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zeno

Mysteries of Fringe: Green-Green-Green-Red

by Roco on March 14, 2010 · 20 comments

The green and red pattern color is one of the oldest, most intriguing mysteries of Fringe. They appeared as early as the pilot episode and have had fans guessing ever since. Their meaning is currently unknown, but their significance to the mythology of the show is not to be sniffed at. In this, our first Mysteries of Fringe post, we hope to get closer to understanding the mystery of the green and red pattern by examining their appearances within the show.

Follow us down the rabbit hole, and bring cake and coffee. Or better still, coffee cake.

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1.12 “The No Brainer” – Clues & Eastereggs Round-Up

by Roco on February 2, 2009 · 0 comments

Here’s our Clues and Eastereggs round-up for episode 1.12, “The No Brainer”:

It’s “A” Sign of Things To Come

1.12 The No Brainer - Clues & EE's

This could be something or nothing, eitherway the golden-red object illustrated above, looks eerily similar to the Aleph that we have previously seen on the kayak from Olivia’s dream-state, and also being worn as a lapel by INtREPUS leader, David Esterbrook, in “The Cure”. I’ve dug up that previous investigation below for comparison:

"A" Aleph clue from 1.06 "The Cure" and 1.01 Pilot

I think that it is the same symbol. The question is, what on earth was the same aleph symbol doing in Brian Demsey’s computer virus?? A virus that was seemingly abstract from the “Pattern”. Perhaps there is more over-arching mythology hidden in “The No Brainer” than first meets the eye?

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1.09 “The Dreamscape” Eastereggs & Clues Round-Up

by Roco on December 1, 2008 · 3 comments

 Our easteregg and clues round up for 1.09 “The Dreamscape”.

Too Young to Die

The scene of Mark Young falling to his death was awesome, but like most things it’s been done before. This “Watchmen” comparison visually looks like the closest parallel. “Who will watch the Watchmen?!” Heck, “Who will watch Massive Dynamic”? As we posited a few weeks back.

Blue Bell

Nothing major here, but after Mark Young falls to his death we can see that the Massive Dynamic central office is situated on Bell Plaza. Aww, Bellie has a street named in his honour. Also, take note of the blue light-effect.

Massive Observer

The Observer made it nine appearances out of nine, as he observed the soon to be hallucinating Mark Young. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that September managed to get inside the Massive Dynamic building, apparently unnoticed. Could it be that not everyone can observe the Observers presence? Sure, he’s been caught on candid camera, but a snap shot and real-time observation are two different mediums. Perhaps the viewers and Olivia are special in that we can see him when others cant. Yeah, we’re special.

As an aside, it’s worth pointing out that this surely isn’t Michael Cerveris. I’d guess that they’ve drafted in two look-alikeies to portray the Observer for the past two episodes.

Lost in Fringe

Bad Robot tip their hat to their other legendary TV show, “Lost”,with this nice little easteregg of an Oceanic Airlines ticket belonging to Mark Young. In case you don’t know (and you really should), Oceanic Airlines is the ill-fated (or destined?) airliner which crashed our Losties onto the Island. 

Some people have suggested that this signifies a Lost/Fringe cross-over, with Phillip Broyles and Matthew Abbadon being the same person. Dream on! As much as I love both shows, it’s not gonna happen. Lost is on ABC and Fringe is on Fox.  This isn’t Nina and Broyles – they’ll be no quid pro quo. It’s simply JJ. Abrams and co giving a shout out to one of their other productions, just like they did for “Alias” a couple of weeks back with the “Page 47″ and the “Mr. Jones” /Mr Smith” references.

Fear not Lost and Fringe fans, we’ll still get to fangasm when both shows air within 24 hours of one another starting Jan 20. Sweetness.

Whatever The Casey May Be

In Mark Jones journal, the name “Dr. Peretti” is written. If you recall, one of the gravestones in “The Arrival” bore the name “Casey Peretti”. Coincidence? I think not. Even more interesting is the fact that Casey Peretti is buried on the same plot as Robert Bishop, who is possibly Walter’s father.

Anyway, the point is that we should be aware that the name Peretti means something.

Staggering Connections

Mark Young’s journal again: The words “Monarch” (which Olivia later deciphered as being George Morales phone number) is written in a very similar ‘staggered’ pattern as those which we observed in The Equation and The Arrival. See here if you don’t know what I’m referring to.

What does it mean? Frack knows, but it’s a pattern and it has now been observed, just in case it holds meaning for future episodes.

Finding Zeno

As Olivia’s laptop starts up, the word ZenoFX Multimedia (and ZenFX) pop up on the screen. Obviously this refers to a piece of software on Olivia’s computer. However, if you remember, “Zeno” is one of the oldest and most debated of all the Fringe clues. It was first seen on the kayak in Olivia’s dream-state (along with the aleph, blue flashes and green and red dots). I doubt that this is a coincidence as this is the 2nd appearance of the word Zeno.

