Firefly Reunion Part Deux! Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk do Thrilling Adventure Hour

Saturday afternoon, as I was preparing for the one-year anniversary of being a Thrilling Adventure Hour fan, I happened upon this tweet by Firefly's Alan Tudyk.

Repetitive exclamations of "oh my gosh!" and high pitched squeals ensued. After meeting Nathan Fillion last November at our first ever Thrilling Adventure Hour, subsequently seeing him again at December's musical, and then witnessing Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion reunion on stage in March, this news of a Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk reunion was amazing. I called Angel immediately to share the news and we enjoyed a squealfest over the phone.

The rest of the day could not pass fast enough, I was so hyped up on anticipation that I was wishing for a jump forward from the time gods.

The show finally opened at about 8:45pm and Nathan Fillion made his return as Cactoid Jim in Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars. Sparks Nevada ended with us uncertain of Cactoid Jim's future, would he be destroyed by Sparks Nevada? The second segment was Cactoid Jim, and opened when Weird Al (yeah, that's right, Weird Al Yankovic) came out to perform the Cactoid Jim theme song. This entrance was totally unexpected and I am not ashamed to admit that I let out a high pitched scream when I saw him walk out on stage. Weird Al was my first concert, way back in 1996 at the LA County Fair, and this last summer I happened to see him again at the Orange County Fair, that is straight up pride I'm communicating right now.

With Weird Al and Paul Storm providing vocals for the theme and narration, Alan Tudyk and Molly Quinn (as in Castle's daughter) then joined Nathan Fillion and mark Gagliardi on stage in Cactoid Jim, both playing individuals hoping to destroy the future, evil Cactoid Jim seeking to destroy the universe.

I literally could not stop smiling and laughing during both Sparks Nevada and Cactoid Jim segments. They were by far some of the best I have seen, and I can't wait until they make it to the podcasts (5-6 months from now) so I can re-listen and relive the experience.

In addition to the regular Work Juice Players: Annie Savage, Marc Evan Jackson, Mark Gagliardi, Paget Brewster, Paul F Tompkins, Hal Lublin, James Urbaniak, and Joshua Malina, guests from last night included: Molly Quinn, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Jorge Garcia, Brendan Hines, Clancy Jones, Weird Al, and Paul and Storm. Here are some pictures from last night...

Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk

Jorge Garcia

Mark Gagliardi

Brendan Hines

Basically, I love my life, and my life is exponentially more awesome since I discovered Thrilling Adventure Hour last year. Seriously, if you aren't listening to it yet either on iTunes or through Nerdist.com, what is your problem?

Sometimes I can't help but feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Comic-Con 2012 Friday recap: Syfy Defiance, Anthony Bourdain, Falling Skies, Firefly

Comic-Con trip numero 2 has come and gone and I am finally getting myself back onto a normal sleep routine. We came a bit better prepared this year than we were last year, but we still faced some sad panel rejections because, yet again, we weren't there early enough.

We got in line for tickets around 5:30am, and were among the first 100 to register that day, so that worked out nicely.

Unfortunately, we determined about 5 hours too late that attempting to get into Ballroom 20 on the same day we registered was not going to work in our favor. This means we missed the Legend of Korra panel and the Firefly Reunion :(

Placment in line for Ballroom 20 at 7:45am

Placement in line for Ballroom 20 at 1:00pm

I could literally see the entrance to Ballroom 20, but I didn't make it in for the Firefly Reunion that started at 12:45, and by that point the Legend of Korra panel was already over. I take solace in remembering that:
1) I made it to two panels featuring the Legend of Korra crew last year, plus I made it to the signing and walked off with a sweet autographed poster and free Korra t-shirt

2) I made it into the Joss Whedon signing at Dark Horse last year at Comic-Con

and 3) I saw Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion at the March Thrilling Adventure Hour.

The 5 hours spent in line were not so bad, the people I was around were really nice and made the time pass much more quickly. Given the overall outcome of the day, of course I would have preferred to have a more productive morning, but I am still glad we tried. Now we know for next year.

After some brief time fighting crowds in the exhibit hall, we went to the lovely Seaport Village for lunch. It was a nice break from the crazy crowds at the convention center, Seaport Village is so adorable! There was a live band playing mariachi music as we partook in some delicious Italian food by the water. Very picturesque, and yet I seem to have forgotten to capture the moment on photo.

Back to the Convention Center! I was determined to have success with panels in the second half of the day, so I opted to hang out in the lower numbered ballrooms that don't have the same crowd issues, while my brother and friends decided to pass the remaining time searching for comics in the exhibit hall.

I managed to see the Falling Skies panel, moderated by Wil Wheaton in 6BCF

I don't watch the show, but I have been interested in it and thought checking out a panel would help me decide if it is worth my investment. The conclusion: I definitely want to check this show out.

After that I got to 6DE early for a the Defiance panel, and ended up catching the better part of the Get Jiro panel, the food graphic novel written by Anthony Bourdain.

I'm always looking for recommendations on new graphic novels, so this was perfect. Not to mention, it is number one on the New York Times Hardcover Graphic Books List.

I actually had mixed feelings about going to see Defiance because I am still bitter at Syfy for cancelling Eureka and I fully blame the exuberant Defiance budget on Eureka's death. Incidentally, I am looking for a new Syfy show to fill my Eureka void and the concept of Defiance, a TV Show and Video Game, is interesting. So, to Defiance I went.

The show does sound interesting, it had a sort of futuristic/western feel to it that reminded me of Firefly. It also stars two of Dexter's ex-ladies, and a familiar face is always a plus when determining whether or not to like a new show. Normally, seeing Jamie Murray who played Lila would fill me with contempt because Dexter cheated on Rita with her; however, seeing Julie Benz and her banter on the panel like BFFs made me happy.

Thus ends my Friday the 13th at Comic-Con

For more pictures check out my g+ gallery and for notes from the panels, check out my twitter feed.

Firefly Reunion with Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin at Thrilling Adventure Hour

March 3 was the first Saturday of the month which means...Thrilling Adventure Hour!

This performance happened to mark the seventh anniversary of Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars, and thus was a jam-packed double feature of Mars and featured special guests like Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, and Zachary Levi.

With Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin, plus a photobomb compliments of Hal Lublin

Whenever Fillion is a guest, you can guarantee that the patio outside the theater is especially dense because everyone is hoping to talk to him or get a photo with him. I have learned that a lot of the show-goers are fans of Firefly. I don't know if this is because Nathan Fillion often appears in the show and therefore people attend the show hoping to see him, or if it is purely coincidence that individuals who love Nathan Fillion would also enjoy an old-time, staged radio show. In my case, my friend and I checked the show out because Nathan Fillion was appearing, but we have been coming back pretty regularly ever since because the show is just too fun to pass up.

Baldwin and Fillion embraced the madness after the show and took the time to sign autographs, take pictures, and chat with fans. Firefly is the greatest space-cowboy series, EVER, and seeing Baldwin and Fillion together induced total glee. Overall, a wonderful time.

And, since I neglected to comment regarding the show in February...

With Natalie Morales who was incredibly sweet and nervous regarding her first appearance at Thrilling Adventure Hour. She had a wonderful, first performance.

With the hilarious Paul F. Tompkins.

With the delightful and funny Paget Brewster.