The Doc (oh my god, are you tired of me talking about him? I adore him, but I think I need Doc rehab) has been working on a scholarly article about The West Wing for several months. Specifically, he's writing about The West Wing and it's relation to Catholicism. If you watch the show, you know that the character of Jeb Bartlett was Catholic and Martin Sheen himself is a very progressive Catholic. Doc began working on this roughly around the same time he left for New York for cancer treatment, making him certifiably insane in my book. Like, if I had cancer, the last thing I would do would be writing a scholarly article. More likely I would be crying, eating chocolate, and making people do me favors.
Anyway, a good deal of his recovery time in New York was spent catching up on the series on DVD and doing research on the internet. The Doc, knowing that I was a fan of the show (lord, Gary, Nina, and I were such dorks about this show. SUCH DORKS), spoke to me about this article several times. We had fandork discussions on what made Jeb Bartlett tick and plot points of very specific episodes (Take This Sabbath Day and Two Cathedrals being the two most heavy-handed episodes Catholicism-wise). A few weeks ago, I got an email from the Doc explaining that it just so happens a panel of speakers -- creatives from The West Wing including writers and producers -- were coming to talk about the show at Radnor High School. Would I like to go with him and serve as an assistant and ask questions for him? Would I!
Last week, after a night of cleaning in his office, Doc and I were having dinner together and discussing the upcoming West Wing panel. He was marveling at the coincidence that he would be writing this article and suddenly this panel appears right in his back yard.
"Moreover, it's interesting this panel is happening at all," I told him. "The show's been over for more than a year. Why are they doing this? Why now? Why are they coming to Radnor? Who's sponsoring this?"
When the Doc told me who was sponsoring it, a light bulb went off in my head. The council sponsoring the event is the same council that the CEO of my company serves on. The following day I went to his secretary and spouted the whole story of The Doc to her, explained about the article. "Say no more," she said, "I'll pull some strings." Because she is awesome, she got us into the event for free, front row seats, and a meet 'n greet one-on-one prior to the panel. I KNOW. The Doc was thrilled, I was ecstatic.
So last night, I met: Melissa Fitzgerald, who played C.J.'s assistant Carol; NiCole Robinson, who played Leo's assistant Margaret; Lew Wells, producer; Josh Singer, writer; Craig Snyder, political consultant and occasional writer for the show; and live via satellite from L.A., my new boyfriend, Bradley Whitford.
Because I'm deranged, I had this idea that I would walk into the meet 'n greet all confident, smooth, and cool and be all awesome for these people who would simply be enchanted by me. Reality check: Once in I felt shy, awkward, most of all very, very protective of Doc. I wanted to make sure they could understand him, that he would get the answers he needed, and that they wouldn't be all weirded out by him and his cyborg voice. I hung back a little at first trying to figure out my "in." Luckily my CEO's secretary was there, saw me being a little shy and yanked me into the circle, introducing me to the council members, who in turn introduced me to the famous people. I was introduced to NiCole first, and I was really excited to meet her. She was a surprise guest because she wasn't on the original list of Famous People To Appear. I recognized her when she walked in and did an internal squee because she was really good as Margaret, having a great acting chemistry with John Spencer. So I met her first, and she was all cool and normal, not to mention super cute in an adorable wrap dress. Before I could really begin to talk to her, I was steered over to Lew Wells and Josh Singer. Lew, for the record, was very warm and friendly, with crinkly eyes. Josh was very nice as well, but Lew especially was very candid. Doc was still talking to NiCole (he got a fabulous anecdote off of her about Martin Sheen), so I launched into the whole spiel about why we were there and the article he is writing. Both seemed intrigued that such an article would be written, but were forthcoming with their information. At some point, I realized that Doc should be hearing this, so I guided him away from NiCole (Hi, NiCole! Call me! We'll do lunch and go shopping!) and introduced him to Lew and Josh. Both of them were so so kind to Doc, very patient, willing to take time to listen and made sure they answered his questions fully. I loved them for that.