As for what it means, well it could related to “ZFT” (the cell referenced in “Mr. Jones” and in this episode by George Morales). It should also be mentioned that Massive Dynamic have their own “Zeno”. With all that in mind, I’d venture to guess that Zeno has something to do with time-travel.

Napoleon Dynamite

Whilst Olivia runs search returns for “Monarchy”, one of the browsers opens up information on “L’Empereur” (referring to Napoleon’s ‘monarchy’). There’s also a 1989 turn-based strategy game called L’Empereur. This may be of interest to those who speculate that on some level Fringe might actually be a game.

Red? Meet Red

During Olivia’s “Monarchy” search, a nice comparison emerged between two strong red-headed and charismatic women of power. Elizabeth I and Nina Sharp. There’s no denying the obvious parallels, and more can be interpreted with the fact that both Elizabeth and Nina are known for their close association with two men named William (Cecil and Bell, respectively).

We could perhaps go the whole tilt and suggest that it’s Nina Sharp and not William Bell who is the real power house down at Massive Dynamic. “Who does she do?..Who doesn’t she do..”

Blue Dreams

The blue flashes have been absent for a few episodes but they came back in force during Olivia’s dream state. Anyone still thinking that they are only for styling needs to re-think that opinion.

MSSDYN

Mark Young’s business card. Clearly Massive Dynamic want you to call them. Go on, give them a bell. You might also want to email Mark using m.young@massivedynamic.com (inset).

Burn After Reading

Someone asked me to include this. Clearly they’ve never seen the word “burn” on a bin before.

Double J Vision

 

Some people think that JJ made a cameo in this episode. I hope it isn’t him, Fringe is already twisty enough without the puppetmaster fracking with our heads even more!

Thanks to the Fringe-Forum community for some of the images used in this round-up.

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1.04 ‘The Arrival’ Clues + Easteregg Round-Up

by Roco on October 6, 2008 · 3 comments

Here’s our round-up of the clues and eastereggs from episode 1.04 “The Arrival”.

UNLOCK YOUR HIDDEN..

In the opening scene there is a poster plastered on a signpost (A, B). Partially (and intentionally) obscured by the location titles the poster says: “UNLOCK YOUR HIDDEN POTENTIAL”, followed by what appears to be “BETTER HEADING” (certainly the letters HEA can be seen) and a phone number with some of the digits hidden from view. Each episode so far has contained subtle clues for the next episode, this would appear to be the clue for episode 5, which airs on October 14.

THE ‘OTHER’ PATTERN

In the pilot episode we saw a colored pattern (green, green, green, red) on the kayak in Olivia’s dream state (C). This same pattern was seen in two different places in The Arrival – first it was on the (bottom left)interface of The Observer’s binoculars (A) and again on the hat of John Mosely AKA ‘Rouge’ (B). These occurrences seem to link Olivia (or her uncle) to the company/peoples that both The Observer and Rouge represent. Since The Observer and Rouge appear to be on opposing sides, it’s been speculated that they are also from opposing ‘times’. The Zeno kayak had a heavy time-travel connotation, so perhaps The Observer and Rouge are from different time-lines? The Observer’s items (gun, hat etc) appear to be from the early 1900′s, yet in other ways he seems very futuristic (the effect of his gun and his mannerisms being an example of this. Whilst Rouge is apparently from our time (according to his crime report), yet his beam gun and thought-extractor has a futuristic effect.

MYSERIOUS WRITINGS

The Observer’s writings have been speculated to be Korean, Hebrew and Sanskrit by fans and waitresses alike, but in actual fact they appear to be a made-up language for the purpose of the show. It’s been noted on Fringe-Forum.com that the symbols are not repeated throughout the text.

We get two different views of the writings, one from The Observers point of view (A) and the other from the waitresses point of view (B). The text appears different in each point of view, this is either a continuity error, or it might carry hidden meaning.

MASSIVE HIGH

Massive Dynamic may have been absent from the episode, but in actual fact they weren’t. A Massive Dynamic sign can be seen on the crane at the construction site where the cylinder arrived from. This is another example in a long line of examples of Massive Dynamic owning everything – “What do we do?..what don’t we do”. It could also be speculated that Massive Dynamic were also expecting the cylinder to arrive and arranged for the area to be excavated, at the expense of a few construction worker lives.

BLU(E) RAY

Throughout the series we’ve noticed the fleeting appearance of a blue light – it was very prominent in The Arrival. It was seen when The Observer announced the arrival of the cylinder, during the Rouge-attack sequence and several other scenes.

A blue light can also be seen on the cylinder as the team are inspecting it.

The very first occurrences of this blue light were seen in the opening title credits of the pilot when the words “OBSERVERS ARE HERE” briefly appears, and when Olivia’s uncles kayak appears during her ‘dream state’ with John Scott.

