FRINGE OF THE GIANTS

In several episodes of 'Fringe' during its sophomore year, including the season finale, there's been a character identified simply as "Store Owner". He's the guy who runs the pawn shop/jumk shop with the backroom containing that typewriter which should only exist in the alternate dimension.

I'm not sure if it could be said that he should look familiar to fans of the sci-fi TV genre, because it's been decades since his last regular role, so I'm just going to come out with it: He's Stefan Arngrim, who played the boy Barry Lockridge in 'Land Of The Giants'. And until 'Fringe' decides to ruin the illusion by giving him a name, Toobworld Central is going to claim that he's playing Barry still!

Arngrim is not playing his age in 'Fringe', however. Within the timeline of Toobworld, 'Land Of The Giants' began in the mid 1980's. So as an adult as seen in 'Fringe', Barry should be almost twenty years younger than he appears. (Arngrim is the same age as I am.)

That he's back on Earth Prime-Time O'Bviously means that his return from the 'Land Of The Giants' must have happened out of the view of the audience at home in the Trueniverse. And he didn't return directly to the main Toobworld - if Barry is working with the people from the alternate Toobworld, it's probable that he ended up over there on his return trip. They might even have been the ones responsible for a rescue mission since they are more advanced in technology than the main Toobworld.

Once they had him "home," it would have been easy to brainwash him into betraying his home dimension. ("They left you to die over there;" "If it wasn't for us.....;" "Helping us is the only way you can ever return home" etc.)

What they may not have known is that Earth Prime-Time did mount a rescue mission that failed miserably; and because of that (and the cost in lives and resources), no other attempts were made. It was assumed that the passengers and crew of the Spindrift had to be killed by the giants just as the rescue mission team was. (We saw this occur in 'The Twilight Zone' episode "The Invaders.")
Traversing from the Land of the Giants into the dimension where Walternate exists and then finally back to his home dimension may have aged Barry Lockridge on a cellular level and that could be why the character looks as old as the actor playing him. This theory would hold true for any of the other characters if they crossed back over as well. (If Colonel Fitzhugh was still alive at the time of the return trip, surely it aged him so much that he passed away.)

Again, this all holds together only so long as we never learn the name of the Store Owner on 'Fringe'...... BTW, I think the argument could be made that one of Barry Lockridge's ancestors was Nellie Olsen of 'Little House On The Prairie'. (Stefan Arngrim's sister Allison played Nellie, so we can claim there's a family resemblance.) In the Wold Newton Crossover Universe, it was claimed that Nellie grew up to become a prostitute, but Toobworld doesn't have to follow that same line of thinking.....

BCnU!