Walter wasn’t troubled to see Dashiell Kim, ex-fellow inmate, so much as stepping back into his own past.

A troubled Walter Bishop

For the first time, we were allowed to see a little more of the troubled mind that has long been hidden behind Walter’s role as the comic relief.

There’s much more to Walter Bishop’s story at St. Claire’s Mental Hospital that has yet to be unveiled, and we’ve hardly scratched the surface of his troubled past.

It’ll be interesting to see where this series takes his story.

This also leads us to straight into Peter’s story. There were some rare moments in this episode where he was overly protective of his father. Previously, all he seemed to want to do was escape him.

The dynamic was definitely there this episode between father and son.

I can’t wait to see what happens in the coming episodes as more of both their pasts is pieced together.

Ground Rules:
Rule #5: J.J. Abrams and public transportation do not mix – watch out when you take the bus.

Cruising at 30,000 feet (mini-synopsis):
Someone is able to see horrific and tragic events before those events occur. How is he doing it and why is it happening to him?

Ground level (the details):
Tonight’s episode opens in a church confessional. Probably not a bad place to begin given where J.J. Abrams has taken his audience over the past two weeks, especially with the rising body count he and his team of writers have been amassing.

The team is called to the scene of another attack – a public bus. It was a gaseous substance released that turned solid after a period of time. Everyone on board was dead, seemingly frozen in time.
The FBI soon receive a tip about a person of interest. The priest calls in a tip about Roy (Zak Orth), this week’s guinea pig, who sees future tragic events. He either ends up drawing pictures of them or he makes miniature models just to get them out of his head. The FBI conduct a search on his residence and find enough evidence to bring him in for questioning.

The team is present during the questioning and Dr. Bishop wishes to conduct tests on Roy because he believes that he is psychic or some sort of receiver of messages. When they begin to run tests, Roy nearly dies in the MRI machine. It seems that he has some sort of metal in his blood stream and the machine comes close to tearing him apart. After some brief research, Dr. Bishop remembers injecting young Roy with metal 20 years earlier. Somehow, the metal has multiplied and turned Roy into a walking receiver. Someone else is suspected in continuing his research and perfecting it.

Dr. Bishop proceeds to take another route. He attempts to evesdrop on the transmissions coming in to Roy’s brain. It will require minor brain surgery. Peter and Olivia go to the Bishop’s old house and, hidden away in one of the walls, they find Dr. Bishop’s equipment, a Magnetic Neural Stimulator (MNS) that he had originally created 17 years earlier.

Roy agrees to the experiment and Dr. Bishop begins drilling into Roy’s head after fitting the device on his head. They screw it down and begin to show him a series of pictures. The pictures fire off responses which tap into the transmissions coming in. Using the data, Agent’s Dunham and Francis (Kirk Acevedo) are able to stop another planned attack at the train station. Cornering the suspect, he lays down his gun and briefcase and then steps in front of a bus, committing suicide. Part of the transmission also points them to a fellow federal worker who was killed on the bus. They discover that something was surgically removed from the palm of her hand.

In the briefcase, they find a circular chip in a case. It’s the same chip that was removed from the dead woman’s palm. Broyles tells Dunham that he is going to have his friends at NSA to work on identifying the purpose of the chip. But instead, he takes it to Massive Dynamic and turns it over to Nina Sharp.

Parting shot:
Streaming data from the deceased Agent John Scott…what happened to only being able to communicate with the dead up to six hours after they had “joined the choir invisible?”
Roll credits.

Quotes of the night:
Agent Charlie Francis: “I wasn’t going to tell you this, but he said he loved me too.”

Dr. Walter Bishop: “Am I required to keep him alive?”

Peter Bishop: “You know, they say the psych profiles of criminals and law enforcement are nearly identical. Ever consider a life of crime?”
Agent Olivia Dunham: “No dental.”

Dr. Walter Bishop: “I believe with proper modulation you could receive satellite television for free.”

Parallel Universes?
I didn’t notice anything in tonight’s episode, but if you did, let me know.

Miss Anything?
If I missed something, then leave a comment and let me know.

If you missed something then pay closer attention.

Episode Title: The Same Old Story
Season: 1
Episode: 2
Network: FOX
Airdate: Tuesday September 16, 2008

Ground Rules:
Rule #3: Your momma probably told ya, don’t go with strangers. This is especially true if J.J. Abrams is in charge of the world and the rules by which it lives by…
Rule #4: Follow Rule #3 as if you life depended on it – it does!

Cruising at 30,000 feet (mini-synopsis):
A serial killing, pituitary gland thief is on the loose and Homeland Security and the FBI are out to stop him.

Ground level (the details):
This episode opens at night, at a cheap hotel…nothing good can come of this. Our thief is there with the “girl” – Loraine (“my mom gave all her girls flowers for middle names”) Daisy. Well, Loraine tonight is your night to be plucked. She asks him what is in his bag, a mushroom pizza (ok, that’s gross), and he says “yeah, it’s a mushroom pizza.” Uh, no it’s not, it’s a mini-science lab you freak. Suspect Zero goes to the bathroom and starts breaking out with the vials, needles, and other odd assortments of instruments to help him “take care” of his lady friend. While he is fiddling with his toys, Loraine starts screaming and going berserk as a weird shape moves around in her abdomen. Suspect Zero grabs his belongings, grabs the girl (who has now run outside) and helps her into his vehicle, it’s off to the hospital. He is about to become a proud papa…yeah, that’s right, she’s pregnant and it is growing so fast that it looks like she is close to delivering it.

At the hospital, she is still screaming and the doctors have her restrained on the table. The baby is increasing in size and the doctors are about to do emergency surgery on her to remove the child, but they are too late, the baby has grown so large by now that it rips through the stomach and Loraine dies instantly. Then mass hysteria ensues with the doctors and nurses in the room as they all start freaking out and screaming.

Recipe for 15-minute Insta-Baby
1 Suspect Zero
1 Random hooker
1 World created by J.J. Abrams
1 Seedy hotel room
Wait for 15 minutes, presto baby.

Homeland Security Agent Phillip Broyles is leading a meeting with several, as yet, unknown, people. The only other familiar person attending the meeting is Nina Sharp (Blair Brown), who works for Massive Dynamic. Agent Broyles tells the group that he has assembled his new team consisting of FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, Dr. Walter Bishop, and Peter Bishop (Walter’s son). The main purpose of the meeting is the event that happened at the hospital 43 minutes earlier and somehow this “anomaly” falls under this group’s jurisdiction.

Cut to Dunham, at home, pouring over old case files she worked with her former partner Agent Scott trying to find some clue as to what happened to him. She gets a call from Broyles where she is instructed to pick up the others and meet him in 30 minutes at the medical center. She goes to where the Bishops are staying and Peter answers the door. “You’re phone was off the hook,” Dunham says. “That’s because I didn’t want to get woken up,” replies Peter. She tells them that they are all being called in so Peter goes to wake up his father. Oops, Walter is not in his bed. No, he would rather stay in the closet. I’m guessing all those 17 years locked up in a small, padded room makes a closet an inviting place. Turns out he’s having troubles getting to sleep at night, because he had gotten used to a patient, Carlos, who would sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat every night.

They arrive on the scene, except Walter won’t leave the car because he is “fiddling around with the seat warmer. Broyles goes to get him and Walter says, “I have never seen feature like this before. It warms your ass. It’s wonderful. Have you tried it?”

Cut to inside the hospital, Broyles runs through the timeline for the team.

17 minutes after midnight, the girl is dropped off outside.

12:24 AM – she becomes a mom (that’s less than 2 minutes after she was pronounced dead)
He tells them that the baby was growing and that they could all see it doing so. The “baby” lived for about 30 more minutes before dying of natural causes, old age…It wasn’t just growing. It was growing and aging. Fun baby fact of the night: 92% of newborns have blue eyes. Peter’s were green. Dr. Bishop requests that the bodies need to be taken to a lab immediately so that he can begin work. He has forgotten he already has his old lab at Harvard. Broyles tell Dunham and Peter all of these inexplicable events are happening and his group is trying to find a connection between them, which they have dubbed “The Pattern.”

Olivia and Peter are at the hotel after a tip is phoned in asking about the girl. Olivia notices something familiar about the scene – medical grade sheets on the bed. It’s similar to the old cases that her and Agent Scott used to work on. She recognizes the profile of this serial killer. Whoa…

Each time Suspect Zero would kill five young women at a time, within a few days of each other. Pick them up, take them to motels, give them a muscle paralyzer so they would remain wide awake, but unable to move. He would make an incision along the front of the gums so he could pull their mouths open up to their eyes. Then, going through their nasal cavity he would remove their pituitary gland.

Peter asks the obvious, “An all of this connects to magic old man baby and the pregnant woman how?” Patience Peter, that is what the rest of the show is about.

Scoreboard: one girl down, four more to go. Our guy is now at a strip club, picking up his next victim.
Back at the FBI building we find out that Suspect Zero was dubbed “The Brain Surgeon.” Dunham makes a request to re-open the old case files. It is granted.

The Brain Surgeon and his girl arrive at a warehouse. Time to get to work. He tells her to check out the view of the bridge from the window. She doesn’t care about the bridge and asks him what he likes. “I like the bridge, go check it out.” While her back is to him, our guy whips out his needle, pops the top, gives the girl a kiss and a stick.

Back at the lab – Dr. Bishop is milking the cow… (that’s not a slang or euphemism, he really is milking the cow from episode 1) and he has finished doing the experiments on the 80-year old man-baby. He remembers that he conducted similar experiments before his lock-up as well as remembering where he parked his car seventeen years ago. It is in an old garage held closed by a combination lock. The combination – pi to the sixth digit – clever. In his car are piles of files and paperwork from Dr. Bishop’s work. The team is running through them to find the connection. We find out that the pituitary gland regulates growth and removing it causes rapid growth.

He worked with a colleague on it – a Dr. Penrose who is now a professor at Boston College. Time for a “get-to-know-you” session. Dr. Penrose has nothing to share, although he does have two different color eyes – right eye is blue, left eye is brown – freak.

Back at the warehouse, we have a little Dexter action ongoing. Girl is strapped down, despite being paralyzed. She has clamps holding her mouth open and then we have the scalpel enter the shot…cut to commercial. Even Fox has its limits.

The Lab: Dr. Bishop offers a hypothesis on why the gland is removed. They originally were cultivating soldiers. They could grow soldiers but they were unable to turn the aging process off once they reached the desired age. A breakthrough must have occurred while he was locked up in the mental hospital.

The gland is removed and the hormone extracted to regulate the aging process. The good doctor deducts that someone out there is an experiment and is trying to keep themselves from rapidly growing old. Apparently the rapid growth condition can be passed on via conception, as we found out earlier when Suspect Zero had un-safe sex. Dr. Bishop replies to both Dunham and Peter, “Even condoms are not 100% effective. You two should be aware of this.”

