Pic of the Day

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A massive, like gargantuan, shout-out to MNPP reader and classy, classy person Cameron, who reached out last week about gifting your MNPP overlord with something I've been wanting and needing and clamoring for for sixteen full years -- a copy of the "Wax Lion" from the pilot episode of Bryan Fuller's one-season wonder known as Wonderfalls. A limited run of these were made, I don't even recall the circumstances of their making anymore, but I do remember that I never got one and there's been a dented-lion shaped hole in my heart ever since. No more! I am complete!

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Wonderfalls (2004)

Jaye: What if we're too late? What if he's already beat her
to death with a bag of oranges for withholding trick money?
Eric: Well, if she had any trick money I don't think
she'd be living in a barrel. I know I wouldn't be.
Jaye: Yes, but maybe she's just a lazy whore. That happens,
right? They can't all have hearts of gold and good work ethics.

Bryan Fuller's Wonderfalls, one of the greatest television series ever put on screen -- and one of the greatest manhandled by its studio tragedies ever taken off that same screen after four episodes that were switched around on FOX's schedule with no notice (yes I am still bitter) -- premiered 15 years ago today. At least FOX was kind enough to release the thirteen finished episodes onto DVD (that doesn't really happen anymore, does it?) so we can cherish that perfect single season, again and again and again and again and on until the DVDs are worn down and we finally throw ourselves off of Niagara Falls in a barrel in despair...

Good Morning, Lee Pace

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When this scene began this past week's episode of Halt and Catch Fire - you are watching already, right? I've only been telling you to for seventeen years now - my first thought, one which I was very excited about, was - hey look it's lee Pace in an Airstream Trailer! That's giving me all of the Wonderfalls Feels!

But quickly, and I do mean quickly, those Wonderfalls Feels were shoved violently and thoughtlessly aside as I realized that Lee Pace definitely, most definitely, does not seem to be wearing anything under those pajama pants. Bless him. Hit the jump for more...

Fuller's Final Frontier

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A huge congratulations to Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller who, it was announced today, is getting his dream-gig - he's returning to Star Trek, his first love, to run the new show for CBS! Fuller's first gigs were writing for Deep Space Nine and Voyager -- THR says he wrote 22 episodes of those shows before moving on to create some of the best television of the past 15 years with Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies and finally Hannibal; now it's back to where no man has gone before for him, something he's publicly been pining away for for as long as I've been following him. 

Fuller is of course also running the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods for Starz, which we couldn't be more enthusiastic about; we don't have any worries about him spreading himself thin though since he's proven an endless supply of awesomeness for so long - we have nothing but faith... and in a weird way pride too? My lil' buddy is ruling the world! And he totally deserves to. 

The new Star Trek is scheduled for January 2017.

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Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Death Proof (2009)

Lee: Did you know Kim carried a gun? 

Abernathy: Yes. Now, do I approve? No. Do I know? Yes? 

Kim: Look, I don't know what futuristic utopia you live in, 

but the world I live in, a bitch need a gun. 

Abernathy: You can't get around the fact that people 

who carry guns, tend to get shot more than people who don't. 

Kim: And you can't get around the fact that if I 

go down to the laundry room in my building at midnight 

enough times, I might get my ass raped. 

Lee: Don't do your laundry at midnight. 

Kim: Fuck that! I wanna do my laundry 

whenever the fuck I wanna do my laundry. 

Abernathy: There are other things you can 

carry other than a gun. Pepper spray. 

Kim: Uh, motherfucker tryna rape me? I don't wanna 

give him skin rash! I wanna shut that nigga down! 

Abernathy: How about a knife at least? 

Kim: Yeah you know what happens to motherfuckers carry

knives? They get shot! Look if I ever become a famous actress,

I wont carry a gun. I'll hire me a do-dirt nigga, 

and he'll carry the gun. And when shit goes down, I'll sit back 

and laugh, but until that day, it's Wild West motherfucker! 

A very happy 40 to the terrific Tracie Thoms.

Wonderfalls in the house!

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Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Heathers (1988)

Veronica: If you were happy every day of your life
you wouldn't be a human being. You'd be a game-show host.

Today is the 58th birthday of Michael Lehmann, the director of Heathers. Heathers was his first movie! Talk about striking gold right outta the gate. Lehmann's done a few more movies over the years (The Truth About Cats & Dogs is probably his second best flick) but he's worked like gangbusters on TV, directing episodes of faves like Wonderfalls, The Comeback, American Horror Story and True Blood.

As I was looking him up I was reminded of this oral history of Heathers for its 25th anniversary last year that EW did; it's worth the read if you love the movie like any sane person does. Looking for anecdotes specifically from Lehmann I found this tidbit interesting:

"I really wanted to cast Heather Graham [as Heather Chandler], and her parents wouldn’t let her do it. She was 16 or 17. I even talked to Heather’s mother at great length to convince her we weren’t tools of Satan, and she would have nothing of it. I really tried. I mean, I begged her. Heather’s reading was just great."

