Con Snapshots

In one indication of how strong the demand is for certain Hollywood programs at Comic-Con, here's a picture of the line outside today's "Lost" panel AFTER it had started and every seat in the very large Ballroom 20 was full, as in not one single seat remained. "Lost" was the sole program set for Ballroom 20 today, and the line had started forming when I walked past at around 3:15 p.m., a whole hour and 45 minutes before the panel was set to start. Frustration was obvious among some of the hundreds who stood in line but were told by Con staff that there was no room for them to get in.

The crowds on the floor were actually not as tight as on Preview Night, when there's no programming to lure people off the exhibit floor. Still, it was crowded, and after walking around for a while, it was easy to identify with this fuzzy guy. My wife's measure of how crowded the show the gets is the length of time it takes for people to stop saying "excuse me" when they accidentally bump into while walking the aisles. There were lots of "excuse me's" last night, but about the only one today was disqualified as it came from a Canadian. (As an expat Canuck, I can personally attest to and appreciate the devotion to politeness that permeates the land north of the border.)