At the warehouse, Dr. Penrose shows up and is speaking to Suspect Zero – Christopher. Penrose tells him he had a visit from the FBI and to be more careful. He calls him “son.” Also, he only needs one more girl and then he will have what he needs.

At the lab, they know they have a pituitary gland serial killer on the loose, but they have absolutely no leads to work with. Dr. Bishop thinks that they can recover the last images the dead girl from the warehouse saw with some special equipment (using the theory that the last image she saw is permanently frozen into her retina, a la Jules Verne). Who has the equipment to do this? Massive Dynamic. How is it done? Something that can grab the frozen electrical impulses along the optic nerve and transmit them to a monitor. Dunham goes to Massive Dynamic to pick up the equipment. While there, Nina Sharp makes more cryptic statements, implying there is more to all of this than Dunham realizes, then she offers Dunham a job. With the equipment back at the lab and everything hooked up and working, the experiment begins. There is a lot of flashing lights, like paparazzi, and hazy, distorted images flash on the screen. (Meanwhile, our boy, Suspect Zero, is at another club on a hunt for his last girl.) They see something familiar in one of the images – a bridge…

Sargent Bridge, visible from the warehouse district. They find the bridge, match the angle, triangulate the position of the image to find the correct warehouse. Then they bring up old satellite imagery from the past 24 hours and viola, we have a car parked outside the warehouse during the time of the murder.

Dunham and Peter break into the warehouse and find none other than Dr. Penrose monitoring the latest victim. Christopher’s latest work has been interrupted and he goes on the run. Dunham chases him and it ends badly for Christopher, he instantly grows old and dies before it is all over, but before dying he tells Agent Dunham that he was an experiment and Penrose’s mistake was in blurring the lines and getting emotionally involved, thinking of him as a son instead of an experiment. Meanwhile, Peter is watching Penrose at gun-point. He gets distracted and Penrose delivers an overdose of anesthesia and takes off running as well. Peter makes a “dial-a-friend” to his dad and is walked through creating a make-shift defibrillator to shock the girl back to life. Dr. Penrose is on the run. No one knows where he is.

Parting shot: a sterile, white room under florescent lighting with three men each lying in their own bed, hooked up with monitoring equipment. They all look identical.
Roll credits.

Quote of the night:
“I thought you had a way with women?”– Dr. Walter Bishop to his son Peter after Dunham speaks down to him and walks out.

Parallel Universes?
On the island in LOST, they have fertility problems. Seems like in the Fringe universe, not only have they’ve got the fertility thing worked out, but they’ve created insta-baby (and insta-soldiers). I wonder if fertility issues will continue to be a theme on Fringe as they are on LOST.

Miss Anything?
If I missed something, then leave a comment and let me know.

If you missed something then pay closer attention.

Ground Rules:

Rule #1: Never board an international flight when J.J. Abrams is involved, because you will end up dead, on a deserted island, or liquefied.
Rule #2: Follow Rule #1 as if you life depended on it – it does!

Cruising at 30,000 feet (mini-synopsis):

An international flight, Flight 627, headed from Germany to Logan Airport, Boston, MA, USA lands with no survivors aboard. The FBI are brought in to investigate and uncover a world of paranormal, fringe science where it seems anything can happen. After chase scenes, both on foot and by car, an explosion, a mad scientist, a cow, and lots of twists and turns, we learn that the dead do speak, as long as they have been dead for less than six hours.

Ground level (the plot):

Flight 627, flying from Germany, autopilots itself and lands at its destination, Logan Airport, Boston, MA. There’s creepy red muck on all the windows. Why? It’s a J.J. Abrams’ show silly, and because the entire crew and the plane full of passengers are all dead, liquefied by some creepy air-borne virus. The FBI is called in to sort it out and “keep it secret, keep it safe.” Leading up the team is Special Agent, Homeland Security, Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick), who has a bristly relationship with FBI Liaison Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) because of a military case she investigated in the past against one of his friends. He sends her out to follow a lead at a storage facility, and she takes along her FBI partner, John Scott (Mark Valley). Within one of the storage lockers, they uncover strange laboratory equipment and biological experiments.

A suspicious person emerges and a foot race ensues. (This is one of many, “What the—?” moments for the viewer, because we know he looks exactly like the passenger on the plane who was the first to be affected by whatever killed them. How did he survive?) During the chase, Agent Scott is seriously injured in an explosion and seems to be affected by the same virus that killed everyone on the flight; his skin takes on a translucent quality. He is placed in a drug-induced coma and kept at a very cool temperature to slow the process down while the CDC attempts to figure out a cause; they only have 24 hours to do so. Start your stop-watches now!

Agent Dunham, who happens to also be Agent Scott’s love interest, uses the Interagency database and locates someone who is familiar with what is going on. The only trouble is that this person, Dr. Walter Bishop, has been locked away in a prison mental institute for the past 17 years for the alleged murder of his lab assistant that occurred while he was conducting his experiments. The only way to gain access to him is through his next of kin, Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) – Dr. Bishop’s estranged son. And where is Peter? In Iraq, which means that Agent Dunham is about to violate Rule #1. Dunham flies to Iraq, convinces…err…blackmails Peter into coming back to Boston (a violation of Rule #1 again) and ultimately “talks” him into signing his father out of the mental institute and into Peter’s care once they are back in the US.

