Fringe Premiere Party In NYC

The Fringe premier party was tonight in NYC, at The Xchange on West 28th Street. USA Today spoke with some of the stars, as they made their way down the "red carpet". The party included Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Kirk Acevedo, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole, Jason Butler Harner (plus his twin); show creators J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Bryan Burk, Jeff Pinkner; plus Fox president Kevin Reilly.

• "Frankly, Fringe is more to my taste than something like Dawson's Creek. I didn't grow up watching 90210; I grew up watching the X-Files." - Joshua Jackson
  
  
• "I think part of the message is 'Be careful playing God.' There's definitely that aspect to it, but other than that, I don't know. I'll have to wait and see. What I'm not smart enough to do yet is piece together the through line." - Joshua Jackson
  
  
• "Question everything. Question and doubt," - Blair Brown
  
  
• "Basically, the way I approach it is I take it (his role) at face value as far as I've gotten and just play it like that." - Lance Reddick
  

Click here to read the full story

Stars get at the fabric of 'Fringe' at premiere party

By James Endrst, Special for USA TODAY

NEW YORK — The vibe was out there Monday night at the premiere party for Fox's Fringe, the hotly anticipated new series from Lost creator J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (the team behind Star Trek, Mission: Impossible III and Alias).

The paranoid, procedural drama, filmed at Silvercup Studios in Queens, works the twilight zone between science fact and science fiction much like The X-Files.

At The Xchange on West 28th Street, Fringe stars made their way down the carpet. Among them: John Noble (The Lord of the Rings), who plays mad scientist Walter Bishop, and Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek), who is cast as Bishop's estranged and troubled son, Peter.

The two, along with Anna Torv, who plays FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, are at the heart of Fringe, charged with tracking reality-bending events and left wondering: "Is there a message, and, if so, who is sending it?"

"I think part of the message is 'Be careful playing God.' There's definitely that aspect to it," Jackson said. "But other than that, I don't know. I'll have to wait and see. What I'm not smart enough to do yet is piece together the through line."

"Question everything. Question and doubt," said Blair Brown, who plays corporate bigwig Nina Sharp.

Series good guys Lance Reddick (The Wire), Kirk Acevedo (Oz) and Jasika Nicole also attended the party.

Reddick, who appeared on Abrams' Lost, tries not to think about a message. "Basically, the way I approach it is I take it (his role) at face value as far as I've gotten and just play it like that."

Fringe will make its debut Sept. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

To see more pictures, visit GettyImages.com

Fox to Fill Fringe's Gap with "Hole"

One of the unique features of the premiere season of FRINGE is the so-called "remote-free TV", which promises half of the normal commercials of a regular show (typically 20 minutes per hour).

However, we have wondered how an one hour and 22 minute show could fill a two-hour premiere slot and have less commercials.

To fill the gap, Fox will debut "Hole in the Wall" immediately after the FRINGE season premiere, "letting viewers sample two of its highest-profile new shows at once."

"Hole" is Japanese style game-show that is already a hit around the world, and on YouTube where is goes by the nickname "Human Tetris".

After the premiere, "The Wall" will move back to it's regular time slot on Thursdays, and FRINGE will continue the rest of the season with 50 minutes episodes and 10 minutes of commercials.

Click here to read the full article, or visit TVWeek.com

Fox's 'Hole' to Ride 'Fringe' Coattails

By Josef Adalian

Fox is hoping the creator of "Lost" can help its new reality show "Hole in the Wall" get found by viewers.

The network has quietly scheduled a 25-minute sneak preview of "Hole" behind the Tuesday, Sept. 9 premiere of "Fringe," the new drama from J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. "Hole" will air from 9:35 p.m. until 10 p.m.

Among the most highly anticipated new shows of the fall, "Fringe" was designed to air as a two-hour pilot. But in May, after the pilot was filmed, Fox announced that the show would air with a reduced commercial load, allowing advertisers to hawk their wares in a less-crowded environment.

