Fringe Tweet-Peat Review

Based on the fan reaction from tonight's Fringe "Tweet-peat", I would have to say it was an udder disaster. The tweet of the night comes in response to the question "What is your favorite episode?"

@TPaisley I can tell you my least favourite episode. The one where have the screen was covered by twitter.

LOL.

In all honesty, I thought it was an interesting experiment. Of course I've seen the episode several times, so the intrusion into the show didn't bother me at all. For those tuning into this episode, or the show for the very first time, I can see how it would be distracting. I think the level of outrage expressed in the comments is a little over the top, but such is the world of the anonymous internet. (FYI, FringeTelevision.com is a fan-site and is not officially connected to Fringe, Fox, or WB... i.e. it's not our fault! ;)

UPDATE: Joe Early, Fox's vice president of marketing and communications, noted that ... depending on how fans respond, the network might (or might not) add tweets to future repeats. "It would never be done, obviously, on an original episode," Early said.

Please don't worry! As far as I know, this was officially a one time event. Fox press releases only mentioned tonight's episode of Fringe, and tomorrow's episode of Glee. The Fringe season one finale next week should be Twitter-free, and certainly all of the new episodes will be as well.

If you would like to watch tonight's episode tweet-free, it is available for free online at Fox.com/FOD, Hulu.com/Fringe, or even in the Fringe Epsiodes section.

What did you think about the Fringe Tweet-peat?

Fringe FAIL: Kirk Acevedo not FIRED, was "let go"

After the backlash from fans yesterday, CO-showrunner Jeff Pinkner did a little bit of damage control, and issued a statement to TV Guide regarding the status of Kirk Acevedo on Fringe:

“Like all things on Fringe, there is more to this story than meets the eye.” In fact Pinkner not only confirms to TV Guide Magazine that Acevedo “was not fired,” he hints that we’ll see more Agent Francis in season 2. Literally.

“We have already seen two of him on the show,” teases Pinkner. “We have already met the second Charlie. He had a scar on his face.”

Notice Pinkner doesn't actually say we'll see Charlie next season, he just "hints" at it (at least according to TV Guide). In fact, as of yesterday, I hear there were discussions on how Charlie could be written out of the story.

What's the real story? Pinkner is right about one thing, there is more to this story than meets the eye.

I contacted Fox and WB, and as per usual SOP, they declined to comment. However, my inside source did verify that Kirk's Facebook page was legitimate, and had this to say:

Kirk wasn't 100% happy with the way he was used on the show and was somewhat vocal about it.

Lee Hernandez of Latina.com was able to contact Kirk directly, and got a little clarification on his original statement:

"It’s called not picking up my option. But at the end of the day, you got fired!"

So technically, he wasn't fired - he was "let go" (or "made redundant" for our UK fans :). You say potato and I say potahto - the bottom line is that he won't be a regular on the show anymore.

A lot of this has to do with saving money. Kirk had a prety minor role on the show, but from what I hear, he was makin getting paid more that Anna Torv! So while I am a huge fan of Kirk (we even share the same last name!), if they needed to cut the cast budget (maybe to accommodate Nimoy), I can understand why this happened.

The good news, if we read between the lines (and maybe because of all this coverage), is that there's a good chance that we'll see Charlie again - if everyone can kiss and makeup.

Fringe FAIL: Kirk Acevedo Fired!

Kirk Acevedo announced on his facebook page today that he was "fired" from Fringe:

WELL BOYS AND GIRLS THEY DONE DID YER BOY WRONG! THEY FIRED ME OFF OF FRINGE, AND I'VE NEVER BEEN FIRED IN MY LIFE!!!!

While this is not "officially" official, I have confirmed this with an inside source. Details are scarce at this point, but Kirk is likely another victim of the WB's cost-cutting measures. The move to Canada has caused quite a shake up on the show, with numerous behind-the-scenes people leaving as well. More info to come...

* Thanks to TheODI for the screenshot