LA Times: Web Surfer's Guide To Fringe

The L.A. Times has a great web-surfer's guide to Fringe. The article mentions official viral sites like MassiveDynamic.com and ImagineTheImpossibilities.com, semi-official sites like J.R. Orci's Blog and GlowingMonkeys.com, and important fan sites like Fringepedia.net, and of course FringeTelevision.com :), which they describe as:

It's where I go to find out most of what I missed, plus it has great links...

Thanks Andrew!

Click here to read the full article

'Fringe': Web-surfing for 'Fringe'-fanatics
By Andrew Hanson

"Fringe" might have taken a break with an encore presentation of "The Ghost Network," but there's no rest for fanatical Fringehead or devoted Show Trackers. As 'Fringe' reshows a few of its greatest hits over the next few weeks, there are plenty of places online to fill that all-consuming need for new facts and information on the Pattern.

Apply for an internship at Massive Dynamics: "Fringe" exists beyond your 46-inch LCD screen. There's a whole ARG (alternate gaming reality) growing on the Internet. Your best jumping-off points into this other world are the Massive Dynamics official site and ImagineTheImpossibilities. If you're the type that always needed the hint book for that extra edge when it came to puzzles, though, you might need to check out the next site.

War over edits to Astrid's page: Have an hour or six to waste? You might want to dig into Fringepedia. Take a dip in the pool of collective knowledge. Help figure out what the images that lead into or out of each commercial break denote. Meticulously catalog every narcotic Walter professes to take. Or just spell-check every instance of "Fibonacci Sequence." It's fun for everyone. And if a wiki doesn't give you enough opportunity to get into arguments with your fellow posters, you can always take your social issues over to the Fringe Forums.

Delve into your own fringe science: Glowing Monkeys. I'm not sure what this has to do with the show, but it's mentioned on several other "Fringe"-related sites. Plus it's just full of crazy science. Isn't that enough?

Track down any Observers you've missed: The encore episodes make for the perfect time to brush up on your baldy spotting skills, but if you want to go back and check where your keen eyes have failed you, check out this compilation. The Fringe Television site is a great location for tracking all the scavenger hunts going on throughout the series, whether you're looking for Observer spottings, next episode clues, Massive Dynamic posters or whatever. It's where I go to find out most of what I missed, plus it has great links like our last one.

Step into the mind of a writer/supervising producer: Want to see what the powers that be over a "Fringe" see? Pop on over to J.R. Orci's Flickr page. Not only do you get fun facts, like the existence of the Neoclinus Blanchardi or Sarcastic Fringehead, but you also can check out some cool behind-the-scenes peeks at meetings and late-night writing sessions and, of course, the occasional pic of the Hustler store.

Well, those should keep you busy until "Fringe" returns or at least until the holiday slump at your office passes and you have to get back to at least pretending to work. Looks like next week's encore is "The Arrival." Grab a buddy who's never seen the show and relive the exposure of the Observer. Should get him or her hooked. It's the episode that did it for me.

Fox Fix: Mark Valley Interview

Fox Fix has a new interview with Mark Valley, who plays John Scott on Fringe. Host Jessica Holmes asks Mark: Is he alive or is he dead? Did he love Olivia Dunham? Who was he working for? What's the deal with The Observer?

Orci Snapshots: Fringe Set Mockups

Fringe supervising producer J.R. Orci posted these photos up on his blog. They are scale models of two Fringe sets: The FBI offices and Walter's Lab.

Walter's Lab

The FBI Offices

Fringe Tonight: The Ghost Network

Our unlikely trio investigates a horrific bus incident in which the dead bodies of commuters are frozen inside a bus like insects in amber. Led by the unconventional Dr. Bishop, who requests a piano in the lab to help him process data, the team uncovers a man who has visions of Pattern-related disturbances before they happen, and race to decipher the distraught man's thoughts to prevent another atrocious event from occurring.

