Skip to main content

Traffic Jams, Panel Overload, and Long Lines: Comic-Con 2008 Wrap-Up

First of all, true confession time: I was so exhausted from the last few days at Comic-Con that I drifted off to sleep on the couch last night before the start of Mad Men's second season opener, so we'll sadly have to wait until tomorrow to talk about that. (Trust me, I was bummed when I woke up with a crick in my neck and realized that I could barely keep my eyelids open enough to catch up with the gang at Sterling-Cooper.)

Comic-Con 2008 was certainly a convention to remember. One fellow press attendee remarked to me that it was a year in which everyone seemed to be unhappy. I can certainly understand the frustration, from the six and a half hour car ride down from Los Angeles on Thursday (thanks to that overturned Vons semi that flipped over, spilled food all over the I-5, and caught on fire) that tested my patience and sanity (though did allow me to send some emails while I remained motionless for several hours), to the technical glitch at the Fringe press room that all but made the event pointless, to the lines everywhere: for panels, restrooms, food, parties, and escalators. (Yes, there were mammoth lines for the escalators.)

Lost, was of course, a highlight for many a fan, particularly those--I would assume--who camped out overnight (and the several thousand who waited a good seven hours that morning) to get a glimpse of the Lost panel... after they had sat through the one for Heroes in the behemoth Hall H. Damon and Carlton were in fine form, as always. (Earlier, I spied them at our hotel discussing whether or not they should stay on the line for coffee, with Carlton insisting, "This is not the best use of our time." Even creative visionaries have to wait for their caffeine fix at Comic-Con, it would seem.) And nothing will top that one guy's spot-on appropriation of Jorge Garcia's Hurley. Wait, that was a costume, right?

Missed the convention? Here's a handy catch-up of the panels, with interviews with the cast of Chuck and Battlestar Galactica to come (along with a few other tidbits), once I get around to transcribing them:

Stardust: The Cast and Crew of "Battlestar Galactica" Talk Beginnings and Endings

"Fringe" Elements: JJ Abrams, Cast, and Crew Talk About the New FOX Drama

Comic-Con Gets "Lost" with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse

Entertainment Weekly Visionaries: "Lost," "Chuck," "Pushing Daisies," and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" Showrunners Speak

Damn It, Jack: "24" Teases What's to Come for Day Seven, "Exile"

Prison Breakdown: Sara Lives!

The Creators of "Spaced" Talk Future, "Doctor Who" Connections

Doctor On Call: Steven Moffat Talks "Doctor Who"

"Torchwood"'s Captain Jack to Play Captain America?

"True Blood" to Remain True to Books, Says Alan Ball

For those of you who did brave the traffic (and the body on the tracks, if you came by train) to get down to San Diego for the convention, what were most memorable aspects of this year's conventions? Which panels did you get into? Which did you, uh, wish you didn't? Discuss.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm very conflicted about how Hollywood Comic-Con has gotten. It's great that it allows fans to hear from the creators and actors from some of my favorite shows (Battlestar, Doctor Who, Lost, etc.) but it seems like the more popular it becomes the more impossible it is to get in to anything and the more miserable everyone becomes.

Perhaps they should split the event into two. They could have the original Comic-Con in San Diego, focusing solely on comics, and then have Comic-Con LA with a focus on TV and movies. Or just sell tickets to each event so people wouldn't have to wait in line for hours. I have no idea if either of these ideas would work but I think that if they don't make some changes it's just going to get worse every year.
Anonymous said…
i heard that they are starting to split it up into more smaller sections for the same reason, it's getting too huge!

As far as falling asleep, no worries, the same thing happened to me for Burned Notice premiere.
Anonymous said…
Dr. Horrible and Dollhouse panels were amazing. It was disappointing that I had to miss Heroes and Lost to see Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse, but well worth it I think. Josh Friedman was very entertaining and it was revealed that one cast member will die this season on T:SCC.

Joss was hysterical and charming as per usual and the chemistry between Tahmoh and Eliza is going to make for a fabulous show if they can translate that to the screen.
Amy said…
I drove down from Corona for Saturday only and mainly to see LOST. I enjoy Heroes as well and liked both panels. I also really enjoyed the Pushing Daisies panel.

I parked at Qualcomm and took the trolley so thankfully had no traffic problems. It was fun, but I was exhausted after one day, I have no idea how you all did it for four! I do wish I could have seen the Dollhouse panel, but LOST was my main goal.

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns