TVSquad

So there I was, sitting in the last aisle seat of the last row on my Southwest flight back to Baltimore. I was tired, hungry, grumpy, and the handle on my suitcase broke. Yet, there was a feeling of accomplishment that enveloped me as my plane lifted off the runway from San Diego International Airport and my first trip to Comic-Con International officially ended.

At least I thought it was accomplishment I was feeling. As I awaited the desperately small morning meal provided by the flight attendants (a six-pack of cheese crackers), I contemplated the feelings I had about the convention. On the one hand, I did feel accomplished, because I was able to see and report on so many television-related panels that I, and well as readers of TV Squad, were interested in knowing about. On the other hand, I was feeling a bit disappointed that I didn't make all of the panels I wanted to nor spend more time on the ginormous exhibit floor. On the third hand, I was angry at the way the convention organizers handled the whole thing -- preventing a good many fans of various television shows to wait on long lines without even getting close to the door that led to the hallway, that led to the ballroom, where their panel was being held.

So, you could say that I had a feeling of disappointed accomplishment tinged with anger. Plus, soft pretzels were $4 a piece at the convention center, which would piss anyone off!

Gallery: Comic-Con Wrap-Up - Comic-Con 2008

Now, some of you are probably thinking, "Wah, wah, Rich. Why are you complaining when, at least, you got to go to Comic-Con?" Actually, I'm not. I am very grateful that I had a chance to cover Comic-Con. While fests like Wizard World have been mainly for the comic book industry, the San Diego convention has truly become a pop culture event (which begs to question why it is still called "Comic-Con"). From the fan in me, it was exciting to see some of my favorite TV personalities away from the small screen and sitting right in front of me (or, in many cases, twenty rows in front of me). For the reporter in me, it was great to interview some of these people on a one-on-one basis.

I think that the anger and disappointment I feel comes from what the convention has become. As my colleague Keith McDuffee said to me, Comic-Con has become the Sundance of the television industry (I actually said the Cannes of the television industry; he was just being more patriotic). Because of that, the convention has become huge. And, because of that, much of the intimacy previously had by the fans has disappeared.

Take, for example, the panels featuring the casts or Heroes and Lost. Both of these were held in the largest meeting room of the convention center, Hall H, which fit many thousands of people into it. Those who decided to find a good spot in line the night before -- and kept that spot by sleeping there -- were lucky. Those who decided to show up when the actual convention day began weren't. Either they didn't get in at all or they ended up watching their fans on the big video screens setup in the Hall while they sat 100 rows back.

Where is the personal connection in that? Here you are, forking the money over just to see these people speak about the show, and you get to watch them on a video screen or don't even get to see them at all? If you wanted to watch them on video you could do that in the comfort of your own home with a live feed from the convention, or a pre-taped piece streaming on the Internet. Sure, you could argue that the atmosphere of being there live would be missed. But how much would be missing if you had to wait in line for several hours, only to see them as dots in the huge meeting room landscape?

I don't blame this on the panelists themselves. In all of the panels I covered, everyone was genuinely grateful for the fans' appreciation of their shows. Who I blame is the convention organizers. I would have thought they realized the monster they created when a good many television shows were featured last year. Instead, it seems like they buried their heads in the sand a bit, not realizing that this convention had become unbelievably huge and unmanageable.

Let's take another example to make my point. One of the panels featured on Friday night was a reunion of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 cast, in one of the smaller meeting rooms. People lined up for this 7:00 PM panel about three hours ahead of time, then filled up the meeting room starting at the 4 PM panel, then remained there for the rest of panels until MST3K. Effectively this closed the line out for the rest of the evening.

This caused a number of things to happen. One: those who were interested in seeing MST3K were denied access even into the line. Two: those who were interested in seeing the panels for Venture Brothers and Robot Chicken (myself included) could not get in. Three: those who were already in the room, but were not fans of any of the other shows, had to sit through these panels, sometimes being unruly, in order to get to the MST3K panel.

What these examples all come down to is this: Comic-Con has outgrown itself. With the ever-increasing addition of television shows to the convention, it has overused the space given to it by the San Diego Convention Center. That is a huge problem, since this has now become an annual event, not only for fans but for the industry as well. There were plenty of times on these panels that television show creators or their stars mentioned that network executives were in the room specifically or at the convention in general. If we, the public, are complaining, I wonder if these network types are concerned as well.

