Olivia (Anna Torv) is an FBI agent leading a task force called the Fringe Division to investigate ''The Pattern.'' Walter Bishop (John Noble) is a brilliant scientist, a pioneer in so-called ''fringe science,'' whom the FBI believes to be one of the few people with the intelligence to figure out the meaning of the Pattern and other paranormal phenomena. Unfortunately, Walter's memory has been shattered and he's been institutionalized for years. At the start of the series, his son, Peter (Joshua Jackson) — a mysterious jack-of-all-trades, not always on the right side of the law — reluctantly agreed to help Olivia bring Walter back into the everyday world to help the FBI.