convention-related stories
Posted Mar 26th 2009 5:17PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Animation, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Reality-Free
If
this clip is any indication, this could be one of the funniest
Family Guy episodes ever (at least for
Star Trek fans).
The entire cast of
Star Trek: The Next Generation lend their voices to the episode, which features Stewie going to a Trekkie (er, sorry, Trekker I guess they like to be called) convention and not being able to ask the group a question. So he does a very Stewie-like thing and kidnaps the entire cast.
Continue reading Stewie kidnaps the cast of Star Trek: TNG this Sunday
Posted Nov 1st 2007 12:03PM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Celebrities
(Continued from Part Four...)
There is one major problem with
The Office convention, as I see it: the people are normal.
Here's what I mean -- the average
Office fan is someone who really likes the show and enjoys watching it with other people who really like the show. They are, in a word, average. At no point did I run into some crazed super-fan who spends every day dressed like Dwight or is currently converting his house into an exact replica of the Schrute farm. In just about every case, the people I talked to were kind, courteous people who made the trek to Scranton to a) meet the people they'd been talking to online and b) perhaps get a chance to hear their favorite stars talk.
This is not what I'd been hoping for.
Continue reading The Office Convention: Part Five -- Final thoughts and stray observations
Posted Oct 31st 2007 1:23PM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Celebrities
(Continued from Part Three...)After the press conference, the cast was shuffled into a larger gymnasium filled with what the organizers said was 3000 people. I'm going to tell you this right now: the Cast Q & A was unwatchable.
This was because after every single thing any one of the cast members said, the entire audience of 3000 people would hoot and holler with almost religious excitement. When Darryl got up and kissed Kelly, I half expected the majority of those in attendance to fall to the floor shouting in tongues.
Continue reading The Office Convention: Part Four -- The cast Q&A
Posted Oct 31st 2007 10:21AM by Jay Black
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, The Office, Celebrities
(Continued from Part Two...)
At 4 PM, we all shuffled into the gymnasium to speak to the assembled cast. This was fun because bloggers and podcasters (from places like
Cinemablend and the
That's What She Said podcast) got to sit in the same room and rub shoulders with
actual reporters from
actual newspapers and magazines. I'll tell you, there's no greater thrill for me than receiving the same press pass and sitting in the same room as one of the feature writers from
The New York Times. Take your journalism degree and years of apprenticeship at one of the world's finest papers and shove it, pal, cause I'm a
blogger. Yeah!
During the press conference, I also got to fulfill one of my lifelong dreams: I got to stand up and say, just like reporters do on
The West Wing, "Uh, yes, I'm Jay Black, from TV Squad," and then ask a question. The only thing missing was Allison Janney...
Continue reading The Office Convention: Part Three -- The press conference
Posted Oct 30th 2007 9:27AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Celebrities
Well, the debate is finally over. After years of heated online arguments, several visits to the
snopes website, and one inconclusive
Mythbusters episode, I can finally reveal the truth: yes, Scranton, Pennsylvania is a real place. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are.
I know that Scranton exists because I spent a full day there at
The Office convention. Up until now my only other experience with long-from first-person journalism was reading Hunter Thompson's
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Orginally, I was going to approach this assignment like him and go to Scranton whacked out on Mescaline. As it turned out, Mescaline wasn't really needed...
Continue reading The Office Convention: Part One -- Arriving in the rain
Posted Apr 3rd 2007 7:01PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Watercooler Talk, The Office
Here's a question for all those obsessive (and not-as-obsessive) fans of
The Office out there: Would you travel all the way to Scranton, PA, to attend a convention of the show's fans?
That's what a local group is hoping, according to The Times-Tribune of Scranton. Apparently, there is an increase of people coming to the city to find the sites seen on the show and to go to the restaurants and bars mentioned by the denizens of Dunder-Mifflin. A well-attended guest appearance by Rainn Wilson at a local mall convinced the organizers, which include some prominent residents and government officials, that such a convention could be possible.
Continue reading Would you go to Scranton for an Office convention?
Posted Dec 8th 2006 10:00AM by Brett Love
Filed under: TV Royalty, OpEd, Firefly, Cancellations
I'm sure that those of you that consider yourself part of the Whedonverse already know about all the shenanigans surrounding the big Flanvention this weekend. But for those of you that don't follow all things Whedon, it's an interesting tale. These are strange days in the Whedonverse. I've only been following it through random posts around the internet, so feel free to add/correct details in the comments, but here is the quick and dirty version of the story.
This weekend there was supposed to be a huge
Firefly event in Burbank. There was a banquet, panels, booths to sell wares, photo ops and autographs from cast members, all the usual convention stuff. It was to be a somewhat limited affair, so the tickets were not cheap. With the various events , autographs, hotels, airfare, etc. many of those attending had spent their way into four figures for this opportunity. Then last week things started to get really weird.
Continue reading Adam Baldwin kicks ass!
Posted Sep 29th 2006 9:55AM by Michael Sciannamea
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, NBC, OpEd, The Office
(S03E02) After a magnificent season premiere last week, it would have been difficult for this episode to come close. It didn't, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a very satisfying viewer experience anyway.
Michael can be such an ass at times, but underneath all of the bravado, he is a very vulnerable guy. He generally is hurt that Jim left the Scranton office for greener pastures in Stamford but, of course, Jim admits that he didn't leave because he hated Michael. We all know why he left, but he had to tell Michael about his rejection by Pam. We then see Michael do his best to be a friend to Jim, and when he just acts like a regular guy and not a combination of a comedian and businessman, he can be just fine.
Continue reading The Office: The Convention
Posted Jul 27th 2006 11:01AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Comedy Central, Dog Bites Man
(S01E07) This episode was taped in Portland, though I'm not sure it was the same episode that got them in trouble earlier this year.
Anyway, the episode had a lot of funny moments, but making fun of religion, any religion, is like shooting fish in a barrel. I really wanted to see them take more risks and do something more clever than just making a lot of Jew/pork jokes. Although I will admit I laughed pretty hard when Marty asked Tillie (who admitted to being one quarter Jewish) if Jewish people can pull their hamstring.
Continue reading Dog Bites Man: Assignment: Christian Convention
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