TV.com: JJ Meter For Fringe Pilot

TV.com has a funny video from Comic-Con, where they interviewed people coming out of the Fringe Pilot screening, and asked them to rate it on a scale of Armageddon to Lost. Then they present The JJ Meter to Abrams, then asked him to rate himself.

Check out the video below.

Official Fringe Podcast Now On iTunes

The Official Fringe Podcast is now on iTunes, sort of... Since Fox has not put it on iTunes themselves for whatever reason, we have created our own OFP iTunes feed that you can subscribe to using this address:

http://www.itunes.com/podcast?id=291175422

Enjoy!

FringeTelevision In Advertising Age

FringeTelevision was featured in Advertising Age magazine recently, and that article was mentioned on the front page of the Official Fox Website (Fan Site Gets Shout Out). However, the article is now only available to paid subscribers, but luckily we have a cache of the article:

Click here to read full article

Fans Go Viral Over Fox's 'Fringe'
Network's Enigmatic Online Campaign Builds on 'Cloverfield' Base

By Claude Brodesser-Akner
Published: September 04, 2008

Many of the same online fans who inadvertently helped market the J.J. Abrams-produced 'Cloverfield' are now back and doing the same thing for his new series 'Fringe.'

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Fair warning to entertainment marketers: Once fans get bitten by the viral marketing bug, they could be infected for life.

Case in point: the online marketing backing "Fringe," the forthcoming TV series from J.J. Abrams ("Lost," "Alias") that has its debut on Fox next Tuesday. The show -- about an FBI agent guided by an unhinged genius scientist -- already has a dozen rabid fan sites devoted to it, dissecting a handful of clues dispensed through a cryptic Fox-created website, imaginetheimpossibilities.com.

It worked before
Of course, that "Fringe" will have a fairly active viral-marketing component comes as no surprise, given that Mr. Abrams also produced "Cloverfield," a horror film whose online hype helped it make it the most successful January film release ever.

Indeed, "Cloverfield" fan sites like Cloverfield Clues racked up some 2.6 million unique visitors and just shy of 5 million page views. Created by a Lexington, Ky., software engineer named Dennis Acevedo, Cloverfield Clues was getting some 70,000 visitors daily prior to the film's release in theaters last year.

But what is surprising is that many of the same online fans who inadvertently helped market "Cloverfield" are now back and doing the same thing for "Fringe."

Mr. Acevedo, for example, has partnered with another self-described Abrams fan, an Orange County, Calif.-based administrative assistant named Edward Michaud, to create FringeTelevision.com. They're already getting 2,000 unique visitors for a site about a show no one has seen.

Raised expectations
Susan Bonds, president-CEO of 42 Entertainment in Pasadena, Calif., was not surprised that Mr. Acevedo is back at it.

While not affiliated with "Fringe," she was responsible for producing the alternate-reality game for this summer's Warner Bros. blockbuster "The Dark Knight," which has become the second-highest-grossing film of all time.

Said Ms. Bonds: "My feeling is that 'Dark Knight' and 'Cloverfield' changed things. They allowed the audience to really live in the fiction, and so overall, expectations are raised."

And the benefit is overwhelmingly accruing to both marketers and advertisers, Ms. Bonds said.

"With viral sites ... we learn not only how many unique participants, and where they are, but average length of time they experience. That's time spent with your brand or property -- about 10 minutes, on average. That's incredibly valuable to making people fans for life."

And Mr. Acevedo is nothing if not that. He has managed to see a leaked pilot episode online -- as well as the finished version from a Fox press kit, though he won't say how.

"I don't know if I want to reveal how I got it," Mr. Acevedo said.

Mysteries abound
There are a dozen other "Fringe" fan sites puzzling over viral marketing clues about esoteric plot points -- videos of sheep walking in perfect circles, mysterious Braille dots and math formulas -- but "only three or four that are really up to date. They're my competition."

So far, though, Mr. Acevedo says "Fringe" has been holding back on the viral treats, relative to "Cloverfield." A viral website, MassiveDynamic.com, a glancing reference to a corporation in the pilot of "Fringe," exists online but is not yet live [it is live now], though he said he's monitoring it closely.

"As far as viral marketing, it's been very, very limited. There's really only been seven pieces of evidence released. It's not a full-on interactive game -- at least, not yet."

Cautioned Mr. Michaud, "My sense is they're laying the groundwork."

Executives at Bad Robot, Mr. Abrams' production company, declined to comment on their plans for the show's marketing, but people familiar with the situation said there will be plenty of viruses floating around -- after the first episode airs.

Fringe Episode 102 Preview

Following the encore airing of the Fringe episode Pilot, hosted by Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson, a 4-minute preview clip of the second Fringe Episode was shown.

