 Dynamic , they discover the image of a suspension bridge near Stoughton and identify the likely location from which it was viewed — the same warehouse that Dr. Penrose visited . The FBI converge on the building , and Olivia and Peter find Penrose about to cut into another victim . Olivia chases off after Christopher , who eventually succumbs to his rapid aging and dies , while Peter , after nicking Penrose with a bullet , confers with Walter to apply a makeshift defibrillator to bring the victim back to life .   As they wrap up the case , Olivia , Peter , and Walter complete forms to finalize their position in the Fringe division . When Peter is out of earshot , Walter learns from Olivia that the FBI medical files on Peter 's childhood are void of any details .   = = Production = =   Co @-@ creators J. J. Abrams , Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci , and executive producer Jeff Pinkner wrote the episode . Paul A. Edwards served as the director , his first such credit for the series . In developing Fringe , the co @-@ creators did not want to make the series too serialized , as this was a complaint often directed at Abrams ' television series Alias . They wanted to find a balance between standalone stories and serialized content , and studied procedural dramas such as Law and Order and CSI : Crime Scene Investigation for inspiration . Kurztman explained , " While we make sure that our episodes are self @-@ contained – have a beginning , a middle , and an end – the character stories can be serialized . They don 't have to resolve themselves over the course of one show . " " The Same Old Story " was Fringe 's first regular episode , and some journalists viewed it as an example of how the series would be structured .   The episode was based on actual recent research and involved much collaboration among the series ' different departments . For the scene in which they remove the victim 's eyeball , the special effects crew created a mold based on actress Elizabeth Stanley 's head . Using plaster to make a prosthetic , they " drilled out the eyeball and sculpt [ ed ] it open and [ went ] through a series of molds . " Stanley stated that " it 's really cool to see the head because it really does look just like me , even though it 's very gruesome because the eyeball 's popping out . " The prop department rigged a weapon which they called a " photon gun " ; according to prop master Peter Gelfman , this gun was based on real devices employed in airport security that look through people 's clothing for concealed weapons . VFX Supervisor Christopher Scollard explained that for the eye 's last vision , they used " a lot of actual photographic reference on the set and on the location , " which they then used to " take that imagery and composite it into the various computer monitors and displays in the lab . "   " The Same Old Story " featured guest appearances by actors Derek Cecil as Christopher Penrose and Mark Blum as his father , Dr. Claus Penrose . Other guest actors included Betty Gilpin as Loraine " Amber " Daisy Alcott , Bernie McInerney as old Christopher Penrose , Carmen Goodine as Amy , Ty Jones as a doctor , and Karin Agstam as John Scott 's sister .   = = Reception = =   = = = Ratings = = =   " The Same Old Story " was watched by 13 @.@ 272 million viewers in the United States , a 45 percent increase of four million from the pilot . Fox claimed that this ratings improvement was the best for any new network drama series in over five years . Its high @-@ rated lead @-@ in , House , helped boost Fringe 's ratings for the night , as 93 percent of House 's total audience and 95 percent of 18- to 49 @-@ year @-@ olds stayed to watch Fringe . Fringe was also the highest rated program for male 18- to 54 @-@ year @-@ olds that evening .   = = = Reviews = = =   " The Same Old Story " received mixed reviews from television critics . TV Squad writer Jane Boursaw thought the episode seemed " all over the place " , and wasn 't sure what to think . She stated the two most interesting parts of the episode were when Walter removed the girl 's eye in order to identity her killer , and the cliffhanger at the very end , when Walter states " If you 've read my file , then you know the truth about Peter 's medical history " . Travis Fickett of IGN thought it was better than the pilot ; though it was " laden with lots of clunky exposition and clichéd dialogue , " Fickett understood that it was needed to acquaint new viewers to the show . Fickett concluded his review by saying Fringe has the potential to be a " great show " , and he also
ĠDynamic Ġ, Ġthey Ġdiscover Ġthe Ġimage Ġof Ġa Ġsuspension Ġbridge Ġnear ĠSt ough ton Ġand Ġidentify Ġthe Ġlikely Ġlocation Ġfrom Ġwhich Ġit Ġwas Ġviewed ĠâĢĶ Ġthe Ġsame Ġwarehouse Ġthat ĠDr . ĠPen rose Ġvisited Ġ. ĠThe ĠFBI Ġconverge Ġon Ġthe Ġbuilding Ġ, Ġand ĠOlivia Ġand ĠPeter Ġfind ĠPen rose Ġabout Ġto Ġcut Ġinto Ġanother Ġvictim Ġ. ĠOlivia Ġch ases Ġoff Ġafter ĠChristopher Ġ, Ġwho Ġeventually Ġsucc umbs Ġto Ġhis Ġrapid Ġaging Ġand Ġdies Ġ, Ġwhile ĠPeter Ġ, Ġafter Ġn icking ĠPen rose Ġwith Ġa Ġbullet Ġ, Ġconf ers Ġwith ĠWalter Ġto Ġapply Ġa Ġmakeshift Ġdef ibr ill ator Ġto Ġbring Ġthe Ġvictim Ġback Ġto Ġlife Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs Ġthey Ġwrap Ġup Ġthe Ġcase Ġ, ĠOlivia Ġ, ĠPeter Ġ, Ġand ĠWalter Ġcomplete Ġforms Ġto Ġfinal ize Ġtheir Ġposition Ġin Ġthe ĠFr inge Ġdivision Ġ. ĠWhen ĠPeter Ġis Ġout Ġof Ġe arsh ot Ġ, ĠWalter Ġlearns Ġfrom ĠOlivia Ġthat Ġthe ĠFBI Ġmedical Ġfiles Ġon ĠPeter Ġ' s Ġchildhood Ġare Ġvoid Ġof Ġany Ġdetails Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠProduction Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠCo Ġ@ - @ Ġcreators ĠJ . ĠJ . ĠAbrams Ġ, ĠAlex ĠKurt zman Ġand ĠRoberto ĠOr ci Ġ, Ġand Ġexecutive Ġproducer ĠJeff ĠPink ner Ġwrote Ġthe Ġepisode Ġ. ĠPaul ĠA . ĠEdwards Ġserved Ġas Ġthe Ġdirector Ġ, Ġhis Ġfirst Ġsuch Ġcredit Ġfor Ġthe Ġseries Ġ. ĠIn Ġdeveloping ĠFr inge Ġ, Ġthe Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġcreators Ġdid Ġnot Ġwant Ġto Ġmake Ġthe Ġseries Ġtoo Ġserial ized Ġ, Ġas Ġthis Ġwas Ġa Ġcomplaint Ġoften Ġdirected Ġat ĠAbrams Ġ' Ġtelevision Ġseries ĠAl ias Ġ. ĠThey Ġwanted Ġto Ġfind Ġa Ġbalance Ġbetween Ġstandalone Ġstories Ġand Ġserial ized Ġcontent Ġ, Ġand Ġstudied Ġprocedural Ġdramas Ġsuch Ġas ĠLaw Ġand ĠOrder Ġand ĠCSI Ġ: ĠCrime ĠScene ĠInvestigation Ġfor Ġinspiration Ġ. ĠKur z t man Ġexplained Ġ, Ġ" ĠWhile Ġwe Ġmake Ġsure Ġthat Ġour Ġepisodes Ġare Ġself Ġ@ - @ Ġcontained ĠâĢĵ Ġhave Ġa Ġbeginning Ġ, Ġa Ġmiddle Ġ, Ġand Ġan Ġend ĠâĢĵ Ġthe Ġcharacter Ġstories Ġcan Ġbe Ġserial ized Ġ. ĠThey Ġdon Ġ' t Ġhave Ġto Ġresolve Ġthemselves Ġover Ġthe Ġcourse Ġof Ġone Ġshow Ġ. Ġ" Ġ" ĠThe ĠSame ĠOld ĠStory Ġ" Ġwas ĠFr inge Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġregular Ġepisode Ġ, Ġand Ġsome Ġjournalists Ġviewed Ġit Ġas Ġan Ġexample Ġof Ġhow Ġthe Ġseries Ġwould Ġbe Ġstructured Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġepisode Ġwas Ġbased Ġon Ġactual Ġrecent Ġresearch Ġand Ġinvolved Ġmuch Ġcollaboration Ġamong Ġthe Ġseries Ġ' Ġdifferent Ġdepartments Ġ. ĠFor Ġthe Ġscene Ġin Ġwhich Ġthey Ġremove Ġthe Ġvictim Ġ' s Ġeyeb all Ġ, Ġthe Ġspecial Ġeffects Ġcrew Ġcreated Ġa Ġmold Ġbased Ġon Ġactress ĠElizabeth ĠStanley Ġ' s Ġhead Ġ. ĠUsing Ġplaster