"There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so." — William Shakespeare, Hamlet 1600
Returning to Vancouver after the strike was marked with greatness. I'd decided it would be.
Of course I packed a lot. My luggage bore a big day glow orange sticker proclaiming my need to roll "HEAVY." When the show finished filming in December, my cast mates and I scrambled to ship and carry as much of our stuff back from Vancouver as was possible. I kept my apartment in spite of the possibility of a long enduring strike. I was trying my best to keep hope alive. I love Reaper, my job, and the city of Vancouver. I just kept picturing returning to my awesome apartment.
Since so many TV shows and movies film in Vancouver, the first class sections of most daily flights are great for celebrity sightings. On this flight I was seated next to a woman who was sooooo blinged out, with big sunglasses and an expensive sweat suit, that she was begging to be noticed.
She was smiling and chatting very flirtatiously with a man across the isle with a thick foreign accent. His voice was low so I couldn't really make the accent out but he too was wearing dark sunglasses. When he fell asleep, she copied him. When he awoke and wanted to eat, she miraculously had the same response. All the cabin lights were dimmed and only reading lights remained on as we landed a few minutes early, at 9 pm. They both kept their sunglasses on I immediately knew it was a cry for recognition of some sort. Desperate. I was not a good audience for this because I didn't recognize too many people since I didn't watch reality TV very often and wasn't too into tabloids.
When the man took his sunglasses off I noticed that he was Jean Claude Van Damme. My ex-boyfriend called him "Van Damage" and loved to practice the move where he lands in a Chinese split and balances on the counter top. (You have no idea how many times I had to scrub shoe prints off the countertops.) The single white female sitting next to me of course followed suit. I immediately thought, "Who says it ain't easy being cheesy." Both of them were making it look real simple.
When were exiting the plane, Van Damage offered to help me with my bags. He was so polite and helpful.
Van Damage: You are beautiful. Are you here to film a movie?
I swear I'm not making that up. (Tip to ladies: Wear a good mascara and eyeliner. I'm convinced that made the difference.)
Me: No, a TV show, what about you?
He told me that he lived in Hong Kong and was catching a connecting flight home. I asked if he spoke Chinese and where he lived. We said our good byes and headed into customs.
It was a pleasant exchange and I immediately felt guilty for making such a quick judgment about his level of cheese. I knew I might get smited for misjudging the Time Cop.
So this is the way my return to Vancouver began. I decided this was a good omen.
THE TABLE READ
On our first day, we had a TABLE READ. Scheduled for 1 pm. I write it in all caps because one of my favorite people in the whole world loves the phrase TABLE READ. He's not an actor but managed to use it one day about 5 times. He says it with such conviction and works it into conversations randomly, saying things like " How was your TABLE READ? I love a good TABLE READ. I might be going to TABLE READ next week."
I eventually said, " Wow, you really like that phrase, huh? "
He replied "Yup. I have no idea what it means but I love it. "
When I explained that it was where the cast reads the script while seated at a table, it lost some of it's magic for him. I invited him to accompany me to our TABLE READ but he passed because he didn't want to be disappointed, as it would likely never live up to his expectations.
Our First Day Back
It was wonderful to see my cast mates after a few months away. It reminded me a lot of the first day of school after summer vacation.
Since I'd driven myself to set and had a wardrobe fitting immediately prior to the reading time, I was the first person to arrive in the non-descript meeting room that looked a lot like the big room in "Office Space" minus the cubicle dividers. There is big speakerphone at the center of the table where we read but other than that it could second for a generic meeting room anywhere.
Slowly the rest of the cast and producers trickled in.
Rick was next to arrive. He was carrying all of his techno gadgets. Texting machine, cell phone and a massive iPod in a fancy carrying case that he'd left behind on the plane when he'd arrived a couple of days earlier. It had been returned by the airline. This was Vancouver and things like that happened here. When I asked what he'd done over the break he commented that he'd spent a lot of time on his sofa and was glad to be away from the house.
Tyler arrived next, with his hair shockingly blonde and standing straight up like the heat miser. Tyler told us that he'd gotten pro-level on guitar hero. I believe it too. (He'd been attempting to teach me to beat box before the winter break/strike, but I'm convinced that my lip-gloss impeded my progress.)
Donovan crept in hidden behind a scruffy beard and wearing his hipster D.J. attire, and could not be less "Ted-like" if he tried. Poor Donovan nearly wept when Paul, the show's head stylist, snipped him back into this Devo plastered "hair do " for continuity. The show was picking up on what was supposed to be the very next day after the last episode we'd filmed over 3 months earlier. Oh, the magic of TV.
Brett looked a little frazzled but was happy. He said he'd had trouble sleeping the night before because he was so excited. This was smiled at and agreed to by everyone. Brett's hair was longer, funkier. He looked like a much more modern and confident Sam this afternoon for sure.
Missy bounced in, looking like sunshine and fitness, with her sporty spice ass. In real life, if there were some sort of Ultimate fighting tournament or the cast of Reaper, my money would be on her. She's far feistier than Andi and I love that girl.
Missy and I exchanged big hugs and did "girl bonding" as she commented on my outfit. I have a knack for "co-ordination." Can't help it. It's a gift.
Tara Butters and Michelle Fazekas, the shows creators, had flown in from Los Angeles, which was a good way to start off the new batch of episodes. When you work in one city and your shows writers (the brains behind the machine) are in a different place communication gets tricky. These ladies presence definitely upped our excitement levels.
Tony and Steve (the demons who you will get to know and love very soon), played by Michael and Ken, were also present and funny as ever.
J.P. Finn, one of our producers, read narration and Ray Wise's lines because he was arriving later. (It's always great for the Producer to read lines and remind everyone how easy actors make it look
Our TABLE READ was GREAT!
Our writers were really doing their thang with this one. This script was like some of my best dates ever: Funny, smart, suspenseful, a little sexy with a taste of scary. My darling Sock and I might be spending a little more time together in the future. Aw yeah.
Lots of clever lines that made us laugh out loud and a few far too racy for The CW at 9 pm on Thursdays. (See how smooth I worked that in there?)
What's new? Lots more mythology and character development. Less Monster-of-the-week. Good stuff.
And so we are back. And I'm thinking better than ever.
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