Blue Mountain State (and other dirty questions answered)

I had the opportunity to appear as an extra on Spike TV's Blue Mountain State last week. My friend Kris is an executive producer on the show and asked me to do it as a favor. I normally cringe at showbiz related activities but opted to do it for a day.

The role I was offered was a non-speaking one as an assistant football coach playing poker. The opportunity to get paid to sit around a poker table was far greater than losing money while doing the same. That was reason enough to say yes. I'm thankful for the non-speaking part as my acting skills suck. Some people shouldn't act. I'm one of them.

There were 7 small scenes shot on the day most of which were at a cigar filled poker table. My years of playing poker in the hoods of Los Angeles with Derek Harvie were going to pay off dividends. Who knew they ever would?

It was a fun but long 14 hour day spent on the BMS sound stage in Montreal where the show is shot. There were highlights on the set. Working with former NFL and Hill Street Blues star Ed Marinaro (a regular on the show) was a laugh filled blast. It was also great to see my friend Kris as we hadn't hung out together in a long while.

I spent some of the down time between scenes talking to the cast and crew of the show. Hearing their stories reminded me of the difficulties and stress of working in the television industry. I lived through many of those moments and struggles back in my MTV days so I could relate to them on many levels. I opted to quit / give up on the entertainment industry when the New TGS got cancelled by MTV in 2003 because of low ratings and high production costs. Doing a nightly talk show isn't cheap I guess. This is especially obvious when Jackass reruns get better ratings in your regular time slot.

There's no business like show business...

2003 was the perfect time to re-acquaint myself to my hi-tech roots and move back to Ottawa where I reside to this day. When I was in high school I chose to take a computer programming class over a drama one. I'm still glad I did.

The day spent on the Blue Mountain State set brought back a flood of memories of the TGS days.

Working on the TGS show for over 8 years was a bit of a roller coaster ride. It was exhilarating at times and a complete nightmare at others. I can't speak for the other people who worked on the show but despite a few bruises I'm still alive from the experience. The really negative days I spent back then seem to have waned as the years have gone by. I'm really grateful for all the super people (like Kris) I got to work with along the way thanks to the show.

I mention all of this today because eight years have passed since the TGS got cancelled yet I still regularly get emails / tweets / Facebook messages asking about it. Thank you social networking. Instead of writing an individual response I'll now be able to cut, paste and send a link to this blog post. Talk about efficiency huh! It's too bad I didn't think about writing this post eight years ago.

So in response to the most common question I get. That being whether or not I still speak to Tom. The answer to that question is no. He and I went our separate ways in 2005 and haven't spoken to each other since. You'll have to trust me on this one. Oil and water do in fact NOT MIX... and the world is a better place for it. The split had nothing to do with on-air antics. The off-air antics were far more damaging for everyone involved.

What a brain dump that was... I'm feeling a little cleaner all of a sudden. It was a little like wiping your ass after eating too much Mexican food.

Now back to Blue Mountain State.

The episode will air on Spike TV sometime in October. You might miss my part if you blink or it gets cut out in the editing suite. Lots of laughs either way.

And now back to my regular life..

Comments

[wilhelmina]

If I was your mother-in-law, I would think you would have posted this to tell me that you are a good boy after all.......

[Margaret]

Real sorry to hear you & Tom don't speak to each other anymore....especially with you having been at his side during his fight against TC and all of that. You guys made a good team. Hopefully one day, there can be forgiveness leading to amends between you two. All the best to you, Glenn! :)