title: Fringe (TV series)

text: In Season 2, the occurrences are found to be in conjunction with activities of a parallel universe, which is plagued by singularities occurring at weakened points of the fabric between worlds; over there, scientists have developed an amber-like substance that isolates these singularities as well as any innocent people caught in the area on its release. The Fringe team deals with more cases that are leading to a "great storm" as the parallel universe appears to be at war with the prime one, engineered by human-machine hybrid shapeshifters from the parallel universe. Walter is forced to tell Peter that he is from the parallel universe, a replacement for his own Peter, who died from a genetic disease. Walter had crossed over on the frozen ice of Reiden Lake in 1985 to administer the cure for the alternate version of Peter, but, after accidentally destroying a dose of the cure upon transport, he instead brought the boy across. On return, they fell through the ice but were saved by the Observer September (Michael Cerveris), who told Walter of the importance of "the boy", which Walter took to mean Peter. Walter's crossing is what caused the singularities in the parallel universe, with Reiden Lake at their center. Walter has been looking for a sign of forgiveness in the form of a white tulip.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Season 3 presents episodes that alternate between the two universes. "Walternate", Walter's doppelgänger in the parallel universe, is the U.S. Secretary of Defense and has set events in motion to assemble the Machine, a doomsday device that reacts only to Peter's biology. He also sent his Olivia, "Fauxlivia", to the prime universe, in Olivia's place, to engage the Fringe Division and assemble the prime universe's version of the device, while he studies Olivia's Cortexiphan-induced powers. By happenstance, Fauxlivia becomes pregnant with Peter's child, Henry, before being outed and extracted to the parallel universe. Walternate orchestrated acceleration of the pregnancy to gain a sample of the baby's blood, which he uses to activate the machine. Peter, with Olivia's help, enters the prime version of the machine, and experiences a vision of the future where the parallel universe has been destroyed and the same fate threatens the prime one, and learns the Machine is really a device created by Walter and his associates from this future, sent back in time purposely to relay this vision of the future to Peter. Recovering in the present, Peter alters his plan and uses the Machine to merge the two rooms, creating a bridge where inhabitants of both universes can solve their dilemma, before time is re-written so September (The Observer) doesn't save him and is forgotten by both Walter and Olivia.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Season 4 begins in an alternate timeline, one in which September had failed to save the alternate version of Peter in 1985, according to the Observers. This creates a butterfly effect influencing the main characters' pasts but otherwise stabilizing both universes due to the creation of the bridge. Peter is pulled into this new timeline due to the actions of the alternate timeline's Fringe team, which includes Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel). Peter initially works to return to his own timeline, fueled by fears that his memories are altering Cortexiphan-dosed Olivia's of this timeline, but after encountering a wounded September, Peter comes to learn that this timeline is truly his home, and both he and Olivia come to accept the change, rekindling their affair. September also reveals to Peter that the Observers needed to erase Peter's son, Henry, to assure their future will be created, though noting that Peter's future child with Olivia will be important. Meanwhile, in the present, William Bell has instructed David Robert Jones, alive in this timeline, to work with the parallel universe's version of Nina Sharp to synchronize the two universes, aiming to collapse them both and pave the way for a third universe under Bell's control, using Olivia's Cortexiphan powers to enable the collapse. The Fringe division is forced to close the dimensional bridge, but this fails to stop Bell's plan. Walter is left with one choice, to shoot and kill Olivia, her death disrupting the process and saving the world. Olivia's "death" is only temporary, as the Cortexiphan in her body is consumed to repair the bullet wound, leaving her alive and healthy but lacking her psionic abilities. As Olivia and Peter begin their lives together, September appears to Walter and warns that the Observers "are coming".


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The fifth and final season begins in 2036, following from the flash-forward fourth-season episode "Letters of Transit". As September warned, Observers, bald white males, from the far future, having ruined Earth for themselves, time-traveled to 2015 and instituted "The Purge", wiped out much of humanity, subjected the survivors to their control, and began modifying the planet's environment to be more suitable for themselves. The Fringe team was able to seal themselves in amber to avoid capture shortly after the Purge, and are reunited through Henrietta ("Etta") (Georgina Haig), Peter and Olivia's now adult daughter who disappeared shortly after the Observer arrival in 2015. Walter reveals he and September developed a plan to defeat the Observers, revealed through a series of pre-recorded videotapes ambered in the lab. The tapes lead to several components of a device, including a young Observer child, named Michael (Spencer List in Season 1 and Rowan Longworth in Season 5), but further allude to a man named Donald that had helped Walter prepare the plan. Etta is killed during these events, driving Olivia and Peter to complete the plan for her sake. Through Michael, they discover Donald is September, having been stripped of his Observer powers for helping the Fringe team, and that Michael is his genetic son, having been purposely grown as an anomaly in the far future. September explains the plan is to send Michael to the year 2167, where human genetic experiments to sacrifice emotion for intelligence would be started and leading to the creation of the Observers; by showing them Michael, who possesses both emotion and intelligence, the experiments would be stopped and the Observers never created. September is prepared to take Michael to the future as the plan is set in motion, but he is shot and killed at the last moment; Walter, already made aware that he will have to make a sacrifice, takes Michael through to the future to assure the plan's completion. As predicted, time is reset from the invasion onwards in 2015; the Observers never invade, and Peter, Olivia, and Etta, live their lives peacefully—though Peter receives one final letter from his father: a drawing of a white tulip.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Much of the story arc for "Fringe" involves an alternate universe that mostly mirrors the prime universe, but with numerous historical idiosyncrasies. A significant example element used is the effect of the September 11 attacks; though this event also occurred in the alternate universe, the World Trade Center was untouched by the attacks, leaving the buildings as predominant landmarks in the alternate world's skyline of "Manhatan". The South Tower was used as the office of William Bell in several episodes.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The producers were strongly interested in "world-building," and the alternate universe allowed them to create a very similar world with a large amount of detail to fill in the texture of the world. An alternate universe also allowed them to show "how small choices that you make define you as a person and can change your life in large ways down the line," according to co-director Jeff Pinkner. However, the producers also realized the concept of the alternate universe could be confusing to viewers. To avoid this, elements of the world were introduced in small pieces over the course of the first two seasons before the larger revelation in the second-season finale and the third season. J. H. Wyman stated that he would often pass the story ideas for the alternate universe by his father to see if it made sense, and would rework the script if his father found it confusing. Such world building also gave them a risky opportunity to create stories that focused solely on characters from the alternate universe with nearly no ties to the main characters; as stated by Wyman, they would be able to "make two shows about one show," a concept that the network executives embraced.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Prior to commercial breaks, a brief image of a glyph is shown. Abrams revealed in an interview that the glyphs had a hidden meaning. "It's something that we're doing for people who care to figure it out and follow it, but it's not something that a viewer has to consider when they watch the show." Abrams also revealed that the seemingly unrelated frogs which have the Greek letter Phi (Φ) imprinted on their back appeared in promos for the show have significance within the context of the series, saying "it's part of the code of the show." The glyph code was cracked by an editor at the technology site Ars Technica, who discovered it to be a simple substitution cipher used to spell out a single thematic word for each episode; for example, the pilot episode's eight glyphs spell out the word "observer". Additionally, the glyphs are representative of some of the means by which Walter solves a case (such as the moth/butterfly from "Johari Window", the seahorse strain of DNA from "The Bishop Revival"). In "Jacksonville", behind Walter as he speaks to Olivia about her treatment where the nootropic Cortexiphan was first studied as a trial, each of the glyphs is clearly visible on the daycare wall. An episode-by-episode key to the various glyphs was made available on Fringepedia.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The show's standard opening sequence interplays images of the glyph symbols alongside words representing fringe science topics, such as "teleportation" and "dark matter." Within the third season, with episodes that took place primarily in the parallel universe, a new set of titles was used, following a similar format, though tinted red instead of blue and using alternate fringe science concepts like "hypnosis" and "neuroscience". The difference in color has led some fans to call the prime universe the Blue one in contrast to the parallel Red one. In the third-season episode "Entrada", the titles used a mix of both the blue- and red-tinted versions, given that the episode took place equally in each universe. In the two flashback episodes, "Peter" and "Subject 13," a variation on the sequence, using retro graphics akin to 1980s technology and phrases like "personal computing" and "genetic engineering," was used. For the dystopian future third-season episode "The Day We Died," a black-toned theme, with more dire phrases like "hope" and "water," was used. The fourth-season premiere, "Neither Here Nor There" introduced an amber-toned title sequence with additional new terms that is used for nearly all fourth-season episodes. The fourth-season episode "Letters of Transit," which returned to the future dystopian universe, and the subsequent fifth-season episodes, feature a cold-toned title sequence with phrases such as "joy," "private thought," "free will," and "freedom," ideas which have been lost in this future. There is one frame in the opening sequence in which the words "Observers are here" flash very quickly, and the opening sequence must be paused to see them.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Co-created by J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, "Fringe" is produced by Bad Robot in association with Warner Bros. Television, as part of a commitment that Abrams previously made with the studio. At the time, Abrams was working with Orci and Kurtzman on the "Star Trek" film, and met at one of the Comic-Cons during "Star Trek"s production to brainstorm ideas for the show. Abrams later brought Bryan Burk, a producer on several of his films, to help with developing the series.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Abrams's inspiration for "Fringe" came from a range of sources, including the writings of Michael Crichton, the film "Altered States", films by David Cronenberg, and the television series "The X-Files" and "The Twilight Zone". Orci stated that "Fringe" is a "new kind of storytelling", combining procedural shows such as "Law & Order", and an "extremely serialized and very culty" series like "Lost". The procedural aspect was chosen because, at the time of its premiere, six of the ten top shows were procedural in nature; Orci stated that "you have to be a fool not to go study what it is that they're doing". Abrams had originally considered naming the series "The Lab", as they had envisioned Walter's laboratory to be "the epicenter of the conversation", and where "anything is possible".


