10 Things That Wouldn't Exist Without Leonard Nimoy
9. Fringe's Alternate Realities
Early on in its run, Fringe was doing about as well as any JJ Abrams-related show that's not called Alias or Lost does, ie not very well at all. Created alongside screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the show mainly centred on an X-Files alike branch of the FBI that specialised in wacky sci-fi stuff, a supernatural procedural fronted by Anna Torv as Agent Olivia Dunham. It was enjoyable hokum, but not much more besides that, and the show didn't really have that killer hook that would set it apart from its predecessors, let alone other the other series it was competing with on the air. That all changed during the first season finale, when Leonard Nimoy made his first appearance as the mysterious Dr William Bell. That season finale introduced, along with Bell, the concept of alternate timelines to the show. From there on out Fringe became actual must-watch television, with Orci making good on his promise that Bell was the beginning of the answers to even bigger questions. Not that it was entirely thanks to Nimoy, but his character made Fringe a show worth watching. Might not have been the same with Shatner in the role.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
