Pushing Boundaries: Morality and Justified Science in Fringe

I co-wrote this piece with a friend over the summer. Spoilers for season 4 of Fringe. Enjoy, and please feel free to leave comments below.


We noticed a marked difference in Future!Walter in “Letters of Transit.” He was much more like Secretary of Defense Walternate than he was the Walter that we are familiar with. However, this difference only comes after the Future!Fringe team has regenerated his brain using the tissues from the brain sample that we now know contained the plans to create the New World.

Now that we know that the “man he didn’t like that he was becoming” was related to a concentrated series of ideas as opposed to a holistic character trait, might we see a Future!Walter next season who tries to recapture that idea and escapes from the world overtaken by the Observers by creating an alternative universe?

It would be an interesting symmetry and move for the character—to go from being responsible for the near destruction of an alternate universe to the creation of a new one.

And we, the audience, will be okay with Walter’s work to create a new universe because he will do it to save mankind. Fringe has always played with ideas of moral and immoral science, and in season 5, we will see this boundary bend and shift.

Originally, we were asked to believe that crossing universes was a bad thing. Walter upset the balance and both worlds suffered because of his actions. But in the past four years, we have also seen positive outcomes from crossing over: Peter and Lincoln found their “homes” in the universe where each man was not born. The dopplegangers worked together and shared experiences. Both Fringe divisions were better for it. Walter and Walternate found forgiveness and reconciliation for their past actions.

We’re okay with the outcomes of crossing universes, but we’re having a hard time sympathizing with Bell’s attempt to destroy the universe and make a new one. And we know why: he didn’t have a reason for what he was doing, except that he could. (Bell said so in Brave New World, Part 2: “God made us in His image. If that is so, if we are capable of being gods, then it is our destiny to do so.”)

So along with the moral/immoral boundary, we have this question of “If you can achieve something through science, should you?”

This is where the push comes in and we’ll bend that boundary between moral and immoral. We’ll be okay with Future!Walter if he creates a new universe in order to defeat the Observers and save everyone because he will be pushing the boundary for the sake of something good—not only because he can. We might be concerned with what the other characters will think and if they’ll allow Walter to carry out his ideas. But we’ve seen that Olivia will do whatever it takes to save the world, and so will Peter, Astrid, and Broyles.

We wind up having to reassess the situation and change our position on its morality when it becomes re-contextualized. Everything must be considered in its context, and new situations each have their own context (sometimes as a result of past events or decisions, sometimes entirely new). The writers complicated (and then made irrelevant) the morality issue when they re-contextualized it within an argument on survival: should the Fringe team work to preserve the established world or create a new one? One issue collapses, and then we get tangled into new ideas.

So what we’re really saying in the end is, “science for the sake of science” is immoral, but science for the sake of humanity is justified. That’s interesting since the premise of the show is based on experimental science. The Fringe Division started out fighting the outcomes of experimental science, and in season 5, experimental science will become their weapon to fight the Observers (we hope).

Becoming Human Through Rebellion: September’s Character Development

I wrote this article for a Fringe fanzine but since I don't know when the zine will be published or if this piece made the cut AND we're allowed to share our articles on our own sites anyway, I'm posting it here. I'll update this post with a link to the zine if/when it's published. Here's a look at September's development over four years of the show. Spoilers for season 4.

"Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience and rebellion that progress has been made." 

- Oscar Wilde

Walter violated laws of the universe when he crossed over to save Peter. David Robert Jones crossed ethical lines with his real-world-as-a-laboratory experiments. Nina Sharp withheld information that could have helped the fringe division. Altlivia deceived everyone on our side.

But the character whose prohibited actions have had the most impact is September. He broke the rules when he visited Walternate in 1985 and distracted him from curing Peter. September’s interruption set off a string of events (and alternate events) that have unfolded over the past four years on Fringe. September’s initial interference led to continued disobedience of the Observers and ended in season four with him siding with the humans.

But he didn’t switch sides over night. Let’s take a look at September’s development.

The Observer: When we first meet September, he seems exactly like all the other Observers. He dresses like them and speaks like them. Most of the time, he stays in the background, simply watching.

The Interrupter: September wanted to witness the moment when Walternate cured Peter, but he accidentally distracted Walternate. When Walternate failed to cure Peter, September had to interfere to save Walter and Peter from drowning in Reiden Lake. Peter was safe, but he was in the wrong universe. Even worse, Walter’s crossing upset the balance between the universes. All because of September.

The Sympathizer: Again and again, September shows up to help Olivia, Walter, and Peter. September isn’t supposed to make contact with present-time humans, but he keeps disobeying the Observers’ rules. At the end of season two, September appears to Olivia and, as a warning, leaves her a picture of Peter activating the Machine. In season three, September prepares Walter to sacrifice Peter (so that later Peter can bridge the universes and heal both worlds). The bridge doesn’t completely erase Peter from the timeline, though, and instead of finishing the job, September’s lack of action allows Peter to re-enter the timeline. September cares what happens to Olivia, Walter, and Peter, so he warns them about future events, prepares them for what’s coming, and deflects the other Observers’ attempts to reset the timeline. Which finally leads us to...

