Moonlight Fridays - Next one: 5/13/2011

[HotMicks]

No, they never shot it. Ethan talked about it at the Moonlight Con in L.A. in 2008. The final shot was supposed to be Mick tightening his arms (and the blanket) around Beth in the freezer. Awwww... And yes, Grace is correct, TPTB killed the idea.

Setting aside the practical considerations, I, of course, as the Mistress of Chill, loved this idea. In my first banner I ever created, I crowned myself the "advance protector of the first MickBeth freezer squeeze and blankie struggle," so the fact that I never got to see this scene really bugs me to no end. I was delighted when Ethan revealed it at the Con, so much so that I went and pestered him in the hallway afterwards to talk about it more. In the end, we ended up spending more time talking about the writers' strike, but he was kind enough to indulge my curiosity, so for that, I'll be forever grateful to him. The main thing I ascertained from him in the hallway was that they themselves weren't totally sold on the idea and didn't put up much of a fight to keep it. On the one hand, I like the ending they did because it let you decide for yourself what you think happened after the door closed (and we probably wouldn't have Lunalux's wonderful "Right Here, Right Now" fanfic if not for this ending). On the other hand, I'm such a hopeless romantic that I just long for the totally happy ending the freezer scene would have provided - although I have since developed very vivid mental pictures of that scene . I guess that's a win-win, huh?

And as to the practical considerations, I always rationalized it as something money-grubbing Logan would jump on in a "heartbeat." I figured he had a side business selling custom-made vamp/human freezers that are sort of like the Sleep Number bed - one side is cold, and one side is warm.

[allegrita]

Oooh, how wonderful, HotMicks! I didn't know you talked with Ethan afterwards. Lunalux and I ended up talking with Jill for a little while; what a cool woman she is (and on a totally shallow note, she had absolutely gorgeous shoes!). All of the writers were really awesome, and so happy to talk about the show with us. I mean, Jill had been fired after WLB, so she had no further connection to Moonlight, even if they had been able to shop it to some other network - but she still came to talk to the fans, because she knew how much we loved the show, and she loved it too.

[HotMicks]

Oh I know, Alle (how great it was for Jill to come and how much she loved "our little show")!

After I finished up talking to Ethan, I came back in the room and joined your conversation with Jill (though you and I didn't know each other then... but I had met Lunalux at the bar the first night, so that's why I walked up to see what she was talking to Jill about ).

To be honest, I took to Ethan's girlfriend more than I took to Ethan (tho not in a slashy way) - she was less cynical and nicer.

But like you, I just looooved Jill. She really got this show and as you said, loved it and these characters as much as we did (probably more). That feeling was real and genuine, you could tell. And she was so patient answering the questions, whereas you could tell Ethan was a bit done with it before it ended (tho he was kind enough to stick around to answer even more questions after it ended). I always thought after the Con that, of all the writers we heard from, she must have been the one providing the emotional stuff on the show. She's really tuned into emotion and is so kind and empathetic, I saw her as the one who gave Mick and Beth soul. I have no idea if that's true, but I didn't see anything in any of the other writers that came close to her aptitude for emotion.

No matter what a disaster that Con was (and it was), I will be forever happy I attended just for that one session with the writers and all that we learned. (And, of course, meeting Lunalux... 'cause otherwise I would have never read her fic. )

ETA: Wow, I must be slipping... I didn't even notice her shoes. Of course, I was more focused on getting her and Ethan's girlfriend to sign my writers' strike t-shirt (which they did... and it's now hanging on the wall in my office. I managed to get all of them to sign that day. )

[allegrita]

No way - that was you?!?! Dang, I wish we'd properly introduced ourselves. And believe it or not, I hadn't read Luna's stories before that either. I plunged right in and never really came out.

I absolutely agree that Jill was responsible for a great deal of Mick and Beth's true depth of emotion. She wrote some very important episodes, but I wouldn't be surprised if she had input on lots more than the ones she had her name on - at least, from the descriptions they gave of the writing process, all of the writers worked on the stories after the initial scripts were written. This gibes with something Trevor has said, too, about the writing process on Moonlight.

