I've been wanting to go to Comic-Con for years, but living in Michigan and the costs being so high, I wasn't sure when I would get the chance. I was so thankful to be able to go to Comic-Con this year for my work, but on my off days, I was able to attend some great panels of my favorite TV shows.
Wow. What an intense experience. So many people! I had the worst time trying to get cell phone service everyone was using it up! I also probably only slept a total of 5 hours for the 4 days I was there. I even spent the night outside in line on Saturday night to ensure a spot in Hall H Sunday morning - you'll see why below.
I took a few notes from some of the panels I was able to attend (similar to as I did for PaleyFest). For a lot of the Warner Bros. shows, this year you can watch the full panels online at www.thewb.com, or of course catch snippets on YouTube that people recorded. I've included a few of my own videos and pics too.
You can view the pictures by clicking here.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend any extra panels on Thursday because I had to get ready for a panel we were putting on with my work that evening. There were only a couple panels I would have liked to go to, but it didn't break my heart to miss them.
Friday, July 13th - I stayed the whole day in Ballroom 20, and here was what was on the schedule.
Community: School is Back in Session - Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Allison Brie.
I've only seen the pilot, but the cast was really fun at the panel, and their montage videos were hilarious.
Join the Revolution! Nickelodeon's Legend of Korra - Bryan Konietzko, Mike DiMartino, Joaquim Dos Santos, Janet Varney, David Faustino, P.J. Byrne, Seychelle Gabriel, and Andrea Romano.
I don't watch the show, but a fun part of the panel was a live table-reading of a script.
Firefly 10-Year Anniversary - Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres (unable to attend), Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin (unable to attend), Sean Maher, Summer Glau.This was a fantastic panel! There was laughter and tears - especially from the panelists. Made me want to re-watch the whole series right then and there. Nathan Fillion was so awesome to come out and take pictures with everyone waiting in line overnight on Saturday night and I was lucky to grab a picture with him.
Bones - Hart Hanson (unable to attend), Stephen Nathan, David Boreanaz, and Emily Deschanel.
I was so happy to be able to be at this panel! I was mad at myself for not going to the Bones Paleyfest, so this was one panel I did not want to miss! Some things learned from the panel:
- It is very unlikely that we will see any flashbacks of the "Bedroom Scene", though it is likely that we might see some in the future.
- The Season 8 premiere will pick up three months later and Booth will be furious with Brennan. Booth will go out and find her on his own, not as an FBI agent.
- This season is going to be a lot darker, and Pelant will stay throughout Season 8.
- Cam will be with someone new, but we already know them, and it will be very surprising.
- David will direct again. David: "It's difficult" / Emily: "It's difficult to work with you." Emily mentioned that she was actually all set to direct last year, but then she got pregnant.
- David: "We need to bring back Buck and Wanda." (Here here!). They will be going undercover again this season (though not sure as who), and it will involve ballroom dancing.
- We will learn more about Booth's family, and specifically his mother.
- As of now, there are no plans for a special 150 episode, though Stephen mentioned it is likely that they might kill someone. They were shocked they were coming close to 150 episodes and Stephen said: "We have to do the math."
- David is asked about his role on Angel and if he would work with Joss Whedon again. He believed Joss wrapped up the finale of Angel perfectly, though would love to work with him again. "If they'd want to make a movie out of it, that'd be fun."
- There was mention of the four "Bonus Episodes" that will be staggered throughout Season 8. One episode is from the point-of-view of the skull.
Arrow Screening and Q&A - Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and David Nutter.
Was able to watch the pilot episode of the new series, and am definitely looking forward for the rest of the series when it starts up on October on The CW. Some fun tidbits I learned at the panel:
- Stephen was the first person to audition for the part of Oliver Queen.
- There will be some other DC Characters joining the cast and there will be nods to the DC Universe throughout the series - China White will be played by Kelly Hu.
- Stephen: "Who doesn't want to play the superhero on TV? I've always wanted to play the villain, but this is a start."
- How soon will we see Laurel become a woman of action? - "Not as soon as you want, but sooner than you think."
- Yes. The abs in the workout scene are real. It is a must watch even if you aren't sure you want to watch the show. I promise.
