FRINGE: 4.19 Letters Of Transit Ratings

by Roco on April 21, 2012 · 108 comments

lettersoftransit3

The early ratings are in for “Letters Of Transit” — but how do the numbers stack up?

Fringe was up a tenth to a 1.0 in the 18-49 demo, with 3,089,000 viewers.

Fringe Season 4 Ratings So Far..
4.19 — 3.1 million | 1.0 adults 18-49 (prelim)
4.18 — 2.8 million | 0.9 adults 18-49 (final)
4.17 — 3.01 million | 1.0 adults 18-49 (final)
4.16 — 3.11 million | 1.2 adults 18-49 (final)
4.15 — 2.9 million | 0.9 adults 18-49 (final)
4.14 — 3.10 million | 1.2 adults 18-49 (final)
4.13 — 3.00 million | 1.1 adults 18-49 (final)
4.12 —  3.05 million |  1.1 adults 18-49 (final)
4.11 — 3.20 million | 1.2 adults 18-49 (final)
4.10 — 3.33 million | 1.2 adults 18-49 (final)
4.09 — 3.19 million | 1.1 adults 18-49 (final)
4.08 — 2.88 million | 1.1 adults 18-49 (final)
4.07 — 2.88 million | 1.1 adults 18-49 (final)
4.06 — 3.03 million | 1.1 adults 18-49 (final)
4.05 — 3.21 million | 1.3 adults 18-49 (final)
4.04 — 3.14 million | 1.2 adults 18-49 (final)
4.03 — 3.18 million | 1.3 adults 18-49 (final)
4.02 — 3.05 million | 1.2 adults 18-49 (final)
4.01 — 3.5 million | 1.5 adults 18-49 (final)

Source: Masked Scheduler

{ 108 comments… read them below or add one }

JM April 21, 2012 at 11:11 am

Have we seriously two tenths of our demo? agh i suppose the viewers went up by a fair margin but still. I cant help but think FOX is just waiting on Fringe’s ratings to make the announcement on renewal/cancellation.

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JM April 21, 2012 at 11:11 am

*lost

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Al Briggs April 21, 2012 at 1:22 pm

It’s spring, basketball, hockey playoffs and baseball started… it’s just the nature of the beast.

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Mancha April 21, 2012 at 11:15 am

As I said on Twitter: Really? A 1.0 rating for Fringe last night? Seriously? We should’ve gotten at least a 1.3 IMO. *Wasn’t that nice outside last night in my state*

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WaySeeker April 21, 2012 at 11:59 pm

I expected it to at least jump up 2 tics, if not three!

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Observer1 April 21, 2012 at 11:15 am

No free will, remember?
Nielsen viewers were forbidden to watch this episode, cause it’s full of resistance.

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Surun Tunne April 21, 2012 at 11:17 am

well…I was hoping to see a 1.1 but I think the ratings of this and the next 3 episodes are not going to be very significant for a season 5 decision

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JM April 21, 2012 at 11:21 am

I think FOX are holding out for them

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Surun Tunne April 21, 2012 at 11:28 am

I think wyman is tweeting the season 5 renewal…right….NOW!

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Surun Tunne April 21, 2012 at 11:28 am

…damnit!

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JM April 21, 2012 at 11:29 am

lol why did you think that?

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Surun Tunne April 21, 2012 at 11:32 am

no particular reason but theoretically it could have happened! :-)

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Underseer April 21, 2012 at 1:01 pm

In the future, the Observers have outlawed the giving of false hope.

And native on native false alarms will not stand, not on my watch.

Surun Tunne, prepare for erasure ;)

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Surun Tunne April 21, 2012 at 1:26 pm

I’m not scared, I will come back somehow anyway!!^^

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shidey17 April 22, 2012 at 12:01 pm

Me too. Or they’re waiting until the end of the season so people will watch to see which of the two endings air to drive up ratings.

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Surun Tunne April 22, 2012 at 12:03 pm

that would be endlessly cruel!

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shidey17 April 22, 2012 at 12:25 pm

I agree. I was checking Wyman’s twitter like crazy last week or so, but now I don’t think we’ll hear anything for a while.

