July
26
Comic-Con: Heroes Panel Saved By Villains
[Posted by Kristina Rettig]
“Completely. Off. The. Hook.”
That’s what executive producer/writer/panel moderator Jeph Loeb promised for the upcoming chapter of Heroes (subtitle: Villains) as he tried to warm up the crowd before introducing the cast. Unfortunately for Loeb, the panel itself began very much on the hook. Broken elevators, traffic and other mishaps plagued the ensemble cast and they were entirely AWOL for the panel’s first 20 minutes.
As a result, poor Loeb was forced to play gameshow host to kill time, including getting the crowd to chant “He-roes! He-roes!” and having sections of Hall H face off in a screaming competition to prove whose fandom was bigger. Yikes. Nervousness seeped through the hall as fans wondered whether they would ever get the incentive to get on the Villains bandwagon, after what many said was a lackluster season 2.
Fans’ fears of an awkward, cast-less panel were relieved at about 10:55 am when the entire cast took the stage, including Tim Kring with a metallic suitcase handcuffed to his wrist. The contents turned out to be a DVD of the first episode of Heroes: Villains, titled The Second Coming. Once it was revealed that the panel would screen the first half of the two-hour season 3 premiere, the audience was pretty much reduced to a puddle of shivery fanboy goo.
Did it deliver? There were some scrumptious superhero goods, setting a high bar for the upcoming season. Without giving away too much, here is what I can tell you without absolutely destroying the experience:
- Hiro gets some instruction from beyond the grave regarding his sacred duty and destiny.
- Mohinder makes an important scientific discovery that has deep ethical and personal implications.
- An unlikely messenger tells Claire something she didn’t know about herself and her abilities.
- Malcom McDowell is awesome.
- Peter Petrelli has some… issues.
- We are given clues as to what superpower Angela Petrelli might have.
- Maya’s accent mysteriously disappeared.
Fans were also told that missing episodes and much of the online content would appear on the season 2 DVD.
The episode’s success repressed any traumatic memories of the panel’s first 20 minutes. Milo Ventimiglia described the upcoming season as “Melt. Your. Brain.”
Off the hook, indeed.
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It was a very exciting g screening for me & the rest of the behind the camera group.The actors are used to mass adjulation. 6500 people is about 6495 more than I normally watch an episode with. The laughs kept building & building, the tension tightened up the scares, each surprise twist. was just that, a satisfyingsurprise twist. Sylar -Zach Quinto owned it. Yes it was FUN to be the Director on that Saturday morning.
Posted by: Allan Arkush | July 27, 2008 at 10:00 PM