Fringe showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman have a lot on their plate at the moment. They're currently propelling one of TV's best shows through a remarkable season, biting their nails over moving to ratings-challenged Fridays, and have a whole second universe to think about. But through some strange rift in time-space, they managed to find time to speak with reporters this morning, and they even give me a little one-on-two time. We'll start with my chat with them, and you'll find highlights from the conference call below.
What changes did the show make to really get into gear this season?
Jeff Pinkner: As we're writing more, we're just getting better at it. We're learning stuff. If you go back to "White Tulip," that was the first time Jeff and I coined the term "mythalone." I know it seems very obvious to the outside now that you'd want to continue the mythology for the hardcore viewer, but you also don't want to alienate potential new viewers, so you if you make that a hybrid, it's a mythalone. That's a recipe, a mathematical equation to create a story that's a difficult one. On the surface it seems easy, but it's actually a very complex. Once we hit it, to be able to satiate our fans and keep the new viewers, the storytelling just got a lot better.
How far through the Fringe story would you say you are?
Jeff Pinkner: This is the third of what we feel are at least six chapters, and we have other chapters, other roads we would like to go down, other season-long arcs we would like to follow, that will ultimately enrich an inevitable finale. What we imagine the finale to be will still function with or without those chapters, but [the finale] will be richer and deeper [if we're able write all of them].
It was around this time in its life that Lost announced an end date. Do you think an end date would benefit Fringe?
J.H. Wyman: Lost is a whole different animal, and that was a wise decision on their part. As far as a good tactic, I don't know. Lost was such a phenomenon that people are going to watch it [regardless]. There's a risk with our show where people will say, "Oh there's an end date, I've already missed too much."
Jeff Pinkner: What was interesting about Lost was it was in a unique position of leverage to say to the studio "we want to stop." Virtually every other show in the history of television says, "Please, please, please pick me up for a season," whereas Lost knew the story they were telling would be diluted if it went on for more than six seasons. We have known from the beginning what the natural ending of our show is. That's the version we plan on telling. How many other stories we get to tell along the way, that remains to be seen. There's a natural half-life to shows [that are about characters]. Our is one of those shows. Whether it's five seasons or seven seasons, we'll see. But ours is probably not a show that we'll sustain for 14 years, and that's fine, that's by design.
Highlights from the conference call:
On the show moving to Fridays:
Jeff Pinkner: We felt confident going into Friday nights knowing that we're on a creative high and we know what this show is. A lot of shows that came before us that went to Fridays, for one reason or another, they weren't on their creative upswing.
J.H. Wyman: We had to move somewhere. Fans have been asking for Fox to move [Fringe] off of Thursdays for a year. They move us to Friday and fans are understandably freaked out [laughs]. People are afraid of change. But change can be good. Our audience is insanely loyal, and we're grateful for them, and they've moved with us.
On the rest of this season:
Jeff Pinkner: Largely, this season has been a march to war. It will continue to be so, driven equally by the relationships with the two Olivias. But we've got more stuff coming. We're going to complicate it. As we drive to the end of this season, it will be about as much as setting up next season.
J.H. Wyman: The last stretch of this, it's going to be very compelling because you're going to turn the page on a new chapter and you're going to understand our show in a different capacity. It's going to stretch your mind and it's going to make you think, "Oh I never saw that coming!" That's what we feel we owe the fans. We have a few cards to lay down that I don't think anyone really expects.
Fringe airs tonight on Fox, and it's a doozy! I'll have my analysis of the episode up later.
Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom
we want more fringe,love the show,fantasic writing.acting the lot,we brits love it,keep it coming please,think of the fans.
I Tivo most of the shows I watch. Fringe is one of the few that I actually watch in "real time.' 'Sci-Fi Fridays' used to be a catch phrase that was once filled with anticipation and excitement...now it seems to provoke dread and foreboding. I watch Fringe and other science fiction TV shows because they provide me with escapist thrills and imaginative stories rather than reality based and mundane drama. As a retired night shift worker who missed decades of good TV I relish the fact that I can now enjoy current programming rather than a mixed-up patchwork quilt of syndicated reruns. Watching a show as its story arcs normally is less confusing and more fulfilling. If I had to watch Fringe eps out of sequence I would probably skip it.moreless
THE bug episode wasnt the best of Fringe frankly.
Most boooring episode ever! If that, and by that I mean proposals, love stuff and similar crap, is the future of FRINGE, then please cancel it right away. That episode was just pathetic, ugh.
we wont more and put Fringe on Monday night for god sake
All ratings were down this Friday, not just for Fringe. No scripted show got higher than a 1.5. But next week is crucial. The episode looks fantastic I just hope most viewers who saw the promo feel the same and tune in.
