Dee Animated moving…

So I thought I had all this time to do two blogs at the same time. Delusions of grandeur. 😉 Anyways, the posts here won’t be dying by any means, just moving over to Visual Crack. So there won’t be any new entries following this one and all the posts you liked finding here will just be moving over to the Visual Crack site.

But not to worry, Dee Animated will not be decommissioned until all the posts have been moved appropriately. I’m hoping comments might transfer over too, but if not, sorry if yours got deleted and feel free to repost of course. See you on Visual Crack.

*Naruto Back on Netflix

I know this has been a major concern of those who’ve been wanting to watch Naruto and use their favorite movie rental program to do it.

Well, good news.

Naruto is back on Netflix with 32 discs available to rent.  If they’re sticking to 4 episodes a disc, then up to episode 128 is available.  I think these are still the English only dubs (Japanese is always better) but when comparing both there could be a worse dub as far as voices go.  I think the only problem with this dub is some lines which work all right in Japanese sound pretty much stupid in English.

So if the show is putting you off in English, get on the net and find yourself a Japanese version and see if that isn’t vast improvement for you.  If you like the show in English, Netflix can accomodate.  Hooray to having Naruto back, nonetheless!

*Ajikan! One Reason to Love J-Rock

For most of us in the English-speaking world, our first introduction to J-Rock/Pop is via anime opening and closing songs. Occasionally you might stumble across a few artists other ways (found Shiina Ringo and Gackt via youtube, and Ellegarden and Bump of Chicken thanks to a Pillows tribute album), but I’m not ashamed, nor should we be, to say we found an artist because of anime. (I think FLCL is enough said).

I plan to review my other favorite J-Rock/Pop artists in the future–some being mentioned above–but lately I’ve had nothing short of a rabbid infatuation with Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Ajikan or AFKG for short, depending on which language you speak). My first introduction to Ajikan was with Naruto and Haruka Kanata, the second opening song. I had it in my anime list on my iPod and liked the song, but thought nothing much more of the band. At the time I was more obsessed with the Pillows and Bump of Chicken (well, still am).

After hearing the full version of Haruka Kanata some time later, I fell in love with the style and vocals and needed more Ajikan. (I was also looking for more Orange Range at the time, Ajikan won out–not that I don’t still love Orange Range). Ajikan is a bit well-known in the anime world, currently for After Dark, the seventh opening for Bleach. Ajikan’s music can also be found on other anime, such as Fullmetal Alchemist, the fourth opening Rewrite, the theme song for Tekkon Kinkreet Aru Machi no Gunjou, and of course as mentioned Naruto.

But don’t think anime is all they’re good for.

The albums I’ve been listening to currently (as I like to take a few at a time) are:
Feedback File
Kimi Tsunagi Five M
Sol-Fa

Feedback File (2006) is probably my favorite of the list. It’s a mix of studio and live–the live portions being what really sold me on this album–though a great album overall. My favorite song on this album and current Ajikan favorite overall has to be Re:Re: I’ve heard it live and studio, and I have to say, get it live, it’s loads better. Sometimes you’ll get artists who sound good studio, but terrible live, this is definitely not the case with Ajikan. Often you’ll find they’re better live.

From Kimi Tsunagi Five M (2003) and Sol-Fa (2004) I’m loving the songs No Name and Yoru no Mukou. But it’s not like those are the only good ones. Ajikan just makes your listening time fun (and the commute by car or train less annoying).

Something else I admire about Ajikan is the fabulous album art. They recently did the Nano-Mugen festival album compilation art (and you can easily tell it was their art). And by the way, if you’re in Japan, you may want to check out the Nano-Mugen festivals in the future if you haven’t been going. This year (July) they had Third Eye Blind, Stereophonics, our boys Ajikan, Ellegarden, Phantom Planet and Art-School to name a few. This year it was held at Yokohama Arena.

So Ajikan comes highly, highly recommended. If I were going to name American bands to compare, I’d have to say Weezer meets Jimmy Eat World meets Stone Temple Pilots with a little bit of A Perfect Circle thrown in. I’d probably put it one or two notches above the Pillows in a “hard rock” scale, so not head banging, but not super light either.

