Star Trek’s original Spock is coming back out of retirement one more time for JJ Abrams. Leonard Nimoy has confirmed that he will be returning to the Fox sci-fi show Fringe, reprising his role as William Bell.
Nimoy confirms return to Fringe
When Leonard Nimoy appeared as William Bell in last May’s season finale for Fringe (the sci-fi show created by the Star Trek team of JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman) he had said it would be his last job as an actor. However, it appears he has a bit more work to do. This afternoon Nimoy confirmed (via Twitter) earlier reports that he would be returning to the show, saying "Coming to Fringe. William’s bell rings soon. LLAP".
Nimoy in Season 2 finale of "Fringe"
No word yet on when Nimoy will appear but a good bet would be for the season finale. Following tonight’s episode there are just seven more episodes left in the third season, most of which have already been shot. Nimoy has previously appeared as William Bell in seven episodes of the series (including a couple times just by voice).
Tune into Fringe tonight
The third season of Fringe has been very sci-fi heavy, with dueling stories spanning the alternate realities. Most fans agree that this is the best season so far, but the show is still "on the bubble" for renewal. And if you are a Fringe fan, make sure to watch tonight’s big flashback episode "Subject 13", which is getting lots of good buzz. Fox is also running a Tweet-a-thon with producers and a star of the show for both the East and West coasts.
Here is a clip:
Yup.. have to revisit Fringe methinks..
I’ll be VERY disappointed if Fox cancels Fringe. This is one of the best shows on TV
Now for the really good news. Spock in “Star Trek: 12 Where No One Has Gone Before”. Give us the great news boborci!
Welp, I guess I’ll be watching Fringe on Fridays now since I’ve been ignoring it.
I’ve really been enjoying this season of Fringe, and would love to see it renewed for one season.
This season of Fringe has been excellent. I’ve loved the wonderful character developments that we’ve seen so far and I’m really excited for tonight’s episode.
I hope Fringe gets renewed for another season, from what I’ve heard the writers have a plan for the 5th, 6th and 7th seasons of the show.
Nimoy is ‘retiring’ and coming back more often than Cher. ;-p
Wish him continuing success in work or in retirement (someday). When I met him at Comic Con 2 years ago, he was a gracious, classy guy. Very much a gentleman in the truest sense. Sometimes the higher up the ladder, the nicer they are. Nimoy epitomized this adage.
Not a big “Fringe” fan, but I wish Mr Nimoy all the best. :-)
Answered prayers!
I am soooooo looking forward to this. I hope the role will be as exciting as William Bell’s entrance in the second season promised it would be. Even as a “senior citizen,” he [William Bell] was such a sexy, slinky, powerful guy! Not only that, just looking at his “toys” was fun.
And don’t count out the seniors as a significant part of the audience, Liam Neeson is kicking major butt at the box office as an action star.
Mr Nimoy will play Spock at least one more time. The same can be said about Shatner returning as Kirk…You heard it here first : )
Great to hear. I hope Bob Orci is Writting a Script with Mr Nimoy in mind. Come on Bob. You know you want Mr. Nimoy in Trek12.
I guess that’s all well and good. Have never really gotten into this show. A really good opportunity for a guest star cameo was lost when Nimoy didn’t take Shatner up on the opportunity to do Boston Legal. That wouldn’t have been newsworthy.
Brett Favre is great on this show… oh wait I mean Leonard Nimoy….
3. Heh.
A total aside, but I’m hoping that if they do use the “space, the final frontier…” monologue again, they use the original, er, manned, TOS version (with “new life” rather than TWK’s “new life forms,” and with “her mission” rather than “her ongoing mission”). It’s just cleaner. Although, I’d guess that they wouldn’t be using it again.
