Momentum Deferred
Encyclopedia
"Momentum Deferred" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American science fiction
drama
television series
Fringe
. Screenwriters Zack Stentz
and Ashley Edward Miller
wrote the episode, and co-executive producer Joe Chappelle
directed it. The episode followed the theft of cryogenically-frozen heads by shapeshifter
s from the parallel universe
in their search for a specific head, while the Fringe team attempts to prevent this. Meanwhile, Olivia
struggles to remember her conversation with William Bell (guest actor Leonard Nimoy
) that took place in the season one finale
. "Momentum Deferred" marked the first appearances of guest actors Theresa Russell
, Sebastian Roché
, and Ryan McDonald
.
It first aired on October 8, 2009 in the United States, and was watched by more than 6.02 million viewers. The episode received generally positive reviews, with many critics praising the new revelations about the shapeshifters, the parallel universe, as well as the much-anticipated conversation between Olivia and William Bell.
, identifying him as a shapeshifter from the parallel universe
. The Fringe division discovers an undamaged device they believe is used by the shapeshifters to take another's identity. Olivia Dunham
(Anna Torv
) gives the device to Nina Sharp (Blair Brown
) at Massive Dynamic; with the intact device, they can use it to examine the device of the first shapeshifter that tried to kill Olivia in the episode "A New Day in the Old Town
". They are unaware that this shapeshifter has taken the form of Olivia's partner, Charlie (Kirk Acevedo
), ordered to find out what she learned from William Bell (Leonard Nimoy
) when she was temporarily taken to the parallel universe.
Walter
(John Noble
) remembers that one of his former patients Rebecca Kibner (Theresa Russell
), while under a heavy dose of mind-altering drugs, had witnessed events in the parallel universe including the presence of the shapeshifters. To try to learn more, they approach Rebecca and ask for her help, who is happy to participate. After outfitting her with electrodes and injecting her with more drugs, Walter starts the process by clanging a bell; to everyone's surprise, this causes Olivia to pass out.
The bell has caused Olivia to recall her conversation with Bell in the parallel universe. There, Bell warned Olivia of a "great storm" that was coming, and that she must stop a man who is trying to open a gateway between the two universes, providing Olivia with an icon symbol and a hand-written name to remember. Walter and Peter help revive Olivia who immediately demands to see Nina. As Olivia leaves, Walter returns with Rebecca to her home.
Nina, initially doubtful that Olivia met Bell, recognizes the "great storm" phrase, and attempts to help Olivia in any way possible. As Olivia recounts the name of another cryogenics facility from Bell's note, she receives a text message from Charlie warning her that Nina is the shapeshifter. She leaves and regroups with Charlie, but in a side alley, is alerted by her phone that Massive Dynamic's analysis of the first device was completed, and reveals Charlie as the shapeshifter. Too late, Olivia realizes she has told Charlie the location of the cryogenics facility, and Charlie relays this to another agent. After a brief fight for her life, Olivia shoots and kills the shapeshifter. Broyles (Lance Reddick
) helps to comfort Olivia that she had to kill the man she thought was Charlie. At the episode's conclusion, the head with Bell's symbol is reattached to the body of a shapeshifter.
and Ashley Edward Miller
. In the first several drafts of the episode, it was initially called "This is the Night Mail," which was based on a poem
by W.H. Auden. The episode completed the "gun arc" storyline, which began with Olivia hurtling out of her SUV in the season premiere
and being too weak to control her gun during her physical recovery, and ended with the killing of the shapeshifter posing as Charlie Francis. Miller and Stentz elaborated, "I think it's Jeff Pinkner who described the first several episodes as the gun arc. Because really the gun played out until Olivia was whole again. Her actions with the gun in all of those episodes symbolized where she was on the journey. And it culminates in her being able to use it to kill someone who looks exactly like her best friend."
Co-executive producer Joe Chappelle
worked as the episode director. He commented, "I was so looking forward to directing 2x04 because it was a payoff of a full season and three episodes of work. You've been laying all this groundwork of information for all the characters and the backstory. The actors loved doign it because they're earned moments."