If Fringe doesn't increase it's 1.4 rating this will be the last season without question. Even for Friday the ratings have to be at least 1.6 to even be considered for a renewal
That wasn't a knock on Supernatural when referring to shows that moved to Friday, was it?Cause if it was, I think there will be one show on the unnatural standing at the end of the Friday night war, and it will feature the Winchester boys!
Screw Nielsen.
Fringe ratings fell to 1.4 in the 18-49 ratings. Lets just all pray it gets a 4th season instead of dreaming about a 6th one..
@headclub, is that "long live Fringe, baby" or "long live [the] Fringe baby" :) - either way I'm with you all the way. Surely there must be some multi-billionaire out there who loves the show and would slip the makers enough for them to complete their vision.
Fringe is one of my favorite shows ever. I hope it has a long life.
5-7 seasons of Fringe sounds awesome, as well as appropriate.... I have so much to say about last nights episode cuz I just watched it, but I'll save my observations for the article on Monday. Long live Fringe baby!!!
I've personally been a bit concerned about the direction they've been taking with this second half of the season, most notably the love triangle, which I think is one of the worst love stories of any kind that I've seen on a TV show, especially with the last couple episodes. That being said, the first half of the season was great, and made me love the series more than I did before. I do hope that they continue with this series, at least for another season, so that we can see more of the creators' vision of the series. I do think that this series has potential to last a few more seasons, as long as they get away from the silly elements that they have been introducing this half of the season.moreless
i hope they manage to reach the six chapters they desire, that would be great since this show is one of the best scifi series ever.
Am I the only one who wants Fringe to continue for 14 seasons? :-/
Those people in charge should look at the sales on DVD/Blu-Ray, this says much more these days than people watching it when they air it. So many TV-series did so good in sales while they canceled it because nobody was watching it on television!! How stupid can those people in suits get?
Great interview!!! I really hope FOX picks Fringe for another season and that the show can run in its original plan (6 FREAKING SEASONS!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!)
@mermays: the problem about catching up online is that the ratings for a show drop and fewer ppl watching usually means network = unhappy and therefore cancels the show. and friday is considered a "death slot" because shows have been moved there before their cancellation.
If just one more person says "In the era of video/DVD recording and online catch up who on earth cares about the time their show airs.", I will kill him.JESUS! It's about Fridays and ratings! If you watch your recorded shows, the networks lose live viewers. And that means they lose ratings. And that means the show is screwed.
Are people really "freaked out" because Fringe is airing on a Friday? Seriously? In the era of video/DVD recording and online catch up who on earth cares about the time their show airs. You can watch whenever you choose.
WAAAH! 6 seasons of Fringe, maybe 7! And you have it all figure out!!!!Wooouhouuuh!! Fringe is the BEST show I EVER watched.... more than Lost and BSG!!!PLEASE!!!! Keep it! I'll buy anything to help.... and that's a BIG thing for me!And tonight's was AWESOME! I really feel of Olivia now, and I'm starting to REALLY like Faux-livia and her smile.... even Walternate. WOW!
Adore Fringe, it is my favourite and I watch alot of shows, too many. Great episode tonight but wow , without spoiling it for others who may have not watched it yet. I knew it was coming, but confirming it just made me so sad for Olivia. Keep it up though because its a fascinating show and I'm looking forward to what I expect will be a huge season finale.
doing a great job! fringe is one of the best series out there.. keep it going... loving the journey.
Send supernatural to the alternate world and keep them in amber just long enough for fringe to get another season...and Glee should be cancelled yesterday.
well you can't have a march to war without the war, so...on to next season and WAR! ;o}
Awesome, can't wait to see the newest episode! I hope they get to do this series to it's full potential!!!!
Fringe was soo good tonight.
It better get picked up and played out fully. The Sarah Conner Chronicles was starting to get really good, and a HUGE cliffhanger like that getting canceled before a proper ending was brutal. This is why people tend not to get too into shows on FOX because they always cut them short and move them around too much. Dollhouse had it's ups and downs, but at least it was given it's cancellation with time to end it, and wow, that was amazing, sucks that was cut short too. The 1-2 punch of Summer and Eliza they promoted so hard sadly did not work out on Fridays, they should of kept TSCC with 24 and Dollhuose with House but whatever. I hope Fringe makes it, but this Friday night thing isn't good.moreless