Weekly episodes of "Fringe" will run about 50 minutes, with producers cramming in extra content. But with the show's pilot built to fit into a normal two-hours-with-commericals slot, Fox needed to find something to fill the programming hole.

Enter "Hole."

Fox executives considered several possibilities to fill the gap, including a fall preview special. Ultimately, the network decided to turn the night into an event, letting viewers sample two of its highest-profile new shows at once.

"Hole" is still scheduled to settle into its regular Thursday night slot on Sept. 11. The pilot for "Fringe" will be repeated on Sunday, Sept. 14. Fox is still finalizing plans for how to fill the 25-minute gap left by the Sunday encore

Fox Will Stream FRINGE Premiere To Colleges

Fox will be simulcast-streaming the season premieres of FRINGE (and TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES) through a special college portal which will be accessible only to .EDU domains. The "simul-streams" will be complemented with pre- and post-shows featuring behind-the-scenes footage and music videos, as well as cast and producer interviews. FRINGE will simulcast Tuesday, Sept. 9 (8:00-9:35 PM ET/PT) on FOX and on college campuses online at www.fox.com/fringe/college.

Click here to read the full press release

"FRINGE" AND "TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES" GO TO COLLEGE WITH INNOVATIVE SEASON PREMIERE SIMUL-STREAMS ONLINE AT FOX.COM
Released by FOX
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

"FRINGE" AND "TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES" GO TO COLLEGE WITH INNOVATIVE SEASON PREMIERE SIMUL-STREAMS ONLINE AT FOX.COM

TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES Premieres Sept. 8; FRINGE Premieres Sept. 9

In an unprecedented event, FOX will stream the premieres of TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES and FRINGE exclusively for on-campus college students at www.fox.com. Only students on college campuses accessing through a college internet domain (.edu) will have the opportunity to watch the episodes online simultaneously with their primetime premieres.

TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES will premiere both on FOX and on college campuses online at www.fox.com/terminator/college on Monday, Sept. 8 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), and FRINGE will simulcast Tuesday, Sept. 9 (8:00-9:35 PM ET/PT) on FOX and on college campuses online at www.fox.com/fringe/college. The "simul-streams" will be complemented with pre- and post-shows featuring behind-the-scenes footage and music videos, as well as cast and producer interviews.

In the second season premiere of TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, viewers will catch up with the Connors in the aftermath of Cameron's (Summer Glau) jeep explosion. As they try to pick up the pieces, Sarah (Lena Headey) and John Connor (Thomas Dekker) are forced to confront the reality of John following his destiny. Meanwhile, Agent Ellison's (Richard T. Jones) faith is challenged and he's forced to confront the Feds in the aftermath of Cromartie's (Garret Dillahunt) massacre; and, Shirley Manson joins the cast as Catherine Weaver, the CEO of a high-tech corporation.

From J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the team behind "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible III" and "Alias," FRINGE is a new procedural thriller that explores the blurring line between the possible and the unimaginable. In the series premiere, an international flight lands at Boston's Logan Airport carrying crew and passengers decimated by a mysterious virus. The event brings together an unlikely trio FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), brilliant but formerly institutionalized scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his scheming, reluctant son Peter (Josh Jackson) who uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events that may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern.

Produced by Bartleby Company and The Halcyon Company in association with Warner Bros. Television, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES is executive-produced by Josh Friedman, John Wirth and James Middleton. Toni Graphia and Natalie Chaidez serve as co-executive producers.

The FRINGE pilot is directed by Emmy Award-winning Alex Graves ("The West Wing"), and the series is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Bad Robot Productions. J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner and Bryan Burk serve as executive producers.

* Thanks to TheFutonCritic for this press release.

Fox's Official FRINGE Site Gets New Look

Fox's official FRINGE website - Fox.com/Fringe has a slick, brand new look. The glyphs are gone, replaced with the usual TV show categories: Info, Bios, Blog, Videos, Gallery, Features, etc. There is also a Fringe newsletter that you can sign up for, and a new Fringe Widget that features a countdown to the Fringe Season Premiere.

