Fringe gets a thirteen-episode fifth season

Per J.H. Wyman's Twitter page, as of last night Fringe has been picked up for a thirteen-episode fifth season, which hopefully means that we will get to find out more about the dystopian future, the bald-headed oppressors' ultimate plan, and what happened to Olivia.

Of course, in the alternate universe, Fringe gets ten million viewers every week and will run for at least six seasons (and possibly a movie?), but on this Earth we're just grateful that the writers are being given a chance to wrap up the storyline. Talking to EW.com, executive producer J.J. Abrams promised a "wild and thrilling" conclusion, while showrunners Wyman and Jeff Pinkner thanked the show's "enthusiastic fans," and guaranteed that season 5 will be a "conclusive thrill ride."

And yes, there is somehow already a trailer for the fifth season. Enjoy, and tune in tonight, when you can finally watch an episode of Fringe without feeling a lurking sadness in your soul.

Fringe recap: The day the Observers stopped watching

Henry Ian Cusick, Blair Brown, Georgina Haig and John Noble talk under a reminder of the omnipresent
Observers in "Letters of Transit," the 19th episode of Fringe's fourth season.

The New York Times honored Fox's 25th anniversary (which happens to be today) with a piece that discussed the way the network changed the television landscape, by consistently airing innovative shows that no other network would touch. The Simpsons, Married... With Children, were considered too low-brow and crude; The X-Files had a premise that, as the Times noted, was treated with derision and mockery. It's only fitting, then, that Fringe celebrated its network's anniversary with the kind of insane, out-there installment that could really only be pulled off by two shows: Fringe, or its parent series The X-Files.

"Letters of Transit" opened with a crawl that filled in its backstory; in 2015, the bald, taste-impaired Observers stopped watching and started acting, taking over our world and subjugating humans, now referred to as Natives (all of this meant that this was a very easy episode for Spot the Observer, the game that I succeeded at for the first time in last week's "The Consultant"). The episode revolves around the resistance efforts of Simon (Lost's very own Henry Ian Cusick, who has earned himself my undying love through his portrayal of Demond Hume) and Henrietta (Georgina Haig), a Fringe agent with psychic abilities. These two want nothing more than to release Walter and his team from amber captivity so that they can continue work on a device that will destroy the Observers and free humanity from subjugation.

Don't let saving Community distract you from saving Fringe!

Photo courtesy of digitalspy.com.

I know that everyone is focused on some extremely upsetting news we all got earlier in the week about Community. And I know that, right now, we're all really focused on banding together, saving the show, and reading the ultimate goal of six seasons and a movie. But we can't forget about the other fantastic, innovative, ratings-challenged shows on the air. Like, say, Fringe.

"Wallflower," last night's fall finale, was a great episode of television with plenty of moving moments, character development, and a great final twist courtesy of Ms. Nina Sharp. Last night's episode contained some fantastic performances as well, particularly on the part of Seth Gabel. The newly-promoted series regular did great work as Lincoln Lee, a man trying to balance the twin stresses of his new job, his disintegrating worldview, and his fragile connection to Olivia. The final scene where he waits for her in an all-night diner and she doesn't show is heartbreaking, an emotion which is quickly replaced by shock when the reason for Olivia's no-show is revealed.

This week's case was also beautifully handled. Some reviews criticized the Fringe team's pursuit of an escaped genetic experiment - the wallflower of the title - as being too simple, but I felt that the simplicity allowed for young Eugene's sad story to take center-stage. The poor guy just wanted to be seen - another moment that, like last week's superb central mystery, was written so that it was applicable to so many characters - and his final moments of life, in which he carries on a simple conversation with a woman in the elevator before dying, was beautifully handled. The plight of the invisible man could be applied to Lincoln, waiting for Olivia to notice him; Peter, kept from interacting with the outside world to which he doesn't belong; Walter, holed up in his lab; and, finally, Olivia, who doesn't know the real nature of her relationship with Nina, her importance as a test subject, or even why she keeps getting migraines.

Unfortunately for everyone, the wallflower storyline can also be applied to Fringe itself, which continued its ratings death spiral last night. The fact that both Fringe and Community turned in some of their best episodes this week, as they rest on the brink of cancellation, is very disheartening to those of us who deeply love these shows, and who just want to see where their brilliant writers and actors can take them in the future. So, let's keep saving Community, but let's not forget about saving Fringe. Sign this petition. Join the Facebook Group. And, above all, keep watching, writing, and talking.