Josh and Violet will be headed off to San Diego for Comic-Con on Wednesday! In this post, they each give their picks for the Top 5 panels they will be seeing, followed by the Top 5 panels they wish they could go to, but can’t due to scheduling conflicts. How much of their lists match up, and how much do they differ? Read on to find out!
Josh’s Top 5 Panels He Will See:
1. 20th Century Fox‘s Panel in Hall H on Saturday.
This is a bit of a wild card, but I have to think, since they own the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four, we will have to see something for both of those movies. Despite the abomination of X-Men 3, X-Men: First Class was really good, and I think the sequel Days of Future Past has the potential to be amazing, considering that we know many characters (and actors) are going to be in the new film. Hugh Jackman is guaranteed to be there as well, with the release of The Wolverine coming very soon.
2. Dexter‘s panel in Hall H, Thursday.
If you haven’t watched Showtime’s Dexter, you are missing an amazing show, and it is coming to an end this season. The finale should be amazing, and it will be fun to see the actors saying what will basically be their farewell to the show.
3. Breaking Bad‘s panel in Hall H, Sunday:
If you haven’t caught a pattern yet, we will basically be living in Hall H for 4 days. Breaking Bad is also wrapping up its final season. This is a show we have barely gotten into, but have learned that it is also amazing. This is basically a farewell panel too, I would think, as they are about to air the half of the season in August. Hoping to have a couple sneak peeks to tide me over until August!
4. Marvel Studio‘s panel in Hall H, Saturday.
Right after Fox’s panel, we go right into Marvel’s panel. While this panel won’t be as exciting as last year’s (Avengers just being released and Iron Man 3 had not been released yet), it still should be a good panel. We will hopefully get some “inside” footage for Thor and Captain America, and maybe some sort of teasers for Avengers 2 or Ant Man.
5. Veronica Mars‘ panel in Hall H, Friday.
Wait, this isn’t what it looks like! I actually am not the biggest Veronica Mars fan, but I am interested in this panel for a very different, and possibly “bigger” reason. This film was funded partially by Kickstarter, which is an interesting new avenue for movies to use for funding. I hope this panel goes into the aspects of Kickstarter, and see if it truly will be a viable alternative for getting movies made. This could turn out to be huge in getting more “niche-y” type films made! Very exciting for the future of movies.
Top 5 Panels Josh is DEEPLY sad about missing:
1. The X-Files panel in Ballroom 20, Thursday.
This breaks my heart, to not be able to see this panel. X-Files is definitely in the top 5 shows of all time for me, and this panel is probably a once in a blue moon panel (much like the Firefly panel last year). What would be amazing is if we get another X-Files movie (and hopefully it is a lot better than the movies we already have!).
2. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, in Ballroom 20, Friday.
Another panel I am very sad to miss, especially because they are airing the first episode during the panel! What characters will we see in this show? Being produced by Joss Whedon, and having other Marvel people involved, I have high hopes for this show. I am highly anticipating this show, even more so than shows such as The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. With such a powerhouse behind it, how could it fail? And we get Clark Gregg back!
3. Arrow, Ballroom 20, Saturday.
CW’s Arrow pleasantly surprised me when seeing the first episode last year at Comic-Con, and while it has its “CW” moments, it is still a great show. After seeing last season’s finale, I am sad to not be able to attend this panel and get a glimpse of season 2.
4. Revolution in 6BCF, Saturday.
This show really turned around after their mid-season break. Another TV show that had a huge cliffhanger, I wish I could attend this panel to see if the panelists provide any insight to next season. It is also supposed to feature some stars and producers, which is always exciting.
5. Joss Whedon in Ballroom 20, Friday.
While I saw this panel last year, and I don’t know how much Joss has to talk about, he is always a fun person to listen to. I am not sure there will be any big revelations here, but it is fun just being able to get into the mind of Joss Whedon for an hour.
Violet’s Top 5 Panels She Will See:
1. Showtime: Dexter, Thursday, July 18 at 6:30pm, Hall H
Josh and I have been watching Dexter almost since the beginning, so we’ve invested several years of our lives into this show. Now that the show is coming to its conclusion, we just HAVE to be there for what is sure to be an amazing and emotional farewell panel! This is our top priority at Comic-Con this year, and we will not risk missing it.