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Though the team saw this as a way of presenting "mystery of the week"-type episodes, they wanted to focus more on how these stories were told in unpredictable ways rather than the actual mystery, recognizing that most of their target audience has seen such mysteries before through previous shows and films. Instead, they wanted their storytelling to be original and unexpected, and, as claimed by Kurtzman, one of the most challenging aspects of developing the individual episodes. Serialization of the show was important to tell their overall story with larger plot elements, but Abrams recognized the difficulties that his earlier serialized shows, such as "Lost" and "Alias", had in attracting and maintaining viewers that had not seen these shows from the start or who missed episodes sporadically. For "Fringe", Abrams instead sought to create, as stated by David Itzkoff of the "New York Times", "a show that suggested complexity but was comprehensible in any given episode". The writers aimed to balance a line between stand-alone episodes, a factor requested by Fox, and a heavily serialized show; they balanced these by moving the serialization aspect to the growth and development of their characters. This gave them the ability to write self-contained episodes that still contained elements related to the overall mythos. However, as production continued, the creative staff found the show itself took on a more serialized nature and opted towards this approach in later seasons while still balancing self-contained episodes.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: One method was by introducing overarching themes that individual episodes could be tied to, such as "The Pattern" in Season 1, providing information repeatedly about the larger plot over the course of several episodes or seasons. Abrams also created characters whose alliances to the larger narrative were clear, avoiding a similar problem that had occurred during the first and second seasons of "Alias". A final step taken was to script out all of the major long-running plot elements, including the show's finale, prior to full-time production. Abrams contrasted this to the process used in "Lost", where ideas like character flashbacks and the hatch from the second season were introduced haphazardly and made difficulties in defining when they should be presented to the viewers. Instead, with "Fringe", they were able to create "clearly defined goalposts" (in Itzkoff's words) that could be altered as necessary with network and seasonal changes but always provided a clear target for the overarching plot. These approaches also allowed the team to introduce unique plot elements to be introduced in time that would have altered the show's fate if known at the start. Abrams stated that "There are certain details that are hugely important that I believe, if shared, will destroy any chance of actually getting on the air." Abrams noted that they are able to benefit from "how open Fox as a network has been to a show that is embracing the weirdness and the long-term stories that we want to tell". During the third season, executive producer Jeff Pinkner noted that "We have six to eight seasons worth of material. We see it as having certain chapters that would enrich the overall story, but aren't necessary to tell the overall story. God willing, the network allows us the time to tell our complete story."


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: As part of the larger story, the writers have placed elements in earlier episodes that are referenced in episodes seasons later. For example, in the first-season episode "The Ghost Network", the Fringe team encounters an amber-like substance, which is later shown to be a critical means to combat the breakdown of the parallel universe and eventually for the same in the prime universe with the third-season episode "6B". Pinkner compared this aspect to "planting seeds", some which they know how they plan to use later in the show's story, while others they can find ways of incorporating into these later episodes.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: He further attributed these elements as part of the "world building" to flesh out the show beyond episodic content. The producers have stated that when the show's mythology is introduced, it is not simply there to tie episodes together, but "to provide answers that generate consequences".


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Certain elements of the show's mythology were established from the start. The parallel universe was always part of the original concept, though aspects of when and how to introduce it were tackled as the show proceeded. The idea of Peter being from the parallel universe came early into the show's production, but this came to lead the team to jokingly refer to Peter as their "hatch", one of the early mysteries in "Lost", as with the hatch in "Lost", they initially had no idea how to introduce this within the show. FOX's Reilly was also initially concerned about the parallel universe aspect, but as the show progressed into the first season and found its groove, the concept was readily accepted. The most poignant introduction of the parallel universe was in the conclusion of the first-season finale, "There's More Than One of Everything", where they showed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were still standing in the parallel universe, a concept introduced by writer Andrew Kreisberg as an iconic image to leave viewers with; Jackson stated, "I don't know that we've ever had a better visual or a better cliff-hanger."


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Other mythos elements were devised as the series progressed. The writers had originally envisioned only spending small portions of episodes within the parallel universe, but as they wrote these episodes within Season 3, they brought out the idea of setting entire episodes within the parallel universe. This necessitated the development of the alternate versions of the main characters, which Pinkner considered "a great playground just for imagination". The actors themselves found this concept exciting, as it allowed them to play different characters but with the same background and considered it a creative challenge. Similarly, having Peter erased from the timeline as part of the finale for Season 3 was an idea that grew over the course of that season. The writers were aware this would be a risky move but felt the idea was very appropriate for "Fringe", and opted to write towards this after considering all the consequences. Pinkner noted that this gave them an opportunity to "reset the character relationships" and determine the key aspects that would remain without Peter, as well as "making the audience uncomfortable at times". The cast was not initially sold with the idea, but came around as the fourth season progressed.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: After developing the core concepts of the show, Abrams began to seek studios to develop the show; Abrams' past successes led to Warner Bros. Television and the Fox Television Network to quickly jump on board the project. Peter Roth, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Television, had been actively seeking to bring any Abrams' project to his studio, and heard Abrams' pitch for "Fringe" at a dinner meeting in August 2007. Similarly, Kevin Reilly, the entertainment chairman at Fox, knew that it was critical for him to bring the next Abrams' project to his network, and worked with Roth to assure this would happen.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Jeff Pinkner was selected to act as the head showrunner and executive producer. Abrams noted that he trusts Pinkner after working together with him on "Alias" and "Lost". Pinkner became interested in the show during a visit to the set of "Star Trek", during which Abrams was discussing the concept of "Fringe" with Orci and Kurtzman, knowing that they would not be involved in the direct production of the work. Abrams pitched the idea to Pinkner, who was intrigued by the importance of characters in a science fiction drama. In season two, J.H. Wyman was brought on as executive producer and showrunner with Pinkner. Wyman had been a science fiction enthusiast but had worried that he had not written anything in that genre but after learning about the concept of the show, felt his role as an executive producer was "a match made in heaven".


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Michael Giacchino, Abrams' frequent collaborator, composed the music for the pilot of "Fringe", before handing over duties to his assistants Chad Seiter and Chris Tilton; Tilton took over scoring duties from Season 2 onward. While Giacchino retains an on-screen credit, Abrams himself wrote the series theme music.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The two-hour pilot episode, filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, cost a total of $10 million to create. A basement of an old church was used for Walter's lab set in the pilot, and this set was replicated at other film sites in New York and Vancouver when the show moved. The lab set was designed by Carol Spier, the production designer for several of Cronenberg's films. John Noble called his character's lab "the heart and soul of "Fringe"", so consequently, "That has to remain constant." A cow used in the pilot episode had to be recast when production of Season 1 was moved to New York, due to livestock restrictions preventing it from being brought from Canada to the United States. Other locations used in the first season included other universities to stage for the Harvard University campus, where Walter's lab is located. These included Pratt Institute and Yale University, including its Old Campus (particularly Phelps Hall and Durfee Hall), Branford College, and the exterior of Yale Law School, University of Toronto's University College, Brooklyn College.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: On February 21, 2009, it was reported that in the event that "Fringe" would be renewed for a second season, the show would move production to Vancouver from New York City as a cost-cutting measure. Executive producer Jeff Pinkner explained:


