Whedonesque : Comments on 15450 : Paley Center BtVS Reunion Soldout.

I may have an extra ticket available; my friend is not really certain she can come with me to LA...

Yeah, they were sold out by the time I got through at 11:30am yesterday.

fromthecrypt, DIBS! I tried to get a ticket all yesterday morning and was SOL. I'm very sad. I would love to buy that ticket from you if your friend can't make it.

[ edited by TamaraC on 2008-02-08 23:46 ]

TamaraC | February 09, 02:43 CET

A friend in New Jersey checked with the East Coast Paley Center and they might have a connection, where they'll be able to watch & hear the event live. Also they said that DVDs might be available for sale after the event. I hope people will check on this, because I, for one, would love to buy the DVD of the Buffy Reunion panel!

embers | February 09, 02:51 CET

I thought there was tickets being released on the 10th to the general public??

Simon | February 09, 02:55 CET

Simon, that was only if the member tickets didn't sell out. I think.

gossi | February 09, 02:58 CET

Tickets went Premium tickets first.
Then members tickets.
And if there were any left over...general public

We'reDoomed | February 09, 03:15 CET

Simon..nope they are all gone. They only sell to the general public if the members do not buy them up.

and the funny this is, some of those members are selling them on EBAY for $100s of dollars...nice!!

It was sold out by 10am yesterday...just like last year my membership number was all messed up.
So I did not get a Buffy ticket either...I think I might be letting my membership go after this year.

SillyD | February 09, 03:22 CET

Well that's a shame. I wish there was something we could do for the people who couldn't get tickets.

Simon | February 09, 03:27 CET

SillyD, that was exactly what happened to me. I'm just a bit frustrated.

TamaraC | February 09, 03:37 CET

Ouch to those auction prices. I figured that there probably wouldn't be any tickets left for non-members, but the eBay auctions make it hurt.

[ edited by Lady Brick on 2008-02-09 00:51 ]

Lady Brick | February 09, 03:46 CET

Tamara...2 years in a row now. I did at least get other tickets this time..last year..nothing because of it.

Lady Brick..I agree, those prices make me want to cry.

SillyD | February 09, 03:54 CET

Paley should bitcaslap those folks for pulling that crap! Seriously. That's akin to scalping.

Are any of us surprised, though, that it sold out? When's the last time the majority of the cast was all together? Wrap party?

embers Tell your friend to put some bugs in ears so those of us Whedonites who couldn't make the event can at least relive it vicariously through the DVD. But better tell 'em to order a couple hundred, at the least - we get first dibs, of course. ;-)

Off to watch I'll Be There, 'cause I'm hankerin' for some light humor, and suffering from some major Tony missage. And Season Gloom&Doom doesn't have him in it now until the end (I'm half-way through "Gone").

ShadowQuest | February 09, 03:55 CET

When I (finally) got someone on the phone at Ticket Web yesterday morning at 10AM I asked to buy a ticket. And she said with feigned interest, "Buffy Reunion?" I was so psyched. "Yes!" I said. Her response was only, "Sorry, you crashed our system and not one ticket has sold yet. You'll just have to try later." I tried one last time around 10:15 (I was so frustrated with the whole system) and got what I believe to be the last one, because when I tried to get one more immdiately after that for a friend, they were gone!

Paley Center's system is definitely wonky and I had trouble with my non-existent membership number. ie, they don't give you one when you buy the membership online. Pfft!

Also, I love that Buffy sold out before Elvis. Never underestimate the draw of the Slayer.

[ edited by Kat Jetson on 2008-02-09 00:59 ]

Kat Jetson | February 09, 03:56 CET

SillyD, I did get tickets for Chuck, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money and Mad Men. Hopefully I'll run into you at one of them. I'd love to have a drink and catch up.

TamaraC | February 09, 04:01 CET

I would so get a DVD!!!

Harmalicious | February 09, 04:03 CET

Also, I love that Buffy sold out before Elvis. Never underestimate the draw of the Slayer.

In fairness, if Elvis was going to be there I think those would've shifted pretty quickly too. Sadly, he couldn't make it due to scheduling difficulties and death.

Shame for all the folks that were disappointed, maybe if you made your frustrations known they'd be more likely to produce a DVD (apparently it's touch and go as to whether they do, though in this case it seems a bit of a no-brainer) ? I'd certainly pay folding money for one, within reason.

Saje | February 09, 04:13 CET

That's just an internet rumor, Saje. He is resting.

Actually it's just that the Elvis event is minor impact among his very large and active fandom compared to the impact of the Buffy reunion among this here fandom.

