Beyond the "Fringe"

In a phone press conference this morning, Joshua Jackson, who stars as Peter Bishop, the son of an embittered and quite likely crazy scientist on Fox's highly anticipated series "Fringe," was asked about his other TV role, as Pacey on "Dawson's Creek," and said, bluntly, "If I get labeled as that it's probably because I'm not good enough to define myself as something else."

Romance may be in the air for Peter and Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), the FBI agent drawn into a world of scientific horrors. There's chemistry between the two in the pilot, which airs Tuesday, but, as Jackson drolly noted, "It would be ... awkward to hit on a woman while her boyfriend's dying right in front of her."

"A slow-burn relationship will develop," series co-creator J.J. Abrams revealed. "It's a dynamic that we will play up. But it needs to be earned. There's a lot going on in their lives - they have more urgent issues to deal with. But definitely, over time, they'll (get close)."

Abrams was asked about his take on the corporate world - in the first episode, Dunham's investigating what would seem to be some sinister activities at Massive Dynamics, where one Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) speaks evasively and elliptically. One Fed tells Dunham with weary resignation that corporations are more powerful than the government.

"The series doesn't quite hit on the corporate conspiracy aspect as much as the pilot might suggest," Abrams said. "What's much more important is the relationship between (Nina's) boss and John Noble's character (the possibly crazy scientist guy).

"Having said that," Abrams added, "I don't trust corporate culture at all."