CELEBFLASH: Faith & Jimmy!

A fun though ultimately somewhat lackluster Sunday night Emmy party capped off an odd couple of weeks last weekend. The highlight of the night was getting to see two of the truly most attractive people in TV: First off was Eliza Dushku, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's ultimate bad girl Faith, who though a tad thin is simply stunning in person and radiates both elegance and confidence, though I suppose the latter shouldn't be surprising since she recently inked her own development deal at Fox. Isn't it really just time for the ultimate Buffy spin-off?

Then there was the original Jimmy Olsen, and former Special Unit 2 detective, Michael Landes, who's pictures just don't do him justice. The guy is truly beautiful in the flesh. Landes another recent Fox signer-on deserves to break through and make it big. Booted from The New Adventures of Lois & Clark for looking too much like Dean Cain, Landes was seen earlier this year in the soon cancelled Wedding Bells. I have a feeling Sunday night he thought that I was stalking him and his missus since every time I turned around there he was (or is it the other way around). Well, maybe the first two or three times, but after that it was all purely accidental.

Now a Faith-centric supernatural-fantasy show with Landes as some sort of deity/demon/sidekick, now that I would certainly watch!

Buffy Cancelled for a Third Time!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the (best) TV show (ever) ended in May 2003 after Sarah Michelle Geller decided not to renew her contract. Just months later then license holder Moore Action Collectibles cancelled their line of action figures, claiming lack of retailer support. Fan support however was rabid, ultimately resulting in Diamond Select Toys' decision to take over the line and produce a 100 or so figures (as well as some superb plush and prop replicas) over the next four years.

Last week, on August 22nd 2007 to be precise, Chuck Terceira, Director of Diamond Select Toys, announced the cancellation of all upcoming Buffy figure releases, most notably the "build-a-figure" Judge wave which was due in stores at the end of the month, a wave which was first announced as far back as last November.

The fans have again rallied to take action. In hopes of securing a release for said figures, Philip M, administrator of SlayAlive and BtVSFigs, has organized the Save BUFFY Figures campaign. On August 29th, 2007 supporters will purchase at least one figure directly from DST. Polls on both sites will determine which currently available figure should be purchased, the goal being to buy up all of Diamond's stock in that item and show consumer interest in the line. I'm sure everyone reading this will do their part!

As much as I wanted a 6" vampire Dru, I suppose this sad news allows me to focus my collecting attentions on the Harry Potter and Doctor Who lines. Hmmmm!

Buffy: Season 8

After the catastrophy of last week (missing out on Captain America #25), there I was at 10:00am this morning, waiting outside Golden Apple for the store to open, ready to snatch up the Joss Wheadon-written premier issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8, the official continuation of the iconic (and my all-time favorite) TV series.

Being one of the first sad buggers at the store, not only did I pick up the regular edition, with cover art by Ju Chen, but I also managed to grab the Georges Jeunty and Dave Stewart drawn variant cover edition (both for me and for Joe).

Since we last saw Buffy in May of 2003, about a year and a half has passed, 500 or so slayers now roam the earth, Xander is in Scotland, Dawn is suffering from growing pains and as such "The Long Way Home" has begun!

UPDATE: A day after it's release, publisher Dark Horse has already announced a second printing for this inaugral edition since retailer interest has significantly surpassed the original 100,000 copy print run.

GeekFest 2006

Otherwise known as Wizard World Los Angeles!

Back in March, Mikey and I took a lovely trip downtown to the oh-so-wonderful LA Convention Center (with the easiest parking in the area) where the event was being held. LA is just one of the stops on the Wizard "tour" (which includes Philly, Chicago and Arlington, TX). And this being LA, where all the stars are, it surely has to be the best for autograph collecting, my real reason for showing up! Yes, how very, very sad!

This wasn't my first comic/action-figure/geek convention, a few years back I did go to the Baltimore Comic-Con, though it truly paled in comparison (especially for autograph junkies). Scheduled to appear were Kevin Smith, Marlon & Shawn Wayans, Lou Ferrigno, Ray Park (what an ass!), and a whole bunch of comic book artists, writers and inkers. But who did I want to see and chat with? None other than all those ex-Buffy and Angel stars in attendance!

Unfortunately, this autograph thing ain't cheap! Did I really want to spend over $200.00 on signed photos? Absolutely not, so sorry Elizabeth Rohm (Det. Kate Lockley) and Andy Hallett (Lorne), I just couldn't justify the expense (though from watching him interact with the fans Andy was by far the most personable star there).

I most wanted to meet Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia on both shows. I was hoping for an Angel-esq. cutesy Cordy, unfortunately, Charisma was much more like the icy high-school cheerleader character she played on Buffy. At least the photo was hot!

Next up was Christian Kane aka Lindsey McDonald aka "Idaho Guy. Mike dared me to go up to him and say " What's up Idaho Guy?" I did, proving myself to be a really big 'mo. Luckily Christian was just so cool, he didn't give a damn.

Best of the bunch by far was Wolfram & Hart's head bitch, Lilah Morgan, played by Stephanie Romanov. Not only was Stephanie incredibly tall, busty and personable, but she also really knew her stuff. I had just been watching Angel, Season 3, mentioned to her the episode where she gets beaten up by the Asian guy from Lost, and she began talking in depth about the episode, her character, etc. I just geekily gushed all over her, I think Mike was quite embarrassed!

Overall it was a very good afternoon. I met some stars. I got some comics. I saw a bunch of collectible items I'd really quite like. I even saw some artwork I was quite partial to. I can't wait till the next one, Joe and I are going down to San Diego for the daddy of them all: the Comic Con International!

