The SOA S4 Fan Reception Part Deux

So then we film the WTFSutter segment. Unfortunately, some of the responses on YouTube were not very nice about Mark and myself. Others were not happy with the sound quality. I'm sorry about that. It was unplanned, and Kate Curtright (his assistant) and Mr. Sutter were very generous in makin' it happen. Yes, we were in the reception room, there was a lot of talk in the background. Could we have gone someplace quieter? Probably. But at the time, we did the best that we could do. For those of you who might have missed it, here's the whole segment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5UFaC7sJps&context=C375098aADOEgsToPDskJNwUI3x26Y1x2r9ctxtDTF

This is the throttle lock I mentioned in the segment:

http://www.amazon.com/CrampBuster-Throttle-Mounted-Motorcycle-Cruise/dp/B000NUVPQA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I27WQJA2MWVKGH&colid=2J2HRXOR0ID49

After the WTFSutter segment taped, I finally got the opportunity to sit and talk with The Great One about story writing, and how I sensed that Gemma was more to the club than 'just an old lady'. While it wasn't talkin' about Life, The Universe, and Everything, it was pretty damn close!

I spoke of the battles to keep people from wearin' patches and cuts if they don't belong to clubs, and that fightin' the battle against Ebay bootleggers was out of love for the show, and knowin' what the cast and crew go through to make the show happen. Speakin' of shows, we also touched again on the WOA (Watchers of Anarchy) misunderstandin', and how that podcast has done a lot to unite fans of the show. I let Mr. Sutter know that he's this generation's 'Great Bird of the Galaxy' as Gene Roddenberry had been with Star Trek, as no other show seems to have united so many people all over the world.

We also touched upon the creative process, and in listenin' to my recordin's, feel that here was another 'floor open up and whisk me away for bein' a dumb ass!' I mentioned my fanfic and how it delves into the things that the show doesn't have the opportunity to answer, such as LuAnn's funeral and how Otto got to attend. He seemed interested in that, and was very polite about it. I hope to GAWD I didn't bore him to tears about it. Perhaps someday he'll check it out, as it was written out of love for the show and the characters. But if I could take back any moment, that would be the one.

Meanwhile, Kenny Johnson had come into the reception, and walked up to congratulate me for winnin'. If you've ever heard Mr. Johnson's greetin' on the Watchers of Anarchy podcast, he really does speak the way he tweets!

"I'm Lowecat, and often tweet back to y'all, though you don't follow me!" (Kat, @Meadowgirl, rectified that problem when she hijacked Mr. Johnson's smart phone, twitted from it, and then added him as one of my followers! )

"So how'd you like the episode?"

I told him that it helped me understand his tweet earlier that week. I'd responded by remindin' him that Sutter had left the door open for him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! No, no, it's one of those things - folks are like, how come you're not there, like it was my choice. And like, It wasn't. Yeah, it was a little tricky between NBC not lettin' me--

Someone, maybe @Meadowgirl, asked if Prime Suspect had been yanked. At the time, of course, he believed it was still going to air. We all know how THAT turned out!

So I presented him with his little bit of IN swag, and he started singin' the IU school song, and mentioned David Letterman.

"So does that mean you're an IU fan? Cause you'd better NOT mention the 'P' word in my presence!" (The 'P' word is Purdue).

"Hell Yeah! I love Indiana!" he replied.

I gestured at Mr. Sutter and said, "This is the new Bobby Knight, in case you didn't know! It seems that anything he says or tweets is always taken the wrong way!"

Kenny knew exactly what I meant, "You say what you think, don't apologize for it. It's not politically correct they obviously all get bent out of shape." I'm not sure how Mr. Sutter felt about bein' identified as the new Bobby Knight, as he was presented with some grilled tofu to eat, and I started talkin' with Mr. Johnson about my bike, named for his one time nemesis.

"You named your bike 'Tiggie'? "

"Tig."

"Oh, I love that!"

Tig, the bike, is a 1981 Yahama Seca 750. Mr. Johnson stated that he loved that, "Right on!" I then pointed out the IN quarter attached to the photo.

