The Plateau (Fringe)
Encyclopedia
"The Plateau" is the third episode of the third season
of the American science fiction
drama
television series
Fringe
, and the 46th episode overall. As one of the early Season 3 episodes that takes place entirely in the parallel universe
, the episode centers on Olivia, conditioned to believe she is a member of the alternate Fringe team, trying to track down a mentally unstable man that can predict the team's every move.
"The Plateau" was written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker
, and directed by Brad Anderson. It featured the first and only appearance of guest actor Michael Eklund
, who played the episode's antagonist Milo Stanfield. It first aired on October 7, 2010 to an estimated 5.2 million viewers. Reviews of the episode were mostly positive, and many praised the storyline and Eklund's performance.
), trapped in the parallel universe, has been conditioned with drugs to believe she is her doppleganger, "Fauxlivia", by Walternate (John Noble
), and has been integrated into the alternate Fringe team, though she is haunted by images of Peter (Joshua Jackson
) and Walter (Noble) from the prime universe.
She, Charlie (Kirk Acevedo
), and Lincoln (Seth Gabel
) are called to the scene of an accident where a pedestrian has been run over by a bus, nearly duplicating events of a similar bus accident the day before, a statistical impossibility according to Astrid (Jasika Nicole
). Olivia finds a ball-point pen at the scene, a rarity in the parallel universe due to adoption of digital interfaces. Evidence suggests that the discovery of the pen by a bystander created a sequence of chain reactions that lead to the victim's death. The next day, another pedestrian is wounded in a bus accident. As the Fringe team investigates the scene, finding another pen, a bystander is struck and killed by an ambulance. Olivia spots a suspicious man in the crowds, but he uses a seemingly random series of happenstance events to get away.
Olivia discovers ties between the three victims and a medical center. At the center, Dr. Levin (Malcolm Stewart) explains they help mentally-challenged patients with experimental processes to boost their intelligence; Olivia observes one set of patients uses pens as they are unable to cope with digital devices. When Olivia and Charlie discuss the victims with Dr. Levin, he is able to identify their culprit as Milo (Michael Eklund
), a patient taking an experimental drug to boost his intelligence quotient
exponentially. Though released to care of his sole remaining family member Madeline (Kacey Rohl), he was scheduled to return to reverse the process for his own health and safety. Dr. Levin identifies all three victims as those charged to return Milo to the center, the last victim only having been selected the day before. They visit Madeline, who worries for the safety of her brother. She explains that Milo is able to predict the outcome of numerous events to the smallest detail, and only by showing him a toy horse can she break Milo's concentration. She provides Olivia and Charlie the location of the hotel that Milo is staying at.
As they return to the city, Olivia and Charlie discuss plans with Astrid on how to capture Milo, but realize that since he can predict their every move, any plan would be futile, and approach the hotel directly. Milo leads Olivia on a chase through a construction area including a marked zone where the air is too thin, expecting to crush her under a load of cement bricks. Olivia, unaware of the warning signs for the zone, instead races through it instead of stopping to put on a respirator, nearly asphyxiating herself, and dodges the bricks in time to capture Milo. At the center, Dr. Levin notes that Milo's condition is too far advanced to reverse, and only a computer is able to keep up with his thoughts. Madeline sadly leaves the toy horse at Milo's side.
That evening, Olivia has a vision of Peter; the vision tries to break Olivia from the conditioning, explaining that her lack of knowledge of the parallel universe saved her life.
, Ryan McDonald
, Seth Gabel
, and Philip Winchester
. New guest actors included Michael Eklund
as the antagonist Milo Stanfield, Malcolm Stewart as Dr. Levin, and Kacey Rohl as Madeline. "The Plateau" was the first episode of the third season to feature "Alt-Astrid", the prime universe Astrid's doppelganger
. Actress Jasika Nicole
depicted her to have autistic characteristics, as Nicole has a sister with the disorder.
The name of the antogonist character, Milo Stanfield, is possibly an homage to the character of Marlo Stanfield
from Lance Reddick's previous series, The Wire
. Both Stanfield characters are highly intelligent individuals who dispassionately arrange the deaths of multiple victims.
In late March 2010, Brothers & Sisters showsrunners Monica Breen
and Alison Schapker
were hired as co-executive producers for Fringe. The two had previously worked with Fringe creator J.J. Abrams on Alias
and Lost
. "The Plateau" marked the first Fringe episode they co-wrote, while filmmaker Brad Anderson served as the director. The episode was shot in August 2010 on Hastings Street
in Vancouver
. The crew employed a stunt double for some of Eklund's more physical scenes, such as when he jumps onto a moving bus.
