Ramble, Ramble, Doctor Who, Ramble

I know I have been pretty absent lately. Maybe it's because I just haven't felt like writing. Maybe it's because I've been spending all my free time discovering that falling for Battlestar Galactica was NOT, in fact, the last step into total geekdom, but that instead the BBC cult series called Doctor Who claims that honor.

It's not like there's a absence of things to blog about. There's the recent, polarizing Lost series finale. There's my constant worry over what I'll fill all my free time with now that all my shows are off the air until this fall. Oh, and as I mentioned above, there's my last step into what I will now refer to as Level 1,000,000 Geekdom; my surrender to Doctor Who and consequently my surrender to the lovely, charming and wholly miraculous David Tennant. So, to keep this blog afloat, some bullet points. Because honestly, who doesn't love bullet points?

• Let's start with Lost and let's be sweet and simple. I loved it. Yes, I'm one of those. Call it denial or whatever you wish but I thought the finale, though not totally flawless, was still a great finale. I didn't watch it and immediately regret spending six years of my life theorizing and discussing the grand and oftentimes headache-causing mythology of show. Even if the finale did end up being less than great to me, I would still look upon the last Lost years as mind-blowing, eye-opening and generally a fun and educating experience. For The End, the writers obviously made the decision to sideline the Island mythology and instead focus on the characters, which, yes, did leave the fans with many Dharma notebooks full of unanswered questions but left us also with an intensely emotionally and spiritual finale. I know many fans feel differently, but that was a satisfying choice for me. Lost changed the face of television. It opened a door for epic series, showing the networks that high-concept shows can and will attract a large and devoted audience, depending on the quality of the writing behind the show.




• Legend of the Seeker was cancelled. The series finale aired last weekend and I could not be more disappointed with the decision to end the series. For a syndicated show, it was extremely well done. The beautiful location (New Zealand) and the magnificently choreographed fight scenes were only a couple of the great aspects of the show. The main actors were brilliant in their roles and watching Craig Horner slowly become the Richard we know and love from the books was always thrilling. Of all the cancelled shows, this one hit me the hardest. I believe it's a horrible waste of potential, seeing as there were several more books of material to work through.





• On the other hand, Chuck was renewed!!! This was actually very unexpected and I could not be more happy. Chuck is one of my favorite shows and Zachary Levi is slowing becoming one of my favorite actors to follow and watch. He's been touring around Europe all summer and his pictures and videos from the trip and absolutely priceless. The fact that he is obviously a huge nerd only makes me adore him all the more.




• Now, to the most important and life-changing news. Doctor Who. Yup. I fight and I fight and I fight against it but there's just no helping it. I'm not just a Level 1 nerd. I am so far past that, it's not even funny. Akin to my slow acceptance of BSG, I finally gave in and watched the first episode of Doctor Who. And then I watched the next one. And the next one. And so on. I love it. I loved Christopher Eccleston as the first Doctor. So much so that when David Tennant took over the role for Season 2, I was not happy. Not at all. Of course, it took all of two episodes to change my mind. He was brilliant and wonderful and he made the character his own in such a way that when I stopped watching, even for a couple hours, I missed him. The character of the Doctor is such a intoxicating idea, as if Russell T. Davies looked into the heart of a regular, everyday woman and saw the one man that would be worth an eternity (literally) of trouble and sacrifice. And then he wrote him out and the Doctor was created. And then he decided to create a different version of that same man, and Captain Jack Harkness was created. I watched Torchwood before I saw even one episode of Doctor Who, so when John Barrowman started his run as Captain Jack in the first season of Doctor Who, it was the first time that I realized I could actually miss a television character. Watching him being introduced for the first time was like a soothing balm to my soul, something I didn't even realized I needed until that moment. There's just no other way to describe it. This is such an amazing show, filled with such unique and layered characters and focused so keenly on our subconscious fears and desires it feels like the writers know you better than you know yourself. Like Battlestar, the alien worlds and impossible technologies, the spaceships and the time-travel, are not what the show focuses on and they are not the aspects that keep you watching. This is a show about being human, from the point of view of an ageless alien. And it's REALLY good. I dare you to try it and not love it.