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Surun Tunne April 22, 2012 at 12:31 pm

I am checking Wymans twitter account like crazy all the time!!^^
I think the worst case scenario is that we will get the info in about 2 weeks or so.

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shidey17 April 22, 2012 at 12:42 pm

I don’t care how long it takes – I just want a season 5. The beginning of this season was disappointing, and I feel like the show has been on an upswing. I don’t want to see it end with a big rush like I feel we’re about to experience.

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Surun Tunne April 22, 2012 at 12:48 pm

I do care, because still not knowing if there will be a season 5 is starting to make me physically sick!

I don’t think it will end with a big rush…but I guess that all depends on what ending they are going to air.

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shidey17 April 22, 2012 at 1:39 pm

I know what you mean about being sick!

I hope you are right about the rush. It does seem like they are going to wrap all the stuff up regardless of what ending we get – and I guess if there is a season 5 it will be at least partially in the future or the story will shift to being about getting rid of the observers or preventing the 2036 future from coming about.

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Surun Tunne April 22, 2012 at 1:44 pm

well, John Noble said the finale will be “massive” and “answering a lot of questions”
I think they are answering all (or most of) the questions about DRJ’s plan and everthing else that has been going on this season. and if we get a season 5 the will continue the “transit” storyline.

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Surun Tunne April 22, 2012 at 1:47 pm

“they” will continue the “transit” storyline.

and, as other have said this too, I think it would be so amazing if they would switch between the present and the 2036 storyline each episode, the same way they did it at the beginning of season 3 with the 2 universes.

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Sajib April 22, 2012 at 12:54 pm

This cancellation/renewal issue is like a ticking timebomb. The longer FOX puts off their decision, the more nervous people will get. They should just hand us the verdict now and put us out of our misery, one way or another. Cancel it now and give the fans the chance to gear up for the ending or renew it it now if they wanna reduce heart attacks.

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Surun Tunne April 22, 2012 at 12:57 pm

I totally agree

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shidey17 April 22, 2012 at 1:19 pm

I see where you guys are coming from. I think the longer it takes, though, the better off we are.

It doesn’t really make financial sense for Fox to renew it. It has been losing them money for a long time. Warner Brothers really has the most to gain – if they can get the show to 100 episodes, they will benefit from syndication.

I think Fox wants to keep the show only so they save face with the fans and so they gain a bit of credibility with fans after cancelling Firefly and some other cultish sci-fi shows. They are looking for a bargain from WB – hopefully they will come to an agreement, but I think the more they negotiate the better, because at this point, it makes sense for Fox to just cancel.

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JM April 22, 2012 at 1:26 pm

Firefly…..I cant tell you how much that cancellation still burns me, IMO joss whedons best creation

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Surun Tunne April 22, 2012 at 1:34 pm

@JM
firefly was cancelled like what, after 11 episodes?
unfortunately I never watched it…
or maybe that was good because otherwise I would also still be very angry about the cancellation.

@shidey17
true, It seems that WB are the one’s really pushing hard for a fifth season…I hope they can present FOX a good deal so that they can renew it…

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Betty April 22, 2012 at 5:04 pm

Taking so long to renew/cancel the show is a bit unprecedented. Can’t recall it ever being this drawn out before.

A lot of backdoor meetings with the bigwigs must be happening. I’d give anything to be a fly on the wall.

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sajib April 21, 2012 at 11:25 am

The problem is that FOX needs to make their decision soon, keeping in mind that the producers have filmed two endings for the season finale and they need to know which one to put in the episode. They dragging this out too long.

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Lincless April 21, 2012 at 11:58 am

They could still change it for the DVD.
If FOX renews Fringe for 13 episodes, they could expect 0.8-1.0 ratings.
Is this enough? I don’t know.

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FringeCharacter April 21, 2012 at 11:36 am

I wonder how American Idol would do on Friday night.

It was a beautiful Friday night here with lots of events taking place.

Finder was on in our house last night, but wasn’t watched. Sadly, Finder’s ratings were higher than FRINGE.

