Yesterday (Friday), I hauled myself out of bed at 4:00 am for a LIVE interview on the Fox Business Network show Money for Breakfast. They were discussing the rise in scifi on TV and how shows like Battlestar Galactica and Spike TV’s Star Wars marathon are breaking ratings records. It was a pretty last minute deal, so I’m glad I was able to work it out. The show is filmed live in New York at a decent hour but since I’m in another time zone, I had to be awake and alert at a time when I’m usually just heading off to bed.

Luckily, I didn’t have to drive into Los Angeles, as there is a fabulous satellite studio called Post Modern in Irvine near the John Wayne Airport. According to their wall of fame, John Schneider and Kevin McCarthy have both filmed there. I was one of the rare folks who recognized McCarthy and went, “ooh, ooh,” over him. Seriously, what’s wrong with people? Rent the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, folks.

The studio guys, Chris and Jay made me feel so comfortable. They explained how it all was going to work (my first live remote). The trickiest part was remembering to look directly at the camera. Years of TV and movie shoots have trained me to do the exact opposite, so it was a bit strange.

Then there’s remember to smile, shoulders down, head up, don’t watch the monitor it’s on a delay. Listen to what they’re saying in your ear piece and remember to react even if they aren’t talking to you. Oh, and answer the questions as if you’re an intelligent human being who knows what they’re talking about. . . that’s a big one. In the end, they got a cable advertising guy in studio to talk numbers so I only answered two questions. Overall, a very nice segment and a nice boost for scifi fans.

On a totally different note, I just saw that Burke’s Law: Season 1 - Volume 1 is coming out on DVD on April 28th. This is a terrific show that you must check out. The show stars Gene Barry as a millionaire police chief and it’s so witty and well written and the star power on this show is insane! Each episode is packed with names you’ll know from 60’s TV mixed with a ton of classic movie stars. It’s also the first regular series for Land of the Giants star Gary Conway, and boy is he young. It’s one of those shows that, as a writer, I think, ‘wow, I wish I’d written that.’ Cozy murder mysteries with a campy, film noir twist - - it’s Burke’s Law