Tomorrow night Leonard Nimoy returns to television for his second appearance on the FOX show Fringe, the show created by the Star Trek team of JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. We have more details, a first look, a promo video and some excerpts with a new interview by the actor below.
Nimoy’s Fringe
[SPOILERS] Leonard Nimoy appeared briefly in the season finale of Fringe’s first season, playing the enigmatic William Bell. Although often referred to on the show, it wasn’t until the last moments of the season that FBI agent Olivia Dunham met him. And the reason he was so hard to find was that (in a Star Trek-ish twist) he was in a parallel universe, complete with a standing World Trade Center. For the first three of episodes of the second season Dunham has been back in her original universe, but hasn’t remembered where she was, until Thursday’s episode. Here is the official FOX description:
Recuperating from the traumatic and alarming meeting with Massive Dynamic founder William Bell (guest star Nimoy), Agent Dunham consumes a powerful "fringe" concoction that Dr. Bishop prescribes to stimulate her memory. Meanwhile, the Fringe Division investigates a series of robbery cases in New York, Boston and Chicago that are tied to shape-shifting. As clues are tracked and memories are jogged, another woman experimented on by Dr. Bishop is introduced and a flashback reveals more about Olivia’s alternate-reality encounter in the "Momentum Deferred" episode of FRINGE airing Thursday, Oct. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (FR-204) (TV-14 L, V)
Photos:
VIDEO promo:
Interview Excerpts
Leonard Nimoy also participated in a conference call to promote the episode. Here are some highlights, courtesy of CinemaBlend:
on Fringe:
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What intrigued him most about Bell was that the character was largely a blank slate. He and the producers had several intense discussions about how the character should be developed.
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Tomorrow night’s episode will give a sense of what his relationship with Olivia is all about. “We go a long way tomorrow night in finding out what William Bell is all about.” When directly asked whether William Bell is good or evil, Nimoy simply replied, “Time will tell.”
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So far the only Fringe regular he has worked with is Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham. He has one more episode he’s shooting in a few weeks, and any further appearances have yet to be confirmed.
on Star Trek:
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Nimoy first met with J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci three years ago about joining the Trek relaunch. He looked on the opportunity as a “revalidation of the work I had done.”
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He would be open to talking about appearing in the next Trek movie, but “I frankly doubt I will be called upon again.”
More from Nimoy at CinemaBlend
i like fringe – tis good
Fringe is awesome….but I haven’t been as impressed so far this season. I hope it gets better.
2 – Um it’s only been like two episodes. Give them time. You don’t start a seasonal arc at the climax…you have to set it up.
Nimoy! Boom-bay-aye! Nimoy! Boom-bay-aye!
Nimoy has GREAT hair
I’ve always been curious as to the compensation received by actors in movies and T.V.
Anybody here have any idea what Nimoy was paid for appearing in the latest movie, Star Trek, compared to his paycheque for working in Fringe?
I want Nimoy to be in the Star Trek sequel! (But Fringe is fun too.)
Thursdays episode should be pretty good, give season some time, it will only get even better. I am not saying it’s bad or not as good, but S2 will develop into an awsome show over time.
BTW- I have enjoyed the first couple of episodes, especially with Agent Francis and his ……
“Fringe” is, without a doubt, the best, most intelligent production that Abrams, Orci, and Kurtzman have come up with in years!
Thank (insert your deity of choice here) that we have shows like Fringe, Fastforward and Lost to balance out tv’s usual lame offerings like (insert any reality show here)!!
Fringe is pure class. I remember thinking when it started that I just wasn’t in the mood for another “X-Files,” and despite the obvious similarities, it absolutely hooked me. I love it. And cannot wait to see more Nimoy in it. Fun.
Fringe rules…best show on tv right now…i just hope the new time slot (up against CSI and Greys anatomy) doesnt turn out to be the worse decision ever, as since its move to the new time slot the ratings have suffered
Mr Nimoy NEEDS to be in the next movie. How on earth can they leave something as momentous as the destruction of Vulcan to only one film – Spock Prime was (sort of) responsible for the chain of events which led to this happening, and I doubt he’d idly stand by and accept all this calmly without some dramatic follow up story….
Sorry! Just thinking aloud folks ;)
Looking forward to renting out Fringe next week (not sure if it’s here in the UK yet).
– I, Mugsy
First I need to bitch about Heroes. Glad to see that Sylar is now back, but let me guess: Having been Nathan Petrelli he has now managed to grow a conscience, right?
Then the coming attractions to next week’s episode, and Hayden gets a kiss planted on her face by an infatuated girl. I think my hunch that whoever is driving that show is lost without a map is correct.
We get ad hoc character after character appearing and then being disposed of while the show chases its tail, and now they play the lesbian card as if that’s shocking and will revive the patient. What are they doing? Throwing every idea at the screen they can think of while they monitor Nielsen ratings in realtime to see what generates a spike, to decide what they should pursue and what they should drop?