Enter Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), a “fringe scientist” (the study of teleportation, mind control, reanimation, invisibility, etc.) who does not quite have a good grasp on reality and one cannot really tell if it is due to his eccentricity and brilliance or if it is more a result of his lack of interaction with the outside world. Either way, Dr. Bishop, eccentric or not, gets down to work and his first order of business is to pee (“just a squirt”) in Agent Dunham’s car as he is riding from the mental institute to the hospital where Agent Scott is being kept alive. Arriving at the hospital, Dr. Bishop takes a “flesh” (if you can call it that) sample and demands to be taken to his lab to conduct experiments on it.

What lab? The lab he is referring to is his old lab from 17 years ago, located in the basement at Harvard, which has since been converted to storage space. Never fear, Agent Dunham is on the job and she coordinates getting the storage area cleaned out and his lab set back up. Good thing that most of Dr. Bishop’s equipment is still there and still in working order. It had just been covered up with tarps and sheets and 17 years of dust. While giving the lab a quick cleaning, Dr. Bishop rattles off a list of supplies he will need in order to conduct his tests, including a cow.

Dr. Bishop has done some crazy experiments in the past and one of them was the ability to connect two minds together for the purpose of gaining information after one of those people had been dead for nearly 6 hours. If they want to catch the person that did this to Agent Scott (because Agent Dunham did not see the person’s face that they were chasing at the storage facility) then Dunham is going to need to be “linked” mentally with Scott.

For that to take place, Scott must be brought to the lab and Dunham will be doped up with an LSD cocktail whipped up by Team Bishop (father and son – did I mention Peter has an I.Q. of 190? Yeah, he’s probably qualified.), have a metal rod inserted into the back of her head and then placed in a floating salt water, sensory deprivation tank.

After a short while, a connection is made between Dunham and her comatose boyfriend, Scott (shown through the use of some trippy special effects and editing). Through Scott’s eyes, Dunham sees the suspect and then the Bishops drag her from the tank and disconnects all their wires and removes the rod.

Based on what she saw, she puts together a computer rendering of the perpetrator and the manhunt is on. However, a passenger manifest is produced with head shots of the people and the first person we saw infected on the plane matches the composite drawing to a “T.” Conclusion – he must be a twin and his name is Richard Steig. (Evil twins? That’s a new one for J.J. Abrams.) In researching Steig, she discovers he was fired from Massive Dynamics for compromising their high-tech secrets.

Massive Dynamics, is a multi-million dollar tech corporation that was founded by a Dr. William Bell. It just so happens Bell shared a lab with our Dr. Bishop at Harvard in the 70s. Dunham visits with a representative at Massive Dynamics who is elusive of Dunham’s questions about Steig. She asks Dunham, “Do you think this is all part of the pattern?” When Dunham doesn’t know what she’s referring to, the representative says she must not have security clearance for that and tells her to “be careful.”

The FBI catches Steig at his home trying to elude pursuit again and they bring him in for questioning. After a little friendly finger-breaking, Steig gives up the goods on the chemical concoction that is affecting Agent Scott. Although he does not give up who he is working for, but simply replies, “Who says I’m working for anyone?”

They rush back to Dr. Bishop’s lab to create an antidote, which is given just in time to save Scott and the cure is nearly immediate as you see his skin changing back. While she is waiting in the hall for Agent Scott to be transferred back to the hospital, Special Agent Broyles approaches her about being part of a special investigation, and mentions the “pattern” of strange occurrences, as if someone is doing experiments on the whole world. Dunham turns him down, saying she likes the job she has and just wants to go back to the way things were. He tells her that may not be possible.

As Agent Scott recovers in the hospital, he finds out Steig is being treated down the hall, so Agent Scott gets out of bed, puts on his FBI suit and goes to Steig’s room. One pillow later, and Scott successfully smothers Steig and then rushes out of the hospital.

In the meantime, Agent Dunham has returned to Steig’s residence because during questioning he reveals that he was working with a rogue agent in the FBI and that he has a recording of an incriminating conversation buried in his yard. Dunham finds the recording and listens to it. The rouge agent’s voice is familiar…very familiar…it’s Agent Scott. While Dunham is listening to the recording in stunned silence, she comes to her sense and rushes back to the hospital to arrest Scott. Too late…Scott’s already murdered Steig and is on the run, but she sees him driving out of the parking lot in an SUV at high speed – the chase is on again.

After a car chase through the streets of Boston, Agent Scott crashes and dies at the scene. With his last breath, he ominously tells Dunham to question why Broyles chose her to investigate the storage locker. The final shot of the show is Agent Scott’s body being wheeled on a gurney into a high-tech lab. A woman enters the shot and asks how long has he been dead? “Five hours,” the man replies. “Question him,” she says.

Roll credits.

Quote of the night:

“The only thing better than a cow is a human. Unless you need milk, then you really need a cow.” – Dr. Walter Bishop

Parallel Universes?

With J.J. Abrams working on both LOST and Fringe, did you think that there would not be any cross-over?

• Philip Broyles (played by actor Lance Reddick) works for the FBI in some capacity. On LOST, he is better known as Matthew Abaddon. Can he be trusted on either show?
• Flight 627: The numbers add up to 15 (6+7+2=15) – part of the numbers from LOST (4 8 15 16 23 42) and is also reminiscent of Flight 815 from LOST.
• I heard that there were 108 passengers on the international flight, but I might be mistaken about that. However if there were, then this the same number of seconds that the button had to be pushed each time at one of the stations in LOST so that the island would not blow up. This also is the sum of all the LOST numbers (4+8+15+16+23+42 = 108).
• An earthquake was mentioned during the show that registered 8.7 on the Richter Scale. LOST connection, 8+7=15 – the numbers again.
• LOST has the evil Dharma/Hanso foundation. Fringe has the evil Massive Dynamics corporation.

