Abrams Talk Fringe

JJ Abrams briefly discussed Fringe (which premieres tonight) with SciFi Scanner.

Q: What inspired you to create Fringe?
A: The show was born out of our love of all things bizarre and kooky in media we loved growing up. The X-Files was definitely one of the sources of inspiration, as were things like The Twilight Zone and Nightstalker. We actually did an episode of Alias once guest starring David Cronenberg as a mad scientist. It was something I felt could be a TV show -- the idea of a Frankenstinian mad doctor, the classic cliché character, but done in a way that Cronenberg has treated a lot of his out-there protagonists, where he makes them broken people and emotional characters.

Q: X-Files creator Chris Carter likes to say his show takes place in the realm of extreme possibility. Would you say the same about Fringe?
A: Yes, especially given that Fringe is not about overtly paranormal stuff. The X-Files was from the beginning a show about aliens and the possibility of being abducted. Fringe is going to be a much more science and technology-based extreme reality. The key to The X-Files was that there was always a kind of gray hypothetical, if not far-fetched, rationale for what was happening. So to that end I would say that Fringe shares a similarity.

Q: You say you wrote Fringe as a fan of TV shows. So what role will fans play in shaping the show as it goes along?
A: We're obviously making the show for those people, and the great thing about the Internet is to be able to very quickly get a consensus about what people are feeling. That's not to say if the reaction to something that you believe in isn't exactly what you want, you abandon the idea. But if the opinion resonates with you, it's something you should listen to.