Fringe

Ever since the final moments of Fringe's first season, we've know that the alternative universe that William Bell is hiding in is drastically different from the one we live in. We could tell that from one simple fact: both buildings of the World Trade Center are still standing.

The September 11, 2001, disaster, as I don't have to remind you, was a monumental day in American history, but in Fringe's "other side," it never happened -- the White House was hit instead, apparently, due to the newspaper depicting the Obamas moving into the 'new' White House, which has presumably been rebuilt.

But that's not the weirdest thing that newspaper had to offer -- copies of the fictional printing were handed out to reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour, and they revealed even more about the alternative universe, including some information that makes me empathize with David Robert Jones. I'd want to go there too.

As far as entertainment and pop culture goes, quite a lot has changed. Dwayne Johnson plays the Terminator in a stage version of the '80's film, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is now a senator, instead of being the governor of California.

Guns'N'Roses' Chinese Democracy (a terrible album, in my opinion) was released in 2000 in the alternative universe.

John F. Kennedy was not assassinated in Dallas, and instead is still alive and in politics.

The stock markets have been closed for 21 days and counting.

Genetically engineered glow-in-the-dark pets (!) are available for purchase. (I'm sure animal-rights activists are in a tizzy about this in the alternative universe -- I probably would be too)

Scientists are able to manipulate the weather, and were able to prevent Hurricane Katrina from hitting New Orleans, making the city a candidate to host the Olympics in 2016.

But the best news for me is that all four Beatles are still alive, and are planning a reunion tour. God, how I wish this were so. Oh, what could have been. What a better world it could be. Even though, as writer J.R. Orci just quipped to me, "John Lennon got really fat."

Fringe's new universe makes me want to hop through a portal and go over there myself -- it sounds like a much better version of this universe, save for the increasing control that scientists are gaining over nature, which makes me a little uncomfortable that Earth's equilibrium might get thrown off a bit somehow. Hopefully this will be explored next year on Fringe, during which we'll hopefully get a better idea of what exactly is going on "over there."

What do you think? Which universe would you prefer?