Walter Bishop
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| Walter Bishop | |
| Portrayed by John Noble
| |
| |
| First appears in | "Pilot" |
| Name | Walter Bishop |
| Status | Alive |
| Age | 62 |
| Profession | Research Scientist |
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Pre-Season 1
Walter Bishop was born in Cambridge in 1946, and attended Harvard University, conducting postgraduate study at Oxford and MIT. His I.Q., a profoundly above average 196, made him one of the most brilliant scientific minds of his generation. From the 1970's until around 1991, Walter, an endowed chair of Biochemistry at Harvard, conducted experiments in the basement of the college's Kresge building, along with his lab partner William Bell and their assistants. The field of the duo's experiments ranged from quantum physics to genetic engineering, propelling Walter into an unknown relationship with the U.S. government to advance its most scientifically innovative - and ethically questionable - research projects under the heading of fringe science. It is also implied that during this time, Walter wrote the manuscript "Destruction Through Technology," known in German as "Z.F.T." ("Ability")
At one point in the early 1980's, Walter experimented on children using the drug "Cortexiphan." The test subjects included both Olivia Dunham and Nick Lane. ("Bad Dreams")
However, an accident in 1991 resulted in the death of at least one of his assistants ("The No-Brainer"), beginning many accusations of Walter using humans as guinea pigs for his experiments. Charged with manslaughter, Walter was instead deemed mentally unstable and admitted to St. Claire's Psychiatric Institution. Only Walter's immediate family were able to visit him in the institution, though it took seventeen years before his son, Peter Bishop, would even speak to him.
[edit] Season 1
When John Scott, an FBI agent, was infected by a toxin that caused his flesh to degenerate, agent Olivia Dunham discovered that Walter had conducted research on a very similar type of toxin. With the help of Walter's estranged son Peter, who was reluctant to help at all, Olivia was able to speak to Walter about the toxin, and he revealed he had known someone would ask him about it. Olivia had much trouble communicating with Walter, as his words were disjointed and he was distracted. After several questions he demanded to see Peter. The two reunited briefly and unformally, and Peter acted with some hostility toward his father. However, this meeting seemed to help Walter regain his focus, and he stated that he would need to see Scott's afflicted body in order to identify how advanced the toxin was. Walter was then released by the hospital into Peter's custody, and he traveled back to the hospital to examine Scott. During this, he discovered that his former laboratory had been closed down, and he became violently upset, and the laboratory was subsequently reopened. Making the laboratory his headquarters, Walter became more enthusiastic and less distracted, though he still acted somewhat eccentrically, often developing cravings for foods that he had been deprived from during his time in the mental institution. Walter also acquired a cow, Gene to be a resident in the lab due to its genetic similarity to humans. In the process of solving the case, Walter introduced Olivia to a synaptic transfer, which involved placing a drugged Olivia into a tank and allowing her access to John Scott's memories, a process that would later be repeated several times. After the case was solved, Peter elected to stay with Walter to help solve more cases that made up The Pattern. ("Pilot")
After solving two cases related to his previous work ("The Same Old Story")("The Ghost Network"), a case of a mysterious cylinder that burrowed up from the ground presented itself to Walter, and Walter found it necessary to hide the cylinder from everyone else. The cylinder case also led him into contact with The Observer, whom he had met before during a car accident from Peter's childhood. ("The Arrival")
[edit] Trivia
- Has trouble sleeping without someone singing "Row, row, row your boat" after spending time with another St. Claire's patient named Carlos.
- Has begun to prescribe and administer his own medication - a cocktail of psychoactive drugs. Claims it rebalances him after having been institutionalized for 17 years.
- The Kresge Building is the home of the Harvard School of Public Health.
- Has sudden cravings for certain foods and/or beverages.
- He has a cow. (Which he keeps in the lab)
- He can never pronounce Astrid's name.