Letters of Transit should have been a two-hour episode. It was over way too quickly. Watching it again today.

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sajib April 21, 2012 at 11:49 am

You know what? I couldn’t give a damn about the ratings anymore. I’m just gonna enjoy the show for however long it airs and wherever the ride takes me. I’m not gonna let a bunch of ill-informed, unrepresentative statistics ruin the experience for me.

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DeepRunner April 21, 2012 at 11:53 am

Cool, it went up. (Crossing fingers for Season 5).

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Janenutshell April 21, 2012 at 12:15 pm

I don’t post often, but anyone who has read my posts would think I’m down on fringe. The truth is I LOVE fringe! What I love about fringe are the relationships, specifically Walter, Peter, Olivia, Astrid, and even Broyles and Nina. What’s got me down about fringe is the lack of those relationships. The best scene last night was peter’s scene with Etta. Once again another episode without the characters I want to watch. Yes, this opened the door for many possibilities moving forward. Great. Can I please have my characters back for the time being? Please?

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Surun Tunne April 21, 2012 at 12:18 pm

you will have them back in the next 3 episodes…

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James April 21, 2012 at 12:44 pm

Fringe In Low Ratings Shocker!

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Underseer April 21, 2012 at 12:52 pm

It’s official: the average TV viewer is a drooling cretin only interested in the most base voyeuristic reality garbage and mindless soap operas that allow them to put what minds they have on autopilot.

I’m not just talking about Fringe here – every intelligent show struggles for viewers. That has to tell you something.

To those who only watch the show later on DVR: you know who you are. Don’t come here crying about the ratings when you had a hand in it. I’m on the other side of the planet, but even so I always watch Fringe live since we have a viewership metric here too.

Not that it means anything to American advertisers of course, but good ratings here means that our local TV channels purchase another season of Fringe. I’m sure this money finds its way back to Fox in some form. And from what I hear, it ain’t that cheap either, so I don’t think it peanuts.

Now that I’ve vented, here’s hoping for a Netflix pickup! ;)

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 12:58 pm

I doubt you can blame any American on this blog for either watching live or not watching live, because I doubt any American on this blog has a Neilson Box hooked up to their TV. As you said it’s obvious that the ones with the power (Neilson Boxes) are drooling cretins. And since they are drooling cretins they probably cannot figure out how to use the internet.

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Underseer April 21, 2012 at 2:40 pm

Definitely not dissing anybody on this blog Rick, except those who say they’re fans but don’t watch live. The Fringe showrunners have asked people to watch live to save the show, but it seems to have (largely) fallen on deaf ears.

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 2:48 pm

Oh no I know you aren’t dissing anyone. Just wanted to say that live only counts if you’re counted, that’s all. I personally watch it live myself since I am practically champing at the bit to get my Fringe fix every Friday. But I do DVR it too. I guess what I’m saying is; Anyone who read that may think that they caused it not to have good ratings if they didn’t watch it live, and if they don’t know how the ratings system works, and well that’s not entirely true. Its up to the Neilson Families to make those decisions. But all that said, Watching live and tweeting about the fact that you are watching live, and doing your best to get the word out cannot hurt the situation at all, but it seems like it doesn’t help much either.

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 3:04 pm

Also I think Neilson picks the most fly by night type people they can get as well. I don’t think they want hard core TV show junkies to be involved in their counting process, because that is not where the money is at for them. They want people who are dumb enough to buy a product because a commercial said it is cool or good or the largest or the best. You see we are the type of people who research things before we buy them, they don’t want too much of that going on because nothing stands up to the hype.

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Scott42444 April 21, 2012 at 4:55 pm

I wasn’t home last night but left my television on Fox and watched the DVR recording when I got home. I know I don’t have a ratings box, but I want a season 5 so bad I feel like if there is an off chance that DirecTV tracks that stuff I could help. They have to track somehow for the “Live + 3″ or whatever it is, don’t they?
This is the only show that I don’t get upset with the shameless car and cellphone plugs (like the Sprint Video chats) because I know that they are desperate.

