Big Day Q&A

Needing a little Jack Bauer fix before 24 premieres in January? OK, so Jack Bauer has 24 hours to ensure that lecherous Uncle Albert and volatile ex-Aunt Eugenie are seated at opposite ends of the head table, scrap the planned peanut butter groom's cake that might conflict with his mother in-law's alleged potentially fatal allergic tendencies and find the Best Man whose gone missing after the bachelor party's "poker night" took a minor detour to Crazy Girls. All while wearing silk organza. No, CTU hasn't gotten into the business of wedding planning, but smartly, someone at ABC saw the potential in showcasing the drama and comedic gold inherent in planning a wedding. ABC's The Big Day (which premiered last week) follows the adventures of Alice and Danny as they fumble their way - 24 style - toward the altar. Big Day Staff writer Jessica Goldstein answers some burning questions.


VR: Is anyone one the staff married or currently planning a wedding? Are single staff writers more terrified about holy matrimony after researching/writing for the show?

JG: My writing partner, Chrissy, is getting married in April. She is a living, breathing resource for all things wedding right now. But story ideas came from all of the writers' wedding experiences as hosts and guests. The show is really about the different personalities involved and what happens when they are thrown together on a very emotional and chaotic day... so ideas came from everywhere. As the token never-married staff writer, I realized that sitting in a room for months talking about weddings, surrounded by wedding magazines was brainwashing me - somewhere in the middle of one of those "Do's and Don'ts on Decorating the Bottom of Your Pre-Rehearsal Dinner Shoes" articles... I remembered that I don't care! I don't feel more terrified about holy matrimony, just wedding planning. I feel like I should go back and send a second gift to all of my friends whose weddings I've been to now that I know what they went through to make it all happen.


VR: With the show often being compared to 24's format, are we going to get to see the Bride scream "PUT DOWN THE SEATING CHART AND STEP AWAY FROM THE COORDINATOR!" or any other Jack Bauer shout-outs? Or is that my fantasy?

JG: It's not your fantasy. The world of wedding planning is just as dangerous, just as exciting as any episode of 24. I wouldn't be surprised if after watching Big Day, we see a season of 24 where Jack Bauer is planning Chloe and the ghost of Edgar's wedding.



VR: On a more serious note, what challenges do you foresee in picking that format? Have you found enough things that could go wrong during planning a wedding that could sustain 24 episodes?

JG:There's always something that can go wrong during a wedding. If anyone from ABC is reading this, please make note of this.


VR: Are you surprised by anything you've learned about weddings/marriage after writing for the show?

JG: I still can't believe how much money goes into these suckers. I guess what I learned about marriage is that the actual wedding has very little to do with it.


VR: How fabulous is Wendy Malick?
JG: Wendy Malick is indeed fabulous. The cast is great. The whole is experience has been amazing and I'm really proud of the final product.


VR: What's your favorite thing about the show?
JG: please see #5 :)

Thanks to Jessica for dropping by!

The Big Day airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on ABC