As with other Fringe episodes, Fox released a science lesson plan in colaboration with Science Olympiad
for grade school children focusing on the science seen in "The Plateau", with the intention of having "students learn about chain reactions, where small changes result in additional changes, leading to a self-propagating chain of events."
Ken Tucker called the episode "at once cool-looking, heart-tugging, and pretty simple", especially when compared to previous episodes like "White Tulip
". Writing for The A.V. Club
, Noel Murray graded the episode with an A, explaining "I can't really find anything to complain about here. The direction was effectively moody and snappy, the performances were sharp, and the case was cool." Murray praised the subtle characteristics of the parallel universe, the action scenes, and the use of split-screens to visually show Milo's predictions. MTV
's Josh Wigler believed that the episode "demonstrated how the mystery-of-the-week format can still be compelling: by taking everything familiar and applying a stark new layer of paint." Andrew Hanson of the Los Angeles Times
wrote "The third season of Fringe continues to get better with each episode. Most importantly, it has momentum. It's moving forward with a distinct destination, and even though I know Fringe is heading somewhere, I have no idea where that might be, or what's going to happen when we get there. Boy, if you're not watching Fringe, you're missing out."
SFScope
contributor Sarah Stegall thought the episode was similar to Flowers for Algernon
, but was skeptical of the premise that Milo could predict every event before they happened. She criticized the decision to make Milo "coldly calculating", writing "This is but another version of the tired cliché of the stoic intellectual, the intelligent person who has no heart or emotions. Why are we so afraid of smart people?... It always annoys me when science fiction writers, of all people, diss their own audience with the idea that intellectuals are dangerous." Stegall was pleased to have the first "standalone" episode of the season, explaining that it was the first where she could "relax and enjoy... the tying together of a standalone with a mythology theme was absolutely brilliant." Fearnet
contributor Alyse Wax enjoyed the episode, but also thought "the idea that [drugs] could turn someone into a cartoonish evil genius is pretty farfetched."
Many critics praised Eklund and his character, with one calling Milo "spindly, intense, and nicely chilling". In a January 2011 article, The Futon Critic rated "The Plateau" the twenty-first best television episode of 2010 out of a list of fifty. The A.V. Club ranked Fringe the 15th best show of 2010, in particular citing "The Plateau" as a justification.
Fringe (season 3)
The third season of the American science fiction television series Fringe premiered on Fox on September 23, 2010, and concluded on May 6, 2011, consisting of 22 episodes. The series is produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros...
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...
, and the 46th episode overall. As one of the early Season 3 episodes that takes place entirely in the parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
, the episode centers on Olivia, conditioned to believe she is a member of the alternate Fringe team, trying to track down a mentally unstable man that can predict the team's every move.
"The Plateau" was written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker
Alison Schapker
Alison Schapker is an American television writer and producer. She was a staff writer on the hit ABC series Alias and wrote several of its episodes along with her writing partner, Monica Owusu-Breen. She has also worked on the shows: Charmed, Lost, Brothers & Sisters, and currently Fringe...
, and directed by Brad Anderson. It featured the first and only appearance of guest actor Michael Eklund
Michael Eklund
Michael Eklund is a Canadian actor, who has made numerous appearances in both television and film roles.-Acting career:Since 2006, Eklund has appeared as Vancouver Narcotics detective, Rene Dejardins, in CBC's drama, Intelligence....
, who played the episode's antagonist Milo Stanfield. It first aired on October 7, 2010 to an estimated 5.2 million viewers. Reviews of the episode were mostly positive, and many praised the storyline and Eklund's performance.
Plot
Olivia (Anna TorvAnna Torv
Anna Torv is an Australian actress known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox television series Fringe.-Early life:...
), trapped in the parallel universe, has been conditioned with drugs to believe she is her doppleganger, "Fauxlivia", by Walternate (John Noble
John Noble
John Noble is an Australian film and television actor, and theater director of more than 80 plays. He was born in Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia and is currently starring as scientist Walter Bishop in the J. J. Abrams television series Fringe.He made occasional appearances on the...
), and has been integrated into the alternate Fringe team, though she is haunted by images of Peter (Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian American actor. He has appeared in primetime television and in over 32 film roles. He is best known for playing Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Pacey Witter in the television series Dawson's Creek and Peter Bishop in the television series...
) and Walter (Noble) from the prime universe.
She, Charlie (Kirk Acevedo
Kirk Acevedo
Kirk Acevedo is an American actor. He is primarily known for his portrayals of Miguel Alvarez in the HBO series Oz, Joe Toye in Band of Brothers and FBI Agent Charlie Francis in the science-fiction series Fringe....
), and Lincoln (Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel is an American actor. Gabel plays the role of agent Lincoln Lee on Fox's television series Fringe.-Career:...
