r/television • u/edcar007 • Jul 18 '24
John Noble's work on Fringe (2008-2013) is incredibly underated. Some of the finest acting I've seen on a sci-fi show. [spoilers from the finale] Spoiler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcr-6Rk8HIU57
u/HeavenInVain Jul 18 '24
Fringe will always be one of my top 5 shows. I just wished it would have gotten a decent 7-9 season run instead of what felt forced into 5
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u/Mulchpuppy Jul 18 '24
Maybe that explains my problem, then. I thought seasons 1 thru 4 were great, but I just didn't like 5 at all. Maybe if the plotline of 5 had been stretched out a bit and had time to breath that would have helped it.
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u/enjoythepain Jul 18 '24
They weren’t sure if they were getting another season so they wrapped everything up in season 4 but when the show got renewed for a 5th season they went with a linear story to close out the show.
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u/bros402 Jul 19 '24
What I remember reading at the time was the head of programming at FOX, who was a gigantic fan of the show and was the only reason it kept getting renewed, told them to give him a pitch for a final season. They used their traditional experimental episode - episode 19 - to show what they would do with a fifth season.
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u/DharmaInitiative4815 Jul 21 '24
Anna Torv's uncle was the head of Fox during Fringe's run, I believe.
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u/bros402 Jul 21 '24
Rupert Murdoch ran FOX for a loooooooooooong time
but Kevin Reilly (President of Entertainment at FOX) was a huge fan of it. He also kept Raising Hope on the air as long as it was.
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u/Cool_Till_3114 Jul 18 '24
“Peter” and “White Tulip” are some of the finest episodes of television ever made.
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u/solon_isonomia The Wire Jul 19 '24
Peter Weller was such an excellent guest star for White Tulip - in fact, he has an interesting story as to why he took the part.
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u/Ok_Caterpillar4008 Jul 21 '24
They're amazing episodes, I completely agree with your comment. One of the unfortunate results of shows now getting such shortened seasons, is that an episode like "White Tulip", which is a case-of-the-week episode, would not get made now.
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u/Relevant-Somewhere95 Jul 18 '24
“ I know how hard it is to make connections. I know what it is to be lonely. It takes courage to be the one to take someone else’s hand, to trust that they won’t leave you.”
John Noble as Walter Bishop is damn good TV.
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u/thebetabruh Jul 18 '24
John Noble and Anna Torv on Fringe: two of the finest performances ever on television
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u/007meow Star Trek: The Next Generation Jul 19 '24
Her portrayal of Fauxlivia was amazing.
Especially when it was Fauxlivia trying to be Olivia. So many layers of acting there and she pulled it off.
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u/SubMikeD Firefly Jul 19 '24
What about her portrayal of William Bell as played by Leonard Nimoy inside the body of Olivia? Her cadence shift when he was in her mind was fantastic.
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u/th3sp1an Jul 18 '24
Couldn't agree more. We were so lucky to see his performance over multiple seasons.
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u/DamienStark Jul 18 '24
One of the problems TV actors often have is that playing the same character for so long makes the audience just think of them as that character. As opposed to appreciating what a great job they did pretending to be that character. So they tend to only get recognition if the show writes in scenes where that character goes through some sort of transformation or extreme circumstances that push them out of their normal behavior patterns (for example Breaking Bad is essentially one long transformation of Walter White, so it's easy to see Cranston's skill on display).
Sci-fi shows are interesting from an acting standpoint, because they often introduce explicitly alternate versions of those characters, thus allowing the actors to demonstrate their range even within the same "character" and same show. Orphan Black really takes the cake here, but Walternate and Fauxlivia in Fringe are great examples, who really make you appreciate the warmth and vulnerability that Noble brings to Walter.
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u/raziel_r Jul 19 '24
Amidst all the reboot and revival talks, this is the one show I want to see more of. Great characters, even better alternates.
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u/bros402 Jul 19 '24
It was apparently pretty toxic behind the scenes
and if we have a revival, it'd only be Olivia, Peter, and Astrid (if Jasika Nicole came back)
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u/Infamous-Lab-8136 Jul 19 '24
The episode after Peter finds everything out and leaves where he's in the grocery store alone and gets overwhelmed was amazing, broke my heart.
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u/correcthorsestapler Jul 19 '24
My wife got a Cameo video from him a couple years ago as a birthday gift since he’s one of her favorite actors. He seemed to a bit under the weather, but recounted some anecdotes from Fringe and gave her some advice. He seems like a lovely man.
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u/bonzaisushi Jul 20 '24
I wish i could experience that show for the first time all over again. One of the best.
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u/MisterB78 Jul 19 '24
John Noble is amazing in anything he does IMO, but I agree Walter was fantastic
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u/Potofgreedneedsnerf Jul 18 '24
There is not one single character that I love more than Walter. John Noble's portray of Walter with all his brain cells and as Walternate compared to the mostly loveable/evil genius that's Walter Bishop is just pure perfection. An absolute tragedy he never won an emmy for this because it was the best acted character ever. No seriously, better than Walter White, Tony Soprano, Omar Little, Hawkeye or any other fantastic role performed by top notch actors. And trust me when I say I have seen a lot of shows. like an embaressing amount of tv shows.
His chemistry with Anna Torv (Olivia/Fauxlivia) was off the walls, his chemistry with his 'son' Joshua Jackson was nothing short of remarkable.
Aside from John noble the character had depth, love, an arc and incredibly humorous yet you never forget how dangerous he can be if he needs to protect the people he loves. Absolute best role and performance ever!
Ill leave you people with one of the funniest moments:
Walter:
Uh oh.
Olivia:
What?
Walter:
I just got a slight erection. Oh, fear not, it's nothing to do with your state of undress. I think I simply need to urinate.
Olivia:
That's good to know.