Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. It premiered on the Fox television network on September 9, 2008, and concluded on January 18, 2013, after five seasons comprising 100 episodes. An FBI agent, Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv); a genius but dysfunctional scientist, Walter Bishop (John Noble); and his son with a troubled past, Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), are all members of a newly formed Fringe Division in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, and under the supervision of Homeland Security, the team uses fringe science along with traditional FBI investigative techniques to investigate a series of unexplained, often ghastly occurrences which are related to mysteries surrounding a parallel universe.
The series has been described as a hybrid of fantasy, procedural dramas and serials, influenced by films like Altered States and television shows such as Lost, The X-Files and The Twilight Zone. The series began as a traditional mystery-of-the-week series and became more serialized in later seasons. Most episodes contain a standalone plot, with several others also exploring the series' overarching mythology.
Critical reception was lukewarm at first but became more favorable after the first season, when the series began to explore its mythology, including parallel universes and alternate timelines. The show, along with cast and crew, was nominated for many major awards. Despite its move to the "Friday night death slot" and low ratings, the series developed a cult following. It also spawned two six-part comic book series, an alternate reality game, and three novels.
Parralel Universe
Much of the story arc for Fringe involves an alternate universe that mostly mirrors the prime universe, but with numerous historical idiosyncrasies. A significant example element used is the effect of the September 11 attacks; though this event also occurred in the alternate universe, the World Trade Center was untouched by the attacks, leaving the buildings as predominant landmarks in the alternate world's skyline of "Manhatan". The South Tower was used as the office of William Bell in several episodes.
The producers were strongly interested in "world-building," and the alternate universe allowed them to create a very similar world with a large amount of detail to fill in the texture of the world. An alternate universe also allowed them to show "how small choices that you make define you as a person and can change your life in large ways down the line," according to co-director Jeff Pinkner. However, the producers also realized the concept of the alternate universe could be confusing to viewers. To avoid this, elements of the world were introduced in small pieces over the course of the first two seasons before the larger revelation in the second-season finale and the third season. J. H. Wyman stated that he would often pass the story ideas for the alternate universe by his father to see if it made sense, and would rework the script if his father found it confusing.[20] Such world building also gave them a risky opportunity to create stories that focused solely on characters from the alternate universe with nearly no ties to the main characters; as stated by Wyman, they would be able to "make two shows about one show," a concept that the network executives embraced
FRINGE Season 1 trailer
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