FRINGE’s Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman Tease ‘Subject 13′ and a Big Return
In Friday’s brand new episode of FRINGE, the series once again takes us back to the 80s, where both universes are grappling with the fallout of young Peter’s kidnapping.
Give Me My Remote chatted with FRINGE executive producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman about the hour, which major character will be making a return soon and why it’s okay to sympathize with the alt-characters…
Will we see another episode like “Entrada” where we flash back and forth between the universes?
J.H. Wyman: You’ll see a couple [episodes] that are back and forth. You’ll see some [set] over there.
Jeff Pinkner: You’re going to see an episode soon that is back and forth between [the] two universes, but in a different way than “Entrada.”
I assume you mean “Subject 13,” the episode that takes place six months after the events of “Peter”?
JP: Yes, that episode will take place in both universes. The consequences from that act, that [Peter] was taken will play out on both sides. And then later in the season, there will be one or more [episodes] that will take place simultaneously in both universes.
Those are hard stories to tell, and we only did it once, because literally the events in the episode — Olivia escaping and Fauxlivia getting outed — played out simultaneously in both universes. It was something we discussed with the network and the studio early on in the season because they wanted us to advance the storylines in those first seven or eight episodes simultaneously and we resisted that. We felt you really needed to live on one side or the other to know, emotionally, what story you were tracking that episode.
That’s understandable. I loved “Entrada,” but it could have been jarring if we were going back and forth like that every week before we had time to really establish what it was like over there.
JW: We feel like now everyone is up to speed, they can actually handle it, you know? They won’t get so confused.
And with “Subject 13,” will it be fully flashback or will we see our current group of characters, either on one side or the other?
JP: It will be a fully flashback episode.
Will we be seeing William Bell in the episode?
JW: Not in that episode, no.
I know Leonard Nimoy (William) was tweeting that the plans for William Bell to return are coming together…
JW: [Laughs] That’s right.
You guys managed to lure him out of retirement?
JW: Yeah.
JP: He certainly lured his fingers out of retirement immediately. [Laughs]
JW: We’re just really so thrilled he was even open to it. He’s so fantastic.
So will fans be seeing him this season?
JP: We will be seeing him, but we’re being a little bit coy about it on purpose because we still want there to be a surprise factor.
JW: Yeah. The character will definitely be integral to a several episode arc.
I don’t want to push you guys too hard for answers, because I want to be surprised, too! Would it be safe to say Peter and Olivia met as children? [Editors note: The interview took place before Fox released the promo which showed their encounter.]
JP: It will be interesting to see whether or not they did. Olivia went through the Jacksonville daycare center. We know she was experimented on by Peter’s dad, so…we’re a little bit loathe to spoil stuff about that episode this far out.
JW: You will understand Walternate in a perspective that I don’t think people have before. And we’re sort of dimensionalizing him in this episode so you can understand what this man’s life was like. So “Peter” gave us Walter’s perspective and [“Subject 13”] will give us Walternate’s, to a certain degree.
Walternate has certainly appeared to be more sympathetic in his recent appearances.
JW: By design. It’s by design. Because it’s sort of funny…as storytellers, we’re always kind of worried that we’re giving people too many pick-up sticks to pick up. You can only pick up so many before you’re like, “I don’t even know which one to focus on.”
We’re trying to be really careful. From the inception of “we’re going to go over there and we’re going to go over here and do two shows about one show,” that was borne from watching the audience slowly get on board with the concept that there is a mythology over there that is very compelling. And we want you guys to be as excited about it as us, so we’re going to slowly feed you enough for you to experience it and start to form bonds with those characters one at a time. And I think we were successful with alt-Broyles. Everyone was tremendously passionate about him when he died and they realized that was interesting.
Fauxlivia is starting to [evolve] whether people know where it’s going or not — or they think they know where it’s going — the goal is to understand that bad people or people who do bad things aren’t all bad. Bad guys don’t think they’re bad guys. Bad guys think they have a rational reason for doing what they’re doing and they’re understandable. So when you start to realize, “Oh my God, there’s her side of the story, too” and if we told you that side of the story, then you’d be like, “Oh, I understand her as a fleshed-out human being who feels and hurts and wants and desires just like everyone else.” She’s just from the wrong side of the tracks.
JP: And Walternate had his son stolen from the other universe. Who is more sympathetic at the end of the day than him?
JW: So we’re trying to dimensionalize everyone’s motivation. And with that, hopefully, what we’re trying to do is get you to invest so by the end of the season you’ll be like, “Oh my God, I know these people.”
JP: And the truth is in the episode “Peter,” when we finally saw what Walter did 28 years ago, obviously borne out of love for his son, he as much as admitted he was willing to play God — risk what he understood to be potentially damaging two universes to save this boy. We can all understand his choice. We would all make the same choice, we don’t have to support it and we’ve been witnessing for three seasons the consequences. Had we played that episode first, Walter’s the big villain [of the show]. But because we know him and we love him and we see the consequences, we understand why he did it, suddenly it becomes an understandable act. And we’re telling a show about science — science is not good or bad. It’s the application of it that is good or bad and our storytelling is the same.