The episode was shot in Vancouver
during the summer, where temperatures were over 100 degrees Fahrenheit
. Executive producer Jeff Pinkner
commented that despite the heat, guest actor Leonard Nimoy
"was doing pages and pages of dialogue, and he handled it like a pro," while co-star Joshua Jackson
joked that "[Nimoy's] wife said he practices biofeedback
, so he knows how to control his body temperature". Director Joe Chappelle called the episode "intriguing because it's a summation of everything that came before it, so we're resolving a lot of issues and a lot of questions. But it's also a springboard into the rest of the season". Actor John Noble
, who played Walter Bishop, called it "probably one of our strongest and densest episodes" because it "changes the whole direction of the show".
Not knowing when his next billed episode would be, Nimoy said in an interview before "Momentum Deferred" aired that he's "waiting to see what these terribly imaginative writers come up with for the future. I’m expecting that I probably will be going back to work for them before too much longer. I'm looking forward to what they send me on the page". After shooting the episode, Pinkner said "We want him back as much as he wants to come back". Nimoy's next appearance occurred six episodes later, in "Grey Matters
". As a reference to a brief appearance by Nimoy's character William Bell, sound editor Bruce Tanis was instructed to create bell
s as a recurring motif
in the scene when Bell encounters Olivia and gives her vital information about the parallel universe. Tanis explained that because he couldn't put the sound of bells in everything, he "took some dry ice recordings and pitched them down considerably and reverbed
them to become ringing tones that I played underneath the whole scene". Tanis also used some "reversed" ship's bells as well as crystal glass rubs in order to make Bell's office sound like multiple layers of glass and bell sounds; he referred to the scene as "a little ominous" but not "too cliche".
as Thomas Jerome Newton, a new recurring villain from the parallel universe
often referred to as the "Omega Man". Newton was named in honor of English musician David Bowie
, who played a character with the same name in the film The Man Who Fell to Earth
. German actor Thomas Kretschmann
was originally cast for the part, but was unable to be a recurring character due to a scheduling conflict. Though uncredited, Kretschmann briefly did some shooting on the set of "Momentum Deferred"; Kretschmann was originally in Newton's one scene in the episode, at the end when they show a sewn-up head, but Roché's head instead appears.
Near the end of the first season in late May 2009, actor Kirk Acevedo
announced he was "fired" off of the show from his Facebook
page. Executive producer Jeff Pinkner
denied it soon after, explaining that "like all things on Fringe, there is more to this story than meets the eye" and reminded viewers that an alternate version of his character had already appeared in a first season episode
. Later that summer at Comic-Con in July he reiterated that "rumors of Charlie's demise are premature," and at the August Television Critics Association press tour he commented about Charlie possibly showing up in the previously visited parallel universe. "Momentum Deferred" marked the actor's last appearance in the prime universe. In response to why the character was killed off, Entertainment Weekly
s Michael Ausiello reported that the "storyline dictated. Charlie wasn't going to have much to do this season, and rather than waste Kirk's time, they cut him loose". The character's doppelganger
from the parallel universe returned in the season finale "Over There"
.
Despite initial reports stating guest actress Theresa Russell
would be playing a recurring character, the episode marked her only appearance as an adult version of the character. Russell plays Rebecca Kibner, a former test subject and love interest of Walter's; a younger version played by actress Tegan Moss
is seen in the season premiere "A New Day in the Old Town
". In the DVD
audio commentary
, the writers explained that when they were looking for an actress to play the character, the casting director April Webster, acting on Jeff Pinkner's instructions, called Kibner both "a blessing and a curse," because the writers wanted to explore the burden of what it meant to be special. One writer explained Kibner and Walter's past relationship had not been a long term affair, but instead more of a "little fling". The episode also marked the first appearance of Canadian actor Ryan McDonald
as recurring character Brandon Fayette, a Massive Dynamic scientist. According to the episode's writers, the character is based on a man who works at the production company Bad Robot.
