 Writing for the Los Angeles Times , critic Andrew Hanson heralded the return of the series , declaring " Fringe comes crashing headlong back onto television . That 's not just a metaphor . Before we even fade in we have two cars smashing into each other . What a way to return : an accident in which one driver is nowhere to be found and the other flees into a nearby apartment , smooches his face and then uses a strange device to rearrange his appearance . That 's my good old Fringe . " The Futon Critic rated " A New Day in the Old Town " the sixteenth best television episode of 2010 , while website blogger io9 listed it as one of the " crucial " episodes new viewers must watch to get into the show . 
