San Diego Comic Con 2013 part 2 Friday and Saturday

Friday 

I woke up early and arrived outside for the general admittance line at 6 am.

My friend Pamela went with her son to try to get in to Hall H. Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead were having panels in there. It was all about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Ballroom 20 for me. I was alone but expecting friends. Unfortunately for them they did not arrive in time and once we entered I was unable to get them into the Ballroom 20 line. So I made line buddies. I really needed Starbucks. So I asked who wanted some to hold my spot. That is how I met my new line buddy Mike. He said he would save it because I was a Whedonite. I was wearing a Serenity sweatshirt I bought from Jason Palmer, as well as my lanyard full of Firefly buttons. So off I went. It took longer to get back in. I had to get out and go next door to get my Starbucks. Finally came back and found Mike and his friends. He was their guide to Comic Con and he bought tickets to lots of things. He was impressively prepared and eager to take care of his friends. Then I overheard him say he had tickets to the Nathan Fillion Panel at Nerd HQ but that conflicted with some stuff. I raised my hand and offered to buy them if he didn't need them. Mike said he would get back to me if that was the case. I gave Mike his choice of Firefly buttons and he chose Mal. Time flew quickly and we parted once we got in. I sat in the 4th row but off to the side in front of a big screen. 

The lineup  for Ballroom 20 was Inside The Big Bang Theory Writers' Room, followed by Nickolodeon's Legend of Korra Returns; then the Bones Panel and finally Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Panel. That is all I saw. The Cast of the Big Bang Theory was working on other projects but Melissa Rauch was able to come and she moderated. The Panel suffered because of the lack of Cast. They went to Q&A and a bounty hunter from Return of the Jedi's asked a question in full costume. It turns out it was Johnny Galecki. I am sure it's on You Tube. Johnny joined the panel and it improved significantly. The Legend of Korra, I watched the panel last year. It looks really good and I am looking forward to the new season. The artwork and music is beautiful and it’s funny; great storytelling. The next panel was Bones. I am not a fan of the show but I am a fan of David Boreanaz. He was very entertaining. David asked Emily to walk around the table to the front. The discussion was about a possible wedding. Then David gets down on one knee as Booth and proposes to Bones. It was very nice.

Finally it was time for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Up to then I kept calling it the Avengers. The name just seemed too much. I have been a fan of Joss' work since '97. Firefly has been the best TV show ever since 2002.  Then I saw the Agents of S.H.I.E.L D. pilot premiere. I had my first nerdgasm!!! The pilot was amazing, spectacular and I loved it. No spoilers, just saying it was awesome. This is Brett Dalton's first acting gig he is as talented as he is handsome. He could play James Bond someday. Ian de Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge are a dynamic duo as Fitz/Simmons. Chloe Bennett as Skye reminds me of young Summer Glau a lot so that is disconcerting to me. Great seeing J. August Richards back on TV. Ming Na Wen and Clark Gregg are wonderful as always. The thing about Joss Whedon for me is that not only has he NEVER disappointed me, he consistently soars above, even my, high expectations. Joss brings me great joy in his work. How he keeps getting better amazes me.

I left the Ballroom after that and went to pick up my tickets for The Thrilling Adventure Hour. For those who don't know what that is go to http://thrillingadventurehour.com and check them out. The live stage experience is not the same as the Podcast because their facial expressions play a large role. Saturday is all about The Thrilling Adventure Hour Show. I bought 8 tickets for Friday’s 7 pm show. I had 2 tickets extra that I was unable to give away. Everyone had plans either for the Haven NerdHQ Panel or for the Marian Call Concert. In the end I asked the lady at the box office to be magical and give them to someone. A man in line was moved and said he hoped good karma would return to me; very sweet.

Words are inefficient to describe the show. It is truly an experience. I went the first time because Nathan Fillion was a guest but I return because it's a guaranteed good time. Laughter is the best medicine and The Thrilling Adventure Hour has lots and lots of laughs. My only disappointment was that Frank and Sadie were not in Friday's show lucky for me Saturday's Show was different and my sister Carol bought tickets to the Saturday 9:30 pm + VIP Party. Our party of 6 was hungry so we walked to get something to eat. My guest were 9tiercel, Saxon, Ewok dressed as Harlequin, Carol and Chuckie. Walking with Ewok was slow since she kept stopping for pictures when asked. We ended up not eating and heading home. I was super tired.

