Our New York week comes to a close with a disarmingly impressive Upfront from Fox. All their major stars lined up on stage: immaculately groomed, scandalously glamorous. They looked like they’ve been beamed in from another planet, another dimension, some future time zone where evolution has advanced one step further… I felt, in their presence, like the nauseating villain in a Dickens novel. Amongst the sparkling glitterati was 24 star Kiefer Sutherland. I once took his Dad, Donald Sutherland, out for lunch. I tell you this because I tell absolutely everyone this.
Peter Ligouri, their Entertainment Chair, was very excited about the new shows his network will be airing. First up in their schedule was Fringe from Lost creator JJ Abrams, a sort of scientific X-Files starring Joshua Jackson – the nice boy from Dawson’s Creek. Then there was Dollhouse from Joss Whedon, about a secret organisation that implants skills into their operatives. A neat trick, I thought, seeing the potential applications for some people I know…
Fox also made the biggest announcement of the week: 24 is to be the first carbon neutral production. Baffled by eco-science and green-talk, I was both impressed and puzzled. Leaving the Upfront, we were confronted by lumbering cows penned up on the street. It was either a promotional gimmick connected to Fringe… or I’d drunk too much at lunch. Or, conceivably, a combination of the two.
