Fox Offers Previews of ‘Fringe,’ New Movies on Sunday

By Josef Adalian

Fox is doing everything it can to turn Sunday’s encore presentation of the “Fringe” pilot into an event, offering viewers an advance look at the next episode, as well as “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “24: Redemption.”

In an unusual move, Fox will follow Sunday’s 8 p.m. “Fringe” repeat with a broadcast of the first four minutes of the second episode of the series.

The idea came about after Fox executives saw a cut of the episode and decided the cold open was sufficiently spooky enough that viewers who saw it would want to tune in for the rest of the episode. The plot of the Sept. 16 “Fringe” revolves around a woman who gives birth to what the network calls a “senior citizen newborn.”

Fox executives were inspired by the dime store mystery novels of yesteryear, in which publishers would wrap one book with the opening of the next installment in the saga.

Because of Fox’s limited-commercials strategy for “Fringe,” the pilot episode of the series only fills about 95 minutes of a two-hour block. That’s why tonight’s premiere of the show is being followed by a sneak preview of “Hole in the Wall.”

On Sunday, in addition to offering the sneak peak of next week’s “Fringe,” Fox will also offer a three-minute trailer for “24: Redemption,” which airs in November.

That should leave at least five to 10 minutes for what Fox is calling an “extended scene” from “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” the 20th Century Fox remake of the sci-fi thriller that stars Keanu Reeves and opens in theaters Dec. 12. This won’t be the first time studios have premiered scenes from upcoming movies on TV or the Internet, but it is one of the most high-profile examples of the strategy to date.

In part, that’s because the scene will air before the “Fringe” episode repeats. That means Fox will likely go from NFL coverage to the “Day the Earth Stood Still” scene, giving the movie a massive promotional push.

(Editor: Baumann. Corrects editing mistake referencing films in first paragraph.)