Other Fringe/LOST notes: It seems that there were a lot of left over graphics, sound effects and music from LOST that are used on this show. I really like how they are using the graphics for introducing locations – pretty clever stuff.

Miss Anything?

If I missed something, then leave a comment and let me know.
If you missed something then pay attention. You can watch an encore presentation of the show this coming Sunday (9/14/2008) 8:00 PM on FOX.

“Fringe” stars Joshua Jackson, John Noble, and newcomer Anna Torv as an unlikely trio who uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

According to the newspaper, they are currently looking at writers and artists for the prequel, which will hit the stands on August 27.

Call me crazy, but I think they’re going to have to do some heavy advertising to get people to buy a prequel to something they haven’t even seen yet. I guess you never know.

You can check out an extended preview of “Fringe” right here and see some cast pictures here.

—

FOX has set the fall premiere dates for its new and returning series and will kick off the 2008-09 season with special two-hour premieres of PRISON BREAK Monday, Sept. 1 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT); BONES Wednesday, Sept. 3 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT); THE MOMENT OF TRUTH Thursday, Sept. 4 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT); and ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER? Friday, Sept. 5 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

FRINGE, the highly anticipated new thriller from J.J. Abrams (“Lost”), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (“Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Alias”) and starring Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv and John Noble, will debut with a two-hour premiere Tuesday, Sept. 9 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).  DO NOT DISTURB, the new workplace comedy starring Jerry O’Connell and Niecy Nash, will premiere Wednesday, Sept. 10 (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT).

New series and returning favorites’ premieres are listed below in chronological order. All times are ET/PT.

Fox Fall 2008 Premiere Dates

Monday, Sept. 1
8:00-10:00 PM                      PRISON BREAK (2-Hour Season Premiere)

Wednesday, Sept. 3
8:00-10:00 PM                      BONES (2-Hour Season Premiere)

Thursday, Sept. 4
8:00-10:00 PM                      THE MOMENT OF TRUTH (2-Hour Season Premiere)

Friday, Sept. 5
8:00-10:00 PM                      ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?
(2-Hour Season Premiere)

Saturday, Sept. 6
8:00-8:30 PM                        COPS (Season Premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM                        COPS (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM                      AMERICA’S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK (Season Premiere)

Monday, Sept. 8
8:00-9:00 PM                        TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
(Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM                      PRISON BREAK (Time Period Premiere)

Tuesday, Sept. 9
8:00-10:00 PM                      FRINGE (2-Hour Series Premiere)

Wednesday, Sept. 10
8:00-9:00 PM                        BONES (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM                        ‘TIL DEATH (Season Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM                      DO NOT DISTURB (Series Premiere)

Thursday, Sept. 11
8:00-9:00 PM                        THE MOMENT OF TRUTH (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM                      KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Season Premiere)

Friday, Sept. 12
8:00-9:00 PM                        ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?
(Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM                      DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS! (Season Premiere)

Saturday, Sept. 13
11:00 PM-Midnight               MADtv (Season Premiere)
Midnight-12:30 AM               TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN (Season Premiere)

Tuesday, Sept. 16
8:00-9:00 PM                        HOUSE (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM                      FRINGE (Time Period Premiere)

Sunday, Sept. 28
8:00-8:30 PM                        THE SIMPSONS (Season Premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM                        KING OF THE HILL (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM                        FAMILY GUY (Season Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM                      AMERICAN DAD (Season Premiere)

Now we have an official trailer/preview for Fringe, which is pretty good and really gives us a bit more information on what is going on.

I really have no idea if this series will pan out, but I do love that John Noble is in it. Ever since I first saw him as Denethor in Lord of the Rings, I’ve liked him.

Enjoy the extended preview!

Get More Trailers at TerrorFeed.com

Variety reports that Fox plans on running LESS commercials during their showings of Fringe and Dollhouse this coming 2008-2009 season.

Fox is calling it “Remote-Free TV.”

They will be showing only HALF the normal amount of commercial and promo time during an hour show, which will amount to only FIVE MINUTES according to Variety.

This is amazing stuff. Here is a big excerpt from the article, which is absolutely mind-blowing:

Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Liguori introduced the initiative as “less reason (for viewers) to grab the remote and change the channel.”

“We need to give viewers new reasons to come to network TV.”

Fox sales topper Jon Nesvig said the ads will air in smaller pods.

“It’s more entertainment for the viewer and more impact for your messages,” Nesvig told advertisers. “We’re committed to this format.”

According to Liguori, the initiative will add about six minutes to “Fringe” and “Dollhouse” segs.

“Fringe” exec producer J.J. Abrams said he appreciated the opportunity to expand his show’s segs.

“It’s always a struggle to get traction,” Abrams told Daily Variety. “And it feels like there are a dozen commercial breaks per hour. Anything that allows us to have more time is great.”

It doesn’t appear as if Fox is paying any additional license fees for the added minutes, but the net believes that the extra minutes will add value to their properties.

“It gives extra attention to the show, and helps series when they go to DVD, foreign and syndication,” Liguori said.