* Thanks to Steve C. for the update!

Will the Fringe Pilot be Remote Free TV?

Fringe will debut FOX's Remote Free TV concept by running only half the number of commercial minutes per episode as is typical for an hour-long program. According to the theglobeandmail.com, that equates to "50 minutes of programming in each hour-long episode." THR defines Remote Free TV as "commercial loads of about five minutes per hour, about half the usual," which, minus 60, equals 55 minutes of programming. Regardless of whose math is correct, the Fringe Pilot that was screened for the press and the version leaked online are reported from 82 to 90 minutes in length, which falls short of a theoretical two hour Remote Free premiere by at least 10 minutes, and possibly as many as 20.

In spite of rumors and confirmation that the Pilot is being tinkered with, Comic-Con's July 23 screenings consist of two 90 minute slots: 6:00–7:30 and 7:30-9:00. Does this mean Comic-Con attendees won't be seeing a Pilot tweaked to the point of being Remote Free TV friendly? Or does it mean Fringe may be Remote Free TV, but the Fringe Pilot isn't?

p.s. Don't miss Fringe at Comic-Con. See our Complete Fringe Schedule for Comic-Con 2008, and if you're not able to attend, watch this space all next week for the latest Comic-Con coverage.

Executive Producer Jeff Pinkner Explains Fringe

Newsarams.com's Bryan Cairns interviews Fringe Executive Producer Jeff Pinkner who, despite being named showrunner late in the game, gives an exceptional interview--chock-full of interesting details about the show, the characters, the actors, the team, the process. It's a must read for anyone curious about Fringe. So much so that it's bordering on spoilerish, so I've excerpted a few of the interesting bits and the link after the jump...

“The premise is that an event happens that brings FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, onto a case,” explains Executive Producer Jeff Pinkner. “In the course of it, her partner is actually injured and in an effort to try and save him, she seeks out a brilliant scientist who himself has been incarcerated in an institution for the last 17 years for various reasons. He is doing research in the fringe sciences, the very out there concepts, which of course are all very real like telekinesis and reanimation. The only way she is able to get him out of the asylum is with the help of a family member so she is forced to seek out his son Peter who has had no relationship with him over the last 20 years. He has no interest in helping but does so because he sees how emotionally invested Olivia is.

"The three of them are able to actually solve the case and during the course of it, it is revealed to her that there is actually a very specialized department of Homeland securities unit looking into a series of recent events that the government is referring to as The Pattern. These are unexplained events which seem to call into question what we understand as reality. With the help of the scientist, Walter Bishop, played by John Noble, and his son Peter, played by Joshua Jackson, the three of them set out to discover what the hell is going on.”

“Olivia is just an incredibly driven, incredibly brilliant agent with her own complicated past that we will peel back over time,” reveals Pinkner. “She is exposed to these events which seem to be taking place around the globe at more regular intervals than previously and sets out to solve these cases, if anyone is behind them, if they are simply freak natural occurrences, and at the same time, figure out her life.”

“Peter is sort of a jack of all trades. He is a brilliant person with a lot of his father’s innate intelligence but given his relationship with his Dad, he has turned his back on science and what he believes in. He has sort of lived by the seat of his pants for many years and in the process, has left a wake of disappointment with business partners and vengeful ex girlfriends.

"Peter is sort of a guy running from his own shadow, living by the seat of his pants, and cutting business deals as he globe trots. He is forced by honor and duty to join the team as well. He has one foot in and out and isn’t happy about being his father’s babysitter. Peter is understandably freaked out with the matters they are looking into but he finds a certain satisfaction in his own degree of expertise and being able to help. He has feelings for Olivia, a complicated relationship with his father, and starts to find his faith in the world as he moves along.”

