Fringe picked up in UK, Sweden

The broadcast rights for Fringe has been picked up in the UK and Sweden, which will both air the show this fall.

Guardian: Lost creator JJ Abrams' new show Fringe snapped up by Sky:

Sky1 has acquired the exclusive UK television rights to Lost creator JJ Abrams' new science fiction drama Fringe.
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Sky said the new series, which will debut on the revamped Sky1 this autumn, would "thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality"

Variety: J.J. Abrams' 'Fringe' heads to Sweden

Sweden's Kanal 5, owned by European broadcast group ProSiebenSat.1, has nabbed Swedish rights to J.J. Abrams' produced series "Fringe."

Kanal 5 has bought the first 13 episodes to air in the fall. The series, described as a mix of "Lost" and "The X-Files," debuts in the U.S. on Fox in September.

Kanal 5 programmer Katarina Eriksson said: "This is a different genre for us, since we have a lot of series aimed at women, like 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Desperate Housewives.' 'Fringe' is more aimed at younger men. But this does not mean that we are going to change our mix, we see this as an addition."

Fringe Comic Book Team

Comic book website Newsarama has the inside scoop on the team behind the Fringe comic book series:

... Released under DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint, the six monthly installments of the Fringe comic will be written by many of the same people who are guiding the television series, promising comics-only extras as the monthly issues work in conjunction with the show's first season.

"There are definitely hidden (and not-so-hidden) elements that will feed into the Fringe [tv] series that you can only find in the comic," said Athena Wickham, co-story consultant for the Fringe comic and TV executive for Abrams' production company, Bad Robot. While Wickham said reading the comic isn't necessary for viewers to understand what's happening in the show, "it will give them a greater appreciation of what's to come and help them uncover some of the integrated plot points."

Wickham joins quite a few other people who are making sure the comic fits seamlessly with the show. Series creators Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci (the writers behind the upcoming Star Trek movie) are co-developing the comic book story and approving all scripts and art. Then the six issues of Fringe are being crafted by TV show staff writers Zack Whedon and Julia Cho along with Superman/Batman scribe Mike Johnson, who works with the Kurtzman/Orci production company. The comic will also have contributions from other members of the television show's staff of writers, including Alex Katsnelson, Danielle Dispaltro, and Matthew Pitts.

"The writers have created such a rich and complex series that we are looking to the comic to further illuminate the Fringe universe," said David Baronoff, creative executive for Bad Robot, who is also a co-story consultant on the Fringe comic.
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Comics artist Tom Mandrake will provide art for the back-story. "He will be joined by Simon Coleby in the first issue, with surprise artists to come in upcoming issues," Baronoff said. "Mandrake just jumped out at us with his extremely emotional and creepy art. He's producing amazing work. Coleby is a rising star whose style is perfect for Fringe."

Baronoff said the comic is being designed to visually echo the Fringe universe and the overall tone of the television series.

"We are working with the amazing team at Wildstorm so that both the artists' work and the physical book itself will be reflective of the story's place and time," Baronoff said. "Much like the series, we hope this comic will run the gamut from dark and eerie to funny and profound."
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"It's a lot of fun and we hope it creeps out all of our readers," Wickham said.

There are also a few spoilers about what to expect in the series:

Click here to read

As the comic series opens, Wickham said the first issue "begins when the yin and yang of fringe science first meet face to face."

"The issues will consist of two parts. Part A will tell the back-story story of two of our key characters: Walter Bishop and William Bell. Part B will consist of stand-alone stories," Wickham said. "Readers will be introduced to a range of characters -- from those at the epicenter of the pilot to others who might not live to make a series appearance."

The first issue of the Fringe comics series will be available on Aug. 27th, at your local comic book store.

• Fringe #1 - August 27 September 3
• Fringe #2 - September 17
• Fringe #3 - October 29
• Fringe #4 - November 26
  

The story also has two pages from the Fringe preview comic, but without captions. You can see the entire Fringe Preview comic here.

Fringe Pattern: Case 0091 - Evidence 0003

A new piece of evidence for Case 0091 of The Pattern has been added to the PHI website - 1.61803398874989484820458683436563811.com (also at ImagineTheImpossibilities.com)

Evidence 0003 dated 8/4/08 10:41am, is crude map of coordinates from Evidence 0001 which plot out four cities in Iowa - Estherville, Cresco, Carrol, and Vinton.

Also listed is the formula: a+b/a = a/b which is called the Golden Ratio (also know as PHI.)

a is listed as the distance between Estherville and Cresco - approximately 150 miles
b is listed as the distance between Estherville and Carroll - approximately 100 miles

The equation does not quite work with these numbers, but it is close.

I'm not sure what to make of this new evidence, but I'll tell you one thing right now - I am not going to Iowa.

