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Exclusive Video: Season 3 Scoop From the Cast of Fringe!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:29:41 PDT

After a mind-blowing two-part finale, FOX's sci-fi hit Fringe returns tonight. To celebrate, I have a treat for you: premiere scoop straight from the cast! I recently went to the Vancouver set, where they filled me in on what's happening when we kick off this evening, along with behind-the-scenes dish on their costars. Joshua Jackson already had plenty to say when I asked him about the new season, but to hear more from him and the rest of the gang (including Lance Reddick, Jasika Nicole, and John Noble), just watch!

Fringe Rundown: Episode 3, "The Ghost Network"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:30:54 PDT

The third episode of Fringe delivered a new mystery while nudging the overall story arc forward just a bit. I'm starting to get a handle on the basic structure of the show, and I'm not sure it's going to work for me long-term - it seems like in their efforts to deliver a less-confusing show, JJ Abrams and company might have made things too simple. Then again, maybe I'm just being lulled into a false sense of understanding so that three episodes from now, some major world-changing event can come along and shake things up. Who knows?

Anyway, to chat about the case, the revelations, and the ever-changing place of Massive Dynamic on the good vs. evil scales, just

So much of this episode can be summed up by Peter's line to Olivia about who manufactures the technology they needed to crack the case: "I'll give you six guesses, and the first five don't count." The answer, of course, is Massive Dynamic, as it always has been so far on this show. And what leads them to Massive Dynamic is, once again, an experiment Walter did more than 20 years ago. Aha!
That said, I did find the whole idea of the "ghost network" compelling. It's pretty easy to believe in government conspiracy theories these days, and the concept of chatter going on across invisible frequencies isn't actually all that hard to believe.
I was also relieved to have a case that was a little less disgusting. Especially after watching an inordinate amount of blood/brain surgery on House immediately before, it was nice to deal with "mosquitos trapped in amber" rather than dissolving flesh and the miracle birth of alien babies.

I'm not surprised at all that Broyles gave the mystery chip to Nina; I'm also not surprised that Massive Dynamic is still doing something-or-other to Agent Scott's body, since that was pretty well established at the end of the pilot. And yet, I still want to know why the two of them are in cahoots and how Scott fits into all of it. I'm a sucker, I know.
I was hoping we'd get a little more action this week on the issue of Peter's medical history/possible non-human-ness, but no such luck. However, we did get a look at another side of Peter, the one that makes him a prime target for spying photographers who tell him he was supposed to "check in" before coming home. I'm hoping we can get more into his story soon, because as much as I love him being the wisecracking guy, he doesn't have much of a to be around (other than, apparently, his wide-ranging knowledge of poker psychology).
I wrote down a bunch of Walter quotes last night, and they all look ridiculous typed out, but John Noble is really selling the whole "crazy, drugged-up, brilliant, ethically questionable doctor" thing. "Am I required to keep him alive?" "That would probably be best."
But, um, for real, he can also do brain surgery?
I like that Walter's lab assistant character is getting some lines, but seriously, even I knew that was the Latin word for "hour," and I've never taken Latin!

How is this week's episode sitting with you? Do you like that most storylines are wrapped up within the hour, or do you wish the show kept you guessing? And what was your favorite Walter-ism of the week?

Photos courtesy of Fox

Fringe Rundown: Episode Two, "The Same Old Story"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:30:29 PDT

After last week's super-sized premiere of Fringe, Tuesday's episode was the first chance to see what the show might look like on a weekly basis. Well, sort of. There was a lot of clunky recap in this episode, most of it crammed into the first 10 minutes. ("And now we're working with Walter Bishop, a scientist with questionable ethics who up until recently was institutionalized in a mental facility." "Yes, and also with his son, a college dropout with an IQ of 190.") It's a problem a lot of second episodes run into, but I still did a lot of eyerolling at the beginning.