The Rebel: At the end of season 4, September explains to Walter that the Observers are going to invade Earth in 2015. This is September’s final act of disobedience: warning the fringe team about the coming invasion and in doing so, giving them time to prepare a defense.

September’s disobedience puts him back in touch with emotions—the essence of being human. His rebellion allows for progress, but not in favor of the Observers. Instead, September’s actions allow him to help the fringe team. We don’t know the primary reason for September’s disobedience, but fan theories suggest that he is the young boy in “Inner Child” (season 1, episode 15). If that’s true, maybe September is returning the favor: the fringe team helped him, so he helps them. Perhaps we’ll have a definite answer in season 5.

At least I got a blog post out of it

Sometimes I think of an idea that's easier to draw than to describe in words, so I was looking for an app that would let me do that. Simple drawings (preferably on a canvas larger than the screen) that I could save and email.

I have a notepad app on my iPod Touch that's simple and quick. Surely, there's something similar but for sketches and diagrams.

Simple and quick, that's how I thought it would be to find this little app. But no, I spent the evening searching and might have found a satisfactory app.

When I'm looking for a specific kind of app, my usual method goes like this:

1. Go to the app store, directly from my iPod Touch.
2. Search keywords.
3. Check reviews for any app with more than 3 stars. (My level of optimism determines how far down I scroll before trying new keywords.) See if the pros outweigh the cons. (If I don't find a suitable app by searching, I browse categories.)
4. Download a free app (or free "lite" version) with high ratings and good reviews.

5a. If it does what I want, keep it. Possibly upgrade to the paid version at some point.
5b. If it doesn't do what I want, delete it. Go to step 4.

I looked at several apps and saw lots of complaints. For example:

Doodle Buddy crashes.
Inkflow only has a black pen and no eraser (but there is an Undo button).
Sketchpad has too many ads.
DrawCast isn't updating.
Whiteboard lags.

Then my own grumbles...

I had to muddle through all the drawing and doodling games. I don't want anything with neon/glowing effects. No kiddy sound effects. I don't need anything social.

What I want is a large blank canvas, a few different colors, an eraser, the ability to save and send images, and positive reviews.

It was too much to ask.

And then I had an idea. Sharpie might have an app. How perfect would that be? Digital Sharpies and a sketchbook. It seems too good to be true.

It is.

Steal Like An Artist: Routine Art

This is the best advice I have read about creative work:

Be boring. (It's the only way to get work done.)

It's from Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon, which is an excellent book for anyone interested in creative work. It's full of practical advice.

Most people have to practice their art for a while before they can make a living off of it, so in the mean time, they need a regular job. Austin says, get a job you can tolerate, pay your bills, and build a routine. When you have regular hours that you work, you know what time you have left, and you can carve out time to write stories, compose music, take photos, draw...whatever it is that you do.

Better yet, Austin points out that if your job doesn't take a lot of creative energy, you'll be happy to pour that energy into your hobbies. You take care of yourself, and you keep your mind in the right place to produce art.

This is more useful than the advice I've seen that focuses on craft. Other books I've read on writing tell me to set a daily word count goal and find a distraction-free space—which is fine, but they don't connect creative work to the rest of your life.

Steal Like An Artist is the first book I've read that blends creative work with the average, day-to-day things. It's the first time I've said, "Yeah, that's something I can try today."

My wish list for Merlin season 5

I don't read spoilers and I don't keep up with show updates over the summer, so I go into new seasons knowing very little about what's going to happen. I've been thinking about what I want to see on Merlin this year, so here's my wish list.

1. Arthur finds out. Of course this is at the top of my list. We've had four years of Merlin hiding his secret. Time to let it out. I want to see how Arthur reacts and how his relationship with Merlin changes.

2. Gwen finds out before Arthur. If the writers still want to delay Arthur's finding out, then I'd like to see Gwen find out that Merlin has magic. How will she treat him? Will she keep his secret?

3. An episode about the knights. I'm having trouble remembering all of the knights' names at the moment, so that's a clear sign that we need an episode that focuses on them. Have a story that develops their characters, or have an episode from their point of view (sort of like "The Zeppo" from Buffy).

4. Mordred comes back. We need a new, strong threat to Camelot. Before, Mordred was a creepy kid. Now, let him return as a dangerous young man.

5. Morgana's story ends. She's been stuck in a loop of betrayal, vengeance, and failure. Give her a small victory or a final loss—something that snaps her out of that rut and lets her move on.

6. Gaius steps down. Merlin has out-grown his mentorship with him (as far as magic goes), so I'd like to see Gaius's role change. Maybe instead of giving Merlin advice, Gaius can focus on teaching him medicine.

7. Merlin loses control. We've seen Merlin make mistakes, but we haven't seen him crack. I want something bad to happen that makes him furious, desperate, or grief-stricken (over a character's death...maybe Gaius's?). And Merlin goes crazy for an episode or two. We know Colin Morgan can pull off powerful emotions and the show has given him great moments, but I want something bigger.

