the mutant baby reminded me too much of that silly detachable conjoined twin from an X-Files episode.

Fringe follows the exploits of FBI special agent Olivia Dunham, mad scientist Walter Bishop, and his son, jack of all trades, Peter Bishop as they investigate aspects of fringe science (rare diseases, chimeras, transhumans with psychic abilities, teleportation, and so forth). All over the world, a series of apparent experiments collectively referred to as "the Pattern" (e.g., a newborn baby who rapidly ages and dies within a few minutes, a bus full of passengers trapped in a strange resin, like mosquitoes trapped in amber) are occurring for reasons unknown. Olivia, Peter, and Walter are in charge of investigating these strange events to determine their source. Connected to the Pattern is Massive Dynamic, a leading global technology company that holds the patents for a number of new and important technologies. Their enemy is ZFT, a bioterrorist organization which is orchestrating all of the strange occurrences in order to prepare for a destructive technological singularity. Tying both sides together is a nootropic drug, called Cortexiphan, that was developed by Walter and his partner, William Bell (now chairman of Massive Dynamic), which Olivia and a number of others were treated with as children. The first season closes with Olivia meeting William in a parallel universe where, among other differences, the World Trade Center was not destroyed by the September 11 attacks.

I am so sad about Charlie Frances. He was the ultimate nice-guy.