Ohhh Myyyy

Defiance
Q&A with stars of one of Syfy’s newest shows! G. Bowler, J. Murray, S. Leonidas; Fri 10:00 am; P’tree Ballroom [W]
Defiance is new this year. For a new twist the series is linked to an online MMO that Kevin plays. So this is where the three of us decided to start. It's amazing how a new series can already have such a fan following. There were many people dressed as characters from the show which the stars appreciated and asked for photo ops after the panel. One girl spoke of an outfit to wear in the hot tubs at night that was so *beep* she made the stars blush while talking about it. There weren't any kids in the audience were there?

So now we're off to try and get in line for George Takei. If twitter is any indication he's a bigger draw than Shatner at Con this year. Damned if, among the thousands of revelers, we don't run into the owner of The Highlander and his wife on their way in the opposite direction.  Entropy never ceases to amaze me.


Sulu Solo
The Legendary George Takei looks back overhis career as the fearless “Mr. Sulu”. G. Takei,G. Wang; Fri 11:30 am; Grand Ballroom [S]

If you ever get a chance to see him speak it's well worth it. He's well spoken, and very funny and also incredibly short. We almost didn't. See by the time we got into line and it started moving we ended up being in the last 10 people they let into the room.

Farscape: Same Dren, Different Planet
Stars tell tales from some distant part of the universe. G. Edgley, P. Goddard, A. Simcoe; Fri 1:00 pm; A601-A602 [M]

It's been a while since I've seen a Farscape panel. Last time it was in the bowels of the Hyatt and took forever to find and had a rather small audience( cause it was in the bowels of the Hyatt ). This one was in a bigger room on a main floor in the Marriot filled to capacity. The actor who plays D'argo was the biggest shocker. He currently works as a motivational speaker. The whole jumping around nauseatingly positive outlook everything stereotypical motivational speaker. When asked at the end of the panel how many people in the audience had become fans after the show was off the air over 2/3's of the room raised their hands. Most of them 20's or younger....man I feel old. Maybe this is how original Star Trek fans felt.

Contacts and Fangs Intensive
The care and feeding of your contacts and fangs are discussed. Includes a “quick and dirty” fang making demo. R. Haddy, R. Wooley; Fri 2:30 pm; M103-M105 [M]

Audience member picked to have fangs made on the fly.

The fangs part of the discussion was nothing new for us. We had fangs made several years ago and we understand about the different types. They did pick someone in the audience to make fangs for as a demonstration (Lucky!). The contact info was of more interest. There are a lot of costume contact vendors at Con and she mentioned the do's and don'ts of using certain vendors and what to ask. Like, even if they say you don't need a prescription, you always need a prescription for any kind of contact. There was also an in depth talk about wearing contacts in general...never put them in your mouth to clean them etc.  She also had horror stories and visual aids for those who don't.

Designing a World: The Work of Michael Frith
Michael will share his experiences from his incredible career spanning the early days of the Muppet Show through today. M. Frith; Fri 4:00 pm; A601-A602 [M]

This gentlemen met Jim Henson even before Sesame Street. He was the visual designer for many of Henson's puppets including all of Dark Crystal and Fraggle Rock. This year has a big Henson panel turn out and many people in this audience brought puppets they had made and show off. In the back of the room was even a Skeksis which is pictured below.

Grimm: Heroes and Heroine/Villain?
Our Grimm guests answer your questions about being a hero and being a villain? C. Coffee, R. Hornsby, S. Mitchell; Fri 5:30 pm; Imperial Ballroom [M]

Since we only watch Grimm for the character Monroe we weren't disappointed that he was the only main character to show up at Con. We were seated on the side where the actors walk out to the stage. I guess they didn't know how many people would be in attendance and the wide eye'd "Holy F*beep*" was mouthed.

Curiosity, Year 1
The Mars Science Laboratory has been on the Red Planet over a year. What has it discovered and what have we learned? S. Milkovich; Fri 7:00 pm; 309-310 [Hil]

Friday Night Costuming Contest
A costume contest with an emphasis on costume workmanship. K. David, C. Lambeth, N. Harsch, M. Sakuta, F. Clements, T. Merrill, P. Cole; Fri 8:30 pm; Atrium Ballroom [M]; 2.5 Hrs
To repeat from last year, this contest is really about the costumer not the theme. Tomorrow some of the contestants and judges gather to discuss with the audience the more technical aspects of the costume. Kevin went to that which is where the Skeksis picture came from. I saw that costume up close in the Michael Frith panel. It's very impressive.