Joshua Jackson Cheers Fringe's Vanishing Act – and How It Will Save the Peter/Olivia Romance by Matt Webb Mitovich
Joshua Jackson is sorry if you fretted over his fate (as well as that of Peter Bishop’s) after his Fringe alter ego literally flickered out of existence in the Season 3 finale. But he assures you it was in the name of several greater goods — including boosting the Peter/Olivia romance.
Reflecting on early this spring, at which time he first got word that Peter might cease to exist, Jackson tells TVLine, “They brought me in as part of the [creative] process at the end, because there was a lot of debate internally about whether to finish [the season] with that or not, because it is such a big thing to do. And I was very much on the pro side.”
Why would an actor vote in favor of his character disappearing? Jackson’s rationale was two-fold. “One, it was the right ending for that season’s story – it almost had to be,” he says of the story arc in which Peter confronted his destiny as the “trigger” for a doomsday machine.
Jackson’s second reason for validating Peter’s vanishing: “I was never a real huge fan of the Peter/Olivia storyline,” he concedes. “All of Fringe is on this epic scale, and that seemed kind of banal to me at the center of it.”
But now, in the wake of Peter’s season-ending act and its dire ramifications, his connection to Olivia (played by Anna Torv) “is on an epic scale as well,” Jackson notes. “This guy sacrificed himself for the woman that he loves, which made that relationship more interesting and it launched us into the off-season with this ‘Holy s—t!’ moment.”
Getting back to those fretting Fringe fans, I asked Jackson if he had words of reassurance, any sort of promise that they will get their fill of Peter (and thus him) despite a season-opening storyline that would seem to limit his presence. The gist of his missive: the show, and I, would never betray you.
“Part of the reason they ended up making the decision to go with that cliff-hanger is because there’s a belief, given how passionate our fans are, that there is a level of trust in us — and we are all keenly aware of not violating that trust,” he shares. “So as much as there was a freak-out and panic, it was done with the hope that everyone understands that we’d never [mess] with our audience, which has been so faithful to us and kept us on the air.
“It was just a case of stealing a page out of [executive producer] J.J. Abrams’ playbook,” he continues, “and keeping people on their toes with anticipation… and then hopefully satisfying their desire.”
Fox’s Fringe premieres its new season on Friday, Sept. 23, at 9/8c.
Source:tvline.com
Joshua Jackson Cheers Fringe's Vanishing Act-and How It Will Save the Peter/Olivia Romance
By fringeobsessed Email Post 8/06/2011 08:22:00 PM Categories: Fringe, Interview, Joshua Jackson, Season 3, Season 4
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9 Comments:
Fantastic interview! And just what we shall expect from the Fringe Team. They understand viewer Trust and the upcoming season will not be an exercise in sweeping away the previous 3 Seasons of Fringe.
And to make it all EPIC including the Peter and Olivia romance? Bring. It. On!
LOVE JOSH! Thanks for the reassurance! That's whats great about a show like Fringe. No matter how bad I freaked out during the finale(and I freaked out BIG!), I had that underlying trust in the writers that they wouldn't let us down. Josh has now confirmed that. Can't wait for season 4! And I love what he said about the Peter/Olivia storyline. As a self-proclaimed PO shipper, I was thrilled with the season 3 development for the two of them, but that said, what make Peter and Olivia my favorite couple in media history, was the fact that it wasn't the center of the show. From the moment Peter and Olivia met, their chemistry was obvious, but subtle. It was never the focus. And the writers really took the time to let their relationship develop, which just doesn't happen in this sex-crazed age of television. So I'm very excited that their relationship won't be center-stage, but it will still become even stronger (and MORE EPIC!) with Peter's sacrifice. Well done, Fringe!
Not even Josh can reassure me, they will make Lincoln this perfect guy, make all teen girls swoon and forget about Josh, not show a single "flaw" in Lincoln and when Peter comes back, people will find something to complain about and criticize him for.
45 you have my sympathy. Whatever cynical emotional blinders the world has equipped you with; they are preventing you from seeing the whole spectrum of the beauty of this show.
You are stuck with a sliver of that vista. And not a pretty one at that.
Loved the interview. Pretty much in the place where I am now, trusting the writers. All I want is OUR Peter coming back. This far the show has never dissapointed me, so despite freaking out the first weeks after the finale, now I'm just excited and waiting for s4 to start.
The only thing I don't agree with Josh, is about The PO romance being banal before. IMO, it's one of the best love stories written on a tv show. The development has been flawless, slow and subtle, with just the right amount of angst, and most of all, it doesn't steal away from the main plot, but actually it adds more to the story. I know Josh was never pro to romance on the show before, and I can respect that. But now I'm glad he's starting to enjoy it.
S4 be here soon!!
I'm sorry KC but all this PO romance did was make Peter look stupid, be hated by fans, changed who the Peter character REALLY was, made Olivia look like princess and him the villian.
If you want an epic couple, why not check Piper and Leo from Charmed. Those two have been together for over 6 years and despite their issues, NONE of them were made look better than the other.
Maybe if the writers hadn't made Olivia into Mrs. Superwoman who can do no wrong and leveled the playing field between peter and Olivia, maybe PO would be epic but no, the writers insisted on making Olivia this perfect human being while making Peter flawed and people hating, bashing. berating him for it.
I mean Peter learned from his mistake and SAVED OLIVIA (I'm sure people would be mad at peter if he HADN'T DONE SOMETHING about Olivia) and people STILL criticized for it.
Analysis confirmed.
I'm glad Josh is more comfortable with the P/O romance, but Anna Torv hasn't sold me her "Olivia in love" yet. Maybe with Seth Gabel she will make a better effort, since she's so keen on a romance between Olivia and Lincoln. It's funny that Josh and Anna have reversed their roles. This time, Anna has my full support. I don't like Olivia with Peter and I'd love to see him with someone else.
I know Josh wouldn't betray the audience, but in the end, he's just an actor and has little say on the writing for the show if we don't count the S3 finale. The problem is that the producers don't make much sense. They said the events in these past 3 seasons would have happened anyway, which means that Peter Bishop was completely unnecessary to the story. However, they're going to explore the other characters in a Peter-less world. How can someone, who didn't have any influence in the events whatsoever, have any impact on anyone? It's like saying he was part of the set decoration, but oh they loved it and it changed their lives. People don't live in a vacuum, they do things, that make others react to them. If Peter didn't do anything at all during his life or if he wasn't the reason for others to do things, why should others be affected by his presence? And worse, how many resets can we expect? Now that they have proved they will undo anything, character development, story, relationships, why should I trust those writers?
Oh yeah, wouldn't that be great, seth gabel will replace Josh as the male lead if they put him with Olivia and Josh will get nothing but hate, bashing and people will ignore him. THANKS A LOT SETH GABEL AND ANNA FREAKING TORV!
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