“Walter is perhaps one of the most brilliant scientists known but in the name of science, and on behalf of the government back in the 70’s and the Vietnam/Cold War era, he has perhaps left a lot of harm in his wake. He has potentially damaged a lot of people and developed a lot of technologies that others may have exploited in the past. As a consequence, there either was or wasn’t a series of events that caused him to lose his mind and break down. He was found criminally guilty and put into an institution where they have done all kinds of advanced therapies to him, which have further damaged his mind. Despite all that, he’s the only person we can rely on to help us solve all these cases.”

“To be honest, Josh was one of the first people who read for us,” recalls Pinkner. “People also had Pacey in mind and Josh is not Pacey by any means. He is very much all grown up. Josh is an adult now and Pacey was an adolescent. Every other actor we auditioned, it was like ‘We need Joshua Jackson.’ Josh is perfect for the role and interestingly enough, he forced everyone to reconsider him because everyone had a little bit of a Pacey hangover. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing but actually great. The character is just not Pacey. This character is a lot darker, a lot more soulful, and Josh came in and nailed the role and convinced everyone he is Peter. He is incredibly talented and pretty much emails me every couple of days going ‘When can we get started?’ The other fantastic thing about Joshua is he is wildly intelligent, as is his character, so he just brings a depth and gravity to everything he does.”

“As for Anna Torov, the process for Olivia had gone well past the 12th hour because nobody was willing to settle. Somehow, someone discovered Anna, an Australian actress who hadn’t really worked in New York before. She was put on tape in Australia and as soon as everybody saw her audition, it was instantly ‘There’s our girl! We found her! Moving on!’”

"Fringe, unlike Alias or Lost, will have cases of the week, cases that we well get involved with and may solve at the end of each episode,” reports Pinkner. “At the same time, there will be a much larger mythology running through the whole series. What I enjoy about that is we are literally exploring a world. The show is about things much larger than itself. What I enjoy about TV is spending time with characters that grow. What is great about these shows with mythologies is that at the same time that the characters are changing, we are exploring different aspects of a real fictional universe so our canvas is very vast. We as writers and creators can explore themes or ideas that interest us. We don’t feel limited because anything that interests us we can chase down. That is really fun for me.”

To steer Fringe along, a diverse team of writers including Without A Trace’s David Goodman, The Sopranos Jason Cahill, and Gossip Girl’s Felicia Henderson have been assembled.

Read the article in its entirety at Newsarama.com.

Highlights of TVWeeks' Live-Blogging the 'Fringe' TCA Panel

Our panelists include executive producer Bryan Burk and Jeff Pinkner and creators Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and J.J. Abrams. We also have some stars via satellite.

10:56 a.m.: Mr. Orci wanted to do a show of genius solving problems, but it mixed with J.J. Abrams' love of "The Night Stalker" and "The Twilight Zone."

11 a.m.: Mr. Abrams is not concerned about his busy schedule affecting his role in "Fringe," and he's going to be deeply involved in the show in writing or rewrites, etc.

11:05 a.m.: Mr. Abrams is sneaking in hints in the show for fans to follow and investigate, but says it's not essential for fans to follow the tiny details to enjoy the show.

11:07 a.m.: Mr. Kurtzman says "Fringe" could have been a movie, but they didn't want to limit the storytelling to three acts.

11:10 a.m.: "Fringe" has been leaked on the Internet. Mr. Burk says he doesn't like material getting out there before its finished, so that's why critics haven't been sent screener discs. The leaked material doesn't have a finished score or tightened scenes.

11:14 a.m.: The economics worked out to shoot "Fringe" in New York City, but the pilot was shot in Toronto. Mr. Abrams needed a city that had weather.

11:16 a.m.: With the writers strike, there's a lot of press on "Fringe" to save network television and draw back viewers. Mr. Abrams says any pressure on a show to save a season or change someone's life could ruin a show. But, he says the online response is good, especially for something that's not finished.