Ġto Ġmake Ġa Ġprost hetic Ġ, Ġthey Ġ" Ġdrilled Ġout Ġthe Ġeyeb all Ġand Ġsculpt Ġ[ Ġed Ġ] Ġit Ġopen Ġand Ġ[ Ġwent Ġ] Ġthrough Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġm olds Ġ. Ġ" ĠStanley Ġstated Ġthat Ġ" Ġit Ġ' s Ġreally Ġcool Ġto Ġsee Ġthe Ġhead Ġbecause Ġit Ġreally Ġdoes Ġlook Ġjust Ġlike Ġme Ġ, Ġeven Ġthough Ġit Ġ' s Ġvery Ġgruesome Ġbecause Ġthe Ġeyeb all Ġ' s Ġpopping Ġout Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġprop Ġdepartment Ġrigged Ġa Ġweapon Ġwhich Ġthey Ġcalled Ġa Ġ" Ġphoton Ġgun Ġ" Ġ; Ġaccording Ġto Ġprop Ġmaster ĠPeter ĠG elf man Ġ, Ġthis Ġgun Ġwas Ġbased Ġon Ġreal Ġdevices Ġemployed Ġin Ġairport Ġsecurity Ġthat Ġlook Ġthrough Ġpeople Ġ' s Ġclothing Ġfor Ġconcealed Ġweapons Ġ. ĠV FX ĠSupervisor ĠChristopher ĠSc oll ard Ġexplained Ġthat Ġfor Ġthe Ġeye Ġ' s Ġlast Ġvision Ġ, Ġthey Ġused Ġ" Ġa Ġlot Ġof Ġactual Ġphotographic Ġreference Ġon Ġthe Ġset Ġand Ġon Ġthe Ġlocation Ġ, Ġ" Ġwhich Ġthey Ġthen Ġused Ġto Ġ" Ġtake Ġthat Ġimagery Ġand Ġcomposite Ġit Ġinto Ġthe Ġvarious Ġcomputer Ġmonitors Ġand Ġdisplays Ġin Ġthe Ġlab Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠThe ĠSame ĠOld ĠStory Ġ" Ġfeatured Ġguest Ġappearances Ġby Ġactors ĠDerek ĠCecil Ġas ĠChristopher ĠPen rose Ġand ĠMark ĠBl um Ġas Ġhis Ġfather Ġ, ĠDr . ĠClaus ĠPen rose Ġ. ĠOther Ġguest Ġactors Ġincluded ĠBetty ĠGil pin Ġas ĠLor aine Ġ" ĠAmber Ġ" ĠDaisy ĠAl cott Ġ, ĠBernie ĠMc In er ney Ġas Ġold ĠChristopher ĠPen rose Ġ, ĠCarmen ĠGood ine Ġas ĠAmy Ġ, ĠTy ĠJones Ġas Ġa Ġdoctor Ġ, Ġand ĠKarin ĠAg st am Ġas ĠJohn ĠScott Ġ' s Ġsister Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠRe ception Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠRatings Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠThe ĠSame ĠOld ĠStory Ġ" Ġwas Ġwatched Ġby Ġ13 Ġ@ . @ Ġ272 Ġmillion Ġviewers Ġin Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ, Ġa Ġ45 Ġpercent Ġincrease Ġof Ġfour Ġmillion Ġfrom Ġthe Ġpilot Ġ. ĠFox Ġclaimed Ġthat Ġthis Ġratings Ġimprovement Ġwas Ġthe Ġbest Ġfor Ġany Ġnew Ġnetwork Ġdrama Ġseries Ġin Ġover Ġfive Ġyears Ġ. ĠIts Ġhigh Ġ@ - @ Ġrated Ġlead Ġ@ - @ Ġin Ġ, ĠHouse Ġ, Ġhelped Ġboost ĠFr inge Ġ' s Ġratings Ġfor Ġthe Ġnight Ġ, Ġas Ġ93 Ġpercent Ġof ĠHouse Ġ' s Ġtotal Ġaudience Ġand Ġ95 Ġpercent Ġof Ġ18 - Ġto Ġ49 Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġ@ - @ Ġolds Ġstayed Ġto Ġwatch ĠFr inge Ġ. ĠFr inge Ġwas Ġalso Ġthe Ġhighest Ġrated Ġprogram Ġfor Ġmale Ġ18 - Ġto Ġ54 Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġ@ - @ Ġolds Ġthat Ġevening Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠReviews Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠThe ĠSame ĠOld ĠStory Ġ" Ġreceived Ġmixed Ġreviews Ġfrom Ġtelevision Ġcritics Ġ. ĠTV ĠSquad Ġwriter ĠJane ĠB ours aw Ġthought Ġthe Ġepisode Ġseemed Ġ" Ġall Ġover Ġthe Ġplace Ġ" Ġ, Ġand Ġwasn Ġ' t Ġsure Ġwhat Ġto Ġthink Ġ. ĠShe Ġstated Ġthe Ġtwo Ġmost Ġinteresting Ġparts Ġof Ġthe Ġepisode Ġwere Ġwhen ĠWalter Ġremoved Ġthe Ġgirl Ġ' s Ġeye Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġidentity Ġher Ġkiller Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġcliff h anger Ġat Ġthe Ġvery Ġend Ġ, Ġwhen ĠWalter Ġstates Ġ" ĠIf Ġyou Ġ' ve Ġread Ġmy Ġfile Ġ, Ġthen Ġyou Ġknow Ġthe Ġtruth Ġabout ĠPeter Ġ' s Ġmedical Ġhistory Ġ" Ġ. ĠTravis ĠF ick ett Ġof ĠIGN Ġthought Ġit Ġwas Ġbetter Ġthan Ġthe Ġpilot Ġ; Ġthough Ġit Ġwas Ġ" Ġlad en Ġwith Ġlots Ġof Ġcl unky Ġexposition Ġand ĠclichÃ© d Ġdialogue Ġ, Ġ" ĠF ick ett Ġunderstood Ġthat Ġit Ġwas Ġneeded Ġto Ġacquaint Ġnew Ġviewers Ġto Ġthe Ġshow Ġ. ĠF ick ett Ġconcluded Ġhis Ġreview Ġby Ġsaying ĠFr inge Ġhas Ġthe Ġpotential Ġto Ġbe Ġa Ġ" Ġgreat Ġshow Ġ" Ġ, Ġand Ġhe Ġalso