Mind of Migg

We planned to get an early start for on Saturday, but since we were Comic-Con rookies, we didn’t realize that an early start to the day meant camping out the night before.  We had to pick up our badges and we read that badge pick-up opened at 9am and the exhibition hall opened at 9:30am.  Our plan was to be on the floor right at 9:30 to get a ticket from the BBC America booth for Russell T. Davies signing autographs that morning.  We were unsuccessful and learned the hard way.

Our first mistake was thinking we would get on the first train that came by.  San Diego has a great trolley system that runs a special event route from Qualcomm Stadium all the way to the convention center.  Our hotel was a five minute drive about halfway between the two.  The problem was, we were a little slow with breakfast to begin with, so we needed the trolley to pull up right as we reached the platform.  It did, but the platform was packed, as was the arriving trolley.  So we had to wait for trolley #2.  We left Britt and Andrew behind when we stopped, because they were planning on lining up for the Lost panel.  We went through the badge line, ran down to the convention floor, and made it to the BBC America booth by 9:39.  With everything else going on, Russell T Davies couldn’t possibly be a big enough draw to sell out, right?  Nope.  The guy looked at us like we were crazy to expect tickets to still be available.  It wasn’t until Sunday that we realized just how early people arrived and managed to get on the floor.

Dejected, we figured we might as try to catch the Lost panel as well.  We followed the line to Hall H back, and back, and back, and back.  The line winds around outside the front side of the convention center, but then wound across the street, toward the pier, then back around the front side of the pier.  Even though we were waiting to enter a 6,700 seat theater, we weren’t sure if we were gonna make it.  We had decided ahead of time that if we didn’t get into the panel, we would leave the line and gawk at Russell T Davies as he signed autographs from 10:30-11:30 for as long as possible until being escorted out.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) we were in the last group let in.

We stumbled into Hall H in the dark with workers continually telling us we couldn’t stand in the back and to find a seat.  It was so dark as they played a trailer from the show that I couldn’t even see my hand in front of me, let alone find two open seats in the packed theater.  We shuffled back and forth along with other latecomers, moving to another section of wall along with the crowd until we were told by someone else to move again.  I was already planning on doing this for the entire panel when one worker practically grabbed us by the hand and found us two seats.  We sat down right as the opening videos finished and Jeffrey Lieber and Damon Lindelof began speaking.  The entire panel was very entertaining, and included a few promo videos that left clues about what may have happened after last seasons cliffhanger ending.  A few cast members stopped by, usually in the form of skits: Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Michael Emerson (Ben), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Nestor Carbonell (Richard), and even a surprise at the very end when Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) came onstage to wave at the crowd.

After the panel finished, we tried to get away from the madness and grab some lunch.  We found a decent sports bar a few blocks away that wasn’t too crowded and had some nachos and burgers.  We went back and ventured onto the exhibition floor again because Britt and Andrew hadn’t been.  It was beyond packed.  Wall to wall people filled the floor and as the day went on, the nerd stench kept growing.  Full body spandex and sweaty, crammed together bodies do not mix.  We were fortunate enough to get giant BBC America bags with the Doctor on the side.  There were no more surprises with autographs, although I did see Edward James Olmos signing in the morning.  I did a double take because the floor wasn’t too crowded yet and I was standing about five feet away from him.  For about two seconds, I thought, “wow, I need to get his autograph and say something,” but then I saw the $55 per signing sign beside him.  I passed.  One other cool sighting though: Anthony Daniels (C3PO) was right at the entrance to the hall, taking pictures with an R2 unit.  The others I was with thought I was trying to get a picture of the robot.  I had to explain to them after he was whisked away that I know my Star Wars legends when I see them.

