Imagine The Impossibilities: Seahorse Glyph

A seahorse had been added as the seventh Fringe "glyph" on the ImagineTheImpossibilities.com (aka Find The Pattern) website. Hovering your mouse over the seahorse outlines a Fibonacci Spiral pattern and reveals the chemical compounds for the amino acids Histidine and Hydroxyproline.

Clicking on the seahorse displays a paragraph of braille. A few of the words are already translated for you, but you can read the full translation below.

Click to reveal the translation...

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
HAVE ADVANCED FAR BEYOND
OUR ABILITY TO CONTROL
THEM. THE ABILITY TO
GENERATE LIFE HAS TAKEN
A NEW COURSE.

Everything We Learned About Fringe At The TCA Press Tour

2008 FOX SUMMER TCA: (L-R) Executive producer Bryan Burk, Jeff Pinkner, co-creators and executive producers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and J.J. Abrams during the FRINGE session of FOX’s 2008 summer press tour Monday, July 14 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA.

Apparently the Television Critics Association likes to write (who knew?). It's one thing to check the internets and find a piece of news on Fringe, another entirely to try and sift through the flood of reports on the Fringe panel Q&A at today's Television Critics Association Press Tour. I mean really, who has the time?

Who was there?

JJ Abrams and fellow executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orici, Jeff Pinkner, and Bryan Burk, with stars Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv, and John Noble appearing via satellite from New York. -- TV Squad

Will Fringe be impenetrable (like Alias and Lost)?

J.J. Abrams learned a lesson from “Alias.”

It hit him when he was at a friend’s house one day and an episode of the ABC spy vs. spy drama was on television. Abrams, the show’s executive producer, couldn’t follow what was going on.

“Literally, it was impenetrable,” he said.

So for his newest project, Fox’s much-anticipated mystery “Fringe,” the writer-producer took a different tack.

“’Lost’ has a reputation of being a very complicated show,” he said. “’Fringe ‘is in many ways an experiment for us…” -- THR Feed

“We believe it is possible to do a show that has an overall story and end game … but also a show that you don’t have to watch Episodes 1, 2 and 3 to tune into Episode 4,” Abrams said.

While “Alias” was a show “I so loved working on,” he added, “I can see how it was difficult.”

“This show is going to have a different paradigm,” Abrams promised. “We’re trying very diligently to do a show that doesn’t require the kind of insane absolute dedication to a series.” -- LA Times

But I like impenetrable!?

"It works simply as weird, eerie imagery, but these images will also be, there will be references in the show...it's part of sort of the code of the show," said Abrams. -- MeeVee

What's JJ Abrams have to do with it?

"This is the first show I've been a creator on since 'Lost.' I care desperately about it," Abrams said. "I'm going to be deeply involved in the show. I feel jealous I didn't get to do the pilot." -- THR Feed

Is Joshua Jackson funny?

When a reporter asked about the cow "that stole a couple of scenes" in the pilot, Jackson points to his ear and says "We can still hear you." -- TV Squad

Mind if we compare Fringe to the X-Files?

"The genesis of this show is... 'What do you want to see?'" Abrams said. "It wasn't like, 'OK, let's do the X-Files again.' It was, 'What kind of show is something neat you'd want to see?' I thought we'd get slammed for doing the David Cronenberg, 'Altered States' stuff because for me that was something I was obsessed with when I was growing up. ... that weird place where medicine and science meet real life." -- MeeVee

You leaked the pilot didn't you?

Bryan Burke said for the record: "We did not put it on line. We hate putting anything out there until it's done." And JJ added: "We all freaked out when that happened, especially when it got to that peer-to-peer thing where it was unstoppable. But most of the response has been positive. And Fox gave us an incredible time slot, so we're floating on air." -- E! Online

I've seen the leaked pilot online. Should I see it again at Comic-Con?

About the leaked pilot, there are a few differences between what the critics saw this week and what went out on BitTorrent earlier this summer, mostly involving some added interrogation scenes and a scene near the end of the episode. -- TV Squad

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.

