The beloved JJ Abrams show Fringe, which had a good five-year run beginning in 2008, is finally coming to an end on the January 18.
While the final Fringe probably won’t eclipse the last episodes of M*A*S*H* and Seinfield in the ratings, it’s still sure to be a big winner when it finally closes up shop.
So what can we expect from the final episode? Hel-lo?! This is JJ Abrams we’re talking about here! Top secret is his middle name! That said, John Noble, who plays Walter on the show, did talk to Collider about the end of the series, or at least what he could talk about it without spoiling anything.
When he took on the show, Noble said, “Doing something of this nature was new to me. I’d never done anything that required a five-year commitment. To build a show that seems to have kept the imagination of the world so much was a bit otherworldly, to be honest. I could go anywhere in the world and people would stop me in the street to talk about Fringe, how much they adored it…The international reach of Fringe still catches me by surprise a bit.”
Because Noble is an older cast member, he looked to the rest of the cast as his kids in a way. “I have a very special love for all of those actors and I’ll miss them. It’s probably a life-long bond.”
Okay, so what about what we can expect in the finale? Turns out it was a real cliffhanger for everyone involved in the show as well.
“I think we were all apprehensive to see what would happen in the finale,” Noble said.
“I can honestly say that it was everything that I had hoped it could possibly be. I thought [Joel Wyman, writer, director and executive producer] had done a masterly job in writing it. He tied up our character storylines and tied up the great story arc. I couldn’t imagine a better job.”
The very last shooting day of Fringe ended at 9 in the morning.
“It was one of those nights that went forever,” Noble recalled. Although they had to stay up until 9. “We had a lot of fun. I didn’t feel depressed. I thought that we’d really had a great finale. The last day was so much fun.”
And lastly, if you’re still wondering, the show is “certainly going out with a bang.”
Five years is a good run for any show, and while the end of Fringe may not be as tragic as when M*A*S*H* or Mary Tyler Moore finally had to say goodbye, it won’t be easy for the geek elite to see it finally conclude, but here’s hoping things will indeed wrap up nicely for all concerned.
