Wednesday, July 17, kicked off San Diego Comic-Con 2013 with Preview Night, where the Exhibit Hall was open 6pm-9pm for those lucky people who were able to secure passes – and we were among those lucky people! Josh gives a rundown of how the day went, with Violet throwing in her comments in pink font!
Finally made it to Comic-Con after dealing with rush hour traffic, and then of course the Con traffic! Badge pick up was relatively quick for Preview Night goers. The bags this year were much better than last year, being adjustable backpacks that seem much sturdier than last years. We were able to get into the “Special Sneak Peak Pilot Screenings”, just missing the first few minutes of the new CW show, The Tomorrow People.
We arrived at the Convention Center a little after 6pm, saw a very long line of people and thought it was going to take forever to get in, but after asking around, it turned out Preview Night holders could walk right in at Hall C. We were then able to also walk right into Ballroom 20, and did not have any trouble finding a seat, as there were plenty of open seats. Meanwhile, there was a long line to get into the Exhibit Hall.
The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People revolves around the main character Stephen Jameson (Robbie Amell, cousin of Stephen Amell from Arrow) who has been on medication to stop the “voices” in his head among other mental “issues”. We missed the initial meet up with the “Human Superiors”, as they have so dubbed themselves. The show eventually has them facing off against the “Ultras”, the anti-“Human-Superior”, trying to prevent these beings from existing.
Overall, this show seems like it may have potential, but the characters were a little cheesy, like CW shows tend to be. It clearly has taken ideas from X-Men, but I am not sure how well they will be implemented. I think this one is worth a few more episodes of watching to see how it goes.
The main character and especially his female friend looked way too old to be in high school. I would like to see the pilot from the beginning, because I felt just a little lost coming into the middle of it. However, I was able to catch on for the most part. As Josh said, it seemed a little cheesy, and the main character’s acting seemed a bit overdramatic, but I think I’ll give the show a chance. The ending of the episode is what makes me want to continue watching it, as I would like to see what Stephen has planned for the Ultras.
Almost Human
The second show, Fox’s Almost Human, stars Keith Urban as John Kennex, a futuristic cop who has washed up due to an injury sustained two years ago. Every cop requires the use of a “synthetic” (a human-like robot) now, which John despises. He has always seemed to hate them, but he especially does now because of the raid he was injured on, when the “logical” programming of the MX he was working with refused to provide assistance to him, causing John’s partner to die, and him to lose his leg. John has now become obsessed with trying to figure out who was in on this raid, as it seemed like an inside job, and is bent on bringing them to justice.
In the meantime, he has rejoined the force, but is required to get a new synthetic. After he destroys his first one, he visits the “kooky” scientist that seems to repair all of the androids, and he gets new model, This model is “almost human”, having a much more complicated intelligence.
This show was the most promising of the 3 we saw. The plot seems to revolve around the crime syndicate that may have now resurfaced, and John is bent on bringing down. The relationship between John and his new synthetic was interesting to watch, and Michael Ealy played him really well. While seeming much like I, Robot, I think this is a definite watch in my opinion.
I was sucked into this show from the beginning, as it starts off very quickly with the main character being involved in a shoot-em-up raid. I loved the futuristic elements to this show, and feel that the “not-too-distant future” was brought to life very well. I agree with Josh that Michael Ealy did a great job portraying the DRN android model. Considering that I’m a big J.J. Abrams fan, and he was executive producer on the this show, I’m looking forward to see what’s to come and what mysteries unfold on “Almost Human”!
The 100
The third show was The 100. Another CW show, that revolves around a futuristic society, where Earth was destroyed 97 years before by nukes. Humanity lives on a giant space station, and any crime as an adult is punished by death. Minors are locked up, and reviewed at 18 years old. Unfortunately, resources and space are running out, so the government of the space station has decided that it is time to see if Earth is inhabitable. How so? By sending 100 criminal teenagers down, and see what happens.
The main character, Clarke Walters, is a young girl sent to the planet, with her crime being, along with her father, attempting to warn everyone about the shortage of resources. Interesting enough, the Chancellor’s son has volunteered to join the mission as well. On Earth, everything seems normal, with the exception of a creepy two headed deer, along with what appears to be a sentient race, that from the spear we saw, would be caveman like.
This show, though seeming to have an interesting premise, was my least favorite of the three. The acting wasn’t there for me. It may be the old man in me, but it was hard to take any character seriously. This show seems to be reminiscent of Lord of the Flies in a futuristic setting. I will probably give this show a few more episodes, but I am not holding my breath about it so far.
Most of the acting, especially by the main character, on this show was terrible, and difficult to watch, although I kind of got used to it after awhile. The show has an interesting premise, but then the kids turn out to be a bunch of brats and are kind of annoying. Plus there are a bunch of unrealistic scenarios just in this episode, which can get off-putting after awhile. I can see how this show could easily appeal to the teenage demographic, but as I am approaching 30, I feel like I’m a little too old to enjoy it. One nice surprise was seeing Henry Ian Cusick (a.k.a. Desmond from “Lost”), but it looks like he’ll be playing a villain. I might give it another try, and see if the show continues to be as bad as it looks so far.
By the time that was over, we were able to walk around in the Exhibit Hall for about 5 minutes before it closed. And thus ended our Preview Night at San Diego Comic-Con 2013!
