Oh, you know, that time I met Richard Armitage*

*NBD.

HOLY SHIZZ. IT'S ME AND RICHARD ARMITAGE.
 (Credit: Thanks, stranger!)

Like you didn't see this post coming. 

So the other day, I heard tickets were available for Anderson Cooper's "Anderson Live" talk show. Normally, I wouldn't be interested because I'm never around during the day to watch 'em, really. But when one segment is an interview with the cast of "The Hobbit" ..... 

But first, let me back up: If you're one of the millions of Americans asking yourself, "Who the eff is this Richard Armitage dude she's talking about?" -- I forgive you; he's more well known for his TV roles across the pond -- go read my previous posts about him. There are numerous mentions. I'll wait.

Ready?

Okay. So he was confirmed to be at the taping, so clearly I was going to go. This is the girl who went to London to see Matthew Macfadyen, another fave-yet-obscure-in-the-States Brit actor, on the West End. The girl who went to London again to see David Tennant, my sister's Brit boyfriend, and Catherine Tate on the West End in "Much Ado About Nothing." Like I wasn't going to take a train three hours north to see my No. 1, most favorite of favorites Brit boyfriend. Please.

And the taping surpassed my expectations. Short of him professing his undying love for me in front of a live television audience, anyway.

We saw one whole episode being filmed before the Hobbit cast appeared to tape their segment, which airs today. You really can't see me in any of the shots in that one episode, though you can see my sister and our friends. So you can't see the look on my face that clearly indicated that I was thinking, "WHO CARES? JUST BRING OUT RICHARD!" 

Then when they brought out the cast, I was pretty much as excited as a fangirl could be. You can find snippets of the interview here. You might see me, this time grinning like a full-on idiot and sitting on the edge of my seat and maybe, just, maybe hitting my sister in excitement.

Then afterward as we were leaving the studio, I saw a line of black cars out front. Clearly they were coming out soon, so we loitered until they appeared, at which point I  -- and here I stress the words: very calmly -- walked over to where Richard was signing autographs and the following took place:

Me: Hi, could I get a picture, please?
Richard: Sure. [puts arm around me]
Me: [thinking as I pretty much just plaster myself to his side] omgomgomgomgstrangeryoubettertakeadamngoodpictureomgomgomg
Stranger: [Click]
Me: [aloud, to Richard] Thank you so much.
Richard: You're very welcome.

And then I died a very happy woman. Coincidentally, someone at the event shot some video here, that shows me and him at the very end...

My sister likes to point out that we went all the way to San Diego this summer, spending money on tickets and airfare and hotel, to see Richard (though it wasn't just for him, mind you). But we saw him -- for free -- in New York, without being crowded into Hall H with 6,000 other fans -- and snagged a picture with him.

Now, please don't think I'm a stalker. Sometimes, yes, I like to stand outside the stage door and get the odd autograph. But many times it goes something like this: My sister and I randomly fall into a meet-and-greet -- and somehow end up being first in line -- such as at a Joshua Radin concert earlier this year. Or I randomly see, oh, Colin Ferguson from "Eureka" checking his phone outside Rock Bottom Brewery in San Diego during Comic-Con. Or because of a ticket snafu, we get assigned front-row seats at Nerd HQ panels with Zachary Levi and Nathan Fillion in San Diego and ended up high-fiving Zac.

But I'm nice and calm, and I don't chase after them. So that's something.  But as for this time around with Richard, I really don't know for who else or when I'd go to these lengths again.

Well, until he does a play on the West End...

Comic-Con 2012: Mission accomplished, baby!

