What made the ATX Festival so special?

When I first heard about the ATX Festival from a friend of mine, I was both immediately interested and immediately skeptical. After all, it was on Kickstarter. It might not even happen. The original list of attendees continued to ebb and flow and it took quite a bit of time for it to stabilize. What if I got there and was let down?

Thanks to sweet Scott Porter
and his amazingly gracious wife for
granting us access to him!

Finally, I decided, what the hell? What's the worst that can happen? Nothing, really. If the project doesn't get funded I wouldn't lose anything. If it did get funded and nobody showed up, I'd spend a couple of fun filled days in Austin for a mini vacation.

What did happen may have been a once in a lifetime experience.

I've been to San Diego Comic Con, and it's fun. Sitting in a press room and talking with producers, writers and actors on my favorite shows can be dreamy. But you have to remember that Comic Con, due to the nature of the conference, limits it's television selections to genre shows.

Last year was a pretty good year for genre shows. They were network darlings. Until they weren't. This year I have little idea what to expect with regard to SDCC because the genre shows are losing their luster. The old favorites will still be there; Supernatural, one last hurrah for Fringe, and we should see some representation from Grimm, Haven, Lost Girl, and Teen Wolf among others. Of course, the animated series will be there.

Shiri Appleby, Scott Porter, MC, Arielle Kebbel, Matt Lauria

The ATX Festival was a Television festival. There were no limitations on what genre of television attended, only that they be on television or a series on the web. That opened up a lot of options, including those that I hope take advantage of the festival next year.

Opening night was for USA Network and Suits and the 4th Season Premiere of Royal Pains - the creators and Reshma Shetty made an appearance for questions and answers.

Mae Whitman and Jason Ritter

Jason Katims, known for his indelible Austin work on Friday Night Lights was an ATX staple. He was everywhere, as were the actors on his shows, both FNL and Parenthood. The aforementioned Jason Ritter and Matt Lauria were joined by Mae Whitman, Michael B Jordan, Gaius Charles, Jesse Plemmons, Dax Shephard, Dora Madison Burge, Alicia Witt and Landon Pigg. Many of whom not only hung out the entire weekend, but provided entertainment with their own bands and graciously took photos with adoring fans.

One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected and Adult Swim's Children's Hospital as well as the Bill Lawrence Traveling Power Hour were also there, bringing along James Lafferty, Lindsay McKeon, Britt Robertson, Shiri Appleby, Arielle Kebbel, Judy Greer, Erinn Hayes, Ken Marino, Ian Gomez...the list goes and goes. Visit ATX Festival for all the information.

Ben Edlund and Jose Molina

For me, the real dream came in terms of writers, producers and creators. Ben Edlund, Jose Molina, Julie Plec, Jane Espenson, Bill Lawrence, Jason Katims, Jeff Davis, Richard Hatem, Kyle Killen, Noah Hawley, Liz Tigleaar. Not only were they there, they were accessible. I had actual conversations with them. This is not the norm on the festival circuit and to have been a part of it was magical.

I backed the festival through Kickstarter and had an Industry Badge. I would pay oodles of money for the same access next year. Oodles. The venue was intimate. The Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel was lovely and accommodating. When I checked in, I knew I hit the right place. In front of and beside me stood Jason Ritter, Ken Marino, Matt Lauria, Lindsay McKeon and I'm sure a few others I'm forgetting. That's just checking in. 


Guess how many people I recognized checking into my hotel at Comic Con last year? Zero.

Riding up and down the elevator itself became a cause celeb. Saying good morning or good night was easy and not intimidating.

My wish for next year is that more television shows will take the bait and join us. Hello Alloy Entertainment!! The Lying Game films in Austin. I would have thought that would have been a no-brainer. Your average every day television junkie doesn't get experiences like this. Most of them are reserved for critics panels or festivals that cost upwards of thousands of dollars. I'd love to see ATX take off and give us what we've all so been craving. This year was off to a fantastic start.

I know, I know. Shut the hell up already. I will do just that. But not before giving you some one offs that others may or may not have heard. Whether I learned them in panels or one on one conversations you'll have to decide for yourselves.

A special pic for a friend from
Mae Whitman!

• Kyle Killen's favorite cheesy movie is Cliffhanger.
• You have to watch the coffers when Jane Espenson is around. She's the reason we didn't get one final episode of Caprica. She spent the money!
• Mae Whitman pays attention to Tweets that mention her name.
• Jeff Davis is known to jump right onto the Teen Wolf set with scissors to trim hair or a paint brush for a touch up. Even this creator doesn't have the budget to leave the work to others!
• Jason Ritter was only allowed to watch Three's Company until a magical age when all the jokes had meaning and Mr. John Ritter said "no more!" He's also extremely envious of Peter Krause and hopes to find a love like he shares with Lauren Graham.
• To all of you aspiring actors out there, according to Shiri Appleby, pasties can get you a callback.
• Scott Porter once thought he would change the world with his beat boxing. 
• Ben Edlund imagines Sam and Dean as demi-gods who have to deal with the last 7 seasons as a completely new way to envision a television series. 
• Children's Hospital's Erinn Hayes enjoyed working on Worst Week as much as I liked watching it. A LOT.
• Someone asked Ken Marino if he's always as strange as he was during the Children's Hospital marathon or if he was wasted the entire time. 

