Lindsay and Katherine picked me up around 6:30 AM for our drive down to San Diego. If you think we're nuts, our friend Ben left at 4 AM, while Arminder left at 5 AM. Oh yeah, and the doors didn't open until 9:30. Yeah. We got there pretty close to 10, and I was sus-ploding out of my skin.
Thaaaaaaaaaaaaat's me! I was disappointed that I had left all my X-Files related T-shirts back in Chicago. I wore the nerdiest shirt I had, and actually got a few compliments on my Narnia shirt. (On a side note, I swear I get as much if not more comments on my Narnia shirt as I do on my "Shakespeare hates your emo poems" shirt. Go figure.) Back to Comic-Con...I had a quandary when I arrived: There was the Farscape 10th anniversary panel at 10:15, which featured the actors who played Crichton and Aeryn (and the creator and executive producer). However, what I was really drooling for was the BSG panel at 11:45. Now, those unfamiliar with the ways of Comic-Con are probably like, What's the problem? There's plenty of time. In theory, yes, but theory doesn't take into account hordes of uber-rabid fans staking out rooms, particularly for the really popular panels, for hours beforehand. I decided to go to the BSG room with Lindsay to gauge if I needed to wait in line with her; if I didn't, I would go to Farscape. But it was already crammed just for the Stargate panel, which was taking place in the room before BSG, and we were guessing over half were planning on staying for BSG, so I stayed. The Stargate panel actually wasn't bad. I wished I'd ever actually seen an eisode of Stargate ever--though they said it's been on about 15 years, I somehow missed SG-1 and Atlantis. Oh well. The panel was for the new spinoff, Stargate Universe, which will be costarring Ming-na. (Love her!) Although I wasn't in on any of the in-jokes, the panel was really entertaining, and at the very least piqued my curiosity about the series. (I probably still won't watch it.) 2 really memorable things from the audience Q&A:
- Some fan addressed this question to Jamil Walker Smith, the only black actor on the panel: "I was a big fan of your father Michael and your grandfather Paul. How does it feel to be an actor in such a prestigious family?" There was a pause, and this look came over Jamil's face. At first, I thought it was because he was sick of being asked about his family. (Note: I had never heard of this actor before today...) Then he says, "It's tough being a young African-American actor in Hollywood. Since there are, relatively, not too many of us, a lot of things get passed around that aren't true. That being said, Michael Morris is not my father, and Paul Morris is not my grandfather." We were sitting too far back to see how the idiot fan who asked the question reacted to creating such an epically awkward moment, but you could feel everyone's jaw drop in the room. Seriously--it's generally assumed that those who ask questions are really big fans of whatever that panel's about; additionally, this guy was smugly dropping names like he was in the know or something. And to make such a mistake? Ouch! To his credit, Jamil let it drop and tried to play the rest off with a little humor: "They're great actors, though..."
- Some other guy later asked this question: "In the past Stargate series, you've always cast these beautiful, intelligent, talented women. I was wondering what your motivation was for casting these women." Now. I'm certain this man was a veritable nerd through and through. He probably didn't mean for that to sound as insulting as it came across, but he also probably didn't have the social grace to realize that he sounded like an ass. Again, to the cast's credit, they played it off with humor. But it was definitely a face-palm moment.
(How convenient, you can even read their nametags!)I cannot emphasize how fabulous this panel really was. I don't even know where to begin! They split the time pretty evenly among talking about Caprica, The Plan, and their experience on and the legacy of BSG. They showed previews for both Caprica and The Plan--The Plan looks amazing! So so so excited! Syfy (geez, that still looks stupid) announced the premiere for Caprica for the first time during that panel, but I of course can't remember the date right now. I know it's in January sometime...Highlights!
(My favorite part is how she's giving Jane Esenson this saucy look...)
At 12:45, there was the Disney animation panel which I would've LOVED to go to, as it featured John Musker, John Lasseter, and Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese Walt Disney himself, in person. However, that was in Hall H (Read: the uber-hall of the convention center); if I had to wait an hour beforehand to get into BSG, there was no way I was getting into this one. Ben did end up going, and he said it was amazing. They showed previews for the Beauty and the Beast and Toy Story 1 & 2 re-releases in 3D, a reel for The Princess and the Frog, and advanced footage for Ponyo. I would've killed to be there, but alas. Instead, I went wandering around the exhibitors and getting autographs and taking pictures. The sad part is that my friends had separated from me to attend a different panel, so no one was actually with me to take my pictures with these awesome things. Alas...
- Ronald Moore's tirade about how underrated BSG was during awards season: "It's a frakking shame that this wonderful cast was never recognized for their contribution to this series!" And when he was talking about how Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin) were the heart of the show, I was very touched.
- Jane Espenson just being so ultra-cool--I mean, look at her! She IS a nerd, and as awkward as she looks, and she's a brilliant writer in Hollywood, which is still a male-dominated game, and very well-respected in the sci-fi world, traditionally a male-dominated genre. She's going to be the show-runner on Caprica, making her one of the few females out there in that job. Thank God there's one to look to now besides Grey's Anatomy...
- This video: (I had tried to catch the moment right before, where Esai did his impression of Edward James Olmos as Admiral Adama, but I missed it. This was the aftermath.)
- Edward James Olmos' promise that The Plan won't be the last BSG movie! And his description of the script he's supposedly written for a future movie: "It'll take place at some point in the future, and they'll go running to one of my future ancestors because they need someone to lead them in taking out the replicants." I had totally not realized that Edward James Olmos (why can't I stop writing his full name?) was in Blade Runner! He talked a little about that and drew some parallels between BSG and Blade Runner, which eventually led to that comment. Awesome.
- Grace Park's surprise appearance in the middle of the panel! I had a feeling she would show up. And let me say that she is so hot in person! What? I can appreciate hot regardless of gender!
(My favorite part is how she's giving Jane Esenson this saucy look...)At 12:45, there was the Disney animation panel which I would've LOVED to go to, as it featured John Musker, John Lasseter, and Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese Walt Disney himself, in person. However, that was in Hall H (Read: the uber-hall of the convention center); if I had to wait an hour beforehand to get into BSG, there was no way I was getting into this one. Ben did end up going, and he said it was amazing. They showed previews for the Beauty and the Beast and Toy Story 1 & 2 re-releases in 3D, a reel for The Princess and the Frog, and advanced footage for Ponyo. I would've killed to be there, but alas. Instead, I went wandering around the exhibitors and getting autographs and taking pictures. The sad part is that my friends had separated from me to attend a different panel, so no one was actually with me to take my pictures with these awesome things. Alas...
Again, for those who have no clue about Comic-Con, people do and are encouraged to show up in costume. That's what some of these are; others are just random things I saw in the exhibitors hall:
(An Iron Man statue--sorry, just a statue--and is that Milena or Kitana there with Ryu?) 
(Did I forget to mention that it was Star Wars Day? Storm Troopers and Slave Girl Leias EVERYWHERE!)
(Need I even explain this one? :-P)
(Some more Iron Man and one Terminator collectibles...)
(Why yes. That IS Stan Lee! A very select group who managed to get to Comic-Con early enough and beeline for a particular room got tickets to be able to get him to autograph things. I was not one of them. I did, however, manage to sneak this picture of him!)
(Let's see, we have Emma Frost, Professor X, Phoenix and Dark Phoenix, and inexplicably, Rorshach from Watchmen.)
(Bart Man and Emily the Strange!)~The Original Fong~
**You wish you could pull off being me**
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