PaleyFest Connects TV Fans With Objects Of Their Fandom - Page 2

Starting with a joke about how much he appreciated the show's fans except for when they were complaining about the murder storyline, Jason Katims was largely unapologetic about the controversial subplot that derailed the show in its second season. Even a casual observer of the show couldn't help but hear the critical and fan outcry on that one. Katims shot down claims that the uncharacteristically melodramatic device had been dictated by a network looking to boost ratings and insisted it was a creative decision, and a worthwhile one in order to get two unlikely characters, Landry and Tyra, together. Not everyone in the audience seemed completely convinced, but all were ready to forgive and forget if only they'd be offered a season three to allow the show to return to form. Without confirming anything, an optimistic Katims hinted that an announcement should be coming soon.

Apart from the mad dash for autographs at the end of the evening for those so inclined – not a guaranteed occurrence, and one that didn't happen at the House session – the audience question portion of PaleyFest is both the biggest connection between fan and show and the biggest disconnect between audience segments: überfan of the show and interested observer of behind-the-scenes television. Knowing the idiosyncrasies of the fandom intimately meant I was prepared for – if not impressed by – some of the fangirl questions for House. However, the questions for the Friday Night Lights panel in particular made me feel like an anthropologist observing a foreign culture.

This year, besides the roving microphone at the event, the woefully underused PaleyFest blog solicited audience questions in advance, as did moderator Michael Ausiello of TV Guide on his site. Still, of the few questions there was time for, two could be boiled down to "Isn't Taylor Kitsch hot?" One of those left me with the impression that some hard-core fans believe his Tim Riggins character has clearly stolen the ensemble show, a dubious claim from my own viewing and mainstream media reading about the show. He wasn't on the panel because he's off being Wolverine in the next X-Men movie, though producers assured the crowd that should FNL be picked up, he will be back. The sigh of relief from the female portion of the audience was audible.

The Comedy World of Judd Apatow & Friends

I felt about the Judd Apatow session exactly how I feel about his movies: lots of funny bits, some sweet moments, a few awkward situations, and way too many penis jokes. I loved Freaks and Geeks and liked Undeclared, but Apatow's movies seem aimed at a chromosomal mix containing one more Y than my own. And yet I'm impersonally thrilled with the success of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and the rest because even if they're not quite to my taste, they are the rare comedies that have intelligence mixed with sweetness and humour, a void Apatow is filling nicely.

Article Author: Diane Kristine Wild

Diane writes about boring things by day, pop culture things by night. She also runs the TV, Eh? website, a compilation of news about Canadian television. Follow her on Twitter @deekayw for more random thoughts.

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