"That's beautiful. Thank you so much!"

Then I had to open mouth, insert foot again, by admittin' that I didn't like Kozik that much at first, because he was pickin' on my fave.

"I know. I know."

Continuin' to swallow my entire foot whole, I blathered on about how Kozik grew on me later and how much I was enjoyin' 'Prime Suspect'.

Robert, the DH, approached as I was gettin' a hug (undocumented on camera, dammit!) from Mr. Johnson. I introduced him and Mr. Johnson said hi to him, adding that he was watchin' Robert roam around. When asked if he were a rider as well he responded with his 'super chicken' quote, which elicited a laugh of delight from Mr. Johnson. I then showed off the pic of Robert astraddle a motionless Tig, the bike, which elicted another laugh of delight.

While Robert and I were talkin' with Mr. Johnson, Mark/@twistedshadow was doin' an on camera piece for the upcomin' DVD box set. One of the staff came to get me for my turn, and I reluctantly went along. It was more fun to talk to the cast and crew than to talk about myself on camera!

As I passed Mr. Reid, I got a big bear hug of thanks for his swag, which included the pic and quarter, as well as San Diego Padres baseball cards, which he said he loved. I figured out his favorite from a tweet and did some research to determine his favorite ( Hey, I'm a former reporter, we investigate facts). I wanted to talk to him some more, but had to do my duty, but promised to see him once duty was done.

Kyle Looney, from FHE, asked about the flip cam, as she was collecting them before she left, and I sent her after the DH, who was manning it. Some of our camera work may appear on the DVD as well. (Later on, due to the confusion of jugglin' cameras, and my disappointment at not havin' pics of me with the various celebs except for the candid shots, meanin' that we didn't get the hugs, Ms. Loony obtained a number of those shots from the flip cam and sent them via email. Purrs and whisker kisses go out to her for doin' that!)

I also got an opportunity to finally meet Mr. Sutter's assistant, Katie Curtright. This woman is fantastic, and very nice to deal with. We traded emails as the event loomed, so she's have the contact info to get news and things to me. She was always helpful, so I included a wee giftie to her, SAMCRO_BLOGGER, and Culvercat (Christie, one of the production staff who was instrumental in takin' that picture of Kim Coates holdin' a sign of thanks to me, even though my name was spelled wrong, it didn't matter!). Those three individuals received stuffed plush kitties from me as a thanks for their kindness and support. Ms. Curtright has the bag of IN swag (pics and the quarter) for all the other actors, and promised they'd be delivered when production on Season Five begins. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when they get it!

I won't tell all y'all what transpired durin' the tapin'. Suffice it to say that will be on the DVD. Wait for the OFFICIAL edition to be released. Don't be fooled by the Season 4 DVD box set that's out now and available on line. You'll miss out on the extras! The whankers sellin' the bootleg S4 make it look official because they use the artwork from the promo DVDs that FX sent out to reviewers.

(If I could say anything to FX promotional department on that, I'd tell 'em to change the format/cover of the promo DVD to somethin' generic, so the asshat bootleggers lose their credibility next season. Are y'all readin' this, Mr. Sutter?).

I get a little dry during the recordin' session, so the guy in charge of that walks with me back to the bar to get some water (and maybe to insure that I don't get involved in more chit - chat?).

Mr. Sutter, Ms. Sagal and their daughter were gettin' ready to leave for FX Net's UFC party (where Mr. Flanagan, Mr. Boone, Mr. Perlman, and Mr. Callie were) and they wanted to be sure to say goodbye. I was the gleeful recipient of a warm hug from Ms. Sagal, and another one from Mr. Sutter, with profuse thanks given for the little swag. Then back I went to finish the taping, water in hand to wet my whistle.

Once the recording was over, I returned to the reception, where Mr. Johnson was holdin' court with Kate and Mark, and the DH was wanderin' around. Kyle Loony presented me with some swag of my own, the blue long sleeved SOA hoodie, which fits purrfectly! I wear it on my days off and when writin' my fanfic. Robert got a hoodie of his own, which he has squirrel away somewhere.