Sunfire | February 09, 04:44 CET

When I first heard about this event the first thought I had was 'think of all the scalping this is gonna bring'. It's like Edinburgh 2005 with Whedon and friends again.

gossi | February 09, 04:47 CET

Never underestimate the power of the Slayer, indeed. I thought they'd sell out yesterday, but this is no surprise. So, let's start the call to make a DVD of this, or at least add very long video clips of this event to the Paley Center website.
Also, we should remember two other panels, "Chuck" and "Mad Men", have Whedon alumni, and it would be a good idea to check them out...and "Pushing Daisies", too.

impalergeneral | February 09, 05:06 CET

While I am sorry for everyone who wasn't able to get a ticket, I just want to say how cool it is that The Buffy Reunion, a show that ended almost 5 years ago, was the first and only event to sell out so far.

And also, yes, DVD please!

hitnrun017 | February 09, 05:07 CET

Just an FYI, sometimes tickets become available the day of the event at the ticket table. People don't show up, friends bail, etc. So if you live in the area and don't mind waiting in line, you could try that.

Here's what it says officially on the site: Note: For sold-out evenings, tickets may become available at the ticket table in the Cinerama Dome lobby at showtime.

homewards | February 09, 05:23 CET

How cold, scalping those tickets for hundreds of dollars. American entrepreneurship at its most swinish. We'reDoomed, sadly your user name here was prescient. I feel badly for all of you that tried to get tickets and couldn't and I wasn't even planning on going. Well, we'll just have to remain optimistic somehow that this will get taped and we can all enjoy it one day.

[ edited by Tonya J on 2008-02-09 02:50 ]

Tonya J | February 09, 05:45 CET

I'd love to be there, but failing that, I would definitely pay a 'reasonable' amount for a DVD.

samatwitch | February 09, 05:45 CET

I work in a performing arts ticket office, and I don't allow my staff to utter the words "sold out". It just bums people out and gives them no hope. Instead we use the term "currently unavailable" because we all know there are releases. We also do waiting lists for all of our "currently unavailable" shows because we love our patrons :) Hoping the best for all you guys who are in the area. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Harmalicious | February 09, 05:54 CET

I'm really pretty angry about the whole thing. I bought my membership, got right on the net at 9:00 on the day they went on sale, three times I put all my information in, credit card, billing address, member number, and it all went through until the final step, when I should have got a confirmation number I got an error message. Finally at noon I called them and they admitted to technical difficulties and yeah, now they are sold out. So because of technical difficulties I am out both ticket, and the seventy dollars I paid for the membership.

I am NOT happy!

Xane | February 09, 05:55 CET

Personally, it's a mixed blessing. I'd been going online for three days trying to find cheap airfare and everything was in the 800.00 and up range. I finally found something for 660.00 and held the checkout open till I went see if I could get a pair of tickets for the paley center. Once I found out I was out of luck I closed the airline page. My daughter was really dying to go, which was the major reason I was even trying. Not that I would have minded having to tag along.

We'reDoomed | February 09, 06:15 CET

I got through at 9:03 and got the "member number is invalid" message on the final page. So frustrating, since I was holding my fancy new membership card and everything.
I gave up after an hour of refreshing and redialing and being transferred to voicemail. I don't know if I'm glad that I'm not the only one who had "member number" problems or not. Seems like an elaborate way to scam people out of the $70 membership fee. Especially since I live about 2,000 miles away and probably won't visit the Paley Center before my membership expires.
I'm not going to complain too much though since it would have been my fourth vacation in as many months. And they all would have had a Joss connection too.

deadbessie | February 09, 06:28 CET

urgh... I hate it when websites that are supposed to do a job don't function properly. At first I thought it was simply because we'd all crashed the servers, but now I see it's the Paley Center's fault for not properly maintaining their website. I'm so sorry to those that didn't get tickets. I'm sure that quite a few of those that were lucky enough to get tickets will find some way of recording the event. I really do think that with the amount of demand the Paley center will be receiving it would be criminal, and even downright stupid for them not to put out a dvd though.

dulce_serenidad | February 09, 06:48 CET

What was with that membership number debacle? I spent 20 minutes trying to get someone to give it to me! And the site kept crashing and the Buffy page itself was screwed up... What a disappointment.

Samantha | February 09, 06:48 CET

I'm really sorry to those who missed out on tickets- what a bummer.

It would be criminal not to release this on DVD, and I'm sure that they will be smart and savvy enough to do so.
After all, previous DVD's of 'Desperate Housewives', 'Lost' and 'Boston Legal' panels are available on the Paley site for $19.95 each plus shipping. Just imagine how much cash they can make from the many thousands of Buffy fans who will cough up for this?!

missb | February 09, 06:55 CET

On the other hand, missb, how many Whedonites are cheesed off enough at Paley for the royal screwing-over they got trying to get their tickets that they decide to "boycott" anything they put out?

What am I saying?? It's a "Buffy" reunion! Of course loyal Whedonites would sell their first-born (If they have 'em) or give an arm & both legs (Again, if they have 'em) to get a DVD.

Sigh.

I'm going to my make-believe world, now, where I was able to pull off Carpe Noctem 2008 and had Tony & Amber & Emma & Velvet Chain and all the other great guests I had planned on, and everyone was so happy to have a con they could afford to go to in Milwaukee.