That's my list. What do you want to see on Merlin this year?

Two decades of sports movies

D2: The Mighty Ducks was on TV earlier today, and I started thinking about sports movies that were released in the 1990s versus the ones that came out in the 2000s. Specifically, I was wondering if one decade had more sports movies than the other.

I went to IMDB and started searching. These were the parameters I set: released in the U.S, from the years 1990 to 2010, rated G or PG, and categorized as a Sport movie. As I went through the results, I excluded movies where a sport was not the main plot.

Here's the list:

1991 - 2000 - 34 total
The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend (1991)
Talent for the Game (1991)
The Babe (1992)
The Cutting Edge (1992)
A League of Their Own (1992)
The Mighty Ducks (1992)
Airborne (1993)
Rookie of the Year (1993)
The Sandlot (1993) 
Rudy (1993)
Cool Runnings (1993)
Little Big League (1994)
The Air Up There (1994)
The Next Karate Kid (1994)
Major League II (1994)
Little Giants (1994)
Angels in the Outfield (1994)
D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)
The Big Green (1995)
Snowboard Academy (1996)
Ed (1996)
D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996)
Space Jam (1996)
The Ride (1997)
Air Bud (1997)
Possums (1998)
Without Limits (1998)
Golf Punks (1998)
Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998)
Soccer Dog: The Movie (1998)
Endurance (1999)
A Little Inside (1999)
MVP: Most Valuable Primate (2000)
Remember the Titans (2000)

2001 - 2010 - 48 total
Snow Dogs (2002)
The Rookie (2002)
Like Mike (2002)
Hometown Legend (2002)
Jumping for Joy (2002)
Just For Kicks (2003)
Radio (2003)
Mickey (2004)
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
Guarding Eddy (2004)
Soccer Dog: European Cup (2004)
Miracle (2004)
The Game of Their Lives (2005)
Madison (2005)
Herbie Fully Loaded (2005)
Kicking & Screaming (2005)
Ice Princess (2005)
Rebound (2005)
Racing Stripes (2005)
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)
The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)
Believe in Me (2006)
Everyone's a Hero (2006)
Cars (2006)
Nacho Libre (2006)
Glory Road (2006)
Facing the Giants (2006)
Church Ball (2006)
Rocky Balboa (2006)
We Are Marshall (2006)
Invincible (2006)
The Final Season (2007)
Pride (2007)
White Air (2007)
The Game Plan (2007)
Surf's Up (2007)
The Longshots (2008)
Fast Girl (2008)
The Express (2008)
Speed Racer (2008)
The Mighty Macs (2009)
The Perfect Game (2009)
Chasing 3000 (2010)
The 5th Quarter (2010)
Ice Castles (2010)
Wildfire: The Arabian Heart (2010)
The Karate Kid (2010)
Secretariat (2010)

As it turns out, the 2000s had more sports movies. I've seen more from the 1990s, though, which is why I thought that decade had more.

Nine wasn't one for hero moments

Earlier tonight I watched "World War Three" from season 1 of New Who, and a few things stuck out to me (I think) because it's been years since I've re-watched Nine's episodes, and I've gotten used to Eleven and Moffat's writing reign.

1. Nine doesn't have fun in dangerous situations, the way Ten and Eleven sometimes do. When he's figuring out how to beat the Slitheen, he's stressed. When the missile is heading for the building, Nine looks like he accepted that they are going to die. It's Rose who suggests to go in the closet and huddle in a stronger part of the room.

2. Nine isn't proud of fighting aliens. He stopped the Slitheen from destroying the Earth because he didn't want six billion people to die, not because it was heroic or cool. He doesn't smile about it, doesn't brag, doesn't cheer. Think about how that contrasts to Eleven's "Boo-yah!" in series 5 or his "Who do you think?" in last week's "Asylum of the Daleks."

3. Nine trusts that his friends can take care of themselves (at least part of the time). When the Slitheen are chasing Rose and Harriet Jones through the building, Nine is on a different floor, running away from the police. He isn't looking for Rose or figuring out a way to save her—he's just running for his own safety. When he does meet up with Rose and Harriet, he confronts the Slitheen. And even then, he's not saving Rose and Harriet. They're teaming up.

Nine is as brilliant and compassionate as Ten and Eleven, but he doesn't have the same ego. It was refreshing to re-watch "World War Three" and see a low-key Doctor. The story was straightforward with strong character moments. Special effects and fancy camera shots were less of a priority. Those were better days for Doctor Who.

Missing pieces in Doctor Who

Every year I get excited for new episodes of Doctor Who. I look forward to new adventures, compelling characters, and intricate stories. And because the show is what it is, with so much is history and material, I'm willing to forgive minor plot holes and problems. To a point. Overall, I liked "Asylum of the Daleks," but I can't ignore the missing links in the episode.

Spoilers below for "Asylum of the Daleks" (season 7, episode 1).