Cougar Town

Do any of you watch Cougar Town? I watched the first episode or two when it started a couple of years ago and didn't care for it.  DR stuck with it though, and after awhile encouraged me to give it another chance. I did and it ended up being one of my favorite shows...really funny, sometimes sweet, always quite clever.  The name makes it sound like a show about older women prowling for younger men...and it kind of started out like that. But it grew in to a show about the adult relationships that we form with the people around us.   The show is very well acted and helmed by one of the most dynamic writers / producers working in television today. 

Right now, the show is on hiatus. I haven't heard a definite date for its return, but there has been speculation that it will be in March.  In the meantime, the creators of the show, Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel decided to step outside the box and do something to keep the fans interested and enthused.  They began sponsoring Cougar Town viewing parties all over the country.  They promised that at least one cast member and one writer would be in each location. There would be lots of time to talk and ask questions. Also, they would preview an episode or two from the coming season at each event. Ticket giveaways have been organized through Twitter, mostly in a fairly last minute way to keep things interesting :) I was soooo excited and happy when I got the email saying that we were in!!!

Last night DR and I got to go to what was probably THE best of all of the nationwide events. Living in Los Angeles does have the occasional advantage.  We were able to go to Culver Studios where they actually do their filming. Since it was homebase, all of the cast and a great deal of the writing staff and other crew where in attendance.  They visited with the fans in a very casual fashion, right on the fake street that stands in for their Florida neighborhood.  They ran a Penny Can tournament, provided free drinks, and most importantly, just made themselves available for questions, comments, and photo opportunities. 

Me and my new boyfriend, Bill "VDOOZER" Lawrence.

DR and I spent the longest time glued to Bill's (I call him Bill, that's right) side.  He is the most gregarious person in the world.  He is the guy who created the show, as I mentioned.  He also ran Scrubs, which is one of my favorite shows ever.  He encouraged people to ask questions and answered them honestly. He had many great stories. He is married to the beautiful and funny actor Christa Miller. If you don't watch Cougar Town, you might remember her from The Drew Carey Show or Scrubs. Talking to him, and Christa, briefly, was absolutely amazing.

Here are some pictures of other people we met -

DR and Bob Clendenin. Bob plays the creepy neighbor, Tom, on the show. Nicest guy ever.

Me and the adorable Ian Gomez, who plays Andy Torres on the show.

DR and very cute Dan Byrd, who plays Travis Cobb.
DR made him laugh by mentioning remembering him from 28 Days.

This is a dark picture of me with Brian Van Holt. He gave us a tour of the sets and
 I have a small story about his extreme kindness.

He is a better picture of Brian Van Holt, who plays Bobby Cobb, with DR.
Aren't they the cutest?

  They divided the group into smaller groups for tours and had cast and other crew members give the tours.  Our tour was led by actor Brian Van Holt, who plays the hapless Bobby Cobb on the show. He was accompanied by one of the charming writers, Greg Mettler. By the time we were touring, we'd been on our feet for over an hour. Usually that would not be worth mentioning. However, I had decided to be cute and wear these new heels DR got for me.  I underestimated the amount of walking around the evening would entail and I was suffering. I NEVER wear heels and I don't know what I was thinking! Well...cute. I wanted to be cute. Anyway, Brian noticed that I was sort of pained looking. Later, after.we'd toured and I was sitting lamely at this little table all alone, he came up and asked me if I wanted him to get a golf cart to bring me back to the theater for the viewing.  Wasn't that nice? I was embarrassed though, at seeming infirm or something. I declined, but thanked him.  It was one way to be noticed I guess....the hobbler.  haha! So, not cute. But I tried.

Anyway, after another glass of wine and sitting around the big heaters they had out, it was finally our turn to go see some preview episodes of the show. We were in the second group and had a bit of a wait. When we went in, the cast were all seated in front for some more Q and A. It was the first chance to see Courtney Cox, who didn't really mingle before hand.  While this was going on, they were also handing out souvenirs. DR got a Cougar Town tour tee and I got a complete Season One DVD set.  After that Bill released the cast and we settled in to enjoy a couple of brand new episodes. We watched Eps. 1 and 4 from the coming season. At the last minute, we were invited to view Ep. 5 if we wished. We did!  Made me look forward to this third season so, so much...which of course was the point.

After that we hobbled off to the car and home. I think it was one of my best evenings ever and I was so glad that DR and I got to do it together before he takes off again in a couple of days. Go Cougar Town! :)