And if anyone knows where you can get some sweet Ajikan shirts, bags, etc., please post a comment and leave a trail. I’m frequenting ebay, but none too successful as of late.

HOW TO LISTEN:
Pandora has one album. iTunes has got none. Amazon and ebay are probably your best bets album-wise, and there are a few of the songs around the net available to preview streaming. Friends from/in Japan are helpful as well, but however you do it, give this band a go. It will be worth it.

Dee-lightfully yours…

In lieu of pondering doing a Bleach review like my Naruto one, or wondering which new anime series to watch (currently I’m re-watching Samurai Champloo), I didn’t want to leave the blog entry-less until I figured out what to do review-wise.

So… I decided to personalize, just a bit.

Yes, this will probably get the least read statistics when I’m looking over the blog, but no matter. We’ve always got to start somewhere.

Anyways, I’m currently reading the Maha Go Go Go manga [Japanese comics, and BTW, pronounced MAN (with the A like in mama) – GA (same thing as before with the A). If I hear one more person call it meingaa (like kanga)…..], which has done nothing to help with the wait for the Speed Racer DVD release. I suppose I could watch the old series again. (Well, the manga and the soundtrack. Good soundtrack, by the way.)

I’ve also tried to take up knitting. Yeah, I know, sounds totally dorky, but after I saw this Wonder Woman sweater, well, I imagined the possibilities. This is obviously something incredibly advanced, so I’m working on a beanie. Knitting is fun and it does look cool rather quickly, however the biggest problem I have with it is the time it takes. It makes me wonder how we as the world survived before textile factories…

I’m also in the midst of finishing off Doctor Who: Series 2. It took me a lot longer than I had thought to warm up to David Tennant. It’s not that I don’t like him as an actor, it’s that I found myself wishing for the Eccleston days. There may be a part of me that always misses that Doctor, but Tennant has solidified himself as far as I’m concerned. I’m hooked.

And believe it or not, yours truly is stressing over an upcoming kung fu test. My master is from Taiwan, so he doesn’t subscribe to any kind of belt system. We have three levels: teacher, disciple, and master. (I often explain it as starting off as a padawan, then jedi, jedi knight, and jedi master.) So I’m looking to leave my padawan status and become a jedi–teacher. The toughest thing right now isn’t necessarily the forms but the other parts, like holding the horse stance for two minutes and other proof of flexibility and strength requirements. *sigh* It makes me wish I’d done this as a kid, it’d be easier now. 😉

Lastly I want to recommend a website, I mean, since this is a blog about animation stuffs. This is my manga avatar I designed at Faceyourmanga.com. Contrary to what it says on the front, you don’t have to pay anything to get at least an avatar appropriate sized copy of your avatar. (And if you’ve got skills with Illustrator, getting a hi-rez version should be no problem). Head on over and see what you come up with.

So, that’s what’s happening currently in Dee world. (And only a few weeks to go for Speed Racer DVD, Avatar Book 3 DVD, and Pushing Daisies Season One DVD).

*Fox sues WB over Watchmen?

This is super lame, Fox. Seriously, are you really that pathetic now that you have to resort to this?

Twentieth Century Fox is trying to stop Warner Bros. from releasing the Watchmen. In a lawsuit, Fox says it acquired the motion pictures rights to the graphic novel in the ’80s, and when it gave up some of those rights in 1991, it held onto the right to distribute the movie.

Monday, a federal judge in Los Angeles agreed with Fox’s claim and said there is enough evidence to keep the lawsuit moving forward. As a result the film’s March 16 release is on hold until the two sides or a judge settles the dispute. Fox has announced that instead of seeking a share of the sure-fire hit, it is intent on stopping the movie from being released.

The complaint states that when Fox teamed up with producer Larry Gordon in 1991 to develop a Watchmen movie, the rights were transferred to them and so was due payment if the film was ever made. Things didn’t work out in developing the movie so Fox and Gordon went their separate ways. In 2006, Gordon made a deal with Warner Bros. to make Watchmen and Fox is saying they never got paid.

