Dan Shotz Visits Jeritopia

The following is reprinted with permission. Many thanks to Jeritopia and Schumi.

Highlights From Dan Shotz drop-by Visit to Jeritopia

"(This was not a formal scheduled chat and only abbreviated portions of the log have been reproduced here and not in full context.)


So one night, Dan Shotz walks into a bar…

As last week faded into the wee hours, and the thoughts of those revelling in JeriTopia were turning to weekend plans, a familiar name pulled up a stool and sat down in Bailey’s Tavern. Jericho co-executive producer Dan Shotz had dropped by unexpectedly to say hi and shoot the breeze with the fans hanging out in the chat room.

Fans gave Mr. Shotz a warm welcome and quickly made the most of their opportunity to pick his brain with pressing season 2 questions, lingering ones from season 1, and even a few off the wall ones as they came to mind. This wasn’t a scheduled formal chat, and as such an official full transcript will not be published, but there were a few moments worth sharing.

Dan started right off by expressing his thanks for all the hard work everyone has been doing and told folks that the fans would flip over the season 2 episodes. Fans were quick to thank him and let him know they were eagerly awaiting the premiere.

On Season 2…

danshotz


schumi - wanted to stop by and say hello to everyone

nightbird47


hi dan

Xander


hey dan

jjb_md


Thanks for stopping by!

kestral


thanks for stopping by!

danshotz


and thank you guys for the amazing work

schumi07


way cool dan

AKansan


thank you!!

kestral


thank you for an outstanding show!!

sniper101


AMEN!

nightbird47


Thank you for your wonderful work

danshotz


you guys are going to flip when you see these

jjb_md


these what?

schumi07


i can't wait dan

danshotz


i cant even be modest about them... they rock


... the 2 endings…

jjb_md


Dan, if #7 is still being edited, tell them to use the real ending because WE WANT SEASON 3!!!! :)

xwarp


LOL

doratea snickers.

danshotz


i cut both endingss

kestral


yeah...what jjb said

kestral


:)

cingramaol


I heard from Sprague today...she likes the web site. That made my month.

danshotz


but we only want to use one

schumi07


can you just lose one of them?

maybei


yeppers - Season 3!

schumi07


you know - like by accident?

sniper101


Season 3!!!!!

kestral


it could spontaneously combust

cingramaol


Find the woman who erased the Watergate tapes.

danshotz


we were going to try to burn it or just say we forgot to do it

doratea


S3 :)

jjb_md


To Infinity....and BEYOND!

xwarp


ooops.....got caught in the shredder

kestral


Season 3!!

maybei


lol yes

Morgan5318


Yes! Season 3. We want to be celebrating Season 3 at Jerichon next May!

nightbird47


lol

xwarp


and it just sucked it right up

danshotz


We wont need it, right?

AKansan


the Green's dog ate it

cingramaol


well, as I understand it...Jericho is going to be up against SVU reruns and Boston Legal reruns

cingramaol


and local programming on Fox

nightbird47


Maybe Beau ate it

xwarp


LOL

schumi07


not if we have anything to say about it dan

cingramaol


hell, I hope you get 15 million viewers. :)

maybei


lol yeah, beau chewed it

danshotz


greens dog!!!!

maybei


yes for Beau!

When several fans piped up that they had been pleased with CBS’s efforts thus far to promote Jericho, Dan said they keep pushing for more promotion from the network and that there should be a “blitz” of activity as the premiere date nears.

There was also much humorous banter that we wouldn’t be seeing Jericho: The Stage Production. So sadly that means no Jets (Jericho) / Sharks (New Bern) West Side Story rumble (as Dan pondered), no “The hills are alive with the sound of gunfire” or “There's a man in the basement with a ham radio, and the neighbors say that he's CUCKOO... [cuckoo...]” from a Jericho Sound of Music (an amusing offering from JJB_MD, and gratefully no “Viva Jericho” (really C, how could you).


On forgotten dogs…

Dan had a special message for one fan in particular, regarding Beau’s appearance in the “100 Reasons to Watch Jericho” video.

jjb_md runs to the TV when promos air

maybei


Hi Dan!!

AKansan


we're posting every time we see a promo!

schumi07


jjb is like a little jericho puppy

kestral


lol

danshotz


maybei.... the green dog in the 100 reasons was a shout out from me to you

schumi07


YAY may

maybei


thank you so much!!!!

sniper101


nice!

kestral


how cool!!


