The Truth is In Here: Inside The X-Files' Premiere Party (PICS)

You can believe again. The X-Files is back, 23 years after it first premiered in 1993, and is once again a hit. The first two episodes scored big ratings this week for Fox, with four more weeks to go of Mulder and Scully's reunion.

I had a chance to spend a day on set last summer in Vancouver, and it was a treat to see David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their Mulder/Scully banter, just like old times. My cover story is on stands now.

Here are a few pics I took at the premiere party on Jan. 12, at the California Science Center. Guests celebrated the show's revival under the space shuttle.


David Duchovny (Mulder) is back!


Creator Chris Carter gives a welcome speech, while Vince Gilligan and Duchovny look on.


Red carpet.


"I Still Want to Believe."


Inside the party.


"The truth is still out there."


Under the space shuttle.


Guest star Joel McHale.


TV Guide Magazine's X-Files issue!

More reading:

Inside The X-Files Revival, and the Surprises Mulder and Scully Will Face

On The X-Files Set: An Extended Interview With Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny

X-Files Creator Chris Carter Explains Why the Series Came Back; Plus, See an Exclusive Clip of the First Ep (VIDEO)

The X-Files' Chris Carter Reveals Plans for His Next TV Project

 

Dolly Parton, Stephen Colbert and Half-Naked Miley Cyrus: Scenes from the 2015 Network Upfronts

It's been a few weeks now since network upfronts--the week in May when the broadcast networks (and a few cable ones as well) showcase their new shows for advertisers in New York. It's a hectic week, shuffling from one venue to the next, frequently staying out late and keeping tabs on everything that's been picked up, renewed and canceled. But there's plenty of room for surreal moments too--like Miley Cyrus (above) performing, half-naked, at Adult Swim's annual Wednesday night event. (Acts like Outkast, Jay Z, T.I. and M.I.A. have performed there in the past.)

Here are more visual highlights of the network presentations:



If anyone was still worried whether the real Stephen Colbert could be as engaging as the obnoxious "Stephen Colbert" he played on Comedy Central, the host's appearance at CBS' upfront presentation ended those fears. (There was always a lot of the real Colbert in the character he played anyway.) Funny, smart, sharp, engaging... I can't wait to see what he does when "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" premieres on Sept. 8.



C'mon, here he is, parodying Kim Kardashian's Paper magazine cover! What more do you want?



Fine, you want a photo of Colbert sitting next to Leslie Moonves as they wear fake, thick, dark black beards? OK, you're weird. But here you go.



Not too long ago, Fox would highlight "American Idol" throughout its upfront presentation. This year, it was, "American What? Oh yeah, it's canceled after next year. BUT HAVE WE MENTIONED 'EMPIRE'?!!!!" No surprise, Fox wrapped itself in "Empire," and of course they did. It's a tremendous smash. And there's no way we were going to leave the Beacon Theater until the cast came out and sang. And yes they did -- Yazz, Jussie, plus Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard. (No "Drip Drop," though!!!)



And nevermind "Idol," when Jennifer Hudson (who, you may recall, didn't win her year on the talent show) blew away the audience during the "Empire" segment.



Dolly Mothereffing Parton came out during the NBC upfront and showed the audience why she's still a legend. (NBC will be airing movies based on her life.)



In an upfront first, NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt accompanied Parton on piano. Dolly told the audience about Bob's dinner parties, and how they always end up around the piano. I'd do almost anything to see that.



Chris Carter, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson. X-Files. Boom.



Also a first CBS upfront for James Corden, whose new "Late Late Show" is already earning critical acclaim and generating plenty of social buzz. CBS execs are very, very pleased.



This man should be pleased. The most powerful host in late night, Jimmy Fallon.



At the CW upfront: Gina Rodriguez and the cast of "Jane the Virgin" are having a moment.



Also at the CW: Stephen Amell ("Arrow") and Grant Gustin ("The Flash") are having another moment.



The CW president Mark Pedowitz, flanked by the cast of the new "Arrow"/"Flash" spinoff "DC's Legends of Tomorrow." Coming midseason.



The CW brings a hot music act to its upfront every year. This time, Of Monsters and Men perfomed.

And OK, here you go. More Miley. Listen, she's nutty, often high and can get pretty unnecessarily vulgar. But then she does have a strong voice, and a commanding presence. (The Flaming Lips joined her on stage at one point, but she easily overshadowed them). Some more pics:

KCRW's THE SPIN-OFF: Episode 23 (LISTEN NOW!)

