To try and limit the ridiculous size of this post (though seriously, it's still too big) I didn't link to every random closeup I took of the guests, but you can check out the full album of pics I have here.
Buffy and Angel Guest Q&A
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| Juliet Landau, James Marsters |
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| Juliet Landau, James Marsters, J August Richards |
This one was so fun! Marsters is always a riot but seeing Landau (Drusilla) and
Richards (Gunn) was a treat. It was wonderful seeing them interact with
each other and talk about some of the experiences they had working with
the show's writers and of course, Whedon.
Weird, Amazing, Psychotic Life: The Farscape Cast Reunion
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| Keither R.A. Decandido, Rebecca Riggs, Gigi Edgley, Virginia Hey |
Claudia
Black and Ben Browder are my absolute favorites but I enjoyed sitting
in on this panel and getting to hear from the villain of the show
(Rebecca Riggs)
Stan 'the Man' Lee - Excelsior!
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| Stan Lee |
A hilarious old man who loves his work and his fans. What's not to love?
Jason Mamoa
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| Jason Mamoa |
Eh.
I don't love him, I think he's a bit of an ass. Plus any panel that
starts with someone asking 'can I touch your biceps?' is not my
favorite. I didn't stand in line very long for this though so I don't
consider it a waste really.
Stranded in the Delta Quadrant
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| Tim Russ, Robert Picardo, Garrett Wang |
Year
after year Voyager panels are consistently awesome. These guys love to
answer questions, joke with each other, and generally just provide a
fantastic experience.
A Steampunk's Guide to Sex
Eh.
I dropped into this with some friends but I just don't find steampunk
vibrators all that interesting. Especially since the one panel member
who was actually a sex worker didn't really say anything.
Next Generation
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| Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakers |
Another Star Trek win (with the caveat that
Jonathan Frakes is an ass. A loveable ass, but still an ass)! Any panel
that starts with a speaker in the middle of the audience imitating the
attendees is almost guaranteed to be awesome. Even if it's awesome in
that 'what the hell is happening right now?' kind of way.
In Search of the Lost City: Supergate IV
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| Jason Mamoa, Torri Higginson, Joe Flanigan, Cliff Simon, Robert Picardo, Richard Dean Anderson |
Final Thoughts:
I'm probably forgetting something here, but that's a quick glimpse into what Dragon*Con is like - lots of waiting followed up by an hour long panel that may or may not be worth it (one of the many reasons I always travel with a book). Now that's not to say I don't consider the whole con experience completely worth while, I do. I think whatever you end up doing you'll be surrounded by cool people and see/learn something new. But the sheer number of people and how that affects your chances of getting into anywhere is a bummer. I wanted to see 'Awesomely Bad J-Rock Videos' and didn't expect people to flock to it (especially since it was in a smaller room). I get there and people are lined up outside in case anyone leaves. WTF? It happens though and it's why having the app is so great - can't get into a panel? Pick the next one during your time slot and try again!
P.S. - I didn't include a pic but I also attended a panel entitled 'Sex and Romance in Sci-fi & Fantasy'. My thoughts? Not too terrible at all. It was interesting to hear the authors speak about why they choose to close the curtain on sex scenes (or not), whether it be a desire not to be pigeon holed or to protect their future book aspirations. It was one of the few discussion based panels I made it to and it did make me nostalgic for last year, where these made up the bulk of my experience.
