Originally Published: 9/15/2011
Sci-fi nerd Seth Gabel thrilled 'Fringe' is back
By Ian Spelling
New York Times Syndicate
Reading Eagle Company
"It's incredible to us that we're doing a fourth season of 'Fringe,' " Seth Gabel said. "We talk about it every day on set, how we feel we got by on the skin of our teeth. But at the same time we're confused, because we hear so much from the fans and they're so vocal. If you look at the ratings, it's one thing, and if you look at the fans, see what they're saying, gauge what the temperature is like with them, just when you walk through the streets, you get two very different stories.
"So we're surprised that we're back," he said, "and we're grateful. And, at the same time, we think maybe there's something going on with 'Fringe' that's not being accounted for."
Such is life in the topsy-turvy world of Fox's "Fringe." Gabel originally signed on for a single episode back in Season 2.
He appeared as the "alternate" Lincoln Lee, a Fringe team leader, in the second-season finale, "Over There, Part 1." Gabel went on to play the alternate Lee several times in Season 3 and also turned up occasionally as a bespectacled, slightly less-assured version of Lee in "our" universe.
Now, when Fox premieres Season 4 of "Fringe" on Sept. 23, Gabel will be a series regular, playing both versions of Lee. The 29-year-old actor is best known for his roles as the sexually confused son of Ava Moore (Famke Janssen) on "Nip/Tuck" (2004) and as the cocaine-addicted son of Tripp Darling (Donald Sutherland) on "Dirty Sexy Money" (2007-2009). Off-screen, he's married to actress Bryce Dallas Howard, with whom he's expecting their second child.
"It was one episode, one episode where Lincoln gets blown up, and it was open-ended as to whether or not I'd be back," Gabel recalled, speaking by telephone from Vancouver, British Columbia, where "Fringe" is taped. "I waited through that summer to see if I'd be back. They eventually called and I was available, and I was really happy to do it. But I only knew about the Alt-Lincoln at that point.
"As they called me in for more episodes I started to think, 'Hey, everyone seems to have a doppelganger. I wonder if I'll have one?' And then I finally got to have one, too. It was perfect for me because, in many ways, he was the opposite of my original character. For an actor, it's just so much fun to get to play two very different sides of yourself.
"The show, for me, brings up that nature-vs.-nurture question," the actor said. "My feeling is that both Lincolns have the same nature, but they've each been nurtured in different ways. As a result, one has more confidence than the other. Also one has more confidence in his ability to think scientifically and strategically, and one has more confidence in his ability to be bold and courageous and get things done.
"And this year, getting to be a regular, is amazing," Gabel added. "There aren't a lot of great sci-fi shows out there, and I'm a huge science nerd. So getting to show up every week and explore the multiverse and all these strange scientific concepts that are literally on the fringes of what science is capable of thinking of nowadays, it's a real thrill."
Gabel is an easygoing, chatty conversationalist, but he becomes far less voluble when discussing the specifics of his show's fourth season. The producers of "Fringe" covet secrecy and surprise above all else, and Gabel won't be the one to spill any major beans.
"Peter (Joshua Jackson) is somewhere, and we don't really know where, and so Lincoln becomes a character through which the audience can view everything from a new perspective," the actor said cautiously. "So, if you haven't watched 'Fringe' before, Lincoln's a great character to latch onto, to kind of understand things and ask the question, 'What the heck is happening here?' You can catch up with the show through his eyes.
"For people who are fans," Gabel continued, "you really get to understand the circumstances of the Butterfly Effect that is Peter's existence and what happens if he's taken out of the equation. His absence is most likely temporary, but what happens to the universe? How does everything change? What is the cascading effect of his no longer being a part of that equation?
"Lincoln, in some capacities, will fill that role, and then eventually he'll come to supplement it."
That seems cryptic enough, but really Gabel is touching on only one of the main conceits of Season 4. "Fringe" will, in essence, get the reboot treatment, with the events of the first three seasons and the actions of Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Walter Bishop (John Noble), Broyles (Lance Reddick) and Astrid (Jasika Nicole) occurring in a Peter-less world - as the mysterious and ever-present Observers look on.
"Well, I can say that last season Lincoln was introduced to the Fringe team through the Peter character," Gabel said. "Now, with Peter potentially missing, that event needs to happen again. So Lincoln is reintroduced to the Fringe team and, with Peter potentially missing at this point, it's a completely different experience and we get to see how Lincoln is introduced to the Fringe team, what his role is and how it changes based on Peter's supposed lack of existence."
Source:readingeagle.com
Question: I totally loved the Fringe premiere. Will the brief flashes of Peter Bishop in the background continue? —Justin
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