CBS Fall Line Up, Criminal Minds Q&A...
~During the Labor Day weekend I had the privilege and joy of hanging out with serenography and her daughter. It's always great to meet f-listers. I thank her for her generosity and and general wonderfulness.
The Paley Center for Media's Fall Preview lineup ends tomorrow night.
Since “Smallville” ended I’m not very excited about TV. There are shows I watch, new shows that I’m discovering (“Boardwalk Empire” and “Suits”), but really without “Smallville” on the horizon, my TV enjoyment feels hollow.
. I won’t say that with “Smallville”s end, I feel lost, adrift, a woman without a TV purpose, that I’ve lost my soul but…
But it did my heart good to see the “Criminal Minds” cast. The cast entered the room when the moderator, Mike Schneider of TV Guide was discussing the show and seeing them walking down the stairs towards their seats, led by Thomas, it was just wonderful to see them intact after all the behind the scenes meshugas that was going on.
Mod: Thanks for coming out to CBS night at the Paley Fest (dawnybee: It’s not the Paley fest. It’s the Fall preview, completely different from the Paley Fest or the Spring/Fall Series that they Paley Center puts on.) I take it a couple of you guys are “Criminal Minds” fans (the crowd cheers. I watch as Matthew mouths “I am”). First off real quick I hope you guys got a copy of TV Guide magazine’s Fall preview issue. Go out and still buy a copy anyway, send it to your friends, ya know Print magazine is still alive so….thanks a lot. Believe it or not this fall marks the seventh season of “Criminal Minds” (The last season) having said goodbye to two of their own, which now leads us to this year where they will say hello again to them. We’ll take all about it, more on the way in a minute, but first before we welcome the cast onstage, let’s take a look at a few moments of “Criminal Minds”. (They throw to the first few minutes of the 7th season episode complete with a bearded and very hot Hotchner. Women went wild for him and then Shemar came onscreen and they went crazy some more. Then showed an advert for the 7th season)
Mod: It looks like things get a little hairier this season of “Criminal Minds” if this clip is any indication (scattered laughter. Okay, I laughed. I love puns.) Did I just say “hairier”, I just got that. Come along with me on this journey. Ladies and gentleman, on stage, beginning with the furthest seat at stage right. You know her as Penelope Garcia, Kristen Vangness. Next up, you know her as Jennifer “JJ” Jarreau, AJ Cook. He is Dr. Spencer Reid, Matthew Gray Gubler. He is Mr. Derek Morgan, Shemar Moore (dawnybee: A young lady behind me got the attack of the giddies over Shemar.) And she’s the suddenly alive again, Emily Prentiss. The taut, but suddenly hairier Agent Hotchner (Thomas comes out and takes a picture of the crowd). David Rossi is Joe Mantegna and finally the exective producer of “Criminal Minds”, Erica Mesher.
Mod: Hey guys. So considering the old line, the band’s back together again, but the bands back together again. Do you follow Joe on Twitter? (Kristen and people in the audience says “Yeah”)
Joe: Joe doesn’t follow Joe on Twitter.
Mod: There’s been some crazy tweets in the past 24 hours.
Joe: Has there been?
Mod: Here are two that are from the verified Joe Mantegna Twitter account.
Joe: What does he say?
Mod “I’m not sure if you guys are really ready for this new season of “Criminal Minds. It’s pretty intense.”
Joe: That’s right! Absolutely right. I said it!
Mod: And the next line from the Joe Mantgena Twitter account is “The “Criminal Minds” badassery is at a new level this season. First off would you guys agree that there’s more badassery this season and Erica, care to elaborate?
Erica: I think it’s a season where we get to explore our heroes a little bit more. Every week we dive into what makes the bad guys tick. And this is the season where we really want to explore all the layers that make up this team and we get started right away with Prentiss returning from the dead. The very real thing about Hotch and Prentiss and JJ having this secret from the team…
Thomas (suggestively) Together. (people hoot) Sorry.
Erica: .. from the team that automatically starts drama.
Mod: So at the end of the day was what happened much ado about nothing? (AJ gives a look like ‘Yeeaah, nooo it wasn’t much ado about nothing. It was a pretty big deal.) Can you guys sorta talk about now what happened on the set now that you guys are obviously back together again? Once again the whole team.
Shemar: The network thought what we could do was really easy but they found out the hard way it’s not easy to do. We started this together, we’re going to finish it together. We earned it. The reason I think the show is so great and I think the reason you guys are up there is that you got seven people that are very different but we all come together so well. None of us are threatened by each other, we all need each, we all love each other. We’re different, but it’s truly a family We don’t always get along (Matthew makes a face like ‘That’s curious. I get along with everyone always.’), but we love each other and we’re always (joining) together to do the right thing and we give you guys a show. The chemistry you see here is what we put up on the screen. And the show tried to rock the boat, but this (the cast on stage) is what started it. We came together and we earned the stripes to be together as a family. It’s so easy for us because we’ve taken the time, not just because it’s easy and exciting but because it’s just the right thing; the right people are together to tell this story and do this show.
Matthew: I helped him write that.
Kristen: What’s awesome is what…so many lemons happened! So many lemons: the girls leaving and then Rachel had to leave, then this one’s back (AJ) but are you (Paget) back? What’s happening?! And the testament to everything is how much lemonade is getting made from all of those lemons. Rachel was on Maxim last month, like..and she was awesome and she had this moment that was really special for us as a family-the story of her character and all that…and, and the girls coming back. Only actresses this good can have this character leave for a year, come back, the writers write whole new things about them and they can act it up so it’s almost like they’re (AJ and Paget) them (the audience laughs) No, serious! They’re doing different, really cool things and it makes our jobs-that have been there so much funner (sic). It’s so cool that this awful thing had so many…
Mod: So this whole messing with tradition actually kinda worked.
Thomas: Yeah, exactly. That was the plan all along.
Mod: AJ, Paget, talk about some of the fan reaction to what happened. What were you hearing? Were you guys pulled over on the street?
Paget: I don’t know what you’re referring to. No, that was everything. That really allowed me to hold my head up high in all of it. It was everything (to me). It was everything. And we appreciated it. We all appreciate it and thank you.
Mod: You did a pilot so it must’ve been strangely bittersweet that the pilot didn’t go forward, but that meant you go to back to this show.
Paget: Yeah. They let us go and part of my being let go, I was able to shoot a pilot and they (CBS) said, “Maybe you shouldn’t do that.” And I was like, “No, you kinda broke up with me. I want to see what’s going on (outside that job).” They were a very nice bunch of people but in shooting that pilot I missed these guys and our crew more than I was prepared for. And it was shocking. It was a fun experience, but I realized this is a machine, but a machine with a heart. People laugh and joke and everyone on our show is so good at what they do. You just don’t see it! You just don’t see it out there in the world. It’s remarkable. Everything these people do is remarkable. So I knew, “Oh, wow, I don’t think this thing (the pilot) is going to go. Maybe I can go back there.” And I came back. But it was…that produce guy at my market watch CM, they love it. Toll booth operators, people at airports. People everywhere were coming up and saying, “Why did you die?” “Tu muerta?” I was getting it in triple languages. People in Mexico would come up and I’d be “Lo siento!” The fan response was overwhelming for everyone, I think. The fans did not want their show being messed with. And the person who messed with our show is not someone that we ever see!! That person is not around! And we had to live with this decision. I think the fans are responsible for reversing that.