[ I don't know why I never wrote about this before, especially with the pictures et al, somehow it just slipped through the cracks. ]

CELEBFLASH ULTRA: She's No Vamp

I'm at the gym with Chris the other weekend, and it's one of those dreaded leg days. After squats and extensions I'm exhausted and extremly sweaty, though not too drained and dehydrated to spot a celeb, especially a celeb who's appeared on two of my all time fav shows!

But was it really who I thought it was? She looked shorter, and much much skinnier than I ever would have imagined.

"That's Drusilla," I tell Chris, only to be stared back at blankly, "Juliet Landau. From Buffy and Angel. One of the Big Bads in Season 2." More blank stares followed by a shrug and "So why don't you go speak to her." "Well, what if it's not? I'm only like 85% sure it is. What if I'm wrong, what would I say?" "If you don't I will!" And off he goes to do some lat raises.

So, there I am lifting and pondering, pondering and lifting... What should I say? Can that really be Dru? Do you think she'd sign my 12" collectible?

"It is her!" "Huh?" "I asked her if she used to be on Buffy, she said yes, and I told her you were a big geek, er... fan... Just go say hullo!"

So, nibbling on my lip in a very un-vampiric sort of way, off I trundle to introduce myself, I have to now that I've been singled out as an uber-geek!

"Hi there, I just wanted to say how much I love your work" "You must be Matt, it's a pleasure to meet you." I'm now stumbling over my words, "Um! I thought you were great as Dru! I even just got that new doll of you..." "The one of Dru as a vampire... You should bring it in, I'm here all the time, I'll sign it for you!" "Wow! Cool! That would be really great!"

Yes, uber-geek! I've even really considered taking my collectible in to get it signed. Wouldn't I look super cool at Gold's with a mint-in-package Vampire Dru tucked safely under my arm?

CELEBFLASH: The Scooby Gang

Although I've never mentioned it, Sarah Michelle was not the first of the Scoobies I'd run into. Way back last summer, on a trip out here to see what LA had to offer, while perusing Nordstrom at The Grove... there, on the opposite side of a clothes rack, looking back at me with two good eyes was none other than Buffy's bud Xander Harris. So there I am, starring down Nicholas Brendon, pretending to check out the latest Ben Sherman, while he picks out a new pair of jeans.

Cut to a year later, Nick is again at The Grove, this time stopping into The Farm for a coffee. Only now it occurs to me, is this actually Nick? Or is it infact his identical twin brother, Kelly? Was I really stalking Nolita's pastry chef, or was I simply ogling a Replacement?

Back during Outfest, we went to see Race You To The Bottom, a sort of Sideways with a bisexual bent (the movie was actually in production first, but couldn't get a distributer). The flick itself wasn't at all bad, save for the lead actor, who you just wanted to slap.... real hard! Amber Benson, Willow's lesbian love Tara, was the other lead, and it's easy to see why Joss Wheadon loved this actress so much. She was radiant on screen, and just as effervescent at the Q&A afterwards. If only I'd known she was going to be there, I'd have had my Hush figure for her to sign!!!

And I thought Sarah Michelle was little!!! But Jonathan, the guy who awarded Buffy the Class Protector at the prom, became one of Season 6's Big Bads, and then died at the hand's of his best friend to unleash the Uber Vamp... now he's SHORT! And by short I mean TINY! His feet barely even touched the ground when he was sitting. And when he stood up, well, I felt like a giant, and I'm only 5'5" (and a half).

CELEBFLASH ULTRA: BUFFY!!!

As regular readers will have noticed, I "catalogue" pretty much all my celebrity sightings here on Misadventures. I'm not necessarily a fan of these people, few of them really float my boat, it's just that I'm a small town boy from the England, who's always been enamored with television and the movies. I recognize them and (hopefully) make witty little asides. The list of "stars" I would really care to see is pretty damn short. Really!

Well, today I hit an absolute high. Maybe even the top of the ladder...

Buffy, the bloody, Vampire Slayer!!!



Sarah Michelle Gellar herself... in the flesh... no Freddie Prince (not that I care).

She's standing in line at the restaurant to get on the waiting list. I turn, see her and my knees go weak. I seriously cannot move!

Cut to: A bit later.

Her party is seated (she's with her mum and some friends), and I overhear her asking Natalie for crayons for the kid with her. It just happens today is the day we're crayonless, but being the manager I find some, take them over, and just start to gush!

It's all a blur, but it went something like this:

"I know this is unprofessional, and I've never done this sort of thing before, but I really wanted to say that I love your work. I just moved from Washington, DC and you were at the top of my list of people I wanted to see. I love everything you've done. I love Buffy! Thank you!"

Her friend makes some joke: "You think that's?... She's my cousin Bertha."

Sarah Michelle: "Big Bertha they used to call me."

Me: "Don't even kid with me on this one. My knees are knocking! Meeting you has just made my entire week."

I get a bunch of "Thank yous" and "You're so sweet" and I finally leave them to their lunch. My heart is racing, the knees still knocking, and I'm almost on the verge of tears (uh?).

Cut again to: Some time later.

I'm doing some managerial sorta stuff at one of the terminals, and Sarah Michelle's mum comes up to me and asks if I had anything I wanted Sarah to sign, Sarah was just wondering? WOW! Of course, no DVD, no MOC action figure, not even a decent piece of paper. I grab a pen, tear a bit of paper out of the receipt terminal and head on over.

Matt -

It was so nice to meet you.

Best wishes,

Sarah Michelle

I gush some more, say thanks and byes, and shake her hand.

And I'm floored. WOW again! How nice and sweet, and... well, that whole expereince just blew me a-bloody-way!!!

Now, if only Spike were to show himself....