Fringe FAIL: Kirk Acevedo not FIRED, was "let go"

After the backlash from fans yesterday, CO-showrunner Jeff Pinkner did a little bit of damage control, and issued a statement to TV Guide regarding the status of Kirk Acevedo on Fringe:

“Like all things on Fringe, there is more to this story than meets the eye.” In fact Pinkner not only confirms to TV Guide Magazine that Acevedo “was not fired,” he hints that we’ll see more Agent Francis in season 2. Literally.

“We have already seen two of him on the show,” teases Pinkner. “We have already met the second Charlie. He had a scar on his face.”

Notice Pinkner doesn't actually say we'll see Charlie next season, he just "hints" at it (at least according to TV Guide). In fact, as of yesterday, I hear there were discussions on how Charlie could be written out of the story.

What's the real story? Pinkner is right about one thing, there is more to this story than meets the eye.

I contacted Fox and WB, and as per usual SOP, they declined to comment. However, my inside source did verify that Kirk's Facebook page was legitimate, and had this to say:

Kirk wasn't 100% happy with the way he was used on the show and was somewhat vocal about it.

Lee Hernandez of Latina.com was able to contact Kirk directly, and got a little clarification on his original statement:

"It’s called not picking up my option. But at the end of the day, you got fired!"

So technically, he wasn't fired - he was "let go" (or "made redundant" for our UK fans :). You say potato and I say potahto - the bottom line is that he won't be a regular on the show anymore.

A lot of this has to do with saving money. Kirk had a prety minor role on the show, but from what I hear, he was makin getting paid more that Anna Torv! So while I am a huge fan of Kirk (we even share the same last name!), if they needed to cut the cast budget (maybe to accommodate Nimoy), I can understand why this happened.

The good news, if we read between the lines (and maybe because of all this coverage), is that there's a good chance that we'll see Charlie again - if everyone can kiss and makeup.

Fringe Season 2 Starts September 17th

Fringe Season 2 will start Thursday, September 17th at 9:00 PM, following the Season 5 premiere of Bones.

Also, The first casting call has been released for Fringe Season 2. For more details, check out the Fringe Spoilers section.

* Thanks to The Futon Critic for the exclusive breaking news!

Fringe FAIL: Kirk Acevedo Fired!

Kirk Acevedo announced on his facebook page today that he was "fired" from Fringe:

WELL BOYS AND GIRLS THEY DONE DID YER BOY WRONG! THEY FIRED ME OFF OF FRINGE, AND I'VE NEVER BEEN FIRED IN MY LIFE!!!!

While this is not "officially" official, I have confirmed this with an inside source. Details are scarce at this point, but Kirk is likely another victim of the WB's cost-cutting measures. The move to Canada has caused quite a shake up on the show, with numerous behind-the-scenes people leaving as well. More info to come...

* Thanks to TheODI for the screenshot

Fringe Moving To Thursday Nights This Fall

Fox announced their Fall 2009/ Spring 2010 schedule at yesterday's "upfront", and Fringe will be moving to Thursday nights, following Bones.

The good news is that it moves Fringe out of American Idol's wake, meaning no more cut off endings. The bad news of course, is that it won't get the ratings boost from AI (although Bones is no slouch), and it will step into the heavyweight ring, and could potentially be up against Grey's Anatomy, CSI, The Office, and/or 30 Rock.

Page 3.14

Here is a round up of stories that just didn’t make the FringeTelevision front page, or what we like to call…. Page 3.14!

• Entertainment Weekly: 'Mad Men' adds Jared Harris to cast in recurring role
  

Fringe ARG: There Is More - The Leaf

The new Fringe ARG site Fox.com/Fringe/ThereIsMore was updated today, and the leaf symbol has now been activated.

Clicking on the leaf reveals a torn William Bell biography page.

The description of William Bell is the same as what can be found at on the MassiveDynamic website, however, MassiveDynamic.com has not yet been updated with a current picture.

* Thanks to Kirk King and Mandy for the info!

Fringe Scenemaker 120: There's More Than One Of Everything

Scenemaker is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Fringe. This episode shows the making of the crashing truck scene from the Fringe episode There's More Than One Of Everything.

You can watch previous episode's scenemaker videos here.

UPDATE: Here is the YouTube version for those outside of the US!

Fringebusters 120: Science of There's More Than One Of Everything

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 "The Road Not Taken," PM brings in Michio Kaku, physicist and author of Physics of the Impossible, to discuss Alternate Reality theory. According to Kaku:

There are numerous theories in physic that pertain to the existence of parallel universes—and Fringe is combining two of these theories. The first, called the "Many Worlds Theory," is widely accepted by theoretical physicists. "The universe splits every time a decision is made," Kaku explains. "One tiny quantum event could separate us from another reality." In "M-theory," on the other hand, our universe is an expanding membrane, sort of like a bubble—and there could be other bubbles out there. "These other universes, these bubbles, most of them are probably dead universes, so we don't have to worry about them,"

PM: Fringe Season Finale Flirts With Theoretical Physics

You can read other "Fringebusters" posts here.