Zack Snyder, director of 300 and Watchmen, has finished shooting the movie with stars Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino and Billy Crudup, and is continuing post production. Watchmen is based on the groundbreaking graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Well, at least they didn’t try and bring it to suit in January 2009, but STILL. I’m sure some of you are thinking, boycott Fox, but what’s that honestly going to do? What might get the right kind of attention would be sending smiley faces to Fox executives. (Because, yeah, you can quit watching 24 and the Sarah Conner Chronicles, but you’re not hurting Fox you’re hurting the producers, actors, and writers of those shows).

Anyways, thought I’d share the lame story.

*Dilbert The Animated Series: Dull and Disappointing

I’ve had this series buried somewhere in the Netflix queue (it’s a problem for folks like me who find the 500 DVDs in your queue limit annoying) and when it appeared on the instaview list, I gave it a look. Now, let it be known that I LOVE the Dilbert comic strip. It’s probably the first one I look for in the “funnies,” and too realistic at times. 😉

I’m an avid fan of The Office and Office Space so you’d think I’d be all over this series. Well, I watched the first episode of the season… It was, well, forgettable. Still, I’m willing to give shows a fair chance. I looked over the episode descriptions and picked another that sounded amusing, still a C- at best.

The voice acting is spot on for the pointy-haired boss–at least I found it believable–Dogbert as well, but everyone else just seemed moderate. The writing was also just moderate (meaning not puke-faced terrible, but not great either). Larry Charles of Seinfeld fame was the head writer, so you’d think he’d have comedy down, but perhaps it was the direction or voice acting that dragged the series down.

There are, of course, Dilbert otakus who love the show and perhaps you’ll be one of them. But if you’re more like me, a when-I-see-a-newspaper, etc. reader, you’ll probably want to pass. For the most part, the funny comes from more bathroom and sexual humor than actual wit or clever writing. A couple of things were amusing, but this show doesn’t even hold a match stick let alone a spark to Family Guy, Simpsons, Futurama, or King of the Hill. Let’s just stick to the comic strip.

Comic Strip: A+
Series: C-

*Death Note does Anti-Hero right

Mac of Visual Crack was the first to introduce me to Death Note, but really only in manga form. I read the first volume in English and decided the anime series was worth a look. Netflix sent me the first disc and I was hooked.

Death Note is the story of a kid stumbling upon a strange Death Note (as the Japanese word for notebook is noto or “note” basically. So when you hear the word “note” just substitute “notebook” in your mind). The notebook has the power to kill simply by writing the name of the victim in the book while picturing him/her. Believing the world is too corrupt, the kid takes it upon himself to rid the world of criminals–and anyone who gets in his way.

THE CHARACTERS:

Light Yagami
A 17 yr old, attractive, things come to me too easily, high school student who soon goes to college to study law and basically become a cop like his father. He stumbles upon the Death Note and becomes the owner and the anti-hero protagonist of the story. He is also referred to as “Kira” (a japanese version of the word killer) by the police.

L
A world famous detective no one has ever seen before the “Kira” case. L is odd, smart, and a sweet-aholic. (And no, he isn’t sucking his thumb, he’s pressing it against his bottom lip, a habit when he’s thinking hard). L’s my favorite character of the series. I think the chibi version of him in plushies and what not are chou kawaii!

Shinigami: Ryuk and Rem
A shinigami is like a grim reaper, literally translated as “death god.” I’ve also seen it translated as “soul reaper” (see Bleach). In the series they are the owners of the death notes, and Ryuk in particular likes leaving them lying around for unsuspecting humans to pick up. Ryuk probably comes second in my favorite character of the series. I like his “whatevs” attitude.

Misa Amane
Hey, what’s anime without an annoying character? Very much typical teenage Japanese girl–well, that and a pop star–Misa has a super mega crush on Light and wants to help him in anyway she can. One of those self-sacrificing girls, but in a pathetic way. She’s probably my least favorite, but she makes for some interesting moments between the three of them (L, Light and Misa).

Mello, Near, etc.
There are quite a few other players that impact the story significantly, mostly being Mello and Near, but also Light’s dad and members of the police team to catch Kira. I can’t say I really cared for Mello or Near, though Near I like more, since he’s kind of like a little brother version of L. (If you think an L obsession is weird, watch the series and tell me if you feel differently! I dare you!)