Fringe Preview Comic Prequel

The FRINGE Preview comic given out at Comic-con, is a prequel story to the official six-part Fringe comic-book series, which is itself a prequel to the Fringe TV show.

The graphic story details various incidents of "the pattern" - involving bears, tsunamis, missing children, navy ship coordinates, and childbirth - being discussed at a conference, by a Professor Ku from the National University of Singapore. You can find more information about "the pattern" at Fringepedia.net.

The six-part Fringe comic series will go on sale beginning August 27th, with a new issues coming out every month. Also, don't miss the Massive Dynamic ad, and Fringe character profiles that were also in this preview comic.

Fringe Preview Comic: Character Profiles

The FRINGE Preview comic given out at Comic-con, contains profiles of the main characters in Fringe (in addition to a Massive Dynamic ad, and a prequel comic ...coming soon...)

The characters Olivia Dunham, Peter Bishop, Walter Bishop, Charlie Francis, Phillip Broyles, John Scott, Nina Sharp, and Astrid Farnsworth are all profiled, with their Age, Birthplace, Education, Occupation, and quotes like this gem from Dr. Bishop: They have this... horrible pudding. This butterscotch pudding on Mondays. It's dreadful.

Fringe Preview Comic: Massive Dynamic Ad

A FRINGE Preview comic was given out at Comic-con, containing a Massive Dynamic ad, profiles of the characters in Fringe, and a prequel to the six-part comic series that goes on sale August 27th.

I have scanned in the entire 16-page comic, and will post the various sections. Here is the Massive Dynamic ad from the inside-front cover. The Massive Dynamic slogan reads "What Do We Do? What Don't We Do.", with a boy flying a toy plane, under a Massive Dynamic jet (Flight 627?) leaving contrails (chemtrails?) in the sky.


The copy at the bottom of the ad reads: [This is an advertis]ment for the Massive Dynamic Corporation. The image and text do not reflect the views of the Billboard rental company or its Affiliates. For more information regarding Massive Dynamic or Billboard rental policy please contact our head office.

The billboard can be seen briefly in the pilot, as Olivia, Peter, and Walter are leaving St. Claire's hospital.

Fringe Interviews: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson; John Noble,

Anna Torv talks about her character FBI agent Olivia Dunham on Fringe.


Joshua Jackson talks about his character Peter Bishop on FRINGE
"A really dumb, smart guy"


John Noble talks about his character Walter Bishop on FRINGE.

Fringe Interviews: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci

Roberto Orci, Co-Creator, Writer & Executive Producer of FRINGE,
defines the term "FRINGE".


Alex Kurtzman, Co-Creator, writer & Executive Producer of FRINGE,
talks about the brainstorming behind FRINGE.


J.J. Abrams, Co-Creator & Executive Producer of FRINGE,
talks about the type of show that is FRINGE.

G4 Interview: Fringe at Comic-Con

G4's Attack of the Show interviewed J.J. Abrams, Joshua Jackson, and John Nobel about Fringe at Comic-Con.

Fringe Behind The Scenes Video and Photos

Entertainment Tonight has this exclusive behind-the-scenes video from the set of Fringe (thanks to WatchFringe for finding this).

INF Daily and Filming In Brooklyn have behind the scenes Fringe photos of Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv.

Fringe Panel at Comic-Con

Fox released this condensed version of Fringe panel at Comic-Con 2008, mixed with some fan interviews.

You can see the rest of the Fringe Comic-Con panel on YouTube.

Roberto Orci Talks Fringe

Word out of Comic-Con is Roberto Orci has a way with the ladies. Or maybe it's the ladies have a way with Roberto Orci?

Anyway, Orci talks about conception, Massive Dynamics and Joshua Jackson with BuzzSugar:

Last year, when Orci, JJ Abrams, and Alex Kurtzman were at Comic-Con [2007] to launch Star Trek, they were also kicking around ideas for a new TV series they hoped to do together. "We actually ended up staying an extra night here because we were so close to figuring out the exact story for Fringe," Orci said. "We like to say that the show in a way was conceived here."

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For those who have now seen the pilot, a few teasers from Orci to keep you coming back: We might find out more about Peter (Joshua Jackson) and his childhood — things maybe even Peter doesn't know. We might meet the head of Massive Dynamic, the maybe-good, maybe-evil corporation at the center of the story. And, despite Abrams's promises that Fringe won't be as confusing as, say, Alias, every episode will drop a little clue of some sort for the next.

Orci goes on to reveal that Fringe takes some of its inspiration from 50s sci fi comic books and that a year later they're back at Comic-Con to get feedback from bloggers. Read the full article at BuzzSugar.

NiceGirlsTV also scored a Roberto Orci exclusive where he summarizes what Fringe is about in 12 seconds, and talks about the female lead character FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, played by Anna Torv.