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: We want to stay in New York, New York has been incredibly good to us. It feels like we're being kicked out of the city. I know we're not, but they're making it impossible for us to afford doing the show ... Our New York crew is spectacular, they've worked their [butts] off to make the show look great. But it looks like New York is not renewing a tax credit that makes it possible to make our budget in New York. So it looks like, out of necessity, we'll have to leave New York, which is not anything we are welcoming.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: As plans were being made to move the production to Canada, the New York state legislature passed continuation of the film and tax credits, as planned. Upon productions moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for season 2, the University of British Columbia now stands in for Harvard. The area around New Westminster often serves as filming locations for "Fringe" stories that take place in the parallel universe.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Prior to the start of production for the fifth season, Pinkner announced that he was leaving the production of the show to pursue other projects; Wyman would remain as the sole showrunner for the show.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The show's main characters, Olivia, Peter, and Walter, were at the core of the concept for "Fringe". The creators recognized early that "the idea that telling a father-son story and a relationship story was a really compelling one and a very accessible one", according to Kurtzman. They were able to provide the characters with backstories that, like with other long-term plot elements, could be alluded to over several episodes and seasons.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The characters would also contrast with the typical procedural genre show; rather than having clearly defined roles episode to episode, they instead "have an emotional memory and an emotional investment", as stated by Orci. This also allowed for, as necessary, characters to be removed or introduced to the show and have a larger impact on the other characters.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The first actors cast were Kirk Acevedo and Mark Valley, who portrayed FBI agents Charlie Francis and John Scott, respectively. John Noble and Lance Reddick, who play Dr. Walter Bishop and Homeland Security agent Phillip Broyles, joined the cast later on. Casting of Anna Torv, Blair Brown, and Jasika Nicole, who play Olivia Dunham, Massive Dynamic employee Nina Sharp, and Astrid Farnsworth, a federal agent and assistant to Olivia Dunham, respectively, followed; while Joshua Jackson, who plays Peter Bishop, was the last main character to be cast. Jackson auditioned for James T. Kirk in Abrams' "Star Trek" and believed this is what impressed the producer to cast him in his television project, though Abrams later clarified that it was recalling his previous experience with working with Jackson on his television series "Felicity". For the principal and recurring actors, they were all intrigued by the script for the pilot, comparing it to a two-hour-long movie, as well as Abrams' reputation.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: On April 8, 2009, it was announced that Leonard Nimoy would appear as Walter Bishop's former lab partner, Dr. William Bell, in the first season's finale, which explores the existence of an ominous parallel universe. This choice led one reviewer to question if "Fringe"s plot might be a homage to the "" episode "Mirror, Mirror", which explored the concept of an alternate reality referred to as a "mirror universe", and an evil version of Spock distinguished by a goatee. Nimoy returned as Dr. Bell for an extended arc, and according to Orci, Bell is "the beginning of the answers to even bigger questions." Nimoy reprised his role in the second-season finale, where his character and Walter met for a "showdown". Nimoy's character is apparently dead after the season finale, having used himself to help Walter, Peter and the Alternate Olivia back to the prime universe. As he had retired from acting, it was thought unlikely that his character would return. In February 2011 however, he announced his definite plan to return to "Fringe" and reprise his role as William Bell. He returned to voice the character in the animated segments of the third-season episode "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide", and appeared as a computer-generated character in the fourth-season episode "Letters of Transit". In the two-part finale of the fourth season, Nimoy returned to play the ultimate antagonist of the alternate timeline story arc.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Early reception through the first season was generally lukewarm, with many noting its "lackluster" start and the "dullness" of the characters. However, changes in the approach and storytelling of the show in the second and subsequent seasons led to more positive critical reception and made it a media favorite. As a whole, the series was well received by the critics and has developed a cult following.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The pilot episode was watched by 9.13 million viewers, garnering 3.2/9 Nielsen ratings among adults 18–49, with ratings improving over the course of the episode. Ratings improved greatly for the second episode, "The Same Old Story" which 13.27 million people watched, making it the fifth most watched show of the week. As of October 2008, the show had achieved the first place in the 18–49 demographic among new shows. Barry Garron at "The Hollywood Reporter" found it promising and "reminiscent of battle-of-the-sexes charm." Robert Bianco, of "USA Today", said, "What Abrams brings to Fringe is a director's eye for plot and pace, a fan's love of sci-fi excitement, and a story-teller's gift for investing absurd events with real emotions and relatable characters." Travis Fickett of IGN gave it 7.6 out of 10, calling it "a lackluster pilot that promises to be a pretty good series". While Tim Goodman of the "San Francisco Chronicle" remarked that it was "boundlessly ambitious", "Chicago Sun-Times"s Misha Davenport called it an "update of "The X-Files" with the addition of terrorism and the office of Homeland Security". In a 2016 retrospective of the series, "A.V. Club" writer Joshua Alston noted that the similarities to "The X-Files", including the "monster of the week" approach and tepid romance between two of the series' lead characters, as well as the relatively recent release of "", had turned audiences off the show since "it was retreading what "The X-Files" had already done."


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: In its "2008 Year in Review", Television Without Pity declared "Fringe" one of the year's biggest TV disappointments, commenting that the show is "entertaining" and "the cast is largely strong" but the character development is insufficient, and describing main character Olivia Dunham as "wooden and distant."<ref name="TV W/O Pity"></ref> Meanwhile, in other articles recounting the best and worst of 2008, "The New York Times" stated that "Fringe" "is the best of a rash of new series that toy with the paranormal". The author goes on to praise the cast saying that "Much credit belongs to Anna Torv who stars as an F.B.I. agent investigating bizarre murders that all appear to be linked to a powerful and mysterious multinational corporation", and "Ms. Torv is backed up ably by John Noble as a crazy but brilliant fringe scientist and his level-headed but skeptical son, played by Joshua Jackson".


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Seasons of "Fringe" after the first season were seen as vast improvements on the first. "Entertainment Weekly" stated, "The best new show of the year took a few weeks to grow on me, but now it's a full-blown addiction." The "Los Angeles Times" called Walter Bishop one of the best characters of 2008, noting, "the role of the modern-day mad scientist could so easily have been a disaster, but the 'Fringe' writers and the masterful John Noble have conspired to create a character that seems, as trite as it sounds, more Shakespearean than sci-fi."


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: "Chicago Tribune" stated that some episodes are "distressingly predictable and formulaic" but adds that there have also been some excellent episodes. The "New York Times" named "Fringe" one of the top 10 television shows in 2010, while Television Without Pity, previously dismissive of the show, listed it amongst their 2010 "Most Memorable TV Moments", stating "there were so many great "Fringe" moments this year" and "we were treated to some of the best sci-fi on television this past fall".


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: "The A.V. Club" named "Fringe" the 15th best show of 2010, stated that the episode "Peter" gave "the series' overarching storyline a devastating emotional core", making the series a "rare blend of inventive ideas, wild ambition, and unexpected soulfulness". IGN named "Fringe" the 18th best science fiction show of all time in a 2011 listing, stating that since the middle of the first season, "it's been nothing but a series of satisfyingly jaw-dropping 'holy eff!' moments layered with wonderful, nuanced performances from Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and John Noble".


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: In 2012, "Entertainment Weekly" listed the show at #17 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years", saying, ""Fringe" was conceived as a mass-appeal genre procedural, with a background mythology that wouldn't detract from monster-of-the-week episodes. ... But the mythology overtook the monsters following the revelation of a parallel universe. By its third season, "Fringe" was overpopulated by multiple versions of every character. Unfortunately, that increasing narrative complexity has steadily pigeonholed it as a niche show."


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: In 2015, "Bustle" declared "White Tulip" as "one of the greatest hours in television history". He wrote, "'White Tulip' is an hour of television that shouldn't work, that technically doesn't even exist ... but thank god it does, because it's one of the most powerful episodes ever created — and it showcases why "Fringe" is one of the most criminally underrated series of our time."


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The following is a table of seasonal U.S. rankings (based on total viewers per episode including reruns) of "Fringe" on Fox.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: "Fringe" premiered in the 2008 United States television season at a regular timeslot of 9:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesdays. During Season 1, "Fringe" was part of a Fox initiative known as "Remote-Free TV". Episodes of "Fringe" were longer than standard dramas on current network television. The show ran with half the commercials, adding about six minutes to the show's runtime. When the show went to a commercial, a short bumper aired informing the viewer of roughly how much time commercials would consume before the program resumed. The pilot episode was leaked via BitTorrent, three months before the series premiere; similar to leaked fellow Fox series "". The series was renewed for a second season on May 4, 2009, and moved to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: It was renewed for a third season on March 6, 2010. As part of a reorganization of its 2010 midseason line up to capture more market for "American Idol", the Fox network shifted "Fringe" to 9:00 p.m. on Fridays. This timeslot, commonly considered the "Friday night death slot" for several previous Fox shows due to cancellation shortly following the move to that slot, left critics considering the show's fate. While "The X-Files" originally premiered during this slot and would continue to be a highly successful series, critics were unsure if "Fringe" could duplicate this performance. In this slot, the show competed with "Supernatural", a series that attracts similar types of viewers. Fox's Entertainment President Kevin Reilly, in response to these concerns, stated that 45% of "Fringe"s viewership is from time shifting recording through digital video receivers, and does not expect the viewership numbers to change significantly with the change to Friday. Reilly further postulated that "If it does anywhere near what it did on Thursdays, we can glue that show to the schedule because it can be a big win for us". Further promoted by the critical reaction to the rescheduling, the Fox network created a self-deprecating promotional advertisement acknowledging the reputation of the time slot, including quotes from other media outlets concerned about the move, but asserted that the move would "re-animate" the show. The network also created a music video, set to "Echoes" by the band Klaxons as a means of summarizing the third season to date prior to the first Friday broadcast. Joshua Jackson, who plays Peter Bishop on the show, cautioned that time-shifted viewership may not be enough to save the show: "It's not that not enough people are watching "Fringe", it's that not enough people are watching "Fringe" during the hour that it's on the air, which is key for the network."


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Producers Pinkner and Wyman also were excited about the move to Fridays, considering the slot as "open territory that can be conquered" and that they "can actually deliver like "The X-Files" did". Series creator Abrams was less optimistic of the move to Friday nights, aware that the show's likelihood to be renewed for a fourth season would be highly dependent on the number of niche viewers that continue to watch the show. Abrams did affirm that moving to Friday nights allows them to take more creative freedoms to maintain viewership in the new timeslot, but feels that if the show was not renewed for another season, they would be "hard pressed" to resolve the story by the end of the third season.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The show's first episode at the Friday 9:00 p.m. timeslot ("The Firefly") scored a 1.9 in the key 18–49 demographic which was an increase of 12% over its last Thursday-aired episode ("Marionette") which scored a 1.7, and maintained similar numbers in the second week for "Reciprocity". Though viewership slipped in further weeks, the show was renewed for a fourth season in March 2011. The move was unexpected based on these ratings, given the past performance of shows with similar viewership numbers in the Friday night slot, but several critics attribute it to the strong fanbase that the show has garnered, which contributes in part to consistently higher time-shifted viewership. Fox's Reilly stated that:


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Reilly further added that the renewal was also prompted by the high risk of trying to replace "Fringe" with another show with unknown viewership metrics; he commented that they "have a far better shot of sticking with a show that has an audience that [they] think [they] can grow". Prior to the onset of the fourth season, Reilly reiterated that they do not expect any significant growth in "Fringe"s viewership within that season: "It's a pretty complex show. If "Fringe" can do exactly what "Fringe" did last year, we're going to be very happy. They're right in the pocket creatively once again." Wyman stated in an interview with "The Hollywood Reporter" that the Fox network had been "supportive throughout this process", and though the show's viewership "wasn't exactly what they would've hoped for", aspects such as a loyal fan base and supportive critics were enough to take the show forward for another season. Pinkner commented that "there were no creative conditions" on the show's renewal, nor any cuts in the show's budget, though was unsure if the show will be moved to a different time slot. Noble, at the 2011 Comic-Con "Fringe" panel, reiterated that the fans were responsible for the livelihood of the show, stated, "Seriously, without your efforts, your rabid support, we wouldn't be here right now. You are the best fans that ever existed". The fourth season premiered on September 23, 2011.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Before the renewal of the fifth season, Abrams stated some skepticism for a renewal opportunity, but hoped that if it was cancelled, that it may be picked up by another network. On the other hand, Abrams considered that if Fox did pick up the show for a fifth season, "the next year would be the great ending for the show". Similarly, Fox's Reilly remained cautious about a renewal, noting that while the show is one of the top shows in the Friday night slot, "it's an expensive show. We lose a lot of money on the show." Reilly further reiterated the dedication of the fans of the show for helping it to its fourth season and continued success. When asked about whether the writers would have enough notice to write the fourth-season finale as a series finale if necessary, Reilly stated, "That's a Peter Roth issue" (chief executive of Warner Bros. Television). To which Roth responded, "We have no plans to give viewers closure this season because we expect the series to continue". In late January 2012, Fox and Warner Bros. Television were working on negotiating a lower licensing cost for the show to allow a fifth season to occur; this would not only help Fox reduce its losses on the show, but would also bring the total number of episodes above 100, giving Warner Bros. a better opportunity to syndicate reruns of the show. Before the announcement of the fifth season, Wyman and Pinkner stated that they would have created a series finale for the end of the fourth season should the show be cancelled; Wyman stated "We want to take care of the fans. We want them to see where it would have gone, but we also know the show has been a commitment and we want everyone to be satisfied with it."


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The show was officially renewed for a fifth and final season for the 2012–2013 television season, consisting of a shortened set of 13 episodes, on April 26, 2012, with its premiere on September 28, 2012. Reilly, in announcing the renewal, stated that ""Fringe" is a remarkably creative series that has set the bar as one of television's most imaginative dramas. Bringing it back for a final 13 allows us to provide the climactic conclusion that its passionate and loyal fans deserve". The writing team crafted an idea for a cohesive story-driven set of thirteen episodes as a means to complete the series, and to "honor the audience that had served us so well was to say a proper farewell", according to Roth. Noble called it "the season for the fans", with the story revisiting many of the elements from the show's past.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: "Fringe" and its cast and crew have been nominated and won several awards including Emmys, Saturn Awards, Golden Reel Awards, Satellite Awards, and Writers Guild of America Awards.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: "Fringe" premiered in Canada on CTV simultaneous to its U.S. premiere and was the most watched program in Canada that week. The show would fluctuate between airing on CTV and A during its first two seasons. Beginning with the third season, "Fringe" was broadcast on City in Canada.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: A version of the show (edited for time) premiered on the Nine Network in Australia on September 17, 2008. In the season one episode "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones", the opening scene where doctors discover a parasite on Detective Loeb's heart was cut, going straight to the opening credits. Nine Network later dropped the show from its primetime schedule. This was temporary as the show returned during the December to January non-ratings period. The series later moved to Nine's digital multi-channel, GO!, where the last few seasons were played out.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: With 13 episodes in its final season, "Fringe" has a total of 100 episodes, a critical number for syndication deals for Warner Bros., and considered part of the reason for the show's final renewal. The show premiered in syndication on the Science Network on November 20, 2012.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The first season of "Fringe" was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on September 8, 2009 in region 1. In addition to all the episodes that had been aired, extras include three commentary tracks, unaired scenes, gag reels and behind the scenes features. A ""Fringe" Pattern Analysis" feature is included on the Blu-ray version as an exclusive. The sets were released on September 28, 2009 in region 2 and on September 30, 2009 in region 4.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The second season features four commentary tracks, a gag reel, deleted scenes, behind the scenes videos, and the episode "Unearthed", an episode, produced for the first season, which aired out of schedule during the second season. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 14, 2010 in region 1, on September 27, 2010 in region 2, and on November 10, 2010 in region 4.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The third season features two commentary tracks, a gag reel, behind the scenes videos, and two features exclusive to the Blu-ray version. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 6, 2011 in region 1, on September 26, 2011 in region 2, and on October 26, 2011 in region 4.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The fourth season includes several special features, including "The Culture of "Fringe"", a roundtable discussion with series writers and university professors regarding the science featured in the series; features on how the disappearance of Peter affects the timeline, and the role of the Observers; two features covering the "Fringe" comic series; and a gag reel. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 4, 2011 in region 1, on September 24, 2012 in region 2, and on October 31, 2012 in region 4.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: The fifth season includes featurettes titled "A Farewell to "Fringe"" and ""Fringe" Panel at Comic-Con 2012", as well audio commentaries and a gag reel. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 7, 2013 in region 1 and on May 13, 2013 in region 2. A complete series box set was also released on the same dates of the fifth season release in the respective regions.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: An alternate reality game, centered on the fictional Massive Dynamic corporation, was introduced during the pilot and featured "strange symbols paired with glowing dots" appearing throughout the episode and an "advertisement" for the company shown at the end with a web address for the game.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: On August 27, 2008, a prequel comic book (leading right up to the moment in the pilot where Olivia 'first' meets Walter) written by Zack Whedon was released by DC Comics under its WildStorm imprint. This was to be the first issue of a monthly 6-issue limited series but the others were delayed until January 2009, when monthly publication resumed, with the sixth and final issue scheduled for release on June 17. The Vice President of WildStorm, Hank Kanalz, explained the publication hiatus: "The writers of the show want to make sure the comic book is integrated into the mythology of the "Fringe" world, so we have decided to refocus the direction of the comic book. Unfortunately, this means that we will have some delays, but will be back in January."


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: On June 23, 2010, the first issue of "Tales From the Fringe", the second six-part monthly series, was released, while the final issue was released on November 24, 2010.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: Additionally, in September 2011, DC released the first issue of "Beyond the Fringe" comic series. With the first story written by Joshua Jackson titled "Peter and the Machine". Jhonen Vasquez, Becky Cloonan, Cole Fowler, Jorge Jimenez, Kristen Cantrell, Ben Templesmith, Tom Mandrake, and Carrie Strachen are among the other creators on the series. The comic issues will alternate with an 'A' story and a 'B' story each. For example, "Peter and the Machine" will take place in issues one, three, and so on until the story is finished and a new 'A' story starts up.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: An encyclopedia guide, "September's Notebook — The Bishop Paradox", written by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry who had previously written the "Lost Encyclopedia" for "Lost", was released in March 2013. A three-part series of prequel novels written by Christa Faust was released throughout 2013 and 2014. Each novel deals with a member of the Fringe team's past. The first is titled "The Zodiac Paradox" and is about Walter and his discovery of Cortexiphan. The second in the series is titled "The Burning Man" and is based on Olivia and how she was first exposed to Cortexiphan. The third is titled "Sins of the Father" and is about Peter's life in 2008 just before the point of time when the series starts.


title: Fringe (TV series)

text: At San Diego Comic-Con 2012, actor John Noble mentioned that a film could be made further down the line.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: Molly Bloom (born April 21, 1978) is an American entrepreneur, speaker, and author of the 2014 memoir "Molly's Game". She had trained for years to become an Olympic skier, but was injured while trying to qualify for the Olympics.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: In April 2013, she was charged with running a high-stakes poker game that originated in the Viper Room in Los Angeles, which attracted wealthy people, sports figures, and Hollywood celebrities. In May 2014, after pleading guilty to reduced charges, she was sentenced to one year of probation, a $200,000 fine, and 200 hours of community service. In addition, she was required to forfeit $125,000 in earnings from the games she operated.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: A film adaptation of her book, "Molly's Game", starring Jessica Chastain and directed by Aaron Sorkin, debuted in December 2017.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: Bloom was born on April 21, 1978, and grew up in Loveland, Colorado. Her father, Larry Bloom, is a clinical psychologist and a professor at Colorado State University. Her mother, Char, was a ski and snowboard instructor and a professional fly-fisher with her own line of clothing. Bloom's father is Jewish and her mother is Christian. Her brothers are Jordan Bloom, a cardiac surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Jeremy Bloom, who was an American Olympic skier and professional American football player with the Philadelphia Eagles. She was a competitive skier and at one time ranked third in Nor-Am Cup season ranking for women's moguls skiers; she later suffered an injury while trying to qualify for the Olympics. She attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: In 2004, Bloom moved to Los Angeles and found work as a bartender. In 2004, Darin Feinstein, one of the co-owners of The Viper Room nightclub, was approached by actor Tobey Maguire about hosting a high-stakes poker game in the basement of the club. Feinstein recruited Bloom to cater to the players and manage the game. In 2007, Bloom started her own business, registering Molly Bloom Inc. as an event and catering company to host poker tournaments. By 2008, the games had graduated to private homes and hotels like the Peninsula Beverly Hills, with hands going as high as $4 million. In addition to Maguire, many wealthy people, celebrities and sports figures were known to frequent the games including Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Gores, Macaulay Culkin, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Alex Rodriguez, Nelly, Mary Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Phil Ivey, Rick Salomon and Andy Beal.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: The onset of the 2008 recession made underground poker games less common, and in 2009, Bloom moved to an Upper West Side high-rise near Manhattan's Lincoln Center. She began organizing games in a private apartment at the new Astor Place and suites at the Plaza Hotel, which used the same sophisticated dealing equipment used in casinos, and which were staffed by women hired from 1 Oak, an exclusive nightclub. However, Bloom had fewer contacts in New York, where raids on underground games prompted them to relocate to Long Island. As a result of this, Bloom attracted rich businessmen from Wall Street but also more disreputable gamblers whose bids were significantly smaller than those in Los Angeles. In June 2010, Bloom was served with a $116,133 tax lien for failing to pay appropriate taxes on her New York events.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: In 2011, one of Bloom's games in Los Angeles was shut down as part of a bankruptcy investigation into a Ponzi scheme run by Bradley Ruderman, one of the players. Bloom, who had received money from Ruderman as part of the game, was accused of receiving $473,000 from Ruderman's bank to settle his debts and sued by the bankruptcy trustee for $473,200, but she denied that she was involved in organizing illegal gambling. Bank records showed 19 transfers to Bloom in 2007 and 2008 for amounts up to $57,500.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: On April 16, 2013, Bloom was arrested and charged along with 33 others as part of a $100 million money laundering and illegal sports gambling operation. Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, charged 12 people with racketeering. Others were charged with money laundering, extortion, fraud and operating illegal poker rooms in New York City. Bloom, who was 34 at the time, faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, six years of supervised release, a fine of $1.5 million or twice the amount gained from the crimes or twice the amount lost by victims, and a $200 special assessment.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: In May 2014, Bloom pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to one year of probation and 200 hours of community service. At the sentencing, Bloom's lawyer, Jim Walden, told the court that Bloom was in severe debt which included forfeiting $125,000 in poker proceeds as part of the plea. He stated that Bloom had "been ordered into the gambling business" by her boss at a Los Angeles real estate company, then went on to create her own illegal poker game in New York in 2009. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Naftalis said in the government's sentencing brief that "huge sums of money were wagered at these games" and that "for a time, her games were likely the biggest games in New York." He told the judge at the sentencing that the government believed that Bloom played a "minor role" in the operation compared to many of the others who were charged, and recommended a sentence that included no jail time.