ANIME SERIES & EPISODE GUIDE:

Well, this is really more of a warning. It’s interesting how like the villain the movie Seven, you almost find yourself agreeing with Light. It’s also kind of disorienting to have the main character really be the bad guy in a sense (I’m trying not to spoil too much here).

Since the show isn’t hardly as long as Naruto, nor Bleach, this guide will be short. Without posting spoilers, once again, you should know you’ll likely be addicted to the show like crack until about episode 25. Some major plot changes are implemented, and in my opinion, the anime becomes less good–at least I didn’t care. In fact, I was affected so much by the change I had zero motivation to keep going with the anime and it took me a couple of weeks to get myself to finish it off.

Episodes 26 and on (up to 37) do contain interesting plot points and are worthwhile if you’ve enjoyed the series thusfar. There is also a bittersweet ending to the series, in a Shakespearian way, so the end was worthwhile for me, but it’s ANIME, 9 times out of 10 it isn’t going to end the way you’d want. 😉

So is it worth it? Yes. You’ll love it, well, if anime is your thing.

Anime series: A

LIVE-ACTION MOVIES:

Sometimes you wonder how a live-action movie will translate from manga, but if it works for Nodame Cantabile it’s gotta work for others, right? (*wink*) In this case I think it added to the Death Note universe. A warning to the animation fans… They will deviate from the manga and the series, but I think a lot of the deviations work.

Ryuk and Light argue over the philosophical issues of the Death Note.

When we join Light in the first movie he’s already discovered the Death Note and is off-handedly discussing it with his girlfriend (aka he’s talking about Kira and his opinion of Kira without actually connecting the dots). And yeah, GIRLFRIEND. For the movies (since let’s be honest with ourselves. There is no, no, no, no way you can put EVERYTHING everybody wants, let alone yourself into a two-hour movie, especially with a series with enough material to make 37 episodes. 1/2 hr x 37 = 18.5 hours of material which equals at least 9 movies worth of time. Keep this in mind when you’re hating on Harry Potters or Twilight or other book adaptations.) …as I was saying, for the movies, his having a girlfriend worked. There just wasn’t enough time to develop the characters as well as the series did, even with two, and the girlfriend factor helped Light arc quickly.

L reveals he's the real brains behind the Truman Show.

But don’t get the movies wrong, for the most part they stick to the plot. My only qualm with the movies was the seemingly lack of time spent on developing L and a non-existent friendship between L and Light we got to see in the series. (I’m an L fan, ya know). However, the actor who plays L (Ken’ichi Matsuyama) I thought did a fabulous job. He had a lot of the mannerisms down and I thought was a little more interesting than Light.

The actor who played Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara), did a good job, but there was just something lacking. I think I prefer the voice acting job (Miyano Mamoru) did as opposed to Tatsuya’s performance, but it works for the movie.

L refuses the DoCoMo promotion.

I prefer the ending of the story in the movies to the anime series, simply because I kept expecting something like what happened in the movies to happen in the anime series. But if we’re talking overall Death Note, then I’d like a mix of the movies and the series. It’s interesting the trend even Hollywood is taking to making anime into live-action. (I just am opposed to Keanu playing Spike Spiegel is all).

Obviously it works, since Death Note was wildly successful in Japan ($28 mil for the first movie $53 mil for the second–tix sales) and will make some good money for Viz here.

Movie: A- (mostly for lack of development for L)

HOW TO SEE DEATH NOTE:

The anime series you can catch it in English (*puke*) on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network for the uniformed) in the early morning hours. It’s posted on the net with good fansubs. Or you can do it the Netflix way (which is the way I started) with your choice of English or subs–they have 6 discs available. I did Netflix + the internet.

The movies they recently screened at select theaters back in May across America, and you’ll be able to pick up the first movie on September 16th at Amazon or the like. I got both on ebay, Hong Kong versions. I’ve heard the dub is no good, so stick with subs.

There’s also a new spin-off movie called L: Change the World which came out in February which I have yet to see, but if it’s got L I’m all about it. Once I see it I’ll let you know.

MANGA:

I think the full series is available in English. It’s good, but yeah, it’s basically the book version of the anime. Still, I’ve been reading it in my spare time and find it worthwhile.