11:19 a.m.: What about shows that are complicated and requires constant attention? Mr. Abrams says "Fringe" has an ultimate direction, but can jump into at any time. He relates a story about watching "Alias" during a random day recently. He says he was completely confused as to what was happening. "It was literally impenetrable," he says.

11:25 a.m.: Mr. Pinkner says that the first act of the show will grab the viewer every week, to the point that when the first ad break hits, viewers will be on the phone talking with friends about what just happened.

Source: TVWeek

Twits From The Fringe Panel At The Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour

Via Zap2it:

https://twitter.com/zap2itbrill
-JJ Abrams thought "Fringe" would be slammed for being too much like "Altered States," rather than "X-Files" comparisons.

https://twitter.com/Zap2itDaniel
-Why will nobody ask Pacey if he's still with Joey? Why?!?!? Oh yeah. Right. "Professionalism."

-The cow will be a regular in the "Fringe" cast. But it won't be the same cow. The original cow was a Canadian cow and had visa problems.

-I've only seen the "Fringe" pilot, but it's already surprising and disarming to see Anna Torv smiling. Not unpleasant, though. More levity!

https://twitter.com/Zap2itRick
-Even J.J. Abrams was confused by "Alias." So it wasn't just you, every viewer of the show.

-Nerd alert: The act-break glyphs on "Fringe" mean something! Get to figuring that out!

-No Daniels (Lance Reddick) at the "Fringe" session. Oh well.

JJ Abrams' Fringe Forecast: Hit

[sarcasm]In that case, maybe a fan site for Fringe is a good idea.[/sarcasm]

The Hollywood Reporter.

Fox's J.J. Abrams thriller "Fringe" and CBS' Jerry Bruckheimer procedural drama "Eleventh Hour" will be the highest-rated new shows, while NBC's "Kath & Kim" and CBS' "Worst Week" will prove to be weak links in their respective comedy blocks.

That's according to an annual television report by Horizon Media that includes speculative estimates of how every broadcast show will fare in the fall.

Sci Fi Wire summarizes Horizon Media's report with:

The analysis contained some expected claims, such as those that established hits such as NBC's Heroes will continue to rule their time periods.

But there also were some surprises. In general, the report was skeptical about how new shows in general would stack up against competitors; not one new show is expected to win its time period in the adults 18-49 demographic.

To recap, it's not clear whether this is a story because THR decided to run with it, or because Horizon Media's forecasts actually matter. Suffice it to say, accurately predicting that Fringe will be a ratings winner isn't rocket science. However, if Sci Fi Wire's characterization of the report is accurate, it tempers Fringe's prospects by further predicting that as a new show, it won't win the 18-49 demographic in its time period. While predicting that Fringe will be a hit doesn't raise any eyebrows around these parts, saying it won't beat out the competition does.

So who is Fringe's competition on Tuesday nights? Going off The Futon Critic's Fall Grid:

• ABC: Dancing With The Stars results show.


• CBS: The Mentalist.


• NBC: The Biggest Loser.

An inexpert analysis:

DWTS: Never mind that Dancing With The Stars is tired, does anyone really watch the hour-long results show? All I can say is even before I stopped watching DWTS two or three seasons ago, I never suffered the hour-long results show. So, DWTS is no competition for Fringe.

The Mentalist: The who? Doesn't matter. TM is another "new" show, and this is an exercise in debunking Horizon Media's prediction that Fringe won't beat out the established competition.

TBL: I'll admit to watching The Biggest Loser . . . on DVR, because, honestly, with all the commercials, product placements and post commercial recapping of what took place before the commercial break, TBL is unwatchable in real time. To make matters worse for TBL, FOX will be running even fewer commercials during Fringe than normal, making Fringe TBL's antithesis in regards to real time watchability.

Based on the above analysis alone, we predict the freshman show Fringe will own the 18-49 demographic in its time period.

