On tonight’s fantastic installment of FRINGE, a young woman’s abduction will set off a chain of events that will change everything. And at the center of said abduction is everybody’s favorite follicular challenged anti-hero: The Observer. Actually, make that Observers.

Yes, tonight’s episode entitled “August” is the tale FRINGE fanatics have been clamouring for, as executive producers/writers J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner finally peel back the curtain on this mysterious group of men, who as it would turn out, do a helluva lot more simply observe. What exactly do they do (or why they do it), well, we’re not quite at liberty to share those details. But what we can do is help prepare you for tonight’s episode by offering up a little challenge guaranteed to hone your observational skills.

In the above line-up, you may-or-may-not observe that five Observers do not exactly belong. Post away with your guesses in the comments below and check back tomorrow morning for the answers. And trust us, following tonight’s bowler-hat-heavy episode where half the cast looks like they’ve wandered off the set of MAD MEN, you’ll thank us later.

Good News: In an exclusive interview with Michael Ausiello, J.J. Abrams promises that FOX has been insanely supportive of FRINGE despite the show’s lackluster ratings. Bad News: “Insanely supportive” does not include moving FRINGE out of the most competitive timeslot in television. [Source]

Good News: This just in, ABC has freed up some desperately needed space on our PVR/DVR. Bad News: After confirming their decision to not pick-up EASTWICK for a back-nine, essentially canceling the first-year series. [Source]

How surprised were you by the FRINGE season premiere that had your character Nina Sharp locking lips with Lance Reddick’s Agent Broyles?
Blair Brown: Yeah I think both of us were taken aback. But the beauty about acting in FRINGE is that there is a great narrative with lots of stuff going on, leaving lots of room for actors to act. So what you really need to do is act the possibilities of anything. Last year, Lance [Reddick] and I would be sitting around and wonder who these people are to each other because we’d get lots of stuff that sort of indicated that we’d known each other for a long time. Nina had spotted Broyles in the FBI, mentored him and now this kiss. Yet the beauty of FRINGE is when will it be dealt with again next and what cost does it have?

Speaking of cost, everyone involved with Fringe Division seems to have had to pay some sort of steep price. Olivia was experimented on as a child, Walter spent a lifetime locked away and Broyles lost his wife. What, aside from her arm, did Nina lose?
I really wonder about the arm. I know we say it’s due to cancer, but I’ve always felt it had to do with Nina crossing over. Was I one of the guys [William Bell and Walter Bishop] guinea pigs? We know my arm was used as a storage unit by William Bell which is why I was targeted last year. But there’s a whole lot of mystery out there that has yet to be sorted out.

With episode six revolving around Broyles backstory, should fans expect a Nina-centric episode to unravel some of the character’s mystery?
I’m assuming there is a Nina episode coming down the pike. What I sense from the writers this year is that FRINGE kind of works on two tracks. There is the dense one with all the fringe science and espionage. And then there’s the more emotional track with the characters and what all this has cost them. Which is more what this is about — things get more and more intense as the group becomes tighter and more inter-connected.

One connection fans just recently made was Olivia and William Bell. Will Nina be connecting with William Bell in the near future?
The only question I have asked the writers is: Can William Bell and Nina be in the same room at the same time? They said not this season. Which is very interesting because I know I’m communicating with him, that’s quite clear in upcoming episodes. But again, what is the nature of the relationship and why was Nina left to be the face of Massive Dynamic?

Have you met alter-Nina?
Not yet, although I hope I do. None of us have met our alternate universe counterparts yet. I figure she will be the antithesis of Nina though. I imagine either a Donna Reid-esque happy mother of six with a station wagon. Or perhaps she could be hanging out with Johnny Kennedy at the White House. Nina does like to associate with powerful men!

Tonight at 9PM on FOX (”A” Channel in Canada), one mysterious and powerful writers inexplicable idea to leave fans hanging, rob them of answers and subsequently zap a show of all its creative momentum following one of the most talked about season finales of last season (see: May’s jaw-dropping reveal) is rectified when the elusive and mysterious Dr. William Bell finally makes a much-anticipated return to FRINGE.

Consider it FRINGE’s second season premiere, take two. And here to tease what we can only imagine will be a very revealing episode is none other than the logical one himself, Leonard Nimoy. Who was kind enough to take some time out of his schedule to talk about what fans can expect from tonight’s episode and beyond.

So, what exactly is William Bell doing ‘over there?’
Leonard Nimoy: William Bell is sort of a “master of the universe,” a brilliant man, very wealthy man, very powerful. We’ll find out a lot more about him in future episodes.