As fans have embraced Beau into their hearts, there were sadly no reports on whether Beau would ever reappear, Dan did say that Beau’s was actually a she, and her name is Eleanor.

Another tidbit from the pilot that Dan let fans in on was they were originally going to write the old man with the ham radio, Oliver, Johnston’s brother.

Dan had another direct thank you to a fan, and acknowledged XWARP’s for his effort in standing up JeriTopia. Dan: “bill set up a sweet chat room here - nod to xwarp”. Dan had many complimentary things to say about his visit and the fans he found there, and sent email after exiting the chat thanking the members of JeriTopia for such a warm welcome.


On Heather/Jake/Emily…

danshotz


you will love this guys

danshotz


today in a presssss junket

danshotz


they assked about the heather/jake/emily feud

jjb_md


feud???

schumi07


emily - who's emily?

xwarp


oh my

danshotz


lol

maybei


lol

xwarp


LOL

The_Blob hums Gap Band's \You Dropped A Bomb On Me\""

chgo4jericho


lol

doratea


LOL

cingramaol


someone ALWAYS asks about Heather/Jake. I think Ausiello is tired of the questions.

kestral


eh...I'll take Stimi over that any day

cingramaol


(no, it's not me LOL)

danshotz


we told the story of jerichon

schumi07


YAY

The_Blob


Cing, you got all the John Doe's on DVD???

nightbird47


yeah

danshotz


the Debate

xwarp


nice

cingramaol


Blob, I have them from Sci-Fi. I don't know why that show has not been officially released.

AKansan


C won the debate, hands down!

schumi07


it was no debate - C was awesome

cingramaol


The debate was fun. I have offered to reprise.

Dan also let C and the other chatters know that the Heather and Jake thread (H&J) on the CBS Message Board had also been a topic of discussion at the press junket earlier in the day. H&J is on target to hit more than 800,000 views for a single thread before the season 2 premiere airs in February.


On the Season 2 DVDs…

cingramaol


Dan, is the thank-you reel and other such things going to be in the Season 2 DVD set?

cingramaol


Or is that too far down the road?

The_Blob


btw cing, my buddy called off work today to finish watching the DVDs

danshotz


possibly - i am doing four commentariess next week too for the dvd

kestral


Oh wow...

maybei


oh cool!

kestral


DVD season 2????

kestral


yea!!!

cingramaol


I figure...only 7 episodes...lots of room for extras

jjb_md


With only 7 episodes, I would really hope for a LOT of bonus material in the DVD set

jjb_md


great minds....

danshotz


and commentaries for the deleted scenes

danshotz


there will be a ton

maybei


awesome!

nightbird47


cool

Antonicus


cool

jjb_md


yay!

cingramaol


BTW, I wondered why the Black Jack commentary was not included in the first-season set

xwarp


will it have the alternate ending too?

Antonicus


jinx

sniper101


are there going to be any out takes?

danshotz


i agree - ty

danshotz


i dont know what happened there

jjb_md


oh yeah, blooper reel would be fun

cingramaol


and it's gone from Innertube, too. :(

cingramaol


I never did get to hear the darn thing.

danshotz


annoying

danshotz


i will find out

cingramaol


Ditto for the Winter's End commentary, although I was especially keen to hear Black Jack

cingramaol


that was a great show

maybei


yes

AKansan


one of my favorites

danshotz


was heather in blackjack, clarke? :)

maybei


and doing screen shots - OMG, tons of stuff to look at

cingramaol


Is the Pope Catholic?

Dan also let the fans know that there are plans for lots of behind the scenes stuff on the season 2 DVD. Alas however, no word on if this means both the shot endings for s2 will be included. No word however on when season 2 would be available on DVD. He said that most likely depended on the status of season 3. Dan originally the DVD release depended on whether they came back and he was quickly corrected to WHEN by ever hopeful fans. He did add however if there is a season 3, it would come out in the fall.


On has Jericho changed you…

For all the humor and questions about season 2, some of the questions were personal and quite poignant, like the one XWARP put to Dan, asking if Jericho had changed how he thinks he would try to survive:

xwarp


working a story line like this, has it changed your thinking of how you would try to survive if a real jericho occured?

maybei


Xwarp - good idea

danshotz


yes... i thought about what I would need... and then the wife and I got an earthquake kit

The_Blob


good for you dan

danshotz


east coasters forget to do that when they move wesst

hrayton


yup. :) earthquake kits rock!

danshotz


so i have that stuff

xwarp


good deal

danshotz


but no suits

jjb_md


extra shock absorbers???

