page_title: Olivia (Fringe episode)
section_title: Cultural references
hierarchical_section_title: Olivia (Fringe episode) / Cultural references
caption_attribution_description: English: Tom Cruise on MTV Live in December 2008
context_page_description: "Olivia" is the first episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Fringe. The episode was co-written by J. H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner, and was directed by Joe Chappelle. The third season spent its time alternating between the prime and parallel universes, and "Olivia" was placed in the latter. This is indicated in the introduction of the episode, with the same red screen used in the last season's finale, "Over There". "Olivia" follows the cliffhanger left by the second season, in which Olivia Dunham is trapped in the parallel universe. The episode explores the consequences of Olivia's abduction by Walternate, and her attempt to go back to the prime universe.
  Though Fox was initially worried about an entire episode set in the other universe, they soon came to appreciate the storyline. The episode included the first appearances of guest actors Andre Royo and Amy Madigan, who would both appear in several later episodes. It first aired in the United States on Fox in September 23, 2010, receiving almost all positive reviews due to the combination of emotional storylines, suspense, action, and humor.
context_section_description: Many differences between the two universes were related to popular culture. A photograph of Fauxlivia wearing a gold medal in marksmanship is shown, proving that unlike the prime universe, the parallel universe has that particular event in their Olympic Games. The radio in Henry's taxi can be heard mentioning former president John F. Kennedy is stepping down from his role as ambassador, proving that he was not assassinated. On that same taxi, Dogs is depicted to be a musical in the parallel universe New York City, instead of Cats. Their mail is delivered by the "U.S. Mail Service" with a different logo, instead of the United States Postal Service, and there are apparently daily flights to the moon.
  Actor Tom Cruise is mentioned for "kick[ing] ass" on television, implying that he is not a movie star in the parallel universe. When Olivia reminds him she knows his identification information, Henry mentions a "Jedi mind trick", a reference to Star Wars, which is one popular culture similarity the two universes seem to share. When searching for the headquarters of Massive Dynamic, Olivia instead finds a site entitled "Martin Luther King/Eldridge Cleaver Memorial Park", which implies that King was also not assassinated, but instead developed a close relationship with Black Panther militant and Soul On Ice author Cleaver. The park sign also reads "We Have a Dream", which is a slight deviation from King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and suggests that he and Cleaver wrote it together.
  As Olivia enters the park, she is passed by a man riding a penny-farthing bicycle. As these have not been shown elsewhere, it does not seem likely that they are a common means of transportation in the alternate universe, but rather that this is a reference to The Prisoner, in which similar mind-games were used against an agent being held prisoner.
  In the prime universe, Fauxlivia tells Walter that she has not seen shoes like his Wallabees (a line of shoes from C&J Clark) "in a while," and asks if he is "bringing them back." Walter responds by asking her, "Where did they go?" indicating that they were also found in the alternate universe until some recent time (within Olivia's lifetime), but are no longer found there.
caption: Actor Tom Cruise was mentioned in the episode for being a television actor, rather than a movie star.
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