TVSquad

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.

It seems that a guest-stint on Heroes isn't enough, William Katt must further prove himself by starting his own comic book company, Catastrophic Comics. Their debut comic, called Sparks, is being released today.

According to the press release, the series is set in 1948 and follows Ian Sparks, a masked vigilante who discovers the high price of being a hero. Sparks was co-created by William Katt and Christopher Folino, the writer/director of the cult comedy film "Gamers."

"My goal for Catastrophic Comics is to tell original stories, with amazing art work, that don't suck. And I can't imagine a better book to launch our company with than Sparks. JM and Chris have done a superb job with this gritty book," commented William Katt.

Between this and his upcoming TV appearance, it seems that Mr. Katt is milking his former television glory for all its worth. Not that I blame him. The Star Trek actors have been doing it for decades.

According to an interview with Newsarama, the actor William Katt who is best known from the '80s television show The Greatest American Hero will be appearing in a guest starring capacity on the NBC show Heroes. He is playing a reporter that is pursuing Ali Larter's 'Nikki' character (who, given this information, likely survived the explosion that ended last season).

"I just filmed it last week," Katt says. "I play a really, really wonderful, seedy, smarmy-mouthed reporter that goes after Ali Larter. It was a lot of fun."

When comparing Heroes to the superhero show he once starred in, Katt says "It's more Hitchcockian. It's a more dark and seedy look at the world of superheroes. It's offering to television viewers what some of the better comic books do...Tim Kring is just an extraordinary writer. And I think there's no end to his creativity. He's kind of mad, in an insane way. And that always makes it interesting. There are a lot of twists yet to come."

My only question is: will he tell the other heroes where to find the instruction book?

Add to the list of television series headed to the big screen: The Greatest American Hero. They are are casting the two main male roles of Ralph Hinkley and FBI Agent Bill Maxwell (played in the series by William Katt and Robert Culp, respectively). The film is set to be directed by Stephen Herek, whose directing credits include Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Mighty Ducks and the big-screen version of Dead Like Me.

I liked The Greatest American Hero as a kid. I've always like the superhero genre and to me this character's origin was a mix of Superman and Green Lantern. More interestingly, I realized as I got older that the three main characters of Ralph, Bill and Ralph's girlfriend Pam represents three different personality types. Ralph was the dreamer, Pam was the pragmatist and Bill was the pessimist.

Since Ralph was the dreamer, he was the one with the ability to change the world. Or, this could just be me talking nonsense and looking at a quaint '80s series with rose-colored glasses. What do you think a modern take on this show would be like?

Word is coming out that October 3 will see the release of a special 13 disc DVD set for The Greatest American Hero, the 80s superhero spoof that starred William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp. Besides all 43 episodes, the set will include a cape (!), instructions on how to use the suit (with lights), and an iron on.

13 discs for only 43 episodes? What kind of extras are going to be on the set?