Ability (Fringe)
Encyclopedia
"Ability" is the 14th episode of the first season
of the American science fiction
drama
television series
Fringe
. The episode's teleplay was written by David H. Goodman from a story by Glen Whitman
and Robert Chiappetta
and it was directed by Norberto Barba
.
It first aired in the United States on February 10, 2009 on the Fox Broadcasting Company
.
) who possesses the only copy of the ZFT. Peter returns with it to Walter's lab, learning that it is a typewritten manifesto preparing "soldiers" for an upcoming war between two universes
.
Concurrently, David Robert Jones (Jared Harris
) turns himself in at the FBI headquarters; suffering from effects of being teleported out of his German prison cell by Walter's technology, insists on only speaking to Olivia, warning that she is the only one that can stop a bomb from going off in 36 hours. Sanford Harris (Michael Gaston
) instead orders Olivia to join other agents in raiding a warehouse which they believe Jones and his men used. Evidence confirms Jones had been there, but an agent dies from suffocation after finding another two-dollar bill
.
Olivia convinces Harris to let her see Jones alone, attributing the agent's death to his misfire. In the interrogation room, Olivia discovers that Jones believes she is one of her soldiers in his war, having been a test subject on a Massive Dynamic nootropic
drug known as "Cortexiphan" when she was a child. Jones claims that she is special, and instructs her to a remote site with a key in his possession to retrieve a package. Olivia follows his instructions, finding a package full of strange puzzles. The first puzzle is a light box containing a number of lights which Jones' instructions require her to disable with her thoughts only. Olivia, having learned from Nina Sharp that the only Cortexiphan trials were done in Ohio, far from her Jacksonville, Florida home, is confident Jones is mistaken.
As Jones' condition worsens and he is brought to Walter's lab, Peter rigs the lightbox to make the lights go off automatically. Olivia performs the test in front of Jones, and he supplies her the address of the bomb. When Olivia and the FBI arrive, they find that the bomb is set to release the deadly agent across the city but can only be defused if Olivia turns off a similar array of lights as were on the puzzle. Despite faking the earlier test, Olivia is successful at disabling the lights and the bomb with her thoughts.
In the episode's epilogue, Jones, having been transferred to secured hospital, is rescued by his men, leaving a note to Olivia saying she passed. Meanwhile, Walter, who has also started reading the ZFT, recognizes a unique offset letter, and finds that his own lab typewriter produces the same offset. Olivia receives a call from Nina who had further looked into the Cortexiphan trials and discovered a smaller case study that occurred at Jacksonville.
made his third appearance of the season in "Ability". At the time, the actor had not heard whether his character would be returning, though he later appeared in the season finale
. Harris described "Ability" as "a page-turner of an episode. When I read it, I said, 'Ah, this is a fantastic one. I can't wait to see it.' It's directed with a lot of energy, a lot of tension. It's a good one, a really good one".
's Ramsey Isler rated the episode 7.8/10, commenting that though he thought the ending with Walter "was as good as you could ask for" and enjoyed David Robert Jones as a villain, he believed the episode to have a "number of rough patches," as the middle was "paced slowly" and lacking in suspense, Peter's "handiness was again reduced to ...'that guy with connections'", and the audience was "once again subjected to the torture that is Sanford Harris". After describing the Olivia-Peter scene near the end as "tense and cleverly written," Isler concluded his review by noting references to The X-Files
and hoping Jones would appear again soon.
Fringe (Season 1)
The first season of the American science fiction television series Fringe commenced airing on September 9, 2008, and concluded on May 12, 2009. The season contained 21 episodes, although only 20 of them aired as part of the first season...
of the American science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
. The episode's teleplay was written by David H. Goodman from a story by Glen Whitman
Glen Whitman
Glen Whitman is an American television writer who, along with his writing partner Robert Chiappetta, serves as executive story editor on the FOX science-fiction series Fringe and has contributed several scripts to the series. Whitman has been a Science Adviser to the series since the first season.-...
and Robert Chiappetta
Robert Chiappetta
Robert Chiappetta is an American television writer who, along with his writing partner Glen Whitman, serves as executive story editor on the FOX science-fiction series Fringe and has contributed many scripts to the show as well.- Fringe episodes :...
and it was directed by Norberto Barba
Norberto Barba
Norberto Barba is an American cinematographer, television and film director. He is known for his collaborations for the Law & Order franchise.- Biographical details :...
.
It first aired in the United States on February 10, 2009 on the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
.
Plot
A newspaper vendor dies by suffocation after receiving a two-dollar bill coated in a chemical substance that causes all his orifices to close up. Walter analyzes the chemical agent as a catalyst that speeds up the protein production in scar tissue and accelerating cell growth. Meanwhile, Olivia postulates that the initials "ZFT" may not be of a terrorist organization but of a book, and discovers the German name, "Zerstörung durch Fortschritte der Technologie", roughly "Destruction by Advancement of Technology". Peter takes Olivia to a rare book storekeeper, Edward Markam (Clark MiddletonClark Middleton
Clark Middleton is an American actor. He may be best known for his supporting roles in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Sin City, and Fringe.-Career:Middleton began acting at a California junior college when he signed up with an acting class with friends...
