FOX Renews 'Fringe"

I'll be honest, I thought Fringe was doomed. It held well for its first few weeks in the "Friday death slot", but has fallen below levels anybody who monitors ratings would deem feasible for renewal. That's why it was shocking when last thursday, Fox announced the renewal of Fringe for a fourth season. I first found out about this when Dan Harmon, executive producer of Community, retweeted a tweet from a Fringe producer saying the show had been picked up for a fourth season. Intrigued and in disbelief, I quickly googled this but nothing came up besides stories from some not-so-reputable sites. I checked my favorite TV news website, TV By The Numbers, and nothing was there. Then I refreshed the page and there it was. While I was pleased, I was also surprised. There are several odd things about this renewal. First off, the fact that it was renewed early. Usually bubble shows that aren't likely to be renewed don't get announced until the network's upfronts in May. The second was that this came after a series low in ratings the Friday before. Then, perhaps the oddest (but best) of all: it's a full 22 episode second season. That's definitely odd for a scripted show pulling these ratings. So people have been trying to figure out why this happened. I find it unlikely FOX has suddenly decided to go for quality over popularity just as much as I find it unlikely FOX is happy with the ratings the show is currently getting. There have been conspiracy theories revolving around the fact that Anna Torv has blood relations to Rupert Murdoch, but if this was even true, why not just cast her in a new pilot. The thing that makes the most sense to me is that   FOX really wanted JJ Abrham's new pilot Alcatraz and they would only let Fox have it in a package deal that included a Fringe renewal. Whatever the reason, I'm just glad the best hour long show on broadcast TV is returning.