Shemar: For sure.
Paget: And I don’t know how many times you can say that happens. You know what I mean? People sending files and inundating someone’s office or setting up a petition that actually does something. I don’t know how often that happens so that’s a pretty remarkable thing.
Mod: You guys can enact change in America.
Paget (points to the audience) They can!
Mod: We saw a small clip there from the first episode back. Can you say how these characters return? Pick us up to speed. What are we going to see in this first episode?
Erica: It was the first time we didn’t have a premiere that wasn’t cliffhanger in the traditional sense so we were able to come back and looking at the season there were things going on: negotiations (Thomas’ and Shemar’s) and Paget’s pilot may or may not have gone and we wouldn’t have known that until the pilot had gone so we didn’t have anything to write to. So looking at all of that, it was an opportunity to tell a story we weren’t ever able to tell and that is that real time has passed from when the finale aired to when the premiere airs: so in that time we can answer that JJ has been back for three and a half months and she’s been promoted to a profiler in that time and we’ll hear a little bit more of that in episode two. And then, as it happened, I asked Jim Clementi (their advisor) what would people do for leasure, if they took sabbaticals and the answer was “Absolutely. Yes, yes and yes, absolutely” so maybe in this time Joe went and did a little book tour, well Rossi. And Hotch, as you see, was in Pakistan and that was mostly because he’s a handsome devil with that thing and we said, “We should write to that.”
Thomas: (rocking a five o’clock shadow) I shaved today.
Joe: (still bearded) I shaved five minutes ago. (Thomas makes a fist like “yes” for the rejoinder)
Erica : Reid has been dealing with his mom, which I think is something we might have lost in the premiere, but pick up on in episode two. And Morgan and Garcia, the Dynamic Duo, and JJ too but JJ is in the dark on this, but Morgan has never forgiven himself for what happened to Prentiss, that he was sixty seconds to late and no matter what he’s not going to let Ian Doyle be out there in the world. In the premiere Morgan’s been looking for him and he did it in the traditional way of getting into the head of the bad guy. So it took a little bit of time, we got into the head of the bad guy and realized that the whole thing that’s keeping him - Doyle-- going is that his son is still out there. So Morgan and Garcia start digging around for where Doyle son would be, where Prentiss hid him and it starts going from there. In a weird way it’s not at all an episode we normally tell. But in a weird way it’s still our show.
Paget: I want to say Erica wrote that episode and she wrote the hell out of it. I’m serious.
Mod: How do these different characters react to Prentiss being alive? Is this going to be a throughline throughout the series?
Erica: This event has changed all our characters lives. It’s added another layer. But because I’ve been with these guys from day one and we have such a good working relationship I wasn’t about to say, “Okay, Reid you have to do this” “and Garcia needs to do this” and “Hotch and JJ blah blah blah” No, just sit back and let him react. In fact, Shemar and I, after we rehearsed that where he (Hotch?) comes back Morgan had a lot of lines and the more Shemar and Glen (the director) and I talked about it, it was like ‘Oh, wow you don’t need to say anything. In fact you probably shouldn’t. (Shemar does the fist pump “Yes” motion) In a weird way it’s against my nature-not having enough words--but it was the best thing for that scene. He said everything without saying and the real drama there is between Morgan and Hotch because Hotch was burdened with the secret.
Thomas: Really? Kidding.
Paget: What happened? (nudges Thomas) You should’ve stuck to it.
Shemar: I love what’s Morgan’s become. In the beginning I was adamant about not just being the tough guy. Shemar has a lot more fun than Morgan. But I didn’t just want to be the tough guy and that’s it. I wanted to be a reasonable tough guy and also have some vulnerabilities (dawnybee: I lost the rest of this but I think he says that Morgan has fear of intimacy and is very passionate about the team,) When Hotch’s armor is cracked with his family and all that and Morgan had to step in, Morgan and Hotch, to me, can lead but they do things differently but Morgan knows his position. It’s very hard for Morgan to trust and Hotch knows that he’s (Morgan) very involved with his teammates. Whether they say it or not. There’s so much about our show that’s done in the silence, especially with these characters. Morgan really wants to be the first one in the burning building and the last one to leave. He just wants to protect these guys by any means necessary so when Prentiss fell short, Morgan really took it personally. “If I just had been there sixty seconds earlier” And Hotch is always there because without Hotch Morgan might do something (go to far). His intentions are good but he could get himself in trouble. So what’s nice that Erica did for my character iis that Morgan misses his teammates, misses his friends, but she let Morgan take it in and there’s a sense of betrayal in Hotch even though that’s his (Morgan’s) friend, his boss. I don’t want to tell it all to you, but you get to see the range in Morgan’s personalities. In all of ours. All of us has different reactions. Reid…Reid has a really powerful reaction in a different kind of way. (dawnybee: To cut to the quick, Shemar was trying to say-as far as I can tell-is that Hotch and Morgan are similar in that their passion about their teammate is the same, just the method is different. Hotch reacts inwardly, Morgan outwards and that while Morgan would probably do the same in order to protect the team, the deception will splinter their relationship)
Kristen: He just starts crying.
AJ: It was creepy.
Matthew: He (Reid) doesn’t find it funny that his best friend’s been faking her own death. I find it funny, Reid doesn’t.
Shemar: I should let him (Gube) go. But Erica did something cool for all of us. JJ and Hotch had to keep this secret they didn’t want to. Reid doesn’t understand. Morgan’s made it his life’s journey to get redemption for his friend and so now he’s doing the right thing for his friend and then a ghost shows up in his face out of the blue and you’ll get to see how Morgan reacts to it. What’s really is going to be interesting is the dynamic between all of us…(Doyle is still the Big Bad), how do we get our fabric together? How the team gets back together. It’s not just about AJ getting her job back or Paget getting her job back and let’s go. No, how do we get the team back? How do we get our family back? (Shemar turns to Matthew for his turn.)
Matthew: That’s exactly what I was going to say.
Mod A couple of questions people had about Reid. Are the headaches going to be addressed again? Any girlfriend this year?
Matthew: Whooo!. I don’t know, man. I’m always the last to know. I think we all are. The rapid pace that TV warrants us with scripts coming two days before we start… I think Erica is the better one to talk about it
Shemar: They want to know about real life.
Matthew: Oooh.
Shemar: You got nothing? Okay. (shaking his head) You’re a good actor and a shitty liar.
Matthew Touche.
Thomas : I think the theme of broken trust within a family is something that we’ll have a chance to play in various ways at various times throughout this season and beyond. (Hotch’s atttitude is) “Sorry, I couldn’t really accommodate for your feelings” though the character understands exactly what it costs the team. It changes everyone’s life and the interactions between the team.
Mod: (the mod talks about the last season’s finale with the storyline about budget cuts and how it paralleled what was going on behind the scenes with his negotiations and was that purposely done because his status was unknown)
Thomas :It’s all good.
Mod:Will it continued to be addressed (budget cuts in the department)
Thomas: You never know when the money’s going to run out. You never know. Government departments (do) shut down. But they’re there to do their jobs.