Tonight's episode of Fringe is an encore performance (repeat) of The Ghost Network (103). But as the saying goes, if you haven't seen it, it's new to you.

The Ghost Network links:

• Episode discussion can be found over in the Fringe Episodes section
• Screencaps and Easter Eggs are in the Fringe Screencaps section
• Screenshots of the entire episode can be found in the Fringe Gallery
  
• The Ghost Network wiki page is at Fringepedia.net
• Podcasts for this episode are on the Fringe Podcast network
  

The next two weeks will be repeats as well; next week will be The Arrival (104), and the following week is Power Hungry (105).

The next new Fringe episode is Bound (111) on January 20th.

Walter's Lab Notes: Fringe 110

Walter's Lab Notes from Fringe episode 110 Safe, features the severed hand of the botched bank robber Raul Lugo, a photo of Raul stuck in the safe wall, what looks to be a safe deposit box. In the notes, Walter mentions:

• Transcendentalists, who believe the spiritual state 'transcends' the physical and empirical
  
• Ralph Wald Emerson, who was himself prominent transcendentalist
• Ernest Rutherford who devised the planetary model of the atom
• Rutherford's Geiger-Marsden experiment, also known as the Gold Foil experiment, which led to that discovery
• "Space is ample, east and west, But two cannot go abreast" is a quote from Emerson's The Over-soul
• Pythagoras, best know for the Pythagorean theorem, believed in something called the "harmony of the spheres", or Musica universalis. He believed that the planets and stars moved according to mathematical equations, which corresponded to musical notes and thus produced a symphony.

- Project 1069 - Exploration 1 -

The Transcendentalists has the right idea, they merely lacked the technological tools. How did Raph Waldo put it? Oh yes;

Nature shows all things formed and bound. The intellect pierces the form, overlaps the wall, detects intrinsic likeness between remote things, and reduces all things into a few principles.

Or in this case, a few particles. Yet those particles fill less than one percent of the space within the atom, virtually all of it contained within the nucleus. The protons and neutrons themselves consist mostly of space between their constituent up and down quarks. Subatomic vibration (of an origin that I cannot fathom) could in principal disturb the energy fields between, allowing the penetration of other particles through the open doors. To break on through to the other side!

Yet just as some small fraction of Rutherford's electrons failed to pierce the gold foil and bounced back instead, some fraction of the particles within the perpetrators' atoms must have collided with particles in the wall -- resulting, of course, in the release of ionizing radiation! It is perfectly obvious, upon reflection: "Space is ample, east and west, But two cannot go abreast." Although that well-endowed Baltimorean woman might beg to differ. Harmony of the spheres indeed! Pythagoras, you dog.

- Cleveland: homeless man with superfluous nipple hidden beneath his grimy coat
- Baltimore: idle ditty whistled by street vendor, every D was just a little flat
- Philadelphia: fabulous crusty cheesesteak sandwich at Beach and Palmer

So many details, yet none that actually matter! Where oh where have my details gone? Lost -- or stolen. I asked the Summoner if I could search for my errant thoughts in his lost and found, be he refused, said I'd find the missing friars in Satan's hindquarters. Curse him! I know the rule: "cannot build phallic puzzles inside the lab." I still know the numbers, too -- well I damn well should, it's a simple second-order recursive algorithm -- but a mnemonic is worthless without its contents. Like a sad coat rack with empty pegs.

Fringe Dwellers Podcast: Episode 13

Part 1 - The Dreamscape: Jen and Adele reunite to talk about their differing opinions on Dreamscape, their shared Nina feelings, and how scary butterflies really can be.

Part 2 - Safe: Jen and Adele discuss the tenth episode, Safe. They wrap thier minds around wall sandwiches, Mr Jones' return, Loeb's motivations and the manifestation of John's memories in Olivia.

Show notes are available at the Fringe Dwellers homepage.

Part 1 - The Dreamscape:


Part 2 - Safe:


You can also subscribe to the Fringe Dwellers 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, or reach them on Twitter as fringedwellers, or Facebook as Gene the Cow Worshippers

For more Fringe podcasts, check out the Fringe Podcast Network.

