110 Fun Facts About Fringe

Which three people created Fringe?

Kurtzman and Orci were working with Abrams on the Star Trek film at the time.

What is the name of the cow Walter keeps in his Harvard lab?

Walter's lab cow is named Gene; she arrives in the pilot and remains a fixture of the Harvard lab for the rest of the series.

How many episodes of Fringe were made?

The shortened 13-episode fifth season pushed the total to the number needed for syndication.

How many episodes were in Fringe's first season?

Fringe's first season ran 20 episodes, opening with a two-hour pilot and closing with a finale in May 2009.

What style of hat do the show's bald, pale men in grey suits wear?

Fedoras are part of their unchanging uniform, worn with a grey suit, white shirt and dark tie in every appearance across the series.

Who plays Peter Bishop?

He was the last main character to be cast, after auditioning for Kirk in Abrams' Star Trek.

In which city is the prime universe's Fringe Division based?

The prime universe's Fringe Division works out of the federal building in Boston, a short drive from Walter's Harvard lab.

What is the name of the biotechnology giant founded by Walter's former partner?

Its exterior was filmed at 7 World Trade Center.

Who plays Nina Sharp, the executive who runs Bell's company?

Blair Brown plays Nina Sharp in all five seasons; the actress won a Tony Award in 2000 for the play Copenhagen.

Which Star Trek legend plays Walter's former lab partner?

Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek's original Spock, plays Walter's old partner, first appearing in the closing moments of season one.

What is the name of Olivia Dunham's younger sister?

Rachel Dunham is Olivia's younger sister, who moves in with Olivia along with her daughter Ella during season one.

What pet name does Walter use for his old lab partner?

Walter calls his old partner Belly throughout the series, a pet name from their days sharing a Harvard lab.

Who plays Astrid Farnsworth?

Jasika Nicole plays Astrid Farnsworth, the junior FBI agent whose name Walter mangles into Asterix, Aspirin and Ostrich.

Which nootropic drug did Walter test on Olivia as a child?

Cortexiphan was the drug Walter and his partner gave to children in a daycare trial; in Olivia it leaves a latent ability to cross between universes.

Which body of water in New York state is the geographic center of the Pattern?

Reiden Lake, upstate, is where Walter crossed over in 1985 and where the Pattern's events are centred; the Bishops' lake house sits on its shore.

What does the German acronym ZFT stand for in English?

ZFT stands for Zerstörung durch Fortschritte der Technologie, Destruction through Advancement of Technology; Walter typed its manifesto before his committal.

Who plays ZFT leader David Robert Jones?

Jared Harris plays Jones, who is cut in half crossing between universes in the season-one finale yet returns alive in season four's altered timeline.

How many years did Walter spend in a mental institution before the series?

Walter spent 17 years institutionalised, from his committal after a 1991 lab fire until Olivia secured his release in the pilot.

Why did Walter cross to the parallel universe in 1985?

Walter crossed to cure the other side's Peter after his own son died of the same illness; he then brought the boy back with him.

What nickname do the prime-universe characters give Walter's parallel counterpart?

Walternate is the name Peter and the team give the other Walter, a harder man whose son was taken from him by our Walter.

What government post does Walter's counterpart hold?

The other Walter serves as U.S. Secretary of Defense on his side, using the post to build and run that universe's Fringe Division.

What nickname does Walter give the parallel universe's Olivia?

Walter adopts 'Fauxlivia' for the other Olivia after she impersonates ours in season three, a name fans had already coined online.

What is the name of Peter's son with the parallel Olivia?

The baby, Henry, is born in the other universe; his blood is used to power the Machine before the rewritten timeline erases him from existence.

What year does Peter's vision inside the Machine show him?

Inside the Machine, Peter sees 2026, fifteen years ahead, where the other universe has been destroyed and ours is collapsing.

What does Peter use the Machine to create at the end of season three?

Peter uses the Machine to open a bridge between the two universes so both sides can work together; he then vanishes from the timeline.

Which agent, played by Seth Gabel, is part of the season-four Fringe team?

Lincoln Lee, played by Seth Gabel in both universes, joins the prime team in season four after transferring from the FBI's Hartford office.

In which country is David Robert Jones imprisoned when Olivia first visits him?

Jones is held in a maximum-security prison in Frankfurt, Germany, when Olivia first questions him in season one; he later teleports out of his cell.

How does Walter stop Bell's plan in the season-four finale?

Walter shoots Olivia to stop her powers fuelling the collapse of the two universes; the drug still in her body heals the wound.

What is the title of the season-three finale?

The Day We Died closed season three in May 2011; its title refers to the ruined future Peter lives through inside the Machine.

