Some shows, I think ... will deal with science very much as it exists. But I think for the most part the fun about it for me with movies and TV shows, especially in the genre of either horror or sci-fi, is that pushing of the envelope and going further than you might otherwise. I think the show will definitely be pushing the edge of the envelope, but I don’t think it’s going to be about that. I don’t think we’re going to be trying to top ourselves every week because then we’ll just be in a race against ourselves and then there’s no way to win that one ... I would rather be delving into who these people are and what makes them tick than doing something just for shock value.
Fringe will be less serialized than Abrams’ other shows like Lost and Alias. There will still be an over-reaching mythology and long term stories, but the aim is for viewers to be able to follow the show even if they miss an episode. The show runner said although there will be elements that recall The X-Files structure, a closer model would be, rather surprisingly, ER. Abrams felt that the rhythm of his show is much like the medical drama, "where you have these ongoing relationships, these ongoing storylines and yet week to week when the door bursts open you’re faced with the insane urgent situation of the week."
To a question about his own expectations for the show, Abrams noted that it’s impossible to second guess what anyone will think. However, he said, "I can say that it’s one of those shows that if I had nothing to do with it and saw it coming out, I’d want to kill myself. I’d be so miserable because it is so the show that I’d want to watch ... That doesn’t mean that it’s good or bad. It just means it is so the kind of show that I am excited to see." And that, he said, is the key advice he would give to writers trying to break into television writing: “Write the show that you desperately want to see and that is the closest you can get to certainty that it will appeal to a lot of people.”
Turning to the casting of Joshua Jackson as Peter Bishop, Abrams explained, “As a director/writer/producer, all you ever want is to work with actors who make you look better, who make the work you do seem as good as it can be and even better than it is. I always felt that Josh had that ability. I’m thrilled to finally get a chance to work with him.”
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