If only NBC had thought of this first and given Journeyman more attention…who knows what would have happened.

No doubt though, Fox is trying HARD to give these shows a chance. And I appreciate it.

One is an interesting discussion between the three main characters played by John Noble (Lord of the Rings), Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek). Plus it also has some creepy dead bodies and stuff like that. I love it.

The other is a pretty intense chase seen with people flying all over the place. I was almost certain no one had any powers in these shows, but the way they jump from roof to fire escape…who knows?

You can watch both clips over on Seat42F.

Meanwhile, here are a bunch of photos of the cast and the pilot.

Source: Seat42F

This is the part that’s cool. We actually have firm dates for Prison Break and Fringe:

FOX kicks off the new season with special two-hour premiere events the week of August 25 including: PRISON BREAK Monday, August 25 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT); FRINGE Tuesday, August 26 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT); BONES Wednesday, August 27 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER? Friday, August 29 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

Read on, if you have the time!

Peter Liguori, Chairman, Entertainment; and Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, today unveiled the FOX primetime schedule for the 2008-2009 television season speaking before the national advertising community at New York City Center.

“Broadcast television needs a jolt. We feel it’s our responsibility, as the No. 1 network for the last four seasons, to provide that electricity,” said Liguori. “The goal of our business is entertaining viewers they’re our lifeblood, and it’s incumbent upon us to make sure their first and favorite entertainment destination is FOX.”

Reilly added, “We’re going to make plenty of noise and yet potentially have more stability and success than we’ve had historically in the fourth quarter. We’ll be focused in the fall with two new series one comedy and one drama and then use our big assets in January to launch an even more powerful second season.”

The new event drama premiering this fall is FRINGE, a fantastical thriller from acclaimed writer/producer J.J. Abrams (“Lost”), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (“Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Alias”). Joshua Jackson (“Dawson’s Creek”), John Noble (“Lord of the Rings”) and newcomer Anna Torv star as an unlikely trio who uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

The new comedy slated for fall is DO NOT DISTURB (working title), an upstairs/downstairs workplace comedy starring Jerry O’Connell (“Crossing Jordan”) and Niecy Nash (“Reno 911!”) as the management team behind one the hottest and hippest hotels in New York City.

One additional drama and one unscripted series will launch in midseason. From Joss Whedon, creator of groundbreaking cult favorites “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly,” comes DOLLHOUSE, a gripping, high-action drama starring Eliza Dushku (“Tru Calling”) as Echo, a member of an underground group of “Actives” who have their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas to carry out a variety of missions. The Actives don’t just pretend to be new people they become new people, yet they are never aware they are actually pawns in someone else’s game. SECRET MILLIONAIRE is a heart-warming new unscripted series that focuses on a different millionaire each week, who goes undercover to some of America’s most disadvantaged areas in search of everyday heroes to possibly change their lives forever.

Two new animated comedies will also join the schedule in the spring. From the creators of FAMILY GUY and AMERICAN DAD, comes THE CLEVELAND SHOW (working title), the story of what happens when FAMILY GUY’s Cleveland Brown moves to Stoolbend, VA, to make good on a promise to his high school sweetheart. SIT DOWN, SHUT UP (working title), created by Emmy Award winner Mitchell Hurwitz (“Arrested Development”), follows a group of unconventional teachers and staff members working at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town who never lose sight of the fact that the students must ALWAYS come second.

FOX kicks off the new season with special two-hour premiere events the week of August 25 including: PRISON BREAK Monday, August 25 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT); FRINGE Tuesday, August 26 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT); BONES Wednesday, August 27 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER? Friday, August 29 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

FOX series returning in 2008-2009 include: 24, AMERICAN DAD, AMERICAN IDOL, AMERICA’S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK, ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?, BONES, COPS, DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS!, FAMILY GUY, HELL’S KITCHEN, HOUSE, KING OF THE HILL, KITCHEN NIGHTMARES, MADtv, THE MOMENT OF TRUTH, PRISON BREAK, THE SIMPSONS, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES and ‘TIL DEATH.

Following are the FOX primetime schedule for 2008-2009 and synopses of the new series:

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2008

(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES

9:00-10:00 PM PRISON BREAK

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE

9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM BONES

9:00-9:30 PM ‘TIL DEATH

9:30-10:00 PM DO NOT DISTURB (wt)

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

9:00-10:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?

9:00-10:00 PM DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS!

SATURDAY

8:00-8:30 PM COPS

8:30-9:00 PM COPS

9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK

11:00 PM-Midnight MADtv

Midnight-12:30 AM TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN

SUNDAY

7:00-8:00 PM THE OT (NFL post-game)

8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS

8:30-9:00 PM KING OF THE HILL

9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY

9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: BEGINNING JANUARY 2009

(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM DOLLHOUSE

9:00-10:00 PM 24

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL

9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE

9:00-9:30 PM AMERICAN IDOL Results Show

9:30-10:00 PM TBA Comedy

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM HELL’S KITCHEN

9:00-10:00 PM SECRET MILLIONAIRE

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM BONES

9:00-9:30 PM ‘TIL DEATH

9:30-10:00 PM DO NOT DISTURB (wt)

SATURDAY

8:00-8:30 PM COPS

8:30-9:00 PM COPS

9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK

11:00 PM-Midnight MADtv

Midnight-12:30 AM TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN

SUNDAY

7:00-7:30 PM COMEDY ENCORES

7:30-8:00 PM COMEDY ENCORES

8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS

8:30-9:00 PM KING OF THE HILL (January) / SIT DOWN, SHUT UP (wt) (spring)