loved the revelations from the conversation with William Bell, along with the appearance of shapeshifters. He thought the episode was Fringe "at its absolute finest," as the "mystery-of-the-week and the overarching plot worked in complete harmony with one another, proving that Fringe is entirely capable of delivering on both a serialized and episodic basis". Entertainment Weekly
Ken Tucker praised guest actor Leonard Nimoy's "terrific, coolly-controlled performance," and wrote that he continued "to admire the way Fringe can mind-meld its scientific fiction with workplace-family drama and light comedy, juggling an increasing number of characters and subplots, while still maintaining a strong narrative through-line". The A.V. Club
Noel Murray graded the episode a B+, explaining that the episode was much better than the previous week and also praising the introduction of two new characters and the long awaited meeting between Olivia and William Bell. Murray concluded his review somewhat negatively, "If the whole episode had maintained the "yes we're aware this is kinda nutsy" tone of that one great line, I'd have bumped it up one more notch to the A-level. I'm holding back only because "Momentum Deferred" was such an info-dump, and played a fraction too soberly". Writing for Mania.com, Stephen Lackey thought the alternate universe plotline was risky because it had the potential to cause Fringe to "mak[e] a complex plot convoluted by taking off in flights of fancy with the writing and forgetting what has been written before," but he does not believe that point has been reached yet. He also thought the meeting between Olivia and Bell "wasn't as epic as it has been teased," but enjoyed the "fascinating" cliffhanger at the end, ultimately calling it a "good" episode. Website blogger io9
listed "Momentum Deferred" as one of the "crucial" episodes new viewers must watch to get into the show.
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...
. Screenwriters Zack Stentz
Zack Stentz
Zack Stentz is an American Screenwriter and Producer. He often collaborates with Screenwriter/Producer Ashley Edward Miller.-Filmography:Writer* Andromeda * The Twilight Zone...
and Ashley Edward Miller
Ashley Edward Miller
Ashley Edward Miller is an American Screenwriter and Producer best known for his work on the TV shows Andromeda, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Fringe. As well as for his work on the films Thor and X-Men: First Class...
wrote the episode, and co-executive producer Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle is an American film and television director and producer. Chappelle was a Co-executive producer and regular Director for the HBO crime drama The Wire...
directed it. The episode followed the theft of cryogenically-frozen heads by shapeshifter
ShapeShifter
ShapeShifter is an Application Enhancer plugin for Mac OS X developed by Unsanity that allows the user to make system-wide modifications to the appearance of the operating system's graphical interface by applying GUI skins through “injection” into running code and without modifying system files,...
s from 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...
in their search for a specific head, while the Fringe team attempts to prevent this. Meanwhile, Olivia
Olivia Dunham
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series Fringe . Olivia first appeared in the pilot episode on September 9, 2008. She is portrayed by actress Anna Torv....
struggles to remember her conversation with William Bell (guest actor Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
) that took place in the season one 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...
. "Momentum Deferred" marked the first appearances of guest actors Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell is an American actress.-Biography:Russell was born Theresa Paup in San Diego, California, the daughter of Carole Platt and Jerry Russell Paup. She attended Burbank High School, but did not graduate. She married English film director Nicolas Roeg , in 1982...
, Sebastian Roché
Sebastian Roché
- Early life :Roché was born in Paris, France, on August 4, 1964; he is of Scottish and French ancestry. He is also fluent in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Italian. On General Hospital, he spoke in Russian, Spanish and French, and on the pilot episode of Odyssey 5, he spoke in French...
, and 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"...
.
It first aired on October 8, 2009 in the United States, and was watched by more than 6.02 million viewers. The episode received generally positive reviews, with many critics praising the new revelations about the shapeshifters, the parallel universe, as well as the much-anticipated conversation between Olivia and William Bell.
Plot
A shipment of heads stored in cryogenic storage is hijacked, though one of the hijackers is killed by a guard, and bleeds a mix of blood and mercuryMercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
, identifying him as a shapeshifter from 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 Fringe division discovers an undamaged device they believe is used by the shapeshifters to take another's identity. Olivia Dunham
Olivia Dunham
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series Fringe . Olivia first appeared in the pilot episode on September 9, 2008. She is portrayed by actress Anna Torv....
(Anna Torv
Anna Torv
Anna Torv is an Australian actress known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox television series Fringe.-Early life:...
