Popped the Paley Fest Cherry- Sleepy Hollow and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. take the stage

The Paley Fest is an amazing experience for fans to interact with their favorite shows. The 2014 festival is underway and NerdLush made it over for two of our favorite freshman shows- FOX’s Sleepy Hollow and ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The bonus for us is that both shows have recently had posts here because they quickly became favorites this year.

The Paley Fest has been growing over the last several years- similar to how SDCC has grown immensely over the last few years- and this year moved to a new home at the Dolby Theatre. This is the home of the Academy Awards- and it looks MUCH larger on TV then it is in person. But it is a beautiful theatre and adds opportunity to increase the size of the audience.

At SDCC 2013, we declared a few celebs as individuals who should have their time with a microphone monitored- based on the Sleepy Hollow panel here, Orlando Jones and John Cho should always have control of the microphone. The zingers flew from both- leaving the audience in stitches.

OK… he’s just so pretty!

Guests for panel included creators and stars- Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie, Orlando Jones, John Cho, Lyndie Greenwood, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Len Wiseman, Heather Kadin, and Mark Goffman. The only one missing was John Noble, especially since the intro to the panel was the last ten minutes of the first season finale; which led the internet into an uproar when it first aired.

The energy in the audience was echoed by the cast, excited to be a part of such a special show. Tom Mison said it best- “it could’ve gone ass over tit,” but it didn’t. Something magic about the story, the cast, the fans, something… clicked. And Sleepy Hollow connected.

So here is a list of some of the important pieces from the panel-

• Fan praise and question regarding whether the diversity of the cast was intentional- it was not.
• Reaction to Tom Mison’s audition- the ladies in the office all stood outside, listening/watching/drooling.
• Chemistry between Ichabod/Abbie is the chemistry between Tom/Nicole.
• Tom recently learned what “shipping” meant. Orlando recommended he look up “slash” next.
• hilarious reactions to the first season finale
• Tom was very proud of his Ichabod voice- and then John Noble came in with his perfect perfectness. “Prick”.
• Tom Mison has this air of naiveté about him that makes you fall in love with him.
• John Cho would love to come back– and yes, his character was effectively squished in the finale.
• There is a great love/respect amongst the cast- great to see.
• Orlando’s “Free Irving” shirt was fabulous- I’m gonna need one STAT!
• John Noble is confirmed for season two
• That chemistry between Tom/Nicole is super cute to see
• Discussion on who should play the other horsemen- my answer…
• John Cho is likely the first Asian speaking German on TV
• Everyone has a favorite episode

At the end of the evening my love for Sleepy Hollow was even stronger. And my crush on the adorable Tom Mison- well, if it had a physical manifestation, it would probably be visible from space!

Sleepy Hollow returns to FOX later this year with a 13 episode second season.

Continuing the adventures of Paley Fest 2014 happened with Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Sunday March 23^rd. An unexpected bonus- though maybe we should have expected it following the SDCC panel!- was getting to see the April 1^st episode, “End of the Beginning”, in its entirety. You’re not Level 7 yet, so I can’t actually tell you anything- but know this… the episode was amazing! The energy, the reveals, the moments… EVERYTHING! This is the episode fans have waited for.

Bonus fun- from the April 1^st episode, it’s seven weeks of new episodes straight through to the season finale. And apparently, #ItsAllConnected and between the April 1^st and April 8^th episodes, fans should be sure to see the new Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Got my ticket already!

can Felicia please host everything?

Following the episode screening, Felicia Day came out to moderate a cast and creators panel with Jeffrey Bell, Jeph Loeb, Maurissa Tancheroen, Jed Whedon, Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Iain De Caestecker. Little side note- can Felicia just moderate everything ever? She did a great job- from hilarious zingers to keeping everything moving along in an orderly, yet fun, fashion. Fabulousness!

Here’s a brief list of highlights from the panel-

• Constant reminders from Jeph Loeb about 4/1, 4/4/, and 4/8.
• Discussion regarding where the idea/motivation for the show came from- Clark Gregg’s Coulson is awesome, obviously
• Casting comments from Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancheroen
• Felicia asked about the differences between movie and TV Coulson
• Melinda May’s awesomeness from Ming-Na Wen
• 

  yup… he’s damn pretty too

  Felicia asked Brett Dalton what it’s like to have slept with everyone. Later, she commented to him about now knowing what it is like to be objectified. Couldn’t see a blush but I’d lay odds there was one.

• Question was asked about movie connections
• Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain de Caestecker say they play “Fitz/Simmons” like brother and sister. The audience disagreed. Henstridge said, “things are different in the UK”. Oh my…
• Fan asked who they would to see on the show- Whedon said anyone they could get to play with.
• Fan asked who they’d like to do a scene with- hilarity ensued.
• Clark Gregg (I’ve said this before when I declared he should be the prince of SDCC, at the very least) is awesomeness personified. His two runs off stage, out into the audience only serve as further proof.
• Fan question regarding how long it takes to film an episode- 8 days. But stunts add time. (For the record, Dalton had no stunt experience prior to taking the role of Agent Ward.)
• Ming-Na’s love for Thor/Chris Hemsworth is well documented, I’m sure, but it still should be noted- especially since she thinks Skye should be the love child of May & Thor. Gregg says its Sif & Coulson.
• Skymmons is a thing. I think it should be FitzSkymmons though.
• Seriously- so much talk about Dalton’s abs. I approve.
• Not part of the panel but Kid Coulson and his dad as Captain America made me happy.

Fitz-Skymmons

Briefly considered heading down to the stage to attempt to get autographs, but the crushing onslaught of fans was too scary- even for tough con-goers like us. The cast and creators were much braver, however. Always good to see because, honestly, it makes me like a show/film more when the cast/creators understand the importance of fans- the respect needs to go both ways. And it certainly does here.

Tune in on April 1^st for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s return, and the start of a seven episode streak straight thru to the finale in May. Personally- I cannot wait. I am giddy to talk about where the show is going, but I’m afraid of Marvel security (seriously, they used infrared or something to see if anyone was trying to sneak a recording of the top-secret episode!).

Tags: Agent Ward, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Brett Dalton, Clark Gregg, Coulson, Events, Fitz-Simmons, Friends, Geekery, Joss Whedon, Marvel, Melinda May, Nerdtastic Ramblings, Orlando Jones, Paley Fest, Skye, Sleepy Hollow, Television, Tom Mison, Youtube Videos