The main constant in all of these ‘blue light’ appearances seems to be The Observer – or in the case of the title credits, the reference to ‘observers are here’ – and Olivia. We detect a time-travel theme, particularly if the ZENO kayak is representative of Massive Dynamic’s PEARL system. More on the blue light at Fringe-Forum.com

CYNICS TO BELIEVERS

The name S.E. Kramer can be seen on the warehouse where the cylinder was initially being kept. This is a shout-out to Popular Mechanics writer and Fringe cynic S.E. Kramer, who attempted to debunk the science portrayed in the second episode. The Fringe creators have a sweet sense of humor.

WHERE’S WALDO?

The various photos of The Observer – It took Broyles team 1 year to spot him, yet Olivia did it in only 3 weeks. Further evidence of her connection to ‘The Pattern’? It’s worth speculating whether or not these sightings are of the same ‘Observer’, or many – after all, “Observers (plural) Are Here”

GRAVE CONNECTIONS

Robert Bishop, August 21, 1912 -  December 11, 1944. It’s difficult to know who Robert was, but Grandfather of Peter, father of Walter could be a good bet. Rouge makes an interesting comment to Peter before he begin digging – “It’s a shame you never got to meet him”. Does this mean that Rouge, however, DID meet him – further evidence that Rouge is from a different time?.

The other gravesstones are diffiuclt to make-out, but they appear to be: S. Miloz Nski, 1868-1917 – H. Ilozynski 1879-1995 – S.U. Miloz Nski 1805-1969. We’re not 100% sure if we’ve got these dates correct, as it would mean that some of these people lived very very very long lives! Casey Peretti, 1902-1990 (a possible shout-out to the TV show As The World Turns). The middle-right gravestone is extremely difficult to read, but we’ve included it for reference (for a clearer image, see here).

OLD BLUE..GREEN..SILVER EYES

In episode 2 – The Same Old Story, Walter says that most male new borns have blue eyes, in this screen-capture of Peter from The Arrival, he appears to have green eyes (A). Is this down to the lighting or did they change the color of his eyes in post production, and if so, why..

In Peter and Walter’s final scene of The Arrival, Walter’s eyes develop a strange silver glint (B) (near the end of the scene). Again, is this the lighting playing tricks, or did they add this in post production, and to what ends? It worth noting that so far throughout the series, there has been A LOT of hints and allusions to the eyes, so these occurrences must surely mean something?

FRINGE ITEMS

Some of the items belonging to The Observer and Rouge: The Observers binoculars, modern interface yet dated external aesthetics (A). The cylinder – described by Walter as having perfect dimensions (B). The Observers dated time-piece (C), which is actually a real-life Majestron brand (D) pocket watch. Rouge’s nose-plugs of persuasion (E, F) which were used to read Peter’s (and subsequently, Walter’s) thoughts – a very crude instrument, yet once again it’s futuristic in it’s effect. Rouge’s beam-blast gun (G) (futuristic in appearance and effect) and The Observer’s gun (E) (traditional in appearance yet futuristic in effect).

Thanks to that source of all things Fringe, Fringe-Forum.com, for several of the screencaps/clues used in this post.

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1.02 Easteregg and Clues Round-up

by Roco on September 22, 2008 · 3 comments

Here’s our easteregg observations for episode 1.02 “The Same Old Story”. Thanks to Fringe-Forum.comfor some of the screencaps used in this post. 

Picking Daisies:

Poor old Loraine, first her mother botches up her name and gives her ‘Daisy’ as a middlename, then she has the misfortune to give birth to a man-baby. And what does the father do? He dumps her at the hospital with no forwarding address - typical man..boy..or whatever Christopher is..was. Anyway, if you followed the Fringe viral during the summer, you will have noticed that one of the most prominent images was that of a hybridized Daisy with a dragonfly wing as one of it’s petels. Our Loraine not only has the middle name ‘Daisy’, but her unfortunate sisters are also all named after flowers. Flowers are coded by a very specific pattern, or sequence – Fibonacci. Coincidence? Only if you call planting seeds coincidence. It’s also worth noting that there were lots of flower images in the Massive Dynamic waiting room – see here for more.

Lordess of the Ring:

The exuberant Nina Sharp is always good for a bit of debate, if it isn’t her “I’ll be back” hand, it’s her Cheshire cat grin, and failing that it’s her new ring that she was sporting in 1.02. They gave it too much focus and attention for it to not be alluding to something. Considering she’s one of a select group of private individuals with clearance to information regarding “the pattern”, and attends crisis meetings in the bowl of night (inset), it’s safe to assume that this ring represents a membership, or status of some kind. Then there was the leaf necklace that she was wearing in the pilot – the leaf also being a part of the Fringe viral campaign.