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Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Wonderfalls (2004)

Karen: Tupperware is not an eating vessel. 

The wonder of Wonderfalls premiered 11 years ago today!

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Cannibals On Stage

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The newly annual TV fan celebration PaleyFest NY happened over the weekend and thankfully I squirreled my way into the panel on NBC's Hannibal at the last minute - with every going on these past few weeks this event had slipped past my radar and if I'd missed it I would've had to cut off my own face and feed it to some dogs I'd have been so disappointed. 

Anyway as you see nearly the whole gang was there - from left to right in that top picture we've got Charline Dhavernas (whose name I learned is pronounced Care-o-lean), Laurence Fishburne, Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy, and creator Bryan Fuller. You wanna know what I learned watching them up there?

These guys all seem to really, really like each other. They were a ton of fun to watch - Caroline, token lady, was maybe a little more reserved than the rest of the boy-pack (sexy sexy sexy boy-pack) but then at the end she stayed around and greeted fans for as long as the theater let her (only she and Fuller stayed) and she's aces.

But then she has been since Wonderfalls, of course. And yes, somebody brought a brass monkey from Wonderfalls for her to pose with, and it was awesome.

Pretty much all the new news about Hannibal that came from the show's long been reported by sites that are more punctual in their reporting than I - you can see a run-down of that kinda thing at this link. The last two items there are the ones I really took note of - because of where the characters are going to be next season after the bloodbath finale last year, we'll be seeing fewer of the show's patented "murder tableau" this season, which makes sense; and also the news that we're diving right into the Red Dragon storyline in Season 3. Score! I cannot wait to see who they get to play Francis Dolarhyde, you guys. Who would you cast?

Second Course

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Last night's second episode of Hannibal was somehow even better than the already terrific premiere - the characters are starting to really come forward, individual quirks coming out - there was more humor this time, and like I tweeted the gruesomeness the episode centered on (Motel Hell shout out and all) was one of the prettiest things I've ever seen on television, at least as far as horror imagery goes. (Don't you give me that side-eye.) The colors they were bringing out in that forest - the yellows and greens of the leaves and the earthiness of it all - heart-stopping eye-popping prettiness, every single frame of it. And the show actually got me to jump off the couch not once, but twice! I don't jump easily. All that and a character from Wonderfalls showed up? I mean come on! In case you did miss it, you can watch it below. And while you're doing so, go onto Amazon and purchase one of those lashes that priests castigate themselves with, because that's what you should do to yourself for not watching the show live.

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Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Wonderfalls (2004)

Security Guard: You have choices, life choices. 

This was a bad life choice. That's why you're in 

an unpleasant situation. Unpleasant situations 

can be avoided by making good life choices. 

Jaye: I have to disagree. I make good life choices. 

Mostly because they're forced on me, but I make them. 

And I find myself in unpleasant situations all the time. 

You know why? Because even if you have a choice 

it can and will be taken away from you. We're all fate's bitch. 

You might as well go ahead and bend over for destiny now. 

The first episode of Wonderfalls aired nine years ago yesterday. I miss it all the time. But hey let's look on the bright side - in 22 days we get Caroline Dhavernas on a new Bryan Fuller show! Yes in this case "the bright side" is a show about a man pan-roasting human beings. (And unsurprisingly, this is not out of the ordinary for me.)

Caroline Dhavernas Just Joined Hannibal

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I can't even write about this news properly right now. I can't! It will make me sound like too much of a lunatic. This is so so so (so's for infinity) awesome. Read about it here. Dhavernas was of course the lead on Bryan Fuller's brilliant but short-lived Wonderfalls. She's playing a psychiatrist, a protege of Lecter's, who's also a consultant for the FBI. So so so (so's for infinity) awesome.

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Which Is Hotter?

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poll by twiigs.com

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Happy birthday, Bryan Fuller!

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The Munsters Neighborhood Must Watch

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I can't believe it's taken me all day to get around to this news - didja y'all hear who got cast in Bryan Fuller's reboot of The Munsters called Mockingbird Lane over the weekend? I suppose that picture up top's giving away the game. That's right, MNPP fave Cheyenne Jackson will play the leader of lil' Eddie's scout troop, Scout Master Steve. Let's hope they costume him in the shortest Scout Master shorts they can muster - we know Chey's more than got the gams for it.

And MNPP fave Beth Grant is adding another nosy busybody neighbor to her illustrious resume chock filled with 'em - she's joining the cast as "Maryanne, a fortysomething woman who uses a wheelchair and is very suspicious of her creepy new neighbors." Now quick close your eyes and tell me that you can't immediately see Beth's patented and hysterical Suspicious Glare staring back at you. Beth's memorably worked for Bryan before, of course - who could forget Marianne Marie Beattle, the Buffalo-based muffin-maker she played on both Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies?

