‘Fringe’ star John Noble says Friday night move a ‘blessing in disguise’

Is “Fringe” on the edge? The weird-science series  is a favorite here at Hero Complex and, like many other observers, we had a ripple of panic when Fox announced a few weeks ago that the series would shift to Friday — sci-fi shows like ”Dollhouse,” ”Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and “Firefly” all walked the plank and one of their final steps was being moved to Friday night. But we got an e-mail from the show’s mad-genius scene-stealer, John Noble, and he was upbeat about the notion of sidestepping Thursday’s tough primetime competition — namely “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” — and he’s also mighty confident in the work being doing right now on the set in Vancouver.

“It was an interesting decision by Fox. We are creating some very exciting episodes, I think — we are making some great TV. The prevailing feeling is that moving to Friday nights may be a blessing in disguise. Less interruptions, and less big-time competition. Friday night may present a challenge, but our self-belief and commitment are sky high. Time will tell.”

Of course, Fox had a signature success in 1990s with “The X-Files,” another strange-and-spooky FBI show with a complex mythology. That show carved out a core following on Friday nights (although its strongest ratings came after a switch to Sunday) long before DVRs. So the truth — and the fans – are out there.

– Geoff Boucher

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