TVSquad

(Check out part three of this four-part report)

Tired of hearing about Comic-Con? Figured all the talk was over? Sorry to disappoint you, but due to an untimely vacation (vacation untimely? Wha...how?) and a bit of reflection on my first trip to the big 'Con, I was able to get this last bit complete for you.

The Sci Fi / Entertainment Weekly Party

Man did it feel good to have gone to my last panel. I had much sympathy for Rich, who had another nearly-full day ahead of him on Sunday. So, we went out to finally get a decent meal at an actual restaurant downtown before we had to head off to the party. We had no idea at all what to expect from the party -- would there be food? Free booze? Who would be there?

(Check out part two of this four-part report)

Saturday

This should have felt like the home stretch. I should have felt like the end of it all was near. But a glance at the day's schedule reminded me I was going to be running around like a madman all day, trying to make some of the most popular panels of the weekend.

Saturday was a schedule that Rich and I had been contemplating since the schedule was released. The problem: With only two people, how would we get me from the extremely popular Lost panel in Hall H, all the way over to the other extremely popular Dollhouse panel, while Rich covered The Office? It simply wasn't possible. So, we made the decision that Rich would sit in Ballroom 20 after covering Futurama and The Simpsons, right through the oddly-placed Dean Koontz panel, and save my seat for Dollhouse. The Office would have to suffer.

By the time the Fringe panel started, I wasn't the only one who was exhausted. This was one of the final television panels of the day, with the exception, I believe, of MythBusters -- a panel I regret having to miss but, since I literally hadn't eaten anything but two Clif Bars all day, I had no choice. Otherwise you would have heard about the guy who passed out in Room 6B.

Since I'd already seen the Fringe pilot, I considered not attending the panel. I think a lot of people felt the same way, as Ballroom 20 wasn't even full for it. I'm glad I did attend, however, because it was interesting to hear what people wanted to ask of J. J. Abrams.

For those of you attending Comic-Con in San Diego, my hat is off to you. After looking at the schedule for the opening day, Thursday, July 24th, it is a wonder that your eyes don't grow glassy and that vein on the side of your temple doesn't throb with all of the events listed for that day. For those of you not attending, you may be breathing a sigh of relief that you won't have to decide what to attend and what to miss.

Granted, we here at TV Squad are only going to Comic-Con to cover the television-related events. Still, there are quite a few of them going on Thursday, starting when the convention opens and ending as the next day creeps into the night. Panels cover the gamut: public television shows, show revivals, anniversary panels about shows that have been revived, and Robert Smigel. So, if you are going, bring some comfortable shoes, plenty of snacks, and a ton of questions.

If you are not going, but are still interested in seeing what's going on in San Diego, here is a list of TV-related events for the first day of the convention. If you are interested in the complete list of events you can go to Spout blog for Thursday's full Comic-Con schedule.

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.

The economy got you down, bucko? No prospects for any future employment? Are you just sitting there in your underwear, picking large handfuls of lint out of your bellybutton, while you wait for the phone to ring for the 'Next Big Thing' in your life journey?

Well, turn that frown upside-down, my friend! Hop a plane, train or automobile to San Diego between July 24th and 27th and make your way to your destiny, courtesy of the Dharma Initiative. Octagon Global Recruiting, on behalf of Dharma, will be at ComicCon during that time to seek out volunteers to contribute to a brand new research project. According to Octagon, the new project will play a vital role in the Initiative's objectives. What those objectives are really shouldn't matter to you. All that should matter is that there are a number of unpaid positions available.

So, tough guy, submit your email address to Octagon and they should be responding to you shortly about their positions. And, if someone should happen to mention the Oceanic Six during your interview, just ignore them. They will be taken care of as quickly and quietly as possible.

In honor of Lost's return, ABC launched Lostscape, an online game, late last week. The game, which doubles as a contest, allows users to explore the island and view clips from past episodes of the show. Fans also have the opportunity to view a scene from an upcoming episode. The goal of the game is to collect significant items, like Locke's knives and Charlie's guitar.

Once you've found seven of the thirty-four items (along with a special item), you can enter the contest. The prize is a trip for two to Comic-Con in San Diego, which includes airfare, hotel accommodations, preferred seating at the Lost panel, and a meet-and-greet with the show's cast and executives. The contest's deadline is June 30.

Usually, we don't get/need to post stuff we hear via movie blogs, but when the wonderful world of TV and film collide, strange things can happen. Over at Ain't it Cool News, Hercules posted some new Futurama footage that was shown as an introductory trailer to the four DVD films that will be produced and shown on Comedy Central. Personally, I just want new full seasons of Futurama, without the horrible thought that it might end after the 16-episode run.

The below video is pretty funny, but Family Guy did a similar joke when they came back from the dead. I have always loved it when Fox shows made fun of Fox. I am not sure if this footage will be part of the movies or not, but it looks probable. Enjoy!

First off, let me tell you there are no spoilers in this post. The cast and producers for Battlestar Galactica had a panel at Comic Con last week where they were very careful to talk about the next (and final) season, without revealing any spoilers.

Here are a few highlights:

• We may not know the identity of the 5th Cylon until the series finale
• Lucy Lawless (D'Anna) will return for 2-3 episodes

It's easy to be cynical about Comic-Con. On the one hand, it's essentially 125,000 people begging for the privilege of being advertised to for hours at a time. Early information about film and television projects is treated like a state secret despite the fact that the admission of those secrets has been carefully orchestrated to increase their value and transform them into the stuff of viral marketing dreams.

I'm combining Sunday's panel reports because neither the Women in Sci-Fi panel nor The 4400 panel was brimming with revelations unless you count as a revelation the fact that Lucy Lawless' fans bear a striking resemblance to the core audience of the WNBA, but you shouldn't.

While there are still a couple of panels left to go, things are definitely winding down at the Comic-Con. Stormtroopers are starting to smell a little rank, and the Junior Justice League isn't looking nearly as plucky. As the dust settles and the marketing teams rest their weary heads, what news items are we left with from Ye Old Comic-Con?

The best TV-related news items, in no particular order, follow:

After sitting through hours of spoilerific, carefully-calibrated marketing presentations, there's nothing quite as bracing as the inspired lunancy of Sarah Silverman and friends. The entire cast of The Sarah Silverman Program gathered at this year's Comic-Con to share clips from their second sesaon and a tape of Steve Agee masturbating, or as the moderator, comedian Zach Galifianakis, put it "alphabetizing his testicles." (He was alphabetizing for comedic purposes, of course.) Needless to say, it was an R-rated evening all around.

The Smallville panel was a hot Comic-Con ticket for one reason and one reason only - Supergirl. We got our first glimpse of Supergirl in action with some preview scenes from Smallville's upcoming season. She was blonde, hot and had the gift of flight.

Who's the King of Comic-Con? Kevin Smith or Joss Whedon? Kevin may have pulled ahead with this afternoon's Heroes announcement, but Joss' fans come bearing gifts. Seriously. At least half the people asking questions had gifts to lay at the master's feet. Fortunately for us, Joss came equipped with a gift or two himself.

If you don't want one Buffy Season 8 spoiler, don't follow the jump.