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Wonderfalls (2004)

Aaron: She lives in a trailer park.

Clearly she's disturbed. I mean, clearly.

The first episode of Wonderfalls, the series that renders the phrase "too short-lived" meaningless, aired eight years ago tonight. In a perfect world we'd be right smack-dab in the middle of the 8th season right now - where do you think Jaye would be? I think that by now she would have attained nirvana and led an army of cow-creamers and Buffalo Muffins into an epic battle across the savage plains of southern Canada. Or maybe at least she'd have gotten a better job.

Pic of the Day Week Year Lifetime

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"Well Seig Heil, Miss Jenny Craig."

This weekend Bryan Fuller generously shared that picture on my Facebook from behind-the-scenes of the Wonderfalls episode titled "Muffin Buffalo," which guest-starred the always amazing Beth Grant, plus Eddie Kaye Thomas as "Fatsquatch." You should recall that Beth Grant played this character one more time over at Pushing Daisies in the episode "Comfort Food" where she faced off in a cooking competition against the Piemaker and Olive. Read a Q&A with Fuller about that here.

What I'm saying is, you really should be buying copies of Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies for everyone you know for the holidays. Do it.

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Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

"Wonderfalls" (2004)

Sharon Tyler: I am a lesbian.
The reason I'm not attracted to you
is because your genitals are on the outside.

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It's Time To Rewatch Wonderfalls

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Dontcha think? I've been thinking I need to do just that lately, I haven't seen most of the episodes in a couple of years. I mean sure I'll pop in "Muffin Buffalo" now and then if I feel the need, but I'm talking about plunking down and watching it from start to finish. And because we live in a horrible mean world it's not that hard a task to accomplish, there only being thirteen episodes. SIGH. What a world, what a world.

Perhaps it's been on my mind since Caroline Dharvernas, aka our beloved Jaye Tyler, is back on TV with that "doctors having sex in the jungle show" Off the Map? When I just now saw that Jarett at PopWrap interviewed her for the new show I knew he wouldn't let me down and Wonderfalls would come up, and it did. You rock, Jarett. Click on over to read what she thinks about the show's legacy.
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I Didn't Watch The Tonys...

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... because, well come on, have you ever heard me one of the five thousand times I've gone into too-gay panic mode over how much I just don't much like the whole musical theater thing? Yeah and then I ramble about how much I adore Kristin Chenoweth... I know... hypocrite. It's Bryan Fuller's fault! Also Bryan Fuller's fault? This post, which is just to give a shout out to the wonderful and amazing Katie Finneran, one-time lesbian sister on Wonderfalls, who won a Tony last night for her supposed-to-be fantastic performance in Promises, Promises, which I haven't seen even though it has both Finneran and Chenoweth in it. I know. I am ashamed. But super mega huge congrats to Finneran! I've known she was going places ever since I saw her mine comedy gold from an angry struggle with a seat-belt. Hooray!
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Pic of the Day

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At the Promises, Promises premiere this weekend there was a mini Pushing Daisies reunion! From left to right, that's Daisies executive producer Dan Jinks, writer Abby Gewanter, stars Kristen Chenoweth and Lee Pace, creator Bryan Fuller, star Ellen Greene, and executive producer Bruce Cohen.

And this is my apology for another week's delay in getting back to the Daisies' Ways Not To Die. I'm hoping we'll catch up next week and then by the third Thursday of May we'll be back on track. So stay tuned for that! And look at those lovely people and think about all the hours of enjoyment they did bring you, and they will continue to bring you, unfortunately just in some other form than more Daisies, at least for now. (Until we all chain ourselves to the WB offices and demand a movie that is.)

And Promises Promises is a show I might have to make an exception for. Chenoweth and Wonderfalls' Katie Finneran? Oh my god! Yes.
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Gratuitous Enrique Murciano

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A couple of things that I learned about Enrique Murciano while looking him up yesterday upon seeing the news that he'll be starring opposite Wonderfalls' Caroline Dhavernas in a new TV series. He appears to have dated or be dating the model-turned-actress (sorta - she wasn't good in Doctor Parnassus) Lily Cole.

And he also appears to be a never-nude.
This was the best I could scrounge up:

WTF, Enrique Murciano? I mean you're adorable with your big ol' giant ears and nice smile, so I'll totally still post about you, but cough up some goods, man. This isn't America's Next Top Best Friend. Wait, what? I got confused. Anyway, looking through his filmography I see he was on Spyder Games, MTV's so-brief-I-forgot-it-existed soap opera that aired one summer when I was in college, and I'm having a Holy Shit moment remembering that yes, he totally was on it, and I totally had a crush on him therein. Jesus. Spyder Games apparently isn't on DVD? But here are a couple of shitty-quality clips that involve Enrique half-naked (and in gayish situations!) so it's something:

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Like I said, something. And here's some more somethings.

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