Devout TV Watercooler reader, Jag Gill had a chance to attend this year’s San Diego Comic Con and offered to submit her very own review of the event. Here’s her honest approach to the ultimate nerd fest of the year.
No Love for J-Love!
Jennifer Love Hewitt made an appearance at this years San Diego Comic Con (S.D.C.C) to promote her show, Ghost Whisperer. A whisper is precisely what could be heard throughout the entire venue hall as the draw of fans to this panel was semi sparse to say the least. Perhaps it was a contributing factor for J-Love’s less than loveable attitude throughout the entire panel. Twice, within a twenty minute span, she went so far as to speak directly into the microphone (during the panel) to ask if their appearance was ‘almost done’. A bold move for someone who, on more than one occasion, used the panel to pimp herself out to fans to help get her into the Twiight series. How Lisa Rinna of her. Luckily for the “size 4” actress, her co-stars Jamie Kennedy and Camryn Manheim proved to be fan favorites providing some much needed comic relief into what would have otherwise been a total snooze fest.
Chuck+Zach Levi+S.D.C.C = television gold
If you didn’t hear about the show Chuck on a daily basis at this years S.D.C.C, then you weren’t at S.D.C.C. From loyal fans wearing their “nerd herd” t-shirts to the constant and growing chatter about the show, everything Chuck was uber cool. I first heard about Chuck a few months back [ed. note: travelling around the world can do that to you!] when TV Networks were putting some shows on the chopping block due to budget cuts. Gossip blogs helped get the word out that their beloved show could come to an end, causing much anger amoungst it’s fan base. Alas it was renewed for another season and all was well.
As I geared up to see the TV Guide panel I was pleasantly surprised to see Zachary Levi amoungst the roster of actors from different shows. Though the TV Guide panel was a chance for 7-8 different shows to gain exposure, it was evident that the majority of the audience was there to see the star of the cult hit, Chuck. No matter who was speaking during the panel, whether it was Scott Wolfe or John Cho, things seemed to always come back to focus on everyone’s favorite supervisor of the nerd herd. Zach is funny, charismatic and above all, a regular guy, and it’s likely due to this image that people just love him and in turn love the show. Zach was the only one from the entire TV Guide panel whose ego wasn’t too big to stick around after the panel to chit chat with fans, sign autographs, and pose for pictures. After S.D.C.C, I rented the entire first season of Chuck, and I am officially a mega fan!
Scott Wolfe
People best remember Scott Wolfe from his role on Fox’s Party of Five from the late 90’s, but he’s now one of the stars of a remake of an 80’s hit show The V. I’m not sure how he’s gonna do on this show, but it seemed rather apparent that Scott Wolfe being seated next to Chuck star Zach Levi was the best thing that could ever have happened to him. Most patrons of S.D.C.C associated Scott and The V to “that guy that was sitting next to Zach Levi”. Had that not happened, his appearance on th panel would have been less memorable, only due to the fact that Scott is a little quiet.
Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Romijn was, for lack of a better word, is a total bitch. She was curt throughout the entire panel, and acted as though she didn’t want to be there and couldn’t really be bothered to answer questions properly.
Rebecca stars as one of the four main cast members of a new prime time drama called Easwick (based on the film, The Witches of Eastwick). It’s about three women, who end up with ‘witch’ powers and man is their leader. The premise of the show is closely related to that of Charmed with a little Lipstick Jungle meets Desperate Housewives thrown in. Romijn displayed little enthusiasm regarding the show and her role which really didn’t make me all that interested in it either. Like others in the audience, I assumed she was chosen to promote the show since she would be known to S.D.C.C fans from her role as Mystique from the X-Men movies. At one point an audience memeber even asked Rebecca about the degree of difficulty with the costume from her role as Mystique. Her response was dismissive and insulting to the intelligence of most Comic Con fans, as she claimed that that role was so long ago she couldn’t even remember it! She must have forgotten she was at Comic Con, at which rate her co-star and former Beverly Hills 90210 actress Lindsay Price would have been a better fit.
