Fringe: The Complete Second Season

Taking science into another dimension, the second season of this Fox sci-fi drama ventures into a parallel universe, although the unconventional “Fringe Division” FBI team at the center of the action remains the same: straight-laced Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), unstable super-genius Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), and his maverick son Peter (Joshua Jackson). The three continue to investigate cases that defy rational explanation, but along the way, Olivia pieces together her forgotten childhood as an experimental subject, Walter faces the consequences of his past activities, and the dangerous relationship between the two side-by-side worlds becomes clearer. This second helping of Fringe also features a film-noir segment with singing cadavers; backstory on Nina Sharp (Blair Brown), the CEO of global tech company Massive Dynamic; new revelations about division director Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick); and a more active role for Agent Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole). But one episode contains a dramatic revelation that redefines everything. In addition to serving up some of TV's most creative science, Fringe is an excellent character drama, thanks to strong writing and provocative stories. Collecting all 22 official episodes from 2009–10 (plus “Unearthed,” an unaired first-year segment), extras include select episode audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes featurette on “The Mythology of Fringe,” brief featurettes on six key episodes, deleted scenes, a lab tour, and a gag reel. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)