schumi07


hopefully it includes more than a movie from the 70's

nightbird47


west coast people forget about that too

xwarp


nuts?

danshotz


i will go to set and get lennie's

cingramaol


I've had food and water in the basement since 9/11. And batteries. Lots of batteries.

xwarp


you have bags of peanuts right?

xwarp


LOL

hrayton


lol

Antonicus


lol

sniper101


lol

maybei


lol

chgo4jericho


lol

nibbers


i still got my storable food from y2k

Antonicus gets his bottle of scotch out and purs himself a shot

danshotz


the press asked uss that today

Antonicus


pours*

danshotz


about the nuts... they think we got them

jjb_md


we get heavy snow and power outages in the mid-Atlantic at times.... good to have food, water, batteries, even a genny

maybei


oh how funny

danshotz


we never got peanutss

sniper101


yes JJB

danshotz


the network did - we got those sweet water bottles

On a more pressing current issue, Dan said the strike is really tough “but great for our little show that could”. He went on to say that they really deserve it and that hard work really does pay off, and while the strike is hard on them, everyone was doing well, and they are all excited to see the new episodes air. That is what’s keeping them all going.


Final thoughts…

After just over an hour, it was finally time for Dan to leave. Everyone made sure to get in some final best wishes, and Dan had some final thoughts to share with those present.

danshotz


let me say one thing

danshotz


these episodes are so strong and episode 7 is unlike any episode on tv

xwarp


yes

doratea


Can't wait.

Starry_Nite


wow, OMG I can't wait! Less than a month to go!

danshotz


they better bring us back

schumi07 sitting on edge of seat until April

cingramaol


damn skippy

chgo4jericho


they will!

ushi007


wait

sniper101


Season 3!!!!

nightbird47


is it feb 12 yet???

danshotz


keep up the hard work... thank you thank you thank you

jjb_md


THANK YOU!

doratea


Thank you. :)

sniper101


thank you Dan!!

Morgan5318


Thank you, Mr. Shotz, for everything you, the cast and crew have given us.

maybei


thank you Dan!!!

sniper101


Jericho rocks!

jjb_md


Thanks DAN!

Starry_Nite


Yes, thank you!

cingramaol


Thank you, Dan.

nightbird47


we couldn't be here if you guys hadn't done such great work

Morgan5318


Okay, everyone, start buying Power Ball tickets! We win the lottery, we can fund Season 3!

cingramaol


Great to see you here.

schumi07


and jerichon morgan

Starry_Nite


we can buy CBS!

Starry_Nite


just have Jericho on all the time, every night LOL

nightbird47


lol

jjb_md


The Jericho Channel

Starry_Nite


LOL jjb

schumi07


J-TV

nightbird47


without wearing out dvd's

danshotz


thank you for ssaying that - i have never been so proud of anything in my life (except convincing my wife to marry me)

Morgan5318


Lol

xwarp


lol

Morgan5318


She married a very talented guy. :)

sniper101


lol

nightbird47


lol

danshotz


Night everyone... Happy New Year... Year of Jericho

With that, Dan was gone. But he clearly enjoyed his visit to JeriTopia and agreed to come back again sometime to sit down with fans for a more formal Q/A session when the air date gets closer. His only request for the next chat: “Can the whole conversation be about three things: beau/Eleanor... Heather... the lighter from 14”.

And seeing that the cast & crew knows about some even the most unusual things that intrigue Jericho fans, means all the world to them.



(chat highlights provided by schumi)

A Monster Fan Interview: Schumi

Everybody who participated in Nuts knows who Schumi is. She gave us Mission Orders, calmed fears, inspired, motivated, taught, and believed in us. Schumi is a class act. She is a one of a kind and a true Jericho fan. She has a real life so we don't see as much of her as we once did but she's still here. How does she feel now that Nuts is over? Keep reading.


1. During the Nuts campaign was there ever a time when you thought "This will never work"?

Sure. There were plenty of times during the Save Jericho campaign that I thought we wouldn't succeed, but if you're trying to rally people you can't very well say that. I'd hear one thing or another about the direction the campaign needed to talk. I was working with a number of really talented people. We would discuss things decide on a course of action, but in the end it was the same throughout: send card/letters, call, send email, if you can send nuts. It's one of those situations where you know the odds are completely stacked against what you are trying to accomplish, but if you don't at least try, you can never succeed.



2. How difficult was it to get people to understand that there were some things you couldn't say like who your sources were?