9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY

9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD (January) / THE CLEVELAND SHOW (wt) (spring)

2008-2009 FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

NEW SERIES SYNOPSES

The following new drama will premiere this fall on FOX:

FRINGE (Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT): From J.J. Abrams (“Lost”), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the team behind “Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible III” and “Alias,” comes a new drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality. When an international flight lands at Boston’s Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (newcomer Anna Torv) is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT (Mark Valley, “Boston Legal”), is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER BISHOP (John Noble, “Lord of the Rings”), our generation’s Einstein. There’s only one catch: he’s been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son PETER (Joshua Jackson, “Dawson’s Creek”) in to help. When Olivia’s investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive NINA SHARP (Blair Brown, “Altered States”), our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents PHILLIP BROYLES (Lance Reddick, “The Wire”), CHARLIE FRANCIS (Kirk Acevedo, “Oz”) and ASTRID FARNSWORTH (Jasika Nicole, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”) will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth.

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Warner Bros. Television, Bad Robot Productions

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Bryan Burk, Jeff Pinkner, Alex Graves (pilot)

WRITERS: J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman

DIRECTOR: Alex Graves

CAST: Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham, Joshua Jackson as Peter Bishop, John Noble as Walter Bishop, Lance Reddick as Phillip Broyles, Kirk Acevedo as Charlie Francis, Mark Valley as John Scott, Blair Brown as Nina Sharp, Jasika Nicole as Astrid Farnsworth

The new comedy premiering this fall is:

DO NOT DISTURB (working title) (Wednesdays, 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT): DO NOT DISTURB (working title) is a hilarious workplace comedy set at one of New York City’s hottest and hippest hotels: The Inn. Named one of the Big Apple’s “10 Best Places to Stay,” The Inn is just that the “in” place to be, with its chic dcor, stylish staff and celebrity clientele. Behind the scenes, however, the upstairs/downstairs dynamic tells quite a different story. The hotel’s top-notch reputation and sophisticated look is due in large part to NEAL (Jerry O’Connell, “Crossing Jordan”) at least in his opinion. Although The Inn’s charismatic owner R.J. (guest star Robert Wagner) takes all the credit, Neal is the egotistical, hyper-stylish, detail-oriented general manager who will do whatever it takes to keep the hotel and its employees up to his standards. RHONDA (Niecy Nash, “Reno 911!”) is the head of Human Resources who also keeps Neal’s demands in check. She’s brash, fabulous and brutally honest and runs the HR department from her bullpen downstairs with a set of rules that are all her own. Rhonda does her best to keep the back of the house in line and the front of the house out of trouble. At the front desk handling check-in while wearing 6-inch Manolos is NICOLE (Molly Stanton, “Twins”), an aging model who is svelte, cynical and slightly starving. Fresh from Nebraska is JASON (Brando Eaton, “Zoey 101″), the nave bellman who would prefer to work behind-the-scenes, but was hired to show off his chiseled face and perfect pecs at the front of the hotel. The downstairs staff includes MOLLY (Jolene Purdy, “Donnie Darko”), a reservations clerk who dreams of pop-singer stardom as much as she craves to be part of the action upstairs; and LARRY (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “The Class”), the head of housekeeping who spends more time on the phone cleaning up his messes at home than he does cleaning up after the guests upstairs.

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: 20th Century Fox Television; Reveille, LLC; Principato-Young Productions

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Abraham Higginbotham, Howard Owens, Carolyn Bernstein, Paul Young, Peter Principato, Brian Dobbins

WRITER: Abraham Higginbotham

DIRECTOR: Jason Bateman

CAST: Jerry O’Connell as Neal, Niecy Nash as Rhonda, Molly Stanton as Nicole, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Larry, Brando Eaton as Jason, Jolene Purdy as Molly

GUEST STAR: Robert Wagner as R.J.

The following new drama is slated for a midseason launch:

DOLLHOUSE (Mondays, 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT): Joss Whedon, creator of groundbreaking cult favorites “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly,” returns to television and reunites with fellow “Buffy” alumna Eliza Dushku for a thrilling new drama, DOLLHOUSE. ECHO (Dushku) is an “Active,” a member of a highly illegal and underground group who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Confined to a secret facility known as the “Dollhouse,” Echo and the other Actives including SIERRA (Dichen Lachman, “Neighbours”) and VICTOR (Enver Gjokaj, “The Unit”) carry out engagements assigned by ADELLE (Olivia Williams, “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Rushmore”), one of the Dollhouse leaders. The engagements cater to the wealthy, powerful and connected, and require the Actives to immerse themselves in all manner of scenarios romantic, criminal, uplifting, dangerous, comical and the occasional “pro bono” good deed. After each scenario, Echo, always under the watchful eye of her handler BOYD (Harry Lennix, “Commander in Chief,” 24), returns to the mysterious Dollhouse where her thoughts, feelings and experiences are erased by TOPHER (Fran Kranz, “Welcome to the Captain”), the Dollhouse’s genius programmer. Echo enters the next scenario with no memory of before. Or does she? As the series progresses, FBI Agent PAUL SMITH (Tahmoh Penikett, “Battlestar Galactica”) pieces together clues that lead him closer to the Dollhouse, while Echo stops forgetting, her memories begin to return and she slowly pieces together her mysterious past. DOLLHOUSE revolves around Echo’s blossoming self-awareness and her desire to discover her true identity. But with each new engagement, comes a new memory and increased danger inside and outside the Dollhouse.