title: Molly Bloom (author)

text: A film adaptation of the book, also called "Molly's Game", written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 2017. Jessica Chastain plays the role of Molly Bloom. The film received a 2018 Academy Award nomination in the category Best Adapted Screenplay.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film "Siren of the Tropics", directed by and .


title: Josephine Baker

text: During her early career, Baker was among the most celebrated performers to headline the revues of the in Paris. Her performance in the revue in 1927 caused a sensation in the city. Her costume, consisting of only a short skirt of artificial bananas and a beaded necklace, became an iconic image and a symbol both of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker was celebrated by artists and intellectuals of the era, who variously dubbed her the "Black Venus", the "Black Pearl", the "Bronze Venus", and the "Creole Goddess". Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she renounced her U.S. citizenship and became a French national after her marriage to French industrialist Jean Lion in 1937. She raised her children in France.


title: Josephine Baker

text: She aided the French Resistance during World War II. After the war, she was awarded the Resistance Medal by the French Committee of National Liberation, the by the French military, and was named a Chevalier of the by General Charles de Gaulle. Baker sang: "I have two loves, my country and Paris."


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States and is noted for her contributions to the civil rights movement. In 1968, she was offered unofficial leadership in the movement in the United States by Coretta Scott King, following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. After thinking it over, Baker declined the offer out of concern for the welfare of her children.


title: Josephine Baker

text: On 30 November 2021, she was interred in the Panthéon in Paris, the first black woman to receive one of the highest honors in France. As her resting place remains in Monaco Cemetery, a cenotaph was installed in vault 13 of the crypt in the Panthéon.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Freda Josephine McDonald was born on 3 June 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother Carrie, was adopted in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1886 by Richard and Elvira McDonald, both of whom were former slaves of African and Native American descent. Baker's estate and some other sources identify vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson as her natural father, whilst other sources dispute this. Baker's foster son Jean-Claude Baker wrote a biography, published in 1993, titled "Josephine: The Hungry Heart", in which he discusses at length the circumstances surrounding Baker's birth based on his research, concluding that Baker's father was white, and that Baker knew that Carson was not her father. Academic Bennetta Jules-Rosette, author of "Josephine Baker in Art and Life: The Icon and the Image" (2007) wrote about the difficulty of establishing the truth of Baker's early life, given "the factual and counterfactual reworkings of her numerous biographers" and Baker's own "numerous and often contradictory reworkings of the story, which frequently lacked coherence".


title: Josephine Baker

text: Josephine McDonald spent her early life on 212 Targee Street (known by some St. Louis residents as Johnson Street) in the Chestnut Valley neighborhood of St. Louis, a racially mixed low-income neighborhood near Union Station, consisting mainly of rooming houses, brothels, and apartments without indoor plumbing. She was poorly dressed, hungry as a child, and developed street smarts playing in the railroad yards of Union Station.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Her mother married Arthur Martin, "a kind but perpetually unemployed man", with whom she had a son and two more daughters. She took in laundry to wash to make ends meet, and at eight years old, Josephine began working as a live-in domestic for white families in St. Louis. One woman abused her, burning Josephine's hands when the young girl put too much soap in the laundry.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In 1917, when she was 11, a terrified Josephine McDonald witnessed racial violence in East St. Louis. In a speech years later, she recalled what she had seen:I can still see myself standing on the west bank of the Mississippi looking over into East St. Louis and watching the glow of the burning of Negro homes lighting the sky. We children stood huddled together in bewilderment ... frightened to death with the screams of the Negro families running across this bridge with nothing but what they had on their backs as their worldly belongings... So with this vision I ran and ran and ran...


title: Josephine Baker

text: By age 12, she had dropped out of school. At 13, she worked as a waitress at the Old Chauffeur's Club at 3133 Pine Street. She also lived as a street child in the slums of St. Louis, sleeping in cardboard shelters, scavenging for food in garbage cans, making a living with street-corner dancing. It was at the Old Chauffeur's Club where Josephine met Willie Wells, and subsequently married him at age 13; however, the marriage lasted less than a year. Following her divorce from Wells, she found work with a street performance group called the Jones Family Band.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In her teen years she struggled to have a healthy relationship with her mother, who did not want her to become an entertainer and scolded her for not tending to her second husband, William Howard Baker, whom she married in 1921 at the age of 15. She left him when her vaudeville troupe was booked into a New York City venue, and divorced in 1925; it was during this time she began to see significant career success, and she continued to use his last name professionally for the rest of her life. Though Baker traveled, she would return with gifts and money for her mother and younger half-sister, but the career opportunities pushed her to make a trip to France.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker's consistent badgering of a show manager in her hometown led to her being recruited for the St. Louis Chorus vaudeville show. At the age of 13, she headed to New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, and performed at the Plantation Club, Florence Mills' old stomping ground. After several auditions, she secured a role in the chorus line of a touring production of the groundbreaking and hugely successful Broadway revue "Shuffle Along," (1921) that helped bring to the public's attention Florence Mills, Paul Robeson, and Adelaide Hall.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In "Shuffle Along", Josephine was a dancer positioned at the end of a chorus line. Fearing she might be overshadowed by the other dancers, Josephine used her position to introduce a hint of comedy into her routine, thereby making her stand out from the other dancers. Josephine first entered "Shuffle Along" in one of the U.S. touring companies (not on Broadway) as she was still underage at the time. Once she became of age, she was transferred to the Broadway production where she remained for several months up until the show ended in 1923. The next revue Josephine went into was "The Chocolate Dandies", which opened on 1 September 1924. Again, Josephine was cast in the chorus line. The show only ran for 96 performances and closed in November 1925.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker sailed to Paris in 1925, and opened on 2 October in "" at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Baker was aged 19 at the time. In a 1974 interview with "The Guardian", Baker explained that she obtained her first big break in the bustling city. "No, I didn't get my first break on Broadway. I was only in the chorus in "Shuffle Along" and "Chocolate Dandies". I became famous first in France in the twenties. I just couldn't stand America and I was one of the first colored Americans to move to Paris. Oh yes, Bricktop was there as well. Me and her were the only two, and we had a marvelous time. Of course, everyone who was anyone knew Bricky. And they got to know Miss Baker as well."


title: Josephine Baker

text: In Paris, she became an instant success for her erotic dancing, and for appearing practically nude onstage. After a successful tour of Europe, she broke her contract and returned to France in 1926 to star at the Folies Bergère, setting the standard for her future acts.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker performed the "Danse Sauvage" wearing a costume consisting of a skirt made of a string of artificial bananas. Her success coincided (1925) with the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, which gave birth to the term "Art Deco", and also with a renewal of interest in non-Western forms of art, including African. Baker represented one aspect of this fashion. In later shows in Paris, she was often accompanied on stage by her pet cheetah "Chiquita," who was adorned with a diamond collar. The cheetah frequently escaped into the orchestra pit, where it terrorized the musicians, adding another element of excitement to the show.


title: Josephine Baker

text: After a while, Baker was the most successful American entertainer working in France. Ernest Hemingway called her "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw". The author spent hours talking with her in Paris bars. Picasso drew paintings depicting her alluring beauty. Jean Cocteau became friendly with her and helped vault her to international stardom. Baker endorsed a "Bakerfix" hair gel, bananas, shoes, and cosmetics amongst other products.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In 1929, Baker became the first African-American star to visit Yugoslavia, while on tour in Central Europe via the Orient Express. In Belgrade, she performed at Luxor Balkanska, the most luxurious venue in the city at the time. She included Pirot kilim into her routine, as a nod to the local culture, and she donated some of the show's proceeds to poor children of Serbia. In Zagreb, she was received by adoring fans at the train station. However, some of her shows were cancelled, due to opposition from the local clergy and morality police.