) who possesses the only copy of the ZFT. Peter returns with it to Walter's lab, learning that it is a typewritten manifesto preparing "soldiers" for an upcoming war between two universes
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...
.
Concurrently, David Robert Jones (Jared Harris
Jared Harris
Jared Francis Harris is a British character actor, well known for playing the obnoxious Mac McGrath in the Adam Sandler film Mr. Deeds, and for his portrayal of Lane Pryce on the AMC series Mad Men.- Personal life :...
) turns himself in at the FBI headquarters; suffering from effects of being teleported out of his German prison cell by Walter's technology, insists on only speaking to Olivia, warning that she is the only one that can stop a bomb from going off in 36 hours. Sanford Harris (Michael Gaston
Michael Gaston
Michael Gaston is an American film and television actor. He played agent Quinn on the show Prison Break. He appeared as Gray Anderson on the CBS drama series Jericho. He also appeared in the first season of The Sopranos as a compulsive gambler in trouble with Tony...
) instead orders Olivia to join other agents in raiding a warehouse which they believe Jones and his men used. Evidence confirms Jones had been there, but an agent dies from suffocation after finding another two-dollar bill
United States two-dollar bill
The United States two-dollar bill is a current denomination of US currency. President Thomas Jefferson is featured on the obverse of the note...
.
Olivia convinces Harris to let her see Jones alone, attributing the agent's death to his misfire. In the interrogation room, Olivia discovers that Jones believes she is one of her soldiers in his war, having been a test subject on a Massive Dynamic nootropic
Nootropic
Nootropics , also referred to as smart drugs, brain steroids, memory enhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration...
drug known as "Cortexiphan" when she was a child. Jones claims that she is special, and instructs her to a remote site with a key in his possession to retrieve a package. Olivia follows his instructions, finding a package full of strange puzzles. The first puzzle is a light box containing a number of lights which Jones' instructions require her to disable with her thoughts only. Olivia, having learned from Nina Sharp that the only Cortexiphan trials were done in Ohio, far from her Jacksonville, Florida home, is confident Jones is mistaken.
As Jones' condition worsens and he is brought to Walter's lab, Peter rigs the lightbox to make the lights go off automatically. Olivia performs the test in front of Jones, and he supplies her the address of the bomb. When Olivia and the FBI arrive, they find that the bomb is set to release the deadly agent across the city but can only be defused if Olivia turns off a similar array of lights as were on the puzzle. Despite faking the earlier test, Olivia is successful at disabling the lights and the bomb with her thoughts.
In the episode's epilogue, Jones, having been transferred to secured hospital, is rescued by his men, leaving a note to Olivia saying she passed. Meanwhile, Walter, who has also started reading the ZFT, recognizes a unique offset letter, and finds that his own lab typewriter produces the same offset. Olivia receives a call from Nina who had further looked into the Cortexiphan trials and discovered a smaller case study that occurred at Jacksonville.
Production
Guest actor Jared HarrisJared Harris
Jared Francis Harris is a British character actor, well known for playing the obnoxious Mac McGrath in the Adam Sandler film Mr. Deeds, and for his portrayal of Lane Pryce on the AMC series Mad Men.- Personal life :...
made his third appearance of the season in "Ability". At the time, the actor had not heard whether his character would be returning, though he later appeared in the season finale
There's More Than One of Everything
"There's More Than One of Everything" is the finale of the first season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The finale followed David Robert Jones' attempts to open a doorway to the parallel universe, while the Fringe team tries to stop him.The episode's story was...
. Harris described "Ability" as "a page-turner of an episode. When I read it, I said, 'Ah, this is a fantastic one. I can't wait to see it.' It's directed with a lot of energy, a lot of tension. It's a good one, a really good one".
Ratings
"Ability" was watched by an estimated 9.83 viewers in the United States. It received a 5.9/9 rating share among all American households.Reviews
Noel Murray from A.V. Club graded the episode an A-, explaining he thought it must have been "satisfying" for those viewers tired of the "monster-of-the-week" storylines. Murray also enjoyed two twists: that Olivia had to shut off the lights for real, and that Walter discovers he wrote the ZFT manual at the end. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Ramsey Isler rated the episode 7.8/10, commenting that though he thought the ending with Walter "was as good as you could ask for" and enjoyed David Robert Jones as a villain, he believed the episode to have a "number of rough patches," as the middle was "paced slowly" and lacking in suspense, Peter's "handiness was again reduced to ...'that guy with connections'", and the audience was "once again subjected to the torture that is Sanford Harris". After describing the Olivia-Peter scene near the end as "tense and cleverly written," Isler concluded his review by noting references to The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
and hoping Jones would appear again soon.
External links
- "Ability" at FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...