I didn't get a chance to say farewell to a lot of people who were leavin' for the UFC party, which is regrettable, as I didn't want anyone to feel snubbed. I do recall gettin' a goodbye hug from Mr. Ornstein, but missed Mr. Rivera, Ms. McNally Sagal, and possibly Ms. Renton. Fortunately, Mr. Ornstein and Ms. Renton have become IRL friends to me on twitter and FB; we correspond frequently, and I love them to death. Mr. Rivera also follows me on the twitters, and was an early befriender on FB, and I greatly treasure his time/attention.

Mr. Reid and I did get a chance to talk some more, and swear to Gawd, did more imitations of ole 'Spewl Agnew' (look that one up on wikipedia or somethin', you'll know I'm referrin' to former VP of the US Spiro Agnew, who had a bad case of foot in mouth disease, too!) that night then I have in life. In attemptin' to explain why I try to be respectful of celebrities time/attention at public events like the party the night before, might've induldged in a little TMPI (too much personal information). I hope he knew it came from the heart, and that it's a genuine desire NOT to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Mr. Johnson was still around as well, talking with Kat and Mark. I joined the conversation, and it got around to arm wrestlin'. Never one to back down from a challenge, I sat down at the table and lifted my arm, acceptin' the challenge. (OK, there was a little thrill in gettin' to hold hands for a bit with Mr. Johnson, won't lie about that!). He really protested about takin' on a woman, and offered to arm wrestle my USAR husband. However, he consented to take me on, and our bout lasted for all of three to five seconds. That man has a grip and an arm of iron! Somethin' tells me he could've ended it in one second, but 'pretended' a bit to save my own ego. Robert did arm wrestle Mr. Johnson, and their bout ended a little quicker.

It was obvious to us that Mr. Johnson was enjoyin' himself, and had imbibed a bit. We Kat, Mark, and myself got a little concerned if he was drivin' on his own, and we all three ganged up on him. I even threatened to take his car keys, which absolutely embarassed poor Robert. As a reporter, I saw far too many accidents involvin' drunk/buzzed drivin'. Naturally, Robert suspected that Mr. Johnson had more sense than that, as did I, but at the moment, we wanted to be sure he was OK. If it came down to it, we'd have taken the keys and had our driver take him wherever he had to go!

To his credit, Mr. Johnson seemed to appreciate our triple concern for his welfare, and wasn't offended by our threats to ensure his safety. Open feet, insert mouth? Maybe. Would I do it again? Hell yeah! I care, dammit. So sue me.

The reception had come to an end, the room was clear of all but a few of the FX staff and the bar staff. And us. And Mr. Johnson. None of us really wanted to return to the hotel (us bein' Mark, Kat, and myself), but as the Bard wrote, 'All good things must come to an end.'

We walked out of the back entrance we'd used all night of the bar with Mr. Johnson, and loaded ourselves into the SUV. We said goodnight to Mr. Johnson, who strode off to his own car (and I do hope it was with a driver!!!!) unmolested by paparazzi and/or autograph hounds.

We returned to the hotel, happy and loaded with memories of a very good time. I hope that all y'all have enjoyed these blogs. I've enjoyed relivin' the moments, and hope the actors and crew continue to enjoy their presents.

A note on that: one crass individual came up to me and voiced their derision about givin' presents to the cast/crew. "Why you chose to waste your time and money is a mystery to me! Don't you know they'll just throw the stuff out later?"

My answer? "A gift is given because it shows you're thinkin' of that person, and want to do somethin' nice for them. What they choose to do after acceptin' the present if up to them!" I wanted to add more, but figured it was a waste of time and effort, unlike the swag for the cast/crew. The cast, especially, is always asked for somethin', an autograph, a tweet, a picture, a bit of time and attention. What's wrong with givin' THEM a little token of appreciation? (Rhetorical question, folks. Doesn't need an answer).