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 8:32 pm

They do all their tracking whether live or DVR through Neilson Boxes. All you did is just waste electricity. Sorry to say.

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 8:34 pm

But it is the thought that counts. :) Had to add that because my last comment seemed abrupt.

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 2:49 pm

blaming the american viewing audience at large at this point in the show’s life is completely pointless. Fringebloggers can boo hoo the jersey shore watching morons all they want, but the fact of the matter is that they were never the target audience in the first place. the show is in its fourth season. it’s problem isn’t that it needs new viewers, its that its longtime viewers are still dropping off. And they’re not doing so to go watch american idol, they’re dropping off because this season has been significantly weaker than the rest. I know a lot of people on this site try to shoot me down whenever i say this, but FB does not represent the whole fringe audience. just because people here are satisfied with the shows direction doesn’t mean other people are.

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 2:50 pm

and I think the current ratings stand in testament to that.

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Lincless April 21, 2012 at 3:06 pm

They always did.
I think Fringe failed (as a neutral statement) when it began to imitate Lost and Alias.

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 3:18 pm

How so? lol. I haven’t watched Alias, but Fringe definitely hasn’t come close to reaching the heights of stupidity that Lost did. That was like the supreme enlightenment of idiocy….

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Lincless April 21, 2012 at 3:22 pm

Lost: Make your plot more and more convoluted thinking you are smart while creating plot holes.
Alias: Put a love story/triangle in the center of your story.

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JM April 21, 2012 at 3:24 pm

What about kate/jack/sawyer from lost? all of JJ abrams shows have the same basic ingredients in them if you look closely

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Lincless April 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm

I don’t know that much about Lost, so didn’t mention that.

The thing is:
When Fringe started the creators (Abrams, Orci, Kurtzman) repeatedly said it would be different than Abrams’ previous works and it was different. It was a bit more procedural, it was without typical teen cliches and it’s initial was built on this.
At some time they decided they wanted to be more like Alias and Lost were, but their original audience didn’t.

The remaining audience basically are the viewers who more or less like both directions. Fringe’s original nature and JJ Abrams typicial TV shows.

I hope this is understandable:)

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 7:18 pm

more like kate/jack/sawyer/juliet

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 7:19 pm

it was a love quadrangle lol

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 7:19 pm

gotcha

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 2:58 pm

I am one of the disillusioned ones myself. But I have made a commitment to see it through to the end, so I stick around. I have to bite my tongue over a lot of the creative choices mad this season so as not to cause a ruckus on here and on other blogs, but I just want you to know I get ya, and I agree with your analysis of the drop in ratings. But having said that the ones who could just up and leave really are not what I’d call true blue fans either. Not saying they are wrong, but that if they were fans lioke we are they’d stay married to the show like us. Sickness and health, good times and bad, etc…

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 3:13 pm

I tend to get agitated when people start throwing around the accusation that someone isn’t a “true” fan if they do such and such, but I’ll let it slide this time. I love this show more than any other I’ve ever watched but even i almost quit after “a short story about love.” people just have different levels of tolerance for writer B.S.

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 3:18 pm

Oh Wandering eyes huh? :)

Just kidding, but I look at it this way; What other shows are on that get me so emotional one way or the other? Lets face it if Fringe is bad we tend to get upset because we know it should be better If Fringe is good we get upset because no one else seems to see it like we do. All in all I say the worst of Fringe is still better than most of the other drivel that is on TV at the moment.

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JM April 21, 2012 at 3:21 pm

There is no doubt in my mind the fourth season of fringe has been its worst. But it is regaining its feet slowly, i cant help but feel that if there had been no reboot and there was no henry to begin with (as in they didnt write him) how good the show would have been….

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JM April 21, 2012 at 3:22 pm

oh and if peter had realised fauxlivia was well faux. And i still strongly believe his character as it had been written prior to that should have realised she was fake

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JM April 21, 2012 at 3:22 pm

Also the P/O should have been brother and sister it was much better like that!

TBH wyman and pinkner just let me write the show from now on ok?