Complete Fringe Schedule for Comic-Con 2008

The complete schedule has been released for Comic-Con 2008, which will feature several Fringe related panels, and could be a possible launch pad for a Fringe ARG.

• WEDNESDAY 6:00–7:30 and 7:30-9:00 — Fringe Pilot Screenings — more ...
  Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly present two exclusive premiere screenings of the pilot episode of Fringe, the highly anticipated new FOX series from J.J. Abrams (Lost), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the team behind the upcoming Star Trek feature, Mission: Impossible 3 and Alias. When an international flight lands at Boston’s Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv, The Pacific) is called in to investigate. When the search nearly kills her partner, Special Agent John Scott (Mark Valley, Boston Legal), a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), our generation’s Einstein. There’s only one catch: He’s been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son, Peter (Josh Jackson, Shutter), in to help. Under Special Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick, The Wire), our trio will discover that what happened on that fatal flight is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth. Fringe also stars Kirk Acevedo (Oz), Blair Brown (The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd) and Jasika Nicole (The Mastersons of Manhattan). From Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Fringe premieres September 9 and airs Tuesdays at 9:00 PM on FOX. (Please note: we will clear the room between screenings. Seating is limited. Pick the screening time that works best for you!) Ballroom 20
• FRIDAY 6:00-7:00 Exceeding Expectations and Exploring New Worlds: Feature Effects for the Small Screen— more ...
  Zoic Studios moderates a discussion with VFX supervisors on their passion for creating narrative enhancing, eye-popping effects for television. Some of the best in the business discuss future trends as well as their contribution to the television series Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, The Middleman, Lost, Eureka, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Smallville, and the new fall show Fringe. Room 32AB
• SATURDAY 4:45-5:45 Fringe Q&A and Trailer Screening— more ...
  J. J. Abrams (Lost), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman—the team behind Mission: Impossible 3, Alias, and the upcoming Star Trek feature—join fellow Fringe executive producers Bryan Burk (Cloverfield) and Jeff Pinkner (Lost), as well as stars Anna Torv (The Pacific), Josh Jackson (Shutter), and John Noble (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), for an exclusive Q&A about one of the most anticipated new television series of the fall season, a drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality. The session will kick off with the screening of a trailer for the series. Television Week deputy editor and columnist Joe Adalian moderates. From Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Fringe premieres September 9 and airs Tuesdays at 9:00 PM on FOX. Ballroom 20
• SATURDAY 6:30-7:30 WildStorm Brewing— more ...
  Get the inside scoop on what’s coming up from DC’s wildest imprint from VP Hank Kanalz, superstar artist Jim Lee, editorial director Christos Gage (WildCats: World’s End), and creators Neil Googe (WildCats: World’s End), Wes Craig (Wildstorm Revelations), Brian Denham (X-Files), Joshua Ortega (Gears of War), and Jason Craig (Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash). Find out about WildStorm’s newest creator-driven books, plus the latest on The Authority, WildCats, Stormwatch, Gen 13, The Lost Boys, X-Files, J. J. Abram’s Fringe, and much, much more! Room 8

If you can't make it to San Diego, we'll be covering everything here LIVE as news breaks. And if you are planning to be at Comic-Con, please send us any updates, news, websites, etc, to editor@FringeTelevision.com. Thanks!

Also, if you are going to Comic-Con, JJ Abrams fans will want to check out the LOST panels, and the start of the new LOST ARG as well. For more information, please visit my LOST Blog at LostARGs.com.

Fringe Q&A at Comic-Con: Creators and Cast Fully Represented

Comic-Con has posted the complete 2008 program schedule. Fringe, in addition to the 6:00–7:30 and 7:30-9:00 screenings on Wednesday, July 23, will screen the trailer again on Saturday, July 26, followed by a powerhouse Q&A:

4:45-5:45 Fringe Q&A and Trailer Screening—J. J. Abrams (Lost), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman—the team behind Mission: Impossible 3, Alias, and the upcoming Star Trek feature—join fellow Fringe executive producers Bryan Burk (Cloverfield) and Jeff Pinkner (Lost), as well as stars Anna Torv (The Pacific), Josh Jackson (Shutter), and John Noble (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), for an exclusive Q&A about one of the most anticipated new television series of the fall season, a drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality. The session will kick off with the screening of a trailer for the series. Television Week deputy editor and columnist Joe Adalian moderates. From Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Fringe premieres September 9 and airs Tuesdays at 9:00 PM on FOX. Ballroom 20

Edit: Don't miss Fringe at Comic-Con. See our Complete Fringe Schedule for Comic-Con 2008.

