San Diego Comic-Con 2014... From Afar This Year

Today marks the first "preview" day of the annual San Diego Comic-Con, which runs through this weekend. And it also marks the first time in a long while that I won't be down in the midst of it all. Over the past few years, the convention has exploded to ridiculous proportions. Wall-to-wall people jockey for position on roads and sidewalks, stand in lines that make Disneyland look like a fast food drive-thru, and literally scratch and claw each other for in-demand exclusives that are near impossible to get because of the sheer amount of people.

On top of all that, SDCC has become the go-to venue for film, television, and other mainstream media to flaunt their latest wares. It's not entirely clear what a movie like Let's Be Cops has to do with comic books or any of the genres that are indigenous to conventions, but someone somewhere decided, "Hey - 13-year old and college-aged boys like comics and stuff. We've gotta get them aware of this movie!"

Which is what a lot of SDCC boils down to now: that screaming and shouting in a crowd of thousands to be noticed, to be heard, to get someone's attention just long enough to sell them a ticket and hope that they'll tell twenty or thirty of their friends. But that doesn't explain why Variety is touting Fifty Shades of Grey as a potential surprise for Comic-Con. The audience down there isn't exactly your target demographic, but hey -- hordes of people! Quick, scream and try to get everyone's attention!

The San Diego Comic-Con is about as much about comics, sci-fi and pop culture as Sundance is about independent films being screened for a niche audience. It's all become this giant-sized circus that amounts to a lot of chaos rather than the personal individualized feel that it used to have. Nothing makes introverted, socially awkward nerds more comfortable than being surrounded by masses of people that are all demanding your attention and putting you on the spot every five seconds. It's the equivalent of walking through the school halls in junior high on an inflated scale now. Surely the bubble will burst soon?

At any rate, I'm actually looking forward to observing this SDCC from a distance. In terms of the Con experience, it seems like all of the big reveals and breaks are immediately (if not before-hand) on the internet. I'm able to interact with my favorite artists and writers on Twitter and purchase prints from them online now, which gives me the same experience as meeting them at their booth in Artist's Alley and gives me the time to admire their work in detail without being jostled by those damn giant WB bags every fifteen seconds. I'm also not really one for parties unless it involves getting to go into a replica of Flynn's Arcade and getting to play classic arcade games (again... see earlier comments about social anxieties). Though I enjoyed the couple that I've been to over the years, it's not high up on the priority list.

Despite the cynicism and grimness of the above (sorry about that), I'll be covering the things that excite me coming out of San Diego this year here on SPT. All you have to do is check back here frequently or hit up the tag SDCC on SPT down at the bottom of this page to travel through the rabbit hole of SDCC goodness as it progresses.

New Extended Trailer for Star Wars: Rebels

Lucasfilm and Disney XD released a new 2:27 trailer for their forthcoming animated series Star Wars: Rebels today. Presumably this is part of their ramp up to the San Diego Comic-Con where I'm sure a great deal of information on the series will be released. 

The series still appears to be aimed for a younger audience, and looks to be much lighter in tone than the Clone Wars series (especially the later sixth Netflix-exclusive season, which was particularly dark but absolutely fantastic). This trailer emphasizes the fun and adventure while stressing that we'll be seeing things through the young eyes of Ezra, who is pulled into the Rebellion Joseph Campbell-style. There's lots of great imagery and luckily, this trailer doesn't have any difficulty evoking that classic Star Wars feel, which was one of the biggest complains about the prequel trilogy.

Star Wars: Rebels premieres on Disney XD (which means if you're like me and on Dish Network, you'll be watching in glorious standard definition... gross) this October.

Girl Meets World S1E2 - "Girl Meets Boy" Review

I've had a lot of reservations about the new Girl Meets World, a sequel that of the 1990s ABC TGIF show that picks up with former kids Corey and Topanga dealing with now being parents themselves. Especially after an overly saccharine Disney Channel TV spot confirmed fears that the show was going to be more of the same from Disney Channel and not exactly a harkening back to the glory days that ABC ruled the airwaves on Friday nights.