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 3:27 pm

Yep. Unfortunately Fringe seems to have tried to kowtow to the masses, and failed. But in failing, they wrote themselves into a creative corner that needed a little shark jumping to get out of. The second half of this season has been leaps and bounds better than the first half, but I dare say that Wyman is part of the problem here (espesially considering that “A Short Story About Love” was his baby). I would even go so far as to say that he is more than likely behind some of the biggest missteps of this series as a whole, what with his boyband hair-doo and his affinity for everything cliche`.

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JM April 21, 2012 at 3:44 pm

Sorry about continuing spew. But i want to add one more thing: If Charlie (kirk acevedo) was a regular all the way through, i think it would have been a better show.

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 3:53 pm

Yeah I miss Charlie! I guess He and the Bug Lady have decided to stay in their honeymoon destination for good. I guess anything is better than fighting inter-universal terrorism and weird happenings.

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 7:21 pm

one of these days I’ll post my entire revised vision for the series. I’ve actually thought out exactly what i would change.

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 8:36 pm

I look forward to it! :)

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DeepRunner April 21, 2012 at 3:26 pm

I think Wyman and Pinkner’s ( and yeah, I guess JJ’s) mistake was getting us accustomed to things as they were and then creating a disorienting plot from there. The Peter fans were disheartened because of his absence early on. Walter had become a freakish paranoid, as opposed to the endearing mad scientist we all knew him as. Olivia was still Olivia but missing the partner dynamic that she had with, yes, Peter. The whole change disrupted the chemistry The Big Three we had all gotten used to. John Noble has said he really disliked the Walter from early this season. Joshua Jackson has said fans were right to criticize the show because of its missteps. I am not sure if Anna Torv has weighed-in; I am guessing she is less-enamored of the Olivia we now see, although Joshua Jackson has stated that the journey this season has also helped her get back where she needs to be, which is probably being the key player in overcoming DRJ.

Short story long: I agree with Kate on this one.

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JM April 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm

But if you really simplify what they were and have been saying the purpose for this season was: “a love letter to the fans” (i can summarise it) give you a show thats inferior to the original so you miss the superior one very much..

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DeepRunner April 21, 2012 at 4:00 pm

Once they did BTWYNB, that is when the series and season picked-up significant steam, and that is when the love letter to the fans became more obvious. The return of the Big Two was A Short Story About Love. The return of The Big Three was WTW.

Like many if not most Fringies, I struggled with the show early in the season because it was missing the characters WE AS FANS knew and loved. But I am ALL IN for Fringe, I don’t think anyone can or will dispute that. I enjoy Fringe for what it is, which is one of the best two or three sci-fi shows ever.

My point was and is, The Big Three who produce the show miscalculated about what the reboot would do.

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 7:23 pm

the cruel irony there is that a true love letter to the fans would be for the show to be at its best.

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DeepRunner April 21, 2012 at 7:40 pm

Agreed.

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Red Balloon April 22, 2012 at 5:33 am

DeepRunner, If I’m not mistaken, Josh also said that he’s being wrong all along…(previous statements)…They’ve all said all sort of things, but ultimately the show has to speak for itself, and right now it’s stuttering on almost every possible story outcome.

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Ian S. April 22, 2012 at 9:54 am

I’ve held off from judging the new timeline plot this season because a little part of me still believes we will get huge payoff for it in the last three episodes. But, if we really don’t get a major payoff, I’m just going to be so disappointed. I know the Observers needed the original timeline, but the creators could have made season 4 where instead of rewriting the timeline the Observers come back in time and take over, and season 4 could have been all about that, while still getting the same answers we are getting now.

Or, instead of DRJ, the End of Dayers organization could have begun, and they could be fighting them (they could be taking up after Jones), delivering the same answers we are getting now.

It just seems that the creators took the hardest route possible this season for some reason, and I really hope there’s a good reason why in these last 3 episodes.

I still love it, I just want to know what made them choose this decision over what seems to be 2 better decisions I just mentioned.

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Underseer April 21, 2012 at 5:26 pm

Reading all the responses here, it once again underlines a burning question we’re all asking: What are the true viewership figures for Fringe? If three million people are on Nielsen alone, how many more who aren’t are there? Has an effort been made to find out (I’m not just talking DVR here)?