• On a similar note and due to my adoration of David Tennant, I have been working my way through the BBC TV adaptation of Hamlet. Working my through, because it's a 3 hour modern production so it's taking me awhile to get through it. Nevertheless, it's breathtaking and groundbreaking. David Tennant is mesmerizing in his turn as Hamlet and I've never enjoyed watching this tragedy as much as I am now, with Tennant starring. I've always been a big Shakespeare fan, but this version certainly takes that fandom to new levels. I'm now of the opinion that David Tennant should play in EVERY Shakespeare play. In fact, he should just play every character in every play. No joking.

Well, all this David Tennant talk is making me miss watching Doctor Who, and seeing as I still have half of the fourth season to go through, I think I'll get back to it. The lord of daydreams is calling my name...

The B-S-G in the 2-4

Yeah, I don't watch 24. That's one boat I never really found the interest to jump on. It's not that I don't love Keifer. I, like most of the creatures now inhabiting the known universe, do. I mean, he's one scary-ass vamp (The Lost Boys) that could kick Edward Cullen's sparkling ass anyday. Plus, he's one dead sexy Musketeer, no? Not to mention, his dad (Donald Sutherland) was Buffy's first watcher. No offense meant to the great Rupert Giles, but D. Sutherland was the original Man in Tweed and in my mind will always be the first stuffy Brit to reprimand Buffy for her totally unprecedented slayer-style. Which is unfortunate for him, I suppose.

No, it wasn't Keifer that turned me off of the show, but rather the cop-procedual vibe I originally got from it. I hate cop-proceduals. Like, a lot. So, I avoided jumping on the crazy whirl-a-gig of fun that was supposedly 24.

Cut to last year, around June/July, where I heard rumors of some very exciting casting for the new season of 24. I had just started Season 4 of Battlestar Galactica and I was a full-fledged BSG addict. The confirmed rumor was the casting of BSG alum Katee Sackhoff as Dana Walsh, some CTU goddess of computers and whatnot. I wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but considering I was soon to go through some serious Starbuck withdrawal, it was potentially interesting news. I soon come to find even more actors popping up in connection to 24. Freddie Prinze Jr., who was never a real talent in my opinion, but who married my girl, SMG, and who I still enjoyed watching on screen, was going to play Dana Walsh's fiance. "Ooooooo", went my mental commentary. And just to add another deliciously tempting layer of icing on the yet un-sampled 24 cake, Callum Keith Rennie, who played my very favorite (and yes, very sexy) cylon, Leoben, would be playing yet another evil-doer for the famous Jack Bauer to eventually beat to a bloody pulp (we hope).

My once-in-a-lifetime experience with the cast of 24, including the new additions, at San Diego Comic-Con last year, was the ridiculously large rocket that finally blew up the helicopter. The apparently divine Cake di 24 must be sampled and with the help of my good friend and fellow blogger, Corrie Duckworth, I started watching this past Sunday. I have spent four lovely (and highly stressful) hours with Jack Bauer in the past two days and enjoyed every high-intensity second of them.

The Battlestar Parked at CTU:

Here's the kicker with watching a new show that prominently features actors from one of your all-time favorite television shows; you squeal A LOT when they come on screen. For Katee, there was less squealing and more mental annoyance that went something like this...

SPOILER ALERT

"Who's this creepster guy calling you, Mrs. Soon-To-Be-Freddie's-Second-Coolest-Wife?"

"Ohhh...dang, he is going to cause you some tru-ble!"

"Ok, seriously...why are you taking this shit, STARBUCK? KICK HIS ASS! Where's your gun, anyway?"

"Ok, all this whining and begging is beneath you. Get your raptor and run that frakker OVER! He's making a mess in your nice apartment, for Adama's sake!"

Yeah, you see the problem. Watching Katee Sackhoff in a less than badass role was a little off-putting, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. The pretty hair and make-up? Not sure I'll ever get used to that.