Fringe News Roundup

TV Guide's Matt Roush suggests Fringe could become a cult phenomena, if given a chance:

Question: I know you're not really into spoilers, but I was just wondering whether you have viewed J.J. Abrams' Fringe yet. I watched the pilot today, and I just wanted to hear your thoughts on it. Being an Alias lover, I adored it. That being said, it was slightly predictable in certain parts (the "for example" omitted for spoiler reasons). Despite that fact, I think this show has a great future, especially with the commercial-lite gimmick. What do you think? — Amanda

Matt Roush: Your analogy to Alias is a good one. That's the show I most thought about while recently screening the Fringe pilot in a visit to Fox's offices — a very cloak and dagger process, because the network has yet to send screeners to critics in fear of more incidents of it leaking onto the Internet, which is where I gather you saw it. Anyway, I won't go into a detailed review here — too early, and I'd like to see a final cut when it gets closer to the September launch date — but my initial reaction was quite positive, and had me thinking and hoping that if Fringe is lucky and given the opportunity, it could grow into a cult phenom like Alias or even The X-Files, a show it resembles even more. The premise is a little too murky and the trappings a bit too sci-fi for me to predict that it will explode out of the gates the way Lost did. But wouldn't it be nice?

---

TVWeek's Josef Adalian has a detailed piece outlining Fox's "more elaborate second phase" Fringe marketing campaign that started this week.

In addition to noting the 'Find The Pattern' fringe radio ads, sponsored search engine links and those 'Imagine The Impossibilities' bleeding banner ads, Adalian learns that FOX isn't alone in marketing Fringe and that "Bad Robot is doing its own marketing on behalf of the show, as well.":

While [Laurel Bernard, senior vice president of marketing for Fox Broadcasting] couldn't confirm the details of Bad Robots efforts, the blogosphere has been buzzing about a YouTube video featuring a 12-fingered man. Fox’s official Web site for "Fringe" features a hidden link to the video, something that appears to confirm a connection between the YouTube video and the show’s producers.

We wondered the same thing when the link to the YouTube video of the 12-fingered man first appeared. In response to our inquiry, Stuart, the video's owner, claimed no knowledge of, nor connection to Fringe.

It seems there may be more read-world appearances or events as well:

Fox’s promo push for “Fringe” will get more specific—e.g., “Watch ‘Fringe’”—as the show’s September premiere date draws closer. Over the next few weeks, however, the network is planning to have some fun with the show’s mysterious science theme.

“We’re planning outbreaks of ‘Fringe’ in all sorts of interesting places,” Ms. Bernard said.

Will there be more cow sightings?

"I cant confirm or deny anything," she said. "But we love the cows."

Fringe Science Demystified

The Fox Youtube channel has a new Fringe video. It is a Science Demystified interview with Author/Near-Death Experiencer Dannion Brinkley talking about fringe science. Brinkley was declared dead for 28 minutes after getting struck by lightning in 1975.

The video briefly shows Brinkley's website - Dannion.com - although it appears to be unconnected to Fringe.

BTW, here is the cloning diagram from the video.

Fringe Radio Spots - Find The Pattern

The following radio ads will begin airing today, kicking off FOX's media barrage to promote Fringe:



According to The Hollywood Reporter:

The campaign will feature cryptic messages that encourage fans to search on the Internet for more information. Fans of Abrams' hit ABC drama "Lost" and last year's theatrical release "Cloverfield" are familiar with the tactic, so much so that Abrams' name is incorporated into the radio ads as a clue.
...
"Our radio goal was definitely to not say 'Fringe,' " said Laurel Bernard, senior vp marketing at Fox. "We didn't want them to sound in any way like a traditional radio spot. We wanted them to be disruptive and a little mysterious sounding."
...
The Fox network is hoping listeners will piece together these mysterious fragments and realize there is indeed a pattern -- one that leads straight to the network's tentpole fall series "Fringe."

A possible website for the embedded "Find The Pattern" message may be FindThePattern.com. It is currently not active yet, but that may change later today.