Thank you Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gipson for creating and pulling off the first annual ATX Festival!!!

ATX Festival Update OMG!!!

No photos because I'm not rude, but I've already met, just checking into the hotel, Jason Ritter, Jon Stern and Ken Marino, Lindsey McKeon (so many have twitter names and I can't remember them!) and stood beside Matt Lauria! While I was upstairs checking into the festival I saw Michael B Jordan checking in. OMG. SO MUCH FUN ALREADY!

I can't remember what time Leigh gets here so I think I'm going to go downstairs and grab a bite to eat. I'm starving! Festivities start at 6.

I'll try to get pictures instead of just graciously introducing myself next time. ;-)

It's a chicken.

I'm testing the usage of Blogger on my phone to see if i need to take a laptop to the ATX Festival. Please TV gods, let this work!

Friday the 13th TV Thank Yous

Yes, Fridays are still a wasteland when it comes to ratings, but to viewers, especially viewers like me, some of the best programming can be found on Friday nights.

• FRINGE
• SUPERNATURAL
• GRIMM
• IN PLAIN SIGHT
• MAGIC CITY
• NIKITA

Those are just a few shows you can enjoy on Fridays. So the ratings aren't the best. Does that really mean that advertisers don't get the most bang for their buck? I don't think so. Of course, I don't like ratings, or statistics in general, so sue me.

I'd love to see 100 new Nielsen households added to the fray who are pre-chosen Fringe viewers, for instance. You'd have to assume they like smart television. I wonder if, just for shits and giggles, you did that and compared the numbers with those 100 new households added. What kind of difference would it make? Any? None? I wish they would do it just to prove a point, just to make people like me, who are so befuddled and disgusted at what is considered an average household some extra evidence to show I'm just a lunatic.

But, that was just a rant. Not my point at all. My point is that there are great shows on Fridays, even though they are not watched by many people. And last night I so enjoyed some of them, even though many were on hiatus, that I wanted to say thanks. So here goes.

Thank you to Grimm, for finally giving me a reason to use carpet muncher in it's proper context. Who would have thought that would happen?

Thank you to Fringe for bringing back Alt-Broyles, if even for the briefest of moments before he once again gave his life in tragedy. Lance Reddick gets so few moments of lightness as Broyles on the show, that to see him smile brings joy to my heart.

Thank you to Magic City for making a bad guy so incredibly bad that I will never be able to watch him in anything ever again without wanting to rip his heart out. Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Ike Morgan is the light, trying so very hard to keep a business on the up and up while his partner, darker than pitch Ben Diamond, played by Danny Huston, earned nothing but disgust from his first vision on screen. Last night he shot a dog. It took everything I had to turn my rage to the character and not turn off the show.

Thank you to In Plain Sight for making me miss Mary Shannon even before she is gone. Three more episodes of her vulnerable snark and I don't know that she'll find her happy ending, although introducing Josh Hopkins as Kenny gives me hope. I'm sorry, USA Network, no amount of commercials for Necessary Roughness or Common Law will ever make me forget the strength of Marshals Mary and Marshall. They will be sorely missed.

And, finally, thanks to IFC Network for showing one of the long forgotten horror movies from the 70s, They Came from Within (although you ran it under it's alternate title, Shivers). There is not enough cheese on this planet and always room to air more. Thank you!

There you have it. Just some random thoughts from my television viewing on Friday the 13th.        


Photo courtesy of NBC Grimm Screenshot "Love Sick"                       

Musings: Game of Thrones Season One, Episode One - Winter is Coming

Before being asked to cover Game of Thrones, I had only heard that it was going to be an epic masterpiece series on HBO. The previews were incredibly intriguing and after taking a look around the interwebs, I noticed I was very late to the party.

I immediately picked up the book, Game of Thrones and voraciously read it, falling in love with the characters and the determined style of writing put forth by George R R Martin. Through the process of covering that first season, I had the good fortune to participate in conference calls with the producers, Mr. Martin himself and some of the stars of the incredible series. It was a dream series to cover, in all honestly.

As season two approaches, I thought I'd take another look at the first season with fresh eyes and share my thoughts with the two or three people who might tumble past my blog.

"Winter is Coming"

It amazed me that from the first scenes of the show, I was immediately hooked. Outside of the fact that I knew what what happening and what was to come, the production was such that even the smallest of parts could hold great meaning.

Starting with the introduction of the Wildlings and a frightened Night's Watchman witnessing his brethren being torn to bits in front of him might have seemed an odd choice to start, but the way it tied in with Bran's lesson about justly delivering punishment upon your people if it is necessary and doing so with respect was well done.

