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"Over There" is the two-part second-season finale of the Fox science fiction drama series Fringe. Both parts were written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, together with showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J. H. Wyman. Goldsman also served as director. Fringe's premise is based on the idea of two parallel universes, our own and the Other Side, which began to clash in 1985, after Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) stole the parallel universe version of his son, Peter, following his own son's death. The finale's narrative recounts what happens when Peter (Joshua Jackson) is taken back to the Other Side by his real father, dubbed "Walternate" (Noble). FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv, pictured) and Walter lead a team of former Cortexiphan test subjects to retrieve him, after discovering that Peter is an unwitting part of Walternate's plans to bring about the destruction of our universe using an ancient doomsday device. Part one aired on May 13, 2010, to an estimated 5.99 million viewers, while part two broadcast a week later to 5.68 million. Both episodes received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with critics lauding the subtle differences between each universe. The finale was selected for multiple 2010 "best of television" lists. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

... that the Hindu scriptures describe how a boar (pictured) rescued the earth, which had been kidnapped and hidden in the primordial waters?
... that Ankarafantsika National Park in Madagascar is home to the rhinoceros chameleon and the greater big-footed mouse?
... that when French Colonel Antoine Huré led a column to relieve the French garrison at Aïn Médiouna in 1919, elements of it marched 62 kilometres (39 miles) in a single day?
... that an Israeli military convoy descended the Scorpion Pass at night in Operation Lot of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and many drivers refused to go down the path out of fear?
... that baseball player Kentrail Davis credited working in construction with helping him gain the upper body strength to become a power hitter?
... that Young Women for Change is a women's rights non-profit organization in Afghanistan that has held the first anti-harassment march in Afghan history, in July 2012?
... that John Hemmingham was banned from Sheffield United's Bramall Lane stadium because of concerns that playing music might structurally damage the stands?

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In the news

An estimated 41 international workers are taken hostage in an attack at a gas facility near In Aménas, Algeria, with a subsequent raid by Algerian forces resulting in multiple fatalities.
Boeing 787 aircraft are grounded worldwide over concerns about the safety of their lithium-ion batteries.
Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake is dismissed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa following her contested impeachment.
In the Central African Republic, the government signs a ceasefire agreement with rebels, ending a month of conflict and establishing a new coalition government.
France commits troops to aid government forces in the current Northern Mali conflict.

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On this day...

January 18: Royal Thai Armed Forces Day in Thailand (1591); the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins

1535 – Conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Ciudad de los Reyes, present-day Lima, Peru, as the capital of the lands he conquered for the Spanish Crown.
1778 – English explorer James Cook became the first known European to reach the Sandwich Islands, now known as the Hawaiian Islands.
1866 – Wesley College, the largest school in Australia by enrolment, was established in Melbourne.
1871 – A number of independent German states unified into the German Empire, with Prussian King Wilhelm I (pictured) being proclaimed as its first Emperor.
1943 – World War II: As part of Operation Iskra, the Soviet Red Army broke the Siege of Leningrad, opening a narrow land corridor to the city.

More anniversaries: January 17 – January 18 – January 19

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Today's featured picture

Schematic diagram of a piano, one of the most popular musical instruments in the world. The diagram (see legend) shows a grand piano, one of two basic piano configurations, the other being the upright piano. Full-size grand pianos are preferred for concerts, because larger pianos with longer strings have larger, richer sound and lower inharmonicity of the strings.

Image: Olek Remesz/Bechstein

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