After speaking with them, it was time to go into the auditorium for the panel discussion. The panel itself was kind of "eh" due mostly to the fact that the dude moderating it (some guy from Cn8, who, when he was introduced to us clearly expected us to be impressed by him. Whatever; Dude, no one watches your channel) was kind of a tool. He kept cutting the panel members off and despite his career in broadcast journalism, acted like he had never used a satellite feed before by talking over poor Bradley Whitford, who, with the 3 second delay, would get flustered into silence. Speaking of Bradley Whitford, I felt kind of bad for him. I don't know if it was the angle of the camera or what, but the sound stage he was on looked a little small and cramped. Also, I think we were having some technical difficulties which he was professional enough to ignore and soldier on. And! When I asked my question (okay, okay, the Doc's question) it was Bradley who answered, asking the rest of the panel if he could field it. So to recap: BRADLEY WHITFORD WANTED TO ANSWER OUR QUESTION (Hi, Bradley! Call me! We'll totally do lunch and then make out even though you're married to an awesome lady who I secretly kind of love!).
After the panel was over, Doc went to go refresh himself and I took the opportunity to introduce myself to Melissa (who had arrived late due to traffic) and Craig, both of whom were very nice. Then I went over to thank Lew and Josh for being so great and in turn they responded with giving me their email addresses (!) and encouraging us to contact them should we need anything else. Sweet!
OBLIGITORY STORY ABOUT HOW I'M A DORK
So, when I was talking to Lew and Josh before the panel, prior to me bringing the Doc over, this is a bit of the conversation we had:
LEW: Wow, that's an interesting thing to write an article about.
JOSH: Is it in reference to the "Two Cathedrals" episode?
ME: Well, that's part of it. But it's more about Jeb being a Catholic and Martin Sheen being a progressive Catholic. Although I do love that episode, especially the Latin. That was such a great moment, and such a great part of his character. A way of showing his intellect, a throwback to him studying to be a priest before he met Abbey.
LEW: (frowning) Really? Studying to be a priest?
JOSH: (looking at Lew and also frowning) Was he?
ME: (blushing) Uhhhh...yeah, I think so. Right? Isn't that why he went to Notre Dame? I thought...I'm probably wrong.
LEW: You know what? Now I vaguely remember that. Yeah...that seems kind of familiar.
JOSH: Wow.
ME: (still blushing) Oh my god, I've totally just geeked myself out in front of you.
LEW and JOSH: (laughter)
STORY ABOUT WHAT WORKING WITH THE DOC IS REALLY LIKE
Post panel and post dinner, I took the Doc back to his house and he asked me to help him with a few small nitpicky things before taking him to CVS. At some point, he realized that he needed an envelope that I had labeled the night before.
ME: Is it on the chair? That's where I left it last night.
DOC: No, I moved it. I had it this morning.
ME: OK, where?
DOC: I don't remember
(ten minutes of searching)
DOC: (snapping his fingers) I know where it is!
ME: Where?
DOC: The bathtub!
ME: What?
DOC: (thunders upstairs)
(I continue searching normal places, like the coffee table and the side desk)
DOC: (thundering down the stairs) Not there. Was a good thought, though.
ME: I don't understand you at all.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, the envelope turned up IN HIS POCKET. I wanted to bang my head on the table.
Anyway, a good deal of his recovery time in New York was spent catching up on the series on DVD and doing research on the internet. The Doc, knowing that I was a fan of the show (lord, Gary, Nina, and I were such dorks about this show. SUCH DORKS), spoke to me about this article several times. We had fandork discussions on what made Jeb Bartlett tick and plot points of very specific episodes (Take This Sabbath Day and Two Cathedrals being the two most heavy-handed episodes Catholicism-wise). A few weeks ago, I got an email from the Doc explaining that it just so happens a panel of speakers -- creatives from The West Wing including writers and producers -- were coming to talk about the show at Radnor High School. Would I like to go with him and serve as an assistant and ask questions for him? Would I!
Last week, after a night of cleaning in his office, Doc and I were having dinner together and discussing the upcoming West Wing panel. He was marveling at the coincidence that he would be writing this article and suddenly this panel appears right in his back yard.
"Moreover, it's interesting this panel is happening at all," I told him. "The show's been over for more than a year. Why are they doing this? Why now? Why are they coming to Radnor? Who's sponsoring this?"