Fringe Nominated For WGA Awards

The nominations keep piling on... this time from the Writers Guild of America (yes, that WGA...).

Fringe was nominated for two WGA 2009 Awards:

BEST NEW SERIES

Fringe, Written by JJ Abrams, Jason Cahill, Julia Cho, David H. Goodman, Felicia Henderson, Brad Caleb Kane, Alex Kurtzman, Darin Morgan, J.R. Orci, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Zack Whedon; Fox

Also nominated: Breaking Bad, In Treatment, Life on Mars, True Blood

BEST LONG FORM – ORIGINAL (over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times)

“Pilot” (Fringe), Written by JJ Abrams & Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci; Fox

Also nominated: An American Crime, Recount

The 2009 Writers Guild Awards takes place on February 7, 2009, in Los Angeles and New York.

Vote For Fringe: Best New Fall Show 2008

TV.com has a Best of 2008 poll, and Fringe has been nominated for Best New Fall Show 2008. Currently Fringe is in a neck and neck race with True Blood (90210 and The Mentalist in a very very distant 3rd and 4th place.) It doesn't say how long the voting period last, but make sure to vote early, and often!

Also, Don't forget Fringe was also nominated for a People's Choice Award, and there is only two days left to vote.

Fringe Scenemaker 110: Safe

Scenemaker is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Fringe. This episode shows the making of the Olivia kidnapping scene in Safe.

You can watch previous episode's scenemaker videos here.

The Observer: Catch Him If You Can

Fox has released a series of videos, confirming the hidden location of The Observer in each Fringe episode, with the exception of The Observer-centric episode The Arrival, and his recent appearance in Safe. I have compiled all the videos together into this one clip, but you can also watch them individually in the FOX YouTube channel.

We have been tracking the Observer since the beginning in our Screencaps section, along with other Easter Eggs, including hidden Massive Dynamic logos, and the Next Episode Clues (clues hidden in each episode which foreshadow what will happen in the next episode.)

Fringe Episode 110: Safe

While investigating a series of bank robberies, Olivia, Walter and Peter are shocked to find one of the suspects inexplicably trapped inside a vault wall as if it solidified around him. Walter realizes that the high-tech thieves have figured out a way to defy the law of physics and that, much to his dismay, the crooks are after something of his. As the ongoing investigation unfolds and the mystery deepens, the perilous situation climaxes when a member of the trio is ambushed.

Dr. Bishop vs. Dr. House

This amusing clip features Dr. Walter Bishop from Fringe, and Dr. Gregory House from House.

Exclusive: Chance Kelly Interview

We recently had the opportunity to talk with Chance Kelly, who plays rogue FBI Agent Mitchell Loeb on Fringe. Chance was on the set, filming the episode we will see after the break - Bound on January 20th. He discussed what it's like to work on Fringe, and gave some interesting insight into his character - that maybe his character might end up being a good guy, and the reason for shooting Joanne Ostler:

That broad might have had it coming, kidnapping little kids...

Listen Now:


We would like to thank Chase Kelly for his time, and to Jen and Adele of the Fringe Dwellers Podcast (The official podcast of FringeTelevsion!) for conducting and recording this interview for us.

Fringebusters: The Dreamscape

Each week, Popular Mechanics brings in experts to analyzes the science of Fringe, and separate the science fact from the science fiction.

For the latest episode of Fringe, "The Dreamscape," their resident brain expert tackles the memory-erasing experiment and fatal hallucinations.

PopularMechanics.com: How Fringe Gets Memory Science Wrong: Hollywood Fact vs. Fiction

Massive Dynamic Shirts

Just in time for the Holidays, I've created some Massive Dynamic shirts. Show your support for everyone's favorite multi-national corporation specializing in secret bio-research and defense contracting (and for FringeTelevision).