Entertainment Weekly: Powerful Women in Pop Culture (aka Women Who Kick Ass!) - Kristin Bauer van Straten, Sarah Wayne Callies, Kristin Kreuk, Nikki Reed, Anna Torv, and Lucy Lawless.
The ladies talk about the power and privilege of playing characters that have redefined the rules for women. Kristin Bauer was fantastic and funny. Nikki Reed seemed to be extremely nervous. Anna Torv is the most lovely person in all the land.
Saturday, July 14th - Again, I stayed the whole day in Ballroom 20, and here was what was on the schedule.
Warehouse 13 - Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Saul Rubinek, Allison Scagliotti, and Jack Kenny.
Though I've only seen a few episodes of the first season of the show, this panel was a lot of fun. Probably one of my favorite quotes of the weekend was from Saul Rubinek: "I have a twitter, but I don't tweet...I'm a twat."
Once Upon a Time - Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parilla, Josh Dallas, Emilie de Ravin, and Meghan Ory.
Seriously guys, Josh Dallas is so beautiful. Okay moving on. One really cool part of the panel was at the beginning we got to see some of the new title cards for the new season which included: Mulan, Sleeping Beauty, Herbie the Lovebug (Emma's bug), and Jack and the Beanstalk. We also got to see an ad for "Singlebrooke" which was all the townspeople creating there online profile videos for a dating site. Jamie Dornan was in it and it made me sad. I so hope he will be back next season. We also got to see a clip from the next season that shows a little bit of Ca****n ***k.
- re: Malificent dying at the end of the season. "I didn't see her body, did you?" "There is magic now is Storybrooke, so..."
- Dr. Whale's fairytale counter part will be revealed this season.
- re: Fairytale land - "We don't know if there is anything to go back to."
- We won't be seeing Emma's foster parents more quiet yet, but maybe in the future. Edward says "I'm more interested in who Henry's father is." - which we will find out this season and "people will be very excited to find out who it is." Adam joked: "It's either someone you've met, or haven't." Jennifer Morrison already knows who the father is.
- We will learn why certain things came over and for what reasons.
- Emilie is asked what co-star from LOST she would like to work with on the show: Terry O'Quinn.
- We will find out what happened to Rumpelstiltskin's son, Baelfire.
- Lana is asked what it's like when people recognize her on the street: "Children do run from me...and so do some adults."
Futurama - Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, and Maurice LaMarche.
The Simpsons - David Mirkin, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Anderson, Yeardley Smith.
I took a break during these panel, so unfortunately I don't have anything to add here. I did get to see the theatrical short for The Simpsons "The Longest Daycare" which was quiet cute.
Family Guy - Seth MacFarlane, Alex Bornstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Mike Henry, Mark Hentemann, and Steve Callaghan.
American Dad - Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Scott Grimes, Rachael MacFarlane, Dee Bradley Baker, Mike Barket, and Matt Weitzman.
Got to see a sneak peek of the funniest scenes from the upcoming new season of Family Guy.
The Vampire Diaries - Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Michael Trevino, Zach Roerig, Julie Plec, and Kevin Williamson.
I was bummed Joseph Morgan didn't make a surprise visit, and missed Candice Accola, but thankfully I saw her at Paleyfest. Not a lot of spoilers were given for the new season unfortunately. Some highlights were:
- Zach: "I'm proud to be a human!"
- Kevin Williamson asks Paul Wesley about playing the villain:
- Julie: "I think at one point [Ian] had a sit down with Jesus Christ." / Paul: "You're like the guy in the Dos Equis commercials."
- Kevin Williamson asks Ian Somerhalder what's going on with Damon, and where he's going this season:
- Katherine will show her face again when Klaus is no longer a threat.
- re: Matt David coming back at some point - "It's possible."
- We will learn more about Esther and the "big spell" that turned her family into vampires.
- Ian started doing sound effects for fast vampire sex - "See that, vamp sex just happened, and you didn't even know it."
- An audience member asked the panel if they were in the Hunger Games arena, who would they kill and who they would try to save - Ian: "I would just kill 'em all."