You Can Leave Your Hat On:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who is this man and what is he doing outside of Massive Dynamic, and why was he watching Walter/Peter as they walked past him at the hospital?

The Pen-ny Drops:

The appearance of Claus Penrose (right) in episode 2 was foreshadowed by a poster with a pen and a rose (left), outside the Massive Dynamic head-quarters in the pilot episode.

It’s a-boat time…travel?:

Remember the “ZENO” kayak we mentioned in our easteregg 1.01 round-up? We think we have a parallel reference, in the shape of the toy yacht that the little boy and his father were playing with. Not only is this another boat reference, but there’s a small marking on the sail of the yacht. It appears to be an “A” – similar to the “A” marking that is also on the “ZENO” kayak. We’re pretty sure that these boat references will be explained eventually, perhaps linking to Olivia’s past and the mention of her uncle in 1.01. There are also some time-travel allusions in there. There was just too much Olivia angst in that scene for this to mean nothing.

Lock up Your Strippers!

The final scene of episode 2 showed us 3 more Christopher Penrose’s – 2 in Massive Dynamic incubators (notice the “M” logo at the side of the incubators) and 1 in the centre, who is almost done hatching. This seems to suggest that the people who paid Penrose to conduct the initial ‘Christopher’ experiment are in fact Massive Dynamic (them again!), who have since grown more siblings, perhaps Penrose also loves them as much as he did his other man-son?

This made us laugh – we haven’t marked it, but if you look closely you’ll notice that both of the incubators have telephones attached to them. What, do they use this to sing lullabyes to the young’un? “Row, row, row your boat..”

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1.01 Pilot Easteregg and Clues Round-up

by Roco on September 20, 2008 · 12 comments

Here’s our round-up of the interesting Eastereggs and hidden clues that we noticed in the pilot episode (sorry it’s late).

“Observers Are Here”

Cleverly hidden in the opening title credits, just after the words “Dark Matter”, are the words “Observers Are Here”. Whether the ‘observers’ is a reference to us viewers, or somebody (or a corporation) within the show has yet to be established. It could possibly hold double-meaning. Ever get the feeling you’re being watched?..:

Multitude of light references (observation orbs?):

Is someone observing our Fringies and the rest of the world via lights or the medium of electricity?

Massive Dynamic Have (Robot) Fingers in Every Pie:

As seen above, Massive Dynamic not only make aircraft jet engines, but they also make satellite dishes. Remind you of any companies you know? How does one company amass so much knowledge and scope..and for what ends? I guess that’s one of things we’ll find out with Massive Dynamic.

Also, their slogan is so apt: Massive Dynamic - “What Do We Do? What Don’t We Do”

He’s Not Dead:

The marking on the grave stone in Olivia’s dream telling her that John Scott isn’t dead. is this Olivia’s subconscious foreshadowing of Nina’s order to question (reanimate?) him at the end of the episode..or something more? (image credit cdesperado)

ZENO

ZENO -  One of Fringe’s first philosophical references and probably not the last (“Lost” has many you see). The importance of the word ”ZENO” on the kayak is possibly related to Olivia’s past and specifically, her uncle, who this kayak belongs to. There are also time-travel and paradox references, which could allude to Massive Dynamic’s “Zeno-Transit” system:

What’s next? Travel time follows a power law, decreasing by a given factor year by year. MD’s Zeno-Transit Initiative aims to take that process to the limit, making near-instantaneous travel a reality in your lifetime.

Oh yes, fingers in EVERY pie. More ZENO discussion can be found here.

A Game of Chess? But Who’s The Pawn?:

This scene from Olivia’s dream reminded us of a chessboard, with a clueless Olivia being a pawn in a much bigger game. A game she can’t come back from.

Monkey Business:

The science commentary website, GlowingMonkeys.com is nicely planted on a street light outside Massive Dynamic head-quarters. Real world science meets Fringeverse science. More here and here.

Crafty Audio:

JJ. Abrams and his Bad Robot stable aren’t strangers to hiding clues inside of audio (just ask any Lost fan). Nevertheless it was a great piece of work by TheMarkedMouse to discover the reversed audio that was planted at the start of Richard Steig’s minitape. Listen to the audio below:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

 More here.

Leaf Another Day:

The leaf’s with the triangle shape (delta) on them (inset), have long been the subject of the Fringe viral campaign. However, they made their way into the show itself in the pilot episode. Nina wore a leaf-shaped necklace around her neck (inset), and a the rotating viral leaf also appeared after the access code to the ‘reanimation room’ was successfully entered. It would appear that the leaf and other viral elements might actually be part of a sequence (a pattern), or hold status importance.

We’ve left one or two clues out from this round-up, as we feel it’s better to include them in our episode 2 Easteregg round-up, which will be posted soon. Thanks to Fringe-Forum.com for allowing us to borrow some of the above screencaps!

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