Fringe Trivia | 50 facts about the science fiction series

Fringe was a popular, science fiction TV series that aired for several years. It is quite famous for its complicated plot, for which it gained many fans.

Let’s find out more about Fringe!

1. The plot is about an F.B.I. agent who is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist and his son in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.
2. Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.
3. It premiered on the Fox network on September 9, 2008, and concluded on January 18, 2013, after five seasons.
4. Overall it has 100 episodes.
5. The series follows Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), and Walter Bishop (John Noble), all members of the fictional Fringe Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, under the supervision of Homeland Security.
6. The team uses fringe science and FBI investigative techniques to investigate a series of unexplained, often ghastly occurrences, which are related to mysteries surrounding a parallel universe.
7. The series has been described as a hybrid of fantasy, procedural dramas and serials, influenced by films like Altered States and television shows such as Lost, The X-Files and The Twilight Zone.
8. The series began as a traditional mystery-of-the-week series and became more serialized in later seasons.
9. Most episodes contain a standalone plot, with several others also exploring the series’ overarching mythology.
10. Critical reception was at first lukewarm but became more favorable after the first season.
11. It was then that the series began to explore its mythology, including parallel universes and alternate timelines.
12. The show, along with cast and crew, were nominated for many major awards.
13. Despite its move to the “Friday night death slot” and low ratings, the series developed a cult following.
14. It also spawned two six-part comic book series, an alternate reality game, and three novels.
15. Throughout the first season, “The Observer” could be spotted on other FOX programming such as in the audience of American Idol, or on the sidelines of NFL and NASCAR events.
16. In season one, episode nine, “The Dreamscape”, the victim that fell from the Massive Dynamics building had a flight booked on Oceanic Air to Omaha, the same airline featured in Lost (2004).
17. Oceanic Air is a fictional airline used in several Hollywood productions where bad things happen to aircraft.
18. Real airlines are understandably reluctant to be associated even with fictional crashes and hijackings.
19. It goes back at least to Executive Decision (1996) with Kurt Russell and Halle Berry.
20. Jasika Nicole has said in several interviews that the Alternate Universe version of her character, Astrid, is on the Autism spectrum or has high-functioning Asperger Syndrome, which accounts for her statistical prowess and her disinclination to make eye contact with others.
21. Nicole has said that her inspiration for the character comes from her own sister, who is also on the spectrum.
22. For the first season, each episode of this show ran from about forty-nine to fifty-one minutes in length. This is in contrast to the typical forty-two to forty-three minute length of a one-hour drama.
23. This was an experiment by FOX to see if viewers are more likely to tune in if there are fewer commercials.
24. In September 2008, Joshua Jackson had to be rushed to the hospital, when during a stunt, a copper wire was shoved up his nose and hit a vein.
25. When the adult Peter first arrives in the alternate universe, slightly altered DC comic book covers can be seen mounted on a wall.
26. One is a crossover issue starring Red Lantern and Red Arrow, in our universe, both characters are associated with the color Green.
27. The other is what appears to be a copy of a Superman comic, “The Man of Steel Returns”, in our universe, this is a Batman title called, “The Dark Knight Returns”. Superman’s distinctive red cape can be seen in place of Batman’s black cape on the shadowy hero.
28. Both covers have distinctive red colors not found in our universe versions. Red is the color code for this show’s alternate universe.
29. During the DVD commentary for season two, episode twenty, “Brown Betty”, featuring Effects Supervisor Jay Worth, co-Producer Tanya Swerling, Composer Chris Tilton, and co-Music Supervisor Billy Gottlieb, they discuss the fact that every episode of this show includes an “Easter egg”, a reference that foreshadows some element of the next episode.
30. The makers of the show enjoyed season two, episode twenty, “Brown Betty”, so much, that they decided to always make the nineteenth episode of each season special. Hence, the animated episode in season three, or the flash-forward one in season four.
31. In the alternate reality, Eric Stoltz is billed as the star of Back to the Future (1985). Eric Stoltz was originally cast in the role before being replaced by Michael J. Fox.
32. John Noble is the only cast member who appears in all one hundred episodes.
33. Walter’s Harvard lab, out of which the Fringe team work, is room number B314.1; 3.141 is the value of Pi in mathematics.
34. Season four shows the title sequence in yellow. This is right in between green and red on the color wheel. Green is for the normal universe, and red is for the alternate.
35. Although Walter usually gets Astrid’s first name wrong, he always gets her last name right.
36. There have been several indications that in the alternate universe, Humphrey Bogart was not a movie star, or at least did not have the same career he had in the real world.
37. Lincoln identifies Cary Grant, not Bogart, as the actor who plays the Sam Spade role in The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Fauxlivia identifies Ronald Reagan, not Bogart, as the male star of Casablanca(1942). Ronald Reagan was originally considered for the part of Rick in Casablanca (1942) before Bogart was given the part.
38. In some of the episodes, you’ll find a coffee mug with a kangaroo for the handle. That coffee mug came from John Noble’s house, letting the viewers know that he and Anna Torv are from Australia.
39. Peter and Walter are left handed.
40. When they started to write the alternate universe Olivia character, the show’s writers referred to her among themselves as “Bolivia”, because they considered the original Olivia to be the one from the “A-plot”, and so the alternate universe Olivia was from the “B-plot”, “B-Olivia” (Bolivia is also the name of a country in South America).
41. However, this name did not catch on amongst the fans, who quickly started calling her “Fauxlivia” (from the French word for “false”) instead.
42. Anna Torv and Mark Valley were married from 2008 to 2009, around the time season one was airing. Valley plays Torv’s partner and lover in season one.
43. Edward Markham, the bookstore owner with a burgeoning collection of esoteric titles, was likely named after the poet Edwin Markham, who amassed a personal library of over fifteen thousand books by the time of his death.
44. Most outside shots of the supposed Harvard University buildings are pictures of Yale University buildings. Some example shots are: Lanman-Wright Hall, Durfee Hall, and the Yale Station post office (as seen from Old Campus) and Calhoun College (as seen from Cross Campus).
45. Many of the “glyphs” (where commercial breaks would reside) include the golden ratio (the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one), the golden spiral, or the Greek letter Phi, which is the mathematical symbol for the golden ratio.
46. Jasika Nicole said her favorite episode was season four, episode eleven, “Making Angels”, where she is visited by the alternate Astrid.
47. The pilot was filmed in Ontario, Canada, but the rest of the first season was shot in New York City.
48. Production moved to Vancouver, British Columbia for season two.
49. In an episode while looking for Dr. William Bell’s (Leonard Nimoy) copy of “ZFT”, it shows a small collection of books, and one of the books has “Dr. Spock” written large on the binding. A reference to Nimoys’ famous role as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek franchise. However, “Dr. Spock” was a real-life child psychologist, and Nimoy’s fictional character was “Mr. Spock”.
50. Astrid (Jasika Nicole) has a Bachelor of Arts degree (a double major in music and linguistics) from Haverford College, a real, prestigious, private liberal arts college near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.