Movie: Iron Man 3 (May 3)
TV: The Office, series finale (May 16)
DVD: Fringe, season five (May 7)
Music: Vampire Weekend — Modern Vampires of the City (May 14)
Book: Inferno by Dan Brown (May 14)
Sports: Kentucky Derby (May 4)
Etc: TV Upfronts (May 13-16)
It’s a significant year for TV series finales. “Gossip Girl” ended in December, “Fringe” concludes Friday. “30 Rock” and “The Office” are closing in on their last laughs. “Breaking Bad” takes its bow later this year.
USA Today has published two noteworthy pieces on TV finishes this week. The first on the challenge of crafting the proper ending; the second on personal favorites — The Sopranos, Newhart, Six Feet Under, St. Elsewhere, Friday Night Lights, Frasier, Seinfeld — of TV producers.
Those series finales aren’t going to write themselves
TV producers’ personal favorite finales
Executive producer J.J. Abrams described the finale as “highly unexpected, incredibly emotional and a fitting conclusion to the series.”
Zap 2 It: ‘Fringe‘ finale trailer
Movie: Gangster Squad (Jan. 11)
TV: Fringe series finale (Jan. 18)
DVD: Game Change (Jan. 8)
Music: Ra Ra Riot — Beta Love (Jan. 22)
Book: Insane City — Dave Barry (Jan. 29)
Sports: BCS Title Game: Alabama vs. Notre Dame (Jan. 7)
Etc: Golden Globes (Jan. 13)
The fifth and final season begins Sept. 28.
EW asked showrunner J.H. Wyman about the storyline that has the world is about to be invaded and conquered by time traveling Observers from the future.
If I give you any spoilers, it will just force me to go back in time and prevent myself from answering this question. So if you wouldn’t mind, I should probably save us all the trouble and the potential paradoxes.”
Wyman is traveling solo for the final 13 episodes. Longtime co-showrunner Jeff Pinkner has moved onto other projects.
Thank you.
Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly:
‘Fringe’ is a remarkably creative series that has set the bar as one of television’s most imaginative dramas. Bringing it back for a final 13 allows us to provide the climactic conclusion that its passionate and loyal fans deserve. The amazing work the producers, writers and the incredibly talented cast and crew have delivered the last four seasons has literally been out of this world. Although the end is bittersweet, it’s going to be a very exciting final chapter.”
Series co-creator J.J. Abrams:
“We are thrilled and beyond grateful that Fox — and our fans — have made the impossible possible: ‘Fringe’ will continue into a fifth season that will allow the series to conclude in a wild and thrilling way. All of us at Bad Robot are forever indebted to our viewers and the amazingly supportive Fox network for allowing the adventures of Fringe Division to not only continue, but to resolve in a way that perfectly fits the show.”
Longtime showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman:
This pickup means the world (both of them) to us, because we love sharing these stories with our enthusiastic fans. On behalf of the cast and crew, we applaud our fans and Fox for allowing us to imagine the impossibilities together for so long. Season Five is going to be a conclusive thrill ride for all of us.”
Three episodes remain this season.
“Fringe’s” 19th episode “Letters of Transit” — the one Joshua Jackson said serves as “a template” for what the show’s potential fifth season could be — aired Friday night.
Set in 2036, a universe where the Observers have taken control of our world. A mind-blower.
John Noble, exceptional as Walter again, talked to the Huffington Post last week about the episode.
19 was unusual in the sense that we didn’t have the leads involved,” the actor, who plays Walter Bishop, explained. “That was Walter with two really big, important guest stars, Henry Ian Cusick and Georgina Haig. It felt, to me, like it was a really strong episode. The two guest actors did a fantastic job, which is not easy to do, to step into an established company. It is out of the box and is somewhere else completely. I think that the fans will love it. Some fans of this type of material will like it anyway because Henry Ian Cusick was such a big star in ‘Lost,’ but also, this new girl is just full of wonderful energy, too.”
Noble on next season… if Fox (cross your fingers) gives us a next season.
It’s going to turn out to be an exceptional episode in its own right, but it’s also profound in what it will tell us about where we go from here. The great question at this point is: Do we get Season 5? I think what the writers are doing is sitting down and establishing a scenario whereby we can launch into a fantastic Season 5. If we don’t get it, we’ll finish off with a fantastic finale … and ['Letters of Transit'] is a wonderful episode in and of itself.”
We’ll let the one-and-only Jeff Jensen of EW provide the recap:
For more information about JoyHog! please visit our about page.