As for Mr. Leoben, I feel bad for Corrie and her husband, Ryan. I spent the last couple minutes of the episode last night squealing "LEOBEN!!" every time Callum Keith Rennie's photo popped on the screen. We haven't even met his character yet and I'm already getting way to excited for the good of my fellow 24-watchers. Good thing I JUST got them into Battlestar, so they at least known where my hardcore addiction flows from. And yes, they LOVE it. Point one for the crazy sci-fi nerd.

So, what about you TV-watchers? Did you check out the four new hours of Jack Bauer goodness? What about our famous Battlestar alums? Good to see them shining onscreen again?

NPH Is a God

As everyone else here in Georgia searches their cluttered and spider-infested garages for their inflatable baby-pools and large floaties in order to paddle their way to work this morning, I've decided to report on a more significant event that occurred last night (no, not football - it's like you don't know me at all!), seeing as I made it safely to work without being swept away by the Great Flood.

The event I am referring to is of course the Emmys, hosted by the one and only, Dr. Horrible himself, Neil Patrick Harris. As predicted by yours truly, NPH caused an otherwise dull and lifeless ceremony to sparkle and shine like a newly polished golden statuette of some chick holding a globe-like object (what is that thing anyway?). Despite the fact that everyone from last year won again this year, causing me to distinctly dislike 30 Rock and Mad Men, just on principle alone, we still had Neil. And he's worth tens of thousands of disappointing Emmy wins. His opening number was almost, almost worth the snub that the Emmys gave Battlestar Galactica. And in an unexpected and thrilling turn of events, we even got a bad-ass Dr. Horrible "interruption" of the show, which upon Captain Hammer (my dear Nathan Fillion) jumping into the frame, fists flying as usual, brought about far-too-loud squees! from Katie and I. I fear we might have woken the neighbors with our vociferous love of everything Dr. Horrible. I wanted to jump into the television and pridefully clap Jon Stewart on the back when he finally told Neil what everyone else was thinking: that he was doing a damn good job of hosting.

Highlights:

On the Red Carpet - Everyone How I Met Your Mother. I couldn't adore Jason Segal anymore than I already do and seeing Alyson Hannigan up and about after having her and Alexis' baby girl was a great treat. She looked absolutely stunning. I also enjoyed reading her tweets as the night went on.

Also, Best Dress goes to Anna Torv, who rocked a gorgeous and totally unique gown for the night. We loved it mostly because it wasn't like any other actress' dress (it wasn't that silly mermaid cut and it actually had sleeves!) and besides, she looks smokin' in that red.

Dr. Horrible's hijacking. By far the very best part of the night. I was so bummed about not getting the once hinted-at performance by the cast... but this stunt completely made up for it. Joss+NPH+Nathan Fillion = comedy and musical gold. Throwing in anything Dr. Horrible to any show on television can only make it ten times better - but that goes double for an awards show. I tip my hat to you, Emmy planning people.

NPH's opening number. Exactly what I expected; total brilliance. I honestly believe this man can do no wrong. It's like all the love and happiness and talent in the world converged into one fine-looking human male and now we have Neil Patrick Harris to lighten up our dull work hours with a certain lovable evil doctor and to spice up our otherwise dull award show Sunday with enthusiastic song and dance.

I love that Michael Emerson won for Best Supporting Role for Lost and that Kristin Chenoweth won for Best Supporting Role for Pushing Daisies. It was such a great honor for the show, which was cancelled way before its time.

So, did you like the ceremony? Did NPH deliver, in your opinion? Don't worry, I'll probably not hunt you down and hurt you horribly if you say "no"...

Dragon*Con 2009

Here's the truth about any Con, whether it be Comic-Con, Dragon*Con, or even, yes, TwiCon: attending one is strangely similar to attending a family reunion. It's like coming home; there's no need to impress anyone (unless you're posing for pictures that will be around for awhile), just a pressing desire to take the small bit of time you have and enjoy just being yourself, for once. You don't have to be afraid to let your Geek Flag fly - your family has no choice but to love you anyway. The same goes for the Conies (not to be confused with Carnies). You walk in a room and you instantly know you're among family. These people feel you, they're on your level, on your same page. You can be yourself around them and there's not an ounce of judgement coming your way, cause let's face it, you're probably the sanest one in the room. That's not to say that you get along with all of them. Akin to a family reunion, there's always that one person who is not on your level, not on your page. When Uncle Bob leeringly inquires whether you've been working out lately, it's just about as creepy as that one Conie who approaches you while you're waiting for your Marta train and comments on how nice your teeth are. But besides good ol' Uncle Bob, it's always nice to see the family; to be among your own kind. Still, however nice it is, you can probably only take a couple days of it (I know I can only stand a couple hours at a time with my family), then it's time to rejoin the real world. But it was fun, and rather interesting, while it lasted...

