By Kofi Outlaw
LOST creator J.J. Abrams, along with cohorts Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, is
bringing his new show FRINGE to the Fox network, with a two-hour pilot whose budget is reported to exceed $10 million!
The show will explore the paranormal investigations of a brilliant (possibly crazy) research scientist, his estranged son and a female FBI agent who reunites the two. If it sounds like a rehash of THE X-FILES, it is because Fox is betting that Abrams and co. will successfully tap a similar vein of fandom as the 90’s cult-hit. Even Abrams admits his goal with FRINGE was to emulate THE X-FILES, simultaneously infusing it with “a slight TWILIGHT ZONE vibe.”
“So much of the story is relatable people in extraordinary situations," Abrams said. "The Show is definitely a nod to ‘Altered States’ and ‘Scanners’ and that whole Michael Crichton/Robin Cook world of medicine and science.”
The show will offer mostly self-contained episodes of paranormal exploration, strung together by a few serial storylines between main characters. The tone is expected to be at once spooky and humorous:
“It does the stuff my favorite TV shows and movies do, which is to combine genres that shouldn’t fit together,” Abrams said. “It’s definitely meant to scare the hell out of you, but it’s also meant to make you laugh…”
However, expect FRINGE'S main character, eccentric researcher Walter Bishop, to be less Fox Mulder and more Dr. House, according to Orci:
“He’s someone who has the mental ability to solve so many problems but is so different that communicating with them is almost impossible.”
Acquiring FRINGE, was a personal victory for Fox Entertainment, whose chairman, Peter Liguori, has kept an eye on the show’s development for months, ever since Abrams pitched him the idea back in February. This past week the network grabbed up FRINGE (the first series developed under the joint venture between Warner Bros. and Abrams’ Bad Robot productions) mere days after Abrams had started shopping it.
In order to seal the deal on FRINGE, Fox had to agree to a digital template proposed by Warner Bros. and ABC, which stipulated that Fox will have online streaming rights for the show’s first season, with Warner Bros. monetizing episodes and offering them on various digital platforms by season two. It seems the networks are finely beginning to consider the digital marketplace in a big way, and are shaping the politics of their business accordingly.
Will FRINGE live up to its $10 million hype? Rant and let us know what you think. All I know is that if I were Mulder or Scully right about now I would be plenty peeved. $10 million is more budget than they gave to make that horrendous X-FILES movie.