) gives the device to Nina Sharp (Blair Brown
Blair Brown
Bonnie Blair Brown is an American theater, film, and television actress. She has had a number of high profile roles, including a Tony Award-winning turn in the play Copenhagen on Broadway, as well as a run as the title character in the television comedy-drama The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd,...
) at Massive Dynamic; with the intact device, they can use it to examine the device of the first shapeshifter that tried to kill Olivia in the episode "A New Day in the Old Town
A New Day in the Old Town
"A New Day in the Old Town" is the season premiere and first episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 21st episode overall. It was written by co-creator J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, with Goldsman also directing...
". They are unaware that this shapeshifter has taken the form of Olivia's partner, 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....
), ordered to find out what she learned from William Bell (Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
) when she was temporarily taken to the parallel universe.
Walter
Walter Bishop (Fringe)
Walter Bishop, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by John Noble. Noble also plays Walter's counterpart in the show's parallel universe, who is referred to in the show as Walternate.-Arc:...
(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...
) remembers that one of his former patients Rebecca Kibner (Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell is an American actress.-Biography:Russell was born Theresa Paup in San Diego, California, the daughter of Carole Platt and Jerry Russell Paup. She attended Burbank High School, but did not graduate. She married English film director Nicolas Roeg , in 1982...
), while under a heavy dose of mind-altering drugs, had witnessed events in the parallel universe including the presence of the shapeshifters. To try to learn more, they approach Rebecca and ask for her help, who is happy to participate. After outfitting her with electrodes and injecting her with more drugs, Walter starts the process by clanging a bell; to everyone's surprise, this causes Olivia to pass out.
The bell has caused Olivia to recall her conversation with Bell in the parallel universe. There, Bell warned Olivia of a "great storm" that was coming, and that she must stop a man who is trying to open a gateway between the two universes, providing Olivia with an icon symbol and a hand-written name to remember. Walter and Peter help revive Olivia who immediately demands to see Nina. As Olivia leaves, Walter returns with Rebecca to her home.
Nina, initially doubtful that Olivia met Bell, recognizes the "great storm" phrase, and attempts to help Olivia in any way possible. As Olivia recounts the name of another cryogenics facility from Bell's note, she receives a text message from Charlie warning her that Nina is the shapeshifter. She leaves and regroups with Charlie, but in a side alley, is alerted by her phone that Massive Dynamic's analysis of the first device was completed, and reveals Charlie as the shapeshifter. Too late, Olivia realizes she has told Charlie the location of the cryogenics facility, and Charlie relays this to another agent. After a brief fight for her life, Olivia shoots and kills the shapeshifter. Broyles (Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick is an American theater, film and TV actor and musician born in Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in The Wire as Cedric Daniels, appeared in Oz as Detective Johnny Basil and appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Lost. He now has a prominent role in Fringe...
) helps to comfort Olivia that she had to kill the man she thought was Charlie. At the episode's conclusion, the head with Bell's symbol is reattached to the body of a shapeshifter.
Writing and filming
"Momentum Deferred" was written by screenwriters Zack StentzZack Stentz
Zack Stentz is an American Screenwriter and Producer. He often collaborates with Screenwriter/Producer Ashley Edward Miller.-Filmography:Writer* Andromeda * The Twilight Zone...
and Ashley Edward Miller
Ashley Edward Miller
Ashley Edward Miller is an American Screenwriter and Producer best known for his work on the TV shows Andromeda, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Fringe. As well as for his work on the films Thor and X-Men: First Class...
. In the first several drafts of the episode, it was initially called "This is the Night Mail," which was based on a poem
Night Mail
Night Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet W. H. Auden was written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten...
by W.H. Auden. The episode completed the "gun arc" storyline, which began with Olivia hurtling out of her SUV in the season premiere
A New Day in the Old Town
"A New Day in the Old Town" is the season premiere and first episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 21st episode overall. It was written by co-creator J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, with Goldsman also directing...
and being too weak to control her gun during her physical recovery, and ended with the killing of the shapeshifter posing as Charlie Francis. Miller and Stentz elaborated, "I think it's Jeff Pinkner who described the first several episodes as the gun arc. Because really the gun played out until Olivia was whole again. Her actions with the gun in all of those episodes symbolized where she was on the journey. And it culminates in her being able to use it to kill someone who looks exactly like her best friend."
