Comic-Con 2011 Panels - Friday Part II #SDCC

Ok, moving right along to Friday Part II. Since Friday is the big day for panels (at least for me), it needed two posts to keep them from being insanely long. Hopefully you guys are finding these enjoyable. I'm trying to get them out as quickly as I can to remain semi-topical. Unfortunately Comic-Con burnout had me in its grips last week. 

Warehouse 13

"I would like to see what happens if Claudia went all 'Dark Willow'." - Allison Scagliotti

This cast is so goofy, I love them. The injection of new blood and Claudia's new agent status will be a good shake-up for the show.

Allison Scagliotti is pretty much just like her character. Random geek references, mannerisms, all the same. If you like Claudia, you would probably like Allison too. Actually, most of them are a lot like their characters, though Joanne Kelly seems more sweet and laid-back and goofy in real life. Eddie McClintock is married, and his wife was in the audience, but that didn't stop him from flirting with a few fans. He also ran through the aisles when he first came out.

"When people ask what I do, I tell them I run a daycare." - Jack Kenny, Exec Producer

They talked a little about the Eureka/Warehouse 13 crossover for this season. Fargo will be back in the Warehouse this year, but Claudia will not be going back to Eureka. According to them, there wasn't time with all the crazy stuff in store for us this season on Warehouse 13. That sounds intriguing! In the episode with Fargo, they all get trapped inside a video game (not Tron-style, but more like a fantasy RPG). Apparently the costumes are pretty amazing.

The nice thing about these summer shows is that they have already filmed the entire season, so they have a much better idea of what is coming than the casts that are still filming.

Scagliotti says that the end of the season is "mind-blowing." I can't wait for that.

It's also Voyagerpalooza in the Warehouse this year with Jeri Ryan and Kate Mulgrew guest-starring. Because I'm a slacker with posting, Ryan has actually already shown up on the show, and Mulgrew will be in four episodes this season. They were all excited about their first Starfleet captain (but it's not their first Star Trek star, as Rene Auberjonois has already been in two episodes).

They revealed that, though they like to keep her as mysterious as possible, we might find out a little bit more about Mrs. Frederick this year. We might even (*gasp*) find out about Mr. Frederick.

Eddie also had this whole story about how people sometimes think he's David Boreanaz, and also that he looks like Craig Sheffer. Then, when he was on Bones, Boreanaz actually said, "You know who you look like?" Eddie: "Um...," David: "Craig Sheffer!"

They did confirm that the H.G. Wells spin-off is in the works, and that's really all the information that they gave about it. 

True Blood

Can I just say how weird it is to hear Jason Stackhouse speaking in an Australian accent?

This panel could have been called the Alexander Skarsgard panel. I especially loved all the ladies who came up, said something like "Thanks for playing such strong female characters, everyone!.... Ok, my question is for Alex." I didn't calculate the precise percentage of questions that were for him, but it was probably at least 80%. There was even a girl from Sweden who had seen all his original work.

Another audience member asked Nelsan Ellis to call her "Hooker," as I mentioned in my post on the TV Guide Panel. He cracks me up. He seems so shy in these public situations and when these requests come up, he just leans forward with this embarrassed expression on his face and says "Hookah" into the microphone. Cue the audience going nuts. I think he is just a little bowled over with how much everyone loves his character. He had a lot of trepidation about the potential audience reaction to such a flamboyant character when the show first came out, and the positive response still surprises him. I also loved his answer to a question about "Which guy on the show would Lafayette go for if given the option?" to which he replied, "I'm good with the squeeze I got." Love that.

A somewhat benign question about what it was like for each of them when they got the part actually yielded some great answers. Working on this show means a lot to the cast, and they are incredibly grateful for it. Rutina Wesley actually broke down during the panel, she was so thankful for the part.

Stephen Moyer shared a story about the day he got the news. His house had been robbed and he had to explain to his kids what had happened. His son ran into his bedroom, and scurried back yelling "they didn't get teddy!" so of course Moyer started crying and hugging his kids. Then, later that day, he got called in for True Blood and met his future wife for the first time. Say it with me now "Awwwww."

I think Stephen Moyer liked that question much more than last year's question about the mechanics of the sex scene with Lorena where he turns her head all the way around. I now know way too much about how that was done. I'm not sure he appreciated the booing about whether or not Bill and Sookie should get back together, though.

There were a lot of questions about spoilery plot points that it would have been insane to answer. My suggestion, if you really want to know all the big spoilers ahead of time, is to read the Sookie Stackhouse novels.

Alan Ball was asked about how working on True Blood compares to working on Six Feet Under. He said he loved Six Feet Under and the whole cast, but "God, it was just so depressing." Amen. I think working on True Blood is a lot more fun.

Since Skarsgard did not come to SDCC last year, and the rumor was that he wasn't coming this year, when he showed up, it was insanity. After this panel, the room mostly cleared out for dinner, and we moved to the front to stake out good seats for Batman: Year One. Except, you couldn't get to the front, because it was full of girls vying for his autograph. He was so gracious, too. They had to practically drag him off of the stage so they could clear everyone out. 

Batman: Year One

Even though this screening was a couple of hours after the end of the True Blood panel, Ballroom 20 completely filled up again. I have no idea if all those people had been in line all day or if they were all walk-ins, but the room was definitely full by the time the movie started.

For those who may be confused, Batman: Year One is a new animated movie (coming out in October), based a Frank Miller graphic novel published in 1987, about Batman's beginnings. The voice actors for the movie were some pretty big names including Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle), Ben McKenzie (The O.C., Southland), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, Buffy) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica). We were shown the movie and had a Q&A panel with the actors afterward.

I looked at the graphic novel when we came home and saw that the movie animation was very like the original drawings. Because it was 1987, all the men look a lot like Tom Selleck with their mustaches (except Bruce, of course), only differentiated by their different hair colors. Now I'm totally picturing Batman with a mustache. How hilarious would that be?

The movie was really good, all dark and Gothamy, but funny too. The darkness of it made me think it was aimed more at older kids and adults. Then I started wondering if animated movies had always been sort of dark and I just never noticed as a kid. I want to say that kids movies were considerably darker before parents started getting all crazy overprotective in the past few years.

Anyway, I digress...

It means a lot that this movie and panel held my attention. At this point, I had been in Ballroom 20 for 12 hours on 4 hours sleep and I was on the verge of losing my mind, or at least really needing to get up and walk around and not sit anymore. I'm totally bringing a cushion next year.

I digressed again!

I was a little disappointed that Eliza Dushku wasn't there, as she was listed on the schedule. But, it didn't really matter because Katee Sackhoff was there and I love her. I also loved that the panelists were just a bit more laid-back at night and not as censored (though technically, they are supposed to be, someone always points out that "Members of your audience may be under 18" warning on the back of their placards). There were a few innuendos made about Sackhoff's name, and now I can't really think about it without giggling.

So, Ryan from The O.C. as Batman didn't really make sense for me at first, but he was actually a pretty good Batman. I have no complaints. Bryan Cranston as Gordon was an excellent choice. He is just a phenomenal actor, both in voice and onscreen. 

Ugh, these photos are all grainy. I was sitting up front in the 5th row or so, but I had killed my camera battery so I was using my second spare camera and (inadvertently) I was using the digital zoom function. Whoops. Just know that all these photos are of the actual people, and not of a screen. I swear, telephoto lens next year. I don't care if I have to carry it around.