I had a full, four-day pass to Dragon*Con this year... and absolutely no one to go with. Every single one of my friends (and family) flaked out on me at the last moment. This didn't necessarily turn out to be a bad thing. When you're attempting to traverse through a room packed full with hundreds of Con-goers, most in costume (I can't tell you how many times some dude's sword poked me - *There's your dirty-minded material for day...You're welcome), it's best travelled alone. On Friday, I went to pick up my badge and spent a couple hours walking around, buying a couple comics and having dinner with a friend that was working security.

As always, my most pressing stop was the Walk of Fame, where all the actors and panelists sign autographs. Now, you have to pay for an autograph, which to me is really like paying for the privilege of meeting a favorite actor. I could really care less about the actual autograph. Last year, I had money for one (the disastrous meeting with Nathan Fillion) and the same went for this year. True to form, I stalked around, searching for my newest sci-fi crush, Michael Trucco. He was sitting among the other Battlestar Galactica alum, all of whom I was immensely excited to see. His line was very short, only a couple people were in front of me, which was good considering my nerves were at their breaking point. With legs made of jello and a heart beating far too fast and hard to be healthy, I met Michael Trucco. Even cuter in person, he was an absolute doll. He immediately broke the tension by laughing about my confusion as to where I put my money (his girl helper wasn't very helpful at all) and laughing even harder when I received my $5 change ("And there, you get that back..."). I bravely thrust my hand towards him and introduced myself as he shook it. I was already doing better than I did with Fillion. I told him that I had just recently finished Battlestar and how great it was and we entered into a conversation about people trying to avoid spoilers and such - he leaned back in his chair, with his beautiful arms crossed, like he was just chilling at home with a friend. I realized I hadn't picked a picture for him to sign yet, so I embarrassingly scanned the piles and chose one. I can't imagine what it must be like for the actors, sitting there and waiting while their fans choose a picture of them that they liked. It felt very awkward. I couldn't think of anything to say while he signed the picture (later I thought about a ton of things to talk about) and he handed it over and I told him, "Thanks, it was nice to meet you", and walked away with legs now like marshmallow. All my energy and cool (the little that I had) now sapped, I headed home with my XOXO signed photo of Sam Anders.

Since I spent most of my time at Comic-Con waiting in lines for panels and little to none exploring the exhibition halls, I promised myself I would do the opposite during Dragon*Con. The only panel I attended was an 11:30am Battlestar Galactica panel on Saturday morning. I got there far too early, but was rewarded with a seat in the first 5 rows in front of the stage. It was a great panel, including Michael Hogan, Michael Trucco, Kate Vernon, Mary McDonnell, Luciana Carro and Alessandro Juliani - with a surprise guest, Aaron Douglas. Mary McDonnell was like a giggling schoolgirl, she opened the panel with "Hey y'all. I love Georgia!", in a deep southern accent. She was by far the most interesting and active panelist - always cracking jokes and laughing. She was also the smartest person in the room. Michael Hogan and Kate Vernon jokingly argued like a married couple about Tigh's affair with Caprica 6 and Michael Trucco avoided the mic as much as possible. Everyone else was great. I felt like the biggest geek in the world when, as they got up to leave, Michael Hogan (in his booming, unique Col Tigh voice) yelled, "SO SAY WE ALL!" to the whole room and we all obligingly called in answer, "SO SAY WE ALL"! There is really no going back for me. *sigh* If men don't start listening to this, I'm doomed to be the old lady who lives with her cats and who watches reruns of Firefly every night.