Mod: I just found it similar to real life it was interesting that it was made to be the background of the show. .
Erica: Yeah. There were so many balls in the air it was insane. So the only way to protect the show and myself and the writing staff was to write to that drama. It was our reality and so just go ahead and own it and write to it and it finally fell (the balls) and look how they fell.
Mod: Garcia, what’s the status of you and Kevin’s relationship?
Kristin: I don’t know.
(the audiences awws)
Kristin: Your guess is as good as mine.
Shemar: You’re my baby girl! I don’t compete.
Kristin: I have a polyamorous relationship (with Kevin and Morgan) so that’s out there.
Shemar: I don’t even know what that means.
Kristin: It’s weird because everyone poses that question and I know you want a really good answer, but what happens in her life “I’m going to die! We have to find them! I don’t know, look it up! I gotta say stuff! (dawnybee: I think this was her way of explaining that relationships are in Garcia’s background because she’s so focused on other stuff. And this cracks Thomas up) Isn’t that what happens? That’s what happens. Having saying that, it’s nice since they’re back in their different kind of roles, this one doing profiling (JJ), Garcia gets to be the one to explain the case.
Paget: She’s so good at it.
Kristin: I get a day or two to work room with everybody. (before she had to work alone) When you get in that room (with the cast) it’s like a festival of inside jokes that I don’t get. “Yesterday with the lockers!” and I’m like, “Yeah??” “It was awesome.” (excitedly) “What happened?!” “Don’t worry about it.” Look at how beautiful and smart they are. They are an intimidating bunch. It’s nice that I’m there for sure one day with everybody and that’s so great.
Mod: We’re going to see Rossi’s first wife played by Isabella Hoffman. What’s the backstory with that?
Joe: We’ve established that over the last few years that Rossi has…
Shemar: He’s been getting it in. Getting it in. Knocking the boots. Doing the naughty dance.
Joe: (Joe talks about in movies there’s usually a shotgun over the mantle and at one point the gun has to come down and you shoot it)
Shemar: (suggestively) Did you shoot the rifle?
Joe No, I shot the cannon.
(shocked laughter, applause)
Thomas: So the thing with the locker….. (laughing) Oh, my g0d.
Joe: Yes, fortunately we had Isabella Hoffman, she’s actually wrapping up the part this week… it’s a two part thing. She’s remarkable. Even me, as a viewer…(talking about catching up on the show when he was hired) I came away with why I wanted to be on the show is that it’s such a strong ensemble. Every single character is so defined; it’s not a star turn vehicle. It’s a show where every single person has such a integral portion of it. As a viewer you not only want to see the work they do, as you invest in it you want to know about their personal lives. And those are things I enjoyed watching like Shemar’s character and Reid’s and stuff like that. So we’re exploring one of Rossi’s marriages and I’m glad about that.
Mod: We’re quickly running out of time. This question was actually suggested to me and it sounds like a fun one. Round Robin time and we’ll go down the line, which character are you jealous of or would like to play other than your own?
Kristen: It’s a six-way tie, but I can say Prentiss would be first.
Paget: I WIN!
Kristen: They’re all…I can give you reasons for all of them. But I don’t know there’s just something…she’s badass.
Paget: Awwww.
AJ: Did you see her with that machine gun? I mean come on…
Paget: That was awesome.
Mod: How about you, AJ?
AJ: Probably Dr. Reid because he’s such a nerd. He makes his voice crack (mimics MGG’s voice cracking) every once in a while.
Matthew: (making his voice crack) That’s my voice. What are you talking about?
AJ: Strangely it’s a tie between either nerd or bad ass. Either Morgan or Dr. Reid. I think JJ is trying very hard to become Morgan.
Matthew: I’m much cooler than Morgan.
Shemar: She’s tucking her pants into her boots.
AJ: Yeeeah!
Shemar: She’s stealing all my thunder. She has a great tush when she puts the cuffs in the back…I’m just saying…. Her husband’s out there somewhere. (in the audience) Sorry.
Matthew: I was born to play a un-sub. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing (playing Reid). The first season every extra---- I have naturally dark eyes, circles under my eyes---everyone would come up to me and say, “You’re the bad guy on this thing?” And I would say, “No, I’m just thin and kinda weird looking.” I liked Keith Carradine’s part a lot, Frank. Bud Cort who was wonderfully directed (dawnyee: Gube directed his episode).
Mod: Matthew when are negotiations coming up for you?
Matthew: This year, unfortunately. I’m going rogue.
Shemar: I’m kinda with Matthew in the sense that….I’m not just saying this to say the right thing: we play the characters we are supposed to play and we all do them really, really well. But if I had to play someone else I would play the bad guy. Ian Doyle is pretty cool and he has an accent; I’m a sucker for accents. And the actor (who plays him) himself is really cool. I so appreciate that you love us and we’re your heroes but I think the coolest roles on our show are the victims and the un-subs; that’s really what the show is about. We fight, we go get that bad guy but there are guys (characters) like Ian Doyle that are so meaty and fun and they really get to emote so many things. He’s just so cool.
Mod: We’re going to see more of Ian Doyle, right?
Erica: A wee bit.
(they all throw out their best Irish accents saying “a wee bit” and “ a touch”)
Erica: We were talking about that.
Paget: He’s really fun to be around! (Everyone concurs. Paget begins to answer the original question) Part of me wants to say it’ll be funny to see Emily returning as Shemar Moore…
Shemar: Hold on, hold on, hold on. Tell the fans, the audience about these tweets, this matter with Twitter…
Paget: (excitedly) Oh, oh I Twitter as Shemar!! It’s kinda crossing the line…
Shemar: Now if I ever sounded like she sound (on Twitter), you know what I mean.. Go ahead, go on. Do me, do me. Put some bass in your voice.
Paget : First of all understand I know this is wrong, but we’re friends so I can do this. “Yo, yo, yo Shemar Moore here. Know what freaks me out? Owls. “ (dawnybee: Her Shemar sounds like Tracy Morgan) See?!
Thomas: I’d be anyone without a tie. I didn’t think of it before. I wish that maybe I could do a little uh…
Paget: Song and dance?
Thomas: I could do a little song and dance, you know.
Joe: I’d love to be Supervisor Special Agent Ruffalino (sp).
Paget: Oh that guy. He’s been on family leave for five years.
(dawnybee: That talk about how there’s a picture of a guy on the bulletin board of the supervisor with a note saying that someone should pick up his dry cleaning)
Joe: He has the best job in the FBI.
Thomas: It’s above the coffee. Our wall of fallen agents are our writers.
Pager: Harry’s on there. I think he defaced his own picture.
Shemar: No, no., someone else did that.
Mod: Final words?
Erica: I want to thank the writing staff. They’ve been amazing this year. (as she’s talking Shemar bends over to pull up Matthew’s pants legs to expose his socks. He’s wearing one black sock with neon pink bands and another with neon green). It wasn’t just me. It’s a brain trust and it’s a camaraderie that the writers and the actors have and that we trust one another. It’s a really amazingly safe place to be. I’m just so thankful for that. I think all of that positivity will come across and you all will see that. It’s the team and the people you trust around that table going out to catch the bad guys.
