Firefly Reunion Part Deux! Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk do Thrilling Adventure Hour

Saturday afternoon, as I was preparing for the one-year anniversary of being a Thrilling Adventure Hour fan, I happened upon this tweet by Firefly's Alan Tudyk.

Repetitive exclamations of "oh my gosh!" and high pitched squeals ensued. After meeting Nathan Fillion last November at our first ever Thrilling Adventure Hour, subsequently seeing him again at December's musical, and then witnessing Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion reunion on stage in March, this news of a Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk reunion was amazing. I called Angel immediately to share the news and we enjoyed a squealfest over the phone.

The rest of the day could not pass fast enough, I was so hyped up on anticipation that I was wishing for a jump forward from the time gods.

The show finally opened at about 8:45pm and Nathan Fillion made his return as Cactoid Jim in Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars. Sparks Nevada ended with us uncertain of Cactoid Jim's future, would he be destroyed by Sparks Nevada? The second segment was Cactoid Jim, and opened when Weird Al (yeah, that's right, Weird Al Yankovic) came out to perform the Cactoid Jim theme song. This entrance was totally unexpected and I am not ashamed to admit that I let out a high pitched scream when I saw him walk out on stage. Weird Al was my first concert, way back in 1996 at the LA County Fair, and this last summer I happened to see him again at the Orange County Fair, that is straight up pride I'm communicating right now.

With Weird Al and Paul Storm providing vocals for the theme and narration, Alan Tudyk and Molly Quinn (as in Castle's daughter) then joined Nathan Fillion and mark Gagliardi on stage in Cactoid Jim, both playing individuals hoping to destroy the future, evil Cactoid Jim seeking to destroy the universe.

I literally could not stop smiling and laughing during both Sparks Nevada and Cactoid Jim segments. They were by far some of the best I have seen, and I can't wait until they make it to the podcasts (5-6 months from now) so I can re-listen and relive the experience.

In addition to the regular Work Juice Players: Annie Savage, Marc Evan Jackson, Mark Gagliardi, Paget Brewster, Paul F Tompkins, Hal Lublin, James Urbaniak, and Joshua Malina, guests from last night included: Molly Quinn, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Jorge Garcia, Brendan Hines, Clancy Jones, Weird Al, and Paul and Storm. Here are some pictures from last night...

Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk

Jorge Garcia

Mark Gagliardi

Brendan Hines

Basically, I love my life, and my life is exponentially more awesome since I discovered Thrilling Adventure Hour last year. Seriously, if you aren't listening to it yet either on iTunes or through Nerdist.com, what is your problem?

Sometimes I can't help but feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Zaboo'd at Thrilling Adventure Hour. The Guild Season 6!?

Another Thrilling Adventure Hour has come and gone. Jon and Paula went with me to the June showing, it was their first time! They really enjoyed the show and suggested a return trip, so clearly I'm not overselling this thing. Why haven't you all come with me yet?

June saw a very dramatic cliff-hanger in Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars, when the very inebriated Croach the Tracker (Mark Gagliardi) was shot and (please don't let it be) killed? Nooo!!!!! No show in July means I have to wait until August to find out the fate of the little blue Martian, Croach.

The notable guest star for the evening was George Wendt who played a former Marshal on Mars threatening the life of Sparks and Croach. Busy Phillips returned as The Red Plains Rider, the red plains rider! *insert theme music* Whenever the Red Plains Rider returns, there is always a glimmer of hope that a Cactoid Jim (Nathan Fillion) story-line might be soon to follow.

Jon was bummed that he didn't get to see any Firefly or Chuck guests, so I keep reminding him he should come to more if he wants to increase his chances. He knows I am right, but still blames me as though I have some input in who makes the line-up. Brothers, blaming you for things you have no control over since the day you were born.

We did see Sandeep Parikh from The Guild at the show, so we were only 2-degrees of separation from Nathan! Parikh was there enjoying the show with a lady friend and, while she was in the bathroom, I took it upon myself to approach him for a picture. He was in the middle of texting someone but was nice enough to pose for a picture and let me ask him questions about The Guild. The news is that he is tight-lipped on details and wouldn't spill a word! *le sigh* At least I tried.

In the meantime, I shall enjoy the newest music video from The Guild and Jed Whedon. Check out I'm the One That's Cool

Firefly Reunion with Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin at Thrilling Adventure Hour

March 3 was the first Saturday of the month which means...Thrilling Adventure Hour!

This performance happened to mark the seventh anniversary of Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars, and thus was a jam-packed double feature of Mars and featured special guests like Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, and Zachary Levi.

With Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin, plus a photobomb compliments of Hal Lublin

Whenever Fillion is a guest, you can guarantee that the patio outside the theater is especially dense because everyone is hoping to talk to him or get a photo with him. I have learned that a lot of the show-goers are fans of Firefly. I don't know if this is because Nathan Fillion often appears in the show and therefore people attend the show hoping to see him, or if it is purely coincidence that individuals who love Nathan Fillion would also enjoy an old-time, staged radio show. In my case, my friend and I checked the show out because Nathan Fillion was appearing, but we have been coming back pretty regularly ever since because the show is just too fun to pass up.

Baldwin and Fillion embraced the madness after the show and took the time to sign autographs, take pictures, and chat with fans. Firefly is the greatest space-cowboy series, EVER, and seeing Baldwin and Fillion together induced total glee. Overall, a wonderful time.

And, since I neglected to comment regarding the show in February...

With Natalie Morales who was incredibly sweet and nervous regarding her first appearance at Thrilling Adventure Hour. She had a wonderful, first performance.