Fringe is pretty much the only genre show I watch right now — actually, it’s the only show, period (apart from anything with dreamy Anderson Cooper). Wait, I guess I watch Smallville (I’m just waiting for the tights to finally show up) — I’m a total sucker for nostalgia (it took three viewings to accept that Superman Returns wasn’t great [it felt like sacrilege, what with the John Williams theme], and I wrote Roger Ebert a rabid critique of his Star Trek review [he published it] because, well, they used the original theme, captured the energy of the original and got the characters spot on).
I hope Bell’s a bit more involved in the episodes he’s in. There was a beyond teh grave reference last week… hmmm.
Ah, the Brett Favre of science fiction is now unretired for a 3rd time. :-)
Tonight’s “Fringe” was another excellent program. No explosions, just all that talky-gooey stuff that some Trekkers hate about the original Star Trek. Still, “Fringe” is about ideas and emotion. And there was some humor. The opening credits were early eighties cheese. Dr. Bell talking about using his “new” Betamax! Oh no, I still use a VCR. Ha. ha.
And I will say this again and again. John Noble is a one man acting class. I don’t know if this is true but I bet he makes the cast around him better. By the way if you saw the preview of the next show, there was a glimpse of Leonard Nimoy. Hey, it’s about time the guy got back to work. Surgery is no excuse. :-) Oh, Leonard, you got more work to do too. Maybe you should ask Bad Robot about that “Spock” role.
Mr. Nimoy would be an inspiration even if the only thing he were to do was to read from the proverbial telephone book. He has the capability to make it seem like sonnets from Shakespeare.
As far as Hollywood is concerned, I would like to see something bizarrely out of place, and wickedly so, for an episode of Fringe, and that is to see Charlie (“I’m Not in Meltdown Mode, Really I’m Not”) Sheen cast as a villain of some sort.
After all, Sheen is already the butt of so many jokes and personal attacks, he would be perfect for the role of a postmodern tricked-out villain.
Note to Hollywood producers: You’re welcome.
Cool! Then hopefully JJ can talk him into an appearance in ST12.
Who? Sheen?
I just saw the promo played for the next one after Subject 13, Walter thinks he can bring William Bell back! This is awesome!
Just got an email from NASA. They were holding a contest to pick wakeup songs for the final shuttle missions. The original Star Trek theme by Alexander Courage came in second on the list and will be used. It beat out several Beatles songs, Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’ and most importantly the Star Wars Theme. Yee-haw!
Yup Tonites Fringe episode was excellent! Perfect casting for kid versions of olivia and peter —loved seeing young Olivia had other powers besides just transporting to the other world…it was kinda Carrie esque haah….
It also added so much depth to most of the major characters…seeing the anguish on the parents from the other world when he got kidnapped they lost him and on our world the parents grappled with the pain of knowing they took peter and that there are anguished parents on the other side too plus peter knowing that they are not his parents…excellent story arc…
I still cant believe so few people are watching fringe..It should have a bigger audience than X files did…..as its everything x files was and more….hope it doesnt die on the friday nite death slot…wasnt Star Trek Tos last season where it died on friday night also…I think 10pm sheeesh..sometimes nobody learns their lessons….
If I recall hearing correctly, Fringe actually saw a ratings SPIKE when it was moved to Fridays.
You know, I love Nimoy but in Trek 09 I felt that Spock was out of place. Maybe the age, maybe its role in the story, maybe the all new setting, I never felt the Spock-vibe, if you know what I mean.
So, I’m not asking for Spock or other camoes in Trek 12. The new guys have to walk on their legs.
^
I’m talking about Spock-prime.
23 – I couldn’t disagree more. I thought Nimoy added a lot to the film.
To me MR Nimoy gave the Film the Glue. With out Nimoy Star Trek 09 would not have felt like Star Trek. If he does not do the next Trek film that will be ok. Because of Nimoy and Majel Barret doing the computer voice in the first film. It will still feel like Star Trek in the next.