*They then introduce a French fanvid that Thomas turned Erica unto and it demonstrates the love the international fans have for the show. I thought it was crazy neat of them to do it but I thought, “Now CBS knows about it and they’re going to pull that down faster than you can say “copyright infringement”.
The cast watching a fanvid
Hotchner’s Bunch
The view was so distracting! So tempting.
Very out of focus, but I just loved their laughign
Kristin taking a picture of her castmates
Showrunner Erica Messner
Every year they change the lobby set up. The press area is completely covered so I had to go to the second floor landing to see everyone
The Shows Screened
How To Be a Gentleman
*An “Odd Couple” type story. When the magazine strait-laced, buttoned down Andrew (David Hornsby) work for goes an overhaul into a Maxim/FHM type magazine, his editor (Dave Foley) forces him to change his etiquette column into something more modern for their readers. A chance reunion with a high school bully (one of the many Andrew has had) Bert (Kevin Dillon) gives Andrew the idea how to transform his column and his own image from meek and mild to manly.
So unfunny. David Hornsby voice is annoying and grating. I was never charmed by the neanderthal schtick that Dillon has cultivated on “Entourage” so these things put together is like an icepick in the brain. I think the general personalities is worse than the lack of humor. Rhys Darby as Andrew’s henpecked brother-in-law and Dave Foley are wasted. Foley even more so because he played this type of character on “Newsradio” the only difference is that he did it well so seeing him wallow in such lousy material is painful. This show may do fairly well in the first week since it’s lead-in is “The Big Bang Theory”, but it’s competing against “Parks and Recreation” and “Parks and Recs” has a big following. And I hear it’s actually, you know, good.
Two Broke Girls
Waitress Max (Kat Dennings) has to train a newbie, Caroline (Beth Behrs) the daughter of a millionaire who was jailed for running a Ponzi scheme. Though broke and devoid of any connection to her former life, Caroline still has an acute business acumen and she suggests that she and Max go into business together.
Somewhat funny. I can’t believe it’s the highest testing pilot CBS has had in years. But then again I couldn’t get the allure of “Mike and Molly” either. Kat Dennings has a following and I really like her deadpan delivery. It’s lead-in is “How I Met Your Mother” and between “Two and a Half-Man” so it’s hard to count this one out.
Persons of Interest
*Carter (Taraji P. Henson) is investigating the arrest of a homeless man, Reese (Jim Cavaziel)whose skills suggests there’s more to him than meets the eye. Unbeknownst to her, she’s right. And Finch (Michael Emerson) knows it. He recruits Reese to help him to prevent crimes by finding persons of interest (see what I did there?) whose only information he has is their social security numbers.
Created by JJ Abrams and Jonathan “Jonah” Nolan (the lesser Nolan brother) “Persons of Interest” is quasi high concept hookum. There is potential and it may take a few episodes for it to get there, but I’m afraid it won’t ever get there. Emerson is playing a character like Ben Linus again: all enigmatic with this way of not looking at whoever he’s talking to because it’s more mysterious that way and Cavaziel is pretty bland. There’s one point where he’s holding a gun and I wondered if they ever bothered to give him gun training. The how behind Finch’s acquiring the SSNs are seems more convoluted than it has to be. I swear “Early Edition” with Kyle Chandler is the same concept but way more simple.
I would be interested if they involve Henson’s character more. As it stands she’s trying to find Reese so Cavaziel and Emerson’s story is outside of hers. The audience seemed to enjoy it though.
Unforgettable
Former detective Carrie (Poppy Montgomery) has a photographic memory. Brought back to detective work by her ex-boyfriend Al (Dylan Walsh), Carrie uses her photographic memory to solve cases and continues her quest to solve the one case that’s alluded her: the murder of her little sister when they were both children.
I liked it. I didn’t realize the lead was Poppy Montgomery of CBS’ “Without a Trace” but I did know that she wasn’t an American because her accent kept slipping through in a major way. Standard procedural, nothing too great but it’s solid. The show was conceived by Marilu Henner (“Taxi”) based on her own photographic memory. She’ll guest star as Carrie’s aunt who has onset Alzheimers.
They were due to screen “A Gifted Man” starring Patrick Wilson but they didn’t. I asked why and they speculate it’s not ready for preview.
~The Scream Awards nominations are up. You can go to the site now and vote. Tom Welling has been nominated in the Best Superhero category and "Game of Thrones" have several nods.
To check out the rest of the nominations and to vote for your favorites, check out Spike's website. Winners will be named on October 15th, with the ceremony airing October 18th on Spike TV.
The Ultimate Scream
Black Swan
Captain America: The First Avenger
Game of Thrones
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Super 8
Thor
True Blood
The Walking Dead
X-Men: First Class
Best TV Show
Doctor Who
Fringe
Game of Thrones
True Blood
The Walking Dead
Best Fantasy Actress
Penelope Cruz, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Lena Headley, Game of Thrones
Jennifer Lawrence, X-Men: First Class
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Best Fantasy Actor
Sean Bean, Game of Thrones
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First Class (dawnybee: I think he gets it for cool points)
James McAvoy, X-Men: First Class
Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Best Science Fiction Actress
Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The First Avenger
Karen Gillian, Doctor Who
Milla Jovovich, Resident Evil: Afterlife
Anna Torv, Fringe
Olivia Wilde, Tron: Legacy
Best Science Fiction Actor
Daniel Craig, Cowboys & Aliens
Chris Evans, Captain America: The First Avenger
Harrison Ford, Cowboys & Aliens
Jake Gyllenhaal, Source Code
Matt Smith, Doctor Who
Best Horror Actress
Sarah Wayne Callies, The Walking Dead
Neve Campbell, Scre4m
Anna Paquin, True Blood (dawnybee: “True Blood” is horror?
Chloe Grace Moretz, Let Me In
Rose Byrne, Insidious
Best Horror Actor
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead
Stephen Moyer, True Blood
Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood
Patrick Wilson, Insidious
Best Superhero
Chris Evans, Captain America: The First Avenger
Chris Hemsworth, Thor
James McAvoy, X-Men: First Class
Ryan Reynolds, Green Lantern
Tom Welling, Smallville (dawnybee: Woot! The only TV actor in the category? I have a feeling it’s because SV ended but I’ll take it)
Best Supporting Actress
Jaimie Alexander, Thor
Laurie Holden, The Walking Dead
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Helen Mirren, Red (dawnybee: High heels and a machine gun. Ms. Mirren owns this one)
Ellen Wong, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Best Supporting Actor
Kieran Culkin, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (dawnybee: Duuude. Give it to him. Wallace was a great character. Dinklage will get real awards)
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Rupert Grint, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Tommy Lee Jones, Captain America: The First Avenger
Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Breakout Performance - Female
Jaimie Alexander, Thor
Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The First Avenger
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones (dawnybee: Dany all the way)
Elle Fanning, Super 8
Zoe Kravitz, X-Men: First Class
Breakout Performance - Male
Jon Bernthal, The Walking Dead
Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First Class
Chris Hemsworth, Thor
Tom Hiddleston, Thor
Joe Manganiello, True Blood
Best Ensemble
Game of Thrones
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Red
True Blood
X-Men: First Class
Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel
American Vampire
Chew
Daytripper
Locke & Key
The Walking Dead
The Paley Center for Media's Fall Preview lineup ends tomorrow night.