HijiNKS Ensue: A Severe Case Of Scullyosis

Joel Watson's HijiNKS Ensue webcomic takes on Peter's skepticism, and coins a new term "Scullyosis". LOL

* Thanks to Paul D for sending this in!

Walter's Lab Notes: There's More Than One Of Everything

Walter's Lab Notes from There's More Than One Of Everything include the missing ZFT chapter of ethics, and a drawing from a young Peter Bishop, depicting some sort of experiment with William "Belly" Bell, and what looks a cow...?

Walter's notes explain the presence of the blueprints in previous Lab Notes - together they form a golden spiral, and at the center something is hidden - a hole in the universe?

Also in the notes:

• The first quote "all mankind is of one author..." is from English poet John Donne's Meditation XVII, where the famous quote "No man is an island" comes from
  
• The second quote is from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, a "roman à clef" about mental illness
• The third quote is from The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe.
• S. S. Kresge refers to Sebastian Spering Kresge, a philanthropist best know for founding KMart. Kresge has many buildings named after him, including the Kresge building at Harvard, where Walter's Lab is located is in its basement.
• The final quote "No, 'tis not so deep as a well.." one of the final lines of Mercurtio from Act 3, Scene 1 of Romeo And Juliet.
  

All of Walter's Lab Notes from Season 1 can now also be found at FringeFiles.com

Fringe Episode Review: Season 1 Finale

Wow. What a way to end Fringe's sensational first season. In the tradition of the best television finales, There's More Than One Of Everything wrapped up a few mysteries, but asked twice as many questions. Major praise to Fringe vets Brad Anderson, Akiva Goldsman, Bryan Burk, Jeff Pinkner, and JH Wyman for crafting a real thriller, as well as the entire cast and crew (that poor, New York crew...) for a stellar first season. When's the last time a series was this promising after a single season?

"Jones always felt that he was special..."
I doubt I'm the only fan who will sorely miss Jared Harris' delightfully villainous David Robert Jones next season, but at least he went out with a bang. The finale revealed that Jones was one of Massive Dynamic's first employees, that he looked up to Bell as a kind of father figure, and that his wreckless bioterrorism has been an attempt to prove his worthiness to Bell.

Of course, this tells us more about William Bell than it does about Jones. Up until last week, we'd been led to believe Dr. Bell was the Big Bad in charge of ZFT, but now it looks like Jones took things into his own hands. Walter and Nina might be right about Bell's benevolence, despite the mountainous evidence to the contrary.

"I lost something very precious to me..."

Well we can finally put the clone theories to bed. Turns out the Peter we know isn't from our world. Peter Prime died in 1985, so Walter crossed over to steal a different Peter from the AR (alternate reality). The obvious question: is AR-Walter searching for his own Peter? Could that be the doppelganger we saw in St. Claire's?

Also, how did Peter die? Walter's often referred to Peter's childhood sickness, so I suppose we can assume that did it, but was his sickness a result of something Walter did? Or a result of Peter's specialness?

"William Bell is not in this world."
How mind-blowing was this? Nina's lines weren't the most tactful, but the concept is killer. The narrative possibilities in upcoming seasons are...endless! According to the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum physics (which Walter describes in The Road Not Taken), there isn't just one alternate reality, but an infinite number of them, based on every single causal possibility in space-time.

Which makes you wonder. What's so special about the AR Bell's hanging out in? Is it even the same one Olivia was glimpsing last week? I doubt it. And most importantly, is it the reality that the ZFT manifesto warns against? Our enemy in a trans-reality war?

I don't think so, but let's hear your theories in the comments. After all, the date on Bell's New York Post was May 12, 2009, and the ZFT manifesto warns against a reality "who's history is slightly advanced from our own.: My guess is that Bell's using this particular AR to accomplish something that will help us in the coming war against a different AR: the AR of the Observers.

Stray Thoughts

• Best Walterism of the Night: Wait...there weren't really any good ones this week!
• I absolutely loved Mr. Jones in this ep. He looked like a Batman supervillain.
• Given Walter's amnesia in this ep and others, is it possible someone deliberately tried to erase parts of his memory? Or do we chalk it all up to madness?
• Charlie's hat was great, as was his dogged pragmatism during all this alternate-reality talk.
• Nondescript black vans are always a bad omen, kids.
• Poor Boston. May 12th, and it's still the dead of winter! I know, I know...they shot this months ago.
• Anna was really beautiful this ep. Not that she isn't every week!
• President Kennedy's alive! Along with Len Bias! Yet the stock market is closed, and the White House was apparently destroyed. Are we to assume that Flight 93 hit its target in Bell's AR, but the planes headed for the WTC didn't? Could the Pattern experiments we saw on airplaines this season have been trial runs for preventing the Twin Towers' destruction in Bell's AR? I'm really stretching now...
• I could feel JJ cringing at the expositionary dialogue in this ep to catch up new viewers! A necessary evil.
• Give Michael Giacchino an Emmy for this score.
• Leonard Nimoy sure looked happy!

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

Jeff Pinkner: Alternate Realities On Fringe

Fox's Official Fringe website has a new video featuring Fringe Showrunner Jeff Pinkner explaining the Alternate Realities as seen in "There's More Than One Of Everything"