As a bonus, Spreadshirt is having a sale until Friday: Receive 20% off when you buy 2 products
(USD$: BUYMORE8 / CAD$: CADBUYMORE8), or Receive 25% off when you buy 3 products
(USD$: BUYMORE9 / CAD$: CADBUYMORE9).

Hurry, before Nina Sharp and her goons shut the whole operation down!

Walter's Lab Notes: Fringe 109

Walter's Lab Notes from Fringe episode 109 The Dreamscape, features both origami frogs and a real one, a photo of deceased Massive Dynamic employee Mark Young, and the same Synaptic Transfer diagram from the first set of lab notes. In the notes, Walter mentions the bible again (Exodus 8:13), Barbara Striesand's "The Way We Were", William Shakepeare's Macbeth, and of course a reference to Thanksgiving.

- Project 269 - Exploration 19 -

I had not expected the opportunity to return to this project so soon. The resurfacing of Agent Scott - for whatever distress it has caused Agend Dunham - confirms my suspicion that lysergic acid diethylamide can induce flashbacks of alien, as well as indigenous, memories - like the corners of my mind - misty water-colored memories... Curse you Striesand, your wretched lyrics afflict my soul!

How fortunate that Olivia brought these toads here. "And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine oven, and into thy kneadingtroughs." And thy laboratories! I have modified the regression formula to include doses of bufotenin and 5-MeO-DMT from the bufo alvarius. Like the Scots witches, I will stir the pot:

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing ...

...with oyster crackers on the side, of course. The new brew will assuredly amplify the psychedelic effects, allowing even deeper penetration into repressed memory. Perhaps I should inform Olivia; but she has little patience for such details. The whole process should take four to five hours. Not unlike the time required for baking a turkey - assuming, of course, the bird has been properly thawed and brined. I must remind Astringent not to drain the tank when we are done; no need to waste perfectly good saline solution!

Yet there is but one subject this time. The puzzle is one of recursion: the linking of the brain to itself. What happens when a person goes through her own portal? Herein lies the danger of a strange loop, and endless spiral of meta-realities, each self gazing into a deeper self. The experience could lead to the destruction of identity. Or perhaps its affirmation - for what is self but an endless recursion, looking at oneself in a mirror within a mirror within a mirror...

Fringe Scenemaker 109: The Dreamscape

Scenemaker is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Fringe. This episode shows the making of "When Butterflies Attack".

You can watch previous episode's scenemaker videos here.

Fringe Episode 109: Promotional Photos

Here are the promotional photos for Fringe episode 109 - The Dreamscape.

You can find more promotional photos, episode screencaps, and more in our Fringe Gallery!

Fringe Episode 109: The Dreamscape

A Massive Dynamic employee is so convinced he is being attacked by butterflies that he jumps out of a window to escape them, and the team is called in to investigate. Although Olivia's unexplained interaction with Agent Scott leads to breaks in the case, she is so desperate to rid her consciousness of him that she demands to go back in the tank. Meanwhile, the jig is up for Peter when a former friend and some current foes find out he's back in Boston.

Fringe Episode 109: The Dreamscape Tonight!

On tonight's episode of Fringe "The Dreamscape":

A Massive Dynamic employee is so convinced he is being attacked by butterflies that he jumps out of a window to escape them, and the team is called in to investigate. Although Olivia's unexplained interaction with Agent Scott leads to breaks in the case, she is so desperate to rid her consciousness of him that she demands to go back in the tank. Meanwhile, the jig is up for Peter when a former friend and some current foes find out he's back in Boston.

Episode discussion takes place over at Episodes.FringeTelevision.com, where you will also be able to share your comments with other Fringe fans. Or, take your fandom to the next level over at Fringepedia, the Fringe Encyclopedia.

Easter Eggs and Screenshots will be posted at EasterEggs.FringeTelevision.com throughout the night. Screencap requests can be made here.

Keep your eye out for The Observer, who makes a cameo appearance in every episode, and for other clues, including the Next Episode Clue. The clue from last week's episode can be found here.