This is the bizarre and frustrating thing: correct me if I’m wrong, but there could be many more watching Fringe – maybe even millions? I guess my ‘drooling’ comment was aimed more at the Nielson crowd.

If you check my earlier comments on early season 4 you’ll see I was very critical, even scathing. So I’m no fanboy. But for me at least the season has now found its footing (more or less). Episode 19 rocked! The Blade Runner-esque intro music had me laughing.

A certain Sith Lord seemed to get a bit uptight at my comments (Kate uptight? Never! ;) ) but the sort of people who take the trouble to post here repeatedly are not the ones I’m annoyed with.

On that note, is there a single person who has visited this blog who is on Nielsen? What about a survey Roco – or is it a foregone conclusion, do you think?

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Darth Kate April 21, 2012 at 7:26 pm

Sorry if it seemed uptight. Its just that everyone seems to want to blame the people who probably wouldn’t watch the show anyway, and i dont think that’s the real root of the problem.

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PB April 22, 2012 at 1:33 am

I have no problem blaming the fans who abandoned this show for its bad ratings. They simply lack the depth of character and intellect to appreciate how much work Pinkner and Wyman have sunk into taking such an amazing story and completely ruining it.

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Darth Kate April 22, 2012 at 10:07 am

I was sooo close to flaming you there and then got to the end of your sentence lol…

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 8:44 pm

Actually the 3 million represent approximately how many total people in the US were watching the show. People with Neilson boxes are nowhere near 3 million. They take a singe Neilson viewer and compare their watching habits to hundreds of mail in Neilson polls, then do some math and come up with what they believe is the total amount of people in the US population actually watching. So lets say 3,000 Neilson people were actually watching, well that may represent 3 million. Of course these numbers are not that simple, just for the sake of getting a point across. Same goes for Demographics, which is the true bread and butter of what the industry looks for. Lets say out of those 3,000 people with Neilson boxes only 30 are in the key 18-49 demo. Well that is where they get their 1.0 rating in the key demo.

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Rick Terry April 21, 2012 at 11:03 pm

Upon re-reading my comment it seems a little confusing. What I should have said is: They take a series of single Neilson users in a certain area, and compile their usage with the data collected via mail out polls they do, and they figure the amount of viewers in that particular area. They do this in hundreds of cities across the US. They then compile all that data into a computer that does an algorithm to find out approximately how many actual total viewers there are in the US based on these numbers. But still the few represent the many, which as they say across the pond is bollocks.

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Robert Ariadne April 21, 2012 at 1:48 pm

A 1.0 is still pretty awful, but at least it’s up.

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Wizard April 21, 2012 at 2:20 pm

Friday nights is where TV shows go to die their slow painful deaths. You may not be able to see the writing on the wall, but it is there none the less. I know it, You know it, but you’re not ready to accept it.

This stellar series has been plagued by a series of unfortunate events … interruptions (from playoffs and lowatus’, timeslot & day changes, and other events) that, whether you want to admit it or not, create a huge disconnect between the series and the viewers. You can trace the falling ratings back to these interruptions and as each occurred, the number of viewers declined and the ratings took yet another predictable dip.

While I still enjoy the show immensely, I sense a quick wrapping up of loose ends in the works that will be lackluster and insignificant compared to, say, season 1 or 2. Brace yourselves.

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Ian S. April 21, 2012 at 2:38 pm

It’s my Life goal to one day buy the Nielsen company, and destroy their idiotic boxes and rating system.

I hate them.

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Andrew April 21, 2012 at 6:20 pm

Smash all the boxes!!! Viva la revolucion :)

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WaySeeker April 22, 2012 at 12:20 am

“Smash the control images … smash the control machines.”
– William S. Burroughs

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feno April 21, 2012 at 3:01 pm

hey Fox, its 2012. ppl don’t watch Tv ON Tv! go see what ppl are loving on the interwebs

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kalin April 21, 2012 at 3:23 pm

yes agree ^ house, bones, new girl, touch, the finder, alcatraz,low ratings and Idol and KN garbage!!! just love FRINGE!!

