So the San Diego Comic Convention has ended, we’re all back home, and hopefully all caught up on housework, yard work, schoolwork, whatever we got behind on to go to Comic Con. And by now we’ve gone through our swag, purchases, and freebees, and are trying to place an item with the event or booth. Here are some of mine.
The first thing is the three CD’s I purchased from the Century Media/Nuclear Blast booth. The guys at this booth made some great recommendations again this year. Sarke Vorunah was highly recommended and is an excellent representation of brutal, hard driven extreme metal. But what would you expect from the vocalist from Darkthrone and the guitarist, bassist, and drummer who’s played in bands like Old Man’s Child, Tulus, and Khold. I also picked up Amorphis Skyforger, which is more progressive, melodic style. My next purchase wasn’t brand new but had been on my list, Various Artists 20 Years of Extremes. This is a tribute double CD of bands doing other bands songs. They made some recommendations for the future that include new releases from Candlemass, 1349, Ex Deo, Cannibal Corpse, Echoes of Eternity, Amon Amarth, Alestorm, and Swashbuckler. There are also two free samplers, one from Century Media and one from Nuclear Blast. Got to love free music.
The next piece of swag is a yellow t-shirt with a picture of Michael Weston (Jeffery Donovan), from the Burn Notice panel. Present at the panel was moderator Michael Shanks (Victor), writers Matt Nix and Alfredo Barrios Jr., Ben Schenkman (Tom Stickler), Jay Karns (Brennen), Seth Peterson (Nate Weston), and Bruce Campbell (Sam Axe). The panel discussed a variety of subjects including the possibility of the senior Weston making an appearance, which could not be confirmed nor denied, and the expansion of roles for characters like Nate and Brennen. The creative team says the characters are used as needed, but we may see Nate in an expanded role and the possibility of Brennen going from villain to client. It was revealed that the restaurants and bars are not real places, but the names are fictional, named after loved ones of the cast and crew. It’s an inside joke because the public isn’t familiar with the families of the staff. A question posed from the audience was about the possibility of a Burn Notice movie, which everyone is ready for. The only problem would be the cost of the production as it was revealed that the staff doesn’t care for CG and actually prefers to blow stuff up, cars, boats, and even houses. The story goes that on one episode there is a house explosion scheduled, so they rented a house and the mock explosion was set up to blow out the windows with a fireball and leave the damage minimal. Of course the charge was too large and the explosion knocked the house off its foundation. The real treat of this panel was Bruce Campbell. This man is genuinely quick-witted and funny. Whether the question was directed at him, or he simply had a comment, he owned this panel. And the story where he requested another take so that he could ad-lib the line, to the two thugs that are beating him for information, comparing them to Cagney and Lacey, in honor of Sharon Gless (who plays Michael and Nate’s mom). If you ever get the chance to a panel with Bruce Campbell, do yourself a favor and see him.
My next bit of swag is a Psych Ball, a bumping knuckles t-shirt and an exclusive Psych comic. The Psych panel was attended by creator/producers Steve Franks, Kelley Kulchak, and Chris Henze as well as Dule Hill (Burton “Gus” Guster), James Roday (Shawn Spencer), Maggie Lawson (Juliet O’Hara), Timothy Omundson (Carlton Lassiter), and Corben Bernsen (Henry Spencer). There were lengthy discussions about writers James Roday and Chris Henze being children of the 80’s and that’s why there are so many references to that decade. They are undecided as to who has the greater knowledge of the era. The same discussion ensued about the movie references. The placement of the pineapple in each episode was talked about at length, but no one knows or will admit to knowing where the fruit is placed before taping. An exciting topic of discussion was specials and the possibility of a movie. There was talk of specials centering on Shawn and Gus as teenagers and/or as kids, and the possibility of a musical episode, all of which were met with great enthusiasm from the audience. Maggie Lawson talked about Lacey Smithsonian murder mystery movies she made earlier this year. She stated that these were side projects and not pilots to a series, though there may be more movies at a later time.
I’m glad I made both panels. It was great to see the stars of these shows and the swag is pretty cool also.
Next time I’ll introduce you to some of the people I met and booths visited.