Fringe: Imagine the Impossibilities

A new official website for Fringe is online. I found it as a sponsored link during Google a search for Fringe:

Google Sponsored Links

What is The Fringe?
Are you a part of “The Pattern?”
Find Out Now!
www.ImageTheImpossibilities.com

As for the site's contents, it would appear to be the same as http://www.fox.com/fringe/, so nothing new there, yet. One positive to note, from my end at least, is the flash seems to load faster on the new site. We'll keep watch.

Of Fringe ARG's, Bad Robot, Experiences & Expectations and Massive Dynamics

In a nutshell, Massive Dynamics may or may not be the bad guys. Formerly Prometheus Corp. according to early script reviewers, Massive Dynamics is a multi-billion dollar high-tech company that exists in the Fringe universe. Massive Dynamics was founded by Dr. William Bell (former partner of Dr. Walter Bishop).

Massive Dynamics' slogan is:

What do we do? . . . What don't we do.

Reviewers of the leaked pilot (without getting too specific) paint Massive Dynamics as a manufacturer of modern miracles, a shadowy, mysterious, all-powerful corporation and secretive defense contractor with hidden agendas, connections to "the pattern", etc.

What makes Massive Dynamics of special interest to online fans of Fringe is Bad Robot's track record of using fictional business entities--The Hanso Foundation and Tagurato Corp. for example--as vehicles to blur the line between reality and the fictions of the Lost and Cloverfield universes. Although often referred to as Alternate Reality Games, or ARGs, what Bad Robot has done with the web doesn't quite meet the definition of ARG since they've yet to award anyone a prize. Instead, Bad Robot has treated the internet as a bridge between universes by casting the internet, our internet, to play itself in these fictional alternate realities.

Is there an ARExperience planned for Fringe? Will JJ Abrams & Co. (and FOX) surprise the fans a full fledged ARG? Has the Fringe universe already hatched a website or video or posting just waiting to be found? It's anyone's guess, but Abrams fans experienced in the art of finding online portals to Bad Robot's television and movie productions will tell you that Massive Dynamics is a good place to start looking.

Fringe Forum: Better, Stronger, Faster

The forum has been upgraded in a major way. That's an actual technical upgrade ladies and gents, the likes of which not even the most experienced forum user has ever seen before. So do go here and check out the new forum, and if seeing is believing, take matters into your own hands and respond to the Roll Call.

Fringe's Official Site Updated

See: http://www.fox.com/fringe/

Added: What looks like a braille navigation menu across the bottom where you can manually select from the leaf, hand, apple, or the new frog or flower--which link to a Fringe Trailer on YouTube, and the Fringe Facebook Page.

AICN's Hercules Bullets the Fringe Pilot

Answering such diverse questions as: What’s it called? Who’s responsible? What does Fox say? The big news? What’s this about “a larger, more shocking truth?” Aim? Aquafresh? And all this is somehow tied to the plane mishap? Say. Didn’t Fox already air a series about FBI agents investigating the uncanny? Will subsequent “Fringe” episodes deal with sentient extraterrestrial crude oil, killer bees or humanoid tapeworms? Is the “Fringe” pilot as good as the “X-Files” pilot? “Twin Peaks” had FBI agents investigating weird stuff every week, didn’t it? Is the “Fringe” pilot as good as the “Twin Peaks” pilot? Is the “Fringe” pilot as good as the Abrams-directed “Alias” and “Lost” pilots? How rate you “Fringe’s” cast? Abrams didn’t direct this pilot, right? Isn’t Abrams essentially abandoning “Fringe” as he did “Alias” and “Lost”? This sounds … promising. How long before Fox cancels it?

Some spoilers, but you can read his answers here. Oh, and he gives it 4 stars as in likes it quite a bit.

Fox asks, "what’d you think?" of the leaked Fringe pilot

Odd that they would do that, unless, of course, they're the ones who did the leaking?

So, I ask -- was the Fringe pilot intentionally leaked by FOX/Warner Bros./Bad Robot?