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Blu~Phnix April 21, 2012 at 3:19 pm

I don’t have a Nielson Box or a DVR but I still watch and it’s kinda annoying that I don’t count for much since I don’t have either. I was sorta an on and off watcher till this season. I really liked it when Fringe came on after Bones, myself. Personally, I really like this season. I’m sorta at the point were I’m over the ratings. They’re not representative of how many are really watching and they don’t include worldwide viewership to a large extent. Most people I’m sure, see the ability to DVR as a win, win, for them and don’t realize the networks are still looking, in a big way, to live viewing.

That said, the numbers going back up is a good thing and the DVR numbers haven’t been grouped in yet so.

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FringeBa April 21, 2012 at 5:11 pm

I don’t know in what universe 14 million watch American Idol and such a fantastic show has only 3 million viewer
I’m gonna kill myself !!

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WaySeeker April 22, 2012 at 12:23 am

We are living in the Control World. Where reality itself can be moved to a different co-existing Time Line and we are assimilate to accept the new reality. How else can you explain it? :-)

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Steph April 21, 2012 at 5:44 pm

Was this some kind of filler-in episode while they made the real one? Were the writers off on holiday or just on something else? Sorry, too much off on a tangent for my liking,i felt i had come in during series 6 or something.Maybe the rest of you like being thrown out of kilter whilst hero worshipping the writers, but my husband and i thought it was rubbish.The point is, with alternate universes being available at the drop of a hat, anything can happen any week, depending on the writers whim, BUT, without true cohesion, the series will disintegrate into mere fantasy. So we got introduced to a possible daughter of Peter and Olivia, well, gasp in amazement. Baddy Observers is just laughable. Feels like it has lost it’s way.

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Nathan April 21, 2012 at 8:29 pm

Last episode got me really excited. It’s a bit sad
because really, it wasn’t part of the main storyline.
I hope season 5 goes in that direction and
starts connecting all the dots the writers have
been giving us. Sometimes it feels like
continual exposition…

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Gary April 21, 2012 at 9:20 pm

If I hear one more thing on Charlie…… He currently has a CONTRACT obligation that the studio won’t relax on even though it is not working out.

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PB April 22, 2012 at 1:30 am

Does anybody know when Kirk Acevedo is coming back to the show or where he’s been? I miss Charlie. Why haven’t they brought him back yet?

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Rick Terry April 22, 2012 at 4:18 am

He’s with the bug lady, dontcha remember!

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James April 22, 2012 at 5:45 pm

Wasn’t the name of the bug lady, Mona Foster?

Simon’s surname was Foster, and he said his parents were part of the resistance.

Were Charlie and Bug Lady killed?

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Red Balloon April 22, 2012 at 7:32 pm

Good catch!…yes she was Mona Foster, though I think Simon was in college by 2015?, so he would be now in his 40′s?

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FringeBa April 22, 2012 at 2:22 am

I think they knew that there would be season 5 so they made this episode otherwise they don’t risk this much to jump ahead 25 years and change the whole story

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Aesandil April 22, 2012 at 2:19 pm

Maybe by 2036 TV execs will have moved from judging the popularity of their shows by putting so much faith in flawed and not representative Nielsen ratings. Maybe they will have come to understanding that there is more to the world than just the US, and that you can cash in on your programmes in many different ways. And maybe they will have learned that smart schedule planning doesn’t involve placing one of your shows on a poor day in a poor timeslot where it has to compete against a similarly-themed show that had been around for much longer. Maybe.

Fox’s treatment of Fringe has been disappointing, and not since this season. Yes, they started out fairly well and there was no lack of support at first. It’s just that shows that dare to demand focus from their viewers require a little more effort in their handling.

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shidey17 April 22, 2012 at 3:11 pm

amen, brother

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Underseer April 22, 2012 at 6:36 pm

By 2036?

Watch a movie called ‘Idiocracy’ and you’ll get an insight into where we’re headed. And the midwives to the Brave New World will be the TV execs.

