The latest episode of Fringe does a great job of showing both the highs and lows of the series. On the plus side of things we get a bunch of Walter and a smidgen more of Peter than we usually get each week. On the negative side of things, however, we once again get a mystery of the week episode where the mystery is left hanging, leaving us to wonder why we even spent an hour watching the beginning of a story with no end in view.

Fringe has been off for a few weeks thanks to things like the United States election coverage, but it has finally returned and brought with it a decent story and a rather "STFU" moment for fans of the series. While it's a funny little snide moment from the people involved with the show, it's also a little condescending and insulting. Despite that gripe, however, it wasn't a bad return episode.

This week's episode of Fringe was the best of the season so far, as it featured some great character work when it came to Dunham, a gooey and worthwhile mystery, and enough mythology to really throw some kinks into the spinning cogs of the show somewhere further down the line. As I've said before, solid mystery of the week stories with a dash of mythology is the formula this show needs to follow to be great.

Fringe is back and continuing on its slow but steady climb towards being a worthwhile television show to watch. The mystery of the week was pretty weak – though it was resolved by the end – but it's the continued mythology that keeps me entertained and digging the world of Fringe more and more. It takes a keen eye to catch it all, but it might make for a fun game with episodes to come.

I've been saying it since the beginning, but Fringe needs to become its own show instead of forcing reviewers like me to constantly compare it to the likes of The X-Files and Lost. Fringe was doing well with its mystery of the week format with a little mythology sprinkled here and there. While this week wasn't necessarily a bad episode, it's starting to shift away from what would work better, and leading more towards a heavy mythology that only devoted fans will be able to follow.

Out of all the new shows on the major networks, Fringe is the first to get a full season pickup. For once, a sci-fi show on Fox will last for at least one television season. As AintItCoolNews describes:

In adults 18-49, “Fringe” is fall’s highest-rated new show, and has averaged 10.7 million viewers.

Slowly but surely, Fringe is turning into a genuinely good show, thanks in most part to the comedic lines of dialogue, and characters you actually enjoy watching. The story is a little ho-hum in parts still, but overall this week's episode was – from beginning to end – the best episode of the show's short life. The show has a little ways to go before it becomes amazing television, but as of now it's a really fun and enjoyable way to spend a Tuesday night.

It's the second week for Fringe and probably the best test as to how the show will function week to week. The premiere episode was interesting and full of potential, but wasn't absolutely captivating television despite some sparks of creativity and likeable characters. It's the status quo for a second week in a row, as the show does enough things right to keep me watching, but not enough to keep me devoted.

Network television has potentially found its X-Files replacement. The keyword is "potentially," since that is what Fringe is mostly comprised of for the most part, with more emphasis on the Scully science side of things than the paranormal Mulder one. It featured some slick presentation, interesting characters, and a decent bigger picture for the series to delve upon.

Fring is one of the most promising new shows for the season, especially for sci-fi fans looking for a new hit. The Sci-Fi Channel's website now has up a pretty lengthy interview with Abrams and executive producers Orci, Kurtzman, Bryan Burk and Jeff Pinkner about the new series and how it came to be.

I think Fringe looks really interesting, but I'm holding back my reservations just a little bit. The Sci-Fi Channel's website, however, thinks...nay knows...that Fringe will be a major hit when it comes out this fall season. My favorite reason is #5 - I always was a Dawson's Creek fan.

:looks around nervously:

I mean, no I wasn't.

The creators of Fringe have already come out and said that the X-Files is a big inspiration for their series, but it not only borrows from that landmark series, but takes inspiration from other series as well.

"It wasn't, like, 'OK, let's do The X-Files again," Abrams (Lost) said. "It was 'What kind of show is ... something we would tune in to see?' And I thought I would get slammed sort of doing the David Cronenberg, Altered States stuff, because ... that was always something I was obsessed with when I was growing up."