) are called to the scene of an accident where a pedestrian has been run over by a bus, nearly duplicating events of a similar bus accident the day before, a statistical impossibility according to Astrid (Jasika Nicole
Jasika Nicole
Jasika Nicole is an American actress and illustrator from Birmingham, Alabama. She is most famous for portraying the character of Astrid Farnsworth in the TV series Fringe....
). Olivia finds a ball-point pen at the scene, a rarity in the parallel universe due to adoption of digital interfaces. Evidence suggests that the discovery of the pen by a bystander created a sequence of chain reactions that lead to the victim's death. The next day, another pedestrian is wounded in a bus accident. As the Fringe team investigates the scene, finding another pen, a bystander is struck and killed by an ambulance. Olivia spots a suspicious man in the crowds, but he uses a seemingly random series of happenstance events to get away.
Olivia discovers ties between the three victims and a medical center. At the center, Dr. Levin (Malcolm Stewart) explains they help mentally-challenged patients with experimental processes to boost their intelligence; Olivia observes one set of patients uses pens as they are unable to cope with digital devices. When Olivia and Charlie discuss the victims with Dr. Levin, he is able to identify their culprit as Milo (Michael Eklund
Michael Eklund
Michael Eklund is a Canadian actor, who has made numerous appearances in both television and film roles.-Acting career:Since 2006, Eklund has appeared as Vancouver Narcotics detective, Rene Dejardins, in CBC's drama, Intelligence....
), a patient taking an experimental drug to boost his intelligence quotient
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
exponentially. Though released to care of his sole remaining family member Madeline (Kacey Rohl), he was scheduled to return to reverse the process for his own health and safety. Dr. Levin identifies all three victims as those charged to return Milo to the center, the last victim only having been selected the day before. They visit Madeline, who worries for the safety of her brother. She explains that Milo is able to predict the outcome of numerous events to the smallest detail, and only by showing him a toy horse can she break Milo's concentration. She provides Olivia and Charlie the location of the hotel that Milo is staying at.
As they return to the city, Olivia and Charlie discuss plans with Astrid on how to capture Milo, but realize that since he can predict their every move, any plan would be futile, and approach the hotel directly. Milo leads Olivia on a chase through a construction area including a marked zone where the air is too thin, expecting to crush her under a load of cement bricks. Olivia, unaware of the warning signs for the zone, instead races through it instead of stopping to put on a respirator, nearly asphyxiating herself, and dodges the bricks in time to capture Milo. At the center, Dr. Levin notes that Milo's condition is too far advanced to reverse, and only a computer is able to keep up with his thoughts. Madeline sadly leaves the toy horse at Milo's side.
That evening, Olivia has a vision of Peter; the vision tries to break Olivia from the conditioning, explaining that her lack of knowledge of the parallel universe saved her life.
Production
The episode featured the return of guest stars Kirk AcevedoKirk Acevedo
Kirk Acevedo is an American actor. He is primarily known for his portrayals of Miguel Alvarez in the HBO series Oz, Joe Toye in Band of Brothers and FBI Agent Charlie Francis in the science-fiction series Fringe....
, Ryan McDonald
Ryan McDonald
Ryan James McDonald is a Canadian actor born 5 August 1984 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. He is sometimes mistakenly credited as Ryan MacDonald.-Filmography:* "The Ballad of Jack and Rose" * "Terry"...
, Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel
Seth Gabel is an American actor. Gabel plays the role of agent Lincoln Lee on Fox's television series Fringe.-Career:...
, and Philip Winchester
Philip Winchester
Philip C. Winchester is an American actor. He is known for his roles in The Patriot, The Hi-Line, LD 50 Lethal Dose, Thunderbirds, CSI: Miami, King Lear, Flyboys, In My Sleep, The Heart of the Earth, and Shaking Dream Land.- Early life and career :Philip C...
. New guest actors included Michael Eklund
Michael Eklund
Michael Eklund is a Canadian actor, who has made numerous appearances in both television and film roles.-Acting career:Since 2006, Eklund has appeared as Vancouver Narcotics detective, Rene Dejardins, in CBC's drama, Intelligence....
as the antagonist Milo Stanfield, Malcolm Stewart as Dr. Levin, and Kacey Rohl as Madeline. "The Plateau" was the first episode of the third season to feature "Alt-Astrid", the prime universe Astrid's doppelganger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
. Actress Jasika Nicole
Jasika Nicole
Jasika Nicole is an American actress and illustrator from Birmingham, Alabama. She is most famous for portraying the character of Astrid Farnsworth in the TV series Fringe....
depicted her to have autistic characteristics, as Nicole has a sister with the disorder.