After spending two days alone around the Con, I was ready for some company. Luckily, I had some friends that didn't tend towards flaking out. I met them (Eric & Emily) around midday on Sunday and we spent the next 10 hours walking around the exhibition halls, seeking out food, taking pictures, learning about Steam Punk and drinking buckets of rum. They had never been to a Con before, so I enjoyed showing them around and just having some friends to enjoy the experience with. We met up with several of their friends, most in costume, and relaxed by people watching on the Hyatt patio. As 11pm rolled around, and if it's possible, the Con got even more crowded, I was seriously fading and we finally headed back via Marta (where we met the Uncle Bob of the convention). I decided I didn't contain one tablespoon of nerd pride left in me and took Monday to recover from geek-overload instead of attending the last day of the Con.

All I can say is - my body and sanity are very happy to hear that they don't have to go through that again for at least another year. Below are some pictures from the Con. Enjoy.

Whedon vs Reality TV

Straight from my head-thoughts to Adam Vary's head-thoughts, put to digital paper, I give you the the best and truest thought IN THE UNIVERSE...!

"And yet Joss Whedon has never been at the helm of a bone fide mainstream hit. From his seminal first series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to his current distaff genre series Dollhouse, Whedon has instead become a master of cult TV, fostering a small(ish) but rabidly loyal fan base for each of his series. A critics’ darling if ever there was one, he has failed, however, to win the respect of Emmy voters, who have — in the unimpeachable opinion of Whedon fans everywhere — unforgivably snubbed his shows, their writers (well, mostly), and their actors. No matter. If all he had done was make Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s first three seasons, Whedon’s place in the TV firmament would be secure. As it stands today, his ongoing body of work is a testament to the heartening truth that unique and uncommonly great network television is still possible in an era dominated by reality TV and endless procedural crime show spin-offs. "

I HATE crime show spin-offs and reality television. Having the honor to watch anything Joss nowadays is like a cool spring breeze on the hot summer day that is crappy network television these days. If reality television had a heart, I'd put a stake through it.

Check out the rest of the EW University column here.

Here ends my Joss rant. One can never have enough of those.

In other news, Dragon*Con is merely a day away and I will be attending all four days (unless I'm totally wiped by Monday and then I might commit a Nerd-Girl Party Foul and sit that last day out). Either way, I'll come back (hopefully) chalk-full of fun nerd experiences and (hopefully) signed autographs from the Buffy and Battlestar Galactica alums that will be running around. I'll have to work on my self-control in case I run into Michael Trucco. Ummmm... Anders....yummmm. Yeah, I should probably start working on that.

Later tubers.

The Last Battlestar to Cross the Finish Line

SPOILER WARNING!!







Since I was so late on jumping on the Battlestar bandwagon (and I have to admit, it was Joss Whedon's unmistakable admiration for the show that finally had me Netflixing season 1), it now seems like I am the last person in the world to reach the final episodes, "Daybreak" Part 1, 2 and 3. After falling hard while testing out the miniseries - I mean, how can you NOT fall for this show, starting from the very first, mind-blowing, curiosity-raising scene - I went straight to Amazon to buy all the rest of the seasons. I caught up to season 4.5 before it was released this last month on DVD, so I had to wait, dodging Internet spoilers and feeling the ache of Adama-withdrawal, until I received the last DVD set in the mail. It was only last night that I finally finished what seems to me to be the most perfect ride I have ever experienced via television. I'd like to say that I'm being overly dramatic - but I'm not, and all you cynical bastards are just going to have to deal with it. I used to be one of those people - a sci-fi-wary doubter. Just because someone enjoys vampires, werewolves, demon-hunters and vampire slayers, doesn't mean they'd also enjoy fictional planets, robots, space cowboys and fighter pilots. Any decent nerd will tell you there is a big difference between fantasy and science fiction - and they'll probably use charts and graphs and a Powerpoint presentation to do it. But once Firefly proved me wrong on that account, I was more open to testing the sci-fi waters. What I discovered was a beautifully complex, deeply emotional, heart-wrenching and heart-filling show that left me feeling sad and happy, lost and found, drained and satisfied at the end of each and every episode I watched.



