Although I often attend Paley events as a member of the press, sometimes a fan just wants to be a fan and enjoy an event, right? That was me on Wed, June 29, when Syfy and UCP joined powers with The Paley Center for Media to present us with “12 Monkeys Screening & Conversation”.  If you don’t know what 12 Monkeys is, it’s basically time travel + Time Jesus (don’t ask) + a Doctor (not that one) + Mothers and Daughters + Primaries + friends/enemies/frenemies + an Army of baddies who want to destroy the world.  Seriously, get thee to Hulu ASAP and get caught up.  Like, right now. No, really, you don’t want to miss the final 2 episodes. You’ll thank me later. Oh, and if you do like it, they were just renewed for a 3^rd season, so no fear that you’ve been sucked into the goodness only to be left hanging!

Now, back to the event. When attendees arrived at the Paley, we were greeted with a complimentary open bar and waiters frequently proffering goodies and tasty bites. There was a giant 12 Monkeys logo on the floor and red vines (not the candy ones) significant to the series draped around pillars and tables. There was also the amazing Lego artwork by Jen Smart, as well as two monitors running trailers and clips. Because the Paley is a rather intimate venue, there was plenty of room to enjoy the atmosphere, and bonus – there were no lines for drinks or restrooms (I know, right!). I admit, I glanced longingly over at the sectioned off press room, but it was quite crowded in there, so I think I picked the best approach for the night. At about 7, we all made sure to go in and get our seats. And this is where the fun really got started.

We were lucky to see the last 2 episodes of the series. And wow, wow, wow! That’s all I can say.  In fact, I think if say any more, Amanda Schull will pay me a visit. And not in the good way. Just know that they deliver a breathless punch (or two) and as much as they make you smile, they will make you long for the simpler days when our team was only fighting a world ending plague. Be warned, there is one sequence that is a veritable roller coaster of emotions. And make no mistake, I’m watching them again when they air live on SyFy; I’m sure I missed quite a lot of nuances.

After the screening, in true Paley fashion, we had a Q&A with creator/showrunner Terry Matalas, and stars Aaron Stanford, Amanda Schull, Kirk Acevedo, Emily Hampshire and Todd Stashwick. The Q&A was moderated by fan favorite Natalie Abrams, Senior Writer at Entertainment Weekly. They talked about the challenges of writing about time travel and planning ahead for scenes that are dependent on each other; Aaron told us about the difficulty in Amanda and him showing their decline in health as the day repeats over and over in “Lullaby”; Kirk got a big laugh by begging Terry to please, please just stop having Ramse go looking for his son. I wish I could tell you more, but a lot of Natalie’s questions and those from the audience were related to the final 2 episodes. No spoilers – after all, we promised Amanda!

And to top of the amazing night, when the Q&A was done, the cast and Terry hung around long enough for fans to get autographs and take pictures with them.  Oh, and they had a raffle to give away 6 autographed posters, and lucky yours truly had her number picked by Rick.

Thanks for the talented cast and crew of 12 Monkeys, The Paley Center for Media, SyFy and Universal Cable Productions for a very memorable night for fans of the series. Watch on SyFy, Mondays at 9/8c.