The name of the antogonist character, Milo Stanfield, is possibly an homage to the character of Marlo Stanfield
Marlo Stanfield
Marlo "Black" Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ruthless and ambitious player in the Baltimore drug trade who gains control of West Baltimore and is the head of his own drug crew.-Character background and plot...
from Lance Reddick's previous series, The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
. Both Stanfield characters are highly intelligent individuals who dispassionately arrange the deaths of multiple victims.
In late March 2010, Brothers & Sisters showsrunners Monica Breen
Monica Breen
Monica Owusu-Breen is an American television and film producer and screenwriter. She is best known for her work on such shows as: Charmed, Alias, Brothers & Sisters, Lost, and currently Fringe. She often collaborates with screenwriter Alison Schapker...
and Alison Schapker
Alison Schapker
Alison Schapker is an American television writer and producer. She was a staff writer on the hit ABC series Alias and wrote several of its episodes along with her writing partner, Monica Owusu-Breen. She has also worked on the shows: Charmed, Lost, Brothers & Sisters, and currently Fringe...
were hired as co-executive producers for Fringe. The two had previously worked with Fringe creator J.J. Abrams on Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
and Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. "The Plateau" marked the first Fringe episode they co-wrote, while filmmaker Brad Anderson served as the director. The episode was shot in August 2010 on Hastings Street
Hastings Street (Vancouver)
Hastings Street is one of the most important east-west traffic corridors in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and used to be a part of the decommissioned Highway 7A...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. The crew employed a stunt double for some of Eklund's more physical scenes, such as when he jumps onto a moving bus.
As with other Fringe episodes, Fox released a science lesson plan in colaboration with Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American elementary, middle, or high school team competition which tests knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability. Over 6,200 teams from 49 U.S. states compete each year. Most teams compete in three levels of competition: regionals, states, and nationals...
for grade school children focusing on the science seen in "The Plateau", with the intention of having "students learn about chain reactions, where small changes result in additional changes, leading to a self-propagating chain of events."
Ratings
On its first broadcast, "The Plateau" was watched by an estimated 5.2 million viewers, earning a 2.0/5 ratings share for those between ages 18 and 49.Reviews
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
Ken Tucker called the episode "at once cool-looking, heart-tugging, and pretty simple", especially when compared to previous episodes like "White Tulip
White Tulip
"White Tulip" is the 18th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. It followed a scientist in his quest to time travel back and save his fiancée, while the Fringe team investigates the consequences of his actions, and Walter struggles to tell his...
". Writing for The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
, Noel Murray graded the episode with an A, explaining "I can't really find anything to complain about here. The direction was effectively moody and snappy, the performances were sharp, and the case was cool." Murray praised the subtle characteristics of the parallel universe, the action scenes, and the use of split-screens to visually show Milo's predictions. MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Josh Wigler believed that the episode "demonstrated how the mystery-of-the-week format can still be compelling: by taking everything familiar and applying a stark new layer of paint." Andrew Hanson of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote "The third season of Fringe continues to get better with each episode. Most importantly, it has momentum. It's moving forward with a distinct destination, and even though I know Fringe is heading somewhere, I have no idea where that might be, or what's going to happen when we get there. Boy, if you're not watching Fringe, you're missing out."
SFScope
SFScope
SFScope is an online trade journal devoted to entertainment news concerning speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It was founded by Ian Randal Strock in early 2007....
contributor Sarah Stegall thought the episode was similar to Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960...
, but was skeptical of the premise that Milo could predict every event before they happened. She criticized the decision to make Milo "coldly calculating", writing "This is but another version of the tired cliché of the stoic intellectual, the intelligent person who has no heart or emotions. Why are we so afraid of smart people?... It always annoys me when science fiction writers, of all people, diss their own audience with the idea that intellectuals are dangerous." Stegall was pleased to have the first "standalone" episode of the season, explaining that it was the first where she could "relax and enjoy... the tying together of a standalone with a mythology theme was absolutely brilliant." Fearnet
FEARnet
Fearnet is a cable channel, website and Video on Demand television service owned by Horror Entertainment LLC, a joint venture between Comcast, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Sony Pictures Entertainment...
contributor Alyse Wax enjoyed the episode, but also thought "the idea that [drugs] could turn someone into a cartoonish evil genius is pretty farfetched."
Many critics praised Eklund and his character, with one calling Milo "spindly, intense, and nicely chilling". In a January 2011 article, The Futon Critic rated "The Plateau" the twenty-first best television episode of 2010 out of a list of fifty. The A.V. Club ranked Fringe the 15th best show of 2010, in particular citing "The Plateau" as a justification.
External links
- "The Plateau" 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...