Certainly, the episodes Jill wrote (Fever, 12:04AM, and What's Left Behind) had scenes that brought out the emotion and character of Mick and Beth in especially meaningful ways. And they were also full of action, with tight story lines. She's a great writer.

[HotMicks]

I don't want to totally drag this thread off-topic, but since we've finished up this round of "watch and chat" anyway, I'll indulge a little.

No waythat was you?!?! Dang, I wish we'd properly introduced ourselves.

I know! I do remember seeing you there though (after you posted a pic of yourself here at MLA) - you were sitting in the front row for one of the sessions (maybe even the writers' session) and you asked a question that I can't recall now, but I remember at the time I was really impressed with it. It was intelligent and insightful and I was totally dying to know the answer too. That's when I noticed you.

Certainly, the episodes Jill wrote (Fever, 12:04AM, and What's Left Behind) had scenes that brought out the emotion and character of Mick and Beth in especially meaningful ways. And they were also full of action, with tight story lines. She's a great writer.

Agreed. AND she knows how to write endings (Beth and Mick on opposite sides of his door, the rooftop sunrise scene and "Family's not only about D.N.A.")

ETA: And while I'm breaking down my imaginary "writers' roles," I always figured Harry, Gabby, Ethan and, early on , Trevor are the ones who brought the snark. In fact, after hearing Harry for hours at the Con, I can almost guess which snarky lines he contributed.

ETAmore ( ): Well, I wasn't totally fair in not also giving credit to Kira for Sonata's snark... she definitely has a snarky side, especially when she was writing her blog.

[wpgrace]

Damn! Never shot the scene, huh? Waste.

Cool hearing about y'all's parallel Con experiences, tho. You met, sorta. Star-crossed.

[HotMicks]

Yes, hard to believe it's been almost 3 years to the day.

And I want to point out that in no way was I commenting on any of the MLL mods, who saved one particular admin's butt during that Con.

[allegrita]

It was the work of those mods, and of a great many selfless volunteers, that made the Con a wonderful experience for almost everyone. Despite everything that went wrong, their dedication made for a magical weekend.

[HotMicks]

Oh, and by the way, Jenna, just to put you on , that last scene? It was a morning after scene.

[jen]

Yup.

That'll do it...

And now I understand your location...in the freezer waiting for Mick to chill...

Now I get it! Well, I sorta did before but you know what I mean.

Thank you for all the details!

Jenna

[librarian_7]

I've got to add a few words to the discussion here...one of the things I remember from the con was meeting Allegrita, whom I didn't know at all well at the time! and not taking enough time to get acquainted with her. Certainly glad I've since rectified that particular error! (Omigosh, there were so many people there I wish I'd talked to more!)

I do recall talking to Kira, who was standing around looking a bit lost, and she was lovely. Harry...oh, geez, Harry. ...he asked me if I'd like to see Josef "getting busy" with some freshies. I was pretty appalled.

On the talk about the freezer/blanket scene...one thing I recall very clearly is that they said the network thought it was "too chaste." I have NEVER been able to figure out if someone misused a word, or what. But that's what was said. "Too chaste." Bizarre, huh?

Lucky

[cassysj]

On the talk about the freezer/blanket scene...one thing I recall very clearly is that they said the network thought it was "too chaste." I have NEVER been able to figure out if someone misused a word, or what. But that's what was said. "Too chaste." Bizarre, huh?

Lucky

I wonder if the problem with the freezer scene was that a freezer is not an obvious "sex scene" or if someone in legal got upset saying we can promote people climbing into freezers it's a public safety issue (I'm not kidding you wouldn't believe the things that have to be edited sometimes)

[allegrita]

Y'know, Carol, that wouldn't surprise me at all. The things that concern legal departments never cease to amaze me.

[HotMicks]

Harry...oh, geez, Harry. ...he asked me if I'd like to see Josef "getting busy" with some freshies. I was pretty appalled.

Lucky

Oh good Bob, Lucky! I was in the crowd for his one infamous story, but I didn't know he said that too! He really was too much.

[librarian_7]

Seriously, HM...he was posing for pictures with people, and while I was getting a pic with him, he said that to me. I'd mentioned I was a big Josef fan... I think the pic shows my smile is a little strained at that point. **shudders**

Lucky