Extremely. It is still an issue I deal with 3 months after we've gotten the show back. My favorite perpetuating rumor that still lingers is that I work for CBS or am somehow a mole for CBS. Nothing could be further from the truth. I don't even work in the entertainment industry. But people don't always realize that sometimes information crosses your desk and that information usually has strings attached - the most common of which is "you can't tell anyone I told you". Others include things like its background information only to help you plan but you can't outright post it anywhere and on an extremely rare occasion your allowed to actually straight up say "I heard xxxx."



3. How did you feel when Nina Tassler said the show had been renewed?

Absolutely elated and then stunned. I couldn't believe we'd pulled this off in just 3 weeks (almost to the hour). It was absolutely incredible. I was so proud of the effort all the fans put out to save this show and look upon it as one of the most incredible things in my life I've had the privilege to be part of.



4. How did you become addicted to Jericho?

Jericho first crossed my radar about 6 months before the upfronts. I’m pretty good at using IMDB to see what projects directors and actors I like are attached to and so of course I noticed when it was rumored that Skeet would be attached to Jericho. So I started paying attention. The concept really grabbed me as something that would be interesting – such a unique premise as opposed to the tired ones we see constantly being recycled. But still I thought “not a prayer in hell of getting greenlit.” Every year in May, I watch to see what drivel the networks hope to pan off on the viewing audience each year. Imagine my surprise to see Jericho on the schedule.

Jericho has really been the little show that could all along. For a concept this unique to get the green light – amazing. For a pilot to be shot and actually make it on air – incredible (and that was when I was completely hooked – that opening shot of the train along the river paired with the music was a great way to start off this series). Then factor in the early pickup for a complete season and the resurrection from the dead in just weeks – well really beyond words.



5. Do you believe there will be a 3rd season?

Yes. I don’t believe CBS brought the show back for 7 and only 7, but the ratings need to be there.


6. What should fans be doing now to promote the show?

Talking about it. Not talking about promoting it – talking about the show. Sharing with all these new people just now discovering it why you’re so passionate about it. People don’t understand promoting something until they have embraced it as their own. We need to get back to participating in the Mythology, Residents, Cast, Episode and Fan Fiction boards and get back to what locked us all in here to begin with.

If you’ve introduced someone to the show, follow up with them each week on Monday maybe. As them what they thought, see if there’s something they don’t understand, of course try to get them to watch the front half of the season when most of us fell in love with Jericho. Yes DVD sales are important and will help to a certain extent but what we really need are more people for whom Jericho is Must See TV, more butts on couches, etc… each week watching the show and then talking about it in the days between episodes.



7. What is the most important lesson you learned from the Nuts campaign?

Patience and persistence. The Save Jericho campaign required a lot of patience. Things take time to work. There isn’t always time to explain to everyone why something was done or why it was done certain way. People don’t understand and get frustrated. You have to patiently ignore all the negative and stay on course. Not that you should be rigid in your approach. You need to be flexible enough to make adjustments as needed and patient enough to explain what you can (and hope people will ask question rather than keep things bottled up). But in the end you have to be willing to see things through to the end, no matter what the obstacles are.


8. Is there anything, looking back, that you feel we should have done differently?

Hard to say, because in the end what we did worked. I’m sure faced with the same situation again, of course there would be things done differently. I’d never done anything like this before. This is the first fandom I’ve ever been a part of. Everything was a learning experience. Not everything was perfect and I’m a person who truly believes if you don’t look back at the past with a critical eye now and then, you’ll just make the same mistakes in the future.



9. Is there anything you would like to say to the fans?


You all did an amazing, history-making job. Everyone who did anything, even if it was to tell someone else about the campaign, deserves the credit for saving the show. No effort was better than anyone else's. All should all be proud and stand up to take a bow.

There will always be differing opinions as we all bring our unique experiences to the table with us and base our view of something on those. We succeeded by moving past differences and sticking together on a few well defined initiatives. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t many more completely commendable initiatives out there that people came up with and got others to support. But not everyone can support everything.

If we always approach each other presuming each one of us has nothing but the best of intentions in our words and actions and we treat one another the way we want to be treated, then there is no way we can’t get a season 3 for Jericho.

See you all at Jerichon 2007 in Oakley, KS.


10. What are you doing now to promote Jericho?

Talking about the show. Yes I’ve bought my DVDs (a few copies in fact), etc… but the main thing is telling people about the show and then following up with them after. And most of these people don’t use the internet for anything more than e-mail. They don’t go to message boards. They don’t surf for web sites and blogs. They are just normal every day people who I think might like this little show.