Tonight begins JJ "Lost" Abrams' latest foray into the world of spooky science and family melodrama, the TV series Fringe. In the two-hour pilot tonight you'll be introduced to its blend of bizarro, Altered States science and Felicity-esque parent/child drama. We've seen the pilot, we've talked to JJ Abrams, and now we're here to tell you everything you need to know about these ongoing adventures of a father-son mad scientist team and the government agent who brings them weird science cases to solve. Will you want to tune in tonight? Absolutely. Can the show escape the long shadow cast by the X-Files? Find out.

Here's everything you need to know about the pilot, which we watched a couple of months ago (yes there are spoilers, so be warned):
What to Expect on the Fringe

Here's what show creator JJ Abrams had to say about the show last week:
Fringe Will Jump the Shark Early and Often, Says JJ Abrams

We've wrapped up all the crucial back story that you might have gotten if you'd bothered to play with the Fringe alternate reality game online the way we did:
The Fringe ARG Plays with Your Mind

Find out some other freaky shit about Fringe, like how early screenings of the series used biometric devices to measure the audience's emotional reactions. Or what kinds of science inspire JJ Abrams to make a TV pilot that cost a whopping $10 million (yes, the Fringe pilot you're watching tonight cost more than many indie movies).

Send an email to Annalee Newitz, the author of this post, at annalee@io9.com.