TVSquad

To use a well-worn phrase...Good News, Everyone! Your friends over here at TV Squad are heading on out to San Diego during the last week in July to cover one of the bigger, if not biggest, comic book and science fiction conventions on mainland America and the world. I speak, of course, of ComicCon.

From July 24th through July 27th you'll see us with our TV Squad T-Shirts (and underwear -- viewings of those by appointment) as we join the rest of the throngs attending the convention. At some point we may even be doing a bit of Twittering to find out where you are at the convention so you can find us in order to shake our hands (or, in the case of some of our commenters, punch and kick us) and potentially get some free stuff as well.

Now, some of you may be saying 'While I'd love to meet you at ComicCon to tell you how I really feel about you and your site, why are you going to a comic book and science fiction convention?' Well, truth be told, ComicCon is more than just a comic book and science fiction convention these days. Fact is, aside from The Television Critics Association press tour that takes place in Los Angeles the week before, ComicCon has become one of the premiere television events of the summer.

Shows like Battlestar Galactica, Lost, Stargate Atlantis and Heroes are not the only ones making appearances at the convention. This year there are some shows that don't really fit the science fiction or comic book genres. Shows like Chuck, Bones, The Big Bang Theory and, most unusually, The Office. Why the change? According to an article at TVWeek, the convention is moving away from its sci fi roots.

Studios are bringing these shows to the convention not because they use any hi-tech gadgetry or say "frack" a lot. They are coming because these shows have strong fan and cult followings. Bones is one example of this. It has such as devoted fan community that viewers were calling for the heads of the show's producers after the season finale. Prison Break, Chuck, and 24 also have their huge fan followings as well, which make them a perfect fit for this convention.

One would think at this point that the convention organizers would be upset. On the contrary, they are quite happy about the whole situation. According to David Glanzer, convention director of marketing and public relations, having more television shows at the Con is a good thing. As opposed to movie people that appear at the Con, television people talk and interact more with the fans. They also give more behind-the-scenes information out, which makes the fans very happy.

Having said that, here is a breakdown of some of the shows that will be at the convention:

Warner Brothers: Chuck, Fringe, Pushing Daisies, Smallville, Supernatural, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and The Big Bang Theory

20th Century Television: 24, Bones, Prison Break, Dollhouse, Life on Mars, The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and Futurama

Universal Media Studios: Kings, Knight Rider, The Office, Heroes

SciFi: Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, Stargate Atlantis

ABC Studios: Lost, Kyle XY, Ghost Whisperer, Wizard's First Rule

More on the shows that are appearing and who will be appearing as more items are finalized.