On Sunday, July 15, "Fringe" took to the Comic-Con stage for the final time, and there was no finer venue for the tenacious show's send-off than the cavernous Hall H, which holds over 6000 attendees and was completely packed for the occasion.
Josh Jackson, Anna Torv, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Jasika Nicole and executive producer J. H. Wyman were on hand to spill a few hints regarding Season 5, and HuffPost TV was in attendance to gather all of the juicy tidbits into one handy roundup.
Follow along with our liveblog below to catch real-time updates from the final "Fringe" panel direct from San Diego Comic-Con, and scroll to the bottom of the post to watch the full video of the panel.
The cast stood to take a bow and got a standing ovation from the crowd -- bittersweet moment.
Noble liked random Walter in the beginning, the one who was always saying the wrong thing but desperately wanted his son back. Reddick loved Alt-Broyles and the way he died with a bang. Torv loved playing the lighter "Bolivia" in the beginning, but now she loves Olivia and finds her satisfying. Nicole remembers how tough it was to close the door to the other universe and lose their alt-selves.
"There is an answer to that question, and the answer will become apparent next season," Wyman said.
Jackson: Vagenda is always a favorite.
Holbrook: Fifty Shades of Fringe?
"I'm gonna be really careful with what I say because I want you to experience it. It's like opening your presents before Christmas day. Let's just say, Henry was an astounding performer last season -- let's see if he makes his way into the season this year," Wyman teased.
"When I stand up from here, I just want it known that I didn't piss myself. There's going to be an embarrassing moment when I leave the stage ... "
Made solely for Comic-Con. "It's not saying goodbye, it's saying that we're successful and having this beautiful family that you're a part of. So on behalf of all of us, all the people in Vancouver and all the people at Fox who stuck with us [despite] middling numbers ... Thanks to them and thanks to Warner Bros. and thanks to you guys because you really do own the show with us," Wyman said.
"I loved it when Peter chopped that guy’s fingers off. And I think there was an episode in Season 1 where Olivia shoots like 17 guys ... Those scenes they're talking about were some of the most beautiful we’ve ever done but I’m not gonna cry. I’m not gonna cry."
"I'm gonna go with Seth Gabel -- the way he contrasted his two selves was really well done, so I'm gonna go with Lincoln and Alt-Lincoln."
Jackson: I haven't had that in about 20 years. Nicole: When Walter is at the phone booth and can't remember the number to get to Peter. And when Olivia goes into her house and realized that the doppelganger had been washing her clothes and had been taking over her life -- it was so heartbreaking. It was just played with such subtlety and beauty. It's such a testament to how talented Anna is. [She's tearing up.] Torv: That's what TV teaches you, it's about the characters. Last season there was an episode all about Astrid, and the scene where she meets [Alt-Astrid] and we'd been waiting for it for so long, all of us, the crew. Jasika comes in to do it and it was so silent -- and our set is loud -- the respect and care and the love that was given ... Watching that in the room was so special. [Torv and Nicole are both crying.]
Jackson: "The fun part of this show is the process of discovery. It's much more fun to watch it week-to-week. It's our last journey together."
"I get the sense that the group of people I work with would have each other’s back. There’s a real sense of solidarity and I don’t think that’ll go away. What we've learned is about the power of love in this story, the thing that holds "Fringe" together is love. I'm sure that's why you guys have followed it through -- the love between father and son and Peter and Olivia. It's that love factor that's kept us going and will give us a great final chapter."
"The biggest lesson is to come, to tell you the truth. [The crowd takes that in a dirty way. Torv gets very embarrassed.] You know what, that’s what we need to teach Olivia to do, to tell you the truth. Please let’s move on … "
"I would like to aspire to the nobility that Peter has developed over the course of the five years. The sacrifices that he’s made for love and family are on an epic scale. It’s been a great joy, especially with John, to go from the son to the father figure and back to the son, and we’re looking forward to seeing how to end this journey.”
He told Nicole "They're just gonna think I'm a fan," because of his hat, but he was swarmed as soon as he stepped into the hotel.
Jasika Nicole was thrilled that the fans started connecting with Astrid despite the how little screen-time and backstory she got in the beginning. She was expecting to get killed off years ago.
"We're trying to give you guys back so much, because thanks to your support and the media, we made it this far -- we're the little show that could," Wyman said.
"We wanted to write the scripts early and make sure it was all perfect. We wanted to make sure the actors had enough time to bring their thoughts and where they were going too," Wyman explained.
"Just as you guys want the show to end well, we want the show to end well," Jackson agreed.
"I had two versions in mind for the end, I didn't know which way we were going to go, and then it all became clear," Wyman said.
"Everyone was kind of happily surprised -- we were on the razor's edge this year," Jackson pointed out.
"It's going to pick up exactly where we left off in 419," Joel Wyman said. Some pieces of footage were shot last season in preparation of next season. "It came back brilliantly." They used the video as a sales pitch to get them to renew the show.
Joel Wyman is recording a video of the audience saying "we miss you Blair." They're going to tweet her.
Joel Wyman, Joshua Jackson (big cheer), John Noble (equally big cheer) -- the whole room is holding up white tulip print-outs. Lance Reddick, Anna Torv and Jasika Nicole are also here.
That's when the final season premieres. The fourth season will be available on DVD on Sept. 4.
The crowd is going wild. "Witness Fringe Division's Last Stand..."
Hall H is filling up fast and the stewards are handing out Observer hats for the crowd.
Watch the "Fringe" panel in its entirety below:
Posted: 07/15/2012 1:00 pm Updated: 07/17/2012 9:17 pm