Fringe on Fox: Free Jasika Nicole

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Is anyone else watching the new J.J. Abrams show Fringe on Fox? (Minor spoilers ahead.)

I’m pretty hooked on it, and it has officially replaced Heroes on my Tivo season pass manager (sorry, but their desperate ploy to bring annoying-ass Ali Larter back as yet another character just put me over the edge — I’m totally done with that show).

Meet Jasika Nicole, who plays Agent Astrid Farnsworth on the show. Although if they didn’t give her a title you might mistake her for a low-level intern, as all she seems to do is hover around in the Dr. Bishop’s lab acting as his personal gopher.

She’s so underutilized it’s almost comical. On the first two episodes I think they had to introduce her to other characters multiple times just so we were reminded of her name.

And on the latest episode I’m not sure if she got to talk at all. Instead, she gets injected in the neck with a tranquilizer, and when Dr. Bishop later apologize to her for doing that, she (of course) gives him the silent treatment so again – no lines.

I think it could become a new drinking game: take a swig every time Jasika Nicole is on screen and doesn’t get to talk.

Has anyone else noticed this? Or do I just need to turn my racism/tokenism radar down a couple levels?