Friday, July 30, 2010

Comic Con 2010 - Where Geeks Join Forces

I have put this update off for long enough....Comic Con was perfect. Not only did I get to reconnect with some of my best friends that I've met through this crazy online thing they call fandom, but I was in the glory of some true artistic brilliance. It was crazy awesome. Here is what I got to do each day....

Wednesday:
Even though I didn't have a preview pass for Wednesday's festivities, they still let us pick up our badges which saved us lots of time. Very, very cool. That evening I met up with a huge table of Whedonesquers at Buca Di Beppo in downtown San Diego. Food was good and I met some other veg. heads. It's always nice to bond with vegetarians, that way we can stick together when everyone else gets food poisoning because of shitty meat. After that I went back to my BFF's to have an amazing night with her hubby and other house mates.

Thursday: Ah, the start of the Con. Two big things on my list for the day. Joss Whedon/JJ Abrams brilliance and Scott Pilgrim panel brilliance. Everything else was just backroom noise or comical (although not supposed to be, ahem Expendables) entertainment. Oh, Stalone. Your face is falling off. Salt...meh. Red looked cute actually. Favorite part off the JJ/Joss panel? When JJ flipped out with jealousy on Joss because he didn't write second drafts. That's right folks. The brilliance of Joss Whedon is revealed. I guess I already knew this, but it was nice to give him his props. He is a master at dialogue. There is NO ONE better. I also felt quite the high with Scott Pilgrim versus the World. I got to see it when it came out last month. I already knew I would love it just by seeing the clips at the panel. A perfect blend of music, writing, acting, and direction. Nice to see Michael Cera play a more believable geek. Haven't loved him this much since Juno. Oh, and the day wasn't over. Had to somehow get into Dr. Horrible. My peeps left to go about their evening, but I was going to try and get in. A miracle happened, and I got in. My only complaint are all the ridiculous call outs. I mean, it's almost every line. And in inappropriate moments. Penny dies, "that's gonna leave a mark". Really??. If the call outs are happening again next year, I'll be missing it. So, on to our next event...Can't Stop the Serenity! As a past coordinator, I just had to go to this. So glad I did even if I did get home at 2am. We saw Serenity, hung out with fellow Browncoats, and all the money went to Equality Now. Shiny! Both the Dr. Horrible Sing-along and Can't Stop the Serenity were coordinated by the California Browncoats. I went home and passed out.






Friday: Woosh....day 2 of the Con. I think this might be my favorite day because it was full of delicious TV panels. It was also *all* of us sitting together. Not only our little family at my BFF's, but our extended Whedonesquers whom I adore. Check out me and two of my favorite people who are also my favorite Whedonesque mods. Such a great time in Ballroom 20 today. First we did our annual "sit through Stargate so we can get to our shows" part. I really have no idea what the heck goes on with Stargate. All I know is that it's like crack to some geeks. Kind of like Joss is to me I guess. Next up was Caprica. Sad not to see Jane Espenson, but happy to see the beautiful James Marsters. Dear god, that man is beautiful. Barnabas was the best thing about Caprica. Then it was Big Bang Theory time. Lots of fun with this panel which was moderated by Mr. Geek America AKA as Wil Wheaton. Biggest surprise to me was Bare Naked Ladies coming out and leading a sing-along for the theme song. It was awesome. Next up was Bones. We got to see Crazy (yet beautiful) David Boreanaz talking about metaphors in acting...sandwiches. Yes, he said that he and Emily create an acting sandwich. It was weird and perfect. Next up was of course one of the biggest highlights for me. Yes, another hour with Joss. He really didn't have anything planned for us, just answered questions. The thing that is so great about Mr. Whedon, he will answer the question...in depth...and the answer is always smart, with a touch of funny, and interesting. Love him so much, and he gave Whedonesque a shout out! Next up was EW Girls that Kick Ass. I mostly just made fun of Jena Malone. That girl loves herself so much. I felt kind of sorry for her because she's one of those child actors who never really understood when to turn the acting off. I think Elizabeth Mitchell was sort of snickering at her. Seriously, Jena Malone was so ridiculous. And then to top off the amazing day was the True Blood panel. I have never in my life seen a table full of such beautiful people. If only Alexander Skarsgard were there. Best part of the entire panel was Stephen Moyer explaining in a very swoonworthy accent the step by step procedure of filming one of the creepiest, most disturbing sex scenes ever to grace our TVs. Topped it off with hanging with some of my favorite people that night. Great day!