In what year did the invaders from the future arrive and begin "The Purge"?

The invaders arrived from the far future in 2015 and began the Purge, wiping out much of humanity to secure their rule.

What is the name of Peter and Olivia's adult daughter in 2036?

Henrietta, known as Etta, is the grown daughter who frees her parents in the fifth season and is killed midway through it.

How did the Fringe team survive the Observer invasion?

Walter left a plan on videotapes ambered in the lab.

Who turns out to be "Donald", the man who helped Walter prepare his plan?

Donald is September, the Observer who long watched over the Bishops; stripped of his abilities and made fully human, he took the name Donald.

To what year must the boy Michael be taken to prevent the invaders' creation?

In 2167 a Norwegian scientist's experiments to trade emotion for intelligence begin the line that leads to the invaders; Michael's arrival is meant to stop them.

Who ultimately takes Michael into the future in the series finale?

Walter Bishop walks Michael into the future himself after Donald is shot; Walter had insisted the sacrifice should be his.

What is the lead Observer antagonist of 2036 called?

Captain Windmark, played by Michael Kopsa, leads the occupation's hunt for the Fringe team and is finally killed by Olivia's telekinesis in the finale.

In the parallel universe, which buildings survived the 9/11 attacks?

The World Trade Center towers still stand in the parallel universe, where the attack hit the White House instead.

How is Manhattan spelled in the parallel universe?

The other side spells it Manhatan with one t, a small difference the show uses to mark the parallel universe's newspapers and signs.

Who cracked the show's glyph code, a substitution cipher spelling a word per episode?

Julian Sanchez of Ars Technica decoded the glyph cipher shortly after the show premiered, showing the pilot's eight glyphs spell a single word.

What is the title of the two-part second-season finale?

Over There, split into two parts, ended season two with Walter and Olivia crossing to the other universe to bring Peter home.

What hidden phrase flashes for one frame in the opening sequence?

The words 'Observers are here' flash for a single frame in the title sequence, visible only by pausing the opening.

What element is found at high levels in shapeshifter blood?

Shapeshifters bleed mercury instead of blood, and its silver sheen is often the only way the team can tell them apart from humans.

What device do the shapeshifters use to communicate with the parallel universe?

The shapeshifters type messages on an old Selectric typewriter that is quantum-entangled with a twin on the other side, which answers in the mirror.

What is the official designation of the sealing substance used in the parallel universe?

Amber 31422 is the official name for the quarantine amber on the other side; those sealed inside are alive, a fact hidden from the public.

What did the First People's book call the Machine?

The First People's text calls the Machine the Vacuum, a device of creation and destruction; the coordinates of its buried parts were hidden in numbers-station broadcasts.

Who are the First People revealed to be?

The First People turn out to be future versions of Walter's team, who sent the dismantled Machine millions of years into the past through a wormhole.

Under what pseudonym was the First People manuscript published?

Seamus Wiles, an anagram of Samuel Weiss, was the pen name on the First People book; the present-day Sam Weiss is his descendant.

What is Sam Weiss's day job?

Kevin Corrigan plays Olivia's Yoda-like amateur psychologist.

Who is the leader of the shapeshifters, played by Sebastian Roché?

Thomas Jerome Newton, the shapeshifters' leader, borrows his name from Bowie's alien in The Man Who Fell to Earth; he kills himself in season three.

What is the name of the explosive mineral Jones collects in season four?

Amfilocite is the rare mineral Jones mines in season four; a small amount packs enough energy to punch a hole between the universes.

Which real building's exterior stood in for Bell's company headquarters?

7 World Trade Center, the rebuilt tower in Lower Manhattan, provided the exterior shots of the company's glass headquarters.

Which mode of transport is common in the parallel universe?

Zeppelins are a routine sight over the other side's cities, one of the show's first visual cues that a scene is set in the parallel universe.

Under what alias did Walter's old partner perform brain surgery on him?

Posing as Dr. Simon Paris, Walter's old partner removed pieces of Walter's brain, at Walter's own request, to erase the memory of how to cross universes.

What was the name of the mental institution Walter was held in?

He was committed after his assistant Carla Warren died in a lab fire in 1991.

What was Walter's father's original German surname?

He was an Allied spy inside the Nazi scientific establishment.

Which university did Olivia Dunham attend?

Olivia studied at Northwestern University before a career as a military investigator and then the FBI.

In which Florida city was Olivia experimented on as a child?

Olivia was one of the Jacksonville daycare children dosed in Walter and his partner's trials; the season-two episode 'Jacksonville' takes her back there.

What was Peter Bishop's IQ said to be?

