Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Fringe

Pilot

  • Episode aired Sep 9, 2008
  • TV-14TV-14
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
4.3K
YOUR RATING
S1.E1
  • S1
  • E1
All episodes
All
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Anna Torv in Fringe (2008)
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Sci-Fi
After a plane from Hamburg returns with no survivors, FBI agent Olivia Dunham goes after the only person that might shed some light on the incident - a scientist that has been in a mental ho... Read allAfter a plane from Hamburg returns with no survivors, FBI agent Olivia Dunham goes after the only person that might shed some light on the incident - a scientist that has been in a mental hospital for the last 17 years.After a plane from Hamburg returns with no survivors, FBI agent Olivia Dunham goes after the only person that might shed some light on the incident - a scientist that has been in a mental hospital for the last 17 years.
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
4.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Alex Graves
  • Writers
    • J.J. Abrams
    • Alex Kurtzman
    • Roberto Orci
  • Stars
    • Anna Torv
    • Joshua Jackson
    • Lance Reddick
Top credits
  • Director
    • Alex Graves
  • Writers
    • J.J. Abrams
    • Alex Kurtzman
    • Roberto Orci
  • Stars
    • Anna Torv
    • Joshua Jackson
    • Lance Reddick
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 15User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos9

    John Noble in Fringe (2008)
    Anna Torv in Fringe (2008)
    Anna Torv in Fringe (2008)
    John Noble in Fringe (2008)
    Anna Torv in Fringe (2008)
    Anna Torv in Fringe (2008)
    Mark Valley and Anna Torv in Fringe (2008)
    Lance Reddick in Fringe (2008)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anna Torv
    Anna Torv
    • Olivia Dunhamas Olivia Dunham
    Joshua Jackson
    Joshua Jackson
    • Peter Bishopas Peter Bishop
    Lance Reddick
    Lance Reddick
    • Phillip Broylesas Phillip Broyles
    Kirk Acevedo
    Kirk Acevedo
    • Charlie Francisas Charlie Francis
    Blair Brown
    Blair Brown
    • Nina Sharpas Nina Sharp
    Jasika Nicole
    Jasika Nicole
    • Astrid Farnsworthas Astrid Farnsworth
    Mark Valley
    Mark Valley
    • John Scottas John Scott
    John Noble
    John Noble
    • Dr. Walter Bishopas Dr. Walter Bishop
    Jason Butler Harner
    Jason Butler Harner
    • Richard Steigas Richard Steig
    Peter Outerbridge
    Peter Outerbridge
    • Dr. Reyesas Dr. Reyes
    Bernadeta Wrobel
    • Flight Attendantas Flight Attendant
    Jill Harland
    • German Womanas German Woman
    Peter Sawyer
    • Denver Manas Denver Man
    Max Topplin
    Max Topplin
    • Angry 16 Year Oldas Angry 16 Year Old
    Shaun Shetty
    Shaun Shetty
    • Indian Manas Indian Man
    Andreas Frank
    • Pilotas Pilot
    • (as Andreas Franke)
    Dennis Mockler
    • Co-Pilotas Co-Pilot
    Lee Gladman
    • CDC Officeras CDC Officer
    • (as Lee Jay Gladman)
    • Director
      • Alex Graves
    • Writers
      • J.J. Abrams
      • Alex Kurtzman
      • Roberto Orci
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit
    When a commercial flight from Germany lands at Boston's Logan Airport without a single passenger or crew member on board alive, FBI agent Olivia Dunham is assigned to the investigative team. When her partner and lover John Scott suffers severe chemical burns, she seeks help from Dr. Walter Bishop a one-time university professor who experimented in the same field but has now been institutionalized for 17 years. To get his cooperation however, she has to get Bishop's son Peter's cooperation as well. The information they gather leads to Massive Dynamic, a huge multinational founded by someone who once shared laboratory space with Dr. Bishop. Agent Dunham also learns that what happened may have been part of a much larger pattern of strange phenomena. —garykmcd
    • diabetes
    • cancer
    • woman wears a bikini
    • woman wears a gas mask
    • pattern
    • 72 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Mystery
      • Sci-Fi
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • TV-14
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      There are eight pictures that appear when a commercial break is coming or for promoting the show. They are:
      • APPLE: the seeds in the apple are human embryos.
      • BUTTERFLY: the wings are made up of bones.
      • FLOWER: some of its petals are dragonfly wings and the center shows a Fermat's spiral.
      • FROG: has a symbol on its back for PHI.
      • HAND: it has six fingers.
      • HORN: has the Fibonacci spiral and has the number of PHI inscribed on the horn.
      • LEAF: has the delta symbol in the middle of it.
      SMOKE: for a woman's face.
    • Goofs
      When they show Iraq for the first time, it's shown that two Iraqi guys speak Farsi to each other (with a very weird accent) and the American guy tells them "I also know Farsi". While Farsi is the language spoken in Iran, Arabic is spoken in Iraq. However, later episodes explain that Peter was meeting with Iranian businessmen.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Walter Bishop: The only thing better than a cow is a human! Unless you need milk. Then you really need a cow.

    • Connections
      Features SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      Main Title Theme
      (uncredited)

      Written by J.J. Abrams

    User reviews15

    Review
    Top review
    Full with stereotypes and plot goofs = disappointing pilot
    I suspected this to be like a TV movie because of its overlong runningtime, but director Alex Graves managed to make this look like a longsome introduction to the characters and I thought that was good. I also really enjoy the whole look of the show, that is to say cinematography, score, editing or the way they show the locations of the particular scenes. This and the mystery style of the show are enough to keep me watching it, at least for the 1st season. We'll see if it gets better or worse (both is possible). So, I think the 3 leads are quite interesting and I'm curious how John Noble did not get a nomination for an Emmy as Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. I also enjoyed the beginning of this pilot very much and I had great interest in where the story would go. But after watching the whole thing, I think this show (or at least the pilot) is overrated. There were really a lot of goofs in the storyline and J. J. Abrams has never proved better that he adores to fill something that would otherwise be quite good with stereotypes. I mean, the love story? It seemed fake as hell and was totally unnecessary to the storyline. Furthermore, I really wanted to believe the supernatural parts of this, but it was just impossible regarding the illogicality and stupidity of some scenes. Despite all my criticism, I've got to give this pilot its due for entertaining me for the whole running time - I actually think it passed quickly. The mix of action, crime, sci-fi, mystery and drama (yes, it really are that much genres in one) worked rather good, but overall it just doesn't fulfil its premise. The writers focused on the false stuff because even with this long run-time, I still didn't really get to know the villains and the way they've done it. Usually I wouldn't rate an episode to which I've got that much to criticize about that good, but I like the style of the show very much and I'm just hoping that this was nothing more than a false start.
    helpful•8
    21
    • stillworkingfortheknife
    • Mar 27, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 9, 2008 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
    • Filming locations
      • Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Bad Robot
      • Warner Bros. Television
      • Fringe Element Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 22 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Anna Torv in Fringe (2008)
    Top Gap
    What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of Pilot (2008) in the United Kingdom?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in May
    See the full list
    Image caption not available
    2:14
    The Most Anticipated Movies and Shows to Watch in May
    Watch the video

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.