EPs Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman dish on a number of weighty Fringe topics, including, why they refused to forget that Peter happened, why the supposed love triangle is not quite a love triangle, why this season’s ‘external threat’ might not be what it seems, and more.
The producers have already weighed in on the concept of the fourth season on numerous occasions, but there’s one or two extra insights in this recent chat with FearNet. Including, “the network, studio and other people” not being keen on following through with the consequences of Peter’s ‘non-existence’:
JP: Obviously, what it allowed us to do was reset a timeline without Peter in it and really display the consequences of his heroic choice to save the world. He simply ceased to exist in it. It always felt authentic to us to actually follow through with that consequence. It was suggested to us by the network, the studio and other people, “Hey, let’s just forget that happened.” We had to show the courage of our convictions. Of course, even from the very beginning of this season, there were clear indications Josh Jackson/Peter was still part of the show. Walter was seeing flashes of him. He was in the show, without being a character in the show. It really allowed us to demonstrate what the world was like, in the same way when we first saw the alternate universe. You have to establish these things as fact first. As far as whether if we were worried that people were going to be frustrated…we’re fans of the show. We were frustrated. We thought it was a healthy frustration, but the frustration made his return more satisfying.
JW: It’s funny, but somebody told us it was a phenomenal finale and we said, “Great! I guess you liked it!” He said “I’m amazed by it. I just don’t know how I feel about it. I’ll wait to see if it’s going to pay off or not.” I thought that was really smart because he had a reaction, thought it was terrific, but wasn’t sure where it was going. He still had one foot in and one foot out. I’m citing that only because that’s the key. Jeff and I are always talking about the theme and the story we want to tell. In order for us to attack the themes and the things in the story, we need to do exactly what we do. In retrospect, when you get to the end of the season, you’ll have realized “Oh, of course.” It should be starting to come into focus now, what the master plan is and the reason why we did it. We never had any intention of Peter being gone. We just wanted to start the theme of impact. How do we impact others? We’re always saying life is valued by the connections you make. This season was all about being there and not being there. What does it mean to exist and what does it mean not to exist? And what impact do you have on someone and what do they have on you? What can you add to their lives? And what if you were gone? What difference would it make to these people? We always felt confidence in our decision because we knew it was for a deeper thematic reason.
Pinkner describes David Robert Jones as “ultimate bad guy” this season, but fans who glimpsed the casting details for episode 4.15, might be wondering how Michael Massee‘s ‘memorable big bad’ character fits in. Well, Wyman’s comments might shed some light on that:
One of the great things we’ve enjoyed is if you would have found out that there was a love triangle, that Peter was going to have an affair, what’s really cool about Fringe is you would have never guessed it was with another version of Olivia. While David Robert Jones is a player, supposedly by the internet accounts, other people are coming back. If you stand back and look at the narrative of the show, there are a lot of elements coming back, but you understand them in a different context. I’ll just say Peter is going to have an idea of how hard it is going forward because of external forces. As far as the big bad, it would be a mistake to think of the big bad as one person.
So, as we gathered, there’s more than one Big Bad this season. Though I wonder if the threat is ultimately more about an ‘idea’, a ‘movement’? Could we see the return of ZFT — the brainchild of William Bell? The organization is already established to have different cells and be responsible for some of the most terrifying terror imaginable, back in the first season.
As for the upcoming mythology in general, the producers mention learning from Seriable icons Alias and LOST, and continue to shy away from serving full serial:
JW: We sort of came up with this term “Mythalone,” that we’ve been using a lot. That’s actually the key to everything to us. We know the particular elements of having stand-alones. That makes sense business-wise for a number of reasons. People can tune in and we’re always looking to improve viewership. But it frustrates the long-term fans to no end. We’re stuck in that traditional problem everyone has. For Jeff and I, it was hard to figure out. It’s like one of those puzzles that’s really hard and when you see the end, it’s like “D’uh!” Our first mythalone was White Tulip or around there. We started to realize we could have a really compelling case of the week that was thematically linked to the narrative of our mythology and still feel like our story was moving forward and address the things fans were concerned about. That’s how we are, but at the end of the season, going forward, you are going to get more mythology.
On the potential ‘love triangle’ between Peter, Lincoln and Olivia — forget about it, seems to be the message:
JP: It’s not really accurate to call it a triangle because This Olivia just reminds Peter of the Olivia he’s left behind.
That being said:
JW: But it’s hard to have the love of your life literally right there in front of you and you don’t know if you’ll ever get back to see her.
As for the Observers, the EPs like how they represent the theme of different choices and the culmination of consequences, and promise that we’ll find out more about them this season.
Source: FearNet
PERSON OF INTEREST Renewed For Season 2
TERRA NOVA: Season 2 Decision Delayed Until 2012
ONCE UPON A TIME: The Comprehensive Character Guide
BREAKING BAD: Bryan Cranston Confirms Season 5 Will Premiere In July
FRINGE OBSERVATIONS: 4.22 Brave New World: Part 2
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ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.22 A Land Without Magic
ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.21 An Apple Red As Blood
FRINGE OBSERVATIONS: 4.21 Brave New World: Part 1
ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.20 The Stranger
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Proof is in the pudding. That is all.
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Delusional, like you said, Rick.
These guys really are living in La-La land, aren’t they? The ‘fans’ they mention must live in some alternate universe, because Pinkner & Wyman sure aren’t listening to us.
Maybe because they feared they’d alienate the existing fanbase? And with Fringe now at below 3 million viewers, it seems those fears have been proved to be justified, eh, Pinkner? But you carry right on, because the fans are stupid, right?
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The title of this post “Triangle ditched” had me feeling much better about the season already, but then i read what wyman/pinkner said and well frankly it seems to be olivia and lincoln WILL be getting it on, but peter wont care….. so unneccessary
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“We had to show the courage of our convictions.”
Yes, yes, you are very brave, guys! Never stop patting yourselves on the back.
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Yeah, they really like to boast don’t they? Are they aware, I wonder, how hollow sounding it is by now?
I remember a similar boast-fest going on with Roland D. Moore and his crew over Galactica. And then? All the deep mysteries, all the strange dreams and portents, all were tied off with a unbelievably lame deus ex machina that answered nothing.
I remember the disappointment of four years of investing in a show, only to find, to my dismay, that the BSG crowd clearly had no clue how to end the show, and just wrote, “God did it, so stop asking dumb questions. Tadah! The End.”
I also remember the arrogant dismissal by Moore when fans criticised him for the cowardly cop-out ending.
Reading the Fringe showrunner’s self-congratulatory and self-deceiving ramble, eerie parallels with BSG emerge.
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