Why we should all go live in New Zealand…

Well, it’s true…apparently some of you Felmoians will get to see our special super secret last five episodes from our previous season very soon…if you don’t live in the US, Canada or Mexico!  Here’s the deal—our international buyers got all our episodes when we completed them last season, and will be running them without a break for re-runs (as we are doing here in the US).  So some of you will get to see “Chemical Reactions” (our next episode up) as early as this week.  Aargh.  I am happy for all you foreigners (and not just because you get to sit in piazzas and have espressos and speak beautiful languages) , but I’m sad for the North America fans.   While they get to watch all the re-runs, they don’t get these new episodes until the Fall.  So, I need to ask all you lucky people outside of North America a huge favor.   Zip it. Keep your mouths shut. No spilling the beans!  Keep the spoilers to yourselves.  You know what I’m saying.   Let’s try to give all of us on this continent a chance to enjoy all the craziness of these episodes when they air in October.  A little plus for you North American fans—we are shooting a “season opener” episode that will come before these five episodes and really kick us off with a bang (or a cyclone?)  So, that’s something, right? 

Jenny

Comments

[KTinVA]

Oh Jenny :O

You are asking a lot!

With YT, msg boards, Anne's website, etc., it will be practically impossible to avoid being
*spoiled* before the epi's
air in North America.

What are tptb smokin' over there at abc anyway? First they pull "Another World" off SOAPnet 'before'
Anne's final performance {yes, it's up on YT}, and
now release *our* show differently around the globe. YT vids go "global" overnight~so the unseen material will probably surface before the fall airdates.

I'm just grateful we have a season2 on the horizon. I'm also thrilled the show & the players will be considered for Emmy Awards.

We can hardly wait to see any MEN IN TREES you can give us...so let's get the party started!

*Fanne* & *Felmo* KT

[mitkid, CA]

Jenny... That isn't fair. How can that happen to us.

I say we North Americans cut off all foreign aid and close our embassies to any country who spills the beans and publicly spoils it for us (lol)!!!

[NZ - fan]

OK. My mouth is zipped!!!!!

Locked... key thrown away (well, put in safe spot)... just like Marin did on her trip to Vancouver with Jack and he told her to zip it ;-)

But... I really do think you should all hop on down to the nearest travel agent and book yourselves tickets to New Zealand ASAP!!!

It is true - we are having no break in between that VERY indecent proposal and the episodes that follow.

Boy oh boy... is ABC gonna get hate mail now. I bet you a million bucks!!!

I know you will all be itching to know what happens... but do try to stay spoiler free. I am as weak as water and read every spoiler in sight after about Episode 3 so have known everything that's been going on in MiT in advance... until now. So I am very much looking forward to viewing THE FAMOUS 5 spoiler-free... and I urge you to do the same.

Oh............ how exciting!!!!!

[NZ - fan]

P.S.

I really do think ABC is incredibly mean to do this to the American and Mexican viewers!!!!!

Unbelievable!!!!

[Bella]

Hey, that's not fair!
I'm moving to Europe this summer, so I guess I'll miss those 5 episodes. Not there yet to see them, not here anymore when they air here. Will they be available on DVD at some point???

[Diane]

How much is a ticket to New Zealand?

[FC]

Okay, this is going to be very hard to resist. After waiting with anticipation for so long, I don't think I will be able to help myself. As much as I would love to see the eps fresh in the fall, I may peek at a spoiler or two! That said, it wont change whether or not I watch in the fall. I am (like so many others) a full fledged addict.

[Donna]

Well, huge thanks from New Zealand fans for the lovely stories and inhabitants of MIT, and, as it's the only TV show I religiously watch, soooo glad that we get to see the last five episodes of Season 1 - starting next week!! Really sorry for you North American fans, I was gutted when I thought I'd have to wait until at least September for new episodes. Great to hear you have Gilmore Girls writers joining the MIT staff - they really know how to bring the funny, can't wait for new season either!

[Felmoberman]

I think I may just have to move to New Zealand. I have an excuse now, besides the fact that it's beautiful there. Maybe I can visit Mordor while I'm there.

