This week, during the Television Critics Association press tour, I had the chance to speak to three of the executive producers from Fringe, including J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner.

The most recent episode of Fringe was a very impressive one, bringing back plot points and characters from earlier episodes that seemed initially to be completely standalone. When I asked Abrams if that had always been the plan, he said yes and added, "I would say, you should just wait until these upcoming episodes, because that happens again and again. There are payoffs to standalones [where] you don't have to have seen the show before, but if you've been watching, everything comes together."

Said Orci of the next episode, "Bound", written by Abrams, Orci, Pinkner and Alex Kurtzman, "The one next week is one we all wrote together and it continues exactly what you were saying. If you've invested time in the show, you'll see more things are connected." Remarked Abrams, "It's been a challenge for all of us, but we all care about it very much and wanted to find the voice of the show in the best possible way. I Think that you'll see that the best episodes we've done are the ones that are going to be airing starting next week and it's just because we've all been finding the voices of the characters and getting what the show really is."

The character of Walter Bishop is prone to frequent tangents involving food, and I asked the producers where that came from. Replied Pinkner, "The easy answer is if you spent 17 years in an insane asylum eating that kind of food, you'd have an obsession too."

As for what exactly occurred seventeen years ago that ended with Walter in an asylum, Abrams said, "We do have an idea, but obviously as things begin to come out, not everything will be revealed this season about him. We need to be flexible also to the better idea that you can never anticipate a year and a half in advance." Orci said, "You want to have a plan, but you don't want to be stuck to it in such a rigorous way that you can't feel it out a little bit."

As for what to look forward to as Fringe returns next week, naturally, the story will pick up with Olivia having been abducted in the last episode, and Abrams noted, "You'll understand to some degree why she was a target and I think that reveal is pretty mind-blowing."

Fringe will have a very coveted timeslot going into the spring, airing right after American Idol. Because of the potential for many new viewers, Pinkner explained, "The episode is designed as a pilot. If you've never seen the show before, in about the first eight minutes, you know everything you need to know to enjoy it. That's how we intended it. If you've seen the show before, it pays off a lot of things that have already been set up." Laughed Orci, "We wanted to give ourselves a challenge of paying off a cliffhanger, and telling a pilot story. Easy!"

Asked how they faced the challenge of combining standalone episodes with an overall mythology, Orci replied, "That was the central question from the beginning. What is that line? I think we're doing a pretty good job of thinking of a couple of standalone stories at a time and then heavy episodes that delve really deep into the mythology and then slowing down again. That's the trick."

Added Pinkner, "One of the keys for us, is that every episode has a beginning, middle and an end, but even in the episodes that are really standalone, there are elements of them that are set ups for later and are pay offs for things that have come before."

Some of the scenes from Fringe can get fairly graphic, and I asked the creators if they were surprised with what they've been able to show on cable. Exclaimed, Orci, "I am!", with Pinkner chuckling, "Oh, wait until you see what's coming up." Said Orci, "I'm always telling Jeff, does it have to be so frickin' gross." Pinkner smiled and responded, "We are trying to dial back a little bit the gruesome factor, but I think that we love the 'holy s**t, can you believe what they just did on Fringe?' factor."

Orci explained, " I like reading it more than I like watching it. When you read it, you're like, 'oh, that's cool!' and then you see it and you're like, 'Ugh!'" Said Pinkner, "We like to disturb ourselves."