The episode picked up after that, though, moving to the next case in The Pattern and some revelations about Walter Bishop's science and Peter Bishop's very being. To see what I made of it all and add your thoughts, just

So, most interesting things first: Let's talk about Peter's "medical history." Walter has altered him somehow - but how? Is he a clone? That was my guess, going off the closing image, but I'm sure we'll discover any number of weird, quasi-scientific processes that could lead to the creation of a wisecracking, gambling 20-something guy. The most interesting things to me about it right now are a) that Peter doesn't know (even the serial killer/rapidly aging guy knew what was happening to him), and b) that, because the records were gone from the file, presumably someone else does know.
Meanwhile, the actual science case wasn't quite as interesting as I wanted it to be - and I think that's because the pieces fit together too neatly. There's an obvious link to Walter's work, and then to his old partner, and then to the killer, and the actual science seemed relatively straightforward save for that one special Massive Dynamic camera. Which is just awfully convenient, no? I hope that the show has something else up its sleeve beyond a formula that's essentially "science-y thing happens; Walter Bishop solves it by drawing on his work from back in the day."
What did creep me out was the scene of Olivia screaming and hallucinating that she, too, would birth a surprise baby. I guess we know by now that Agent Scott didn't have that particular affliction, but there's obviously still something fishy in his history.

I'm really enjoying the wackiness of Walter Bishop. Maybe it will start to wear on me eventually, but right now, lines like "Do you have any cocaine?" and "Even condoms are not 100 percent effective; you two should be aware of this" are cracking me up. And hooray for a reappearance of the cow.
My favorite Walter line deserves its own bullet point: "I've never seen a feature like this before. It warms your ass. It's wonderful."
Massive Dynamic: Good? Evil? Somewhere in between? I'm a sucker for a conspiracy, and I want to know how much Nina Sharp knows about The Pattern. Why are she and Broyles in cahoots? Why is she offering Olivia a job? My sense is that Nina may be a double agent of sorts, working both the good and bad sides of this science.
Here's the No. 1 thing I hate: those big, place-identifying letters. I know people will disagree, but they just look silly to me. Also, I would like the opening credits a lot more if they weren't throwing all these words at us, like "Science! Cloning! Time travel! Smart-people stuff!"

What did you think? Are you hooked, or was this episode tough to get into? Are you liking the procedural elements, or do you want more of a continuing story? The show has a lot of potential, but it hasn't totally come together for me yet. You?

Photos courtesy of Fox

Pilot Watch: Fringe

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:30:54 PDT

The networks have announced their Fall schedules, but which of the series will actually be worth watching? This Summer, as the networks release their pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. A lot can change before a show makes it to air - especially this year, when the writers' strike severely gummed up the production of pilots - so consider these just some quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's installment: Fox's Fringe, which will air Tuesdays this Fall after House.

What's it about? After a creepy incident on an airplane (creator JJ Abrams seems to like those), an FBI agent ends up getting sucked into the world of fringe science, which essentially uses humankind as one large laboratory for exploring cloning, mind reading, and the like.

Who's in it? Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown

The good: The first episode does quick work of establishing the premise, the characters, and their central conflicts while also dropping some hints as to the mythology (and cool science-y plot twists) that will likely develop later. Jackson and Noble are great as a dysfunctional father-son team, grudgingly interacting again after years of silence. Two actors in relatively smaller roles - Lance Reddick as a Department of Homeland Security agent and Blair Brown as the head of science corporation Massive Dynamic - carry a lot of the weight of setting up the series' framework and do an outstanding job with it.

The bad: The pilot is super-sized (just under 90 minutes), and I'm not sure it needed to be. Some of the middle section dragged, which prevented me from being as completely wowed by the show as I'd hoped. I'm still not sure I completely understand Noble's character (he was borderline deranged at the start, then just kind of quirky by show's end), but that could have been intentional, since part of the premise is that he is a bit of a wild card.

Will I watch? Absolutely. A lot goes down in the final 15 minutes, and it was enough to make me want to see where the story leads.

To check out a preview and see a gallery of photos, just

View 16 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Fox

TV Casting Roundup: "Top Model," "24," "Lost"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:39:04 PDT

Meet the hopefuls for the ninth cycle of "America's Next Top Model." This time around, we've got a whole bunch of students, an aesthetician, and a dancer.
Rebeca Mader and Lance Reddick have joined the cast of "Lost." The Hollywood Reporter says the details of their characters are being kept under wraps - but I wonder if it could be these two folks?
"24"'s female president now has a First Husband: Colm Feore is joining the show. Rumor has it there will also be First Kiddos for Feore's character to corral, according to TV Guide. Rhys Coiro of "Entourage" is also signing on to work alongside Janeane Garofalo's character.
Emily Rose, most recently of "John from Cincinnati," will be a very busy actress this TV season, landing roles on both "Brothers & Sisters" and "Jericho." On "B&S," Rose will play a friend of Rebecca's who gets a job with the Walker family.

Photo courtesy of The CW