With the hilarious Paul F. Tompkins.

With the delightful and funny Paget Brewster.

The Thrilling Adventure Hour Is The Best Hour-plus Of Radio You Will Ever See/Hear

Remember that time I met Nathan Fillion and other celebs at The Largo in Beverly Hills?

You may not recall, as it occurred on the epic first weekend of November that involved All That reunions and my first Thrilling Adventure Hour, but I would like to take this moment to ask that you march your butt over to Nerdist.com to listen to some of The Thrilling Adventure Hour podcasts. If you don't enjoy them, then you are probably a robot with no funny bone in your body.

Chances are, as you continue to read this post, you are not listening to The Thrilling Adventure Hour despite my practically begging you above. This might be because you are at work and unable to listen, if that is the case, I forgive you; however, you have no excuse to not email yourself right now a reminder with the link right now so that when you return home you can listen while you work out, cook, clean, or, if you are me, laze around doing nothing because you are too tired and/or lazy to do anything by the time you make it home.

A little bit about the show (taken directly from the shows website): "A sophisticated comedy sprinkled with affectionate homage to 1940’s era radio, the Thrilling Adventure… program features three non-serialized serials in each episode, as well as jingles and messages from sponsors such as Patriot Brand Cigarettes (“Good for your Constitution”)."

My favorite segment is Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars, starring Marc Evan Jackson. There are at least four reasons why I love this segment:

1) The voice acting is fabulously done. Honestly, this is true for all the segments. Unlike with movies and shows which provide a picture and animation to compliment the dialogue, the verbal execution of lines in a radio show is all you get and the players in The Thrilling Adventure Hour have mastered that talent. Although I strongly encourage you find a way to catch the show live so you can see the performance and meet some of the players, if you don't reside in Southern California then listening to the podcasts on Nerdist or downloading them for free from iTunes is a great alternative.

2) A space/cowboy drama-comedy, how can you possibly go wrong with that? It worked for Firefly, it works for The Thrilling Adventure Hour. (NOTE: Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars is in no way to be compared to Firefly. The similarity basically ends at the space/cowboy theme. Although, Nathan Fillion does make an occasional guest appearance in Sparks Nevada.)

3) Marc Evan Jackson is like my new favorite person.

First of all, he has the triple name thing going. I love it, it is so JTT of him. Secondly, he recently guest-starred on an episode of Psych which is basically my favorite show on cable TV. Thirdly, he seems like a genuinely nice and funny individual. Angel and I met him after the December show and at that moment I basically decided that I loved him. I already loved Sparks Nevada because it is hilarious, but now I love the one who plays Sparks Nevada.

4) This kind of goes along with number 3, I am just reaffirming his niceness. I recently tweeted my love for Sparks Nevada and Marc Evan Jackson as said character, and he totally replied to me.

Now, I realize I have talked to him in real-life and I even have photographic proof of us meeting, but you have to understand that in my mind getting a tweet from an actor/musician/writer/director/other famous person I love is immensely gratifying. Since I get text alerts for tweets sent to me, his tweet came in the form of a text with is basically getting a text from him.

So why do I write about this? Because Saturday is the first Saturday of the month which means...The Thrilling Adventure Hour!!!!! So excited. Stay tuned for all the wonderful details and, more importantly, the awesome pictures.

Thrilling Adventure Hour, November 5

Dreams do come true!

Last weekend, between Comikaze, Angel and I had a wonderful evening at the theatre. The show for the night, Thrilling Adventure Hour, a 1940s radio-style show that had us laughing the better part of the evening. Best of all, it was done in musical format! What could be more awesome than people randomly bursting out in song? It's like High School Musical for adults, but with no dancing since it is radio.

Now, it is radio-style, but the audience still gets to see the performers interact and the fabulous orchestra perform. It is radio in the sense that set design is non existent, the show involves people gathering around a few mics on stage, and best of all you can sit at home and enjoy the show via podcast. Podcasts for Thrilling Adventure Hour are available at one of my favorite places, Nerdist.com.

The show features a bevy of actors and actresses as regular cast, including John diMaggio who voices Bender on Futurama, plus each month they book different guest performers. A semi-regular guest performer happens to be Nathan Fillion, Angel's true love.

In the November 5 show, He plays a young man smitten with his gal, Red (played by Busy Phillips). The two are adorable! Have I mentioned how much I love things that embody the 1940s-1960s? I'm talking the family dinner, Pleasantville, Grease, Wonder Years kind of stuff. I. LOVE. IT. So basically, this show is meant for me.

Fabulous point from the show, The Wonder Years reference in Act 2's Beyond Belief segement. Sad note, Fred Savage was a previously confirmed guest star, but a couple weeks before it was sadly announced that he and another would not be able to make the show. On the other hand, Jason Ritter did play a delightful Kevin Arnold-ish character.

So beautiful. If he was my child's teacher, I would SO date him. That is, assuming I am unattached. And he is unattached. I ain't no homewrecker.

Other performers we stalked to photograph:
Simon Helberg

Linda Cardellini (who happens to be an adorable pregnant woman)

And, in the audience, Jane Espenson

I met Jane Espenson at Comic-Con when I was in line for the Joss Whedon signing, and I basically decided at that moment that she is awesome. She was awesome long before than, but I didn't really know of her existence until then and she was a seriously down-to-earth, giddy about science fiction person, and I loved it. Check her out on IMDb and discover the awesome writer/producer that is: Jane Espenson.

I have already purchased our tickets to the December show, featuring guests Nathan Fillion, Josh Molina, Colin Hanks, and Gillian Jacobs. *whhheeeeeeee*