Saturday: I had to choose between standing in line all day for Harry Potter, more than likely by myself, or just keeping my fingers crossed that I get into Chuck that morning. Which miraculously I did. Jeffster performed Bad Romance. I mean, I would have stayed in line all day to see Chuck cast sing the Gaga. The entire cast danced on stage. Then of course there was some poking fun (I call it just plain jealousy) at Adam Baldwin, AKA as the man they call Jayne. I knew there was no way I was getting into Hall H. Probably would have tried if I knew Joss was going to show up (the bastard sneaked in and announced the cast of the Avengers that night, grrr arrgh). SO, I hung out with a dear college friend that drove down from LA for the day (I love you, Annie). We of course got wasted and talked about inappropriate things. The best kind of talks in my opinion. Ended the night with playing video games with my house mates. Anne was quite taken back by this whole Comic Con thing. Sadly, she is not a geek. I know. Poor, Annie. One of the best parts of my day was when she told myself and house mates that we were like Phish groupies....but smarter. Awesome! But then she had to explain to me who Phish was. I know....

Sunday:
Last day of Comic Con....NOOO! I met some nice people in line for Smallville. I really am quite clueless about the show, just wanted to see the pretty cast. I stopped watching around season 4 because the writing (which has never been good) got just horrid. What I really wanted to see today was Supernatural and Glee. The Winchester boys? Wow...That is a couple of pretty boys. And Ben Edlund (love him from his Buffy days) was on the panel along with the entire cast, Eric Kripke (old show runner, creator), and Sera Gamble (new show runner). Jim Beaver had some really nice things to say about Jensen's directing style (he's directing an episode called Weekend at Bobby's). After Supernatural we sat through American Dad while I read a book. It's not that I hate American Dad, it's pretty funny. But seriously, I watch enough TV. Then GLEE! So excited about the Glee panel. We found out all kinds of stuff...a Rocky Horror episode, a boyfriend for Kurt, a love triangle with Artie. Some juicy stuff. After Glee I walked around with some friends then attended the annual Buffy Sing-along. We sang and sat far away from the Dawn haters (the Dawn haters are lame). No Once More with Feeling pins sadly, but it was cool to see the Scoobies singing and dancing on the big screen again. After the Sing-along the Whedonesque gang went to In & Out again. A very memorable experience. Not sure how next year will top this year.



Happy Watching!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Comic Con....Yes, I'm going


Just wanted to pop in and say "Yes, I'm going to Comic Con". You can now be jealous. Some of the panels I'm looking forward to are Glee, Chuck, True Blood, and the JJ Abrams/Joss Whedon Worshipfest. I'll be sure to post my thoughts when I get back. Remember Mad Men premiers soon!! Set your DVRs and Happy Watching!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

10 Shows The Rambling Geek is Watching this Summer

Yes, the Summer is almost half way over, and I haven't even told you what I'm watching! Gah! So, I have another top 10 list here. I somehow get all this television watching in. I really don't know how it's possible with two small kids, but somehow I make it work without being a total shitty parent. At least I don't think I am.

1. Wonderfalls
I was pretty excited when my friend let my other friend borrow her Wonderfalls DVDs! I knew that she would just fly through them then give them to me to watch. She sadly didn't like it, but score me because now I have plenty of time to fly through them!! Wonderfalls is a silly show about a girl named Jaye who works at a gift shop at Niagara Falls and little knick-knack creatures (ie stuffed animals, clay lions, and yard flamingos) talk to her. Yes, it sounds quite silly. There is always some sort of mission that she is supposed to lead to help others. Quirky and cute. Added bonus, it was created by one of my TV heroes, Tim Minear who was an executive producer on Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse. Wonderfalls is available on DVD.

2. Design Star
Yes, not terribly geeky, but I LOVE anything on HGTV. Weird, huh? I've always been fascinated with home decorating shows, and I also love real estate shows like House Hunters and Property Virgins. Odd since I'm a renter in a small apartment, shrugs. When Design Star doesn't dwell too much on the drama (the crap of realty TV) there are some intriguing challenges. My favorite so far...incorporating musical instruments into design. Hosted by design favorites Vern Yip, Genevieve Gorder, and Candice Olson, Design Star airs on HGTV on Sunday nights.

3. Mad Men (starting on July 25th)
So excited about this season's Mad Men. How things were left last year? So many possibilities! Plus more Joan!!! I won't have much to add until the show starts, but over on AMC's official Mad Men page, you can Mad Men Yourself: http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/madmenyourself/ Score!

