Fringe Executive Producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman are interviewed in a round table session. They would not divulge spoilers, but are very excited about the new season, and that we are knowledgeable fans ourselves.
 
Question: What can you tell us about the next season?
 
Both: Absolutely nothing.
 
Question: [Laughs; incoherent] Nothing?
 
Jeff Pinkner: Well, we don’t want to ruin it for you! It’s like Christmas. One opens the presents on Christmas day.
 
J.H. Wyman: There’s lots of love and a reason they’re all wrapped nice in colored paper and bows. Hopefully there are twenty-two of them
 
Jeff Pinkner: Like, every season, we try to keep opening up the show more and more.  And at the end of season two, we sort of went over and spent some time in the alternate universe. In fact, we left a character there. So in this season, we really want to continue to explore what it means to have two universes. And season two was, in many ways, was secrets withheld and secrets coming out. Largely the secret about Peter’s origin. And now this season, we’re playing the consequence of those secrets.
 
Question: Are you ever going to do a whole episode in the alternate world?
 
Jeff Pinkner: Oh yes.
 
J.H. Wyman: Absolutely.
 
Jeff Pinkner: Yeah.
 
J.H. Wyman: Yes. Yeah, in fact, several.
 
Jeff Pinkner: See, essentially…what we really like about it is that we kind of have two shows. So now it’s up to us to make the mythology over there just as compelling as the mythology here so we will enjoy both of them.  You know what I mean? So have our characters that are going back and forth, they’re there or here…um…but there’s a whole set of new characters that become very interesting very quickly.
 
Question: So you had to work out everyone else’s back story.
 
Jeff Pinkner: Yeah! Which is great! It’s fun for us. But it’s interesting because it gives you that gear shift that, we just say wow. It’s so much fun to look into.
 
J.H. Wyman: One of the themes of the shows is very much mirrors, and, you know, the road not taken. And so we get to have…we get to explore that theme through two versions of a character who are genetically the same. It’s just nature versus nurture. But they made different choices or different things happened to them along the way, and now who are they?
 
Question: I’ve got a really nerd question. Okay, are there alternate observers? Or do the observers kind of-
 
Jeff Pinkner: There’s only one.
 
Question: There’s only one?
 
Jeff Pinkner: There’s only one. That’s a good question though!
 
J.H. Wyman: They are…a race, they are a group of observers, and they observe both sides.
 
Question: Okay, I just didn’t know if there was a separate one, or… [laughs]
 
Jeff Pinkner: Like intergalactic sheriffs!
 
Question: Now, it’s not been all that easy to get across [universes], [how will you tell] stories in both places, or is it going to get easier for them to cross back and forth?
 
Jeff Pinkner: You guys are real watchers! No, it’s not easy to cross, and it never will be.
 
J.H. Wyman: Well, we left a character there. So we will…you know, the show is about Olivia, Peter, and Walter. So, while we say we have two worlds to explore, we will be exploring both from their point of view. And there will be episodes that take place all in the alternate universe. But they’ll be with our core characters, or at least some of them. So, they will continue to have difficulty traveling back and forth. We’re not suddenly going to say, ‘Oh, it’s a revolving door!’ It should challenging.
 
Question: How long is Olivia going to stay over there before she gets-?
 
Jeff Pinkner: Ah, we can’t tell you.
 
J.H. Wyman: Just the exact right amount of time.
 
Jeff Pinkner: [Laughs] Yeah.
 
J.H. Wyman: When you open the present, that’s the…the key to a major story.
 
Question: But not telling us any of the episodes is she going to be…obviously over there long enough for it to make an impact on her character.
 
J.H. Wyman: Oh yeah, it already has.
 
Jeff Pinkner: Presuming that there still is an Olivia original. Presuming that she doesn’t die. Presuming that the Ultimate doesn’t take over. Just saying. I don’t know.
 
J.H. Wyman: He does know, but he’s not going to tell you.
 