*Comic-Con 2008: Swag, Costumes, etc.

Bags were a popular handout this year.

This will probably be my last entry for Comic-Con 2008, but there’s always the 2009 event upcoming. There are lots of forums to attend and lines to stand in, but that’s not all of the Comic-Con experience. There’s also the exhibit floor, the wacky costumes and of course, the free stuff.

As I mentioned earlier, I never was able to get me a “Big Frakkin Bag” and I’m sad I didn’t get the Pushing Daisies Warner Bros. bag either, but I still came away with loads of stuff, most of which is posters, sample books, and flyers (so many flyers), and a lot of which is not pictured here. I just wanted to give the curious an idea of what you’re in for. I think we may expect an increase in entry fee to the Con as well. Last year I believe it was $55 for a 4-day pass, this year it was $75 (which still sold out), I’m wondering if they’ll keep bumping it to see how far they can take it. I wouldn’t be surprised.

The Caped Crusaders--lego-ized!

Lego Indy

Something else to look forward to is what Lego will present. If it seems odd to you that Lego would be at a “comic” convention, well, it shouldn’t. Not with Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman, and Lego Indiana Jones all making it to consoles. I’d really like to take one of these statues home. I think they’ve had contests in the past. Anyone ever built something to these scales out of Legos? I’m always impressed.

The Dynamic Duo?

Hyrulians invade!

Costumes. Lots of people dressed up. I think July could be the second most likely month to find grown ups wearing costumes in a perfectly acceptable environment (the first being Halloween).

And you are guaranteed to find someone dressed as a storm trooper, simply guaranteed. Take a moment to absorb.

storm troops

another

People love to dress up. I’m kind of sad I didn’t have some kind of sweet costume I’d been working on all year (except for the all year part). Dunno, I’ve got friends who want to dress up next year, and well, it wouldn’t be Comic-Con without cosplay. If I do, I’ll post it here. 😉

A few more costumes to enjoy:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

mad?

aliens!

the firelord!

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

He's got the power...

Quantum of Solace?

The exhibit hall is basically a quarter mile of booths, some with swag, some not. You can still buy comics (*wink*) but you can also pick up art from upcoming artists, get advance copies of books, or partial advance copies, or just look at awesome He-Man and Grayskull decor. And just because comics have a nerdy stigma, don’t think James Bond won’t be stopping buy.

yeah, that's a star trek guy takin' the photo

If you’re tired of the forums on the inside, you can head just outside of the convention center, where there may be events going on. I particularly liked seeing all the statues promoting Mummy 3, but they also had people holding Fringe balloons and it’s also where I got my History Channel Dinosaur bag (kind of odd to be at Comic-Con, I thought, but whatever, it’s free).

Will Riker

And last but not least, a typical sight at a Comic-Con is the has-been actors. Oh, come on! Yes, he was in Star Trek: TNG, and yeah, he’ll probably always (at least to the Star Trek crowd) be remembered for it, but what has he done lately besides conventions and docs about Star Trek. Honestly? Well, either way, it was fun to see him and snap a photo anyways.

You can always count on a new Star Trek movie to bring the old stars back out of the attic. Which, btw, I’m a little excited for, simply because I love Zachary Quinto. Hey, is it wrong to love villains, namely Sylar. Sure, he’s evil, but he does such a good job at it.

Well, it’s been fun and interesting and crowded, but still a worthwhile go. The weather was great, and next time I really should try to see the San Diego sites instead of just hanging out with 25,000 + people all day. 2009, here we come!

*Back to Tradition: Disney’s Upcoming Film

I heard about this a while ago. Disney has finally got their head on straight, realizing the old formula always brought them money, and has decided to produce again a hand-drawn animated musical complete with a princess. The trouble is it’s been stirring up trouble.

The Princess and the Frog (traditionally the fairy tale is called The Frog Princess) will be about a girl named Maddy–er wait–Tiana who lives in 1920s New Orleans Jazz Age. Why the big fuss? Well, she’s the first black princess, which I thought was a progressive step forward, but I guess we’re not progressing as quickly as I’d thought.