Since “Smallville” ended I’m not very excited about TV. There are shows I watch, new shows that I’m discovering (“Boardwalk Empire” and “Suits”), but really without “Smallville” on the horizon, my TV enjoyment feels hollow.
. I won’t say that with “Smallville”s end, I feel lost, adrift, a woman without a TV purpose, that I’ve lost my soul but…
But it did my heart good to see the “Criminal Minds” cast. The cast entered the room when the moderator, Mike Schneider of TV Guide was discussing the show and seeing them walking down the stairs towards their seats, led by Thomas, it was just wonderful to see them intact after all the behind the scenes meshugas that was going on.
Mod: Thanks for coming out to CBS night at the Paley Fest (dawnybee: It’s not the Paley fest. It’s the Fall preview, completely different from the Paley Fest or the Spring/Fall Series that they Paley Center puts on.) I take it a couple of you guys are “Criminal Minds” fans (the crowd cheers. I watch as Matthew mouths “I am”). First off real quick I hope you guys got a copy of TV Guide magazine’s Fall preview issue. Go out and still buy a copy anyway, send it to your friends, ya know Print magazine is still alive so….thanks a lot. Believe it or not this fall marks the seventh season of “Criminal Minds” (The last season) having said goodbye to two of their own, which now leads us to this year where they will say hello again to them. We’ll take all about it, more on the way in a minute, but first before we welcome the cast onstage, let’s take a look at a few moments of “Criminal Minds”. (They throw to the first few minutes of the 7th season episode complete with a bearded and very hot Hotchner. Women went wild for him and then Shemar came onscreen and they went crazy some more. Then showed an advert for the 7th season)
Mod: It looks like things get a little hairier this season of “Criminal Minds” if this clip is any indication (scattered laughter. Okay, I laughed. I love puns.) Did I just say “hairier”, I just got that. Come along with me on this journey. Ladies and gentleman, on stage, beginning with the furthest seat at stage right. You know her as Penelope Garcia, Kristen Vangness. Next up, you know her as Jennifer “JJ” Jarreau, AJ Cook. He is Dr. Spencer Reid, Matthew Gray Gubler. He is Mr. Derek Morgan, Shemar Moore (dawnybee: A young lady behind me got the attack of the giddies over Shemar.) And she’s the suddenly alive again, Emily Prentiss. The taut, but suddenly hairier Agent Hotchner (Thomas comes out and takes a picture of the crowd). David Rossi is Joe Mantegna and finally the exective producer of “Criminal Minds”, Erica Mesher.
Mod: Hey guys. So considering the old line, the band’s back together again, but the bands back together again. Do you follow Joe on Twitter? (Kristen and people in the audience says “Yeah”)
Joe: Joe doesn’t follow Joe on Twitter.
Mod: There’s been some crazy tweets in the past 24 hours.
Joe: Has there been?
Mod: Here are two that are from the verified Joe Mantegna Twitter account.
Joe: What does he say?
Mod “I’m not sure if you guys are really ready for this new season of “Criminal Minds. It’s pretty intense.”
Joe: That’s right! Absolutely right. I said it!
Mod: And the next line from the Joe Mantgena Twitter account is “The “Criminal Minds” badassery is at a new level this season. First off would you guys agree that there’s more badassery this season and Erica, care to elaborate?
Erica: I think it’s a season where we get to explore our heroes a little bit more. Every week we dive into what makes the bad guys tick. And this is the season where we really want to explore all the layers that make up this team and we get started right away with Prentiss returning from the dead. The very real thing about Hotch and Prentiss and JJ having this secret from the team…
Thomas (suggestively) Together. (people hoot) Sorry.
Erica: .. from the team that automatically starts drama.
Mod: So at the end of the day was what happened much ado about nothing? (AJ gives a look like ‘Yeeaah, nooo it wasn’t much ado about nothing. It was a pretty big deal.) Can you guys sorta talk about now what happened on the set now that you guys are obviously back together again? Once again the whole team.
Shemar: The network thought what we could do was really easy but they found out the hard way it’s not easy to do. We started this together, we’re going to finish it together. We earned it. The reason I think the show is so great and I think the reason you guys are up there is that you got seven people that are very different but we all come together so well. None of us are threatened by each other, we all need each, we all love each other. We’re different, but it’s truly a family We don’t always get along (Matthew makes a face like ‘That’s curious. I get along with everyone always.’), but we love each other and we’re always (joining) together to do the right thing and we give you guys a show. The chemistry you see here is what we put up on the screen. And the show tried to rock the boat, but this (the cast on stage) is what started it. We came together and we earned the stripes to be together as a family. It’s so easy for us because we’ve taken the time, not just because it’s easy and exciting but because it’s just the right thing; the right people are together to tell this story and do this show.
Matthew: I helped him write that.
Kristen: What’s awesome is what…so many lemons happened! So many lemons: the girls leaving and then Rachel had to leave, then this one’s back (AJ) but are you (Paget) back? What’s happening?! And the testament to everything is how much lemonade is getting made from all of those lemons. Rachel was on Maxim last month, like..and she was awesome and she had this moment that was really special for us as a family-the story of her character and all that…and, and the girls coming back. Only actresses this good can have this character leave for a year, come back, the writers write whole new things about them and they can act it up so it’s almost like they’re (AJ and Paget) them (the audience laughs) No, serious! They’re doing different, really cool things and it makes our jobs-that have been there so much funner (sic). It’s so cool that this awful thing had so many…
Mod: So this whole messing with tradition actually kinda worked.
Thomas: Yeah, exactly. That was the plan all along.
Mod: AJ, Paget, talk about some of the fan reaction to what happened. What were you hearing? Were you guys pulled over on the street?
Paget: I don’t know what you’re referring to. No, that was everything. That really allowed me to hold my head up high in all of it. It was everything (to me). It was everything. And we appreciated it. We all appreciate it and thank you.
Mod: You did a pilot so it must’ve been strangely bittersweet that the pilot didn’t go forward, but that meant you go to back to this show.
Paget: Yeah. They let us go and part of my being let go, I was able to shoot a pilot and they (CBS) said, “Maybe you shouldn’t do that.” And I was like, “No, you kinda broke up with me. I want to see what’s going on (outside that job).” They were a very nice bunch of people but in shooting that pilot I missed these guys and our crew more than I was prepared for. And it was shocking. It was a fun experience, but I realized this is a machine, but a machine with a heart. People laugh and joke and everyone on our show is so good at what they do. You just don’t see it! You just don’t see it out there in the world. It’s remarkable. Everything these people do is remarkable. So I knew, “Oh, wow, I don’t think this thing (the pilot) is going to go. Maybe I can go back there.” And I came back. But it was…that produce guy at my market watch CM, they love it. Toll booth operators, people at airports. People everywhere were coming up and saying, “Why did you die?” “Tu muerta?” I was getting it in triple languages. People in Mexico would come up and I’d be “Lo siento!” The fan response was overwhelming for everyone, I think. The fans did not want their show being messed with. And the person who messed with our show is not someone that we ever see!! That person is not around! And we had to live with this decision. I think the fans are responsible for reversing that.