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: 20th Century Fox Television, Mutant Enemy Inc.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon

CAST: Eliza Dushku as Echo, Olivia Williams as Adelle, Tahmoh Penikett as Paul, Fran Kranz as Topher, Dichen Lachman as Sierra, Enver Gjokaj as Victor, Harry Lennix as Boyd

The new unscripted series joining the FOX midseason schedule is:

SECRET MILLIONAIRE (Thursdays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT): SECRET MILLIONAIRE is a dramatic unscripted series that takes America’s wealthiest individuals away from their lavish lifestyles, sprawling mansions and private planes and places them undercover into some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America. Shot under the guise of a documentary, the series reveals the dramatic personal return that millionaires will get when they leave their fortunes to invest in those less fortunate. Challenged with living on minimum wage, the millionaires will immerse themselves in situations beyond their comprehension. They will work side-by-side with community members and befriend those in need to decide who should ultimately receive their gifts of a lifetime. The millionaires will be touched by the people they meet. Some will inspire with their dedication to helping others, while others will relay stories of overcoming tremendous odds. On the final day, the Secret Millionaires meet with the chosen recipients and reveal their true identity and intention: to give them at least $100,000 oftentimes more of their own money and to change their lives forever. SECRET MILLIONAIRE will engage viewers in important social issues, extol the virtues of volunteerism and change the lives of disadvantaged people and the philanthropists who helped them in unexpected ways.

PRODUCTION COMPANY: RDF USA

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Chris Coelen, Greg Goldman, Bruce Toms

The new animated comedies joining the schedule in the spring include:

THE CLEVELAND SHOW (working title) (Sundays, 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT): Many years ago, CLEVELAND BROWN (voiced by Mike Henry) was a high school student madly in love with a beautiful girl named DONNA. Much to his dismay, his love went unrequited, and Donna wound up marrying another man. Cleveland once told Donna he would always love her, and if this man ever done her wrong, he’d be there when she called. Well, this man done her wrong. Donna’s husband skipped town with another woman, leaving Donna with a daughter and a baby. Now she’s come to Cleveland and offered him another chance at love. Unattached after the Loretta-Quagmire debacle and true to his word, Cleveland joyously accepts and he and CLEVELAND JR. move to Stoolbend, VA, to join their new family. Once in Stoolbend, Cleveland has a few surprises in store for him, including a flirtatious new stepdaughter, a 5-year-old stepson who loves the ladies, as well as a collection of neighbors that includes a loudmouth redneck couple, a British family seemingly stuck in the Victorian era and a family of bears living at the end of the block. FAMILY GUY was only the beginning. Get ready for THE CLEVELAND SHOW (working title)!

PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Seth MacFarlane, Rich Appel, Mike Henry

VOICE CAST: Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown

SIT DOWN, SHUT UP (working title) (Sundays, 8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT): From Emmy Award-winning writer Mitchell Hurwitz (“Arrested Development”) and Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (“Two and a Half Men”) comes SIT DOWN, SHUT UP (working title), an animated comedy that focuses on the lives of eight staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town (Go Baiters!) who never lose sight of the fact that the children must ALWAYS come second. We watch them grapple with their own egos, needs and personal agendas, their petty insecurities and prejudices, unrequited loves, and ruthless battles for power and that’s just at the staff meeting. SUE SEZNO (Kenan Thompson, “Saturday Night Live”), a woman who frequently says “no,” is the acting principal of the school (the actual principal is recovering from a series of unfortunate accidents that might be seen as escape attempts). Then there’s Vice Principal STUART PROZACKIAN (Will Forte, “Saturday Night Live”) who has a terrifically positive and upbeat attitude… possibly from the performance-enhancing medication he’s been secretly put on by the other teachers. There is one educator who feels the focus should be on academics, but despite the old adage, at this school, those who can teach, teach gym and that’s where LARRY SLIMP (Jason Bateman, “Juno,” “Arrested Development”) has been exiled to. Immensely frustrated, Larry nurses a crush on science teacher MIRACLE GROHE (Maria Bamford, “Stuart Little 2″), a woman whose superficial grasp on science is balanced by her superficial grasp on spirituality. Rounding out the staff is the aging German teacher WILLARD DEUTSCHEBOG (Henry Winkler, “Arrested Development,” “Happy Days”), a deeply defeated man whose yearbook quotation reads “If I believed in reincarnation, I’d kill myself tonight.” Uptight HELEN KLENCH (Cheri Oteri, “Saturday Night Live”) is a librarian whose life’s work in research and archiving can now be surpassed by the average Google search from the average cell phone. Proud ANDREW SAPIEN (Nick Kroll, “Best Week Ever,” “Cavemen”) is the flamboyant drama teacher. ENNIS HOFFTARD (Will Arnett, “Arrested Development”) is a fellow teacher and a self-obsessed body builder who yearns to be thought of as a “cool dude” by his students. And finally there’s HAPPY (Tom Kenny, “SpongeBob SquarePants”), the plotting secretive custodian who’s assumed to be Hispanic despite the fact that his real name is Muhannad Sabeeh Fa’ach Nuaba. With a distinctive new look a combination of animation against a live-action backdrop SIT DOWN, SHUT UP is a series for the young and old at heart. It lampoons modern society while exposing the dreams, flaws and struggling humanity of our first and most formative authority figures: teachers.