I half expect that by next season they’ll drop the pretense of a storyline and just have the cast run hilarious Wipeout style stunt competitions.
And who was it (writer or producer?) connected with that show that expressed an interest in doing a Star Trek series?
Please no.
Now I’m enjoying Fringe, and I hope they have a plan about where it’s going. It’s a tough thing to be compared to X Files because X Files did some shockingly good work. Fringe can’t be successful in the shadow of the X Files, I don’t think. It needs to find its own voice, which it seems to be doing. John Noble is a strong asset to that show. Interesting characters are made by interesting characters, and John Noble is interesting.
hmmm…. the biggest flaw with the outcome of the new movie. In any other Trek venture, someone would try to correct a broken timeline. Spock has the know-how to time travel. He could fix the timeline. Why would he stand to leave a busted timeline the way it is?
Nimoy could be in the next Trek movie, but it is not mandatory his character can be refered by the new kirk just from the mind meld Spock gave him. If Kirk can refine his memories he knows whats going to happen all the way up to and beyond his TNG episode.
The thing is will the writers use this event to give Kirk all kinds of powers of knowing what can become of present day happenings. But there is that Alternate universe thing that can really toss a monkey wrench into the story plots.
The writers have around 300 episodes to pick little snips of info from, that’s all of TOS, some TNG, some DSN, in theroy all of ENT, and knowing that Voyager began, who knows if he knows it returned or has even herd of 7of9. Then there is 7 movies.
Who knows how in depth the mind meld goes in humans or even Vulcans. And maybe that’s why the process was thrying to be removed in Enterprise. But Kirk was able to revive is popularity with the Horta.
I discovered Fringe on DVD this summer.
Its an amazing show
Keep up the good work
OPPs… It’s popularity. Lost thr T and apostrophe.
Loving Fringe this season and looking forward to Mr. Nimoy’s appearance. He’s a great actor and I look forward to what he is bringing to the table.
…… I bet all men wish to have his head of hair at his age!
i dont think young kirks mind meld with spock prime put anything extra into kirks mind other than the story of what haapened that spock prime wanted him to see-it was not a trek ii remember katra that spock gave him,just a mind meld-spocks mind is clearly too disciplined to allow leakage of anything spock did not want young kirk to see or know imo…what if spock prime is the bad guy for the second movie trying in some strange ways to restore the timeline to save vulcan,while kirk is sure it will make things worse, and feels his destiny is with this timeline?
hey that idea could also involve a storyline where prime kirk n spock could get together one last time too-it could be an integral plot to the story as well as a prime kirk/spock sendoff…imo
and it could also have the transformers in it and the rascist robot duo and maybe even jar jar binks too and ohhhhh nevermind—–
Nimoy “I frankly doubt I will be called upon again.”
Why?
Yes, it seems too abrupt after the events of the first film to not have Nimoy Spock (Nimock??) appear at all in the next film….
how about not spoiling the fact that nimoy is in this week’s episode?
#26—-Anyone who has seen the first two episodes of the second season already knows he will be in it….It’s hardly a spoiler.
I don’t think it helps the sequel at all for Nimoy to once again reprise his role in Trek. The character has settled upon a purpose in the new timeline, so unless the story in the sequel somehow involves the relocation of the Vulcan survivors, it makes no sense for the character to be involved. I fully expect Spock Prime, having already done his best to counter the effects of Nero’s interference upon the timeline, to concentrate on helping his father’s people establish a new homeworld and live out his remaining days among them.
Since the timeline has been altered, his knowledge of the “future” in that timeline is limited to events we presume to be common to both timelines.
The question then becomes, where would Spock Prime draw the ethical line in providing assistance which might alter the “future” ? My position on that is one based upon a perception of Spock I have developed over 3 decades of fandom. I feel that, since the wildcard villain from the future has been dispatched and a degree of balance restored, he will not further interefere in matters for which he knows his young friends to be capable of finding solutions. I believe that, like a good parent, Spock Prime will not handicap them by providing them with the answers to puzzles he knows will ultimately contribute to who they are as individuals, should they actually work to find them on their own.
I don’t think there is any need for further resolution to Spock Prime’s story….For once, let’s just allow the old man to ride off into the sunset. If any character is deserving of that, should it not be the one who was there from the beginning (and my own personal favorite)? I think so.
Two thoughts: First the reality of Nimoy’s pay. He gets a set amount for his time, but donates a lot to charities or has money donated or has people volunteer on his behalf. This is something he’s been doing for some time now.
Second on the film: I hope there is a trilogy where at the conclusion they are able to restore Vulcan and/or the time line. Technically the nova hasn’t happened yet, and there is time to save Romulus.
jlfks;jhs;j
I LOVE THIS MAN. YOU DO NOT COMPREHEND MY LOVE FOR THIS MAN.