I never thought it was possible for a television show to allow the viewer to feel this vast array of emotions in one 40 minute period - I always believed that to be literary territory. I had only ever felt so connected and aligned with characters when they came from fantasy book series. It takes at least 3-12 novels (all 500 pages or more), all dedicated to developing several key plots and characters, for me to become so emotionally tangled and invested in a story. Yet Battlestar needed less than half a season to win me over so thoroughly. Even Buffy, my go-to show and the show I compare all other shows against, couldn't create this spectrum of emotion in just one episode. And that, my fellow Joss-lovers, is a tough truth to concede. But if ever a network was searching for the recipe for the perfect show, they'd only have to look here - at a small group of human survivors, fighting against religious and political upheaval, with cylons and traitors in their midst as they search for a new, and hopefully non-nuked, home. Of course, it's so much more than just that. Battlestar had in it's employ a group of fantastic, not just good or great, but FANTASTIC writers (insert shout out to Jane Espenson here) and a cast of the best actors that can be found today. When I saw Edward James Olmos signing autographs mere feet away from me at Comic-Con, I couldn't make myself walk any closer, knowing that I would forever and always see him as the wise and loyal father figure, filled to the brim with honor and goodness and not just a few inspiring speeches. Even though I know the difference between an actor and the character he plays, Olmos played Admiral Adama so well I know I will always have a hard time seeing him as anyone else. The same goes for every other, extraordinary actor on the show.



The fourth and last season of this show treated me like a wet towel, twisting me into knots and draining me of all my moisture. There wasn't one episode where I didn't at least tear up a little. This was never so true as with the last three episodes. Unlike the poor blokes that had to watch "Daybreak" Part 1, 2 and 3 through several weeks, I got to watch it all, uncut and extended, right through. No waiting for the next part to air, no getting up for dessert or answering my phone, just straight through, all in one terrifically wistful and terribly beautiful night. One box of tissues was not nearly enough. Akin to the end of Return of the King, Battlestar had several endings, each one that passed making me fear more and more it's final ending. But it was good, really good. I am a sucker for Disney happy-endings and this was anything but a Disney happy-ending, but it wasn't a bad end either. It was a realistic end - one that included many, many dead bodies, but one with a last hope finally realized. Lee Adama's beautiful mane of hair didn't hurt either (it was glorious, no?) - though at the end, I worried about how alone he would be for the rest of his life (Yes, I know he's not REAL, but I was still concerned!). It would have been nice to have just one other positive event at end the series (besides the humans finally finding a home) to offset all the loss. Thoughts of Starbuck and Apollo spending the rest of their lives together, exploring their new world, would have been a big help in getting me through the melancholy end to the series. Oh well, guess a gal can't have everything. And yes, the main emotion I felt at the end was sadness; sadness for all the lives lost and all the people unable to enjoy the beautiful new world that was found, sadness for the great relationships that never got to reach their full, awesome potential, and sadness for me, who fears she will never again find such an extraordinary and touching show on television.




Even while I was sneaking around spoilers before I finished the series, I still heard moans of Battlestar withdrawal throughout the whole of the Internet. I was fearful that once I finally finished, I would lie aching in bed, pinning for Helo and Starbuck and Adama & Son and nothing would fill the vast hole of their loss. Character withdrawal can be an ugly thing and only time can heal it. Luckily, Jane Espenson and other Battlestar writers, are giving us a prequel with the Caprica series in January, not to mention The Plan. Joss is also helping to heal the pain of withdrawal, by casting several Battlestar alums as guest stars in Dollhouse next season. I can only feel desperately grateful to him for giving me more Jamie Bamber (Apollo/Lee Adama) screen time. Yummmm.




And here ends a doubters tale of enlightenment. In trying and loving this show, I am an official sci-fi geek, and proud of it. If anything is worth the title, this show is. I can only hope to be proven wrong many more times over.


Good hunting!

San Diego Comic-Con Day 2

Ok, take a seat, relax and enjoy as I walk you through (with every boring detail) the wonderful world of the Con...

