The grand design of Fringe’s fantastic third season is becoming increasingly clear. The first half of the season was all about Olivia’s parallel world plight (and a showcase for Anna Torv to strut her considerable stuff); the second half of the season is about Peter’s possibly soul-corrupting doomsday machine destiny (and a showcase for Joshua Jackson to take center stage). The past couple episodes have suggested a potentially dark fate for Peter, whether or not he blows up the multiverse; his interface with the doomsday device seems to be making him go all Die! Die! Shapeshifters, DIE! and possibly downright Dark Phoenix-ish. Or Galactus-y. Or Crisis On Infinite Earths-issy. (Peter: More Monitor or more Anti-Monitor?) Actually, I’m thinking Peter’s path to the dark side will lead him here. Friday’s new episode of Fringe — “Concentrate and Ask Again” — deepens the intrigue, and we have an exclusive tease from Fox that has the cast setting the stage, articulating the stakes, and just generally geeking out on their show. Which I love. Who needs my silly comic booky theories and kooky Magic 8-ball predictions when you have Jackson, Torv, John Noble, Jasika Nicole and Blair Brown using their big brains to crunch Fringe for you! Check out the video — but read on afterward, as I have an urgent favor to ask of y’all.
All right, the favor: I need YOUR questions for a Q&A next week with… none other than Peter himself, Joshua Jackson. If you’re a Fringe fan and you have a question about his character or the show — a maybe a theory that you’d like to run past him, I invite you to post them below (or send them to me at docjensenew@gmail.com or Twitter: @ewdocjensen). I’ll have chance to interview Jackson in the next several days and my ambition is to put as many of your questions to him as possible. So to cop a phrase from tomorrow’s episode: Concentrate and ask. The answers, next week. P.S.: Don’t forget to check out Ken Tucker’s next-day recaps of Fringe each Saturday morning.
Ack! The pressure. OK, here goes: Does Peter miss Faux-livia, just a bit, or does he just constantly flagellate himself for excusing the “differences” he noticed between her and Olivia?
Also, if you could you please tell him that it’s a huge pleasure to watch so many fine actors work together every week. The respect they have for each other and the show is obvious in every scene. Fringe remains grounded in reality because no matter how crazy the storyline, the people are REAL, as are their basic emotions.
Good one.
I vote for TQB’s question too!!
i read through the questions and this is the best of many!!
I agree with TQB.. GREAT question.. looking forward to hearing the answer!!
I also vote for this question!
I vote for this too!
To follow up with TQB’s question, will Peter’s darker side make him question if he was always meant to be with Fauxlivia and live in that alternate world with her?
I just watched Jellyfish (new ep) and I was right. The fate of his path in life (good or bad) and which universe is destroyed, depend on his feelings for Olivia vs. Fauxlivia. Whomever he chooses makes the course set for the future).
I’m curious which world Peter would find most interesting and why Peter might still be thinking about Fauxlivia in a loving sense.
Ooh good one. It’s one I have been wondering too!
I couldn’t have said it better.
I don’t really have a question, but just wanted to say how much I love this show. Each week it blows me away with the writing, story, and excellent acting. The show is my favorite by far and I encourage all my friends to watch it – constantly. I started watching for Joshua but fell in love with the entire cast. It’s a 5 star show without a doubt!
ABSOLUTELY
I am a 62 year old woman with a lot of life experience and I must say this is one of the best shows on tv. The cast is outstanding. Hopefully Fox will keep them on long enough for people to catch up. They moved them around too much and on the wrong slots before. Fans really ought to email Fox and tell them this show is a Winner!!
Thanks for the opportunity to ask a question. Josh, when you signed on to Fringe, did you expect it to be more action and less sci fi or is this along the lines you anticipated? If I can ask a character question – at the end of Season 2, why motivates Peter to go back so quickly (other than plot necessity)? That arc felt rushed – was it thought out?
Oh – and question to Jeff Prime – where is our final lost column? Are we waiting, now, for the one year anniversary of the finale?
THIS!!
Love Fringe – still waiting for the LOST column.
Hear hear — we’ve been promised this column since last August for crying out loud!
I’m too much of a fan of this show to think of any good questions. Just stuff like “how does it feel to be so awesome?” keep popping in my head. Plus Fringe writers are clearly intelligent people, so I trust them to lead us somewhere good.
Ok, this is boring, but ask what John Noble is like in real life. anything like Walter and/or Walternate?
Fringe makes the audience CARE for the characters. The characters are intelligent and they don’t freak out, scream and cry, behave illogically like they do on other scifi shows like “V” and “The Event”, where I just want to throw a brick at my TV. Fringe has the best writing and acting going right now on TV.
Fringe just makes me want to throw a brick at my TV for other reasons… good reasons though, not bad ones!!
I agree!!!!
My question may sound confusing: Why do you think Peter is tied to the machine? Do you think it’s something his father was involved in making happen after Peter was kidnapped? Or do you think he would still have been tied to the machine even if he hadn’t been kidnapped?
A lighter question would be: Is it hard to keep a straight face when acting opposite John Noble sometimes, especially when he’s doing all those crazy things?
Yes! This is an awesome question!
love this question, i imagine they giggle & would LOVE to see bloopers of that nature on the this season’s dvd collection! season 2 extras were slimmer than 1
we always seeing him on set with an Ipad … do Joshua ever consider joining Twitter ?
Does Peter miss knowing his mother and does he ever wonder what his life would have been like if Walter had not stole him?
I agree with this question, I really would like to know how Peter feels about the other universe: Does he sometimes regret coming back from the other side? Or is he at peace with that decision?
First, I would like to add to the previous comments by saying, yes, please tell him that the show is amazing! My question for Joshua is about Peter and Walter’s relationship – if I remember correctly, right before Peter found out that Walter took him from the other side, he was softening even more towards Walter and even called him Dad. I’m wondering where their relationship might be moving now that the truth is out and Peter is dealing with the conflicting emotions of knowing what Walter did. And a related question might be how will this new dark shapeshifter-assassin side of Peter affect his relationships with Walter and Olivia? Thank you, Jeff!
I want to know if all Walter’s lines are written or if John Noble does a lot of improvising with Walter’s zany quips.
That’s a really good question too. I am very curious since I’ve only seen John Noble in Lord of the Rings. I imagine he is known primarily as a dramatic actor but he does amazing comedy on Fringe. I would definitely like to know more about the actors contribution to their characters development and scenes, and if they’re entirely scripted.
Q: If Peter has been weaponized and is now serving an alternate agenda and generally being a badass behind everyone’s backs. Does that mean we have to also discount the way he’s been acting with Olivia and assume he’s just trying to win her trust so that she doesn’t suspect him of killing shape-shifters etc. Or can Peter just turn the badassness on and off depending whom he is around?
Peter was B.A. before he came to the FRINGE division, having quite the B A past. I hope we haven’t lost the softer side of him forever- that peter is the stuff of my dreams!!
Are the producers still planning to do the “alternate-verse” take on the Peter episode? Will there be any more heavily-mythological episodes? How about another noir/musical episode?
It seems that Fox is putting more effort into Fringe with these mini interviews and the movie-style trailers. I’m going to take it as a good sign that they will renew it for next year and beyond.
Agreed. That was my thought too. Surely fringe will be renewed?!
fringe MUST be renewed!! i simply can’t go back to life WITHOUT it.
There was a time in season one when Peter’s past seemed to be rearing its ugly head, but it was never really followed up on. Will that ever come back into play, or have we moved beyond it?
Definitely want to know that too!
I agree with Julia. Also, does his BA past have anything to do with his darker side now? Fantastic show!