So, Comic-Con 2012 is over and done with, and all that's left is catching up on the panels/interviews I missed there and reading recaps of the ones I did see. I will say this: That previous post about my Plan A? Totally checked 'em all off my list, and then some. I couldn't ask for a better (last?) Con. I won't go through it day by day because that's boring, so here's a long list of superlatives:

A teary-eyed "Firefly" reunion: Nathan Fillion, Joss Whedon,
Summer Glau, Sean Maher. (Credit: Me)

Best panel: The "Firefly" 10th anniversary panel was worth getting in line at 5 a.m. In fact we should've gotten there earlier, because Joss Whedon came out to see fans and we missed it and I don't want to talk about it. I'm fine. I'm FINE. Anyway, the panel itself was fantastic: teary, funny, sweet. After all these years, the cast members still have chemistry. The SDCC folks seriously must've underestimated interest in this panel the line was unbelievably long -- and deservedly so. 


Most revelatory panel: Psych at Nerd HQ. (Click the link to watch the full panel.) I didn't realize it last year, but in an intimate setting this year, it seemed like Dule Hill was the funny one and James Roday was the straight man, when it's the other way around on the show. 


Most feel-good panel: Nathan Fillion at Nerd HQ. (Click the link to watch the full panel.) He brought up Adam Baldwin to join him, and the two were obviously enjoying themselves. Also seeing them kiss Zachary Levi for $1,000 donation to Operation Smile was pretty funny too. (Side note: Had my sister not been there, I might've coughed up the money to kiss Zac, too. Cooler heads prevailed.)

RUN!!! (Credit: Me)

Scariest moment: I hate heights, so at Petco Park during the Walking Dead Escape obstacle course, the rope net we had to climb down while watching for zombies below was not fun. Not. Fun. At. All. ...


Superhero moment: ... However, the rest of the obstacle course was pretty awesome. I can say that now that I'm not wheezing my way through it. Seriously hard, folks. Seriously. But I did surprise myself by vaulting -- vaulting! -- over a zombie's hands to escape contamination. Watching the video it's not all that superheroic, but it was in my head.

Rockin' the Fringe swag.
 (Credit: Joy)

Coolest swag: At the final "Fringe" panel (the show ends this season), they gave out pretty sweet gray fedoras like the ones the show's creepy Observers wear. Neato!


Coolest souvenir bought: Tie. A super cute limited-edition Comic-Con Domo T-shirt. Also an equally super cute limited-edition canvas Nerd messenger bag at Nerd HQ. 


Biggest regret: See first item about missing Joss Whedon. I'm FINE.

My boyfriend Richard Armitage. (Credit: Me)

My Beatles moment: Seeing Richard Armitage on stage for the Hobbit panel. Not only is he handsome (DUH), but I'm so happy he'll be getting more press in America in the coming months. Comic-Con is just the start, y'all. Get on board.


Cutest guy (besides Richard Armitage): Zachary Levi (see last item below). Runner-up: Henry Cavill is quite a looker, and I'm psyched to see "Man of Steel." 


Coolest panel: No one could top the rock-star entrance by Robert Downey Jr., who IS Tony Stark at this point. And the Marvel presentation in general -- in which they announced film titles and dates for "Thor: The Dark World," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" -- made me geek out completely.

Me and Colin Ferguson. (Credit: I honestly
can't remember if it was Joy or
Erika, I was so excited.)

Best random celeb moment: Seeing Colin Ferguson chillin' out, checking his phone outside Rock Bottom Brewery. So I calmly introduced myself and told him how much I love "Eureka" and will miss it. And then he graciously offered to take a photo with me. And I squeed quietly to myself inside. I did not chase him like the fangirls who ran after Misha Collins from "Supernatural" (FF to 3:03 to see the silliness).


Best food: If you're in San Diego, please partake of the breakfast items at Richard Walker's Pancake House. Also their coffee. Which is THE BEST EVER. I'm serious. THE BEST EVER.


Worst food: I am so over granola bars right now.


Best moderator: It's so funny, I follow so many entertainment journalists/personalities on Twitter that seeing them mod a panel is as exciting as seeing the cast. The best mod by far was Chris Hardwick (aka the Nerdist guy of podcast/geek fame). Funny, charming, knowledgeable about the subject matter, he's really engaging. Now if he could drop his sidekicks on his podcast, I'd love him even more.