There's something you have to understand about Comic-Con, or any Con for that matter. There are basically two parts of a Con. One part consists of the panels. Basically, you stand in line for about 2 hours for one room (one BIG room), making sure to get into line at least 3-4 hours before the panel you want to see (just in case), then you make your way into the room and STAY there. Luckily, they do not empty a room after each panel, so essentially you could stay in one room all day long and just keep watching panel after panel. That's pretty much what we did.

The other part of a Con are the Exhibition halls. This is where all the artists, the studios, and all the miscellaneous sellers hawk their goods. It's like a medieval marketplace, only with so many shiny toys and trinkets, for a moment you know what it feels like to be a dragon (yes, only if dragons REALLY existed) and you want nothing more than to gather up all the shiny and horde it away forever and ever. But I digress, where was I? Oh yeah, the exhibition halls, shiny things. Anyway, there is just SO much to look at, you just end up running into people every five seconds because you are looking anywhere but right in front of you. It's pretty much what I envision when I think about the Mad Hatter having a very big yard-sale. It's a madhouse, seriously. Not only that, but if you could walk around for hours, you'd get bags and bags full of FREE stuff and there's nothing more we Americans love more than FREE stuff. But free stuff often comes with a price, even though, you know, it's supposed to be free! There were multiple "free stuff" riots happening all the time and in every corner of the hall. Besides the infamous "Megan Fox" riot, the "Free New Moon Poster" riot was the worst. Luckily, I threw some elbows and got me a nice big'un. What? I like free stuff too!

You could spend hours upon hours in these cavernous halls and never get the chance to see everything. If you tried, you'd probably get lost and never see the light of day again. Unfortunately, I had little to no time for that fun adventure. I came to the conclusion that you have to pick which part of the Con you want to see more because four days is just not enough time to do both, the panels and the exhibition halls. If I ever go again, I would attend far less panels and spend more of my time walking around the exhibition hall with all the cool people (ie: the Storm Troopers, the Dharma Initiative Recruits and Batman). Another aspect of the halls, which I missed out on, were the autograph signings. But more on that later.

We decided to make our second day (Friday) the "Sleep In and Miss All the Good Film Panels" day. Which means I missed the WB film panel, which included The Box (with James Marsden and Cameron Diaz), Jonah Hex (with Josh Brolin and Megan Fox), Sherlock Holmes (with Robert Downey) and many others. Not to mention the 9 panel. In retrospect, it was a bad decision, but you just can't see everything and our beds wouldn't be denied. We also missed The Guild panel, The Prisoner panel (Jim Caviezel, yum!) and the Battlestar Galactica panel. A bunch of ouchies there. The main panels we were shooting for on Friday were the Bones and Dollhouse/Joss panels. The Bones panel started at 3pm, so we got in line around 1pm-ish. As per usual, we were in the room a hour later and just in time for the 24 panel. For my part, I am not a 24 fan. I've never watched the series, but I have seen a couple episodes here and there. However, I was excited about this panel, due to the attendance of Katee Sackoff (Battlestar Galactica) and Freddie Prinze Jr, not to mention, how can you not love Kiefer? It turned out to be a great panel. Here are some tidbits:

Favorite Moment:

Freddie (answering a question): Well, my wife and I...

Whole room explodes in yells and clapping. It's like an ocean of sound all around you. Freddie chuckles.

Freddie: Oh yeah, I forgot she was big here...

Whole room explodes again.

Scoop/Spoilers:

- This seasons' theme is: "Peace...but don't worry, we'll still blow things up".

- Jack Bauer is in a rare happy place. This won't last long.

- Also, something about someone trying to assassinate the President of the U.N. I think.

- Freddie Prinze's character is Junior Jack. He is also engaged to Katee Sackoff's character.

- Katee Sackoff's character knows more about computers than Chloe. Apparently Chloe's reactions to this are very funny. *shrug*

- There's a new CTU. It's pretty and...new. *shrug*

Kiefer was a great panelist and Katee looked beautiful. Mary Lynn Rajskub did not look happy to be there, but I hear that's just the way she looks. Apparently she's very funny, but all I saw were frowns. *Shrug*

The Bones panel held a bad surprise, but one we were getting used to. David Boreanaz wasn't able to make it, but he did send in a very funny, very long, rambling video to his Comic-Con fans. It was pretty entertaining and as usual, he looked good enough to eat. This panel turned out to be the smallest one we attended during the Con. It was only Emily Deschanel and Hart Hanson, the creator. Funnily enough, it was one of the most entertaining panels we saw. Emily was absolutely adorable. She was so funny and charming, I almost fell in love with her myself.