When will William Bell and Walter Bishop face off?’
Unpredictable at the moment. In the episode tonight, the scenes are between myself and Olivia, I think we will learn a lot more than we have known in the past about what their relationship is all about and what William Bell’s intentions are, or at least we will be told what his intentions are. We’re not really quite sure that everything that he says is accurate or true.

Since there seems to be two of every character, will we see another William Bell?’
Yes. I don’t think I can really answer that question very specifically right now. I think the most important thing is that tonight, where we will get a sense of what his relationship is with Olivia. It’s very intriguing and very intense moments that take place tonight, and the rest remains to be seen.

I’m waiting to see what these terribly imaginative writers come up with for the future. I’m expecting that I probably will be going back to work for them before too much longer. I’m looking forward to what they send me on the page. But, right now, I think we go a long way tonight in discovering what William Bell is all about.

Is William Bell good or evil?’
That’s a really wonderful question. Time will tell.

If you were one of the many FRINGE fanatics who found the lack answers, and for that matter, the lack of William Bell in last week’s season premiere, well, highly illogical. Mark you calendars for October 8th, when FOX will air an episode entitled “Momentum Deferred,” which will include the return of Leonard Nimoy’s mysterious Dr. William Bell when flashbacks reveal more about Olivia’s visit to the alternate-universe. Momentum deferred indeed.

Since shape-shifters and serial killers are practically par for the course in the wonderfully wacky world of FRINGE, it should probably come as no surprise that scribes J.J. Abrams and Akiva Goldmsan found an entirely different way to shock us during last night’s second season premiere of FRINGE: Meet Nina Sharp cougar!

Yes, last night’s episode may have given fans plenty to talk about, including the return of Olivia from over there (”I went somewhere … He told me something … I don’t know, but there’s something I have to do. I think that our lives may depend on it.”) and a new and improved Peter (Telling Broyles, “We’re done reacting. We’re not gonna be ‘too late’ anymore. After all, somebody’s gotta save their asses, right?”). But the biggest surprise was reserved for the unexpected kiss between two of the show’s most mysterious and elusive characters: Blair Brown’s Nina Sharpe and Lance Reddick’s FBI agent Phillip Broyles.

“When it showed up in the premiere it shocked me,” admitted Reddick in a recent interview with theTVaddict.com. “That said, I really felt that Nina and Broyles has had a relationship previously and it was something that I had talked to the writers about in passing on a number of occasions.”

“The beauty about acting in FRINGE is that even though there is so much going on, there’s lots of room for actors to act and what you need do do is act the possibilities” concurred Brown. “Last season Lance [Reddick] and I would sit around and wonder who these people are to each other because we get a lot of good stuff that sort of indicated that we’d known each other for a long time. Stuff like Nina spotting Broyles when he was starting out in the FBI and mentoring him, so we both were kind of like ‘Yes, there was something else there’.”

“Of course the beauty of FRINGE is when will ‘the kiss’ be dealt with again and what repercussions does it have? We don’t know.”

Luckily for Brown, guessing about what happens next on FRINGE is half the fun.

Similar to that of his small screen alter ego, FRINGE star Lance Reddick is a man of few words and not surprisingly, fewer answers. What are FBI Agent Phillip Broyles true intentions this season? Where do his loyalties lie? And what’s it like on the other side? Well, these are just a few of the questions Reddick does his best to elude in this exclusive one-on-one with the TV Addict at this weekend’s FOX Fall Press Junket.

Is this the season we finally learn where Agent Broyles loyalties lie?
Lance Reddick: I’m not sure, but I can tell you episode six is basically a ‘Broyles episode,’ where we’ll find out more about his backstory, his relationship with his ex-wife and his relationship with Fringe Division prior to the current team.

Will a closer look at Broyles backstory include some flashbacks that might flesh out the character’s motives?
You’re not the first person to ask me that question. No flashbacks, but you’ll definitely learn more about Broyles and why he has an ex-wife.

Has Agent Broyles had the pleasure of meeting his other dimensional counterpart yet?
Not yet, but I believe that Olivia already met him when she experienced her deja vu last season.

Has Agent Broyles met WIlliam Bell thus far?
He hasn’t. In fact, I don’t know if my character has ever met him. But I think I’d be more surprised if he hadn’t seeing as though Broyles is fairly high up in the food chain.

How will the second season of FRINGE differ from the first?
Like the latter half of last season which really kicked the series into high gear, the second season of FRINGE will continue to move away from the stock procedural world, focusing much more on the continuing mythology and the intense character development. It’s really exciting, as the stakes continue to escalate.

Programming Note: The shocking second season premiere of FRINGE airs Thursday September 17 on FOX at 9PM. And be sure to drop by theTVaddict.com Friday morning for Reddick’s take on his character’s development.