Fringe (TV Series) The Firefly (2011) User Reviews

The Chain Reaction

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 12 March 2017]

In a retirement home, the former keyboard player Roscoe Joyce of the band "Violet Sedan Chair" is a sleepwalker. One night, he meets a young man in the corridor and he claims that he was his beloved son Bobby that died twenty-five years ago. However he does not recall what Bobby told him. The Fringe Division investigates the case and they find footage in the surveillance cameras showing Bobby and The Observer in the spot. Walter, who worships Roscoe, brings him to his laboratory to hypnotize him to know what Bobby told. Meanwhile The Observer meets Walter and tells that when he brought Peter from the parallel universe, he unleashed a series of events in a chain reaction and now he is fixing the timeline. Walter fears that Peter's life is in danger and tries to find what he can do to save his beloved son.

"The Firefly" is another intriguing episode of "Fringe". It is always good to see Christopher Lloyd on the screen. The episode has many surprises but is well resolved in the end. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "The Firefly"

Period of Adjustment

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 9 November 2023]

This was a really fun episode. First of all, having Christopher Lloyd play an aging rock star is wonderful. He is a superb actor. We see him sometimes as being on the lunatic fringe when in reality he is a producer, director, and a great character actor. The explanation the observer makes to Walter is really amazing and the corrections needed make sense. Walter needs to realize that too much of what he does goes untested. He is also careless with dangerous substances lying around his lab. Mostly, this is a great transitional piece which is necessary. Walter is so fearful and so guilt ridden and we can't have this be a constant for much of the time. He is being tested by the Observers.

McFly!!!!

[riversol · 7/10 · 29 January 2011]

Cute Fringe homage to Back to the Future, esp. the reference year of 1985, when BTTF was in theaters alongside Christopher Lloyd's appearance.

Has me contemplating the general idea of time travel in fiction. Time travel backwards at its heart embodies the desire to change outcomes that have already come to past. Time travel forward has the core desire to adventure to a place unreachable. In reality we can do both, ironically, change outcomes and adventure beautifully at that place where past and future converge!

Overall, I'd have to say Fringe has been on a slide this season.

Causality

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 21 May 2012]

Some months after Walter had taken Peter from the other side, Peter captured a firefly, causing a little girl to not catch it. Her father went out looking for her in the rain, and accidentally killed a teenager. This teenager was the son of the leader of Walter's favorite band "Violet Sedan Chair."

We could say "firefly" or we could say "McFly!" - Because the leader of Violet Sedan Chair, Roscoe Joyce, is none other than the great Christopher Lloyd.

Walter is preparing to inject some goop into his buttocks, trying to make himself smarter so "he can be Walternate's Equal." Fortunately Peter stops him.

But Roscoe Joyce is in an old folks home for Rock Stars, he is a sleepwalker. While Roscoe is on his nightly Sleepwalk, The Night Nurse sees a teenager approach Joyce in the hallway and says something to him.

The Teenager is identified by camera as being Joyce's son, dead for all these years. After which, the boy goes outside where September is waiting for him, who "takes him home" - Once again, "Back to 1985" but unfortunately not the future: To the night of his death.

This is all about cause and effect. Because of something Peter did which was not part of the natural course of events, the death of someone else occurred. And as usual, it all comes back to Walter. It not only affected Walter, it was caused by him.

Obviously September is performing some experiments on Walter. As part of that agenda, he becomes a "super hero" and stops a robbery in a jewelry store, saving a woman with asthma. But or some reason, he pockets her inhaler and walks off.

This episode is a forum for John Noble to interact with Christopher Lloyd, and the two masters work famously well together. Two Nutball Professors, Doc Emmet Brown and Walter Bishop.

But what September needs to know is how is if Walter is willing to let Peter get into "The Machine": So it is a simple test, "give Peter the keys and save the girl," this time Walter passes the test: September has caused an accident involving the girl from the robbery, and he has her inhaler. Its up to Walter, who has to let Peter go after September, and he saves the girl by using a pop bottle to force air into her lungs.

But Walter has left his bottle of Milk with "Brain Juice" in the refrigerator, Peter guzzles it, causing him to have a reaction to the Brain Juice. Walter has to remember where he left an item, in time to save Peter. This was also part of September's test.

Walter gets Joyce hooked on his strawberry Milkshakes. But Joyce is forever grateful for the opportunity to remember his son once more.

Intriguing Observers, guest of the guests, inspiring father and son relationship, entertaining action

[igoatabase · 22 January 2011]

The Observer Strikes Back. Is it the end of the red and blue format that has made season 3 excellent so far ? I hope not ! To tell the truth I never found the Observer interesting in the first season 1 episodes. An enigmatic watcher pulling strings seemed dated and too reminiscent of shows like The X-Files even I'm sure more experienced viewers have dozens of better references in mind. However now that Olivia, Peter and Walter have dramatically grown on me I was probably more opened to what the Observers could bring to Fringe. Indeed from their emotionless figures to their powers it seems they could be the spicy ingredient the show needs to dazzle our neurons. I only wish they were as creepy as the silent men in black from Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Hush. But let's hope the writers will surprise us in the upcoming episodes ! Something bizarre would definitely be a home run. As for The Firefly story it was Observer and Walter heavy. If you don't know anything about them then the little recap should definitely be useful. It was quite enlightening and the episode was filled with breadcrumbs to help us comprehend who he is and what they have done. And who better than Christopher Lloyd as a special guest for a time travel ride ? His old and tired character was so moving. It was also quite clever to connect him with Walter on a father level. Moreover even if you should have a déjà vu impression the events were still quite intense to follow and their impact on Peter's fate absolutely shaking. So with a few edgy action scenes and the usual Peter and Olivia side story it was an other captivating installment. Otherwise let's hope we'll get back to the other universe next time because parallel stories with Observers could be mind blowing !