Favorite Moment:

When Emily and Hart decided they should spread over the huge panel table and Hart went to the end and Emily to the middle, with the panel moderator on the other side. It was hilarious. Then they thought it was too awkward and moved back to their original positions.

Scoop/Spoilers:

- There MIGHT be a Booth/Bones kiss in the premiere episode. It was scripted, but they won't say whether it was actually shot.

- The premiere opens 2 weeks after Booth wakes up in the hospital and there is still awkwardness between the two. Bones has left the country, on a dig or something, in order to avoid Booth for awhile.

- Questions about the non-sex scene and it's impact upon Booth's psyche will be at least touched upon in the early episodes.

After Bones came one of the few panels I was REALLY looking forward to, Dollhouse and Joss Whedon. Joss just strolls out on stage, not announcing himself at all and with no panel moderator. Seriously, this man needs no moderator. He's good, just as he is. Anyway, he circles the stage a little, letting the crowd rile itself up and boy did it ever! After a couple moments, he welcomed us and set us up for the screening of the "lost" Dollhouse episode, "Epitaph One", that we were about to see. We watched it, and even though I often heard Katie beside me, whispering that she had no idea what was going on, it was a great episode and I really enjoyed it. After the screening, Joss came back out and introduced Eliza Dusku and she joined him on stage. What followed was a study on the charm and wit of one of mine most beloved show-creators. Eliza was nice and laid back but her presence was completely shadowed by Joss himself, who couldn't say one thing without the audience either laughing, clapping or hollering or all three. He was everything I believe he would be and more. He was entirely gracious toward us for being there and supporting him for all these years, completely humble and completely wonderful. He talked Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible and his projects with Dark Horse, including Buffy Season 8. Eventually, Eliza commented that she had Twittered (it's a verb now!) some of her friends and they wanted to come out on stage. A minute later, Fran Kranz and Dichen Lachman, two other Dollhouse cast members, walked onstage and finished up the panel with Joss and Eliza.

Favorite Moment:

When a fan came up to the microphone and said/asked: "You killed Penny, you bastard! Why do you keep killing my favorite characters"?! Joss just laughed and said evilly, "Because I love making you suffer"!

Scoop/Spoilers:

- "Epitaph One" is an futuristic episode. I forget the exact date, but basically, it's where our character MIGHT end up one day. Next season and any consecutive seasons, will all work towards that future, with our characters either following the path to that future, or changing the future that we saw in the episode. It's a mystery how they got there and its a mystery how it all ends too. Both sides are open-ended as of now.

The Dollhouse panel was the last for the day and ended around 7pm-ish. Here's where we get to the horror of the exhibition hall. For the first time, I dragged both the girls down to the hall, which closed at 8pm. We had an hour to walk around, which is equivalent to about one second, in Con World. It turned out, for Katie and Tina, even one second was too much. The crowds were horrible. You couldn't walk one foot without brushing up against someone else. I could tell immediately that Tina and Katie were not happy to be there. We could get nowhere near the WB or Fox booths (the WB booth was giving away free Chuck bags and the girls were NOT going to wait in that line). The thing about the hall is, you can't think straight. It's like being in a hurricane of colors, sounds, objects, people and I am not talking about the middle, calm part of a hurricane. I'm talking the windy, electric, flying side parts. So, I didn't even think that the reason people were standing around the Fox booth was that Joss and Eliza were expected there for autograph signing. Yeah, DUH! Smack myself on the forehead for that one! By the time we figured it out, there was a mass of people surrounding the booth and only 30 minutes before the hall closed. Tina and Katie dragged me out, much to my tearful dismay. If I regret anything from this trip (besides the Bryan Fuller incident), it was not getting to meet Joss Whedon when he was only 20 feet from me.

We left the Con and headed to dinner and there concluded our second day at Comic-Con.

Day 3 and 4, coming soon!