The Positively Positive

The last time I reviewed a Creation convention (Firefly/Serenity this past November), I made a remark that going to these events has started to feel like home to me. This convention was no different. In fact it was probably even more so, as this year’s event marks my third Supernatural Creation convention.

Once again I attended as a Gold Member and really enjoyed all of the benefits this ticket price offers. I bought my ticket last year so I got a slightly better seat this year at all the panels (row F, in the center). Plus my friend and I got to pick out our table at the special “Breakfast with Jared and Jensen”. We were center for that and pretty close so I had no trouble seeing the guys and enjoying what they had to tell us about shooting the series this year.

The other thing I like about going Gold is that it gives you free autographs with each guest. Every year Creation invites more and more new guests so I now have quite a few signatures (21 at last count) on a poster that I’ve brought to every convention so far. That is more than worth it for me since that poster is pretty much ready to be “retired” now (in other words, framed and put up in my living room).

This year I had a friend who not only went Gold but also paid for “VIP” tickets. I had heard about these tickets but didn’t have a lot of interest in them. I had heard that they allowed you to go backstage and I mistakenly thought that meant that you had to sit back there. I couldn’t imagine why someone would want to do that. LOL.

But boy was I ever wrong. All weekend my friend kept coming back to our hotel room (we hardly ever saw her during the day since we all had different seats) to regale us with stories from backstage. She got to meet with each every guest, was first in line for all signings, photo-ops, etc. Basically she had a freaking blast and I have to admit that I was just a smidge jealous.

This year they had some interactive voting which was pretty fun. Categories like “favorite car” and “favorite villain” were voted by texting on your phone and the results appeared on screen instantly! That was pretty freaking cool.

The guests were all wonderful and I enjoyed seeing some new faces (Kurt Fuller, Rob Benedict and Mark Pellegrino) as well as all of the familiar ones like Jared and Jensen of course and Jim Beaver, the “Ghostfacers” (AJ and Travis), etc. All of the guests seem to really enjoy being there which has to say a lot about how they are treated not only by us fans, but also by the Creation crew. Happy guests make for a much more pleasant experience so I appreciate all the crew does to keep them (as well as us) happy.

The staff as always was super friendly and after a few “glitches” on the first day picking up our tickets, etc, it was pretty much smooth sailing from then on out. This year I got a lot of attention because a friend of mine had made a stuffed/pillow version of the ’67 Impala that the guys drive on the show. So by the end of the con I had been dubbed “the Impala lady” by quite a few of the Creation team. In fact they liked it so much that they even declared it the winner of the centerpiece contest at Saturday night’s dessert party.

Also when talking about the staff I can’t go without saying how grateful I am to one staff member, who’s name unfortunately I never got. At the very end of the convention my friend and I were heading back to our room and discussing my poster (which I was still holding up to allow the ink to dry from the last signature). One of the staff members walked into step beside us and began to chat, he then asked me to hang on for a second and began patting down his pockets. Within seconds he produced a silver sharpie and presented it to me, saying that it was Jared’s from the signing earlier in the day. I still have no idea why he chose to give it to me, but it was so sweet. I’m embarrassed now that I didn’t think to ask the gentleman’s name but I think I was in shock. LOL.

Overall I’d have to say that these conventions appear to do nothing but get better and better. I am already starting to make plans to go to next year’s Los Angeles convention again and am even trying to figure out how I can attend some others, like the Vancouver one, etc. I’m also gonna try really hard to get my hand on a VIP pass. ;o)

Louden Swain concert (held at Creation’s Salute to Supernatural convention – LA 2010)

Creation’s Salute Firefly/Serenity convention – Los Angeles 2009

Creation’s Salute to Serenity and Firefly 2009. Los Angeles, California – November 21 – 22, 2009

I’ve been to quite a few conventions put on by Creation Entertainment and I’m beginning to find them almost a bit like “home” now.

