Fringe Improv Comedy

In a strange bit of viral marketing, Fox has been "sponsoring" various filmmakers on YouTube to create funny Fringe videos.

The latest is by POYKPAC, a Brooklyn-based comedy quintet, entitled "Fringe Comedy: Episode 1". Hopefully this means there will be more to come.

Fringe Episode Review: Midnight

Greetings, Afringeonados! I'll be honest: I wasn't too excited about Midnight after last week's promo, which made it look like standalone filler that might try to appeal to American Idol holdovers with club music. But I should've known better, as the creative minds behind Fringe delivered another solid hour of television.

There were a few rough spots (Two Singles Together?), but fans got plenty of Walterisms, gross-outs, and mythological teasers to keep us happy until next week's penultimate showdown.

"Maybe we're looking for Dracula..."

The writers did a nice job playing with our expectations in Midnight's cold open (the in media res scenes before the opening credits). Fringe's usual "pattern" is to introduce a villain early and follow him on a crime spree, and we were certainly led to believe Captain Britain was a killer (thanks to casting, wardrobe, and that knife). He's even a predatory creep at the club, and we're led to believe his intentions are criminal. That is, until Valerie Boone breaks his neck.

I literally clapped. It was so unexpected, just like the scene where she opens up a mouth full of shark's teeth and feasts on another poor guy. She's an interesting mix of vampire and succubus, thanks to another "dosing" by ZFT, who've previously infected civilians with super-sized cold cells, orifice-sealing goo, and porcupinesque monster genes. Makes for some thrilling standalone threats, but how do these dosings fit into the big picture?

"Why would ZFT want you to create something like this?"

Well, according to Dr. Boone, XT43 was synthesized to "create a human nightmare...to show off." The biggest question being, to whom? It seems more and more like the Pattern is ZFT's attempt to demonstrate their technological prowess, a warning to the denizens of the parallel universe who will soon fight us for survival: "Don't mess with us. We can do some freaky stuff."

It's analogous to the old space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, as each faction vies to prove itself technologically superior to the other. That would make The Pattern an inter-dimensional Cold War.

"I was able to gather some names..."

Talk about a last-second revelation: now we've got a tangible link between Massive Dynamic and the Pattern, via William Bell's funding of ZFT. It's becoming clear that calling ZFT a "bio-terrorist organization" is a bit of a misnomer. Ostensibly, their goal is to intimidate the enemy in order to save mankind. To borrow a line from Spock (!), "logic dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." For the followers of ZFT, sacrificing a few innocent civilians is necessary to protect the human race as a whole.

Questions: are we certain that the Observers are the citizens of this parallel universe? If so, do we have "Observers" of our own in their world? Reconnaissance usually goes both ways!

Stray Thoughts

• Best Line of the Night: Astrid. "When you finally meet a nice girl, I would avoid bringing her home for as long as possible."
• I can't listen to the opening theme anymore without hearing Dujeous' lyrics.
• How come the first special effects shot of Valerie's teeth was so cool, yet the second time (when she attacks Olivia), they looked so...fake?
• Ari Graynor was great in this ep, but what's the deal with Greg? Will Olivia's family wind up playing a larger role than we think?
• Loved seeing Walter show off his lab to a fellow mad scientist. And did Dr. Boone's voice remind anyone else of Benjamin Linus? Only slightly, of course.
• I think my favorite part of Midnight, other than the neck-snap and that first teeth-attack, was when Broyles burst into the interrogation room. A small moment, but I'm desperate for Lance Reddick to get more physical.
• Also loved how Astrid's knowledge of the Boston club scene wound up solving the case! And Jasika's really coming into this role, doing a lot with the little the scripts give her. I hope she gets a gun next season.
• Anna looks good in a leather jacket. Definitely enhanced the Gothic atmosphere. And who knew Liv could speak Mandarin?

Adam Morgan is a writer for the page and screen in Chicago who blogs pseudo-daily at Mount Helicon.

Exclusive: Jasika Nicole Interview, Part 2

Jasika Nicole was cool enough to speak with me again yesterday morning, this time about the Season 1 finale, Astrid's superpower, and her plans for the (short) summer hiatus (among other things).

Click here to read the transcript

Adam Morgan

Do you have any fun plans for the hiatus?

Jasika Nicole

Well, I'm going to be driving to Vancouver. That's my exciting road trip for the summer. I think we'll take like ten or eleven days and camp in some national parks. I'm not really a camper, so I'm excited to see how I...function. I've never done it before, and I can't say no if I haven't tried something at least once. I think it'll be cool to see the country, I just don't know what it'll be like to sleep in a tent.

Adam Morgan

Why is the finale your favorite episode?

Jasika Nicole

Because, I think there have been a lot of super-creey factors in all of the episodes we've done, but with the finale...the idea that they propose in the finale is like the biggest, all-time creepy thing ever. We've touched on it in really, really tiny pieces throughout the season, but it comes to a head in the finale and explodes. I cannot wait to see what it looks like on TV. It's one thing to read it or have someone describe it, but to actually see it...I'm always impressed by what the special effects people have to do, and then every week it's like "Wow, can they really keep doing this, can they keep impressing me and the other viewers?" But I'm sure they're going to pull this one off, and it's gonna be...awesome.

Adam Morgan

If Astrid could have a superpower, what would you want it to be?

Jasika Nicole

Ooo...I think I'd want Astrid to be able to fly. And that is not a superpower that I would personally like to have, because I'm terrified of heights. But see, that's the difference between me and Astrid. She's braver than I am with a lot of things, and she's smarter than I am. Flying would be way more important to her, but if I personally could have a superpower, it would be something like...being able to eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and not have it affect my figure!

Adam Morgan

Maybe that'll be in your spin-off!

Jasika Nicole

I already have a title for it. It's called Fringe: The Farnsworth Chronicles.

Adam Morgan

That's perfect! Is there a particular memory you have from shooting season one that will always stand out?

Jasika Nicole

The one I can think of off the top of my head is when we were filming the Pilot in Toronto. And we had a different Gene at that time. I wish I could remember her name...I'm such a bad castmate. We shot that scene where we're all sitting down in front of the TV and watching Spongebob, and we're all eating Chinese food, and the cow is right behind us. We were shooting the scene at like three or four o'clock in the morning. We were all exhausted, but also loopy and delirious and having a good time. So we have to film this scene, and all the actors are keeping it together and doing really good, but the cow kept on licking us, and rubbing its big wet nostrils in my hair while we were filming, and I was like, "I have to pretend like this doesn't bother me while I'm eating Chinese food!" As it's blowing snot on me! And I don't know if you've ever felt a cow's tongue, but it's got a lot of saliva on it, and she licked my hair...I mean, straightened the curls on the back of my head, so it was all sick and gross and matted. But the really funny thing is that none of the actors moved or anything, we just sat there and kept watching and eating our Chinese food!

Adam Morgan

Have you heard the hip-hop remix of the Fringe theme song ["Beyond Imagination" by Dujeous]? They mention you specifically!

Jasika Nicole

No! Oh my God, what do they say?

Adam Morgan

Something about experimenting with Astrid in the lab...

Jasika Nicole

I've gotta go look it up online. I promise I'm gonna do that today.

Adam Morgan

Will we ever get to hear you sing on the show?

Jasika Nicole

I really hope so. I have a few ideas on how that could happen. Now here's my first one, and you can let J.J. [Abrams] know this if you want.

Adam Morgan

Oh yeah, he and I are really good friends...

Jasika Nicole

Haha yeah, you're probably closer to him than I am.

Adam Morgan

I'm just kidding...

Jasika Nicole

Ok, my first idea. Walter has a breakdown, and the camera is in the lab, looking around. You hear something, but you don't see anybody. They pan over, and you see Walter. He's just had a breakdown, and the only way Astrid can calm him down is to sing. Like, the greatest 70's hits. So he's got his head in her lap, and she's going...[Jasika sings!] Boogie Wonderla-and! And he's like "Thank you so much, Miss Farnsworth."

Adam Morgan

What's it like to watch an episode once it's edited. Do you watch it by yourself, or with friends?

Jasika Nicole

I watch it with my partner, because she's generally scared of all the creepy stuff, so she's fun to watch it with!

Adam Morgan

That's right, I read she's not a big horror fan, right?

Jasika Nicole

No, she does not like horror films or television shows or anything. [Fringe] is kind of right at the brink of what she can handle. But I love watching the episodes, I never miss it. Because it's such a different piece of art than what you get when you read the script. Sometimes it's hard to even connect the two, because the first script will be so different than the final script after it's had many, many revisions. So I end up learning way more things than you would just watching it, and I make more connections than I would just reading the script. And it's also really entertaining. It's the kind of show that I would watch even if I wasn't in the show, if my mother wasn't calling me after the episode to tell me her own conspiracy theories. And it never fails, even though I know all the jokes, all the dialogue, every time Walter says something, I start laughing.