Peter's file in the pilot lists an IQ of 190 alongside fluency in several languages, credentials that helped him talk his way into jobs.

From which university did Peter falsify a chemistry degree?

Peter faked a chemistry degree from MIT and even published papers under the pretence before the fraud was uncovered.

Where is Peter when Olivia first tracks him down in the pilot?

Olivia finds Peter in Baghdad, Iraq, working a shady deal, and pressures him with what she knows about his dealings to make him see Walter.

Which government agency was John Scott secretly working for?

John Scott was an undercover NSA operative, as 'The Transformation' reveals through his memories; his love for Olivia was real.

How much did the two-hour Fringe pilot cost?

The two-hour pilot cost about $10 million, was shot in Toronto and leaked online three months before its broadcast.

Where had the doomed airliner in the pilot's opening flown from?

The pilot opens aboard Glatterflug Flight 627 from Hamburg, whose passengers are all dead by the time the autopilot lands it at Logan Airport.

How many viewers watched the Fringe pilot?

The two-hour pilot drew 9.13 million viewers on its first broadcast, a solid but not spectacular start for a new network drama.

Why did the pilot's cow have to be recast for season one?

The crew were ready to paint spots on the new cow if viewers noticed.

Where did production move for seasons two to five?

Production moved from New York to Vancouver for seasons two to five, where the show stayed until the finale wrapped in late 2012.

Which Fox initiative made season-one episodes run about six minutes longer?

Under Remote-Free TV, the network's experiment for Fringe and Dollhouse, season-one episodes carried about half the usual commercials and ran nearer 50 minutes.

To which timeslot did Fox move Fringe midway through season three?

The network moved Fringe to Friday 9 pm in January 2011, a slot with a reputation as a graveyard for genre shows, where it nonetheless ran two more seasons.

How many episodes were in the fifth and final season?

The fifth and final season was ordered as a shortened 13-episode run when the show was renewed in April 2012.

Who composed the music for the pilot before handing off to Chris Tilton?

Michael Giacchino scored the pilot and keeps an on-screen credit for it; his frequent collaborator Chris Tilton took over for the series.

Who wrote the Fringe theme music?

J. J. Abrams wrote the Fringe theme himself, as he had for Lost and Alias, while the episodic scores went to other composers.

Which Pearl Jam member scored the episode "Northwest Passage"?

Mike McCready of Pearl Jam composed the score for 'Northwest Passage', the season-two episode in which Peter, alone in Washington state, meets a sheriff played by Martha Plimpton.

Which two Fringe episodes are 1980s-styled flashbacks with retro title graphics?

'Peter' in season two and 'Subject 13' in season three are set in 1985 and use retro title cards listing period topics like 'personal computing'.

Who plays the time-travelling scientist Alistair Peck in "White Tulip"?

Peter Weller, RoboCop himself, plays Alistair Peck, a scientist who has wired his own body to travel back in time to save his fiancée.

Which season-two episode is the show's only musical?

'Brown Betty' is the season-two musical episode, made to fit the network's week of music-themed episodes, with Walter telling a noir tale to Olivia's niece.

What does Walter smoke before telling Ella a noir story in season two?

High on it, Walter tells Ella a detective noir story.

Which season-one episode aired out of order as episode 11 of season two?

'Unearthed' was produced for season one but held back, then aired in January 2010 as the eleventh episode of season two.

Why did "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide" contain long animated sequences?

Nimoy voiced Bell inside Olivia's mind.

Which season-three episode mixes blue and red title sequences?

'Entrada' splits its running time between the universes as Olivia escapes the other side, so its opening blends both worlds' title schemes.

How many years had Walter spent in amber when he is freed in "Letters of Transit"?

Walter had been sealed for 21 years when Etta and Simon cut him out, hoping he could build a device to beat the invaders.

Who plays Etta's resistance partner Simon Foster in "Letters of Transit"?

Henry Ian Cusick, best known as Desmond on Lost, plays Simon Foster, the resistance fighter who frees Walter alongside Etta.

What is the title of the series finale?

'An Enemy of Fate' closes the series, airing as the second half of a two-hour send-off that ended the show's five-season run.

Where is the Observer child Michael held in the penultimate episode?

Olivia crosses to the parallel universe to reach him.

Who plays Olivia's younger sister?

Ari Graynor plays Olivia's sister, a single mother who moves in with her in season one; Graynor later led Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here.

Which singer plays the oracle-like Simone in the season-five episode "The Human Kind"?

Singer Jill Scott plays Simone, the gifted leader of a scrapyard community who senses Olivia's thoughts in 'The Human Kind'.

What did Etta's team recover from the old company building in 2036?