ShadowQuest | February 09, 07:04 CET

Like many others in this thread, I too had the joyous experience of paying for a Paley membership, then getting a repeated "server busy or broken" message on my computer and a busy signal when I tried to phone for an hour. I got through, only to be told the system was crashed, and to try back in about an hour and guess what -- sold out, of course :)

*However.* A) Whether or not they make the DVD available commercially, the Paley Center records all of its events and B), people who have Paley Festival memberships get preferential placement to watch the recordings (by yourself, in a kiosk with a video screen and a headset) at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills. This doesn't do out-of-area folks much good (unless you want to come out to Southern California to watch a recording), but if you live here and you bought a membership, you can make a reservation to watch the recording (even if you were there at the time and just want to relive the experience).

Shapenew | February 09, 07:42 CET

I'm going to my make-believe world, now, where I was able to pull off Carpe Noctem 2008 and had Tony & Amber & Emma & Velvet Chain and all the other great guests I had planned on, and everyone was so happy to have a con they could afford to go to in Milwaukee.
ShadowQuest | February 09, 04:04 CET

Oh...Oh...Oh Can I come!

We'reDoomed | February 09, 07:56 CET

Add me to the list of frustrated fans with a Payley membership and nothing to show for it except a loathing of unending error messages. Sigh. And that's AFTER figuring out the membership number snafu, and it still didn't work for hours. How did ANYONE buy tickets through that screwed-up system??

And here I was going to bring my laptop and live blog to Whedonesque through the panel. Phooey.

deanna b | February 09, 08:30 CET

We'reDoomed You quote my favorite Watcher & you can go anywhere you bloody well please, luv. ;-)

It would've been grand, it would. (Oi! Shadow slaps the side of her face "Snap out of Brit mode!")

We were going to hold it in Milwaukee, 'cause not too many conventions are in this particular neck of the woods. I'd planned on Tony, Emma, J. August, Vincent, Clare & Mercedes for sure. I had Velvet Chain confirmed as musical guests ('cause I'm friends with Erika.) and we were going to have a "prom" for the premium ticket holders, a room theme contest (Decorate your room 'verse-style - the Bronze, Tara & Willow's dorm room, etc) and other fun things.

Alas, lack of funds defeated two years of work.

Email me if you'd like to hear more of Carpe Noctem 2008 - the Convention That Wasn't. We even had a theme - "Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the First Full Season" and a pseudo-prophecy explaining why it wasn't for the actual 10th anniversary.

ShadowQuest | February 09, 08:43 CET

I didn't spring for a membership, so I wasn't realistically expecting to get tickets. I'm sorry for those of you who did and still missed out. I was afraid this would happen.

Maybe they should move this to the Staples Center...

hacksaway | February 09, 08:43 CET

The Buffy Reunion panel was the most insane ticket buying experience. I started a couple minutes before 9am and kept on refreshing, entering in the pass key, the number of tickets, and going through the same cycle over and over again. Finally I got through at the last/finalized page after 45 min of hand wringing and swearing and praying (with a couple of false alarms, too, of a final page that was unwilling to load), and I got two tickets. I didn't even get a confirmation number on the final page; I had to check my email to see that the order went through. Whew. I should go check my CC statement to really see the order was completed.

After hearing about the terrible ticket purchasing experience from the last few years, I don't know why the Paley Center doesn't go with Ticketmaster instead of Ticketweb. TM charges a lot more in service charges but at least their system doesn't crash anymore. As for the membership number confusion, this year they changed the system to where they give everyone the same temporary password to enter in the form. You weren't supposed to put in your actual membership number.

omraged9 | February 09, 10:59 CET

I didn't even get a confirmation number on the final page; I had to check my email to see that the order went through. Whew. I should go check my CC statement to really see the order was completed.

That was exactly my own experience. I had to keep going for an hour, I even missed my bio class, which I've never intentionally ditched class. The people in the honors commons thought I was insane...:/ I actually wrote down all my info before hand and copy/pasted it into the forms to speed up time, but I neglected to write down the membership password, then I entered my confirmation number for the email, then I realized I had to put the password about 30 minutes after the tickets went for sale. :facepalm: I kept refreshing and refreshing on two computers and finally got through on one, only to get error messages, and finally ended how yours did. I think i've been checking my email hourly just to make sure that it's real. :)

I'm so sad for everyone that didn't get a ticket, especially those who were willing to fly/drive out just for this and lost those 70 dollar in membership fees. They really should change the ticket distribution.

dulce_serenidad | February 09, 11:12 CET

To my visual ears "It would have been grand it would" sounds more "Oirish" than Brit :-). "Yah vell."

DaddyCatALSO | February 09, 22:15 CET

*sigh* What a HUGE disappointment. I didn't get a ticket either. :( I tried not to get my hopes up just in case, but the whole selling them now on ebay is beyond upsetting!! Not fair and not cool!

*cries*

cordee | February 10, 12:36 CET

February 09 2008