Adam Morgan

Yeah, his timing is just perfect.

Jasika Nicole

Yes, he has the best delivery ever. And I hope that I can get a pinky-nail's worth of information about how to do that in my life!

And just today, Jasika was nominated for an MTV LOGO NewNextNow Award, in the category Brink of Fame: Actor. Congrats, Jasika! Head over to the NewNextNow site to vote!

Fringe Comic #4 - Best-Laid Plans / Space Cowboy

The Fringe #4 comic book was released today. It contains two Fringe stories as usual: A "Bell and Bishop" story titled "Best-Laid Plans", and a stand alone "From The Fringe" story titled "Space Cowboy".

To get your own copy of Fringe #4, head out to your local comic shop.

Fringe #5 comes out May 27, 2009
Fringe #6 comes out June 17, 2009

Here is a sneak peak at the "Best-Laid Plans":

Fringebusters 118: Science of Midnight

For each episode of Fringe, Popular Mechanics asks experts to analyzes the science of Fringe, and separate the science fact from the science fiction.

For "Midnight," PM brings in Dr. Justin Sattin, an assistant professor of neurology at the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin, to discuss the science behind spinal fluid–drinking monsters.

PM: Fringe Takes on Spinal Fluid: The Science Misses the Mark

Fringe Scenemaker 118: Midnight

Scenemaker is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Fringe. This episode shows the making of the car fight scene, from the Fringe episode Midnight.

You can watch previous episode's scenemaker videos here.

New Fringe Gallery at FringeFiles.com

You may have noticed recently that the FringeTelevision.com galley epicly failed, so we have started using a new gallery of Fringe high-definition screenshots at FringeFiles.com. The new gallery currently only has the last four episodes (but that includes last night's episode "Midnight"), but it should have all the back episodes and other Fringe photos soon.

Now that we have a working gallery to use, you'll see a lot more activity in the Fringe Easter Egg section, so be sure it check back soon!

And if there's a screenshot you want to see that is not in the gallery, let us know in the Request A Screencap Thread.

Fringe Episode 118: Midnight - The Last Scene

If you Tivo'd Fringe tonight, you might have found that the last minute or so was cut off due the American Idol running long (again!). If that happened to you, don't worry - FringeTelevision has got your back! Here is the final scene from Fringe episode "Midnight" in glorious HD.

You can also see the preview for next week's episode "The Road Not Taken", in the Fringe Spoilers section.

Fringe Music: Songs From Midnight

Here is the music from last night's Fringe Episode "Midnight":

• "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus (, YouTube)
• "Tear You Apart" by She Wants Revenge (, YouTube)
• "Closer to You" by Daniel Ash ()
  
• "Candy Darling" by Daniel Ash ()
• "Discipline" by Nine Inch Nails (, YouTube)
• "Burning Up" by Ladytron (, YouTube)
• "Once You Say" by Nitzer Ebb (YouTube)

You can also find all of the other music used in Fringe over at the Fringepedia music page.

Fringe Promo Photos 118: Midnight

Here are the promotional photos for Fringe episode 118 Midnight (for those that avoid the Fringe Spoilers section.)

(Hover over each of the photos for a full description.)

Fringe Episode 118: Midnight

The Fringe Division is on the case when severely mutilated bodies drained of spinal cord fluid begin to pile up. After their investigation leads them to a scientist (guest star Jefferson Mays) with possible ties to the Z.F.T. bioterrorist cell, they are shocked to discover the identity and motive of the killer...

Midnight links:

• Check out what you might have missed in the Fringe Easter Eggs section.
  
• Did you spot The Observer?
  
• The Fringepedia Wiki will be hard at work organizing all the Fringe facts

Rate Midnight (*Stars)

Fringe LIVE Chat Tonight: "Midnight"

Happy Fringeday! It's time for another LIVE Fringe chat from 9:00 PM to 12:00 PM ET, if you want to talk with other Fringe fans during or after the show. We'll try to get there a little early if anyone has questions they want answered.

To join the chat, visit the Fringe chat room, enter your name or a nickname, and join the fun! (please don't use the default mib_xxxxx nickname!)

I will be there (as FringeTelevision) along with AdamMorgan. In the past we've been joined by people from the show ...you never know who might show up!else might join us...