Will we see Alt-Nina this season?
JP: We’ve talked about alt-Nina, we know who alt-Nina is, but as of yet, she isn’t playing a role in the story.
JW: We know very well who she is, Marisa, but we’re not introducing her yet.
Okay, good to know. Our Nina is so complex as it is. Will we be seeing any more of her relationship with Walter and Peter explained in the flashback? Their whole history is a bit of a mystery right now.
JP: That’s a card we’ve yet to uncover.
JW: But it’s definitely part of our long-term concept. We agree with you. Blair [Brown (Nina)]‘s doing such a great job and she’s just so fascinating.
JP: This flashback episode actually takes place in a very narrow window of time, but it’s a significant one for all the characters.
Will Nina be in the flashback at all?
JW: No.
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While Nina’s history with the Bishop men may still be a mystery, several other important questions are answered in “Subject 13″…and a few more will be raised.
But maybe you can have some luck getting answers from the FRINGE showrunners. Pinkner and Wyman will be chatting with fans during the eastern airing of “Subject 13,” so make sure to watch FRINGE live and tweet along with them. Follow both Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman to make sure you don’t miss anything!
And of course, after you’re done chatting with them, come back to Give Me My Remote so we can talk about what went down in the hour. (Hint: I’ll be once again begging the Emmy voters to show John Noble some love.)
Latest from EW (Spoiler)
Hardcore Fringe fans will agree that season 2′s “Peter” was hands up, down, and all-around one of the best hours of the series. The great news is that tonight’s follow-up episode, “Subject 13″ (which references the test subject number assigned to young Olivia), will rank right up there with it. Why? The episode focuses on young Peter coming to grips with his removal from the other side. (Of course, he doesn’t know that’s what happened, but he knows something is amiss.) And for those who hold a special place in their heart for John Noble/Walter, prepare to become completely infatuated with the golden-hearted character, especially when he takes a stand for Olivia.
The best scene by far tonight takes place in a field of tulips with young Peter and young Olivia. If you don’t tear up during this beautifully shot scene, I suggest you cross over and find the version of yourself with a soul!
Fringe plot line hits key episode
Fringe (Citytv, Fox, 9 p.m.) is still trying to establish itself on the fringes of Friday-night TV viewing, with mixed results. In style and tone, though, it established itself long ago as one of TV’s more eerie, hard-to-read supernatural mysteries.
Fringe is murky and unpredictable, and yet strangely alluring. Its ongoing tale of parallel worlds and characters who cross over from one world to the other can be inexplicable and hard to follow at times, yet it’s strangely rewarding. Fringe is one of those rare TV science-fiction tales that is more about the inner mind – the thoughts, feelings, drives and motivations of its characters – than outer space.
That’s why longtime followers of Fringe – and they are some of the most devoted television fans – are both anxious and hopeful about tonight’s episode, aptly titled Subject 13.
The story is part companion piece, part followup to last season’s flashback episode, Peter, in which John Noble’s mad-scientist character Walter Bishop crossed over to the other, “alt” world to kidnap his alt-world son and snatch him back to this world, because his son in this world, still a child, was dying of an untreatable ailment.
Subject 13 picks up with Walter’s son, played as an adult by Joshua Jackson, and Olivia Dunham, Anna Torv’s character, as children. Walter is conducting experiments on his own son, in other words, with potentially tragic and longlasting consequences.
The episode is meaningful to longtime fans of Fringe, because it shows how the origins of Peter and Olivia’s on-again/ off-again romantic relationship may be buried in subconscious, childhood memories.
– Fringe can’t catch a break, it seems. The fine supernatural mystery series Supernatural (The CW, 9 p.m.) – also filmed in Vancouver, also followed by devoted fans, and shown at the exact same time on another, competing channel – features a clever, altworld tale of its own with tonight’s episode.
FRINGE “Subject 13″ Advance Review (Daemons TV)
FRINGE “Subject 13″ Season 3 Episode 15 Advance Review – Last week’s FRINGE showed us Peter and Olivia finally getting together, and this week we get to find out details about their past. I was able to catch an advance screening of tonight’s episode, “Subject 13″, and it was excellent!
“Subject 13″ takes us back to the ’80s and Walter’s experiments in Jacksonville. It has been a couple of months since Walter has brought Peter from the alter-verse and everyone in the Bishop household is still adjusting. We also see some of young Olivia’s home life and why Walter takes notice of her during the experiments. There’s also some Walternate, and you’ll be surprised what has happened with him since Peter disappeared.
I was originally nervous that this episode would be one huge retcon to somehow tie Peter, Olivia, and Walter together in the past, but the way the different characters are brought into the story made sense and didn’t feel forced. John Noble was great in this episode both as Walter and Walternate. The best part of any flashback Fringe, of course, is the retro-themed opening, and there are plenty of 80′s Easter eggs though out the episode. Don’t miss the last five minutes of the episode, they hold the key as to why the universes are at war.
Fringe 3.14 6B gains 53% with 3 days of DVR viewing
In its live plus same day DVR ratings last Friday, Fringe rose a tenth to a 1.5 adults 18-49 rating after weeks of 1.9, 1.9 and 1.6 and 1.4. Once again, it made up some ground with three days of DVR viewing, bumping up to a 2.3, up a tenth from the previous week’s 2.2 L+3 adults 18-49 rating.