The first one I ever attended was geared mostly towards Star Trek: The Next Generation, which I was into bigtime when I was a teen. More recently, I’ve been attending the Supernatural conventions and their Serenity/Firefly “cons”. Both times I have attended the Serenity/Firefly con I did so mostly as a vendor, working at the California Browncoats booth.

Going as a Gold patron (which is how I usually attend the Supernatural cons) is of course different than being a vendor, but I still found this weekend a lot of fun. Having been so many times now, I’m beginning to recognize a lot of familiar faces in the staff and getting to know the layout of the hotel.

As for the guests, they were (as always) wonderful. On Saturday I was lucky enough to get some time off from the booth to see not only Adam Baldwin, but also the panel with Tim Minear and Jane Espenson.

I was delighted and a bit surprised (given the often gruff characters he plays on screen) to find Adam very pleasant and often quite hilarious. Afterwards I eagerly waited for Tim and and Jane. I was very excited to get some info from two such amazing writers (both worked on many of Joss Whedon’s shows). They were full of lots of great advice and came ready with suggestions for budding writers, as well as taking questions from the audience.

I always love hearing from those in front of the camera and seeing how different (or similar) an actor is from their character on screen. But I also really enjoy hearing from those behind the camera as well, the ones who create the shows that I love so much. So that panel was a fantastic treat and I hope to see more of these kinds of guests at Creation’s events in the future.

On Sunday (when I wasn’t working the booth in the dealer’s room), I was able to see Jewel Staite and Alan Tudyk.

Having never seen her on stage before, I have to say that I instantly fell in love with Jewel. She was funny and I loved all her little stories about moving into a new home, etc. I especially dug the cute way she kept referring to her husband, showing how much fun they are having together.

As for Alan, I was both excited and a little nervous about his appearance. On Saturday I made a joke that I was thinking of asking Alan whether or not he had a quota for how many times he wants to die on screen (given his propensity for doing just that). I was encouraged to go ahead and ask my question and informed that Alan would most likely be giving out prizes to anyone who asked him a question.

So I did it. Yes I was terrified (I don’t like talking in front of crowds much), but I did it….and yes, my question got a great laugh. His answer was that he didn’t have one but if he did, he was sure he had met it by now. In the end I got a cool Hawaiian shirt from him and I couldn’t have been happier.

Overall I found the entire convention a lot of fun and there’s no doubt that I would want to attend again, whether I’m behind the booth getting to talk to all the great Browncoats, or if I’m just in the audience.

Wanna hear more about my weekend at the Con and get more details on the panels, etc? Then stay tuned to my Livejournal  for a detailed entry about the entire weekend.

This year I was only able to attend Comic-Con for one day, Sunday. The tickets sold out much earlier than I ever expected (c’mon, March?? Really??) so Sunday was the only day I could get. My friends and I did manage to get a hotel so we arrived on Saturday evening, saving us from having to drive from LA and back in one day.

Every year Comic-Con keeps getting bigger and bigger and while it’s definitely a bit overwhelming at times, I still really enjoy it. I know people who go to a lot of conventions and if they’ve never been to one like Comic-Con I tell them that there’s really nothing like it. For instance I’ve gone to a few conventions put on by Creation (Supernatural, Firefly and even some Star Trek ones a long, long time ago) and Comic-Con is a whole different animal. If you’re looking for some one on one time with your favorite stars or reserved seating in a panel, then Comic-Con is not for you.

If, however, you’re looking for non-stop excitement, a dealer’s room the size of an airplane hangar, more panels than you can shake a stick at, activities that run nearly 24 hours a day, parties, the best costumes, the chance to see a beautiful city, and a shot at hanging out with other geeks like yourself (because let’s face it, if you go to Comic-Con, you’re a geek, case closed), then Comic-Con is the place for you.

Highlights…..

Registration is very streamlined these days. Signing in and picking up our badges was probably the easiest and fastest thing we did the whole day.

