Pilot (Fringe)
"Pilot" | |
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Fringe episode | |
![]() Anna Torv as Special Agent Olivia Dunham in a sensory deprivation tank. | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
Directed by | Alex Graves |
Written by | |
Production code | 276038 |
Original air date | September 9, 2008 |
Running time | 81 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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The pilot episode of the Fringe television series premiered on the Fox network on September 9, 2008.[1] The pilot to season 1 was written by the creators of the series—J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci—and directed by Alex Graves. The episode introduces the most central character, Olivia Dunham, portrayed by Anna Torv, an FBI special agent forced into the world of applied fringe science after a number of freak incidents. Dr. Walter Bishop, a scientist formerly incarcerated in a mental institution for over seventeen years, is portrayed by John Noble, while Joshua Jackson plays his son, Peter, who is hired by Olivia to assist with Walter and his work.
Although the pilot was set in and around Boston, Massachusetts, filming occurred in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The episode cost $10 million to produce, making it one of the most expensive pilots in television history. The pilot was leaked online three months prior to its broadcast on television, leading to speculation that it was leaked deliberately to increase interest in the program. However, this was denied by executive producer Bryan Burk. The episode was generally well received by critics, and was watched by 9.13 million American viewers on its premiere.
Plot
A man on an international flight injects himself with an insulin pen, which releases a biological agent that quickly kills everyone aboard by causing their flesh to
Following a tip, Dunham and Scott are sent to a storage facility where they uncover a biochemical laboratory, which explodes when detonated by a suspect they are chasing. Scott is affected by the chemicals released in the explosion, and is placed into an artificial coma to slow the progression of the chemical reaction. While investigating a possible cure to Scott's condition, Dunham blackmails Peter Bishop to gain access to his father Dr. Walter Bishop, whose top-secret work at Harvard in "fringe science" resulted in him being sent to a mental institution. Dunham manages to release Walter from the institution; however, he becomes enraged when he discovers his laboratory in Harvard has been shut down. Broyles reopens the laboratory, where Dunham transfers Scott's body. To identify the man from the storage facility, Walter synchronizes Dunham's brainwaves with the comatose Scott's so that she can read his mind. Walter claims that syncing brainwaves, and even reanimating the dead, can be accomplished up to six hours after death. With the help of Dunham's assistant, federal agent Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole), the experiment succeeds. Dunham identifies the man in Scott's memory, Morgan Steig, as a passenger on the plane. The team learns Steig's twin brother, Richard Steig, was an employee of Massive Dynamic, a company founded by William Bell, Walter's old lab partner.
Dunham goes to Massive Dynamic headquarters and meets with executive director Nina Sharp (Blair Brown), who agrees to give her all the information on Steig. Stieg is arrested and initially refuses to provide a list of the ingredients present in the toxin, but Peter's threat of exposing him to the chemicals causes him to reveal the ingredients. The information provides a cure for Scott. Stieg reveals that he did not sell his chemicals, but was forced into what he did by someone from Dunham's office. He leads Dunham to a buried tape recording of his phone conversations about the chemicals and the attack, where Dunham realizes that Scott was involved with the attack from the beginning. While she races back to the hospital, Scott awakens and kills Stieg. Scott is chased by Dunham, but crashes his car and is mortally wounded. Before he dies, Scott asks Dunham why Broyles would send her to investigate the storage units in the first place. Dunham convinces the Bishops to stay and help her with her new work, which Broyles describes as a task force to investigate events related to "the pattern". Elsewhere, Scott's dead body is brought to a Massive Dynamic high-tech lab, where Sharp orders that Scott be interrogated, since he has only been dead for five hours.