Ladies and gentlemen, the King of the Con for the second year
in a row -- at least for me: Zachary Levi. (Credit: Me)

King of the Con: Drumrolllllllllllll. Zachary Levi! And his Nerd HQ. My raison d'etre for going to Comic-Con was Richard Armitage, and I did and it was amazing. But the biggest highlight was sitting in the front row for three Nerd HQ panels and having Zachary Levi right there in front too (and high-fiving me!!! And Scott Porter showing up! And Aisha Tyler!). I know actors are good at acting nice, but I want to believe that Zac is as genuinely down-to-earth and sweet as he seems. And I can't not love a guy who says he loves my color-coded Comic-Con schedule! 

Said color-coded schedule and "Tangled"
DVD -- both signed! Squee! (Credit: Me)

Okay, that's it for Comic-Con 2012. Now I've got to back into the swing of real life. On the bright side: Hopefully less geeky posts in the future. 

Resistance is futile

So, I love to take surveys. At the movie theater this weekend, I was bummed the Nielsen lady didn't ask me if I wanted to do a survey. One of my favorite survey questions is, basically: Do you often tell people about the things you like? The answer is ALL MY YES. I'm big on evangelizing. When I like something, I love it and I love to tell people about it. ALL about it. So here are the things I proselytize about these days.  (By the by, my posts won't all be written in this format. I'm just feeling list-y.)
 
1. World of Joss Whedon. When someone asks "Who's Joss Whedon?" my heart dies a little. And then I say: "Uh, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'? 'Angel'? 'Firefly'? 'Dollhouse'? 'Dr. Horrible'? 'Serenity'? 'Avengers'? Where I get a much of my lexicon?" "Bitka" -- from a throwaway joke in a Buffy ep -- is still a word my sisters and I use frequently instead of the b-word. Anyway,  Joss = great filmmaker/writer/hell, even songwriter. He was doing vampires before vampires were cool, my "Twilight" friends (Angel & Buffy > Edward & Bella). So go watch "Buffy." You won't be sorry. You will, however, laugh, cry and gasp. 

Happy sighs.
(Credit: Amazon)

2. "North & South." See my previous post about Richard Armitage. My sister tried to convert me on this period drama a few years ago and I didn't listen. But, boy, she was right. In a nutshell: It's "Pride & Prejudice" -- with cotton! And the hero, Mr. Thornton (a.k.a. my all-caps BOYFRIEND), is quite possibly better than Mr. Darcy from P&P. Yeah. You read that right. And I've had a Mr. Darcy complex since like 9th grade... Sa-woooooooon.

Age becomes them:
West, left; and Sawa
(Credits: CW, Zap2It)

3. "Nikita." My flavor-of-the-month conversion. I pick a show every summer to catch up on and this year it's "Nikita." And I'll be honest: It's not my fave spy show ever. That'd be the first 5 seasons of "Spooks," better known as "MI-5" on this side of the pond; go watch it.  And "Nikita" is not perfect: There are plot contrivances aplenty (of *course* Nikita somehow escapes the thick metal handcuffs in the nick of time) and the first season is a very slow burn. But stick with it and second season is a blast. It's "Alias" -- another cool spy show -- minus that show's silly Nostradamus-like mythology. Plus, Shane West is easy on the eyes, so you forget the plot holes  ... and possibly the plot entirely. And as a recurring bonus: Devon Sawa, another former young actor who, like West, has grown up.

I heart this book. So. Much.
(Credit: Amazon)

4. Young adult literature. I'm a late convert myself thanks to The Hunger Games. When I was young, I stuck to Nancy Drew Casefiles, BSC, Sweet Valley and Sunfire/Sweet Dreams teen romances. But the YA books today are original, smart, funny and touching, and I just keep finding more to love. To start your reading list: "The Truth About Forever," "Jellicoe Road," "Sweethearts," "The Fault in Our Stars." That's in order from lightest to heaviest, btw. TFiOS will destroy you.

