During the fourth episode of the series -- "The Arrival" -- we were introduced to Michael Cerveris' character, who was referred to simply as, "The Observer." This occasional character was credited with the name "September," and he would play a pivotal role in important episodes such as Peter, The Firefly, and The End of All Things. He would also become a fan favorite. Little did we know early on just how much of an impact he would have over the course of the series.
As he observed the Fringe team, he took meticulous notes, and fans long wondered about the content and purpose of these writings.
When it was revealed that he was Walter's friend Donald in "Anomaly XB-6783746," he became like a part of the Bishop family to fans. As a father himself - to a special boy named Michael - he understood just how far a person would go to save someone they love. "It must be difficult.. being a father."
I'd like to think that hidden deep within Walter's heavy coat was the notebook kept by his friend, taken into a future which would be altered; a change that would ensure his friend would have essentially not existed.
This hefty tome is accessible to both casual fans and to those who are obsessed with every little detail of the production, story, and characters.
As a highly-invested fan, the forward by producers Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman started me off on an emotional note, and also underscored just how seriously the creative team took this project. They brought us an unforgettable story and beloved characters, so the "Fringe faithful" fought tooth-and-nail to make sure that the intended conclusion would happen. It worked.
Great thought was put into the organization and layout of the book.
The first section of the book deals with the backgrounds for Walter, Peter, Olivia and other agents such as Astrid, Broyles, Charlie Francis, John Scott, and Sanford Harris. Massive Dynamic's origin, and the stories for William Bell and Nina Sharp, provide some insight into these two enigmatic characters.
September presents the facts of events he had observed in the blue universe, red universe, and amber timeline; and he also makes his own personal comments and interpretations on what appear to be blue Post It notes.
We get a glimpse of life for Walter when he first met Bell and when he married Elizabeth. The events from the episode Peter are given thorough observation, as are Walter's interactions with Olivia during the Cortexiphan trials. Walter's secret regarding Peter's origin is of particular concern to September, especially when it led to Peter returning to his universe of origin, to Olivia's entrapment and replacement by Fauxlivia, and to the use of the machine.
The alternate universe receives similar treatment for Walternate, Fauxliva, Lincoln Lee, Charlie Francis, Colonel Broyles, Astrid Farnsworth, Frank Stanton, and Henry Higgins (the cab driver). Dossiers are also included for characters in the amber timeline.
For each section, color-coded file folders contain case details for various Fringe Events.
As a key component of the show's mythology, the Machine, and its effects, received visually stunning extra focus.
My favorite pieces from the book deal with September's observations of the relationship between Walter and Peter, and that of Peter and Olivia. His words mirror my interpretations of the love that these extraordinary people shared for one another.
Sadly, this book is not pure perfection, even coming from the viewpoint of an Observer. Some of the events must have come from another timeline, because they did not happen on screen as described in the book. Or maybe the Observer had the same issue that normal humans have when it comes to reporting events...
For instance, the notes for Olivai's return from the alternate universe state that Olivia was pulled out of the tank by Peter when she made it back home (Entrada), and that they embraced.
In the on air episode, Olivia came back to the blue universe while Peter and Walter were still dealing with the arrest of Fauxlivia. Olivia stepped out of the tank in Walter's lab and saw Astrid -- who was confused and then happy to see her -- before she fainted. Only then was she taken to the hospital. She later woke up to a relieved-but-terrified Peter, who was sitting by her bedside. He told her he was sorry (due to not knowing she was left behind), but she explained to him that he had no reason for being sorry, that if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have made it. (Because she kept seeing projections of him and they acted a guide to remind her of who she really was, and why she was there.) Only then did Peter kiss her forehead, all too aware that her happiness would be dashed when she found out just how far she had been replaced...
There are several more examples, but I'm not going to nitpick, because I am awed by everything this book got right.