title: Josephine Baker

text: During her travels in Yugoslavia, Baker was accompanied by "Count" Giuseppe Pepito Abatino. At the start of her career in France, Baker had met Abatino, a Sicilian former stonemason who passed himself off as a count, and who persuaded her to let him manage her. Abatino was not only Baker's management, but her lover as well. The two could not marry because Baker was still married to her second husband, Willie Baker.


title: Josephine Baker

text: During this period, she released her most successful song, "J'ai deux amours" (1931). The song expresses the sentiment that "I have two loves, my country and Paris." In a 2007 book, Tim Bergfelder, Sue Harris and Sarah Street claimed that "by the 1930's, Baker's assimilation into French popular culture had been completed by her association with the song". Baker starred in four films which found success only in Europe: the silent film "Siren of the Tropics" (1927), "Zouzou" (1934) and "Princesse Tam Tam" (1935). She starred in "Fausse Alerte" in 1940. Bergfelder, Harris and Street wrote that the silent film "Siren of the Tropics" "rehearses the 'primitive-to-Parisienne' narrative that would become the staple of Baker's cinema career, and exploited in particular her comic stage persona based on loose-limbed athleticism and artful clumsiness." The sound films "Zouzou" (1934) and "Princesse Tam Tam" were both star vehicles for Baker.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Under the management of Abatino, Baker's stage and public persona, as well as her singing voice, were transformed. In 1934, she took the lead in a revival of Jacques Offenbach's opera "La créole", which premiered in December of that year for a six-month run at the Théâtre Marigny on the Champs-Élysées of Paris. In preparation for her performances, she went through months of training with a vocal coach. In the words of Shirley Bassey, who has cited Baker as her primary influence, "... she went from a "petite danseuse sauvage" with a decent voice to "la grande diva magnifique" ... I swear in all my life I have never seen, and probably never shall see again, such a spectacular singer and performer."


title: Josephine Baker

text: Despite her popularity in France, Baker never attained the equivalent reputation in America. Her star turn in a 1936 revival of "Ziegfeld Follies" on Broadway was not commercially successful, and later in the run she was replaced by Gypsy Rose Lee. "Time" magazine referred to her as a "Negro wench ... whose dancing and singing might be topped anywhere outside of Paris", while other critics said her voice was "too thin" and "dwarf-like" to fill the Winter Garden Theatre. She returned to Europe heartbroken. This contributed to Baker's becoming a legal citizen of France and giving up her American citizenship.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker returned to Paris in 1937, married the French industrialist Jean Lion, and became a French citizen. They were married in the French town of Crèvecœur-le-Grand, in a wedding presided over by the mayor, Jammy Schmidt.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In September 1939, when France declared war on Germany in response to the invasion of Poland, Baker was recruited by the Deuxième Bureau, the French military intelligence agency, as an "honorable correspondent". Baker worked with Jacques Abtey, the head of French counterintelligence in Paris.


title: Josephine Baker

text: She socialised with the Germans at embassies, ministries, night clubs, charming them while secretly gathering information. Her café-society fame enabled her to rub shoulders with those in the know, from high-ranking Japanese officials to Italian and Vichy bureaucrats, reporting to Abtey what she heard. She attended parties and gathered information at the Italian embassy without raising suspicion.


title: Josephine Baker

text: When the Germans invaded France, Baker left Paris and went to the Château des Milandes, her home in the Dordogne "département" in the south of France. She housed people who were eager to help the Free French effort led by Charles de Gaulle and supplied them with visas. As an entertainer, Baker had an excuse for moving around Europe, visiting neutral nations such as Portugal, as well as some in South America. She carried information for transmission to England, about airfields, harbors, and German troop concentrations in the West of France. Notes were written in invisible ink on Baker's sheet music. As written in "Jazz Age Cleopatra", "She specialized in gatherings at embassies and ministries, charming people as she had always done, but at the same time trying to remember interesting items to transmit."


title: Josephine Baker

text: Later in 1941, she and her entourage went to the French colonies in North Africa. The stated reason was Baker's health (since she was recovering from another case of pneumonia) but the real reason was to continue helping the Resistance. From a base in Morocco, she made tours of Spain. She pinned notes with the information she gathered inside her underwear (counting on her celebrity to avoid a strip search). She met the Pasha of Marrakech, whose support helped her through a miscarriage (the last of several). After the miscarriage, she developed an infection so severe it required a hysterectomy. The infection spread and she developed peritonitis and then sepsis. After her recovery (which she continued to fall in and out of), she started touring to entertain British, French, and American soldiers in North Africa. The Free French had no organized entertainment network for their troops, so Baker and her entourage managed for the most part on their own. They allowed no civilians and charged no admission.


title: Josephine Baker

text: After the war, Baker was awarded the Resistance Medal by the French Committee of National Liberation, the by the French military, and was named a Chevalier of the by General Charles de Gaulle.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker's last marriage, to French composer and conductor Jo Bouillon, ended around the time Baker opted to adopt her 11th child.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In 1949, a reinvented Baker returned in triumph to the Folies Bergère. Bolstered by recognition of her wartime heroism, Baker the performer assumed a new gravitas, unafraid to take on serious music or subject matter. The engagement was a rousing success and reestablished Baker as one of Paris' pre-eminent entertainers. In 1951 Baker was invited back to the United States for a nightclub engagement in Miami. After winning a public battle over desegregating the club's audience, Baker followed up her sold-out run at the club with a national tour. Rave reviews and enthusiastic audiences accompanied her everywhere, climaxed by a parade in Harlem in honor of her new title: NAACP's "Woman of the Year".


title: Josephine Baker

text: In 1952 Baker was hired to crown the Queen of the Cavalcade of Jazz for the famed eighth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on 1 June. Also featured to perform that day were Roy Brown and His Mighty Men, Anna Mae Winburn and Her Sweethearts, Toni Harper, Louis Jordan, Jimmy Witherspoon and Jerry Wallace.


title: Josephine Baker

text: An incident at the Stork Club in October 1951 interrupted and overturned her plans. Baker criticized the club's unwritten policy of discouraging Black patrons, then scolded columnist Walter Winchell, an old ally, for not rising to her defense. Winchell responded swiftly with a series of harsh public rebukes, including accusations of Communist sympathies (a serious charge at the time). The ensuing publicity resulted in the termination of Baker's work visa, forcing her to cancel all her engagements and return to France. It was almost a decade before U.S. officials allowed her back into the country.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In January 1966, Fidel Castro invited Baker to perform at the "Teatro Musical de La Habana" in Havana, Cuba, at the seventh-anniversary celebrations of his revolution. Her spectacular show in April broke attendance records. In 1968, Baker visited Yugoslavia and made appearances in Belgrade and in Skopje. In her later career, Baker faced financial troubles. She commented, "Nobody wants me, they've forgotten me"; but family members encouraged her to continue performing. In 1973 she performed at Carnegie Hall to a standing ovation.


title: Josephine Baker

text: The following year, she appeared in a Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium, and then at the Monegasque Red Cross Gala, celebrating her 50 years in French show business. Advancing years and exhaustion began to take their toll; she sometimes had trouble remembering lyrics, and her speeches between songs tended to ramble. She still continued to captivate audiences of all ages.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Although based in France, Baker supported the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s. When she arrived in New York with her husband Jo, they were refused reservations at 36 hotels because of racial discrimination. She was so upset by this treatment that she wrote articles about the segregation in the United States. She also began traveling into the South. She gave a talk at Fisk University, a historically black college in Nashville, Tennessee, on "France, North Africa and the Equality of the Races in France".


title: Josephine Baker

text: She refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States, although she was offered $10,000 by a Miami club; the club eventually met her demands. Her insistence on mixed audiences helped to integrate live entertainment shows in Las Vegas, Nevada. After this incident, she began receiving threatening phone calls from people claiming to be from the Ku Klux Klan but said publicly that she was not afraid of them.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In 1951, Baker made charges of racism against Sherman Billingsley's Stork Club in Manhattan, where she had been refused service. Actress Grace Kelly, who was at the club at the time, rushed over to Baker, took her by the arm and stormed out with her entire party, vowing never to return (although she returned on 3 January 1956 with Prince Rainier of Monaco). The two women became close friends after the incident.


title: Josephine Baker

text: When Baker was near bankruptcy, Kelly—by then the princess consort—offered her a villa and financial assistance. (During his work on the "Stork Club" book, author and "New York Times" reporter Ralph Blumenthal was contacted by Jean-Claude Baker, one of Baker's sons. He indicated that he had read his mother's FBI file and, using comparison of the file to the tapes, said he thought the Stork Club incident was overblown.)