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Rick Terry April 22, 2012 at 6:50 pm

“Leave me Alone…I’m batin’” Best line in the movie.

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Cortexiphan Kid April 23, 2012 at 8:21 am

Why do series have so few viewers? A question we are asking every single week. The answer are not just the Nielsen viewers (that sistem SUCKS btw). You see, Fringe is a series, you are either in or out. And for us (huge fans) is sometimes difficult to understand, that some (or most) people just can’t keep up with the show. If you miss one episode you mostly have no idea, what’s going on in the next one. It’s not a series you can just start watching in the middle of the season. Show a non-fringie one episode from the middle of the series (like Enemy Of My Enemy, 6B, White Tulip etc). They are just going to say WTF every 2 minutes. Yust try, and I bett you’ll hear things like; WTF is that crazy guy doing? WTF is that machine in the room? WTF is korteksipan? Oh, right, CORTEXIPHAN! Why are there TWO womans, that look the same? Who the hell is David Robert Jones? Oh, the leader of ZFT! WTF is ZFT?!
Believe me, I once tried to convert some new viewers, and they hardly understood a thing, and I didn’t say a word about ZFT, Cortexiphan etc.
Of course, in season 4, the writers gave us a competly new timeline, which was probably just so that new watchers would get up to speed. But then, Fringe went back to where it was before, on the path, that makes us love it so much, on that
fast-paced, developing story, which is great to debate on, if you are a dedicated fan, and not so great if you start watching in beetwen.
And then, of course, you have to consider, that some episodes are not-so-good. I know that guy, that watched one episode of Fringe, to see if he likes it. Unfortunatly, the episode he watched was A Short Story About Love, and this episode gave him an impression, Fringe can’t deal with plot holes.

So my point is, that to apreciate Fringe, you have to be a huuuuuuuuuuge fan and a total Nerd, that watches Fringe like it’s a religion, that thinks of Fringe the moment she or he wakes up till the moment it closes it’s eyes.

Fringe is not the ”Turn-Your-Brains-Off” type of series, it’s not a No-Brainer. And this is both it’s mayor advantage and it’s biggest disadvantage.

(P.S. I know this very long post looks a bit silly, but it was ment as an essay, and I LOVE writing essays!)

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Rick Terry April 23, 2012 at 5:00 pm

When you’re right…you’re right.

And you sir are right.

Also to add; I once tried to get someone I know to watch it from the beginning and they hated the way the first season was organized, they of course knew nothing of the big reveal of a second universe tied to this one, but then couldn’t make if too far into the series because they were expecting more seriability when if they’d have just waited say two or three more eps they would have noticed the tie in. I must say i was the same way except that I watched the first season on DVD right after I heard that this show was dealing in two universes. I was at the time a LOST nerd looking for another sci-fi fix after LOST’s season 5 that was my favorite season of LOST. So had I not known that Fringe was gonna open up into a duel universe situation, I might not have even made it through the first season myself.

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Rick Terry April 23, 2012 at 5:01 pm

I said sir, but Madame if it fits too. I can’t tell your gender based on your screen name Kid. : )

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Cortexiphan Kid April 24, 2012 at 8:35 am

Why do you think I choose it?;)

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Betty April 24, 2012 at 8:59 am

Ah! The androgynous Kid. Funny.

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Cortexiphan Kid April 24, 2012 at 9:05 am

I just like to give people as less information about me as possible.

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shidey17 April 25, 2012 at 4:56 pm

I totally agree with both of your posts. I just happened to turn on the TV one night back in 2008 and it landed on Fox right as “The Cure” was starting. I’m a sci fi geek, but I also get super excited when anybody on TV is wearing a hazmat suit. So I watched the episode and then googled the show and got caught up in about a day – I’ve watched them all live since then.

But like you said, if I’d seen the pilot first, I don’t know if I would have stuck with it. The pacing on that episode is pretty slow. If I ever try to convert any new Fringies, I usually start with one of the early episodes from Season 1, but not the pilot.

And Fringe would definitely benefit from a catch up show at the beginning of the season the way Lost had.

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