Still think Trek 12 will be better with Nimoy. Had this headline been him coming back again for Trek it would have been awesome. Shatner as well
Mr. Nimoy only has 5 maybe 10 years of life left. He has reached the average age of human life. I hope he does as much acting as possible because once he is gone… he’s gone. I wish him the best
# 23 Paulaner
Nimoy is Star Trek…
To say a ST film would be better without him is ridiculous.
That isn’t to say that the new cast didn’t do an amazing job. They did, but Nimoy and Shatner will always be Kirk and Spock in much the same manner that Connery will always be 007.
Bottom line… ST can be great w/out Shatner and Nimoy, but it will always be better with them involved.
I certainly hope Fringe sticks around for awhile; I can only see one possible ending for Walter and John Noble has certainly proven himself to be a fine actor.
I loved Little Peter and Little Olivia; you just know they had the regulars on the sidelines coaching the young actors and giving them advice.
Right down to little nuances, they were Peter and Olivia. Nice job.
As to Nimoy returning as William Bell, the role must have some particular significance for him to return to it so many times.
Maybe Mr Nimoy should say he is “semi-retired”…that way he can come back for only certain projects that pique his interest.
Yes everyone please watch Fringe- its a great show well written and acted.
I would hate to see it go.
Leonard Nimoy has to work again. He has to keep up with William Shatner who is everywhere! Next up. Sitcom. “S@#t that Shatner Says.”
#15 beat me to it–saw that glimpse of Nimoy’s face in the miasma in the preview and I knew he’d be back. Yea.
But with or without Nimoy, FRINGE deserves way more viewers! In some ways I feel we’re finally just now getting to know Olivia and Peter. And John Noble is simply fantastic.
FRINGE is not only the best SF show on TV at the moment (and by a long way, too!), it’s just great TV, period!
The only show that even comes close (even though it’s not SF) is THE BIG BANG THEORY.
And, by the way, didja check out the credit sequence on this weeks retro-episode? Brilliant…just brilliant!
#36 I didn’t “get” it was supposed to be retro episode opening credits till you said so! tx.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It took me 3 years to discover Fringe because of the amount of cr@p on tv and my not watching regular network shows. (I just decided to watch Lost and the first episode I watched was the series finale :D)
I love this series. I loved Journeyman also…:(.
I’m so glad it is now on Friday nights! I finally have a sci-fi show to watch on Fridays that is worth my time! This has been the best season so far. I notice some of the comments say they are going to start watching it again. My advice: Catch up first or you might end up lost. New viewers who are tuning in and wondering what the heck is going on and why Olivia is different: well sometimes they have episodes that are mostly about the alternate universe characters to show you what is going on over there. They want to destroy our universe because Walter damaged theirs beyond repair and if they destroy ours, theirs will stabilize (in theory). Walter is trying to figure out a way to fix it though. It’s really gotten good, and if Leonard Nemoy becomes a regular cast member, this show is going to get even better! I’m so glad he decided to come back and be a part of the show even if it is for a short while. I hope he sticks around!
Yes, I, too, agree that there is nothing “wrong”, and everything “right”, about Mr. Nimoy wanting to continue acting. And, NO, I dont believe that he is great, because of Commander Spock. I would say that Commander Spock was great because of Mr. Nimoy. I Do hope that this fine man can continue performing, for years to come.
I want to add, however that, despite Mr. Nimoy’s many achievements, over the years, that I would say that Anna Torv (Agent Olivia Dunham) has the most difficult, demanding, and critical role, in Fringe. After all, Ms. Torv is not only playing her character, in two, seperate, universes, but she has the added duty of “channeling” William Bell.
If Anna Torv can “pull it off”, then she deserves just as much admiration as the legendary Mr. Nimoy.
Remember, Mr. Nimoy is NOT the only character, on Fringe. Best wishes to Mr. Noble, Ms. Nicole, and Mr. Jackson.
I watched last night’s episode and LOVED it. I’m wondering why Nimoy is only returning to acting for voice work? First, he is doing voice work for the next Transformers movie and now only doing voice work for last night’s animation (I’m calling it Fringe meets The Matrix).