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Walter Bishop

From Fringe Wiki

"An untrustworthy mentor, in a way... you have to go with him, and at the same time you're not quite sure whether or not he even knows where he is or what he's doing." -J.J. Abrams

Walter Bishop is a character and main protagonist on Fringe. He is portrayed by John Noble.

History

Dr Walter Bishop is a former chemist and scientific researcher. Born in Cambridge in 1946, he was educated at Harvard University and conducted postgraduate study at Oxford and MIT. From the 1970s until the late 1980s/early 90s he operated from a basement laboratory situated under a building in Harvard University. There he conducted experiments into Fringe science with his partner William Bell and several assistants. After an accident in 1991 which resulted in the death of at least one of these assistants, and amid accusations that he was using humans as guinea-pigs for his experiments, Walter was charged with manslaughter but was deemed mentally unstable and was admitted to a psychiatric institution. It was later decreed that only Walter's immediate family would be permitted to visit him in person. Walter would spend 17 years institutionalized before finally being visited by his son Peter and Olivia Dunham.

Present

When he first meets Olivia, Walter speaks in a disjointed fashion and appears distracted. His moments of concentration are interrupted by lapses into silence and tangents into different thoughts. On reuniting with his son Peter he seems to become more stable; his condition and social interaction continues to improve. When asked to examine John Scott he shows care and concentration, but on hearing the news of his laboratory being closed down he becomes violently upset, pushing over a cart of medical equipment and storming out of the care unit. Once the laboratory is reopened Walter seems to regain a part of himself. Whilst still acting in a somewhat eccentric fashion, he goes about his tasks with enthusiasm and no longer seems so mentally distracted. Later he still exhibits signs of having to readjust to social contact, especially when talking to Peter, but he expresses a wish not to return to the hospital where he was contained.

Walterisms

Walter often behaves in an eccentric manner, and regularly comes out with absurd and unpredictable phrases in conversation.

• On seeing Peter for the first time in 17 years: "I thought you'd be fatter."
• On using cows as test subjects: "The only thing better than a cow is a human. Unless you need milk, in which case you should use a cow."
• When Olivia agrees to perform a Synaptic Transfer: "Excellent. Let's make some LSD."
• On SpongeBob SquarePants: "Surprisingly profound, for a narrative about a sponge."

Player Info

Walter is played by Nathan. His PB is John Noble. His journal is thinkdiagonally.