Take the poll (to the right in the sidebar) or leave a comment.

Update: Poll closed/results: 91% believed the Fringe pilot intentionally leaked by FOX/Warner Bros./Bad Robot.

"The high quality of the Fringe download, alongside a source tag that identifies the torrent as a DVD screener, has sparked speculation over whether the pilot episode was intentionally leaked to build early buzz and hype before the show's broadcast premiere. A user on community forum Neowin wrote: 'In my opinion it's Fox themselves that use this technology to generate some talk.'" -- Underwire

"Fox was very careful with this expensive pilot, opting for private industry screenings rather than mailing out DVD screeners." -- THR

"Meanwhile, there are speculations over whether the pilot episode of Fringe was intentionally leaked by the network to create some early buzz." -- Buddy TV

"Yes, the Fringe pilot has gotten out. So, for those of you who have seen it — what’d you think?" -- Future on Fox

Sidenote: It appears FOX has deleted the post where they asked, 'what'd you think?' of the leaked Fringe pilot. It originally read:

Wanted: Little Dutch Boy

HR put it succinctly: That summer rite of passage, the annual leaking of the pilots, is upon us.

Yes, the Fringe pilot has gotten out.

So, for those of you who have seen it — what’d you think?

Fringe - J.J. Abrams Talks Fringe

By the by, FOX Broadcasting has its own YouTube account where you'll occasionally find little gems like this one of JJ Abrams talking about Fringe.


Go behind the scenes of Fringe with J.J. Abrams! Catch the series premiere of Fringe, TUE (9/9) at 8/7c, only on FOX!

Here is the transcript:

Fringe is my favorite kind of show, because it takes people that you really like, that you really care about, that you want to be with, and work with, and it puts them into the scariest situation that you've ever seen in your life. And it allows there to be this kind of safety and comedy in the face of "udder" terror. I believe that's sort of the greatest combination of things.

The key to casting anyone, is that when you see them, they own it. It's not a question of even casting. It's a question of hopefully and luckily finding the person who just claims the role, and when you feel like you are giving someone a part, it's not the right move. When you feel like you've found the person who own it, who claim it, that's the right thing.

When we saw Anna’s audition, and obviously the first audition I saw of her was for something else, it was something through her agent, I just thought "OMG" we found Olivia. She brings a very unique energy, a wonderful thoughtfulness, an intelligence, and I think a very unique and distinct beautiful look.

The role of Walter is a tricky one, because you need him to be real, relatable and also, at times, out of his mind. And he's a very untrustworthy mentor in a way, and so you have to go with him, and at the same time you're not quite sure whether or not he even knows where he is or what he's doing.

And finally, with Peter - with Josh Jackson - I think he is not only a wonderful actor, but he's so funny, he's got such a great wit, and an incredible innate skill to be acerbic without ever, I hope, going to a place of feeling phony or glib.

There are some scenes in this pilot, that are straight out of my/our nightmares. Things that are very relatable situations. There's a sequence on an airplane, starts off, and it could be any of us on any flight, and where it goes, is particularly terrifying. But it's that kind of thing that always grabs me, because it's not just the what, it's the why.

Is There a Fringe ARG? Maybe. Is it Holomove? Nope.

Dennis, who has been following the Holomove ARG closely in Unfiction, informs me that Holomove is not only not related to Fringe, it's not even related to FOX, and is instead a Microsoft production:

Holomove
In collaboration with Visual Studio, Microsoft has created the ultimate challenge that tells the story of Nathan Bozeman who gets the chance to change the world, but at an extraordinary price. Since the immersive game began in May 2008, it has captivated players around the world. Find out what’s happened so far and join the adventure—there’s still time to get involved.

You may recall we speculated that the Future on Fox blog's hint could be nothing more than a wild goose chase. Well, that's exactly what it was. Why would the people at FOX send potential "future" fans down the wrong rabbit hole? Good question.