You can find this sneak-peek clip over at Spoilers.FringeTelevision.com along with Episode 102 promotional photos, plus plot summaries and photos for Fringe Episode 103 and Fringe Episode 104.

Fringe Encore With Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson

Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson hosted the encore presentation of the Fringe season premiere - "Pilot".

Fringe Dwellers Podcast: Episode 3

In the third episode of the Fringe Dwellers Podcast, Adele and Jen get their hands dirty delving into the mysteries of the Fringe Pilot. We discuss the gruesome teaser, cast chemistry, changes from the leaked to televised versions and the cow. We also read the emails and voicemails from our listeners.

Listen now:


You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

If you have a comment or question for Adele & Jen, you can email them at fringedwellers@gmail.com. You can also leave a voicemail for them at (206) 333-0072.

BTW, we have added a Podcast tab at the top, which will link you directly to all the Fringe Dwellers podcasts and Official Fringe Podcasts.

Now You Have to Watch Sunday's Rebroadcast of Fringe

Jeff Pinkner reveals to Blog Critics that FOX's encoure presentation of Fringe--Sunday, September 14th at 8/7c--will be hosted by Joshua Jackson and Anna Torv.

Pinkner explained that not only will series stars Joshua Jackson (Peter [Bishop]) and Anna Torv (Olivia Dunham) host the rebroadcast, FOX will also show "the first act of episode two at the tail end of the pilot." The second episode, titled "The Same Old Story," will deal with an investigation into the deaths of a woman who experiences a vastly accelerated pregnancy and what the press release describes as a "senior citizen" newborn. FOX will start the ball rolling on the evening with an exclusive first look at a scene from The Day The Earth Stood Still, followed by a preview of 24: Redemption, the two-hour standalone special episode of 24 coming in November. -- Blog Critics

Official Fringe Podcast with Roberto and Alex

The Fox Fringe website has released the first Official Fringe Podcast (OFP), with Fringe Executive Producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. In this first episode, Alex and Roberto answer fan questions - even one from our own Edward!

LISTEN NOW:


Here are the fringe science / conspiracy theory websites mentioned in the podcast:

• http://www.glowingmonkeys.com
• http://www.rense.com
• http://www.infowars.com

FringeTelevision.com: What can you tell us about http://www.glowingmonkeys.com?

Roberto Orci: That was one of the websites that inspired us, that inspired the show along with rense.com and infowars.com. Just various sort of alternative news sites out there that in a way cover the kind of the fringe science type articles that you don't always find in mainstream news organization sources.

Fox Fringe: Walter's Lab Notes #1

The official Fox Fringe website has a new feature hidden on the Episode Recap page: Walter's Lab Notes.

The notes for "Pilot" include photos from the lab, a diagram of the synaptic transfer system, comments about the experiment: "Project 269 Exploration 17", and a recipe for Banana Bread!

Video: Behind the Scenes at "Fringe"

Fringe's Jasika Nicole (Astrid Farnsworth) takes us on a video tour of Dr. Bishop's lab.

Fringe Available on Amazon and iTunes

Fringe is now available on Amazon's Video On Demand (formerly Amazon Unbox) and iTunes for $1.89/$1.99 per episode.

Fringe Pilot: Leaked Epiosde vs. Final Cut

When the Fringe pilot episode was "leaked" onto the internet back in June, J.J. Abrams and crew were quick to point out that the editing was not finished, scenes were missing, and different music would be used. Interestingly, even the "final cut" version we received in the Fringe Press Kit was slightly different from the broadcast. The run times were about the same, so what were the changes?

A lot of very minor edits were scattered throughout, mainly tightening up scenes. For example, some dialogue from an earlier scene between Charlie and Olivia was cut.

The opening title sequence was completely new (you can see the original version here).

Four big changes were added to the story line:

• Olivia tears up seeing John for the first time after the explosion, reinforcing her feelings for him
  
• The entire Steig interrogation scene with Oliva Dunham and Jack Bauer Peter Bishop
• Most of the audio from Steig's tape recorder
• The scene where the dead Agent Scott is wheeled away into the "Leaf" room

Also added was the glyph sequence at the very end, which may be some sort of key to hidden Easter Eggs.

Massive Dynamic not only changed names (from Massic Dynamics), they changed locations. The original building was modeled after the The Royal Ontario Museum, where as the new building is a typical New York skyscraper.

The Synaptic Transfer sequence has subtle changes, mostly a darker mood. The inscription on the Kayak changed from CONSTANT 1.61803 to ZENO, the tombstone changed from BLANK to HE'S NOT DEAD, and the screen monitoring John and Olivia got a makeover (although you can still see the old screen in some shots)

Nina Sharp's robotic are got a slight makeover, making it a little more see-through.