Fringe

Brown Betty

Season 2, Episode 20, Aired 4/29/10

Episode Summary

Walter takes his mind off of bad news by telling Olivia's niece, Ella, a musical mystery fairy tale with some familiar faces.

7.4

EPISODE RATING: Good

773 votes

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Cast & Crew

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Anna Torv

Olivia Dunham
Joshua Jackson

Peter Bishop
Lance Reddick

Phillip Broyles

Fan Episode Reviews (43)

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I don't know why this episode has so many bad reviews

9.5

"Superb"

By smarcos3, 3 days ago Report Abuse

This is my first review ever, and I know fringe is now in season 4 but I recently became a fan. I love this show!! I love the storyline and also enjoy the standalone episodes even though people seem to not like them so much. This was a very fun episode for me to watch.
After so many "heavy" episodes, I think this one was a breath of fresh air. Seriously! Why do people have to be so harsh? What would be the point to writing a series if they told us all of the answers in just 10 episodes without building any suspense? I think it is very clever, and in the standalone episodes we also get to see further interaction between the characters, watching them as they grow, which I very much enjoy. People should just enjoy every story as the writers build up to a grand season finale!
Anyways, I think this will be my last review.. So in my last note: Gotta love Walter. I can't get enough of him. And I seriously wanna live in THIS lab.moreless

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4 0
Worst Episode of Fringe! Terrible Timewasting Garbage!

1.0

"Abysmal"

By MatthewMcCask, 3 days ago Report Abuse

This Episode was the worst thing I have seen on TV in a long time..
My wife and I are both huge Fringe Fans, but this Episode was by far the worst ever.
Even the "unaired" Episode where Charlie suddenly appears again is much much better.
I mean come on... Singing corpses?? Hearts? Batteries? SINGING? I think I would rather watch an old Episode of 90210 than ever watch this again. Being such a huge Fringe fan, this has left a very bitter aftertaste. Shame on the writers, shame on Fox.
Watch the first Minute and the last Minute, then you will have missed NOTHING of the series. Bad TV just got worse.moreless

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2 9
Filler

7.0

"Good"

By dreamgoat, Jan 30, 2012 Report Abuse

Well, I thought it was decent I don't know about top filler episode. I would have to disagree. But it was ok to watch someone had taken Peter glass heart and Olivia helps him investigate who took it. Other than that it has some funny musicals in here I thought that was the interesting part but if you want to watch something different this is it. I don't believe it was a waste to show this, you have to have fun sometimes and this was them doing that.moreless

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0 0
Brown Betty: honored tradition of film noir dream/fantasy episodes

10

"Perfect"

By BevinChu, Jan 29, 2012 Report Abuse

I echo others who urged fans of "Fringe" not to lambaste the writers for the "Brown Betty" dream/fantasy episode.

Such film noir style episodes are a time honored tradition in TV, and often found in the very best TV shows. Magnum PI, Moonlighting, The X-Files, and Smallville come to mind.

Such episodes do not always advance the plot as much as "regular" episodes. Nevertheless they often flesh out the characters by examining them from a new, humorous perspective.

A long running TV series is a lot of work for the writers. They may need to catch their breath at times. Such "mock noir" dream/fantasy episodes can be an entertaining way to do so.

I disagree with fellow "Fringe" fans who said that "Brown Betty" did not advance the plot or was "too weird" to belong in the :Fringe" universe.

The episode advanced the plot by clarifying Walter's feelings of remorse about having conducted Frankenstein experiments on little children, and his desperate desire to make amends.

The "Brown Betty" episode, with its Broadway musical outbursts into song, was entirely appropriate for the "Fringe" universe, which is the epitome of weird. The name of the series, after all, is "Fringe," as in "looney fringe."moreless

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1 1
This was one of those episodes that people either loved or hated. I happened to love it.

8.5

"Great"

By Sproxar, Oct 20, 2011 Report Abuse

(spoiler alert) Brown Betty was a transitional episode, dealing with the aftermath of Peter's discovery that Walter was not his real father, and his subsequent departure. As Olivia searches for him, Walter is stuck in his lab, going crazy with grief, and babysitting Olivia's niece. She asks him to tell her a story. What he comes up with is part noir detective tale, and part reality, or at least Walter's version of reality, which is heavily influenced at the moment by the killer "Brown Betty" weed he's been smoking to deal with his loss. As such, the occasional kookiness, and bursts of song from the story's characters is not only understandable, but quite entertaining. It also gives the cast a chance to show off their talent a bit, outside of the restrictions their characters usually place on them. Walter singing is nothing new, but his song choices are always interesting, and John Noble's delivery is sometimes quite funny. But who knew Lance Reddick and Anna Torv could sing? Who could have even imagined them singing, given their usual parts?

Sure, taking the main characters out of their familiar roles and surroundings, and dropping them into a period fantasy piece has been done to death by other shows. Usually it's just a gimmick, and shows that the writers have run out of other ideas. By putting their own unique spin on it though, Fringe's writers have shown that it can still work, and work well. For those that want all episodes to advance the main arc of the series narrative, such diversions can be frustrating, but I'm not completely sure this was a diversion. Anything that comes out of Walter's subconscious mind, as much of his story within a story did, could be relevant to the bigger mysteries the team is trying to solve. The fact that Walter and Peter's relationship, Peter and Olivia's relationship, Nina Sharp, William Bell, Massive Dynamic, and the Watchers all had parts to play indicates there could be some buried clues here. The Watcher's appearance in the "real" world at the end only seems to confirm this. Only time will tell.

I think that many of the people that hated this episode so much have too narrow a definition of "entertainment". Sure, this wasn't the typical Fringe formula, if there is such a thing. So what? Fringe as they know it will be back next time.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Trivia: The glyph code for this episode is HEART. Edit
Notes
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- Leonard Nimoy makes an uncredited appearance as William Bell, his image distorted as he communicates with Nina Sharp. Edit
- Music: Roundabout (Yes), Blue Moon (Django Reinhardt), Head Over Heels (Tears For Fears, sung by John Noble), The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic, sung by Lance Reddick), The Candy Man (Anthony Newley & Leslie Bricusse, sung by Pickett, Prowse & Churchill and by John Noble), I Hope I Get It (Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban, sung by Jasika Nicole), Freddie Freeloader (Miles Davis), For Once in My Life (Stevie Wonder, sung by Anna Torv) Edit
- International Airdates: Canada: April 29, 2010 on ATV Australia: May 5, 2010 on GO! UK: May 11, 2010 on Sky1 Sweden: July 22, 2010 on Kanal 5 Germany: October 4, 2010 on ProSieben Poland: January 20, 2011 on TVN Finland: February 2, 2011 on MTV3 Czech Republic: February 18, 2011 on Nova Cinema Edit
Quotes
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- Walter: I have spent my life making things that bring joy and happiness, to make the world a better place. Bubble gum was one of my first. Ah. Flannel pajamas. Oh, rainbows. And my latest project, singing corpses. Edit
- Walter: (animating singing corpses) Why not bring a little life to the dead, I say. Their harmonies are still a bit off. Edit
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