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| ABC’s crack security professionals worked their party |
PASADENA, CA–If you want to clear a room and bring a party to a full stop, call ABC.
Nobody does it better.
The folks who run “the happiest place on earth” run a tight ship down here on press tour. They hosted an all-star cocktail reception Friday night, allowing reporters three hours to chat with the stars of their new mid-season series, including one I really like, Resurrection (featuring Francis Fisher, Kurtwood Smith, Omar Epps and Canadian-born Matt Craven). A few stars from returning shows, such as Revenge, Neighbours and Trophy Wife, were also in the house.
On the dot of 9 p.m., ABC’s crack security team swept the room, forcing critics–as well as the remaining stars at the ABC party–the hell out of the ballroom. This wasn’t a couple of kids in ABC page jackets. These were big, burly, security pros–plenty of them–showing everybody the door. Now.
The swift shut down was not a total surprise. ABC is run with Disney precision and the network has never been famous for being cozy with critics. It seems as if they generally view us as hitchhikers with pets.
The end of Friday’s ABC cocktail party seemed to take things to a whole new level. I felt like Dan Rather in ’68 on the floor of the Democratic National Convention. All that was missing were hoses and rottweilers.
Other networks at press tour are less stringent about end times. Hell, the FX party is probably still swinging.