Shemar: For sure.
Paget: And I don’t know how many times you can say that happens. You know what I mean? People sending files and inundating someone’s office or setting up a petition that actually does something. I don’t know how often that happens so that’s a pretty remarkable thing.
Mod: You guys can enact change in America.
Paget (points to the audience) They can!
Mod: We saw a small clip there from the first episode back. Can you say how these characters return? Pick us up to speed. What are we going to see in this first episode?
Erica: It was the first time we didn’t have a premiere that wasn’t cliffhanger in the traditional sense so we were able to come back and looking at the season there were things going on: negotiations (Thomas’ and Shemar’s) and Paget’s pilot may or may not have gone and we wouldn’t have known that until the pilot had gone so we didn’t have anything to write to. So looking at all of that, it was an opportunity to tell a story we weren’t ever able to tell and that is that real time has passed from when the finale aired to when the premiere airs: so in that time we can answer that JJ has been back for three and a half months and she’s been promoted to a profiler in that time and we’ll hear a little bit more of that in episode two. And then, as it happened, I asked Jim Clementi (their advisor) what would people do for leasure, if they took sabbaticals and the answer was “Absolutely. Yes, yes and yes, absolutely” so maybe in this time Joe went and did a little book tour, well Rossi. And Hotch, as you see, was in Pakistan and that was mostly because he’s a handsome devil with that thing and we said, “We should write to that.”
Thomas: (rocking a five o’clock shadow) I shaved today.
Joe: (still bearded) I shaved five minutes ago. (Thomas makes a fist like “yes” for the rejoinder)
Erica : Reid has been dealing with his mom, which I think is something we might have lost in the premiere, but pick up on in episode two. And Morgan and Garcia, the Dynamic Duo, and JJ too but JJ is in the dark on this, but Morgan has never forgiven himself for what happened to Prentiss, that he was sixty seconds to late and no matter what he’s not going to let Ian Doyle be out there in the world. In the premiere Morgan’s been looking for him and he did it in the traditional way of getting into the head of the bad guy. So it took a little bit of time, we got into the head of the bad guy and realized that the whole thing that’s keeping him - Doyle-- going is that his son is still out there. So Morgan and Garcia start digging around for where Doyle son would be, where Prentiss hid him and it starts going from there. In a weird way it’s not at all an episode we normally tell. But in a weird way it’s still our show.
Paget: I want to say Erica wrote that episode and she wrote the hell out of it. I’m serious.
Mod: How do these different characters react to Prentiss being alive? Is this going to be a throughline throughout the series?
Erica: This event has changed all our characters lives. It’s added another layer. But because I’ve been with these guys from day one and we have such a good working relationship I wasn’t about to say, “Okay, Reid you have to do this” “and Garcia needs to do this” and “Hotch and JJ blah blah blah” No, just sit back and let him react. In fact, Shemar and I, after we rehearsed that where he (Hotch?) comes back Morgan had a lot of lines and the more Shemar and Glen (the director) and I talked about it, it was like ‘Oh, wow you don’t need to say anything. In fact you probably shouldn’t. (Shemar does the fist pump “Yes” motion) In a weird way it’s against my nature-not having enough words--but it was the best thing for that scene. He said everything without saying and the real drama there is between Morgan and Hotch because Hotch was burdened with the secret.
Thomas: Really? Kidding.
Paget: What happened? (nudges Thomas) You should’ve stuck to it.
Shemar: I love what’s Morgan’s become. In the beginning I was adamant about not just being the tough guy. Shemar has a lot more fun than Morgan. But I didn’t just want to be the tough guy and that’s it. I wanted to be a reasonable tough guy and also have some vulnerabilities (dawnybee: I lost the rest of this but I think he says that Morgan has fear of intimacy and is very passionate about the team,) When Hotch’s armor is cracked with his family and all that and Morgan had to step in, Morgan and Hotch, to me, can lead but they do things differently but Morgan knows his position. It’s very hard for Morgan to trust and Hotch knows that he’s (Morgan) very involved with his teammates. Whether they say it or not. There’s so much about our show that’s done in the silence, especially with these characters. Morgan really wants to be the first one in the burning building and the last one to leave. He just wants to protect these guys by any means necessary so when Prentiss fell short, Morgan really took it personally. “If I just had been there sixty seconds earlier” And Hotch is always there because without Hotch Morgan might do something (go to far). His intentions are good but he could get himself in trouble. So what’s nice that Erica did for my character iis that Morgan misses his teammates, misses his friends, but she let Morgan take it in and there’s a sense of betrayal in Hotch even though that’s his (Morgan’s) friend, his boss. I don’t want to tell it all to you, but you get to see the range in Morgan’s personalities. In all of ours. All of us has different reactions. Reid…Reid has a really powerful reaction in a different kind of way. (dawnybee: To cut to the quick, Shemar was trying to say-as far as I can tell-is that Hotch and Morgan are similar in that their passion about their teammate is the same, just the method is different. Hotch reacts inwardly, Morgan outwards and that while Morgan would probably do the same in order to protect the team, the deception will splinter their relationship)
Kristen: He just starts crying.
AJ: It was creepy.
Matthew: He (Reid) doesn’t find it funny that his best friend’s been faking her own death. I find it funny, Reid doesn’t.
Shemar: I should let him (Gube) go. But Erica did something cool for all of us. JJ and Hotch had to keep this secret they didn’t want to. Reid doesn’t understand. Morgan’s made it his life’s journey to get redemption for his friend and so now he’s doing the right thing for his friend and then a ghost shows up in his face out of the blue and you’ll get to see how Morgan reacts to it. What’s really is going to be interesting is the dynamic between all of us…(Doyle is still the Big Bad), how do we get our fabric together? How the team gets back together. It’s not just about AJ getting her job back or Paget getting her job back and let’s go. No, how do we get the team back? How do we get our family back? (Shemar turns to Matthew for his turn.)
Matthew: That’s exactly what I was going to say.
Mod A couple of questions people had about Reid. Are the headaches going to be addressed again? Any girlfriend this year?
Matthew: Whooo!. I don’t know, man. I’m always the last to know. I think we all are. The rapid pace that TV warrants us with scripts coming two days before we start… I think Erica is the better one to talk about it
Shemar: They want to know about real life.
Matthew: Oooh.
Shemar: You got nothing? Okay. (shaking his head) You’re a good actor and a shitty liar.
Matthew Touche.
Thomas : I think the theme of broken trust within a family is something that we’ll have a chance to play in various ways at various times throughout this season and beyond. (Hotch’s atttitude is) “Sorry, I couldn’t really accommodate for your feelings” though the character understands exactly what it costs the team. It changes everyone’s life and the interactions between the team.
Mod: (the mod talks about the last season’s finale with the storyline about budget cuts and how it paralleled what was going on behind the scenes with his negotiations and was that purposely done because his status was unknown)
Thomas :It’s all good.
Mod:Will it continued to be addressed (budget cuts in the department)
Thomas: You never know when the money’s going to run out. You never know. Government departments (do) shut down. But they’re there to do their jobs.
Mod: I just found it similar to real life it was interesting that it was made to be the background of the show. .