I will be patient. I just hope that no one will post spoilers to my I Hate Lynn yahoo group. I'm a sucker for spoilers and I'll be weak and read them if they're put in front of me.

[Erica]

Will you please let us know when the first episode is going to air, I would like to DVR it please. Don't want to give abc another chance to take it away lol. Thanks for all the wonderful updates!!!

[Canadian]

Thanks for the continous updates Jenny! As long as Men in Trees comes back on the air I'm happy!!! I just love the show!!!!

[butterflieslost]

I reallllly love your show and am so glad to hear that it will be coming back on, although not soon enough for me. I feel that ABC really messed up leaving the season hanging like they did.

[Shum in Brazil]

We didn't get the last 5 episodes in Brazil. We'll have to wait just like the unlucky ones. So much for sunshine and beaches.

One thing - I really love the music from the show! Ditty Bops and Amy Winehouse?! To the person responsible for the picks: thank you very much!

[Jenejoy]

What is ABC thinking? Of course it is going to be spoiled by those FELMOS who know how to use the internet. I promise I will turn the other way and not spoil it. And for those of you who plan to attack and search out the information....PLEASE watch them again when they air in the Fall so ABC can see the massive fanbase this show has.

[Amy]

Thank God you'll be back on soon, even if it is just re-runs! The summer can't go by fast enough though for the new episodes to come on! Also Jenny, why can't we view the episodes online anymore?

[jorcam]

HAVE BEEN WAITING ALONG TIME TO BE BACK CAN HARDLY WAIT

[Down East]

Life is funny sometimes and you just have to laugh.

Are there tee shirts that say..."What was ABC thinking?" and similar verbiage? There should be.

Welcome back, Jenny.

I guess I can handle a few spoilers from Mordor. As long as they don't gloat over seeing the five unaired season finale episodes, especially in light of our begging and pleading to the implacable abc execs.

The title "Chemical Reactions" is quite, quite--and I'm putting it mildly, a tantelizing teaser in light of knowing it will be shown elsewhere but not here.

We've been doing an MIT cold turkey stint since Februrary. Then, we read this flirtatious little coquette of a title called, "Chemical Reactions???" Oh dear! Are we going to make it till next week?

MIT is so good, a couple of spoilers can't really spoil it.

The MIT experience is the sum of all its parts and what our imaginations add to it, not just the "what happens" plot reduced to a synopsis of words on someone's web site. Nope. It's the actual show that makes it what it is.

But the Lynn/Jack baby/marriage thing will be hard for folks to keep a lid on. And I'm thinking there might be some Emmy winning performances there, but we won't get to see any of that till....next fall.

SIGH!

No matter how noble or credible Jack's reasons were for sacrificing what he desires and wants which lie other than with Lynn and her baby, no matter how needy she may be--although I don't see Lynn and the word "needy" as being in the same sentence; it's somewhat tainted, and a little bit dishonorable of Jack.

It's a human tragedy to ignore or go against what your heart tells you is right and good. Romantics that we are. Whatever noble gesture Jack made on Lynn's behalf, he hurt Marin in the process. That was part of the deal, no matter how it's justified.

His being a nice guy and doing right was at Marin's expense. It's not a purely noble act. It becomes a flawed act of good intentions because he had to hurt Marin in order to "save" or "protect" Lynn.

His sacrifice was really at Marin's expense. She's paid the price. We haven't really "seen" Jack hurting or paying any dues.

His nobility on behalf of Lynn is tainted because he sacrificed something honorable, like true love for that which is not true. It was based on pretense of wishful thinking. He sacrificed Marin's love, for a love he no longer feels, that he can't get back and recapture. That's dishonest. I wonder if Lynn realizes Jack doesn't love her, the way you'd want a man to love you. Will she settle for less? So far. So that makes his act of sacrifice even more tainted because he's lying to Lynn and to himself and everyone.

To the doghouse! It's the doghouse for you, Jack!!

Season Two: Jack sweats it out in the doghouse.

But first, we'll have to settle in for summer repeats to get ourselves back in gear and re-oriented in the right direction.