Admittedly, part of the resentment might stem from the realization of my own sheer mortality. Yes, it's a bit strange to see the characters who were elementary school aged kids at the same time that you were now as the teacher/parent roles on a spin-off of the same series. But I was also worried that the toothpaste commercial "hey, buy a bunch of songs off this Disney Channel Radio Pop Star's Album" show invading series creators' Michael Jacobs and April Kelly real vision was in store.

This weekend, I caught the first two episodes back to back and the pilot had me worried. All of my fears seemed to be realized, it was the same over-saturated hyper-real Disney Channel fodder that makes me never want to have kids. When my wife walked in during the closing moments of the show, she asked my thoughts (she had watched the episode previously on one of her days off) and I mentioned that it just felt strange. Something was just off. And where was Mr. Feeny? Granted, William Daniels who has been my hero since he quipped back and forth with David Hasselhoff is nearing 90 years old… yeah… let that sink in for a minute or two. But it seemed strange not having him there to get things kicked off on the right foot. Sure enough, he pops up for a brief fleeting moment at the end of the episode during one of the stranger sequences of the pilot. For that reason going into the second episode, I had zero expectations for the show other than for it to be white noise while I did other things on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

The second episode "Girl Meets Boy" had me intrigued, at least at first. Centering around the students' reliance on cell phones, the premise was something right out of TGIF. Changes and tweaks were made from the pilot going into the second episode, for example Maya (played by Sabrina Carpenter)'s overly sexual and incredibly creepy and off-putting make-up was toned down, thankfully. And overall, the second episode felt less stilted and more like a classic throwback to the 90s than the pilot did.

A funny, but a little alarming comedic moment comes when the kids enter a library and aren't quite sure what to do with a stack of books. I get that digital technology has replaced research and reading in 90% of applications, but I'm hoping that kids haven't completely become inept in a library. A legitimate Amblin-era giggle was elicited from me when an elderly librarian shushed the kids and their reaction was an in-unison "DAH!?!?!"

But the biggest reaction that I had to the series' second episode was just how creepy it is that the show has chosen to cast a male "romantic" lead who is three or four years older than everyone around him. Lucas (played by Peyton Meyer) may have the One Direction boy band charm that every male Disney Channel star is required to exude. But when he's standing next to anyone else in his classroom, it's a little on the side of creepy. The episode focuses on a budding relationship with he and Corey/Topanga's daughter Riley played by Rowan Blanchard, who is 12 years old both behind and on camera. But standing next to the driving aged Peyton Meyer, you get a really gross feeling as the two of them eyeball each other akin to when one of your friends suddenly sparks an interest to your younger sister.

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"The guy looks like a date rapist! Is that my jacket?" - If Brodie Bruce was in Girl Meets World.

I'm not completely oblivious to the production process, I know that it's preferable to cast old to look young. But that's the problem. This guy was cast to be the dreamy-eyed, bed haired love interest but he looks old enough to be babysitting all the kids. Especially given how young and precocious Riley has been cast to be, you just want to reach through the screen and protect her.

Other observations: the little brother Auggie, played by August Maturo steals the show. Farkle, played by Corey Fogelmanis) has potential to be the new Steve Urkel in terms of how quickly his "charm" will get old and he starts to overstay his welcome. 

But bottom line, while overall the show still oozes Disney Channel it does have those glimpses of the Touchstone Television/ABC-era which is what I had hoped it would have. It's too bad that major audiences are too cynical now and a show like this can't fly on national networks so that the Disney Channel qualities of the show could be toned down immensely. But if the show runners are able to wade the Disney Channel waters and really hone this show into what it can and should be, it might actually be a fun watch for families with as much entertainment value as its predecessor.

ABC Renews Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Picks Up Agent Carter

According to the official Marvel site, and confirmed by show runners, cast and crew via Twitter, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been renewed for a second season. Along side the show is the oft-discussed but never confirmed Agent Carter series, which has been ordered straight to a season order (skipping the formality of filming a pilot and running through the trials that many shows often have to endure).

Obviously this is great news for Marvel fans and fans of great genre television as it means not one but two more shows to look forward to this fall revolving around the extraordinary. For those that might have fallen off the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. train early in the season, I would really encourage you to go back and give it another try, especially in this post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier arc that the show is currently exploring.

For more information including casting as well as how many episodes to expect and when, I would expect ABC's upfronts presentation to reveal (at least some) answers. Stay tuned!