Etta and Simon retrieve a piece of Walter's brain, removed decades earlier by his old partner and stored in the company's vault, to restore his mind.

What is the title of the first-season finale?

There's More Than One of Everything closed season one in May 2009, ending with Olivia's first trip into the parallel universe.

Who was showrunner for the entire fifth season alone?

J. H. Wyman ran season five alone after his co-showrunner Jeff Pinkner left at the end of season four.

Which comics imprint published the 2008 Fringe prequel comic written by Zack Whedon?

DC's WildStorm imprint published the six-issue Fringe tie-in comic that launched alongside the show, with stories leading up to Olivia first meeting Walter.

What is the title of the Fringe encyclopedia guide released in 2013?

Fringe: September's Notebook by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry collects the show's mythology in the form of an Observer's journal; the pair had written the Lost Encyclopedia.

Which author wrote the three Fringe prequel novels starting with The Zodiac Paradox?

Christa Faust wrote all three prequel novels: The Zodiac Paradox, The Burning Man (about Olivia) and Sins of the Father (about Peter).

Who plays Peter's mother, Elizabeth Bishop, in both universes?

Irish actress Orla Brady plays Elizabeth Bishop in both universes, appearing in the flashbacks to Peter's childhood and in the other side's present day.

On which network did Fringe premiere in syndication in November 2012?

Science Channel, then the home of cable's Firefly reruns, began syndicating Fringe in November 2012, once the show had enough episodes for a package.

In which Australian city was the actress who plays Olivia born?

Olivia's actress was born in Melbourne in 1979 and grew up on the Gold Coast; her aunt married Rupert Murdoch, making Lachlan, James and Elisabeth her cousins.

Which Fringe co-star did the actress who plays Olivia marry in 2008?

She married Mark Valley, who played her partner and lover John Scott, in late 2008; the marriage ended within two years.

Which Lord of the Rings character did the actor who plays Walter portray?

He played Denethor, Steward of Gondor, in The Return of the King; the actor was born in Port Pirie, South Australia.

Which teen drama made the actor who plays Peter famous as Pacey Witter?

Dawson's Creek ran from 1998 to 2003 with him as Pacey Witter; as a child he had starred in the Mighty Ducks films.

Which real killer did the actor who plays Peter later portray in Dr. Death?

He played Christopher Duntsch, the Texas neurosurgeon whose maimed patients were chronicled in the Dr. Death podcast, in Peacock's dramatisation.

Which Emmy nomination did the pilot receive in 2009?

The pilot earned a nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series at the 2009 Emmys, the show's first Emmy recognition.

On what date did Fringe premiere on Fox?

Fringe premiered on September 9, 2008 with a two-hour pilot on a Tuesday night, after a summer of heavy promotion including the leaked pilot.

Which campus stood in for Harvard once production moved to Vancouver for season two?

Walter's lab set in the pilot was built in the basement of an old church and later replicated in New York and Vancouver.

Which FBI-consultant psychologist did Anna Torv play in Netflix's Mindhunter?

She played Dr. Wendy Carr, the psychology professor who joins the FBI's behavioural unit, across both seasons of Mindhunter; she later earned an Emmy nomination for The Last of Us.

John Noble played Morland Holmes, father of Sherlock, on which procedural from 2015 to 2019?

He also appeared in the supernatural drama Sleepy Hollow from 2013 to 2017.

Before Fringe, Lance Reddick played Cedric Daniels on which HBO series?

He played Lieutenant, later Commissioner, Cedric Daniels across all five seasons of The Wire, having first auditioned for Bubbles and Bunk.

Peter Bishop owes money to which crime lord who has been hunting him?

Big Eddie is the gangster to whom Peter owes a large debt; his enforcers catch up with Peter during season one.

Who plays the Observer who rescues Walter and Peter from the frozen lake in 1985?

Stage veteran Michael Cerveris plays the Observer, a role he held across all five seasons; he won Tony Awards for Assassins and Fun Home.

What is the title of the fifth-season premiere?

Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11 opened the final season, named for the device built to restore Walter's memory of his plan to defeat the invaders.

Fringe premiered in the UK in October 2008 on which channel?

Sky1 carried Fringe in the UK from October 2008, a month after the US launch, and kept it through all five seasons.

Abrams cited which Ken Russell film among the inspirations for Fringe's science-gone-wrong premise?

Altered States, Ken Russell's 1980 film about a scientist's sensory-deprivation experiments, was among the works Abrams named as inspirations, alongside Cronenberg's films and The X-Files.

What is the title of the fourth-season premiere?

Neither Here Nor There opened season four in a timeline where Peter has been erased from both universes' history, with the two sides working uneasily together.