TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Fox Is Already Living On The 'Fringe' In Anticipation Of Prime Time Cash Cow

ADVERTISEMENT

By WALT BELCHER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 17, 2008

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - "Fringe" doesn't debut until Sept 9, but Fox is already running commercials.

Just about every other minute of baseball's All-Star Game on Tuesday night had a "Fringe" logo plastered on the screen. Billboards touting the show went up weeks ago in many cities.

As with ABC's "Lost," there is a cryptic Web site tied to the series.

At www.imaginetheimpossibilities.com, fans might be able to decipher clues in scientific formulas found by clicking on icons such as a frog, sea horse, butterfly and leaf. These images will be featured on the series.

Cool or gimmicky, it's part of Fox's plan to generate heat for "Fringe."

After a season hampered by a writers strike and a decline in ratings, the honchos at Fox think they have a hit, and they've been trying to create a buzz.

As early as May 15, Fox herded two dozen cows through Manhattan streets in New York, accompanied by teams handing out "Fringe" gear (a cow plays a prominent role in the series).

Created and produced by "Lost" mastermind J.J. Abrams, "Fringe" is already generating Internet chatter among sci-fi fans.

Kevin Reilly, president of Fox entertainment, told TV critics gathered for a press tour that although some shows are all hype and no delivery, this one "is going to deliver the goods."

The network is so keen on "Fringe" that it's giving Abrams' crew 50 minutes to tell each story. That's five minutes longer than most TV dramas (so there are fewer commercials). The series also will air in a choice time slot, after "House" on Tuesdays.

The $10 million pilot looks good at first glance. It's fast-paced with some spooky moments, a little gore, a potential romance, a possible government conspiracy, a couple of car chases, a little humor and a lot of sci-fi jargon.

But something is missing. It's not knock-your-socks-off good. It's not another "Lost" or "Heroes." It looks like a cross between "The X-Files" and "Altered States" with a little "House" and "Twilight Zone" thrown in.

The pilot episode starts off with a creepy, bloody incident aboard a commercial jet. The plane eventually lands with every passenger dead.

Their gruesome fate leads Special FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Australian newcomer Anna Torv) to spring a brilliant but unstable scientist, Walter Bishop (John Noble, another Aussie), from a mental ward to resume his research into "fringe science."

His experiments involve mind control, teleportation, invisibility, astral projection, biological warfare, genetic mutation and other offbeat things (that's where the cow comes in).

To get to the old "mad scientist," she also recruits his estranged son, Peter (Joshua Jackson of "Dawson Creek"). Of course, there's the obligatory cranky and possibly corrupt FBI boss (Lance Reddick of "The Wire").

After tackling this first problem, a flesh-eating mystery, these characters will be working together on the weirdo-case of the week.

Although "Fringe" will have an underlying unsolved mythology, it will also have self-contained puzzles of the paranormal that make it sound like "The X-Files."

Abrams wants to avoid making another confounding, multilayered series.

"We're trying very diligently to do a show that doesn't require the kind of insane, absolute dedication to a series that, if you miss an episode, you truly have no idea what's going on," he said.

The "Fringe" investigators will be up against a mysterious technology company called Massive Dynamic, which was founded by a former associate of Bishop, who apparently is using fringe science for profit and unsavory deeds.

The pilot was filmed in Toronto, but production has moved to New York. The Canadian cow couldn't cross the border. "The cow is a regular," Abrams says, "but it's a new cow. Turns out we had to recast it."

TUNE IN TONIGHT

My Boys, 9:30 p.m., TBS

P.J. confronts her brother about his relationship with a colleague, and the boys have a bachelor party for Bobby.

The Gong Show, 10 p.m.,

Comedy Central

Yeah, we figure we'll watch this at least once before we strike the gong.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT