Tae Kwon Flowin'

The new blog drops ... right now, and my typing game is kicking, ya' feel?

So last night I finally attended one of those young Hollywood gatherings. No, not a celeb-filled soiree populated by the latest teen stars (I wish), but an assembly of people much like myself who are starting out in the biz and looking to network, get advice, etc. Now, some of these events can be kind of awkward social gatherings where people are really just there to be seen, but this was actually a highly worthwhile even that featured four big-time, top-notch TV showrunners speaking in a panel discussion on various interesting topics. The panelists were Tim Kring of Heroes, Shonda Rhimes of Grey's Anatomy, Ron Moore of Battlestar Galactica, and Alfred Gough and Miles Millar of Smallville fame. So yeah, for one thing, this was a pretty sweet lineup of people, all of whom I really respect and admire. I'm a longtime fan of Smallville, starting to get more into Heroes, and there's the NBC-U connection as Heroes and Battlestar are two of our biggest selling shows on iTunes, so it was especially cool to see guys who, very indirectly I guess, I have a working relationship with (kind of).

Anyways, the panel was extremely interesting, and guys like Kring, Millar and Gough were surprisingly candid and really held nothing back. They all gave great advice and Ron Moore in particular had one of those far-out but inspiring tales of how he broke into the biz that made you wonder if such a thing could happen to you. I also loved it when each of the panelists gave one sentance-worth of advice for aspiring showrunners, and Moore's story, in which he recalled the advice that legendary writer Harlan Ellison once gave him, was particularly hilarious, as he recounted how Ellison once answered that same question by telling a room full of people: "Don't be a whore!" Awesome, and good words to live by from the man who wrote "City On the Edge of Forever."

Plus, there was the coolness factor of this event taking place in the Beverly Hilton. Sure, it's not really a big deal, but I did have that little moment of recognition walking through the posh lobby, thinking "hells yeah, small-town kid from CT is at a junior Hollywood event in the Beverly Hilton, baby!"

Also, the event really, really gave me a mental kick in the pants to get going on some writing. I'm planning to get a new laptop very soon which I think will really help boost my output - I just can't get myself to sit at my desk in my apt lately after sitting at a desk typing at a computer all day at work, so I am really looking forward to the advantages of a laptop. Up until now I've really been a desktop man, but, yeah, this should be a good change.

Anyways ...

TV STUFF:

I'm really pretty behind on TV right now ... have two weeks' worth of Veronica Mars to catch up on, this week's Heroes, Gilmore, and more. But, it is kind of a relief that Lost is on hiatus and that Day Break looks pretty crappy - that means Wednesdays are a TV-free zone for now, which means ... more time for DVD's and videogames! Haha, seriously, as much as I enjoy keeping up on all these shows, it is also kind of a big burden on my time sometimes, as you can probably tell from the blog ...

- I did however see Monday's PRISON BREAK, to which I say: DAAAAAAAAAAAMN~! While some of the plot elements I found to be slightly confusing (ie Lincoln's on-again, off-again suspicions of his dad), I quickly forgot about that and got caught up in the sheer awesomeness and intensity on display. Scofield's desert showdown with a gang of pissed off drug dealers was classic, and Sara's interrogation at the hands of evil FBI guy was great -- disturbing, but highly entertaining - that guy has really established himself as one evil SOB - great villain. William Fichtner was frikkin' awesome as usual, and his character is seriously becoming one of the best and most well-rounded (and most f'd up) in the land of TV drama. Shaaaaaaaaaales! Oh yeah, T-Bag is one freakish man and I cannot believe that FOX let them get away with that one line of dialog in the hotel room ... So yeah, Prison Break is seriously ruling it as it heads into its season finale. I don't think I've given this show enough credit lately - along with Lost it's easily been my fav show of the last few months.

My Grade: A

- I also really liked last week's Gilmore Girls (I know, a real 180 from Prison Break) -- even though like everyone else in the world (okay, everyone who isn't insane ...), I am counting the minutes until Lorelai and Rory finally come to their senses and ditch their respective issue-laden boyfriends. But on the other hand, I loved Luke's attempt at dating other women last week, so that kind of tempered my impatience with the Lorelai-Chris stuff which is clearly going too far (marriage? come on!). I also am really liking all of the Luke-April interaction. Now stop making Rory so bitchy all the time and make Lorelai a little more likable (why so rude to her parents all the time for no good reason?). Anyways, I'm still really enjoying the show but am curious as to where this is all headed and hoping that these characters' are heading down such dark paths so that they can eventually find some long-in-coming redemption.

- Holy Lord, what is with that OJ special that FOX is airing? If you haven't heard, it's an interview-based special with OJ Simpson, tentatively titled "OJ. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened," in which OJ will explain how he hypothetically COULD have committed murder, even though he's not saying he DID. Simply unbelievable. Are you kidding me? Wow. This just is one of the weirdest things I've EVER heard in my life, and for that very reason, this one will be a ratings monster. Yikes.

MUST-WATCH OF THE WEEK FOR ANYONE WHO LIKES TO LAUGH:

- I have to point out to any and all fans of BORAT -- you must, MUST go to nbc.com (sounds like a plug, but really it isn't, don't worry), and check out the free streaming clips of Borat's recent in-character appearances on Conan and Leno. The Conan one, first of all, is HILARIOUS. Conan's deadpan reactions to Borat make the whole thing fall-over-in-chair funny, and there's one part in particular, where Borat asks Conan if the curtains match the shades so to speak, that combined with Conan's kill-me-now reaction is, honestly, one of the funniest things I have ever heard in my life. Then, the Borat segment on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is AMAZING, mostly because of Borat's interaction with an unexpectedly game Martha Stewart. Borat, in this segment alone, comes out with about 5 new quotes that are instant classics. Just please, do yourself a favor and watch ASAP. Whatever slight loss of excitement I had for the genius of Borat and Sascha Baron Cohen after the movie is now COMPLETELY RESTORED. This man is a comedic deity. I like!

- Okay, I am out ....

I leave you with the words of Cowboy Troy:

Putting out more game than a Sony Playstation
Spreading good will as I tour the nation
You’re calling up your friends
“Hey man, you shoulda seen this"
Lyrics so cold making snow out in Phoenix
I Got a song so strong they call me hick-u-les
Cuz I’m knocking down mountains and I’m chopping down trees
Lyrical black belt, now you know
Some call it Tongue Fu, I call it TAE KWON FLO