Fringe: John Noble talks weird science

[Michael]

I missed this article by the Associated Press on Nov. 18. Here is a brief excerpt:

NEW YORK — Dr. Walter Bishop follows in a long line of mad scientists. An unbalanced genius like Bishop going at it in his lab is a pop-culture staple. Or even, some would say, a cliche.

But in the able hands of John Noble, who stars on Fox's sci-fi thriller "Fringe," Bishop comes to life. He is both comical and tragic, nutty as a fruitcake yet totally relatable. This is a living, breathing portrayal.

Bishop is a scientist of Einsteinian proportions who for decades was deemed insane and, until "Fringe" started last fall, institutionalized.

Then his long-estranged son, Peter (played by Joshua Jackson), reluctantly agreed to provide the supervision Dad required to re-enter society.

Read the full, much lengthier article here, and may they appreciate the fact that I am sending them traffic by only partially citing and linking to one of their excellent stories.

For which I would not subscription fees if they were the last news source on the Internet. But that's beside the point.

Anyway, Noble loves playing Walter Bishop and doesn't believe the character needs to be structurally altered (rewritten). He's a hoot to watch and a great asset for the show.

The article does acknowledge that Fringe may be struggling for an audience share that will keep it alive but doesn't come out and say that the show is in danger.