Jeff Pinkner: But you know, your husband’s not who you think he is, uh-oh. He could be a murderer. The whole thing of duplicitiveness and duality are really entertaining us right now as artists, and we really kind of…you know, finding a lot of gasoline in that and those notions. You know, it’s amazing how many people kind of get it. Because at first, you know, parallel universes…there’s been such a breakdown in political beliefs or religion or…people are trying to look for something that they can figure out, grab a handle on, find some meaning in their lives. And I’m really shocked how such a science fiction notion can really grab people who aren’t science fiction fans, and say, like, ‘Wow, I wonder if there really is something else that I don’t know I don’t know. And I wonder if there is another universe, if there is something after this, maybe I have a doppelganger on the other side that made different choices. People are really sort of getting it in a faith aspect, embracing that maybe there is something out there that I don’t know. So, we’re really kind of enthralled with that notion right now. Like, what would you do? You could be, like, Bill Gates.
 
J.H. Wyman: Or you could be yourself without a beard.
 
Jeff Pinkner: I could do that here if I wanted to.
 
Question: How much more will we get to see of the alternate world? I love the DC comics covers where it’s, like, you know, inverted.
 
Jeff Pinkner: That’s how you know who’s the nerd and who’s not. ‘I love the comic book covers.’ [Laughs] There’s one at every table!
 
Question: How much more of that will we get to see?
 
Jeff Pinkner: A lot. A lot. We love that, too! John Lennon’s alive over there, man! Like, awesome! Like, Martin Luther King’s, like…it’s just, what kind of a world is over there? There’s so many good things, there’s so many bad things. We think it’s…it’s our favorite stuff to look at. You catch a peek at Amber and this whole thing, and it’s like…what happened over there? That’s interesting!
 
J.H. Wyman: We’re interested in world building and all that stuff is actually the texture that makes it a world. The richness of detail is what actually makes it feel real. And we’ve only been over there for a couple of episodes, so it’s really just starting to…you know; it’s the tip of the iceberg.
 
Question: Is it hard to maintain a balance of describing what a parallel universe is for the fans? Does it feel like everyone should know what it is? Do you have to over explain?
 
Jeff Pinkner: The things that feels…there are so many analogues. Everyone knows what dreams are; everyone knows that the dream state is different than the waking state. It’s just a parallel universe you explore when you go to sleep. Our barometers, you know, if we can tell our parents, if I tell my dad, ‘This is a parallel universe,’ and they get it, we’re safe.
 
Jeff Pinkner: I run it by my dad; he runs it by his dad. So we’re like, ‘Do you understand this?’ and he’s like, ‘That makes no effing sense.’
 
J.H. Wyman: And we’re like, ‘Perfect! Great!’
 
Jeff Pinkner: And they’re like, ‘Oh no! It doesn’t make sense!’ But it’s so clear, dad. But it’s not, so we have to re-work it and go, like, we’re in the room every day, so all the stuff we’re talking about makes perfect sense. But for some guy who just wants to enjoy the show for 43 minutes, he’s like, ‘I don’t understand what you’re saying.’ It’s frustrating for them. So we try and…you know, we don’t want to frustrate anyone.
 
Interviewer: Or make it harder than it has to be.
 
Jeff Pinkner: Well, yeah! It’s like; I don’t want to be-
 
J.H. Wyman: Or just how quickly we can be. It’s really just about, as long as you see the steps along the journey, as long as we talked about a parallel universe before we saw it. Like, in Jurassic Park, they talked about Amber, and they explored how dinosaurs were, and then when you see the dinosaur, you say, ‘Oh! I buy it!’ So, we talked about a parallel universe, and finally started to tease it, we went over for a moment, and so, like…our barometer is really how cleanly we can do things?
 
Jeff Pinkner: Yeah, we don’t want to alienate anybody, especially…I mean, that’s no fun for somebody to say, ‘Look how smart I am,’ and nobody enjoys the show. We don’t want to do that.
 
J.H. Wyman: And as long as it’s not just about ideas, but it’s really just about emotional parts, then we feel okay, we have our foundation.
 
Jeff Pinkner: We’ll always do that; we’ll sit and say, like, ‘This is…’ We really think of the themes before we write the episode, so we know what we’re trying to say. It’s always emotional for us.
 