When the Doc told me who was sponsoring it, a light bulb went off in my head. The council sponsoring the event is the same council that the CEO of my company serves on. The following day I went to his secretary and spouted the whole story of The Doc to her, explained about the article. "Say no more," she said, "I'll pull some strings." Because she is awesome, she got us into the event for free, front row seats, and a meet 'n greet one-on-one prior to the panel. I KNOW. The Doc was thrilled, I was ecstatic.
So last night, I met: Melissa Fitzgerald, who played C.J.'s assistant Carol; NiCole Robinson, who played Leo's assistant Margaret; Lew Wells, producer; Josh Singer, writer; Craig Snyder, political consultant and occasional writer for the show; and live via satellite from L.A., my new boyfriend, Bradley Whitford.
Because I'm deranged, I had this idea that I would walk into the meet 'n greet all confident, smooth, and cool and be all awesome for these people who would simply be enchanted by me. Reality check: Once in I felt shy, awkward, most of all very, very protective of Doc. I wanted to make sure they could understand him, that he would get the answers he needed, and that they wouldn't be all weirded out by him and his cyborg voice. I hung back a little at first trying to figure out my "in." Luckily my CEO's secretary was there, saw me being a little shy and yanked me into the circle, introducing me to the council members, who in turn introduced me to the famous people. I was introduced to NiCole first, and I was really excited to meet her. She was a surprise guest because she wasn't on the original list of Famous People To Appear. I recognized her when she walked in and did an internal squee because she was really good as Margaret, having a great acting chemistry with John Spencer. So I met her first, and she was all cool and normal, not to mention super cute in an adorable wrap dress. Before I could really begin to talk to her, I was steered over to Lew Wells and Josh Singer. Lew, for the record, was very warm and friendly, with crinkly eyes. Josh was very nice as well, but Lew especially was very candid. Doc was still talking to NiCole (he got a fabulous anecdote off of her about Martin Sheen), so I launched into the whole spiel about why we were there and the article he is writing. Both seemed intrigued that such an article would be written, but were forthcoming with their information. At some point, I realized that Doc should be hearing this, so I guided him away from NiCole (Hi, NiCole! Call me! We'll do lunch and go shopping!) and introduced him to Lew and Josh. Both of them were so so kind to Doc, very patient, willing to take time to listen and made sure they answered his questions fully. I loved them for that.
After speaking with them, it was time to go into the auditorium for the panel discussion. The panel itself was kind of "eh" due mostly to the fact that the dude moderating it (some guy from Cn8, who, when he was introduced to us clearly expected us to be impressed by him. Whatever; Dude, no one watches your channel) was kind of a tool. He kept cutting the panel members off and despite his career in broadcast journalism, acted like he had never used a satellite feed before by talking over poor Bradley Whitford, who, with the 3 second delay, would get flustered into silence. Speaking of Bradley Whitford, I felt kind of bad for him. I don't know if it was the angle of the camera or what, but the sound stage he was on looked a little small and cramped. Also, I think we were having some technical difficulties which he was professional enough to ignore and soldier on. And! When I asked my question (okay, okay, the Doc's question) it was Bradley who answered, asking the rest of the panel if he could field it. So to recap: BRADLEY WHITFORD WANTED TO ANSWER OUR QUESTION (Hi, Bradley! Call me! We'll totally do lunch and then make out even though you're married to an awesome lady who I secretly kind of love!).
After the panel was over, Doc went to go refresh himself and I took the opportunity to introduce myself to Melissa (who had arrived late due to traffic) and Craig, both of whom were very nice. Then I went over to thank Lew and Josh for being so great and in turn they responded with giving me their email addresses (!) and encouraging us to contact them should we need anything else. Sweet!
OBLIGITORY STORY ABOUT HOW I'M A DORK
So, when I was talking to Lew and Josh before the panel, prior to me bringing the Doc over, this is a bit of the conversation we had:
LEW: Wow, that's an interesting thing to write an article about.
JOSH: Is it in reference to the "Two Cathedrals" episode?
ME: Well, that's part of it. But it's more about Jeb being a Catholic and Martin Sheen being a progressive Catholic. Although I do love that episode, especially the Latin. That was such a great moment, and such a great part of his character. A way of showing his intellect, a throwback to him studying to be a priest before he met Abbey.