"The Fringe Trucks Have Arrived!"

That's the headline over at Filming in Brooklyn, and to the left is one of the pictures of the trucks, we're going to need lots of trucks.

FiB says, "We’ll be going back tonight - the shoot is scheduled to go until 3am," so if you're into that sort of thing, then be sure to check back in with FiB later tonight and in the morning.

Personally, while I can't see reporting on every shoot (it will be old news soon enough), I'll admit, it was fun looking at pictures of trucks.

Fringe Screening at Comic-Con Preview Night (Wednesday)

The Official Thursday Programming Schedule for Comic-Con has been released and included in it is news about Fringe. If you're lucky enough to have a 4-day pass, and you're quick, you can attend a screening of Fringe on:

Wednesday, July 23, PREVIEW NIGHT

Attention 4-Day Members Only: For the first time ever, Comic-Con adds a special event on Preview Night, and what a special event it is! Be among the first to see the new fall series Fringe!

6:00–7:30 and 7:30-9:00 Fringe Pilot Screenings—Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly present two exclusive premiere screenings of the pilot episode of Fringe, the highly anticipated new FOX series from J.J. Abrams (Lost), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the team behind the upcoming Star Trek feature, Mission: Impossible 3 and Alias. When an international flight lands at Boston’s Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv, The Pacific) is called in to investigate. When the search nearly kills her partner, Special Agent John Scott (Mark Valley, Boston Legal), a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), our generation’s Einstein. There’s only one catch: He’s been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son, Peter (Josh Jackson, Shutter), in to help. Under Special Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick, The Wire), our trio will discover that what happened on that fatal flight is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth. Fringe also stars Kirk Acevedo (Oz), Blair Brown (The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd) and Jasika Nicole (The Mastersons of Manhattan). From Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Fringe premieres September 9 and airs Tuesdays at 9:00 PM on FOX. (Please note: we will clear the room between screenings. Seating is limited. Pick the screening time that works best for you!) Ballroom 20.

Edit: Don't miss Fringe at Comic-Con. See our Complete Fringe Schedule for Comic-Con 2008.

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's Imagine The Impossibilities Site Updated

A butterfly (or moth) has been added as a sixth element on the ImageTheImpossibilities.com (aka Find The Pattern) website for Fringe. The highlighting triggered by hovering your mouse over the butterfly appears to outline the bone structure of five-fingered hands, two per wing. Clicking on the butterfly cycles through the Fringe radio ads which ask listeners to find the pattern.



The butterfly has also been added to FOX's official site for Fringe, http://www.fox.com/fringe/.

Fringe Begins Filming In Brooklyn

The appropriately named website Filming in Brooklyn has a report today confirming that Fringe is filming in--wait for it--Brooklyn. While there are no real spoilers in the report, which includes a few spy photos of Joshua Jackson, be forewarned that these types of reports essentially deal in spoilers. If that's not a problem for you, the article is here.

Word on the street is the next chance you'll get to catch Fringe filming is the morning of July 10th, in the vicinity of 7th Avenue and 92nd Street, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York.

Update: Make that Friday.

Fringe Teaser Animations

The conceptual design studio Buster, was retained by FOX to develop, animate and produce an on-air teaser campaign for FOX's upcoming Fall 2008 TV series "Fringe." Buster worked from the initial graphic symbols found in nature that had been developed by the internal design team at FOX. These symbols are key points for viewers to key into, and to tap into the show's science and nature themed premise. Buster developed a number of 10-second on-air tease animations which have been seen on FOX Television since mid June.

View all four spots above, or at YouTube.com\FringeTelevision