4. So You Think You Can Dance
So many beautiful dancers! The problem with having a top 10 (11) is that they give you no room to not like anyone. In previous years there were far more weak links. And now? I love everyone! I think everyone is pure gold!! My favorites right now are Ashley, Billy, and Lauren. One complaint regarding the All Stars...I want them to chime in with some critique. I mean they worked with them for the past week. Perhaps they can give some feedback regarding how well they worked together. And plus, selfishly, I just want to revisit the glory of some of my favorites (Mark, Courtney, Twitch) because I adored these dancers when they were on the show. VERY excited that they will have a chance to shine. Reliving the Garden piece with Courtney and Mark was by far the biggest treat so far this season. So You Think You Can Dance airs on Fox on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

5. Six Feet Under
This show is near perfection. I'm a 6FU newbie, I just finished season 3. I never thought I would laugh at death, but somehow it works. It's twisted, morbid, and touching all wrapped into a perfect show. Such crazy, complicated characters too. Every episode I change my mind as to who is my favorite character. Sometimes I think it's Claire, then David, then Ruth, then Nate...I love that whole batshit crazy family. I haven't done any research as to if they will bring back the school counselor. It was painfully obvious that he was in love with Claire. I keep fantasizing that he meets up with her at some point. Fingers crossed. And sources (AKA a good friend) tell me that the finale is the best series finale ever to air on television. Wow, hope it lives up to the statement! Six Feet Under is available on DVD.

6. The Wire
OK, I will admit that I'm not loving this show yet. I'm at the point where I definitely enjoy it but it's not like crack to me. When a show becomes like crack, oh that is the good stuff. Buffy. Battlestar. Lost. Supernatural. Yep, crack. Everyone (minus one person) that I have talked to who has seen the Wire keeps telling me it is the most brilliant show ever to exist. Ever. OK, so how can I not keep watching? I will admit I'm only on episode 6 I think of season 1, so I have SO much watching to go!! We are borrowing the entire series from a couple that I adore, and I totally respect their viewing opinion. And the "fuck" scene = brilliant writing (those who have seen the Wire are probably the only ones who understand this statement, and no, it's not what you think). Will keep holding out for the crack. The Wire is available on DVD.

7. True Blood
I don't even know why I should go into why I'm watching this show. Are there Vampires? Yes. Are they sexy? Yes. Is there a strong female lead character? Yes. Is the cast full of amazing, quirky, fun characters? Yes. Are there hot sex scenes? Yes. That is all. True Blood airs on HBO on Sunday nights.

8. Friday Night Lights
Sigh. I've said it time and time again. This show owns my SOUL! Do I like football? Nope. In fact, I don't watch sports, much to my husband's dismay. But what I do love is a real town, set in the South, who live and breath football. I grew up in a town like this. Folks are freaky about their football!! I'm enjoying the new cast of characters too, hoping we get a bit more back story on Vince (AKA Wallace from the Wire). Another thing I love about the show is that it has a REAL married, committed couple and guess what. There are no affairs. I know! They love and support each other! What? On TV? I know! Friday Night Lights airs on Fridays on NBC.

9. Freaks and Geeks
A 1999 gem (set in 1980) about the troubles and turmoil and just plain awkwardness of growing up. I know what you're thinking, Oh No...another one of those high school dramas. Wrong. It's as close to real life as you can get. It is adorable, sweet, and has some very gritty, odd moments. It's Apatow (Judd) at his best. And you will see a bunch of faces that you will recognize (James Franco, Seth Rogan, Jason Segel, Busy Phillips when they were just starting out). Freaks and Geeks air on Friday nights on IFC with encore presentations on Sundays and Mondays. After Freaks, they will air yet another gem, Undeclared.

10. Doctor Who
I will admit it. I miss David Tennant. I was at first on board with the good Doctor right up until the Hungry Earth/Cold Blood aired....yawn. Nope, wasn't a fan. Really enjoyed seeing those crazy Weeping Angels again (they are creeptastic) and it was great to see Dr. Song again. I think a lot of it has to do with me just getting used to Amy and the new doctor. I'll get there. And I've heard from more than one person that the Vincent Van Gogh episode is amazing. It's still on the Tivo, and I'll get to it at some point next week when I'm not being a mama. Doctor Who airs on BBC America on Saturdays.

Happy Watching!