It was with no shortage of enthusiasm that I rolled out of bed Sunday morning and made my way down to the San Diego Convention Center, blearily accompanied by my equally hung over brother. Destination: Comicon 2009. Upon arrival my first impression was exactly as I expected it to be with one exception: I was surprised at how I’d underestimated just how massive the entire celebration is. I knew it was a huge event, but large enough to warrant an entire gymnasium-sized room devoted purely to handing out ID badges? That’s pretty freakin’ big.
After acquiring our plastic sleeved passes we made our way down toward the first intended event of the day (and reason for an early start despite our booze-fest the prior evening), the Doctor Who panel. Originally thinking we’d get a jump on waiting in line by arriving there an hour early at 9 a.m., we realized how vastly our underestimation had been as soon as we neared Room 20. The line not only stretched outside the building, winding around and in on itself like some vast British sci-fi enthused serpent, but actually ended so far away from the building we would have had to have traipsed down two different flights of exterior stone steps to park ourselves at the end. Four thousand people, we later learned, was roughly the amount of people in that line. Wait at the end and get stuck in the back? Didn’t sound attractive to either of us.
We wandered off with gears turning, my thoughts weighing the importance of actually seeing the panel and justifying missing it, my brother’s moving in a far more unscrupulous direction; one which turned out to be the far more beneficial of the two. First we approached the main door, where standing only feet from the shuffling line of fellow Whovians he attempted to convince the main Elite (Convention center door guard/ushers) that we were supposed to meet someone in there and should have already been inside. It was a weak ruse, admittedly, but worth a try. The head Elite, who only seemed to be half listening to him anyway, gave the impression he didn’t buy it but told us to check back when the line had shrunk down a bit. In other words: “You’re probably full of shit kid, but if you have persistence enough to check back I might let you in when it can’t get me in trouble.”
We wandered away and began to case the room perimeter, me suddenly thinking that perhaps he was right and there might be another way of gaining entry. Moments later we rounded a corner and wandered by a large propped open set of side doors. One older woman with her red Elite polo standing sentry amid a few fringe groups hovering about the outside. If the phrase opportunity only knocks once holds true, we were at the door before it even rapped. My brother scanned the area, looked back at me once with a “what the hell” expression, then sauntered through the door. I hesitated only long enough to determine if any secret Con ninjas would be leaping to intercept him, which they didn’t, then followed suit. The Elite looked at him, seemed to consider asking what was going on, then turned her attention to me and attempted to catch my eyes to ask what I was doing also. I ignored her piercing gaze and continued pointedly moving inside. Neither of us looked back to see if anyone was pursuing (to avoid looking guilty) until we were a good distance in. When I finally posed the question to him “Anyone behind me?” and he scanned our wake and gave a triumphant “Nope!” I knew we were in the clear. We had successfully circumvented a four thousand person line and were in the door before 80 percent of the crowd. Needless to say we got pretty sweet seats.
The Doctor Who panel was incredibly awesome. Light on upcoming spoilers, which made sense since both series reviver Russel T Davies and star David Tennant were both leaving after the specials this year, the entire thing was still heavy on fun and laughs. There’s actually an excellent summary of the panel here if you’re interested. Tennant was incredibly charming… the type of actor you really love to like with his impishly bemused demeanor. For me though, I’ll remember the emotional moments far more than anything else. Doctor Who fans are a devoted and stubborn bunch, often referring to “their Doctor”, the one who hooked them on the show all those years ago as being the undisputed best. Knowing what a fan Tennant was before even taking the role, and knowing the bulk of American viewers have been married to the idea of Tom Baker as “their Doctor” since you had to shift the rabbit ears for a clear PBS picture, there was one particular moment which struck a chord with me. During the Q&A session there was a guy who stood up and, before asking his question, remarked simply “Mr. Tennant, I’d just like you to know, you are my Doctor,” to an enthusiastic round of applause from the crowd. The glee on the tenth Doctor’s face was so readily apparent, it’s almost no mystery why the show has exploded in popularity of late… his brilliant energy is almost contagious.
The rest of Comicon was equally fun, although not nearly as geek-tastic for me as seeing Tennant in person. Other geek-related celebrities spied by us: Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation); Edward James Olmos and Michael Hogan (Adama and Tigh from Battlestar Galactica); Thomas Jane (The Punisher) who was wandering unobstructed with a smile on his face looking at Star Wars figures, which cracked me up; Peter Mayhew (the original Wookiee); and an assortment of various television personalities from such channels as G4. Half a bargain hunters paradise, half incredibly cool stuff display showcase, we took in the rest of the floor with unbridled joy. My brother and I were little kids again wandering around a giant-sized toy/comic book store with each other in a constant state of enthused wonder. Although I expect my own level of excitement was slightly higher than his given that it was my first time there, he still kept pace and was just as into it as I was.
I think the only disappointment, which was not at all a surprise to either of us (though I’m sure we both secretly hoped it would be better) was trying the upcoming G.I. Joe game on the Xbox360. A garbles mess of auto-aiming and jenky camera work, it left must to be desired from the original description we’d both read about a Gears of War type shooter. But then again, we did still get to try it out before the release day, which in and of itself is a treat. Overall though Comicon really was a blast, and something I’ll be hoping to attend regularly for quite a few years to come. Definitely a must see for anyone into any aspect of geek culture.
