"Where Movie Critics Get A Taste Of Their Own Medicine"
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Riverside cast responds to first two episodes
of "Invasion Iowa" March 18th, 2005 |
Criticdoctor.com recently obtained a videotape from Spike-TV consisting of the first two episodes of William Shatner's "Invasion Iowa" and invited members of the local cast and crew to Riverside, Iowa to watch a private screening. The new five episode reality show will begin airing on March 29th on Spike-TV thru April 1st).
What a memorable and exciting experience to see the stars of this TV show watch each other contend with William Shatner's crazy pranks while thinking they were being filmed in a real Hollywood movie. I think you can tell by their facial expressions they were having a good time. Below are actual photos taken at the private screening:
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Riverside's Scotty, Carol and their son Travis Riggan opened up their home for the screening to about twenty five people with loads of food (everyone contributed a side-dish) including Leanne Sexton (she played Ma), Wayne Simon (he played Pa), Scotty Riggan (William Shatner's personal assistant), Brooke Lemke (she played Linda, Shatner's love interest), Diana Schultz (the cue card lady), Steve Miller (the man who 20 years ago declared Riverside, Iowa the future birthplace of "Star Trek's" Captain James T. Kirk), Bill Poch (Riverside's mayor) and Andrea Pollite (an extra).
Everyone was a bit nervous. And who wouldn't be? These folks are about to be beamed into 88 million homes on Spike-TV! Would the show's producers, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, William Shatner and others live up to their words and portray the participants in a positive light?
The best people to answer questions like these are the one's who were involved. Here is the official response of the local "Invasion Iowa" cast & extras:
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Brooke Lemke (Linda) "I think through the entire preview of the first two episodes I was laughing so hard that at the end of the night my cheeks hurt so bad. And at a couple of spots I was laughing to the point of crying. And I wasn't the only one. It was great!" |
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Diana Schultz (cue card lady) "I do wish they would have forgotten the "victory yell", however, I did get a good laugh at myself. I think if I can take a good laugh at myself, so can everyone else. I think that when the show airs that anyone who watches it will enjoy it. It will be quite refreshing from the other reality shows that are on and have been on in the past." |
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Leanne Sexton (Ma) "I haven't laughed that hard for a long time--it is really funny & fun to watch! My hope is that everyone will laugh with us. The question I have is: 'Is this funny because we were there or because I was involved and know the people?' Hollywood fell in love with us and I believe the millions of viewers will fall in love with small town America!" |
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Wayne Simon (Pa) "I was pleased with what I saw. They didn't treat anyone bad or make us look like fools. There are a lot of other silly things I did while we were filming and they may show up in other episodes. My mother was in a few scenes, too. I look forward to seeing the other three episodes. I was very happy with it and I look forward to seeing the other three episodes." |
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Scotty Riggan (Shatner's Personal Assistant) "Invasion Iowa" - what a blast! Stay close to that TV screen. This is a show you will not want to miss. It is one of the highlights of my life - and my family had the time of their life, too. We became close friends and he was like a father to me. I was very honored to have the title Personal assistant to Shatner. Had some good laughs and some tears. Remember - we celebrate Captain J. T. Kirk the last weekend always in June. TREK FEST |
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Steve Miller (Mr. Future Birthplace of Capt. Kirk) "It was fun to watch. It was really funny for us because we knew everybody and we're really together watching it, too. I certainly hope that translates to other people. I like some of the stuff they did like inserting the price of beef and showing a cow. It was as good as I anticipated. It's still kind of a dream-like sequence. We had hoped for so many years we would be able to get Bill Shatner here and when he comes for almost two weeks and becomes part of the community - it goes beyond my wildest expectations." |
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Bill Blank (Punk) "It's more fast-paced than I had expected it to be - which is good. I think it's funny and brilliant just like I thought - it's living up to expectations so far." |
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Jim Pickering (Priceline.com promoter) "I'll kick Rhett Reese's ass! And Paul Wernick? Don't think you're safe either. Oh, and William Shatner, I wrote a song about you." |
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Bill Poch (Mayor of Riverside, Iowa) "I think it's funny. I think it's good. I think it will be successful. It's true humor - what you see is what you get. It's real, reality. It's amazing in life how everyday life can be so funny." |
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Andrea Politte (played an extra in a church scene) "Watching the first two episodes, with my Riverside |
The room was often filled with laughter and everyone occasionally teased each other from time to time - just having fun with it all. When the show concluded, the cast hung around to indulge themselves in food and drink reflecting on their experiences with William Shatner, the producers and film crew. It was sometimes emotional, kind of like watching a segment of the Oprah Show - only without the TV cameras and Diane Schultz playing host as she called on the names of each cast member to give their opinion on the show. I won't forget this day and neither will they.
Jim Pickering and Bill Blank was not able to make it to the Riggan's house, so I took the tape over to Pickering's place the next day. Blank drove up just to watch the show. We had a blast. More on that in a forthcoming column.
On March 22, Riverside will hold an advance screening of "Invasion Iowa" for the general public. For more details, click here!
I will leave with some images of the night.
-- Critic Doctor
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