Erica: Yeah. There were so many balls in the air it was insane. So the only way to protect the show and myself and the writing staff was to write to that drama. It was our reality and so just go ahead and own it and write to it and it finally fell (the balls) and look how they fell.
Mod: Garcia, what’s the status of you and Kevin’s relationship?
Kristin: I don’t know.
(the audiences awws)
Kristin: Your guess is as good as mine.
Shemar: You’re my baby girl! I don’t compete.
Kristin: I have a polyamorous relationship (with Kevin and Morgan) so that’s out there.
Shemar: I don’t even know what that means.
Kristin: It’s weird because everyone poses that question and I know you want a really good answer, but what happens in her life “I’m going to die! We have to find them! I don’t know, look it up! I gotta say stuff! (dawnybee: I think this was her way of explaining that relationships are in Garcia’s background because she’s so focused on other stuff. And this cracks Thomas up) Isn’t that what happens? That’s what happens. Having saying that, it’s nice since they’re back in their different kind of roles, this one doing profiling (JJ), Garcia gets to be the one to explain the case.
Paget: She’s so good at it.
Kristin: I get a day or two to work room with everybody. (before she had to work alone) When you get in that room (with the cast) it’s like a festival of inside jokes that I don’t get. “Yesterday with the lockers!” and I’m like, “Yeah??” “It was awesome.” (excitedly) “What happened?!” “Don’t worry about it.” Look at how beautiful and smart they are. They are an intimidating bunch. It’s nice that I’m there for sure one day with everybody and that’s so great.
Mod: We’re going to see Rossi’s first wife played by Isabella Hoffman. What’s the backstory with that?
Joe: We’ve established that over the last few years that Rossi has…
Shemar: He’s been getting it in. Getting it in. Knocking the boots. Doing the naughty dance.
Joe: (Joe talks about in movies there’s usually a shotgun over the mantle and at one point the gun has to come down and you shoot it)
Shemar: (suggestively) Did you shoot the rifle?
Joe No, I shot the cannon.
(shocked laughter, applause)
Thomas: So the thing with the locker….. (laughing) Oh, my g0d.
Joe: Yes, fortunately we had Isabella Hoffman, she’s actually wrapping up the part this week… it’s a two part thing. She’s remarkable. Even me, as a viewer…(talking about catching up on the show when he was hired) I came away with why I wanted to be on the show is that it’s such a strong ensemble. Every single character is so defined; it’s not a star turn vehicle. It’s a show where every single person has such a integral portion of it. As a viewer you not only want to see the work they do, as you invest in it you want to know about their personal lives. And those are things I enjoyed watching like Shemar’s character and Reid’s and stuff like that. So we’re exploring one of Rossi’s marriages and I’m glad about that.
Mod: We’re quickly running out of time. This question was actually suggested to me and it sounds like a fun one. Round Robin time and we’ll go down the line, which character are you jealous of or would like to play other than your own?
Kristen: It’s a six-way tie, but I can say Prentiss would be first.
Paget: I WIN!
Kristen: They’re all…I can give you reasons for all of them. But I don’t know there’s just something…she’s badass.
Paget: Awwww.
AJ: Did you see her with that machine gun? I mean come on…
Paget: That was awesome.
Mod: How about you, AJ?
AJ: Probably Dr. Reid because he’s such a nerd. He makes his voice crack (mimics MGG’s voice cracking) every once in a while.
Matthew: (making his voice crack) That’s my voice. What are you talking about?
AJ: Strangely it’s a tie between either nerd or bad ass. Either Morgan or Dr. Reid. I think JJ is trying very hard to become Morgan.
Matthew: I’m much cooler than Morgan.
Shemar: She’s tucking her pants into her boots.
AJ: Yeeeah!
Shemar: She’s stealing all my thunder. She has a great tush when she puts the cuffs in the back…I’m just saying…. Her husband’s out there somewhere. (in the audience) Sorry.
Matthew: I was born to play a un-sub. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing (playing Reid). The first season every extra---- I have naturally dark eyes, circles under my eyes---everyone would come up to me and say, “You’re the bad guy on this thing?” And I would say, “No, I’m just thin and kinda weird looking.” I liked Keith Carradine’s part a lot, Frank. Bud Cort who was wonderfully directed (dawnyee: Gube directed his episode).
Mod: Matthew when are negotiations coming up for you?
Matthew: This year, unfortunately. I’m going rogue.
Shemar: I’m kinda with Matthew in the sense that….I’m not just saying this to say the right thing: we play the characters we are supposed to play and we all do them really, really well. But if I had to play someone else I would play the bad guy. Ian Doyle is pretty cool and he has an accent; I’m a sucker for accents. And the actor (who plays him) himself is really cool. I so appreciate that you love us and we’re your heroes but I think the coolest roles on our show are the victims and the un-subs; that’s really what the show is about. We fight, we go get that bad guy but there are guys (characters) like Ian Doyle that are so meaty and fun and they really get to emote so many things. He’s just so cool.
Mod: We’re going to see more of Ian Doyle, right?
Erica: A wee bit.
(they all throw out their best Irish accents saying “a wee bit” and “ a touch”)
Erica: We were talking about that.
Paget: He’s really fun to be around! (Everyone concurs. Paget begins to answer the original question) Part of me wants to say it’ll be funny to see Emily returning as Shemar Moore…
Shemar: Hold on, hold on, hold on. Tell the fans, the audience about these tweets, this matter with Twitter…
Paget: (excitedly) Oh, oh I Twitter as Shemar!! It’s kinda crossing the line…
Shemar: Now if I ever sounded like she sound (on Twitter), you know what I mean.. Go ahead, go on. Do me, do me. Put some bass in your voice.
Paget : First of all understand I know this is wrong, but we’re friends so I can do this. “Yo, yo, yo Shemar Moore here. Know what freaks me out? Owls. “ (dawnybee: Her Shemar sounds like Tracy Morgan) See?!
Thomas: I’d be anyone without a tie. I didn’t think of it before. I wish that maybe I could do a little uh…
Paget: Song and dance?
Thomas: I could do a little song and dance, you know.
Joe: I’d love to be Supervisor Special Agent Ruffalino (sp).
Paget: Oh that guy. He’s been on family leave for five years.
(dawnybee: That talk about how there’s a picture of a guy on the bulletin board of the supervisor with a note saying that someone should pick up his dry cleaning)
Joe: He has the best job in the FBI.
Thomas: It’s above the coffee. Our wall of fallen agents are our writers.
Pager: Harry’s on there. I think he defaced his own picture.
Shemar: No, no., someone else did that.
Mod: Final words?
Erica: I want to thank the writing staff. They’ve been amazing this year. (as she’s talking Shemar bends over to pull up Matthew’s pants legs to expose his socks. He’s wearing one black sock with neon pink bands and another with neon green). It wasn’t just me. It’s a brain trust and it’s a camaraderie that the writers and the actors have and that we trust one another. It’s a really amazingly safe place to be. I’m just so thankful for that. I think all of that positivity will come across and you all will see that. It’s the team and the people you trust around that table going out to catch the bad guys.