Co-executive producer Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle
Joe Chappelle is an American film and television director and producer. Chappelle was a Co-executive producer and regular Director for the HBO crime drama The Wire...
worked as the episode director. He commented, "I was so looking forward to directing 2x04 because it was a payoff of a full season and three episodes of work. You've been laying all this groundwork of information for all the characters and the backstory. The actors loved doign it because they're earned moments."
The episode was shot 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,...
during the summer, where temperatures were over 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...
. Executive producer Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
commented that despite the heat, guest actor Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
"was doing pages and pages of dialogue, and he handled it like a pro," while co-star 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...
joked that "[Nimoy's] wife said he practices biofeedback
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is the process of becoming aware of various physiological functions using instruments that provide information on the activity of those same systems, with a goal of being able to manipulate them at will...
, so he knows how to control his body temperature". Director Joe Chappelle called the episode "intriguing because it's a summation of everything that came before it, so we're resolving a lot of issues and a lot of questions. But it's also a springboard into the rest of the season". Actor 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...
, who played Walter Bishop, called it "probably one of our strongest and densest episodes" because it "changes the whole direction of the show".
Not knowing when his next billed episode would be, Nimoy said in an interview before "Momentum Deferred" aired that he's "waiting to see what these terribly imaginative writers come up with for the future. I’m expecting that I probably will be going back to work for them before too much longer. I'm looking forward to what they send me on the page". After shooting the episode, Pinkner said "We want him back as much as he wants to come back". Nimoy's next appearance occurred six episodes later, in "Grey Matters
Grey Matters (Fringe)
"Grey Matters" is the 10th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The episode was written by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz, and directed by Jeannot Szwarc...
". As a reference to a brief appearance by Nimoy's character William Bell, sound editor Bruce Tanis was instructed to create bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
s as a recurring motif
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
in the scene when Bell encounters Olivia and gives her vital information about the parallel universe. Tanis explained that because he couldn't put the sound of bells in everything, he "took some dry ice recordings and pitched them down considerably and reverbed
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
them to become ringing tones that I played underneath the whole scene". Tanis also used some "reversed" ship's bells as well as crystal glass rubs in order to make Bell's office sound like multiple layers of glass and bell sounds; he referred to the scene as "a little ominous" but not "too cliche".
Casting
"Momentum Deferred" marked the first appearance of guest actor Sebastian RochéSebastian Roché
- Early life :Roché was born in Paris, France, on August 4, 1964; he is of Scottish and French ancestry. He is also fluent in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Italian. On General Hospital, he spoke in Russian, Spanish and French, and on the pilot episode of Odyssey 5, he spoke in French...
as Thomas Jerome Newton, a new recurring villain from 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...
often referred to as the "Omega Man". Newton was named in honor of English musician David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, who played a character with the same name in the film The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)
The Man Who Fell to Earth is a 1976 British science fiction film directed by Nicolas Roeg.The film is based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, about an extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his planet, which is suffering from a severe drought...
. German actor Thomas Kretschmann
Thomas Kretschmann
Thomas Kretschmann is a German actor best known for playing Leutnant Hans Von Witzland in the 1993 film Stalingrad, Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in The Pianist, Hermann Fegelein in Der Untergang, and Captain Englehorn in the 2005 remake of King Kong.-Early life:Kretschmann was born in Dessau, former...
was originally cast for the part, but was unable to be a recurring character due to a scheduling conflict. Though uncredited, Kretschmann briefly did some shooting on the set of "Momentum Deferred"; Kretschmann was originally in Newton's one scene in the episode, at the end when they show a sewn-up head, but Roché's head instead appears.
Near the end of the first season in late May 2009, actor 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....
announced he was "fired" off of the show from his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page. Executive producer Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
denied it soon after, explaining that "like all things on Fringe, there is more to this story than meets the eye" and reminded viewers that an alternate version of his character had already appeared in a first season episode
The Road Not Taken (Fringe)
"The Road Not Taken" is the 19th episode of the first season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The episode's story was written by Akiva Goldsman, and the teleplay by Jeff Pinkner and J. R. Orci; it was directed by Frederick E. O...