Production
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/J._J._Abrams_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/170px-J._J._Abrams_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
Co-creator
The first actors cast in the pilot were Kirk Acevedo and Mark Valley in mid January 2008.[4] John Noble and Lance Reddick were next to be cast, although it was incorrectly believed that Tomas Arana had been cast in Reddick's role.[5] This was followed by the casting of Anna Torv, Blair Brown and Jasika Nicole.[6] Abrams said that Torv was cast because she was a combination of "sophistication, great talent, amazing looks and a complexity that is the key to the character being an interesting central character."[2] Kurtzman felt that she was someone "you want to spend time with", which was critical to a series about science.[2] Joshua Jackson was the last series regular to be cast.[7] Jackson auditioned for the role of James T. Kirk in Abrams' Star Trek and believed this is what impressed the producer to cast him in his television project.[8] According to Abrams, Jackson's casting was "very last minute."[9]
While the pilot was set in and around Boston, production was set in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The episode cost $10 million to produce, making it one of the most expensive pilots in television history.[10] Following the pilot's filming, production for the series moved to New York. The producers were forced to hire a new cow for the remainder of the season because they were not allowed to transport the original cow from Canada to New York. Production team members noted that they were prepared to paint new cows if viewers noted the differences in spots.[9][11]
Three months prior to its broadcast, an incomplete version of the pilot was released through
Reception
Ratings
"Pilot" was watched by 9.13 million American viewers, with ratings improving over the course of the episode. The episode garnered a 3.2/9
Reviews
Metacritic gave the episode a Metascore—a weighted average based on the impressions of a select 25 critical reviews—of 67, signifying generally favorable reviews.[16] Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter found it promising because "it is reminiscent of better-of-the-sexes charm."[17] USA Today's Robert Bianco said, "what Abrams brings to Fringe is a director's eye for plot and pace, a fan's love of sci-fi excitement, and a story-teller's gift for investing absurd events with real emotions and relatable characters."[18] Travis Fickett of IGN gave the pilot 7.6 out of 10, calling it "a lackluster pilot that promises to be a pretty good series."[19] Tim Goodman of San Francisco Chronicle remarked that despite "some flaws in it—mostly from a clash of tones—it still overdelivers on creativity, creepiness, fine acting and burgeoning character development."[20] Chicago Sun-Times' Misha Davenport called it an "update of The X-Files with the addition of terrorism and the office of Homeland Security.[21]
John Doyle of
The pilot episode was negatively received by the conservative "
See also
- Fringe episodes
References
- ^ "Fringe Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- ^ Science Fiction Weekly. Archived from the originalon 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- ^ Dawidziak, Mark (July 15, 2008). "Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams gets new Fox drama, Fringe". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- Sci Fi.com. January 17, 2008. Archived from the originalon February 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- Raidió Teilifís Éireann. January 25, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- Sci Fi.com. January 31, 2008. Archived from the originalon February 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- ^ "Creek star 'set for sci-fi role'". BBC News. February 8, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- ^ Lesnick, Silas (February 9, 2009). "Eyeing Captain Kirk's Chair, Joshua Jackson Auditioned For Star Trek". MTV. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ a b c Salem, Rob (2008-07-15). "Is Fringe the next Lost?". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Schweitzer, Kate (2008-09-10). "From LSD Brain to Dead Autopilot, Fringe Premiere Skirts Reality". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 2008-09-16.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Doyle, John (2008-09-09). "Harper's hearth have you fuming? Dive into Abrams's Fringe". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- Wired.com. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ a b c Pierce, Scott (July 16, 2008). "Fringe creators freaked out about pilot appearing online". Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- ^ Rick Kissell (September 10, 2008). "Fringe underwhelms but wins night". Variety. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. September 16, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "Fringe (Fox)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- ^ Garron, Barry (2008-09-08). "TV Review: Fringe". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2008-09-12. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ Bianco, Robert (2008-09-09). "Something great is out there: Fox's 'Fringe'". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ Fickett, Travis (2008-09-08). "Fringe: "Pilot" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ Goodman, Tim (2008-09-08). "Geek squad likely to stick with 'Fringe'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ Davenport, Misha (2008-09-08). "'Fringe' blinds viewers with science". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- ^ Abele, Robert (September 10, 2008). "Fringe Too Eager to Score: Our First Date With J.J. Abrams' New Show, a Lost Opportunity". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- ^ Leonard, John (September 12, 2008). "New Abnormalities". New York. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- ^ Havrilesky, Heather (September 7, 2008). "I Like to Watch". Salon.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- ^ "Fringe on Fox". Worst TV Show of the Week. Parents Television Council. 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
External links
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