On the Set: 11 Things to Know About 'Fringe'

When mega-producer J.J. Abrams got together with 'Alias' writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, they stirred together some of their favorite movies and TV shows -- everything from 'Real Genius' to 'Twin Peaks' to 'The Fly' -- to come up their new TV Franken-baby.

The sci-fi procedural is one of fall's most anticipated new shows, getting a prime (but pressure-filled) spot behind 'House' on Fox's lineup. "It's terrifying," Abrams said, then joked, "And if we don't well, it's 'House''s fault."

Get a sneak peek at the inner workings of 'Fringe' with these 11 juicy morsels of info gleaned from a tour of the set at New York's Silvercup Studios.

1. The producers used shows like 'CSI' as a model for 'Fringe.' "When 9 of the top shows are called 'Law & Order' and 'CSI,' you have to study them a little bit," Orci said. Horatio Caine, sensei to J.J. Abrams' grasshopper? Guess so.

2. One way 'Fringe' won't be like 'The X-Files': "We're not doing aliens," Orci laughed.

3. But conspiracies will abound. In fact, Orci is a big conspiracy theorist ... "to the detriment of his life," quipped fellow producer Jeff Pinkner. Hey, here's a story idea: Cigarette Smoking Man comes back from the dead!

4. Sure, 'Fringe' has science advisers. But the biggest story contributor just might be ... Wikipedia? The Internet has been the source of more than one storyline. "I literally don't know how we told stories without [it]," joked Kurtzman.

5. With his burgeoning film career, Abrams tends to love 'em and leave 'em when it comes to his shows. Will he abandon 'Fringe'? "You can't walk away from something that matters to you like that," he said. "[With 'Lost,'] it quickly became clear I wasn't necessary ... We will be as involved as the show needs us to be and that's really just going to be an evolution."

6. The crown princes of TV geekdom seem to seek each other out naturally. Joss Whedon's brother, Zack, is on the 'Fringe' writing staff. When Joss' 'Dollhouse' premieres in midseason, it'll be all Whedon, all the time on Fox.

7. Fear not, Pacey fans. Joshua Jackson's character, Peter, will have more to do than babysit his dad in future episodes. "There is something that happens fairly early on that compels him to stay," Abrams said. Plus, later this season, he'll be stealing Dawson's girlfriend.

8. The laboratory set in the first episode of 'Fringe' will look the same in subsequent weeks -- but it won't actually be the same. That's because the show shot its pilot in Toronto, and the lab was originally built in the basement of a church. When the production moved to New York, the set had to be meticulously copied.

9. Biggest diva on the set? The cow. Jasika Nicole, who plays lab assistant Astrid Farnsworth, noted that ramps were added to all the stairs because cows can't climb steps. (And you should've seen what else was in the bovine's contract.)

10. When it comes to the "'Fringe' Farmhouse," a wall of cages for animals, pigeons get the thumbs-up for being so well-behaved, Nicole said.

11. Ever wonder what actors are writing when their characters scribble furiously into notebooks? Most likely, it's a joke (probably the dirty kind). One piece of paper had a list of pizza toppings. And a post-it stuck on the office computer read: "Preliminary random testing strongly suggest that this show will be bigger than 'Betty' or 'The Love Boat.' Other notations cannot be repeated here.