It was from this mission of death that the Stark boys found their Direwolves. The sigil of the Stark house and very rare, stumbling across six motherless pups was, indeed, providence. Even Jon Snow, Eddard Stark's bastard, found a pure white pup.

It's ironic that when Ned learns of the Hand's death and asks after Catelyn's sister and her son she answers they're well, thank the gods. As we learn later, they are anything but well.

My reaction upon seeing Joffrey's smug mug for the first time again? Still the same. I want to smack him around until that smirk couldn't find it's way back to his face.

I love the friendship between the King and Ned. There is great animosity between King Robert's wife, Cersei, and the entire Stark clan that she doesn't even attempt to hide. Robert was to marry Ned's sister but she was killed. Cersei doesn't like second place, but she also doesn't like the King, when she has a twin brother as hot as Jaime. Disgusting, but who could resist?

We also met Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen and Dani's betrothed, Khal Drogo. From that first scene together you'd never guess it would turn into a huge love story that would drive Dani to places she could never imagine.

Meeting tiny Tyrion as he was matched by five women in bed was another highlight of the first episode. Thinking back to the first season's measly ten hours it's incredible how beloved the characters became in such a short time. And, no, I didn't mean to use so many words alluding to small size while I discussed the imp.

Poor Daenerys must have been scared out of her mind watching the Dothraki "celebrate" during her wedding. Half naked women having sex with a multitude of men, Khal excited as he watched his men being killed. The best gift of all was getting the dragon's eggs, thought turned to stone, but really just waiting for the heart of Daenerys. It appeared she might be frightened or unsure, but as time goes on we learned she just might be the strongest of them all.

I felt like we knew so much more of Bran in the books than we ever got to know in the show. If I could have chosen to have one character more fully defined, it would have been Bran. Instead, he took a fall at the hands of Jaime and we lose him for a good portion of the season after that.

I'm not going to share any great insight as I rewatch these episodes, unless something I missed during the first bazillion watches last year escaped me. I'll just be thinking out loud as I watch.

On April 1st (or more likely April 2nd), I'll start posting actual insightful reviews to coincide with the new season.

The Fringe Team's Favorite Walterisms

And, I must confess, some of mine, as well. Walter is a walking quote magnet!

ARE WE ALONE? MAKES FIRST CONTACT THIS TUESDAY ON SCIENCE

ARE WE ALONE? MAKES FIRST CONTACT THIS TUESDAY ON SCIENCE

 

-- ARE WE ALONE? Premieres on SCIENCE Tuesday, March 6, at 10:00 PM ET/PT

with an All-New Episode of THROUGH THE WORMHOLE--

 

For centuries, mankind has questioned if we are alone in this vast universe.  SCIENCE has partnered with TED and the SETI Institute to bring viewers an entire month of programming around this age old question.   Beginning with the world premiere of a new episode of Morgan Freeman’s THROUGH THE WORMHOLE debuting tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 6 at 10 PM ET/PT, ARE WE ALONE? is timed to support a major new resource called SETI Live which will empower and mobilize “citizen scientists” from all walks of life to join the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.  To join the search please visit: www.sciencechannel.com

 

Episode Descriptions:

 

Through the Wormhole:  Will We Survive First Contact?

World Premiere Tuesday, March 6 at 10 PM (ET/PT)

Mankind longs for proof that we are not alone in the universe, but the moment of first contact will irrevocably change the world as we know it. Whether that is a bad thing for humanity or the beginning of a great future is the subject of much debate. In this episode we’ll meet scientists probing the big questions: Will the aliens we encounter be warlike? How will we talk to creatures with whom we share no common ground? Could they have come here already? And can we visit aliens on their own turf?

 

Alien Encounters

Part 1- The Message World Premiere on Tuesday, March 13 at 10 PM (ET/PT)

Part 2- The Arrival World Premiere on Tuesday, March 20 at 10 PM (ET/PT)

In two dramatic hours, ALIEN ENCOUNTERS lays out a plausible hypothetical scenario for a first contact event. What would really happen if we got a message from space? How will humans react when we learn that a message from a distant technology or a spacecraft is on its way to Earth? Will humans learn from aliens, or become colonial subjects? Some of the world’s leading astrophysicists, astrobiologists, and sci-fi writers help unravel the scientific, cultural and psychological impact of this world-changing global event. This show is made in cooperation with The SETI Institute which was founded in 1984 and had renowned astrophysicist Carl Sagan as one of its Board of Trustee Members. Carl’s son Nick is now following in his father’s footsteps wondering, “How will we meet our galactic neighbors?”

 

NASA’S UNEXPLAINED FILES

World Premiere Tuesday, March 27 at 10 PM (ET/PT)

Countless mysterious objects have been caught by NASA’s cameras.    In this special, we’ll reveal NASA’s top ten unexplained encounters using original footage and groundbreaking interviews with astronauts and scientists.  Can these phenomena be explained away through science and detective work?  Or have NASA’s cameras potentially captured the first traces of extraterrestrial life?