Fringe follows FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, who is assigned to the bureau's fictional Fringe Division. After a series of unexplained, horrific biological and physical phenomena—referred to as "The Pattern"—she recruits a brilliant but institutionalized scientist, Dr. Walter Bishop, and his estranged, estranged jack-of-all-trades son, Peter Bishop.

To truly appreciate the "serie completa," it helps to understand how Fringe evolved across its five seasons. Unlike many shows that lose steam, Fringe actively reinvented itself every year. Season 1: The Pattern and Introduction