Seemingly bursting at the seams, the con has grown into other parts of the city of San Diego. Activities were held at local restaurants, etc. There was even a circus/amusement park sponsored by Heroes across the street from the convention center.

Going to the con with a baby (and stroller) in tow was not a problem. They were well prepared, with people to guide us through doors and take us to elevators when needed.

The volunteers were topnotch this year. From the woman who registered us and printed out our badges in record time (all the while flirting with the littlest member of our crew), to the gentleman who gave us instructions and advice while we waited in line for the Supernatural convention (telling us about where to get our bathroom tickets and how to exit the panel room), to the lady who pulled us under the rope line and personally escorted us to the elevator when she spotted our stroller – I found all of them courteous, kind and (mostly) knowledgeable about the happenings there.

Seeing some simply amazing costumes, some of which (okay, most of which) I didn’t even recognize. From the Joker with us on our first elevator trip (turns out he’s got a toddler, who knew?) to the guy dressed up as some sort of robot whose costume was so big (I’m sure there were stilts in there somewhere) that he had to take the elevator as he was unable to navigate the stairs.

Watching the looks on my friends’ faces as they caught sight of the absolutely humungous booth full of t-shirts. I tried to tell them how big it was but until you see it, I don’t think it registers.

Standing in line for an hour waiting to get into the Supernatural panel and finding anything and everything we could to distract an 18 month old.

Kripke and crew giving us some juicy tidbits about the upcoming season of Supernatural.

Playing Lego’s with my friends’ toddler in the Hasbro booth.

Ending up about 15 feet in front of Brent Spiner after not only having a huge crush on him when I was a teenager but also, by some strange coincidence, dreaming about him the night before the con.

Managing to sneak a seat on the floor out in the lobby, in between various security people coming by and telling us we weren’t allowed to sit down.

Finally calling it a day, picking up our car from the hotel and driving home.

Overall it may have been my shortest trip to Comic-Con ever, but it still was fun and I’m already planning next year’s trip. Each year Comic-Con just keeps getting better and better and from what little I saw, this year was no different. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next year.

Disagree? Have something to add? Want to suggest something for me to review? Post a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

For the third year in a row, I managed to get seats at the very popular Supernatural panel. This year neither of the “boys” could make it, but we still had some fantastic guests – Eric Kripke, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, Sera Gamble and Ben Edlund.

My friends and I waited in line for an hour and only just barely got in to the room in time to see Eric Kripke introducing a clip from the premiere episode of Season 5.

Highlights….. (spoiler free)

Kripke announcing that Jared and Jensen were sorry they were unable to make it and “they are shirtless and send their love.” – Does this guy know his audience or what?

Jim and Misha discussing a possible (at least in their heads) storyline this season concerning an unrequited love between Bobby and Cas.

Kripke talking about how the idea for “The Monster at the End of the Story” came about. Turns out they couldn’t figure out how to put in a guy who writes book about Sam and Dean (and have it make sense), until someone suggested that they make the character a Prophet. Then suddenly it worked. I love hearing about other people’s writing process and this little glimpse into the writer’s room on the show was amazing for me.

Kripke telling us that last year’s season was all about the brother’s being torn apart and this year will be about them coming back together……getting the most angst out of it that they possibly can. Yes! I love me some good brotherly angst.

Everyone talking about the direction that Cas will be going this year.

Being told that some of my favorite characters will be returning this year.

An audience member asking Kripke if there would be a season 6 and him replying that he was going to wait and see. The fact that it wasn’t a flat out “no”, gave me hope that we might just see a season 6.

Watching the clips from the season 4 gag reel.

Overall it was a very informative panel with Kripke and crew giving us lots of tidbits of what is to come in the final (if it is indeed to be the final) season of Supernatural. Once again, as it does every year, watching the panel has made me very excited for the season to come.

Disagree? Have something to add? Want to suggest something for me to review? Post a comment. I’d love to hear from you!