We've been busy with The Spin-Off! For our next edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe and I chat with Salon's Sonia Saraiya about the latest TV headlines:

Given that spring is traditionally the season of rebirth, on this episode of The Spin-off we talk about a couple of big TV reboots that have made news recently -- Full House! The X-Files! And Mr. Show...sort of. While there’s a creative, nostalgic appeal to re-doing these shows, there’s also a huge commercial interest at stake.

It sounds like David Lynch may have pulled out of Showtime’s reboot of Twin Peaks, but in the long run, this may just prove to be a negotiating tactic. We ask how much of the original cast and creators need to be involved in order to pull off a successful revival.

And by now you've heard Comedy Central has named a new Daily Show host in Trevor Noah. There’s been a lot of talk and backlash about his appointment, but we’ll use that as a jumping off point for a larger conversation about just what we’re looking for in a news show...and if that varies if you’re talking comedy news or "traditional" news.

How did we come to a place where we’re holding comedy TV hosts to higher standards than politicians? And it’s a sign of strange times when John Oliver flies to Russia to interview Edward Snowden for his HBO show and the next day, Diane Sawyer announces she also has a big upcoming interview...with Bruce Jenner.

Finally, Mark Burnett’s AD opened strong on NBC on Easter Sunday, but didn't do nearly as well as his show The Bible did on The History Channel. It’s just one example that proves networks can no longer assume they’ve automatically got a huge platform, but many of them are still operating that way.

Listen by clicking below!

COMIC-CON: How We Pulled Off The X-Files 20th Anniversary Panel

Last year Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and his girlfriend Holly were talking with my TV Guide Magazine bosses, and the topic of The X-Files came up. Vince reminded them that The X-Files was about to hit its 20th anniversary, and Holly suggested a panel -- perhaps at Comic-Con.

The truth is out there. And here's the backstory on how we wound up putting together what I believe, not so humbly, was one of the highlights of this year's Comic-Con.

My editor Debra Birnbaum emailed me last fall: Did I think we could pull off a panel devoted to the all-star writers and producers of The X-Files? The show's creative minds had gone on to some amazing things, including Gilligan and Howard Gordon (24, Homeland). I knew some of those folks would be game, but also knew we couldn't do anything unless the creator and driving force behind the show, Chris Carter, signed on. I quickly contacted Chris' agents, who in turn sent me to Chris' office.

I interviewed Chris Carter several times during the life of The X-Files, Millennium and Harsh Realm. At Electronic Media, we named him one of our "12 to Watch" in 1997 and I spent an afternoon with him in his 20th Century Fox bungalow. And the very first story I ever wrote for Daily Variety in 1999 was this piece, in which Chris is less than pleased about the cancellation of Harsh Realm. But Chris has been quiet in recent years, and I knew he wouldn't remember me. TV Guide Magazine, however, had been very good to him - even once putting him on the cover with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (see it here). Much to my excitement, Chris quickly signed on. Gabe Rotter, who works with Chris, sent out feelers to some of the show's key writers, and the reaction was very positive. We were on.

Carter's chief The X-Files partner, Frank Spotnitz, had already scheduled a trip overseas and sent his regrets via a really nice email. Alex Gansa was busy (I assume shooting Homeland at the moment). That led us to this roster: Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, Howard Gordon, Glen Morgan, Jim Wong, Darin Morgan, John Shiban and David Amann. Not bad, huh?

Over the last seven months, Gabe and I stayed in close contact as the panel took shape. In April, he told me that Gillian was interested -- and then we heard that David was interested as well. Oh, it was definitely on! One problem: Gillian would be in London. David would be shooting Californication. It took some tricky maneuvering, and the help of the folks at 20th Century Fox and Showtime, which is why we initially only announced Carter and the writer/producers. But heaven and earth were moved, and we were eventually able to confirm David and Gillian. From there, what would have been a pretty good panel promised to be a really good panel.

By May, we were ready for the formal invite. Here's what I wrote:

I wanted to formally invite you to join the panel for the big X-FILES 20TH ANNIVERSARY event (it's so exciting, I had to write it in all-caps!) at Comic-Con on Thursday, July 18, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. It's going to take place in one of the biggest Comic-Con venues -- Ballroom 20.

TV Guide Magazine, which of course covered The X-Files extensively through the years and put the show on its cover countless times, is sponsoring the panel, which is why you're hearing from me.

The X-Files, of course, helped usher in the modern age of hit genre shows on TV, but never truly got its due at Comic-Con (since back then, Comic-Con was still, well, about comics). This is a chance to celebrate the show and also marvel at the fact that everyone involved with the show has gone on to do even more amazing things.