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker also worked with the NAACP. Her reputation as a crusader grew to such an extent that the NAACP had Sunday 20 May 1951 declared "Josephine Baker Day". She was presented with life membership with the NAACP by Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche. The honor she was paid spurred her to further her crusading efforts with the "Save Willie McGee" rally. McGee was a black man in Mississippi convicted of raping a white woman in 1945 on the basis of dubious evidence, and sentenced to death. Baker attended rallies for McGee and wrote letters to Fielding Wright, the governor of Mississippi, asking him to spare McGee's life. Despite her efforts, McGee was executed in 1951. As the decorated war hero who was bolstered by the racial equality she experienced in Europe, Baker became increasingly regarded as controversial; some black people even began to shun her, fearing that her outspokenness and racy reputation from her earlier years would hurt the cause.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In 1963, she spoke at the March on Washington at the side of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Baker was the only official female speaker. While wearing her Free French uniform emblazoned with her medal of the Légion d'honneur, she introduced the "Negro Women for Civil Rights". Rosa Parks and Daisy Bates were among those she acknowledged, and both gave brief speeches. Not everyone involved wanted Baker present at the March; some thought her time overseas had made her a woman of France, one who was disconnected from the Civil Rights issues going on in America. In her speech, one of the things Baker said:


title: Josephine Baker

text: I have walked into the palaces of kings and queens and into the houses of presidents. And much more. But I could not walk into a hotel in America and get a cup of coffee, and that made me mad. And when I get mad, you know that I open my big mouth. And then look out, 'cause when Josephine opens her mouth, they hear it all over the world ...


title: Josephine Baker

text: After King's assassination, his widow Coretta Scott King approached Baker in the Netherlands to ask if she would take her husband's place as leader of the Civil Rights Movement. After many days of thinking it over, Baker declined, saying her children were "too young to lose their mother".


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker's first marriage was to American Pullman porter Willie Wells when she was only 13 years old. The union was reportedly very unhappy, and the couple divorced soon after marrying. Another short-lived marriage followed in 1921, to William Howard Baker. Because her career was already taking off under that last name, she retained it after the divorce. Although she ultimately had four marriages to men, Jean-Claude Baker wrote that Josephine was bisexual and had several relationships with women.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In 1925, she began an extramarital relationship with the Belgian novelist Georges Simenon. On an ocean liner, in 1929, en route from South America to France, Baker had an affair with the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret). In 1937, Baker married Frenchman Jean Lion, but they separated in 1940. She married French composer and conductor Jo Bouillon in 1947, and their union lasted 14 years before also ending in divorce. Later, she was involved with the artist Robert Brady for a time, but they never married. Speculation exists that Baker was also involved in sexual liaisons, if not relationships, with blues singer Clara Smith, Ada "Bricktop" Smith, French novelist Colette, and possibly Frida Kahlo.


title: Josephine Baker

text: During her participation in the civil rights movement, Baker began to adopt children, forming a family which she often referred to as "The Rainbow Tribe". Baker wanted to prove that "children of different ethnicities and religions could still be brothers". She often took the children with her cross-country, and when they were at Château des Milandes, she arranged tours so visitors could walk the grounds and see how natural and happy the children were in "The Rainbow Tribe". Her estate featured hotels, a farm, rides, and the children singing and dancing for the audience. She charged an admission fee to visitors who entered and partook in the activities, which included watching the children play.


title: Josephine Baker

text: She created dramatic backstories for them, picking them with clear intent in mind: at one point, she wanted and planned to adopt a Jewish baby, but she settled for a French one. She also raised them in different religions in order to further her model for the world, taking two children from Algeria and raising one child as a Muslim and raising the other child as a Catholic. One member of the Tribe, Jean-Claude Baker, said: "She wanted a doll."


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker raised two daughters, French-born Marianne and Moroccan-born Stellina, and 10 sons, Korean-born Jeannot (or Janot), Japanese-born Akio, Colombian-born Luis, Finnish-born Jari (now Jarry), French-born Jean-Claude, Noël, and Moïse, Algerian-born Brahim (later Brian), Ivorian-born Koffi, and Venezuelan-born Mara. For some time, Baker lived with her children and an enormous staff in the château in Dordogne, France, with her fourth husband, Jo Bouillon. Bouillon claimed that Baker bore one child, it was stillborn in 1941, an incident that precipitated an emergency hysterectomy.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker forced Jarry to leave the château and live with his adoptive father, Jo Bouillon, in Argentina, at the age of 15, after discovering that he was gay. Moïse died of cancer in 1999, and Noël was diagnosed with schizophrenia and is in a psychiatric hospital as of 2009. Jean-Claude Baker died of suicide in 2015.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In her later years Baker converted to Catholicism. In 1968, Baker lost her château owing to unpaid debts; afterwards Princess Grace offered her an apartment in Roquebrune, near Monaco.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker was back on stage at the Olympia in Paris in 1968, in Belgrade and at Carnegie Hall in 1973 and at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium and at the "Gala du Cirque" in Paris in 1974. On 8 April 1975 Baker starred in a retrospective revue at the Bobino in Paris, "Joséphine à Bobino 1975", celebrating her 50 years in show business. The revue, financed by Prince Rainier, Princess Grace, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, opened to rave reviews. Demand for seating was such that fold-out chairs had to be added to accommodate spectators. The opening-night audience included Sophia Loren, Mick Jagger, Shirley Bassey, Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Four days later Baker was found lying peacefully in her bed surrounded by newspapers with glowing reviews of her performance. She was in a coma after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. She was taken to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, where she died, aged 68, on 12 April 1975.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker received a full Catholic funeral at L'Église de la Madeleine, attracting more than 20,000 mourners. The only American-born woman to receive full French military honors at her funeral, Baker's funeral was the occasion of a huge procession. After a family service at Saint-Charles Church in Monte Carlo, Baker was interred at Monaco's "Cimetière de Monaco".


title: Josephine Baker

text: "Place Joséphine Baker" () in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris was named in her honor. She has also been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame, and on 29 March 1995, into the Hall of Famous Missourians. St. Louis's Channing Avenue was renamed Josephine Baker Boulevard, and a wax sculpture of Baker is on permanent display at The Griot Museum of Black History.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In 2015 she was inducted into the Legacy Walk in Chicago, Illinois. The Piscine Joséphine Baker is a swimming pool along the banks of the Seine in Paris named after her.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Writing in the on-line "BBC magazine" in late 2014, Darren Royston, historical dance teacher at RADA credited Baker with being the Beyoncé of her day, and bringing the Charleston to Britain. Two of Baker's sons, Jean-Claude and Jarry (Jari), grew up to go into business together, running the restaurant Chez Josephine on Theatre Row, 42nd Street, New York City. It celebrates Baker's life and works.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Château des Milandes, a castle near Sarlat in the Dordogne, was Baker's home where she raised her twelve children. It is open to the public and displays her stage outfits including her banana skirt (of which there are apparently several). It also displays many family photographs and documents as well as her Legion of Honour medal. Most rooms are open for the public to walk through including bedrooms with the cots where her children slept, a huge kitchen, and a dining room where she often entertained large groups. The bathrooms were designed in art deco style but most rooms retained the French chateau style.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker continued to influence celebrities more than a century after her birth. In a 2003 interview with "USA Today", Angelina Jolie cited Baker as "a model for the multiracial, multinational family she was beginning to create through adoption". Beyoncé performed Baker's banana dance at the Fashion Rocks concert at Radio City Music Hall in September 2006.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Writing on the 110th anniversary of her birth, "Vogue" described how her 1926 "danse sauvage" in her famous banana skirt "brilliantly manipulated the white male imagination" and "radically redefined notions of race and gender through style and performance in a way that continues to echo throughout fashion and music today, from Prada to Beyoncé."


title: Josephine Baker

text: On 3 June 2017, the 111th anniversary of her birth, Google released an animated Google Doodle, which consists of a slideshow chronicling her life and achievements.


title: Josephine Baker

text: On Thursday 22 November 2018 a documentary entitled "Josephine Baker: The Story of an Awakening", directed by Ilana Navaro, premiered at the Beirut Art Film Festival. It contains rarely seen archival footage, including some never before discovered, with music and narration.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In August 2019 Baker was one of those inducted in the Rainbow Honor Walk, a walk of fame in San Francisco's Castro District noting LGBTQ people who have "made significant contributions in their fields".


title: Josephine Baker

text: In May 2021 an online petition was set up by writer Laurent Kupferman asking that Joséphine Baker be honoured by being reburied at the Panthéon in Paris or being granted Panthéon honours, which would make her only the sixth woman at the mausoleum alongside Simone Veil, Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz, Marie Curie, Germaine Tillion, and Sophie Berthelot. In August 2021 the French President, Emmanuel Macron, announced that Baker's remains would be reburied at the Panthéon in November 2021, following the petition and continued requests from Baker's family since 2013. Her son Claude Bouillon-Baker, however, told Agence France-Presse that her body would remain in Monaco and only a plaque would be installed at the Panthéon. It was later announced that a symbolic casket containing soil from various locations where Baker had lived, including St. Louis, Paris, the South of France and Monaco, would be carried by the French Air and Space Force in a parade in Paris before a ceremony at the Panthéon where the casket was interred. The ceremony took place on Tuesday 30 November 2021, and Baker thus became the first black woman to be honored in the secular temple to the "great men" of the French Republic.


title: Josephine Baker

text: Baker appears in her role as a member of the French Resistance in Johannes Mario Simmel's 1960 novel, "Es muss nicht immer Kaviar sein (C'est pas toujours du caviar)". The 2004 erotic novel "Scandalous" by British author Angela Campion uses Baker as its heroine and is inspired by Baker's sexual exploits and later adventures in the French Resistance. In the novel, Baker, working with a fictional Black Canadian lover named Drummer Thompson, foils a plot by French fascists in 1936 Paris. Baker was heavily featured in the 2012 book "Josephine's Incredible Shoe & The Blackpearls" by Peggi Eve Anderson-Randolph. In his novel "Noire, la neige", Marseille, Editions Parenthèses, , Pascal Rannou evokes the relationship between Valaida Snow and Josephine Baker, who is one of the main characters of this story.