Exclusive: Fringe Producers on Peter and Olivia’s First Meeting…and Their Future!
Fringe heads back to 1985 again this week (Friday, 9/8c, Fox) for more of the Bishop back story, and — if you’ve seen the promos — it turns out some of our heroes have known each other a lot longer than any of them realize. So we grabbed executive producers Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman for an exclusive, spoilery chat about the heartbreaking episode, what Peter and Olivia’s fateful encounter 26 years in the past means for their future, and of course, alterna-babies.
TV Guide Magazine: First off, I hear you’re tweeting during the show tomorrow night? You’re gonna be bombarded.
Joel Wyman: We love the fans and it’s so great to be able to communicate with them.
TV Guide Magazine: How long have you been planning to reveal that Peter and Olivia met when they were kids down in Jacksonville?
Jeff Pinkner: We have known it for a long time, how and when we were going to reveal that was determined while we were writing the episode.
TV Guide Magazine: The episode also explains how Walter and his wife convinced Peter that he was their son after Walt stole him from the alternate universe, and it’s pretty devastating.
Wyman: The biggest moment in the episode when we were writing it was that moment…it is huge for Elizabeth (Orla Brady) going forward. This is the beginning of the end for her, because we know that, ultimately, she ends up killing herself when Peter was 17. This is that first lie.
TV Guide Magazine: And without spoiling anything, you also give us a massive Walternate moment that I had to actually watch twice to figure out.
Pinkner: Yeah, how cool was that?
TV Guide Magazine: Now, you seem to be calling back to old episodes lately. Last week, you invoked the ambered bus from Season 1’s “Ghost Network.” This week, we get a lot of “White Tulip” references — as well as the back story on that burnt room in the video of young Olive.
Wyman: The “White Tulip” stuff is all connected thematically because that was the episode where Walter believes in God. And that is going to come back…it’s a very big part of the season finale and where Walter is going to be.
Pinkner: We’ve always said that we plant seeds that grow and pay dividends in later seasons, so we’ll plant seeds and leave it open to discovering how.
TV Guide Magazine: Now let’s talk about Peter and Olivia. Where are you taking them from this point?
Wyman: The next couple episodes are going to be very surprising. A big unexpected obstacle is going to come between them…for a while.
TV Guide Magazine: Would this be Bolivia’s alterna-baby?
Pinkner: Nope. Really unexpected…new to you.
TV Guide Magazine: So how long will you keep Peter in the dark about Bolivia’s pregnancy?
Pinkner: Perhaps until next season.
Wyman: Yeah, we’re thinking about maybe holding it off.
TV Guide Magazine: Seriously?
Wyman: There’s a good reason for it. We can’t tell you now, but we’re trying to do something now that nobody’s ever done and we’re excited for our season finale. It’s something we’re really excited about.
Pinkner: And it’s still seven episodes off.
Wyman: And because of this, we may have to hold it off.
TV Guide Magazine: You know some folks are not happy about this baby, right?
Pinkner: Let us take your temperature on it. It seems to us that people are pissed about the baby because they think we, as writer-producers, are trying to create a situation where Peter and Bolivia will end up together, and the fans want Peter and Olivia together. Is that your read?
TV Guide Magazine: I think so. It’s the thing that could keep Peter and our Olivia apart. But I will say, there is also a faction that really sees why he’d fall for Bolivia. Even if they seem destined to be together from this week’s episode.
Pinkner: In the best story of star-crossed lovers, they don’t get together in the first act. Our intention is to have a long shelf life. The Peter-Olivia story will always be at the heart of it, but it may not always be smooth sailing.
TV Guide Magazine: Do you think there could be a shared custody between universes?
Wyman: [Laughs] I suppose if for some reason Bolivia died or was out of the picture, Peter could take the baby and Olivia could adopt it.
Pinkner: Or there could be a world where Peter is out of the picture and Olivia gets romantically engaged with Bolivia. That would be weird.
Wyman: Then they would move us to cable! [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: What about an Olivia-Lincoln pairing? He’s clearly in love with Bolivia, so it would follow that he, like Peter, would be attracted to a woman who was essentially the same
Pinkner: In theory.
Wyman: That would be a good couple.
TV Guide Magazine: I gotta ask, are we ever gonna see alternaNina?
Pinkner: Ever? Yes. Not necessarily soon, but yes. And we are going to see a different version of Nina soon, as well, but also in a way that is unexpected. There is some cool stuff coming up.
Fringe 3.15 Subject 13 previews (Spoiler)
Matt Roush: Writing up preview raves of Friday’s Fringe and Supernatural eps. Both worth staying in for. (Especially Fringe.)
TV on my Terms: Little Olivia made me choke up. Such a great episode. @bradyorla Fantastic job in this week’s #Fringe! Loved it! Despite the absence of Anna Torv and Josh Jackson, tomorrow night’s #Fringe is NOT to be missed. Brought tears to my eyes.
Anna Torv News 