There are probably ways to correct the issues of this year's convention to avoid the huge lines and grumpy patrons for next year. One is to start moving some of these panels out of the convention center and into venues in downtown San Diego. For those who have not been to the city or the convention, San Diego is a big, yet compact, city. The Gaslamp District is right across the street from the convention center, and there are numerous hotels surrounding the complex, including a huge Marriott and Grand Hyatt, among others. Not only would this bring additional business to the downtown district, but it also helps dislodge some of the crowd problems at the convention. Plus, as the entire downtown area is consumed by this convention each year, it would make sense to move it out beyond the boundaries of the convention center.

Another thing to do, and probably the one that is more important, is to try and find a way to correct the line situations for these panels. There were plenty of times that lines for a particular room snaked down hallways, around corners, and outside along the patio (which had a very nice view of waters around Sand Diego, by the way). These lines were full of people not interested in the upcoming panel, but one that was a few hours away. This meant they needed to sit in the meeting room for a long period of time, which meant that they lost opportunities to see other panels or visit the exhibit hall.

What to do about this? Well, start splitting up some of these show appearances for one. Having Heroes, Lost and Terminator coming one after another in the same hall does not help the line situation. Clearing the rooms after each panel is another way to correct this. Also, start distributing tickets for each panel so people don't have to wait in line forever. That way, people who want to see the Robot Chicken panel can see that panel while those interested in MST3K can see theirs as well without waiting in line.

Now that all of that is out of my system, I enjoyed my days and nights at Comic-Con and am looking forward to covering the event next year (hint, hint, Keith). Here are some of the high- and lowlights of the visit.

• Even though all of the panels I covered were good, the best ones were those that took place in the smaller meeting room. These would be The Big Bang Theory, TV Funhouse and Pushing Daisies. TV Funhouse was the best because the guys on the panel were just having fun. Particularly Doug Dale, who joined us on video phone. Pushing Daisies had the most enthusiastic fan base, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up in one of the bigger rooms next year.
• All of the panels I covered in the big and bigger rooms (6CDEF and Ballroom 20) were interesting and each had that one person who played to the fans in the audience. For Stargate Atlantis it was Joe Flannigan. For Family Guy it was the two Seths -- MacFarlane and Green. On the Bones panel it was convention veteran David Boreanaz. For Eureka it was the charming Colin Ferguson.
• There were some panel disappointments. While Futurama featured the voice cast of the show, the Simpsons panel featured Matt Groening, Al Jean, and a bunch of showrunners. I wish we had some voice talent from that show at the convention. The Wizard's First Rule panel was also a bit of a downer, as the panelists took themselves a bit too seriously.
• Like Disney World, one needed to spend several days in the exhibit hall to get the true feeling of what was down there and get all of the freebies everyone was offering. Unfortunately, I only had about an hour to tour the area. But, when I did, one word came to mind: daunting.
• The most expensive food at the convention center? Everything. I don't think there is anywhere else in America that you can by a soft pretzel for $4 and a can of soda for $2.50. I don't think movie theaters take that much advantage of you! A tip for those of you attending next year's convention: pack snacks, power bars and water to keep you going throughout the day. Save the money you'd pay for an overpriced hot dog and spend it down in the exhibit hall or at one of the places across the street in the downtown area.
• Speaking about the downtown area, I had two great meals. One was at Maryjane's Coffeeshop in the Hard Rock Hotel. Sure, breakfast was $12, but my cheddar, ham and smoked salmon omelette tasted really good. Plus, it was the only meal I had that day. Another good meal I had was dinner at an Italian a la carte restaurant in the Gaslamp district.
• The SciFi/Entertainment Weekly party, which Keith will be mentioning soon, was unreal. I've covered television stars as a reporter but have rarely been with them in a casual setting. Needless to say, I was a bit intimidated by everyone who was there and didn't end up talking to many of them. I mean, what do you ask Joss Whedon about outside of all of his television shows.
• San Diego: a very beautiful and temperate city. I don't think I've ever been to a place where the temperature is always sunny and 75 degrees. Sure beats the humid 90 degree days we've been having on the East Coast this summer.

Folks, I hope you enjoyed our coverage of this year's Comic-Con as much as we enjoyed covering it. Despite the ling lines, the lack of sleep, and survival on protein bars, it was a very unique experience that I hope to attend again.