Saturday

I woke up at 8:30 am. This was my sleeping in day. I was going to NerdHQ to the 11:30 am panel for The Thrilling Adventure Hour. It was truly hilarious. The cast is entertaining and I had front row seats. I sat in front of Paul F. Tompkins and Marc Evan Jackson 2 of my favorites. As an added bonus Nathan Fillion moderated the panel it was sheer entertainment. The really nice thing about Nerd HQ is it's not Comic Con. No need to get up early to line up. The hard part is buying a ticket but once you are in you have a seat at an intimate venue and the money goes to the charity Operation Smile. Alan Tudyk moderated Friday's Panels. Nathan moderated Saturday's Panels. Zachary Levi usually loses his voice so the guys pitched in.

After the panel I went to put my stuff in Carol and Chuckie's place. I planned to dress up later for the VIP Party. Once I got to the room I decided to rest since my phone needed to charge. I wanted to take it easy since I was planning a late night. I was getting hungry so I texted a few people to see who was available. I found my friends that I missed on Friday. We had lunch. I used to work with Roxanne for several years. I have been telling her about Comic Con since we met in 2005. Her son Jackson was able to get tickets. They were just coming for one day so he bought a Saturday ticket. Unfortunately those sold out so he bought them a Friday ticket. Roxanne and her other children Garry and Elisa were able to get in on Friday. Roxanne's husband Kevin and Jackson hung around outside Comic Con. Today Jackson and Elisa were inside and I had lunch with Garry, Kevin and Roxanne. It was Garry's birthday. I wanted to get him something. I led them to NERD HQ and we walked in just in time to take pics with Zachary Levi Smiles for Smiles another fundraiser for Operation Smile. We took 2 just in case. It was a nice surprise. I left them there and I made my way back to the Convention Center.

I made it into the Exhibit Hall .It was insane crowded, way too many people I needed to stop by the Browncoat Booth to see who was there. I found Fannish my friend from Australia. We left together. She was also going to The Thrilling Adventure Hour Show+ VIP Party and need. Now I was tweeting on Wednesday about the fact that I love the random encounters at Cons, I love running into folks. One of my favorite random encounters is running into Brian Wiser. It has consistently happened at both Comic Con and Dragon Con for the past several years. So as I was walking Fannish to her place I discovered she was staying at a Condo with other known friends. One of them was Brian Wiser. It is always a surprise when it will happen but it happens. It turns out that he was one of the friends she was sharing her Condo with. I was really happy that it happened. I also ran into Rayhill and his wife Rae. Brian was not there when I arrived so I decided to hangout. I walked Fannish to the Box Office to pick up her tickets and then came back. Brian still wasn't there. But the look of shock on his face when he arrived was awesome and totally worth waiting for.

It was time to leave to get ready for the show. I lost 25 lbs since last Comic Con and bought a new dress. I was looking forward to the show and the party.

I had to miss Serenity in the Park from NerdHQ with live commentary by Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk. It was a hard choice because I am such a big fan of both but I was hoping that maybe they would stop by the VIP Party. Watching Serenity, a movie I was an extra in, with other Browncoats inside Petco Park Stadium with Nathan and Alan would have been a must event. But I already bought the tickets and was looking forward to spending time with the Cast in the after party. I knew I was choosing correctly. I was wishing for the opportunity to see Nathan and Alan but not in the Park. I was right. I laughed so hard. I had a ball. I will never forget Molly Quinn's performance, she made sound effects. I just can't describe it and do it justice all I can say is I was happy I chose to see The Thrilling Adventure Hour and not Serenity in the Park. The Party was ok, it was a cash bar. I was hoping for some dancing but not so much. I was able to speak with both Paul F. Thompkins and Marc Evan Jackson as well as Mark Gagliardi and Paget Brewster. Paul was charming and I gotta say quite dashing, Marc was a sweetheart. we told him we took our mom to the show. Marc said earnestly to be sure to introduce her next time. I really love Marc's voice. Mark Gagliardi I told him I had seen him pop up on the Disney Channel show Austin and Ally, my niece was watching. I recognized him immediately and was very happy to see him on TV. He is also quite handsome. We ran into Paget Brewster on our way out. I really needed to say hi to her because she is just so wonderful on stage. Carol and I walked back to our hotel and then she went out again. She is 23 and I am not. So I was happy to end the night.