Originally named Maddy, the character was supposed to also be the chambermaid of a spoiled rich white girl (can you see where the Politically Correct crew is going to go into overhaul already?). Despite the fact that Snow White and Cinderella both began their stories as basically chambermaids, it’s apparently too demeaning for the PC crew. (God forbid any of us have been caught cleaning for money–I have.) Maddy was also thought to be too “slavish” so she got the change to Tiana. (Suppose I’d better inform my friend Madeleine not to let anyone call her Maddy for short). And then of course, instead of realizing that The Frog Princess is actually the real name of a real fairytale and not meant to be demeaning in anyway, the PC crew made certain to see to that, hence The Princess and the Frog. (This I don’t really care about either way, just kind of adds another straw.)

Shame on you Disney, for trying to make yourself more ethnic.

PC crews are also upset that supposedly the prince will turn out to be white. Instead of thinking, “Hooray for racial integration and showing the world we value people for people and not skin color.” they’re thinking, well, the big white man gotta come down and rescue the poor Tiana. *sigh* (see here for Jennifer Daniels, BET, specific comments, which I thought were pretty much racist)

Disney, I suspect even with the changes you make no one on the PC crew will be happy.

Despite all that, hopefully we’ll get a good film in the end (even if “white man” Randy Newman is doing the soundtrack, I mean really, can we say chip on the shoulder PC crew?) and perhaps somehow take that progressive step forward. I’m looking forward to the movie. I missed the traditional films and it’ll be nice to see the princesses include Tiana in the mix.

I’m sorry, but all this uproar disgusts me. Look at the art, Tiana is gorgeous, from the little preview she sounds like a woman with some fantastic attitude (not just a helpless Sleeping Beauty), the animation style looks like what we’d expect from Disney.

And please, let’s leave the PC at home for once

*Comic-Con 2008: Day Three (July 26)

10:30-11:45 Heroes: Exclusive First Look at “Villains” and Q&A with the Entire Cast, Tim Kring, and Tim Sale

Although I showed up an hour and a half before the forum started, and it was in Hall H, the biggest room they’ve got–basically it didn’t matter. The line wrapped around the basically the entire building. People likely camped out the night before and blah, blah, blah, I went and had breakfast instead. You can find and watch the panel on youtube, and hopefully this fall will bring a far better season than last year.

11:15-12:30 Quick Draw!

From the Comic-Con guidebook:

It’s the battle of the cartoonists, featuring the one artist who may be the match for the reigning champs! Join Sergio Aragonés (the world’s fastest cartoonist), the quick-witted and quicker-penned Scott Shaw, and the new kid, editorial and syndicated cartoonist Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm), as they place their pens to paper to do their fastest, most clever work, while you watch them draw on the big screen. Host Mark Evanier puts them through their paces in one of Comic-Con’s most popular annual events.

sample of Quickdraw art projected onto screens

If for some reason (like hordes of people) you can’t get into your desired forums, or if you just don’t see anything you want to go to, this is the forum for you. Sergio is always there (or has been since I’ve been going), and it’s a lot of fun to watch these artists at work. I was a little sad in thinking I wouldn’t see it because of other forums, but since Heroes was out of the question, as was Futurama and Simpsons (since if you couldn’t get into Heroes, that was the next best long line), it made my Saturday morning worthwhile.

11:30-12:30 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Screening and Q&A

I tried to get into this. Yeah… Saturday was busier than ever and kind of made me consider heavily attending Wonder Con instead.

12:30-2:00 Cartoon Voices

This is also a traditional panel at the Con. A bunch of famous voice actors get together and do an old radio show together–though in their own way. This too is another great forum to just relax and be entertained (if you can’t get into your forum/nothing good is going on). I recommend you do it at least once if you visit the Con. And since attending the Con is becoming more and more popular, you may want to keep it in mind.

