PaleyFest 2012

When the whole webzine/blog thing started picking up steam a few years ago, I thought it would be fun to start an entertainment zine with two of my friends. Styled somewhat after Entertainment Weekly, the zine would have been written about pop culture fans for pop culture fans. We wouldn't be afraid of calling something out for being garbage if necessary but also wouldn't be too cool to fawn over something if necessary.

The zine would have been divided into three sections—movies, music and TV—with each of us spearheading one section. At that time, I would have been the music girl. It had been my ambition since high school to be a pop music journalist, so being in charge of that section would have been the realization of a longtime ambition.

That idea never grew into more than talk. These days, though, I don't know if the music section would be the most-natural fit for me. I used to consider myself a music fanatic but now I think it's more accurate to describe myself as a pop culture fanatic. These days I'm as likely to become fixated on watching movies, watching TV, reading books, reading magazines, going to plays, going to museums, going to comedy shows as I am in listening to music or going to concerts.

At the moment, the TV fanaticism is the strongest. Unlike my beloved View From My Couch Girl, I don't have multiple DVRs and VCRs set up to keep up with all the show of my much-watch list, but I do have a quite few shows that I really feel like I must watch.



I got to indulge my deep enthusiasm for television last week at PaleyFest 2012. Last summer, I recounted the sad tale of missing the "Freaks & Geeks"/"Undeclared" reunion at PaleyFest. Still smarting from that experience, I made damn sure I wasn't going to miss a single moment of the two (later three) panels I bought tickets for. I had the parking scoped out and my Paley Center membership got me early admission, so I was all set.

The first night of my PaleyFest adventure was the "Community" panel on March 3. In addition to getting the opportunity to learn about the making of this show from cast, producers and writers, the panel was a giant love fest, celebrating the show's long-anticipated return to the airwaves on March 15 and cast member Jim Rash's recent Oscar win for "The Descendants" script.



We got treated to the show's first episode, which I will tune in for again on Thursday. It was definitely a highlight to get to see the first new "Community" in months before anyone, but the standout of the night for me was the relationship between the cast members—they all seem to genuinely like each other. The night was packed with in jokes and little asides. It was really lovely to see.

Jim Rash did bring his Oscar with him and throughout the night, the Oscar would get flashed on the screen, unbeknownst to the panelist. It was a nice in joke for the audience.



Next came the "New Girl" panel on March 5. Again, we got to see the season's newest episode before anyone else. That night's in joke was the Douche Bag Jar, which was presented to the cast by the evening's moderator. Several times throughout the night, Max Greenfield, who plays Schmidt, was asked to throw money in. He eventually threw in his entire wallet clip.



During the audience Q&A, a teacher who's also the mother of a teenage girl told Zooey Deschanel that she's such a great role model for young girls. It was really sweet moment and I have to agree. The thing about Jess, the character, and Zooey, the real-life person, is they're both so happy doing their own thing, going their own odd way, that they're pretty accepting of other people as long as those people are accepting of them.



I look at my four-year-old niece with her thick bangs and large blue eyes and think she could grow up to look like Zooey Deschanel. Match those eyes with my niece's sense of humor and penchant for the dramatically imaginative, and maybe she'll grow up to find a way to be all of the amazing, funny, over-the-top, fantastic things she and be really happy doing it, just like Zooey seems to have.

Like I mentioned above, I'd originally bought tickets for just two panels, but when the cast and crew of "The Office" had to cancel a week out and "Parks & Recreation" was brought in, I thought I might be in for one more night. "Parks & Recreation" is my must-see (and, often, must-re-see) television. I adore this show, the writing, the characters, the town. I'd had such a great time at last year's Television Academy panel (also detailed in last summer's blog post) and the "Campaign Shake-Up" episode was so damn good that I bought my ticket the next morning.

Filming has wrapped for the season, so not all of the cast could be there (the adorable, super-rad Adam Scott was in New York promoting "Friends With Kids," sadly) but anyone who couldn't be there in person was represented by a cardboard cutout.



We got to see last Thursday's episode "Lucky" (and I did tune in to watch it a second time when it aired on NBC) and, very best of all, got to watch the gag reel that was created for the season four wrap party. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. Like the cast of "Community," the cast of "Parks & Recreation" really like each other and seem to have a good time working together.

I heard an interview with Maya Rudolph on Friday where she talked about her time on "SNL" and the bond she developed with her cast mates, strengthened by the long hours and hard work. Working on a television show, as Tina Fey pointed out in "Bossypants," isn't as hard as coal mining in South America, but it does require really long hours, flexibility and energy. The only way to get through those kinds of days is to like, maybe even love, the people you work with and have your fun when you can get it.

I hope that pointing out the closeness I saw amongst the "Parks & Recreation" and "Community" casts doesn't give anyone the impression that the "New Girl" cast was icy and awkward toward each other. They were warm and comfortable with each other, but they've only been together for a few months. The "Parks & Recreation" and "Community" casts, on the other hand, have been working together for years and have had the bonding experience of wondering if their shows will air at all or, once on the air, keep airing.

Even though it was very hard to get up for work most of last week because of the late nights I spent at the Saban Theater, PaleyFest was a fantastic experience. In addition to what I mentioned above, a highlight has to be the experience of watching your favorite TV shows with a few thousand other fans. The director of The Paley Center mentions in the video introducing each evening that television is a communal experience, and that's what PaleyFest really was. I do plan to go back again.

There are clips, galleries and other goodies from the panels I attended and the 10 others, here.