Fringe Party As Weird As J.J. Abrams Show

When it comes to having a party for anything at all J.J. Abrams–the man who still has us trying to figure out what the heck the deal is with smokey the smoke monster on Lost -- we suppose it’s best to expect the unexpected. But a premiere party for his new show Fringe (premiering September 9th on Fox) all the way out there on 28th street between West 11th and 12th avenue? It actually felt like a J.J. Abrams show.

Between the eerily desolate streets and the massive freight elevator you had to take to get to the 9th floor of Xchange, a pretty snazzy event space once you got inside, with awe-inspiring views of New Jersey at sunset, the whole thing was definitely fringe-y. At the party, the science theme of the show, which is about a sort of mad scientist, his genius son and an FBI Agent who get sucked in to solving crimes tainted with the supernatural, was apparent: bubbling mini-cauldrons sat on the tables, test tubes served as vases, drinks were offered (with glowing lights inside the stem) by waiters wearing lab coats, and mysterious yet meaningful butterflies were attached to the wall. A group of radio contest winners from Georgia lost their minds when they saw scruffy Fringe star Joshua Jackson enter the room (they yelled “Pacey, Pacey”, a character he hasn’t portrayed since Dawson’s Creek went off the air in 2003) and the Canadian actor graciously posed for some pictures. Other stars, such as John Noble, newcomer Anna Torv (who looks an awful lot like fellow aussie Cate Blanchette) made the rounds with Lance Reddick (The Wire), Kirk Acevedo (Oz), and Jason Butler Harner, who’ll play the baddie in the hotly anticipated Clint Eastwood/Angelina Jolie film Changeling, but is very charming in real life.

The food, by the way, was delicious but suspiciously only forks were provided as cutlery, no knives. This made things like cutting steak a little more complicated than one might expect. What are you trying to tell us J.J.?