LEW: (frowning) Really? Studying to be a priest?
JOSH: (looking at Lew and also frowning) Was he?
ME: (blushing) Uhhhh...yeah, I think so. Right? Isn't that why he went to Notre Dame? I thought...I'm probably wrong.
LEW: You know what? Now I vaguely remember that. Yeah...that seems kind of familiar.
JOSH: Wow.
ME: (still blushing) Oh my god, I've totally just geeked myself out in front of you.
LEW and JOSH: (laughter)
STORY ABOUT WHAT WORKING WITH THE DOC IS REALLY LIKE
Post panel and post dinner, I took the Doc back to his house and he asked me to help him with a few small nitpicky things before taking him to CVS. At some point, he realized that he needed an envelope that I had labeled the night before.
ME: Is it on the chair? That's where I left it last night.
DOC: No, I moved it. I had it this morning.
ME: OK, where?
DOC: I don't remember
(ten minutes of searching)
DOC: (snapping his fingers) I know where it is!
ME: Where?
DOC: The bathtub!
ME: What?
DOC: (thunders upstairs)
(I continue searching normal places, like the coffee table and the side desk)
DOC: (thundering down the stairs) Not there. Was a good thought, though.
ME: I don't understand you at all.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, the envelope turned up IN HIS POCKET. I wanted to bang my head on the table.
Labels: Dorkdum, Happy Things, The Boob tube
8 Comments:
Like I said, I so want to be you! - Tree
You're crazy. I'm such a nerd. Whereas you're all together and cool and stuff. Had you gone to this you would have glided in, charmed everyone, and landed yourself a Hollywood writing job.
I simply MUST hear the Martin Sheen anecdote. I can'ts get enuff Martin Sheen.
Does it include hIs charming/inexplicable inability to remember anyone's name? There are a lot of those, and they're all hysterical.
I have a great Martin Sheen anecdote! It's like a sport, this Martin Sheen anecdotary! My friend and colleague Tara, who is Irish, took a career break and went back to Ireland last year to study Drama at Galway University. Anyway, about a month later, I get a text message saying 'OMG, I just met Martin!' and I'm like, who the hell is she on about? Turns out Martin Sheen was studying at Galway university as well, making up for not getting a degree in his youth. So she's standing at some function in the university, stuffing her face with sticky cake of some form or another, when the priest comes up and say, ahh girls, you'll have met Martin, wont you? At which point they realise Martin Sheen is standing there waiting to shake hands with them, as the rub their sticky hands all over their trousers and try not to spit half eaten cake in his face! So now on to the proper Anecdote, which is that someone friendly with Tara sat next to him in one of his lectures. This person didn't watch the West Wing, but their sister was a huge fan. So they went out and bought West Wing DVDs having the great idea that they would get Martin to sign them, and it would make the coolest Christmas gift. So she gets down to WH Smiths picks up a boxed set and takes them in. He says, yeah, course I'll sign them, and opens up the box to discover that the teller at WH Smith had forgotten to put the discs in the cover. So, on the spur of the moment, he says 'Let's take them back, and I'll come with you.' So they head back to the shop, and he goes up to the counter and says 'My DVD's are missing!'. Cue puzzled looks of amazement from the staff as Martin Sheen asks for West Wing DVD's in WH Smiths...
Hope my uber-long anecdote didn't bore you all there?? :-)
Not bored at all... lovely story. He just seems like such a decent guy.
Anyone who celebrates their 60th b-day by planning to be arrested for the 60th time is A-OK in my book.
:-)
Not boring at all, Stouff. Pretty awesome actually.
OK, I don't know the whole anecdote since I was busy dorking myself out to the producer and writer at the time, but basically what NiCole told Doc was the story about when she met Martin Sheen. Like I said, I don't know the whole story, but the part that Doc loved was that Martin Sheen was holding rosery beads when she first met him. Doc adores stuff like that.
What are you talking about? Me? A West Wing geek? Pshaw! ;-) Glad you had fun!
I remember watching The West Wing with you more than anyone on the planet. So, yes.
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