The importance of drawings and pictures has long been an interesting detail in Fringe. Examples include Roy McComb's drawings in The Ghost Network, Olivia's sketchbook in Subject 13, the drawing of Peter in the machine, the picture of Olivia, Peter and a child in The Day We Died, and the many times various characters have stopped to look at pictures of loved ones or at drawings.
The creators of this book took this idea to heart, and the number of never-before-seen pictures and diagrams alone makes this book worth the wait and every penny.
This book is overflowing with little goodies and extras from the series. Be prepared to be delighted by various pieces of cool reproduced "ephemera" from the show. These little pieces are mementos, much like the pictures and ticket stubs that Peter observed in the home of Alice Merchant in episode, 6B. They are proof that Fringe was real.
The only thing that could have topped this would have been the inclusion of a mini Violet Sedan Chair Seven Suns album. Fans still wonder about that promotion, and what happened to all of those supposed copies...
I own two other books from this publisher: The Complete X-Files and Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender. Neither are even half of what this book is. In fact, the X-Files book was a great disappointment as far a written content goes, because it was riddled with way too many annoying and just plain wrong errors about episodes, characters and mythology. As a fan, I expect an author who knows the subject... The few errors I pointed out here about September's Notebook were nothing in comparison, and the authors are highly knowledgeable of their topic and audience.
Truly, I feel that the authors were powered by Cortexiphan as they seemed to know exactly what Fringe fans wanted in an endearing keepsake of this beautiful and heartfelt family saga, as told through the lens of a man who saw it all. Great genuine love and affection was obviously poured into this effort, and it made a tremendous difference.
I am often wary of entertainment-based books because if I bother to buy such a book, it normally means I am a huge fan, and as such, I have high expectations. This book is what I expected and more. Another copy will be purchased and locked away in case anything happens to the copy I now possess.
On a sentimental note: Even though September/Donald made the sacrifice of his own existence, as long as we have the paradox of his faithfully documented and illustrated notebook, he will be recognized, which means he existed.
Plus, the last entry in the notebook is the very essence of Fringe, and our fandom learned that lesson well.
Oh, and if you are curious about the small #CrossTheLine on the back cover corner, Google it and "Fringenuity."
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Reviews with images
The most important Fringe Bible!
This is the most important book about fringe. IF you are a hardcore fan like me, all the stuff inside of it will guide you to the moment you saw the show for the first time (the moment we meet Walter and Peter, the first time with Olivia, John Scott or Astrid). In the first part we have Walter and his work at the older lab in all Harvard. Then we travell to the youth of our favourite sciencist and we saw a wedding photo with elizabeth (he REALLY had a purple suit!).Then we have William Bell's life and data. Nina Sharp and all the fringe team including Broyles or Astrid.We also can see like three files of different colours, this are the shows cases... (All of the five seasons). And we have some classified envelopes with another stuff like the shapeshifters. But you could only read it if you have a 10 level of cleareance. I think if you have the book you could reach it so fast.I think the book is very good planned because I can see like OLivia had this same files of the fringe events and she gave to us. There's also the fringe events and explanations about "over there". The other side and some of the things we know are different. I can see a memorial for Henry the one that help our Olivia to come back to our universe.Something we can find here is the original speech in Olivia's funeral, as some people said it was cut from the original show aired, we can wach it entirely on the dvd but including it here is a big "thank you" for the fans, as I think.So really if you like fringe, if you laughed with Walter crazy (and smart) mind, if you were frightened about destroying the universe with David Robert Jones, if you were heartbreaked when Olivia found that Peter was sleeping with (B)Olivia you NEED this book. It's like the complet final best way to say goodbye to a very good sci-fi show I ever watched in years.I also have uploaded some images of my own copy of this book so people can have a better idea of what yo're missing.For foreigner buyers like me I bought it without a problem and the book took two days to come to home. So don't be afraid buying throught amazon.QUICK UPDATE: On the webpage of the book you have a picture from the white tulip it's a perfect way to print yourself a copy and put in the envelope. It's not the same but it helps!
