It's not dimensions it is parallel universes. What happens in one affects the other. There is a Fringe Team to investigate Fringe (unusual) events. The father that Doydie spoke about is a scientist in a basement at Harvard. The cow is there because he is trying to get her to produce chocolate milk. He is brilliant but also childlike in some ways.

The 2 universes found out about each other and developed a way to travel between them to work on projects of mutual benefit.

The Watchers that I mentioned are actually called Observers. They used to be benevolent but are not now- I do not know why.

About the amber: to prevent being fatally harmed people and whole sections of cities are encased in amber. If they are later taken out of amber they can survive.

That's the best I can do at the moment.
ANN

More here. Probably TMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fringe_(TV_series)