True Blood - Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis (unable to attend), Deborah Ann Woll, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Joe Manganiello, Chris Meloni, and Alan Ball.
The audience was shown a trailer of what's to come for the rest of the season, and it looked fantastic!
- According to Stephen, Alexander is the best cuddler because "he's got very long arms."
- Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgard talk about Bill and Eric's relationship:
- Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, and Alan Ball talk about the scene in S5 when Bill and Eric are taken and stuffed in the trunk of the car:
- There was discussion of Pam's wardrobe and of course the Wal-Mart sweatsuit came up. Sam said that his favorite is the red jumpsuit she wore in Season 2.
- Rutina mentioned that her mother was very supportive of her new role on the show. Her mother called her and said, "That bustier was workin' honey!"
- Joe was asked if he gave Rutina lessons on stripping. Joe, Rutina, and Alan all do body rolls - Joe threw money at Alan.
- Chris was asked how True Blood compares to SVU - "It's hard to figure out what's a sex crime on this show."
- We will see more about the Stackhouse parent in dream sequences and flashbacks.
- There will be more "crazy sex scenes" this season, and "all tastes will be satisfied."
- Stephen was asked about directing his first episode - "I got to see Joe naked."
- Alex was asked if he has considered the part of Christian Grey for the 50 Shades of Grey movie - "I haven't read the book and haven't seen the script" / Stephen: "He's just lived the life."
- As of now, no plans for Were-Tiger, John Quinn, to make an appearance.
- Three new romances are going to happen this season.
- Ryan Kwanten does a handstand - I don't remember why, but does that really matter?
Sunday, July 15th - Finally got out of Ballroom 20 and into Hall H. I stayed in line overnight to ensure I would get in to the hall and get a good seat. Why? SUPERNATURAL!
Fringe - Anna Torv, Josh Jackson, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown (unable to attend), Jasika Nicole, John Noble, and J.H. Wyman.
I must confess that I had only seen a few episodes of the first season when it first aired. I began to see my mistake earlier this year when there was a ton of chatter on Twitter about how amazing the show is. After this panel I knew I had to correct my ways. Unfortunately I already know a few of the spoilers that are ahead, but I have no one to blame but myself. I started watching the first season as soon as I got back, and decided just to order them all on DVD since I got them for a good price, so as soon as Season 2 and 3 come in the mail, I will be starting those up again.
- We got to see a trailer for Season 5, and it was AH-MAZING. Those 5 minutes were basically what made me want to watch the whole series. That and Anna, Josh, and John. Also all the crying that was going on! When Lance Reddick started to cry, I thought I was going to lose it by the way he was describing his favorite scene on the show.
- Josh Jackson was hilarious. I wish I could have gotten some videos of him, but my battery was dying and I had to save it for the next panel because....
Supernatural - Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, Mark A. Sheppard, Jeremy Carver, and Ben Edlund.
If there was only one panel I could go to this weekend, this one would be it. Oh my god, was I on cloud nine when I got to go! The boys were hilarious, as of course I knew they would be from seeing the various panel clips on YouTube throughout the years, but it was a million times better being there in person. I'm really mad at myself because I didn't even think about asking them a question until they announced it was time for audience Q&A's, but by that time the line was extremely long. But hey, if you guys are reading this: Why don't Sam and Dean use the Bitch/Jerk nicknames anymore? Me and my brother loved that! Did they just grow out of it? I'm super curious. Oh and also, did someone on the writing staff go to Michigan State? I love all the references that there have been, so I'm also curious about that. Kthanksbye.
- The boys will have to deal with new relationships that will come along, including Sam's new love interest.
- Dean will get out of Purgatory very soon.
- Jim was wearing a Deadwood hat, and Jared asked: "Can somebody get Jim a Supernatural hat?!" Jim mentioned that he's been trying to get one for years.
- On Bobby coming back - Jim: "It's Supernatural, anything is possible."
- Crowley will be a "Titanic issue" this season.
- Misha trying not to give anything away.
- Theme for this season is "Raiders of the Lost Arc." This year the boys are starting the season on offense and very much united in going after this "one thing." - involved in a chase for a "power source."
- There will be one over-arching mythology that will hopefully carry on for more years.
