San Diego Comic-Con: Preview Night

This was the exhibition floor on Preview Night--the least crowded it was all week.

SDCC Preview Night: Wednesday, July 20th, 2011:

So, Francesca and I survived our first San Diego Comic-Con … and it was magical. I have so much to report, so I have decided to take it one day at a time. First of all, if you want to take a look at all the pictures I took at the panels we attended (we were panel fiends and Francesca was a seat ninja), you can take a look at the album I created over at the Heroine TV Facebook page. I will report details on those panels in future posts. But back to Preview Night. On Wednesday, July 20th, Francesca flew in from Colorado and rented a car. We had lunch and then hit the store, stocking up on drinks and snacks for the coming days (crucial!). Then we drove to San Diego, traffic-free. Magical. Warner Bros. Television was showing pilots in Ballroom 20 from 6:00-9:00p.m., so when we arrived at the Convention Center at 5:00p.m., we were early. We found an amaaaaaazing parking spot right across from the Convention Center, and then in our search to find change for the meter, we stumbled into a lovely bar boasting a martini happy hour. Score! We got change, ordered drinks, and planned our next move. At that point it was clearly already the best convention EVER.

Things got even better when we made our way across the street and found that badge pick-up had absolutely no line. NO LINE, people. Magical, I tell you. When we picked up our WB bags, we were disappointed to get Looney Tunes (sorry, Bugs!), but we quickly traded for The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural. Score! Then when we got to Ballroom 20, it was pretty empty, and the usher told us that we could go ahead and sit in the reserved section. Magical! We sat down and enjoyed the Supernatural: The Anime Series pilot. It was pretty good, but it was sort of lacking my favorite part of Supernatural: Jensen and Jared’s faces. (Sorry, amazing artists who do amazing art! Sometimes I’m just a fan of nature.) Then when it was played for a second time, we decided to leave and check out the Exhibition Floor.

When we got to the Exhibition Floor, everything was so bright and shiny and geeky. So many booths. Booths everywhere. It was very cool, and everyone smelled good because it was only Wednesday. Magical. And the first booth we really saw was Jason Palmer‘s Serenity merchandise. Perfection! Francesca bought a Serenity hoodie, while I got a pink tank-top featuring Kaylee in her “Shindig” ballgown. Pretty cunning. Did I mention that this was already the best convention ever? Yeah. Then we went over to the Warner Bros. booth where we finally waited in our first line. I know, right? We wanted to get our pics taken on the green screen. They insert you into a picture from a selection of shows. Francesca chose The Big Bang Theory, while I OBVIOUSLY chose Ringer. I’ll be honest. My picture turned out SUPER awkward. The guy taking pics was going through the line super fast, until it got to me. When it was  my turn, he took my picture like SIX times and kept on moving his camera (like, he had to move his equipment all around) and looking displeased. I was like, “Um, what’s wrong? I’m really sorry that I’m so NOT photogenic,” but he wouldn’t say anything. This is the result, and you can totally laugh at me if you want because it is pretty damn hilarious. Um, I am 5’7”, and yet TWO tiny Sarah Michelle Gellars are just hulking over me. And my wacky head tilt is not exactly helping. Hee. Yes, this was apparently the best picture out of six takes. Sigh. Ah, memories …

Thoughts on The Secret Circle pilot:

Then we decided to go back up to Ballroom 20 to see if we could catch The Secret Circle pilot. Since this was clearly a charmed day, we got there just in time to watch the much anticipated pilot. Here are some general and non-spoilery thoughts:

• A lot of stuff was familiar and nothing was really surprising since I read the books and I had already watched the six minute extended preview (like a bajillion times). The perils of being an avid fan.
• Gale Harold was chilling and yet also smoldering. He reminds me so much of Daniel Gillies, however, this is a comparison that can only do him good. Every show needs a little Gillies or Harold, clearly. He was pretty much my favorite part of the pilot. He plays Diana’s dad, and I really can’t wait to learn more about all the parents, and what happened 16 years ago. Crazy dangerous stuff went down, and it changed these people’s lives forever. I’m all about the older generation at the moment. Love it!
• I loved Cassie’s clothes. Especially the mix between the floral and lace with leather. I highly approve.
• So far, I find Show!Cassie far more likable than Book!Cassie, which is a very good thing.
• Hair report. Let’s discuss the serious issues. Now, I know not every show can have the epic hair of The Vampire Diaries, a show that is at its core a story about beautiful hair. However, other than Britt Robertson and Thomas Dekker, whose hair looked wonderful, and Harold, whose hair is probably his superpower, the rest was a disaster. I’m sure they will fix this, but poor Shelly Hennig’s dour look was so flat and fried that it almost hid how much of a gorgeous girl she is (hello, she’s a beauty queen!). And Phoebe Tonkin’s ponytail showed off her cheekbones, but it seemed pretty sloppy for a girl like Faye. I didn’t love Jessica Parker Kennedy’s do either, but since she barely had any screen time, it was less egregious.  These girls are witches. They deserve magical hair. And then there was Louis Hunter’s 90s reject floppiness, that reminded me of Dawson, the early years. Luckily, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Check out the amaaaazingly gorgeous posters just released today: TV Line – The Secret Circle’s Spellbinding New Posters. So much pretty. Louis Hunter got a hair-cut and all the girls have volume and look amazing. I’m so excited for episode 2.
• Did I mention that I loved the adults? Harold, as I mentioned, was great, but there was also Natasha Henstridge as Faye’s mom. Loved her rapport with Harold. Also, Adam Harrington as Adam’s dad was perfect casting, because he has these really piercing eyes that could totally be related to Thomas Dekker’s piercing eyes. How many times can I say “piercing eyes” in a sentence? Somebody, please stop me. And Ashley Crow was great as Cassie’s grandmother. I feel a little bad that CW’s version of “old” has cast an actress who recently played the mother of a teenager (Claire’s mom on Heroes), as the grandmother of a teenager, but I guess that’s how television works. Sigh. She had a scene with Henstridge that made me think Grandma Blake has a lot of fire, so I’m excited to see more.
• I actually watched the pilot twice, because I made it to The Secret Circle panel on Saturday. That room was packed, and you could really feel an energy in the room during Faye’s walk down the dock. I think people will really respond to her character and her bad girl ways.
• I loved the music and I loved the small-town vibe and look of the show. It wasn’t overly slick and the setting felt fresh. (OMG, I just said “fresh.” Somebody stop me.) I love that it’s set in Washington state, in a small coastal town. (I may be slightly biased, because I’m from a small island in the Puget Sound.) The whole thing just gives me a good feeling. So much potential. Make sure to tune in Thursday, September 15th, at 9/8c on The CW.

So, that was it for Preview Night, because we had to head back home and sleep, in order to wake up at 4am on Thursday. We were very happy on Thursday morning not to have to wait in the badge line, so Preview Night was more than worth it. More posts to come. Thanks for reading.