History Recap / FringeS01E01Pilot

Desperate to save John, whose condition is slowly deteriorating, Olivia researches the symptoms of the virus and learns that a scientist named Dr. Walter Bishop did a lot of research on its effects. For a time, Walter was the leading authority on a branch of theoretical science called "fringe science", studying and researching scientific phenomena that would be considered paranormal, impossible and just plain ridiculous, until an incident 17 years earlier when one of his assistants died in a laboratory accident and Walter was committed to a mental asylum. Olivia wants to get Walter's expertise, but to get him released without the lengthy process of a court order, she needs the permission of Walter's only relative: his son, Peter Bishop, a nomadic con-artist/businessman with a genius IQ[[note]]despite being a high school dropout, he managed to falsify a degree, get a job as a professor at MIT and even publish some research papers before being caught[[/note]] and a roguish disposition. Using the threat of (non-existent) incriminating evidence, Olivia convinces Peter to give her access to Walter, and later to consent to be his legal guardian when Walter is released from the asylum to help in the investigation. As a result of his time in the asylum, Walter is almost completely insane.

* EpunymousTitle: Pilot [[CaptainObvious because it's the pilot]], and [[StealthPun involves an airplane]]. Coincidence? [[RunningGag Future titles would suggest otherwise.]]

* BodyHorror: The teaser.
** Don't forget the flesh-melting toxin, and its effect shown at the beginning and through the episode.

* GenreSavvy: After talking to Walter, Peter realizes some heavy stuff is about to happen and tells Olivia that his first instinct is taking the first plane out of Boston ASAP. However, he also feels it's important to stay and let Walter help.
* InterrogatingTheDead

* WhamLine: "We would be happy to treat you as family as well!". John first says it while on the phone when he and Olivia go to the plane incident, but later we learn he was threatening Steig.

<<|Recap/{{Fringe}}|>>

* SkepticismFailure: [[WeirdScience Mind control? Teleportation? Astral projection?]] All fine. But [[BackFromTheDead re-animation]] is where Peter Bishop draws the line. Technically, he was skeptic the moment Olivia started saying it, he just repeated what she said last to exemplify how ludicrous it all sounds.

* BeardOfSorrow: Walter

* Foreshadowing: One quote given by Walter when he re-enters his old lab: "So much has happened here. And so much is yet to". Not only it references to the Fringe Division's work, but also to the fact he knows or knew more than he let on.

* SkepticismFailure: [[WeirdScience Mind control? Teleportation? Astral projection?]] All fine. But [[BackFromTheDead re-animation]] is where Peter Bishop draws the line.
*** Technically, he was skeptic the moment Olivia started saying it, he just repeated what she said last to exemplify how ludicrous it all sounds.
* WeirdScience: Focuses much more on the concept than the [[TheXFiles other dark sci-fi show Fox used to run on prime time.]]

Desperate to save John, whose condition is slowly deteriorating, Olivia researches the symptoms of the virus and learns that a scientist named Dr. Walter Bishop did a lot of research on its effects. For a time, Walter was the leading authority on a branch of theoretical science called "fringe science", studying and researching scientific phenomena that would be considered paranormal, impossible and just plain ridiculous, until an incident 17 years earlier when one of his assistants died in a laboratory accident and Walter was committed to a mental asylum. Olivia wants to get Walter's expertise, but to get him released without the lengthy process of a court order, she needs the permission of Walter's only relative: his son, Peter Bishop, a nomadic con/businessman with a genius IQ[[note]]despite being a high school dropout, he managed to falsify a degree, get a job as a professor at MIT and even publish some research papers before being caught[[/note]] and a roguish disposition. Using the threat of (non-existent) incriminating evidence, Olivia convinces Peter to give her access to Walter, and later to consent to be his legal guardian when Walter is released from the asylum to help in the investigation. As a result of his time in the asylum, Walter is almost completely insane.

Once he's examined John (in his old lab at Harvard University), Walter is able to diagnose the condition much better than any previous doctors had been able, but can't help without knowing exactly what chemicals were in the destroyed lab. The only way to get that information is to find the suspect, but nobody saw him except for John: however, Walter has a solution. He proposes a risky procedure [[hottip:*:He claims to have used the technique to extract information from a corpse, which is possible if they haven't been dead for more than six hours.]] in which Olivia is connected to John, dosed with psychotropics and placed in a sensory deprivation tank, which should allow her to access a shared dreamspace with John and see his memories. The procedure works, and Olivia is able to identify the suspect -- Richard Steig -- as a former employee of Massive Dynamics, a [[MegaCorp multi-billion dollar mega-corporation]] founded by the reclusive scientist William Bell, who was Walter's former partner during the fringe experiments. To find out more about Steig, Olivia meets with Nina Sharp, the Executive Director of Massive Dynamics, who is perfectly willing to help but is coy about the company. Nina briefly mentions something called "the Pattern", but doesn't explain what it means after learning that Olivia doesn't know about it. With information about Steig provided by Massive Dynamics, the [=FBI=] arrest him and learn what they need to know to cure John.

Desperate to save John, whose condition is slowly deteriorating, Olivia researches the symptoms of the virus and learns that a scientist named Dr. Walter Bishop did a lot of research on its effects. For a time, Walter was the leading authority on a branch of theoretical science called "fringe science", studying and researching scientific phenomena that would be considered paranormal, impossible and just plain ridiculous, until an incident 17 years earlier when one of his assistants died in a laboratory accident and Walter was committed to a mental asylum. Olivia wants to get Walter's expertise, but to get him released without the lengthy process of a court order, she needs the permission of Walter's only relative: his son, Peter Bishop, a nomadic con/businessman with a genius IQ [[hottip:*:despite being a high school dropout, he managed to falsify a degree, get a job as a professor at MIT and even publish some research papers before being caught.]] and a roguish disposition. Using the threat of (non-existent) incriminating evidence, Olivia convinces Peter to give her access to Walter, and later to consent to be his legal guardian when Walter is released from the asylum to help in the investigation. As a result of his time in the asylum, Walter is almost completely insane.