Blogging the TCA Blogs #1

From MeeVee on the Fringe “cast”:

“Yes, the cow is now a regular,” executive producer Jeff Pinkner said drily, “but we now have a new cow because we weren’t able to travel our cow down from Canada (where the pilot was filmed). We had to recast the one from the pilot. We literally had a conversation about making up the cow, in case anyone notices the spots are different.”

From STL today on the Fringe pilot being leaked:

Viral marketing? “It’s hard to believe, but we didn’t put it out there,” says executive producer Bryan Burk, adding that they hate to have anything seen before it’s finished.

From LA Times Show Tracker on the images we’ve put out to promote the show:

The team will solve a mystery in each episode, even as they try to sort out the larger force behind the phenomena. Clues are sprinkled through the series in reoccurring images: a six-fingered hand, a leaf, smoke that reveals a secret pattern.
“It’s part of the code of the show,” (show co-creator and executive producer J.J.) Abrams said.

From The TV Addict on J.J.’s future involvement:

J.J. revealed that he’s trying to split his time between post-production on STAR TREK, while continuing to be involved with FRINGE. He co-wrote the pilot, and plans to stay as involved as he can with the writing and the story arcs and even plans on directing one of the episodes. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that J.J. also hoped to direct an episode of LOST for oh, the past two seasons.

From iFMagazine on the 24 prequel TV movie:

As for the story, (Fox Entertainment President Kevin) Reilly explains, “it tees off the season — it’s a separate day.”
“It’s the day of the election of the president and swearing in,” he adds. “It’s a self-contained two hours.”

Fringe - THE BASICS

From J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. It’s the first thing Abrams has written for TV in more than three years, since Lost. It’s also the return to television of feature darlings Kurtzman and Orci (Transformers, Star Trek).

The two-hour pilot was shot in Toronto by Alex Graves. Jeff Pinkner has been brought on the series as showrunner. He was an executive producer on Lost and a writer on two seasons of Alias.

Summary
The story centers on a tough, young female FBI agent who is forced to confront the spread of powerful and unexplained phenomena. She must work with an institutionalized research scientist whose life’s work may be at the center of the coming storm as well as the man’s estranged son.

Fringe is the name for a special division of Homeland Security that handles these terrorist/paranormal events.

No surprise that, with the involvement of Abrams, there will be a predominant mythology running through the series. Episodes will also explore self-contained mysteries as well as the relationships between the three leads. From the looks of the pilot script, there will also be a lot of humor.

Actors and Characters
Joshua Jackson is “Peter Bishop,” the son of Dr. Bishop. Peter is a high-school dropout and gambling addict with an IQ of 190.

Anna Torv is “Olivia Dunham,” an FBI Special Agent. She struggles to work with Dr. Bishop and Peter, who doesn’t get along with his father.

John Noble is “Dr. Walter Bishop,” the scientist institutionalized for the last 20 years. The brilliant scientist is a mix of Albert Einstein and Dr. Frankenstein.

Mark Valley is “John Scott,” an FBI Special Agent.

Lance Reddick is “Philip Broyles,” the SAC (Special Agent in Charge) of the Fringe division of Homeland Security.

Kirk Acevedo is “Charlie Francis.”