't tell me to kill myself, sizzlechest. It's just a personal pet peeve of mine I guess. It's the same reason I despised the 2nd season of Prison Break, and the new Indiana Jones movie. I can suspend disbelief like...things that get really suspended...a lot...er, I suspend it for just about every sci-fi fantasy show out there. But I can't stand it when a show or movie just slings a constant barrage of a) stupid narrow escapes and blind luck that could not possibly fall on any one person b) people being able to blindly attempt something scientific or high-tech and succeeding with flying colors over and over and over again. Like in 24, when they come across some high tech computer system and some retard takes a wild stab at it and manages to hack into the NSA, find exactly what they're looking for, realize they've been detected, erase every trace of what they did, all in 90 seconds. Christ, the people who WORK there probably can't even find the files they're looking for that quick on a government server.
It's not just that it's implausible, the whole show is implausible, it's...I guess the best way to describe it would be to say that implausibility is a dead mackerel, and the show is a frenchman standing there wordlessly slapping you in the face with it over and over again while you stand there trying to figure out how to establish some fundamental level of mutual understanding with him, but you can't even get the words out in time before that wet clammy mackerel broadsides your raw, stinging cheek. -
I mean thats how she always looks. Like someones putting some bad cheese under her nose. She needs to go, seriously. The best thing about the show is walters father he's fucking hilarious.
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He matches exactly the reports of MiBs that I read when I was growing up, long before the MiB films. His behavior in the diner in his first appearance was a dead give-away in his weird eating habits. His 1950s era clothing attire mixed with future tech gadgetry.
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Anna Torv is crazy beautiful and friggin hell, Walter is hilarious !
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I have an erection"
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is the concept that the son is actually a clone of his father. Not interesting just for that fact, but interesting because in this scenario the clone is the more dominant presence over the real person.
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He said that Peter is Walter's son... but then he goes on to say that Peter is more Walter's offspring... don't know what the hell that means, but it means something that's a hell of a lot more intriguing then that stupid cliche and boring clone theory.
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That line that Peter got sick as a child but then "suddenly got better" has to be relevant. Either Real Peter died then and was replaced by a clone, or something more interesting went on.
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You do me great honor. Between finishing my shitty African history class (and all african history is shitty, let me tell you), Gov Blagojevitch getting arrested here in Chicago, and your post, today is a good day.
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The reason (seemingly) impossible things happen on this show is BECAUSE we have a semi-crazed (inadvertently) person who COULD figure this shit out and already HAS. It's just vage cause 1: he created half the shit we see on eps, and 2: he was locked the fuck up and it's coming back to him slowley. Are you really comparing the new Indy when Speilberg said it was just gonna be a fun movie? Dick.
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I mean, really. NOT suspending your disbelief for the new indy is like saying the person who created the Snorks never did coke.
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Bald Power, my chromey bro!
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JJ Said so.
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from the pilot:
"I pissed myself...just a squirt"
and john noble sells it like it was fucking shakespere!
oh and smackfu, mr. cant suspend disbelief, u never seen a single episode of the xfiles have you? it's science-FICTION, you have to suspend disbelief, idiot. then again, your credibility went out the window when you admitted to watching prison break -
Love this fucking show. Walter, peter, Dunham are great. At least this gets a full season unlike the Journey. sob, still miss Journeyman.
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that almost caused a flicker in my who-the-fuck-cares-o-meter
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This show is awesome! One of my favorite shows this season. And even though it's fiction, the cast sells it like it could all happen. Last episode titled "Safe" was just great! Can't wait till new ep on Jan 20. On a different note, Eleventh Hour is growing on me. More low key than Fringe, but I still find it interesting and will continue to watch it.
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I must admit I am enjoying this show. Ever since The Observer had the diner scene I have seen him ever since. I think that's part of the fun of it. But then I am easily amused. And Walter is the man. A crazy fringe science nutjob but the man none the less...
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i think the reason a lot of people that would otherwise love this show didnt watch is because they figured .."eh, it'll just be an updated x-files." but thats why this show is great. it took a few episodes, but now that its finding a groove, im thinking "wow, this is really cool, like an updated x-files!" (you see, thats a good thing.)
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