Let's talk about the Season One DVDS.

Dear Santa,

We want LOTS of extras. Do not squelch. Include many interviews with the cast and crew and especially the writers!!!!
I want to hear what Ann Heche has to say about her take on the character of Marin and how she approaches the role compared to other stuff she's worked on.

Include those podcasts that are up on the website. Those who are still on dial up :) can't access them.

Add lots of footage of you guys working out and talking about the stories and about the characters.

A tour of ELmo. You might even want to add a cd of MIT songs with the DVD.

Oh!!!!! Here's my personal request!!! This would be Ultra Cool.

If you guys chose an episode or Two or Three!!! OR ALL!! As many as you can handle to do audio commentaries over them. I know you can't do all of them now. You're busy. It takes time. But it would be good to do a few of them. Do more later with the perspective of time.

You can have the director, actors, producer, editor, writers...whoever you think would have interesting insights about the particular episodes you choose.

You've seen audio commentaries offered on dvds. Some are really good and others blah, because those are mostly - about special effects. It's so neat to hear what the cast and crew and creators have to say about a show while their viewing it in real time. Because every scene and sequence triggers a thought or memory or a backstory. Personally, I'm not that interested in the commentaries where they get carried away about special effects. YAWN!!! At least keep that extra separate for the special effects junkies...otherwise, Enough Already! I can see there being an extra about the setting of Elmo.

There was a wonderful audio commentary for "The Quiet American" dvd, with Michael Caine. Man, what he had to say about playing the role of THomas Fowler, about what he thought about himself as an an actor, and some of the scenes, but mostly about acting, man, it was really impressive.

Like Jack's character, the part of Thomas Fowler, as Caine said, "we trust him, his humanity, and it requires a particular kind of actor, not just a skilled technician but someone who can open up his heart to the audience -- and allows the audience to understand the emotions fueling the character's actions and decisions, no matter how extreme they are."

Like Jack dumping Marin to go back to Lynn and marry her.

"The audience doesn't have to condone what he does but at least they'll always be with him -- because the actor allows them to get inside his heart."

After all this time to reflect, I think Tupper gave a tragic sense of sadness to Jack throughout the season, mostly from the beginning till he returns to Lynn. Ann brought the same out with Marin towards the end of "our cut off season". Amazing performances!

Jack started out as rather a broken down guy. Broken in spirit and in heart. A loner, a relatively lonely guy who prefers to work out in the woods with the critters. There's definately something sad about him right from the start of the show, whether it was intentional or not.

I'm going to be mindful of that when I watch the reruns. Jack has wounds literally and symbollically that haven't healed--and perhaps will never heal, the way he's going about things. Putting his chances at happiness.

Jack has issues about his father's tragic death. He saw him die. In addition, there's his bully brother always getting on his case, putting him down. Is it just brotherly teasing or is there something more to it? Jack carries a bullet in his lung. He's got a certain fragility to him, although he's this strong mountain man. And yet, by the end of the season he's involved with the same woman who hurt him before, trying to do the right thing by her.

Only, this time, he had to hurt Marin in the process of trying to make things right with Lynn.

I think Jack is terribly sad, no matter how his getting together with Lynn came about. That's the kind of stuff tragedy is made of.

Jack is a tragic character. His brother ridicules him, Lynn manipulates him. He doesn't like to be around a lot people. What does it mean that he would marry a woman he doesn't really love except as an old childhood girlfriend? Jack has some serious flaws which makes for a fascinating character study. I think the juxtaposition of tragedy and comedy works very well together.

But there's definately some missing scenes, and they are all Tupper's, they are what's missing from our closure. Get him out on a mountain or something to show us he cares. That would bring credibilty, that vulnerability, complexity and intelligence to Jack's somewhat ambiguous and shadowy character.

Recognition. We're missing some kind of recognition from Jack, for what he's done. That's what the viewer needs to see.