*They then introduce a French fanvid that Thomas turned Erica unto and it demonstrates the love the international fans have for the show. I thought it was crazy neat of them to do it but I thought, “Now CBS knows about it and they’re going to pull that down faster than you can say “copyright infringement”.
The cast watching a fanvid
Hotchner’s Bunch
The view was so distracting! So tempting.
Very out of focus, but I just loved their laughign
Kristin taking a picture of her castmates
Showrunner Erica Messner
Every year they change the lobby set up. The press area is completely covered so I had to go to the second floor landing to see everyone
The Shows Screened
How To Be a Gentleman
*An “Odd Couple” type story. When the magazine strait-laced, buttoned down Andrew (David Hornsby) work for goes an overhaul into a Maxim/FHM type magazine, his editor (Dave Foley) forces him to change his etiquette column into something more modern for their readers. A chance reunion with a high school bully (one of the many Andrew has had) Bert (Kevin Dillon) gives Andrew the idea how to transform his column and his own image from meek and mild to manly.
So unfunny. David Hornsby voice is annoying and grating. I was never charmed by the neanderthal schtick that Dillon has cultivated on “Entourage” so these things put together is like an icepick in the brain. I think the general personalities is worse than the lack of humor. Rhys Darby as Andrew’s henpecked brother-in-law and Dave Foley are wasted. Foley even more so because he played this type of character on “Newsradio” the only difference is that he did it well so seeing him wallow in such lousy material is painful. This show may do fairly well in the first week since it’s lead-in is “The Big Bang Theory”, but it’s competing against “Parks and Recreation” and “Parks and Recs” has a big following. And I hear it’s actually, you know, good.
Two Broke Girls
Waitress Max (Kat Dennings) has to train a newbie, Caroline (Beth Behrs) the daughter of a millionaire who was jailed for running a Ponzi scheme. Though broke and devoid of any connection to her former life, Caroline still has an acute business acumen and she suggests that she and Max go into business together.
Somewhat funny. I can’t believe it’s the highest testing pilot CBS has had in years. But then again I couldn’t get the allure of “Mike and Molly” either. Kat Dennings has a following and I really like her deadpan delivery. It’s lead-in is “How I Met Your Mother” and between “Two and a Half-Man” so it’s hard to count this one out.
Persons of Interest
*Carter (Taraji P. Henson) is investigating the arrest of a homeless man, Reese (Jim Cavaziel)whose skills suggests there’s more to him than meets the eye. Unbeknownst to her, she’s right. And Finch (Michael Emerson) knows it. He recruits Reese to help him to prevent crimes by finding persons of interest (see what I did there?) whose only information he has is their social security numbers.
Created by JJ Abrams and Jonathan “Jonah” Nolan (the lesser Nolan brother) “Persons of Interest” is quasi high concept hookum. There is potential and it may take a few episodes for it to get there, but I’m afraid it won’t ever get there. Emerson is playing a character like Ben Linus again: all enigmatic with this way of not looking at whoever he’s talking to because it’s more mysterious that way and Cavaziel is pretty bland. There’s one point where he’s holding a gun and I wondered if they ever bothered to give him gun training. The how behind Finch’s acquiring the SSNs are seems more convoluted than it has to be. I swear “Early Edition” with Kyle Chandler is the same concept but way more simple.
I would be interested if they involve Henson’s character more. As it stands she’s trying to find Reese so Cavaziel and Emerson’s story is outside of hers. The audience seemed to enjoy it though.
Unforgettable
Former detective Carrie (Poppy Montgomery) has a photographic memory. Brought back to detective work by her ex-boyfriend Al (Dylan Walsh), Carrie uses her photographic memory to solve cases and continues her quest to solve the one case that’s alluded her: the murder of her little sister when they were both children.
I liked it. I didn’t realize the lead was Poppy Montgomery of CBS’ “Without a Trace” but I did know that she wasn’t an American because her accent kept slipping through in a major way. Standard procedural, nothing too great but it’s solid. The show was conceived by Marilu Henner (“Taxi”) based on her own photographic memory. She’ll guest star as Carrie’s aunt who has onset Alzheimers.
They were due to screen “A Gifted Man” starring Patrick Wilson but they didn’t. I asked why and they speculate it’s not ready for preview.
~The Scream Awards nominations are up. You can go to the site now and vote. Tom Welling has been nominated in the Best Superhero category and "Game of Thrones" have several nods.
To check out the rest of the nominations and to vote for your favorites, check out Spike's website. Winners will be named on October 15th, with the ceremony airing October 18th on Spike TV.
The Ultimate Scream
Black Swan
Captain America: The First Avenger
Game of Thrones
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Super 8
Thor
True Blood
The Walking Dead
X-Men: First Class
Best TV Show
Doctor Who
Fringe
Game of Thrones
True Blood
The Walking Dead
Best Fantasy Actress
Penelope Cruz, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Lena Headley, Game of Thrones
Jennifer Lawrence, X-Men: First Class
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Best Fantasy Actor
Sean Bean, Game of Thrones
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First Class (dawnybee: I think he gets it for cool points)
James McAvoy, X-Men: First Class
Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Best Science Fiction Actress
Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The First Avenger
Karen Gillian, Doctor Who
Milla Jovovich, Resident Evil: Afterlife
Anna Torv, Fringe
Olivia Wilde, Tron: Legacy
Best Science Fiction Actor
Daniel Craig, Cowboys & Aliens
Chris Evans, Captain America: The First Avenger
Harrison Ford, Cowboys & Aliens
Jake Gyllenhaal, Source Code
Matt Smith, Doctor Who
Best Horror Actress
Sarah Wayne Callies, The Walking Dead
Neve Campbell, Scre4m
Anna Paquin, True Blood (dawnybee: “True Blood” is horror?
Chloe Grace Moretz, Let Me In
Rose Byrne, Insidious
Best Horror Actor
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead
Stephen Moyer, True Blood
Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood
Patrick Wilson, Insidious
Best Superhero
Chris Evans, Captain America: The First Avenger
Chris Hemsworth, Thor
James McAvoy, X-Men: First Class
Ryan Reynolds, Green Lantern
Tom Welling, Smallville (dawnybee: Woot! The only TV actor in the category? I have a feeling it’s because SV ended but I’ll take it)
Best Supporting Actress
Jaimie Alexander, Thor
Laurie Holden, The Walking Dead
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Helen Mirren, Red (dawnybee: High heels and a machine gun. Ms. Mirren owns this one)
Ellen Wong, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Best Supporting Actor
Kieran Culkin, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (dawnybee: Duuude. Give it to him. Wallace was a great character. Dinklage will get real awards)
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Rupert Grint, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Tommy Lee Jones, Captain America: The First Avenger
Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Breakout Performance - Female
Jaimie Alexander, Thor
Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The First Avenger
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones (dawnybee: Dany all the way)
Elle Fanning, Super 8
Zoe Kravitz, X-Men: First Class
Breakout Performance - Male
Jon Bernthal, The Walking Dead
Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First Class
Chris Hemsworth, Thor
Tom Hiddleston, Thor
Joe Manganiello, True Blood
Best Ensemble
Game of Thrones
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Red
True Blood
X-Men: First Class
Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel
American Vampire
Chew
Daytripper
Locke & Key
The Walking Dead