Season 5
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and produced by Warner Bros. Television and Bad Robot Productions which follows the exploits of FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, scientist Walter Bishop and his son Peter as they investigate aspects of fringe science including telepathy, levitation, invisibility, reanimation and genetic mutation.
The series aired in the USA on FOX from 9 September, 2008 to 18 January, 2013. There are 100 hour-long episodes in five seasons.
Fringe premiered in South Africa on M-Net (simulcast in HD) on Thursday 8 January 2009, at 21h30. It later aired on DStv's M-Net Series channel, beginning with Season 2, and on TopTV's Fox FX channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 5 premiered on M-Net on Thursday 12 September 2013, at 21h30. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 13 episodes in the fifth and final season.
Season 5
Picking up from the events depicted in last season's flash-forward episode "Letters of Transit," the seemingly peaceful "Observers" seized control of the universe in 2015.
Now in 2036, they have become ruthless rulers who will reign supreme. What awaits in the future is the Fringe team's final stand, which will bring together all that they have witnessed in preparation to battle and protect the world.
Set in Boston, the FBI's Fringe Division started when Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) enlisted institutionalized "fringe" scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his globe-trotting, jack-of-all-trades son, Peter (Joshua Jackson), to help in an investigation of an airline disaster that defied human logic.
After the defining case was solved and furthermore revealed to be one of a series of unusual incidents linked together, the unlikely trio - supervised by Special Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick) and assisted by Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole) - was formed.
As unimaginable events continued to unfold, the Fringe Division's investigations often led them to science and technological corporation Massive Dynamic and its enigmatic chief executive, Nina Sharp (Blair Brown).
It was revealed that Walter and Massive Dynamic's elusive founder and chairman William Bell (guest star Leonard Nimoy) once were scientific partners, and had used Olivia as a test subject when she was a child.
Through the Fringe team's investigations, Olivia learned that the root cause of these strange occurrences was due to the existence of a parallel universe.
Even more shocking was the discovery that Walter had kidnapped Peter as a child from "over there" after his Peter had died, thus creating an imbalance between the two universes that threatened to tear both worlds apart.
Complications in these two separate, yet interconnected, worlds quickly began to ripple throughout each universe. Ultimately, Peter realized his kidnapping was the cause for the alternate world's impending doom.
So he chose to sacrifice himself by activating a device that saved the universe, bridged the two worlds together but erased him from existence.
Season 4 found the Fringe Divisions working together to rebuild the alternate universe. Despite Peter's seemingly permanent sacrifice, he returned very much alive and helped stop William Bell's mad plans to collapse the two worlds together.
Then, after Olivia learned she was pregnant with Peter's child and all seemed right with the world(s), Walter received an ominous warning that "they" were coming.
Created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, Fringe is produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Abrams, Bryan Burk and J.H. Wyman serve as executive producers, while Kurtzman, Orci and Akiva Goldsman are consulting producers.
Seasons
Note: Seasons 1, 4 and 5 did not air on M-Net Series. Transmissions on M-Net simulcast in HD.
Season 1 (20 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 8 Jan 2009 | Finale: 21 May 2009 | Thu, 21h30
Channel: Fox FX | Premiere: 28 Sep 2010 | Finale: 8 Feb 2011 | Tue, 20h30
Season 2 (23 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 28 Jan 2010 | Finale: 1 Jul 2010 | Thu, 21h30
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 4 Jul 2010 | Finale: 28 Nov 2010 | Sun, 21h30
Channel: Fox FX | Premiere: 9 Aug 2011 | Finale: 10 Jan 2012 | Tue, 20h30
Season 3 (22 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 6 Jan 2011 | Finale: 2 Jun 2011 | Thu, 21h30
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 22 May 2011 | Finale: 16 Oct 2011 | Sun, 22h30
Channel: Fox FX | Premiere: 16 Oct 2012 | Finale: 2 Apr 2013 | Tue, 20h30
Season 4 (22 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 30 Aug 2012 | Finale: 17 Jan 2013 | Thu, 21h30
Season 5 (13 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 12 Sep 2013 | Finale: 5 Dec 2013 | Thu, 21h30