What I was hoping to see over the last five episodes of the season and perhaps into season two was Jack what Jack feels about having hurt Marin, about losing Marin in order to make it right with Lynn. What does the loss of Marin mean to Jack? We don't know.
Is he taking it lightly?
It seems so.
We dont' really know.
Is he distracted because of Lynn, the marriage and the baby?
Perhaps. We can only guess.
Does he think about Marin while he's with Lynn?
Perhaps. There was one lovely scene while they were walking down the road and Marin rides by on her bike. It SHOWED Jack removing his hand from Lynn's or something like that. Beautiful.

But there is a problem.

That's the kind of stuff that has been missing ever since he took up with Lynn again.

Forgive me, it's been a long time since Februrary.

Anyway, that kind of stuff.

Jack lost something of great value and there needs to be some kind of response or reaction.

We haven't seen his reaction--except that hand holding scene.

We, the viewer need to see Jack's take on all of this, on what he's done, how he feels about it. Without seeing those scenes of Jack's recognition for what he's done, we're left to think, as Marin does, that Jack is perfectly okay with everything.

That doesn't sit well with us.

I'd like to see something though. This is where an actor who knows the character, and the writers will figure out how he's feeling and how he's going to respond and play it out. Who knows how people will react to loss. YOu just don't know till it happens.

It's such an important pivital needed sequence of scenes. I also think that you don't want any witnesses to see what Jack feels, except us, the viewer.

Maybe he's in the middle of the forest, or up on the mountain when own ups to what he suddenly realizes what he's lost. Or he's in a bar in another town with complete strangers and gets drunk and belligerent and gets beaten up. Maybe the recognition comes when he finds himself with a woman who he uncharacteristcially picked up in another town. Or she picked him up because he looks lonely and lost. He picked her because she looks like Marin, but she isn't Marin. That shows us a lot about his reaction to his losing Marin.

Everyone reacts in different ways. But we need to see Jack's reaction after a terrific build up of this tragically vulnerable character.

It's pay off time. Time to deliver the goods.

Again, no one from Elmo has to see how Jack feels except us! They may be intuitive enough to guess what Jack's hiding, that's all right. Jack keeps things close to the vest.
And he's a guy and a lot of these outdoors guys don't talk about that stuff the way women do. So, any feelings will mostly be mostly visually expressed, with a minimum of words, if any.

That's what the viewer is owed. To see how Jack really feels about losing Marin, about hurting Marin deeply. It's going to bring some sense of emotional closure to this past year, no matter what happens with Lynn.

I don't know if that's included in the five episodes we won't see till fall. If it is not in those five episodes, it really must be inluded in Season Two.

Important stuff that can't be ignored for too much longer.

I keep checking the what's on this week on ABC's schedule and MIT is still not listed. I hope you are right. I wont hold my breath. I am very dissapointed in ABC.

[karen a]

I'm so glad to find this site. Thought 'Men' was lost for good. Charleston station people didn't know anything when I called. Not a real surprise, they're southerners.Will wait for new season and watch/tape reruns (vcr works) until then.

[victoria nyc]

awesome !!!!

[Trish]

I cannot wait until the new episodes start airing I was so scared that MIT wasn't coming back but after my boyfriend told me he googled it for me and it was, I was so excited but now that I see I have to wait till octoberish Im so bummed. But as long as it keeps coming back...I will be a loyal and excited fan. It is my new FAVORITE show and I cannot wait.

[Amanda]

Yet another reason not to live in the US. Ugh...I'm really losing respect in ABC though.

[cassandra]

I love spoilers! I'm also still mad that I've had to wait more than 4 months for my favorite tv show.

[Roni]

I have to say i was just about to give up on Elmo!!! I am just so happy and excited that our little show that could is coming back!!! and we have an actual date now!!! YIPPEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cant wait i have missed my fellow felmoians...its great to have you back.

[Donna, NL, Canada]

Oh Jenny.........let's all pack up and move to New Zealand. I'm going to have to stop blogging here....I don't want to know what happens in Elmo until I can see it for myself! I was just feeling happy about being able to get re-runs for the summer (which start tonight *S*). It will be torture knowing that another country will get the scoop on our gang before we do *sigh*. Hopefully the fans who get to see those 5 secret episodes will do as you say....AND ZIP IT!!!! Even after all of that.......can't wait until October!!!