In attendance this year was: Jason Marsden* (Fairly OddParents, Loonatics Unleashed), Wally Wingert (The Garfield Show, Family Guy), Phil LaMarr (Justice League, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends), Alicyn Packard (The Mr. Men Show, World of Warcraft), TV legend Chuck McCann, and Tom Kenny* (SpongeBob SquarePants)

12:45-1:45 Exclusive Q&A with the writers of The Office

I kept checking the line for this one, it was still wrapped around the hall and then some. But by a fluke I happened to get in just as it ended. I didn’t see Dwight (Rainn Wilson) (he was surrounded by rabbid fans), but I saw Ryan the temp (B.J. Novak). It did make me very sad to miss this one, but the room would be holding the Pushing Daisies panel later, so feeling lucky that I would make it to at least one panel I had really wanted to go to (no Dollhouse, no BSG, no Chuck, no Fringe… *sob*). If I haven’t stressed it enough, Saturday is a tough day.

Paul Feig created Freaks & Geeks

2:00-3:00 Comics: Across Every Medium

A filler panel, truly, and for the most part I didn’t care and doodled while waiting for Pushing Daisies. I was, however, interested when both Paul Feig (creator of Freaks & Geeks) and David Goyer (Batman Begins) spoke. Paul Fieg said he wanted Freaks & Geeks (a fabulous short-lived TV series if you haven’t see it) to be timeless, which is a part of the reason he had it take place in the late ’70s early ’80s area. He added that it’s harder to do it contemporary, simply for the fact that a song that’s super popular when they’re filming could be super overplayed/unpopular by the time it hit syndication.

He also mentioned how it’s interesting that it’s not as taboo as it was to admit you read comics, especially with all the comic book movies that have been hitting recently–and especially this year. David Goyer added that WB wants an executive who knows comics–after all, they’re turning into a moneymaking area.

Goyer said Chris Nolan has NOT said anything about doing a Batman 3, and is really just wanting to enjoy the success of Dark Knight and go on vacation for a while and then they’ll see. So if there is going to be a Batman 3, we shouldn’t be expecting news of it for at least another month.

3:15-4:15 Pushing Daisies Screening and Q&A

The Piemaker (Lee Pace) and Chuck (Anna Friel)

Yay! I made it! And here we have finally, the Pushing Daisies panel, with everyone in attendance (And I have to say ‘boo’ to the San Diego Convention guys who thought cramming this panel into such a small room was a great idea. They easily could have filled a larger sized room–and maybe taken care of the line problem as well). In attendance: Lee Pace (The Fall), Anna Friel (Land of the Lost), Chi McBride (Boston Public), Ellen Greene (Little Shop of Horrors), Swoosie Kurtz (Superman Doomsday), Kristin Chenoweth (The West Wing, Wicked), and executive producer/creator Bryan Fuller (Heroes).

Last season definitely left us hanging, but the trailer they showed didn’t do much to resolve, only to excite. If you haven’t jumped on the Pushing Daisies bandwagon, now might be a good time to start. You can watch 4 episodes on the ABC site, but if you don’t mind Chinese subs and you can’t wait for the DVD to hit shelves (September 16), then you can use SurftheChannel.com to get the rest (only 9 episodes thx to the writer’s strike).

Cast of Pushing Daisies (minus Lee, who is hidden)

The chat wasn’t much different than what Bryan Fuller had already said in previous forums. The cast did say, however, that they love making this show because it leaves them feeling happy. Lee said there’s a difference in the kind of show or performance you’re doing and how it leaves you feeling (he briefly mentioned Heath Ledger) and how it affects you. He loves being the piemaker because he feels happy afterward.

I know some critics (both professional and non) might say the show is too happy or too light for television. Have we really reached an age where something that makes you smile in an innocent way is no longer appropriate for TV? Really? I think the strong fanbase of the show would suggest otherwise.

My favorite moment during the panel was when a young girl (like 8) said hello to Kristin and asked her if she would sing a song. Kristin obliged. (Once again, video quality not spectacular, but you can hear Kristin just fine.)

END OF DAY AND CONVENTION (FOR ME)

Since I couldn’t get into Fringe that was it for me. The evening on a Saturday consists of the Masquerade ball, where a lot of the best (and sometimes the worst) costumes are judged. True Blood sponsored it this year. Wonder if they served red punch. 😉 I didn’t stick around for Sunday, so no, no Supernatural or Smallville panels for me.

That’s not the end of the Comic-Con posts for 2008, however. I’ve got pics from the exhibit floor and fun costumes I saw and the wacky obsession with storm troopers Con goers seem to have. So look for that, hopefully tomorrow.