x-files @ the paley fest

on march 26, the paley fest at the museum of television and radio did a night dedicated to THE X-FILES. anyone who's known me for more than, like, a day knows this is my favorite show of all time.

below is a clip (yes, recorded from someone's cell or camera but still good nonetheless) of a recap of the series. an x-files "retrospect" if you will.

this show was and is simply amazing.


(*ps - note all the commentary (ooos and ahhs) from the audience...classic!)

OMG - Ja'mie, I heart you!

i love comedy. this comes as no surprise. i am especially fond of the "mockumentary" genre, a style that can best be described as "faux realism." waiting for guffman and the office are two examples of this form of hilarity.

about a year ago, when i was working in comedy development, i was introduced to an australian comedy that capitalized on the mockumentary style and also gave it a new "twist." this twist came in the form of writer/director/performer chris lilley who played ALL 5 main characters himself (both men and women of various ages and backgrounds).

the show was called we can be heroes and followed around 5 "regular" people who were all nominated for the prestigious "australian of the year award." the show explored who they were, why they were nominated, and how they lived their daily lives. pure genius. one of the nominees was a 16-year old girl named Ja'mie (pronounced JA-MAY) who was spotlighted for her charity work and focus on world issues (in one such episode Ja'mie receives a letter and photo from the starving ethiopian girl she's helping and she exclaims to her friends..."oh my god, she looks like Beyonce in this picture...").

Intro of Ja'mie on we can be heroes:

following we can be heroes lilley took the character of Ja'mie and did a spin-off, giving her life beyond the competition and creating even more characters that he himself potrays. this new series, called summer heights high brings Ja'mie to life in a new way, at a new school. and it's JUST as brilliant. not only is Ja'mie just as bitchy and self-absorbed as usual, but we are also introduced to an eccentric drama teacher at the school named Mr. G who uses many "unorthodox" techniques to get his students to experience true drama as well as a troubled youth named Jonah whose harsh language and angsty rebellious attitude make him a riot to watch.

summer heights high TRAILER:

i learned yesterday that summer heights high was recently bought by HBO and added to their 2008 comedy lineup. bold move for HBO but one that could really pay off big if people are able to realize the talent that lilley possesses as a true triple-threat. sure these shows are a bit off-color and not what i'd call "PC" but they accomplish what comedy is designed to do: allow us to laugh at things the world might deem "too serious"...even if only for 30 minutes. laughter as medicine. prescription filled here.

please start watching this.

and quoting this.

and LOVING THIS.

Official sites -->

we can be heroes: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/heroes/

summer heights high: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/summerheightshigh/

once was LOST but now i'm found...

let me preface this blog by saying i'm behind. years behind. but i'm catching up fast. what am i referring to, you may ask? LOST: the television zeitgeist of the now.

when LOST first premiered, i was still in college. i was in the first semester of a hellish senior year (thanks to taking a year off my junior year to try pre-med!) and didn't have time (nor TiVo) to watch what some were calling "the BEST show on television in a long time." who exactly quoted that? i don't know. but i'm sure someone said it at some point. being the huge sci-fi fan that i am, i knew that i'd probably love the show, but as time passed, i had less and less desire to see what i had missed. the hype was SO big that i almost expected it NOT to live up to any of it. (plus, i had the safety of all 9 seasons of THE X-FILES on dvd to keep me company so i wasn't really jones-ing for a new mysterious drama to fill my time in between study sessions).

once i moved out to LA (it now being august of 2005), i was thrust into the hectic world of television development. not only was it my first "real" job, but it was VERY busy. i was working very long hours and, in my spare time, making sure that i was prepared for the next day. my first months out in LA were much like school...and then i got hit upside the head with a little something called "pilot season." pilot season is like a worm hole that you enter if you work in the television industry and don't come out of until may. you seriously disappear from life for about 4 months. worm holes don't have cable or TiVo either.

my buddies reid and dairek and i started writing a pilot of our own some time in 2006 that furthered my curiosity of the show. reid and dairek were HUGE fans and our show was shaping up similarly to LOST in some of the storytelling devices we wanted to employ. i started watching episodes here and there (more for social reasons than that of a true fan) and was very entertained by what i saw. still, i was stubborn. i didn't want to get into the show without starting from square one. back story is everything, especially in a show that's entirely serialized like LOST. there are no real "stand alone" episodes in this series. everything means something.

cut to the here and the now, 2008. a time when i'm finally READY to tackle the beast that is LOST. i was able to borrow the first 2 seasons from a friend and this weekend i attacked season one with voracity. and it was AWESOME. i can truly say that i am now hooked. i was never a snob about the show, deep down not wanting to like it or something just because everyone else did. but i'm glad i'm able to start from the beginning and form my own opinions. that's the way it should be.

what impressed me more about season one than the actual episodes was the genesis of the show. a show that was PICKED UP to series based on nothing but an OUTLINE. a show that was casting without a script, characters being created FOR actors simply because the creators wanted them to be a part of the project. a show that was originally pitched in a one-liner as "Castaway: The Series." a show that started shooting without even knowing if some of the cast had visas. a show with so many crazy variables that it could NOT have been anything but divine intervention.

watching the genesis of the show and the "fairy dust" that was sprinkled on this show in order to make EVERYTHING come together just so made me really emotional. it made me jealous. not jealous of LOST, per se, but hopeful that i, too, may be a part of something so big, so magical, so special, so well-liked, so influential, and so entertaining. it really fueled me to get working on my own projects again. as i look to turning another year older, i realize that i just have to prepare myself for the Lord to swoop in a sprinkle fairy dust on me. the Lord can make ANYTHING happen when the timing's right for HIM. i just have to be ready and willing to fly.