We lined up for Ballroom 20 mid-afternoon.  Our plan was to catch the True Blood panel around 5-ish, but we wanted to get in earlier to get decent seats.  Unfortunately, a few thousand others had the same idea.  We were in line for just over an hour before getting in during the Fringe panel.  Fortunately for us, we were able to rest up during that super exciting panel.  Once it ended, we raced up and grabbed the best seats we could find.  Violet and I were lucky and got up in the first block of seats.  Britt and Andrew not so much.  Sometimes being small and able to sneak through pays off for Violet.  It got us a few extra Doctor Who bags and it got us good True Blood seats.  Anna Paquin looked nervous when she came out, and I don’t blame her.  The entire ballroom was packed with screaming fans.  They showed an awesome preview of the remaining half of season 2.  Violet and I decided to leave the panel early when it was down to fan questions.  The questions people end up asking in any given panel are usually extremely underwhelming and we had an important screening to catch.  We wanted to make sure we had great seats for the Doctor Who and Torchwood screenings.

We were a little worried when we tried to line up for the screenings.  It was in one of the smaller rooms, and there were so many people for the panel before, that they closed the line.  It basically meant there were so many people standing in line, they couldn’t allow any more to fill the hallway without violating the fire code.  So we would stand along the nearby wall until they asked us to move, then walk in circles around the end of the line.  We did this for about twenty minutes until they finally started letting people in and we had room to hop in to the line.

It was awesome being in line with other Doctor Who fans.  Earlier in the day, we saw a group dressed up as about five of the doctors and saw one guy dressed as the fourth doctor, but not much else beside that.  I was wearing my black Cyberman shirt, but didn’t see any other Who shirts.  The lady in front of us was a huge sci-fan fan and even ran a booth at the Phoenix comic-con with her husband.  She showed us her autographed pictures of John Barrowman and Gareth David-Lloyd and we all speculated about whom the “special guests” introducing the screenings would be.  I also spent a bit explaining to a few people behind us that Planet of the Dead was actually the Easter special and gave them some background on Torchwood.  I loved every minute of it.

Then one of the workers opened the door leading backstage.  We caught a glimpse of John Barrowman and Naoko Mori hanging out.  We were at the perfect location next to that door and a door directly across from us, which led to the green room.  Barrowman and Mori headed there and we tried to sneak of few peeks of them hanging out behind the black curtains.  Then, one of the coolest things ever happened.  David Tennant and Russell T Davies walked through double doors nearby and into the green room.  I started pointing without saying anything and Violet instinctively started screaming (along with half a dozen others).  The lady in front of us started jumping up and down.  There was no time for a picture but that is by far the most starstruck I’ve ever been.  We were hoping they would enter the hall before they let the audience in, because that would require them going through the door five feet in front of us, but no such luck; the line started moving.

Everyone was filling the right and center sides of the room because that’s where the screen was, leaving the left side open.  The left side was directly in front of the stage, so we took those seats.  We had already seen both episodes, but we knew who was coming out to introduce them.  We were able to get second row seats by the stage.  First a worker came out to get the crowd pumped up: “when I say Doctor you say Who.  Doctor.  WHO.  Doctor.  WHO.”  The best thing was, only a handful of us in line knew who was there.  All the others were either already inside or waiting in the line down the hall or around the corner.  So when they were all announced and came out, the crowd went crazy.

Russell Davies started by calling the BBC Whales office even though it was 3am there.  He wanted us to say hello to their voicemail and let them know how much we in America loved Doctor Who and Torchwood.  We definitely showed the love.  Next, David Tennant introduced the Doctor Who episode and then handed off the microphone to John Barrowman.  They hugged as he handed it off, prompting a response of, “Aww, wasn’t that cute?  I’d kiss him but no” from Barrowman.  So of course, Tennant leaned forward and let him have one.  Barrowman then pretend fainted and screamed, kissed Russell Davies, and was flustered the rest of the night.  It was hilarious.

The screenings were so much fun to watch with a pumped up crowd.  They cheered at certain parts during Torchwood that gave me chills and were silent during the crushing scenes near the end.  I got chills again when they cheered as the Doctor’s shoes can be seen in the opening of Planet of the Dead, and everyone screamed as the opening credits and them song came up.  We stayed for about half of Planet of the Dead before heading out.  It was a long day, Britt and Andrew had just finished dinner, and we were all exhausted.  It took nearly two thousand words to describe the days events, which may be my longest post ever, but it only scratches the surface of how much fun it was being there Saturday at Comic-Con.