Fringe/Pilot

Pilot
Season 1, Episode 1
Airdate	September 9, 2008
Production Number	276038
Written by	J.J. Abrams & Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci
Directed by	Alex Graves
Stream
— N/A	1x02 → The Same Old Story
Fringe — Season One

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Pilot is the first episode of the first season of Fringe.

Starring: Anna Torv (Special Agent Olivia Dunham), Joshua Jackson (Peter Bishop), Lance Reddick (Special Agent Phillip Broyles), Kirk Acevedo (Special Agent Charlie Francis), Blair Brown (Nina Sharp), Jasika Nicole (Astrid Farnsworth)

With: Mark Valley (Special Agent John Scott)

And: John Noble (Dr. Walter Bishop)

Guest Starring: Jason Butler Harner (Richard Steig), Peter Outerbridge (Dr. Reyes)

Co-Starring: Bernadeta Wrobel (Flight Attendant), Jill Harland (Woman (German)), Peter Sawyer (Man (Denver)), Max Topplin (Angry 16 Yr. Old), Shaun Shetty (Indian Man), Andreas Franke (Pilot), Dennis Mockler (Co-Pilot), Lee Jay Gladman (CDC Officer), Andrew Hinkson (Guard), Jim McGrath (Old Man (On Plane)), Joan Barrett (Old Woman (On Plane)), Jeff Topping (Agent #1), Sean Clement (Agent #2), Katerina Taxia (Agent #3), Anousha Alamian (Agent #4), Kelly King (Nurse), Tauquir Shah (Iraqi Businessman #1), Omar Habib (Iraqi Businessman #2), Quinn Martin (Orderly), Tre Smith (Man (w/ John's Gurney))

Plot Overview

All the passengers and crew on a commercial flight from Hamburg to Boston are killed in flight by a flesh dissolving toxin but the plane lands successfully under autopilot. FBI agent Olivia Dunham is called into the investigation along with here lover and partner John Scott. Broyles, the Homeland Security agent in charge, orders Dunham and Scott to follow up a lead at a storage facility where they find a bio research lab. Scott pursues a suspect who escapes by blowing up the lab and Scott is stricken by a slower version of the flesh dissolving syndrome.

She discovers that a Dr Walter Bishop had done work in this area. He has been in St. Claire's mental institution for 17 years following the death of an assistant in his Harvard laboratory for which he was held responsible. Olivia springs Walter from the facility using his son, Peter Bishop, who is the only person allowed to be his guardian and take him out of custody. Peter Bishop has much of his father's intellect and scientific learning but has followed an erratic career with a tinge of criminality and Olivia uses this to force his cooperation as Peter does not want to see his father. Olivia and Peter are surprised to learn that Walter shared his lab with William Bell who went on to found Massive Dynamic, a huge corporation that works in many areas including government defence contracts.

Walter examines Scott, who is in a coma, and believes his condition is reversible. Olivia gets Walter's old laboratory in Harvard reopened and, helped by agent Astrid Farnsworth, tries to work with Walter despite his eccentric behaviour and demands. Scott is transferred to Harvard and Walter convinces Olivia that the only way to get a lead is for her to try a direct mind link with Scott. In a flotation tank and dosed with Walter's cocktail of drugs his machine does indeed enable Olivia to get a view through Scott's memory of the suspect from the storage unit. The identikit leads Olivia to Richard Steig, twin brother of the man on Flight 672 who inadvertently brought the toxin onto the plane. In turn this takes her to Nina Sharp, Executive Director of Massive Dynamic, as William Bell is not in the country. Nina tells Olivia that Stieg was fired from Massive Dynamic for theft three months before. She also shows Olivia her robotic arm, designed by Bell after she needed an amputation.

Stieg is captured and, after some less than legal interrogation from Peter, discloses the compound that has afflicted Scott. Walter formulates an antidote and after a transfusion Scott starts to recover. Broyles, impressed by Olivia's work, tells her about 'The Pattern', a series of strange events involving areas of fringe science that give the appearance that someone or some organisation is conducting tests using the whole planet as a laboratory. Broyles tries unsuccessfully to recruit Olivia.

Olivia has another talk with Stieg who is in hospital following the first one. Stieg denies that he was selling the toxin and says that he stole it at the behest of someone from Olivia's office. He tells Olivia where to find a tape that will prove his allegation. Olivia finds the tape and when she listens to it realises that Stieg was talking to John Scott who reprimands Stieg for drawing attention to their activities by releasing the toxin on the plane. As Olivia discovers this Scott, who has been moved back to the same hospital that Stieg is in, manages to get to Stieg and kill him. Olivia arrives at the hospital to see Scott escaping and pursues him. The resulting car chase and crash kills Scott. Olivia decides to continue working with Broyles and accordingly asks Peter to stay on as his father will be able to assist. Meanwhile Scott's body is delivered to Nina Sharp who, after learning that he has only been dead five hours, orders that he be questioned.

Trivia

Memorable Moments

Observer Watch: The Watcher is briefly seen walking along the pavement across the road from the Massive Dynamics building.

Walter's food moments: Deprecates the butterscotch pudding served in St. Claire's on Mondays. Gets a desire for ginger ale while taking samples from Agent Scott in the hospital.