2. Breaking Bad, Sunday, July 21 at 11:15am, Hall H
We were a little slow to jump on the bandwagon for this show, but once we started, wow, was it ever addicting! We finally tried it out on Netflix a few months ago only to go on a binge in which we watched the entire series within just a few weeks. This, too, is a farewell panel, as the second half of the fifth and final season will air in August.
3. BBC America’s Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, Sunday, July 21 at 12:30pm, Hall H
Again, this could be considered a farewell panel, as Matt Smith’s reign as the 11th Doctor is coming to an end with this year’s Christmas special. However, as this is billed a 50th Anniversary panel, what other special guests might make a surprise appearance? Hmm…
4. Game of Thrones Panel and Q&A Session, Friday, July 19 at 2:50pm, Hall H
Another show which only recently started watching. We’ve been hearing so much hype about it for so long that we finally got around to watching it and learned that it indeed lives up to the hype. Season 3, which just ended a few weeks ago, had a very controversial and intense ending, and I am curious as to what’s in store for Season 4!
5. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Saturday, July 20 at 1:35pm, Hall H
I read the Hunger Games trilogy and loved it long before the movie ever came out. Although the movie was not nearly as good as the book (is it ever?), it did follow the book pretty closely, and I am looking forward to seeing the next book brought to life on the big screen! Also, this is the first time that Hunger Games will have a panel at Comic-Con.
Her Top 5 Panels She Wishes She Could Go To:
1. TV Guide Magazine Celebrates The X-Files’ 20th Anniversary, Thursday, July 18 at 3:30pm, Ballroom 20
I pretty much grew up watching X-Files, then went back and re-watched the series as an adult, and loved the show just as much, if not more. And there may or may not have been a point in time where I was slightly smitten with Mulder… But alas, the timing of this panel is just cutting it too close to the Dexter panel, and I don’t want to risk missing it.
2. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC, Friday, July 19 at 1:45pm, Ballroom 20
This panel is scheduled to last 1 hour and 15 minutes, suggesting that the pilot may be screened during this panel, plus Joss Whedon and Clark Gregg will be there, so that will be pretty awesome. Unfortunately, it’s just up against too much good stuff in Hall H that day. Also, I’ve seen Joss and Clark rather frequently recently (Wondercon and a Q&A following a screening of Much Ado About Nothing), so I feel like I can live without seeing them this time, in favor of seeing several other good things instead.
3. How I Met Your Mother, Saturday, July 20 at 12:00pm, Indigo Ballroom
Making its first, and presumably, only appearance at Comic-Con going into its ninth and final season, How I Met Your Mother boasts an amazing cast that any SDCC fan would enjoy, what with Alyson Hannigan from Buffy, to Cobie Smulders, who was in Avengers, to Neil Patrick Harris (Dr. Horrible himself!), not to mention Jason Segel of Freaks and Geeks and lots of movies, as well as Josh Radnor who… well, hasn’t really done anything else. In any case, I would love to be there to see this farewell panel, because I actually have watched Seasons 1 through 7 on Netflix and I loved the show. But I haven’t caught up on Season 8 yet, and there are sure to be spoilers, plus I’ll be in Hall H all day anyway.
4. Comic-Con: Anything Goes (John Barrowman), Thursday, July 18 at 5:00pm, Indigo Ballroom
Considering that I am not only a Doctor Who fan, but also a Torchwood fan, as well as an Arrow fan (Arrow would have been on this list had it been a Top 10 instead of Top 5), it would be incredible to see a John Barrowman panel. I’ve listened to podcasts he’s been on, and he seems so fun! Unfortunately, Thursday afternoon/evening is jam packed with other priorities (namely Dexter), so this panel will not be a possibility for us.
5. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: Down the Rabbit Hole! & Once Upon a Time: Off to Neverland!, Saturday, July 20 at 10:15am and 11:00am, Ballroom 20
Okay, so I cheated and listed two here. But it’s essentially the same thing, just Once Upon a Time and its spin-off! This is actually a show I watch that Josh does not. It’s from the makers of Lost, and I was a huge Lost fan, so it’s only natural that I would gravitate to this show which contains many of the same elements, including some of the actors. I find it odd that they felt they needed a spin-off so soon though, so I would be interested in hearing the story behind that, and what to expect for the spin-off, as well as what’s to come for the original.