. Later that summer at Comic-Con in July he reiterated that "rumors of Charlie's demise are premature," and at the August Television Critics Association press tour he commented about Charlie possibly showing up in the previously visited parallel universe. "Momentum Deferred" marked the actor's last appearance in the prime universe. In response to why the character was killed off, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment 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...
s Michael Ausiello reported that the "storyline dictated. Charlie wasn't going to have much to do this season, and rather than waste Kirk's time, they cut him loose". The character's doppelganger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
from the parallel universe returned in the season finale "Over There"
Over There (Fringe)
"Over There" is the two-part second-season finale of the Fox science fiction drama series Fringe. They are the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the season, and the 42nd and 43rd episodes of the series overall. Both parts were written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, together with...
.
Despite initial reports stating guest actress Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell is an American actress.-Biography:Russell was born Theresa Paup in San Diego, California, the daughter of Carole Platt and Jerry Russell Paup. She attended Burbank High School, but did not graduate. She married English film director Nicolas Roeg , in 1982...
would be playing a recurring character, the episode marked her only appearance as an adult version of the character. Russell plays Rebecca Kibner, a former test subject and love interest of Walter's; a younger version played by actress Tegan Moss
Tegan Moss
Tegan Moss is a Young Artist Award-nominated Canadian actress appearing in film and television.Moss was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has two brothers, Rory Moss, and actor Jesse Moss. Her given name is of Welsh origin, meaning "fair one" and pronounced TEG-ann...
is seen in the season premiere "A New Day in the Old Town
A New Day in the Old Town
"A New Day in the Old Town" is the season premiere and first episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 21st episode overall. It was written by co-creator J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, with Goldsman also directing...
". In the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
, the writers explained that when they were looking for an actress to play the character, the casting director April Webster, acting on Jeff Pinkner's instructions, called Kibner both "a blessing and a curse," because the writers wanted to explore the burden of what it meant to be special. One writer explained Kibner and Walter's past relationship had not been a long term affair, but instead more of a "little fling". The episode also marked the first appearance of Canadian actor 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"...
as recurring character Brandon Fayette, a Massive Dynamic scientist. According to the episode's writers, the character is based on a man who works at the production company Bad Robot.
Ratings
"Momentum Deferred" aired to an estimated 6.02 million viewers in the United States, with a 2.1/6 rating for adults 18–49. This rating helped Fox increase 39% in the rating share from the previous year on their Thursday night shows.Reviews
Josh Wigler from MTVMTV
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....
loved the revelations from the conversation with William Bell, along with the appearance of shapeshifters. He thought the episode was Fringe "at its absolute finest," as the "mystery-of-the-week and the overarching plot worked in complete harmony with one another, proving that Fringe is entirely capable of delivering on both a serialized and episodic basis". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment 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 praised guest actor Leonard Nimoy's "terrific, coolly-controlled performance," and wrote that he continued "to admire the way Fringe can mind-meld its scientific fiction with workplace-family drama and light comedy, juggling an increasing number of characters and subplots, while still maintaining a strong narrative through-line". 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 a B+, explaining that the episode was much better than the previous week and also praising the introduction of two new characters and the long awaited meeting between Olivia and William Bell. Murray concluded his review somewhat negatively, "If the whole episode had maintained the "yes we're aware this is kinda nutsy" tone of that one great line, I'd have bumped it up one more notch to the A-level. I'm holding back only because "Momentum Deferred" was such an info-dump, and played a fraction too soberly". Writing for Mania.com, Stephen Lackey thought the alternate universe plotline was risky because it had the potential to cause Fringe to "mak[e] a complex plot convoluted by taking off in flights of fancy with the writing and forgetting what has been written before," but he does not believe that point has been reached yet. He also thought the meeting between Olivia and Bell "wasn't as epic as it has been teased," but enjoyed the "fascinating" cliffhanger at the end, ultimately calling it a "good" episode. Website blogger io9
Io9
io9 is a blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The blog focuses on the subjects of science fiction, futurism, and advancements in the fields of science and technology....
listed "Momentum Deferred" as one of the "crucial" episodes new viewers must watch to get into the show.
External links
- "Momentum Deferred" 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...