The movie
Altered States is the backstory of
Fringe, with the names and dates changed to protect the innocent.
- Walter Bishop —> Eddie Jessop
- Nina Sharp —> Emily Bishop
- William Bell —> Arthur Rosenberg
However, through the
Literary Agent Hypothesis, the characters of Nina Sharp and Elizabeth, Walter's wife, were merged into a composite character, transfering her affections from William Bell/Arthur Rosenberg to Walter Bishop/Eddie Jessop. Bishop/Jessop harvested cortexiphan from his own spinal fluid after his encounter with the primordial consciousness in the movie. Arthur/Bell went on to found Massive Dynamic with Emily/Nina, but Bishop/Jessop was made permanently insane by the experiment and was confined to St. Claire's.