Big Bang Theory
Like Chuck, The Big Bang Theory has been on the network chopping block a few times. Over the last two years, TBBT has proven to become a huge fan favorite with the line ups for their panels starting in the early hours on the day of, and quickly expanding to 2000+ fans, of which 300 end up not getting in. The show is about 4 ‘nerds’, who are all friends and work at a university in California. Despite the show’s entire cast being favorites, the big darling of S.D.C.C is none other than the character of Sheldon played by Jim Parsons. The love for Jim is epic. The show made two appearances on panels this year, and both times audience member questions were directed at Jim Parsons. The most memorable moment was when a female fan asked Jim, if he’s be so kind as to wipe his face on a towel she had brought so she could have Sheldon’s DNA for her sister who couldn’t make it to the show. Jim thought it was hilarious and brilliant and he gladly complied.
Human Target
There’s a new show out with a great ensemble cast of familiar faces: Human Target. The show is written by Simon West (Tomb Raider, Con Air, etc…) and directed by Jonathan E. Steinberg (Jericho). Basically the show is based on yet another comic book series written by Len Wien (who is part of the creative team behind the Watchmen miniseries).
The show stars Jackie Earl Haley who is best known for his role as Rorschach from The Watchmen movie. It’ll be interesting to see his transition from a dramatic film role to television primetime. He is so great with fans, likes to take his time with each and every fan and was resistent to the pushy guards around them that were trying to get fans away from him.
Also starring is Chi McBride (he played principle Steven Harper from Boston Public, and was on Pushing Daisies as Emerson Cod). I had the pleasure of meeting him and he was very flattered that I remembered him from Boston Public.
Mark Valley is known to many fans from his soap days where he played on Jack Deveraux on Days of our Lives…although Matthew Ashford is best known as the original and “classic” Jack. Since his departure from soap’s he’s appeared on many other shows such as Jericho, CSI, Law & Order and most recently Fringe). He’s finally landed something with an amazing cast where he’ll play one of the lead roles of Christopher Chance. He is gracious to his fans but not too keen to talk about his past soap days.
Pacey Witter can’t lose
Joshua Jackson is best known for his roles in the Mighty Ducks films and as Pacey Witter on Dawson’s Creek. He is currently one of the main stars of the new television drama: Fringe (atleast he’s the most recognizable one). I’ve never seen this show, but this show was heavily promoted and advertised at S.D.C.C. Thanks to Warner Brother’s highly effective marketing at S.D.C.C, I have developed a previously non existent interest in seeing what it’s all about. I didn’t get to see the panel for Fringe, but I was there at the signing and though I was off to the side, looking on, taking pictures, Joshua Jackson actually ignored security and came over to say hello, have a brief chat and take a couple pictures with me! I’m not gonna lie, I called Pacey by accident a few times, to which he snickered. The entire cast seems really humble and very friendly and I hope I love it.
The Best Directors Cut Ever, eva…
One of the hot tickets in town for S.D.C.C was for the Watchmen Panel. Zach Snyder was not only present for the entire screening of the directors cut, but he narrarated, LIVE! Due to an interactive component, Zach was able to answer fan questions from around the world and within the auditorium. One of the questions was whether Zach liked smooth or crunchy peanut butter. After laughter subsided throughout the theater, he answered with: crunchy. Within seconds the shadow of a bobbing head goes running to the panel and places a bottle of crunchy peanut butter infront of him. Everyone laughs, including Snyder, and he makes the joke that he has no bread. Within seconds, someone else drops off a baguette. Within 45 min’s of this screening, he had a full on buffet of peanut butter, bread, a knife, a fruit cup, gourmet cupcakes, two juice boxes and plates on his panel desk. At one point, proving he’s just like us, he started eating it as he kept narrarating and took the rest of the food items that the nerds had in their napsacks home.
Vampire Themed Shows
Comic Con gives a chance to many shows to gain exposure and garner a fan base. One of the shows that I will definately be checking out is True Blood [ed. note: a show that the TV Watercooler has been pressuring Jag to watch since last year]. I’m not usually a fan of vampire shows or anything of the sort but due to all the hype, it’s definately a show I’m eager to check out.
Despite the TV/film industries becoming oversaturated with vampires, I’m also keen to check out Vampire Diaries. The Show stars Nina Dobrev who is best known for playing Mia Jones, a young single mom on the hit Canadian show Degrassi: The Next Generation. The show is based on a book series and feels like a cross between Buffy and Gossip Girl [ed. note: the series is penned by Dawson’s Creek creator/writer Kevin Williamson].