title: Josephine Baker

text: In 1927, Alexander Calder created "Josephine Baker (III)," a wire sculpture of Baker, which is now displayed at the Museum of Modern Art. Henri Matisse created a mural-sized cut paper artwork titled "La Négresse" (1952–1953), possibly inspired by Baker. Hassan Musa depicted Baker in a 1994 series of paintings called "Who needs Bananas?"


title: Atrangi Re

text: Atrangi Re () is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language romantic fantasy drama film directed by Aanand L. Rai and written by Himanshu Sharma. Produced by T-Series Films, Colour Yellow Productions and Cape of Good Films, the film stars Dhanush, Sara Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar. The film tells the story of a girl named Rinku who is in love with a magician named Sajjad. She gets forcefully married to Dr. Vishu. Vishu soon falls in love with Rinku but the love triangle gets weirder when Sajjad shows up.


title: Atrangi Re

text: The film's idea was conceived by Rai in 2014, after the release of "Raanjhanaa". He developed the screenplay with Sharma, exploring the subject of complexities of human emotions, especially love and was certain to cast Dhanush given the relativity of subject, script and time but the rest of the casting was eventual. As the project was officially announced in late-January 2020, the filming process began in March 2020 and completed within March 2021, despite losing out six months of filming in between owed to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The film was shot across Varanasi, parts of Bihar, Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, and few scenes in Madurai, Karaikudi. The score and soundtrack album were composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil. The cinematography and editing were performed by Pankaj Kumar and Hemal Kothari, respectively.


title: Atrangi Re

text: After being rescheduled multiple times from its release dates, as a result of the nationwide lockdown due to the pandemic, the makers premiered the film through Disney+ Hotstar on 24 December 2021, thereby bypassing theatrical release. It was also dubbed and released in Tamil under the title "Galatta Kalyaanam". The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, praising the unconventional plot, performances of the lead actors, direction, soundtrack and score, but criticised the incoherent screenplay and execution of overall storyline.


title: Atrangi Re

text: The story begins with Rinku Suryavanshi being chased by her family goons at Siwan Junction railway station as she tries to elope with her long-term boyfriend. She is caught and beaten by her grandmother Dulhayen, who orders her wed to any bachelor in order to get Rinku off her hands. The next morning, Rinku's aunt gives her drugged kheer which is meant for Rinku's parent's death anniversary.


title: Atrangi Re

text: S. Venkatesh Vishwanath "Vishu" Iyer, a doctor briefly visiting with his friend Madhusudan "MS", a psychiatrist, gets kidnapped and drugged by Rinku's uncles who were actually aiming for MS, and the two are forcefully married. They travel to New Delhi by train, where they learn that both of them oppose the marriage and already have lovers: Vishu will be engaged to his friend Mandakini "Mandy" in two days, and Rinku's boyfriend, performing artist and magician Sajjad Ali Khan, will reach Delhi in a week. The two stay for a day in a hostel where Vishu lives and there, Rinku tells Vishu how her parents were immolated to death as a result of Dulhayen's conspiracy. The two reach Madurai for Vishu's wedding but Mandy sees a trending video showing their forced marriage, thus calling off the wedding; in the drama that ensues, Vishu angrily berates Mandy's father for misbehaving with Rinku, and leaves.


title: Atrangi Re

text: Angry and sad, Vishu returns to Delhi with Rinku and realizes he loves her. However, Sajjad has arrived and Rinku runs off to meet him. Vishu sends MS to see that Rinku leaves safely; in a twist, it is revealed that Sajjad is imaginary and Rinku is mentally ill, talking and eloping with someone who is not there. Bewildered by this, MS speculates that Sajjad may be someone from Rinku's childhood and Rinku's growing love for Vishu creates guilt in her because she has loved Sajjad for years and if she loves Vishu, Sajjad will have no scope to exist. He runs to Vishu, who was in an operation theatre, and tells him about "Sajjad" and they leave to find Rinku. Vishu meets Rinku in a train and manages to stop her by saying that he needs to file for a divorce before leaving. Vishu then hastily concludes that the love story Rinku told him could be about her parents.


title: Atrangi Re

text: Vishu and MS devise a plan to medicate Rinku and attempt to drive "Sajjad" away as MS feels that the more Rinku will become fine, the more "Sajjad" will become ill. One day, a drunk Rinku kisses Vishu on the cheek and "Sajjad" sees this. The latter tells Rinku to ask Vishu what sets him apart. Vishu, in retaliation, starts to break bottles on his head and is taken to the emergency room. As an apology, "Sajjad" confesses that he will make the Taj Mahal disappear for him. Vishu and his friends gather people and just when he is about to do so, MS gives Rinku her medicine and she sees that Sajjad's "magic trick" has failed. At night, she asks Vishu why everyone was clapping even though the Taj Mahal didn't disappear. Frustrated, Vishu confesses his love for Rinku, telling her that she is his wife and he is supposed to stand by her.


title: Atrangi Re

text: "Sajjad" feels threatened by Rinku's love for Vishu and attempts suicide. MS and Vishu, being doctors, take "Sajjad" to "operate" on him. MS tells Vishu to consider letting Rinku know that "Sajjad" died on the operating table but Vishu disagrees. The next day, while filing divorce, Rinku refuses, saying she wants both "Sajjad" and Vishu. Vishu takes her to the Delhi Junction railway station to meet "Sajjad", who is "going to Japan" for a show as she can see "Sajjad" where she intends to. He also says that he will wait for her at the station until evening so she should elope with Sajjad or change her mind and return to him.


title: Atrangi Re

text: At the station, Rinku spots "Sajjad" with a little girl who he says is Rinku herself when she was a child. He says that she must go to Vishu, her soulmate, and that this time, he will no longer return. At this point, Rinku breaks down remembering her childhood. Eventually, it is revealed through a flashback that "Sajjad" is a real person, who, in fact, is her father; he had eloped with her mother Manjari, and Rinku was born to them a child out of wedlock. However, the Suryavanshis filed a case and Sajjad was arrested. Rinku and Manjari were forcefully brought back home. Sajjad was released from jail and started performing in the circus. Manjari often secretly attended his shows with Rinku and they spent time together.


title: Atrangi Re

text: One day, just before Sajjad's firewalking performance, the Suryavanshis replaced the artificial fuel with real fuel, which immolates Sajjad. Among the audience, Manjari realizes that Sajjad is burning and runs to him to save him, but both die together in the flames in front of little Rinku. This shapes up her paracosm with Sajjad all the way into adulthood, a fact that Vishu and MS had already realized, causing them to play along. This ends when "Sajjad" disappears and Rinku runs back to Vishu, who was distributing sweets to others telling that his wife has returned. The two finally reconcile and it is shown in parallel that Vishu is carrying Rinku, just like Sajjad would carry a young Rinku.


title: Atrangi Re

text: During the production of "" (2015), writer Himanshu Sharma came up with the script idea to Rai, which did not materialise, and the latter went to work on other projects. Following the release of "Zero" (2018), Rai decided to revive the script which was based on human emotions, which he added: "It comes from just one thing […] that is you are willing to fall in love. We are scared of falling in love because we are scared of getting hurt. The minute you get rid of that fear, you will understand people and their emotions better. I have been fortunate enough to meet people who are so willingly available with all their emotions." As per Rai, "when the story of "Atrangi Re" was discussed as an idea in 2014, Rai stated that only thing that was certain was Dhanush, the rest of the casting happened gradually. For the character of Vishu, Rai wanted Dhanush to portray another colour of his. "Raanjhanaa" was about redemption, but "Atrangi Re", it is about a different kind of expression of love." He called the role "very layered role", citing example that "there are people who like to be silent and you don’t know them at all, but then there are people like the character Vishu who are quiet, but you still understand them". Dhanush in an interview with "Firstpost" stated: "The director and writer attracted me to the project and that is all. I Rai to bring my madness to his character "Vishu" and that is what he tried. On designing the character Rinku, Rai called it "beautiful, restless and innocent." Khan's age went in her favour, as the role required "somebody young and fresh, without baggage."


title: Atrangi Re

text: The film was announced on 30 January 2020 under the title "Atrangi Re". With Dhanush, Khan and Kumar were announced as the leading actors, Himanshu Sharma was signed for writing the screenplay. Furthermore, A. R. Rahman was signed to compose the film's background score and soundtrack album and Irshad Kamil writing lyrics the original songs. This film marked Rai's second collaboration with Rahman, Himanshu and Kamil after working together in "Raanjhanaa".


title: Atrangi Re

text: Speaking about the film and its storyline, Rai stated that the film cannot be classified in any specific genre. He added: "All the three characters are funnily weird and it’s their emotional journey. I am always looking for partners who are as emotionally touched as I am with the story and all three of them are like that. Every character in this film has own traits will put them in an unseen space." Rai decided to set the storyline in Bihar and Madurai, in belief that the film will "be an amalgamation of two Indian cultures". It has been reported that the title was initially registered by Salman Khan under his production company, and gave the title to Rai under a condition that the film was directed by Rai himself. He expressed his gratitude to Khan for giving up the title.


title: Atrangi Re

text: In March 2019, "Filmfare" reported Varun Dhawan to star in the film, and Alia Bhatt was considered for the leading role. However, it did not come into fruition. In June 2019, Dhanush was reported to play the leading role, he discussed about the script with Rai, who was present at the promotional event of "The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir" (2019) in Mumbai. This marked the second collaboration between the Rai and Dhanush, after "Raanjhanaa" (2013), also being the latter's debut in Bollywood. On casting Dhanush, Rai said that "I was trying to cast actors of the Hindi cinema but no one was in a condition to play such a rooted character written. When I met Dhanush in Mumbai and discussed the script in 10 minutes, he was fascinated by the narrative and agreed to do the film."