I've moderated plenty of panels at Comic-Con, including Community, Chuck and Breaking Bad, and the fan reaction is exhilarating. They're going to go absolutely nuts over this. I know there have been a few reunion gatherings here and there so far this year, but it makes sense that the big one take place at Comic-Con. I hope you can take part!

Here's a tentative list of the panelists; we're still working out logistics on David and Gillian, but it's looking good!

Chris Carter
Vince Gilligan
Howard Gordon
Glen Morgan
Jim Wong
Darin Morgan
John Shiban
David Amann
David Duchovny
Gillian Anderson

I just wanted to make sure you cleared that afternoon in order to help celebrate THE X-FILES on stage in San Diego! Thanks!

X-Files 20th Anniversary, Thursday, 7/18/13, 3:30p.m. - 4:30p.m., Room: Ballroom 20

Meanwhile, my moderator prep had also started. Thanks to Netflix, it was easy to watch countless episodes, and watch them anywhere and on any device -- my TV, my computer, my iPad, no matter where I was. I re-watched mythology episodes and monster-of-the-week episodes. I read articles online and in X-Files books. I checked out the fan sites like X-Files News. I eventually created a Twitter account, @xfiles20sdcc, to follow several X-Files-centric Twitter feeds and also start compiling fan fave episodes, baddies, Mulder/Scully moments, etc.

By the time last week came around, I was excited -- but also filled with anxiety. Thankfully, our PR folks, Chet Mehta and Alyssa Some (in coordination with TV Guide Magazine's marketing chief Janice Dehn) were on the ball and in constant contact with everyone (particularly David's and Gillian's people) to make sure any snafus were ironed out. It was also time to put some finishing touches on the panel. I asked the folks at 20th Century Fox for some clips, but then narrowed it down to just the opening credits. That sent me on a chase to a production facility near Universal City, where late Tuesday evening I brought along a flash drive and had it downloaded.

Wednesday night, my TV Guide Magazine colleague Rich Sands -- who hands all things Con for us -- and I had a tech rehearsal in Ballroom 20. We saw the TV Guide Magazine sizzle reel and the X-Files opening credits play on the big screen in the empty hall. I got goosebumps. We started hearing (and seeing on Twitter) evidence that people were camping out for the panel. It was going to be good.

On Thursday morning, I walked over to CVS and found a big lantern flashlight. But they had only one, a yellow torch. I ran across the street to Rite Aid. They also had just one, a blue torch. So I bought both of them. I then turned around and bought Hershey's chocolate syrup. Yes, to double as black oil. Apparently I'm the Carrot Top of Comic-Con moderators, I brought props.



When I arrived at the Ballroom 20 green room, Chris Carter was already there. I gave him a copy of that 1997 "12 to Watch" feature I wrote about him. Vince and Howard were also both there -- it was a good day for both of them, as their shows were once again nominated for the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy. I met some of the other writers for the first time. It was like a high school reunion, as everyone milled about and caught up.

Then in walked David and Gillian, together. (I believe they had come from a signing on the floor.) Mulder and Scully were in the house! Inside the green room pics:





David and Gillian weren't quite sure what to make of my flashlights, but I assured them that the audience would eat it up. My plan: Introduce the writers and Chris. Then throw to that opening credits clip. Keep the lights off. David and Gillian walk out, carrying those flashlights just like they did in countless episodes of the show.

It worked. The crowd ate it up. And almost every story I read about the panel mentioned the flashlights.

As for the panel itself, I knew Chris Carter wouldn't have any new news, but I also knew the fans wanted to know something, anything, about a third movie (or even a miniseries). Chris kept mum. But surprisingly, Gillian quickly shot down the idea of a miniseries reunion like the one 24 is doing next year.

Here are two three different videos of the same panel (thanks to SDCC Blog for just posting the third one) that I found on YouTube:








Afterward, the whole panel and their guests headed behind the Convention Center to the TV Guide Magazine Comic-Con yacht, where they took photos and toasted the reunion. (Small world: Howard Gordon even ran into Navid Negahban, the actor who played Abu Nazir on Homeland.


Above, Vince Gilligan, Howard Gordon and Glen Morgan chat.




Above, David and Gillian on the yacht.

Thanks to Gabe, Debra, Janice, Rich, Chet, Alyssa, as well as Shari Rosenblum, Chris Kaspers, Conor Sellers, Kottie Kreischer, Rebecca Smith, Lindsay Flinn, Melanie Greene and so many other folks who helped make the panel happen. And thanks to the X-Files producers and stars, as well as the fans for coming out in droves to honor the show!