The Bishop Boys Comedy Hour
Last night at the PaleyFest - Fringe! Museum clip? Dawson's Creek Breakfast Club episode from season one - ha! Big screen epsiode? "The Transformation" a.k.a. Porcupine Man. Panel is the three musketeers, Jbrams, Roberto, Alex and two other producer guys. And I call him Jbrams because that's what Jennifer Garner called him at the Alias Paley Festival many years ago. Meeeemories! Anyway, Jbrams thanked the audience for coming right at the beginning, which no one else ever does. He's just so Jbrams! Ken Tucker was the moderator, which is like tv writing royalty. There was no mention the whole time about Charlie, Astrid or Broyles, which made me a bit sad. Nonetheless, follow the cut!
Tone of the Show
-The creators tend to like serialized shows, so it was challenging for them to look and learn from procedurals and also merge with the mythology
-Arcs that are over the season, but also be able to just sit down and watch an ep any given week was their goal
-Jbrams gave a well-deserved X-Files shout-out in this regard
-Also challenging to because if it's too simplistic the audience will resent it
-Rule Is: you can imagine anything you want, but it has to be grounded in science. It can be fringe science, yes, but it has to be on the cusp of truth
-You can only have weird stuff if you compare it to normal stuff
An audience member asked how far in advance they plan out the arcs. Jbrams said the "beauty, fun and terror of television" is that it is constantly evolving and you have to "listen" to the show, and the actors, and the audience. You may think you're on one path and it ends up being something else. He likened it to driving in a fog. He also said as long as you believe in the IDEA, then it can go wherever it goes, basically.
Moo
-They had to recast Gene, so they are now on Gene2, it will be Gene3 when they move filming to Vancouver (boo - I liked that they shot in New York!)
-Two funny ideas from writers:
-one episode would have voiceover the whole time and at the end we would pan over and see that it was Gene all along!
-The spots on Gene would change and it would be revealed he is a secret agent!
Sadly, the cow is just a cow.
The Internet - It's Aliiiive!
-Joshua said some really cool stuff about the internet and how it allows the fandom to come together and analyze television in a totally unique way
-An audience member asked about special websites, easter eggs, promo stuff and they mentioned The Observer being at Idol and in the stands during baseball and football games
-Josh told the story of a football game HE couldn't get tickets to, but then he saw the damn Observer front row. Sorry, but HA!
-They said FOX wanted The Observer to be at inauguration, but there were too many issues
-Josh mentioned that their Steadicam operator was the one on the podium with Obama and that that was pretty cool. He also explained what a Steadicam was after he said it, which I thought was nice in case we didn't know
Peter. Peter Bishop
Josh said the two things he looked at when reading the pilot were 1)Peter is a character who can do anything, so that really hooked him in 2) can this be sustained? There was so much detail in the script he could see a whole universe in his mind and infinite story possibilities. Ken Tucker said he thought of Peter as the conscience of the show since he's always the one that's kindof "hey, slow down, take a step back." Josh said he never really thought of it that way because he sees Peter as being immoral, BUT his lack of a moral compass is what allows him to comment on the other characters. He also sees Peter as being:
1) release valve - all the pressure builds up and he's the one to put a pin it in
2) cipher - stands back and watches
Jbrams mentioned that they have permission to go and do the insane things because someone (usually Peter) comments on the insanity.
-Josh wanted to know why Peter was calling the sister if they weren't sleeping together. He thinks they had sex because it's the only thing that makes sense.
-Josh: "Peter is not much of a catch. He's a 30-year old who lives in a one bedroom hotel room with his father." He and John's banter re: this made Ken say that he smells a sitcom {Josh: "The Bishop Boys"} and Jbrams said he thinks sometimes it already is a sitcom
Hey Momma Welcome to the Sixties!
John talked a lot about Walter and himself being a product of the sixties. He said that there was the whole idea of questioning reality and questioning authority. It was an extraordinary time and youth BELIEVED that they could change the world. Free love and the pill were alive and there was something in the air. You didn't have to be a hippie to do do drugs - everyone did them. {Ed. note: all of this is said in the most entertaining way possible, btw} He said now adults his age can look back and have the memories and the youth of today think the decade is "cool" so its got both sides going.
An audience member mentioned that isn't it oh so convenient that everything they run across is an experiment or something Walter used to do? John said that actually they did do that for the first 5-6 episodes, but then a lot of it is just Walter using his great intelligence and past research as a reference point. Josh said Walter is not just a catalog you order things from, but he's about putting things together.
Another audience question mentioned Walter's intelligence and love of food and whether he was going to be revealed as a cross dresser? Josh was incredulous at the segway, but John totally was like "I have a story for you..." Josh literally blocked John and was like "for the love of god do not complete that sentence." HILARIOUS. Later on Josh was still in shock and marveling over the question and John (SWEAR TO GOD) goes "oh, we KNOW" motioning towards the question-asker. Too freaking much.
Been There, Dunham That
Anna said she enjoys that we are not hit on the head with it, but Olivia has a lot of different sides. She gave a little "thank you guys" to the writers for that. {Ed. note: super cute with the accent}. She loved the first scene where we see Olivia happy to see her sister and niece and gets a big smile that we haven't really seen before.
Pudding = Awesome
-John said the script read like a film and that he saw that it was a dream role. He read the pudding scene and was just like...{gleefully} "he is deliciously insane!" He said he loves the role, he could play it forever.
-Anna and Josh mentioned that the mental asylum / bearded Walter was the first scene they shot of the series and Anna said she will never forget walking in and seeing John in full-on Walter mode
-They all mentioned that it was very cold that day
Random Dark Matter
-The idea of the manifesto (Josh rattled off the whole title in German) came from Unabomber and other sources
-Ken Tucker told a story about his daughter who is living in Germany and how they advertised the show there. Apparently they would interrupt real ads with a tv blurb about the incredible growing baby and other plot points. People were so freaked out they flooded the tv station with calls. Alex (I think) says: "we're scaring Germans - we win."
-Title cards are "things of nature with technology imbedded" And the code thing.
-Jbrams hired Blair Brown because she's awesome but also because she is friends with Victor Garber and Victor would always say how great she was. He also said her role was going to greatly increase.
-Peter and Olivia shipper stuff? All Jbrams said was that it had to be earned.
Tone of the Show
-The creators tend to like serialized shows, so it was challenging for them to look and learn from procedurals and also merge with the mythology
-Arcs that are over the season, but also be able to just sit down and watch an ep any given week was their goal
-Jbrams gave a well-deserved X-Files shout-out in this regard
-Also challenging to because if it's too simplistic the audience will resent it
-Rule Is: you can imagine anything you want, but it has to be grounded in science. It can be fringe science, yes, but it has to be on the cusp of truth
-You can only have weird stuff if you compare it to normal stuff
An audience member asked how far in advance they plan out the arcs. Jbrams said the "beauty, fun and terror of television" is that it is constantly evolving and you have to "listen" to the show, and the actors, and the audience. You may think you're on one path and it ends up being something else. He likened it to driving in a fog. He also said as long as you believe in the IDEA, then it can go wherever it goes, basically.
Moo
-They had to recast Gene, so they are now on Gene2, it will be Gene3 when they move filming to Vancouver (boo - I liked that they shot in New York!)
-Two funny ideas from writers:
-one episode would have voiceover the whole time and at the end we would pan over and see that it was Gene all along!
-The spots on Gene would change and it would be revealed he is a secret agent!
Sadly, the cow is just a cow.
The Internet - It's Aliiiive!
-Joshua said some really cool stuff about the internet and how it allows the fandom to come together and analyze television in a totally unique way
-An audience member asked about special websites, easter eggs, promo stuff and they mentioned The Observer being at Idol and in the stands during baseball and football games
-Josh told the story of a football game HE couldn't get tickets to, but then he saw the damn Observer front row. Sorry, but HA!
-They said FOX wanted The Observer to be at inauguration, but there were too many issues
-Josh mentioned that their Steadicam operator was the one on the podium with Obama and that that was pretty cool. He also explained what a Steadicam was after he said it, which I thought was nice in case we didn't know
Peter. Peter Bishop
Josh said the two things he looked at when reading the pilot were 1)Peter is a character who can do anything, so that really hooked him in 2) can this be sustained? There was so much detail in the script he could see a whole universe in his mind and infinite story possibilities. Ken Tucker said he thought of Peter as the conscience of the show since he's always the one that's kindof "hey, slow down, take a step back." Josh said he never really thought of it that way because he sees Peter as being immoral, BUT his lack of a moral compass is what allows him to comment on the other characters. He also sees Peter as being:
1) release valve - all the pressure builds up and he's the one to put a pin it in
2) cipher - stands back and watches
Jbrams mentioned that they have permission to go and do the insane things because someone (usually Peter) comments on the insanity.
-Josh wanted to know why Peter was calling the sister if they weren't sleeping together. He thinks they had sex because it's the only thing that makes sense.
-Josh: "Peter is not much of a catch. He's a 30-year old who lives in a one bedroom hotel room with his father." He and John's banter re: this made Ken say that he smells a sitcom {Josh: "The Bishop Boys"} and Jbrams said he thinks sometimes it already is a sitcom
Hey Momma Welcome to the Sixties!
John talked a lot about Walter and himself being a product of the sixties. He said that there was the whole idea of questioning reality and questioning authority. It was an extraordinary time and youth BELIEVED that they could change the world. Free love and the pill were alive and there was something in the air. You didn't have to be a hippie to do do drugs - everyone did them. {Ed. note: all of this is said in the most entertaining way possible, btw} He said now adults his age can look back and have the memories and the youth of today think the decade is "cool" so its got both sides going.
An audience member mentioned that isn't it oh so convenient that everything they run across is an experiment or something Walter used to do? John said that actually they did do that for the first 5-6 episodes, but then a lot of it is just Walter using his great intelligence and past research as a reference point. Josh said Walter is not just a catalog you order things from, but he's about putting things together.
Another audience question mentioned Walter's intelligence and love of food and whether he was going to be revealed as a cross dresser? Josh was incredulous at the segway, but John totally was like "I have a story for you..." Josh literally blocked John and was like "for the love of god do not complete that sentence." HILARIOUS. Later on Josh was still in shock and marveling over the question and John (SWEAR TO GOD) goes "oh, we KNOW" motioning towards the question-asker. Too freaking much.
Been There, Dunham That
Anna said she enjoys that we are not hit on the head with it, but Olivia has a lot of different sides. She gave a little "thank you guys" to the writers for that. {Ed. note: super cute with the accent}. She loved the first scene where we see Olivia happy to see her sister and niece and gets a big smile that we haven't really seen before.
Pudding = Awesome
-John said the script read like a film and that he saw that it was a dream role. He read the pudding scene and was just like...{gleefully} "he is deliciously insane!" He said he loves the role, he could play it forever.
-Anna and Josh mentioned that the mental asylum / bearded Walter was the first scene they shot of the series and Anna said she will never forget walking in and seeing John in full-on Walter mode
-They all mentioned that it was very cold that day
Random Dark Matter
-The idea of the manifesto (Josh rattled off the whole title in German) came from Unabomber and other sources
-Ken Tucker told a story about his daughter who is living in Germany and how they advertised the show there. Apparently they would interrupt real ads with a tv blurb about the incredible growing baby and other plot points. People were so freaked out they flooded the tv station with calls. Alex (I think) says: "we're scaring Germans - we win."
-Title cards are "things of nature with technology imbedded" And the code thing.
-Jbrams hired Blair Brown because she's awesome but also because she is friends with Victor Garber and Victor would always say how great she was. He also said her role was going to greatly increase.
-Peter and Olivia shipper stuff? All Jbrams said was that it had to be earned.