J.H. Wyman: Hopefully. When we’re successful.
 
Question:How did it feel to have the kiss in there?
 
Jeff Pinkner: All we had to do was say, ‘You guys kiss.’ [Laughs] It was easy for us!
 
Question:  Other shows have dealt with that kind of obvious tension more than you guys ever did, but then you have to kiss, and then split-
 
J.H. Wyman: And now we have a triangle. And now we have this unique triangle of one guy and two of the same women are in a lover’s triangle. Olivia, Bolivia, or all Olivia’s and Peter, which is a uniquely Fringe-like concept.
 
Question: Will she still have a romantic link to Peter?
 
Jeff Pinkner: Maybe! Or maybe not. That’s sort of one of the things that we’re still exploring.
 
J.H. Wyman: So, to specifically answer your question, we talked for a long time about what would be right, and the moment that was right was…’I can give you a million reasons to come back, but come back for me. I need you.’ You know, ultimately about a version of family or not. We have said that the reason the show is called ‘Fringe’ is because it’s about these characters that are at the fringe of society. And by finding each other, they find where they connect and where they fit. And we really feel that the best television show to last over time is a family drama masquerading as something else. And E.R. was a family drama masquerading as a medical show. This is really a family drama masquerading as a science fiction show.
 
Question: Are we going to find out more about how this [the alternate] dimension might be affecting here?
 
J.H. Wyman: Yes.
 
Jeff Pinkner: That’s a really good question!
 
Question: You see it’s been touched upon periodically when Walter asks him, you know…you look tired, or…
 
Jeff Pinkner: Or maybe it’s not about dimensions, it’s something about Peter himself. Yeah, we’re going to investigate that this year.
 
J.H. Wyman: Thank you guys for watching so closely and having great questions.
 
Jeff Pinkner: Yeah, thanks so much!
 
Question: Now, with Olivia being in the other dimension, will the same things start happening to her?
 
Jeff Pinkner: Interesting. But she’s treated with Cortexiphan effect. She is uniquely suited to go back and forth. But that’s half the fun because what about the other one? So there are lots of repercussions. The alternate universe is really kind of fun once you understand it. And it’s like Picasso. Its like, ‘Yeah, I’ll buy that.’ Then once you’re in it, it’s really fun.
 
J.H. Wyman: There are lots of toys to play with.
 
Jeff Pinkner: Well, what would you guys like to see on the show?
 
Interviewer: An Astrid episode.
 
Jeff Pinkner: Like, over here, or over there?
 
Interviewer: Over here first. She’s been around longer.
 
J.H. Wyman: Jasika is unbelievable. She is, like, truly our diamond in the rough. The more we throw at her, the more she surprises us. Nothing is in-authentic, she is just wonderful.
 
Jeff Pinkner: And what a sweetheart as a person. She is just amazing. She always surprises us, so we have a lot of plans for her.
 
Question: I really like their relationship, that kind of the tense, but the-
 
Jeff Pinkner: The love.
 
Question: Yeah, the love, too. Peter fights it a little bit, but then gives in. So there could be episodes about that.
 
Jeff Pinkner: It’s so cool. Like, it’s such a bummer that John didn’t get nominated. I think it’s a travesty, personally. I mean, the guy gave the performance of a career. And um…he did such a great job with that stuff last year. So this year it’s our challenge to find something that’s a little bit, you know, just as difficult to play, but not the same thing. Because we had that little Peter – Walter thing
 
Interviewer: Well, they just play off each other so well.
 
Jeff Pinkner: They do. So it’s going to be a change, a subtle change, but a more mature, like, attack at relationships. Because I believe they are weaved, that they always grow. Relationships are so weird in real life. They change and you got to fight with somebody you love and…it doesn’t go the way you want it to. It’s how you deal with it that’s the interesting stuff. We’re really serious about that relationship in particular.
 
Interviewer: Well, that’s what drew me in in the first place was just seeing them on screen together. It’s one of the better relationships you see on T.V. today. It just hooked me right away.
 
Jeff Pinkner: You should see them in real life
 
Both: Thank you guys so much, thanks so much.