5. "Doctor Who." I'll admit I'm only a contemporary fan (I haven't seen the original show). But this reboot -- particularly seasons 2 through 5, the David Tennant years -- is, to use a word from the S1 Doctor, fantastic. Now my usual caveat for it: You have to wade through a few episodes of the first season before you see it as more than a kids' show, which is basically who it's geared toward. After the creepy two-parter of eps 9 and 10, though, you'll be in it for the long haul.

Okay, that's it. Get out there and become true believers. If you try any of these, lemme know what you think. Also, what do you guys try to convert people to? I need some new obsessions...

Let's geek it out!

Welcome to Geeky Town! (Credit: Me)

So since I'm starting a blog (we'll see how long it lasts), I thought this topic would be as good as any. I mean, we might as well get my geeky-ness out of the way.

Next month is Comic-Con in San Diego -- when geeks make the annual pilgrimage to sunny California to worship superheroes, movies/TV/video games and cool graphic T-shirts. I've gone the last three years and I'm about 60% sure this is my last time. It's expensive, it's crowded, it's overwhelming.

But it's very, very fun. Half the fun is going, of course. The other half is planning for it. I love working out schedules and alternative schedules and alternative schedules to the alternative schedules.

Anyway, at Comic-Con, it's not about what you can see, because you won't see everything. That's just a given. It's about what you can live without seeing. So you prioritize; you set your must-sees and plan around those. A "Game of Thrones" panel the same afternoon as a Joss Whedon panel? Choose which to wait in line for all day, because you for damn sure won't see both.  

My priorities for this year:

Back off, girls.
(Credit: Project magazine July 2011)

1. Richard Armitage, otherwise known as my raison d'etre for going this year. Chances are, you don't know this man, but you should. He's in "The Hobbit," which I couldn't care less about (sorry, LOTR fans), but he's my favorite actor. If you haven't seen the BBC's (not ABC's) "North & South," go do it now. I'll wait. ....

Back? Okay. See? He's hot, right? Anyway, he's a TV star on the other side of the pond, but boyfriend is about to go global. Because, really, Look. At. Him. A "Hobbit" panel hasn't been confirmed, so if he's not there, I'm gonna cry. And if he is there, I'm gonna be a nervous Nelly until I'm in a seat in Hall H and he's on stage. Then I'll be able to breathe easy. And swoon.

2. Richard Armitage. I am so excited that he's listed twice.

3. Nathan Fillion. Apparently there may be a 10th anniversary panel for "Firefly." Huzzah! I saw Nathan Fillion at a panel in 2010, but he wasn't the main focus of it. And he was supposed to be at a Nerd HQ (see No. 4) panel last year with other "Firefly" cast mates, but had to pull out, so I missed him. So I really want to go to this one if there is one! But only if it doesn't conflict with priorities 1 & 2.

I was thisclose to him! (Credit: Me)

4. Nerd HQ and, therefore, Zachary Levi. Levi is a priority of mine every year it seems. Tall, dark and dorky, right? He's my nerd boyfriend. The off-site Nerd HQ panels are great because they're small, they include an autograph session (or did last year), and they're for charity. Also, during one panel I was seated close enough to Levi that I could see his phone background -- which looked a little like the little Nerd Herd icon from his now-defunct show "Chuck."

5. Walking Dead Escape. An obstacle course through Petco Park, where zombies -- er, "walkers" -- chase you. C'mon, how many times in your life can you say you were literally chased by zombies? (Okay, the "literally" there refers to the chased part; no actual zombies are taking part.) I'm a slightly-more-than-casual fan of the show, but I really love interactive show experiences. (If you're in Cardiff, Wales, check out the Doctor Who Experience -- in which you get to fly the TARDIS.)

So that's it. We'll see if all my Comic-Con dreams come true next month. No. 5 will, at least, since we have tickets. Now, let's all cross fingers for 1 & 2, okay?