Comic Con 2012 [HIGHLIGHTS & PHOTOS] 

Warning: Article Is Photo Heavy

This year’s Comic Con in San Diego was another great experience. There were two really amazing panels that became Moments of Goodness as far as we are concerned.

1. The Firefly 10th Anniversary panel courtesy of the Science Channel. Our very own MJCC64 witnessed the reunion firsthand and couldn’t believe how emotional it got for the audience and, especially, the actors. When Nathan Fillion talked about the significance of Joss Whedon casting him as the lead of the show, it was clear how special this group really was. After all, the Firefly creator referred to this cast as the best he will ever work with. Those are strong words. At the end of the panel, when moderator Jeff Jensen asked Whedon to — one more time — express how much the Firefly fandom meant to him, and he couldn’t quite find the words…well, his silence spoke loudly and it sparked a standing ovation of epic (and teary) proportions.

2. The equally as emotional Fringe panel. When the actors started talking about being there for Jasika Nicole when she finally got an Astrid-centric episode, everyone short of a stubbornly stoic Joshua Jackson and John Noble, lost it. Even Lance Reddick, who wasn’t present when Nicole filmed the amazing scene that featured Astrid and her alternate universe double talking about their fathers, described how he felt when he watched the episode on TV. He struggled to put it all into words. He pretty much lost it. We pretty much lost it. And we left the panel feeling like this is another group of people who genuinely like each other and are as passionate about their show as we are. Plus, they gave us all Observer hats. How cool is that? However, what was even more significant about this year’s panel is that it’s, most probably, the last one, because the upcoming season 5 is the final Fringe season. Here’s to hoping we’ll get a 10th anniversary Fringe panel someday.

Don’t get us wrong. There were other wonderful panels as well.

• Highlights include the Pysch and Nikita panels. Psych was just an all-out fun time with moderator — and Psych cast member — Timothy Omundson leading the circus. The Nikita panel was probably the most informative session that we attended. We got lots of info about season 3.
• The Community panel that happened right before Firefly was an awesome experience, even with the elephant in the room. The elephant being the ouster of Dan Harmon, of course. Fans were introduced to the new showrunners. They promised not to mess things up. Only time will tell. However, anytime we get to see this stellar cast interact, it’s a beautiful thing.
• Two great panels followed Fringe. It was cool seeing Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki along with Mark Sheppard, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, Ben Edlund and new showrunner and returning writer, Jeremy Carver. They all seemed super excited about the direction of season 8. They didn’t give up much in the way of spoilers but who cares when you have all that eye candy up on stage. And for the nerds in the house, Jim Beaver did his best red shirt impression.
• And then there was Doctor Who. That panel, according to MJCC64, was amazing and a little bittersweet because of the impending departure of the Doctor’s companions, Amy Pond and Rory, played by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill. Steven Moffat was present for the party. Fans met the new companion and Matt Smith was his general awesome self. Nerdist supreme Chris Hardwick made for a fabulous moderator. Matt and Chris talked about how Hardwick showed up to a party dressed up as David Tennant’s Doctor. So, Smith basically questioned Hardwick’s loyalty to his Doctor. That was a very funny moment.
• While waiting for the Nikita panel, we sat through a session that spotlighted the upcoming video game, Halo 4. What stood out about it for us, other than the fact that just about every chair in the entire room was taken, was the fact that they played a trailer for an upcoming web mini-series that gears everyone up for the Nov. 6 Halo 4 release, called Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Due to start Oct. 5, it features a couple of Supernatural guest stars. Mike Dopud (Forward Unto Dawn‘s General Black) played Jim Jenkins in season 4’s “Death Takes a Holiday.” His credits also include Battlestar Galactica, Smallville and the new Canadian series, Continuum. Osiric Chau (Forward Unto Dawn‘s JJ Chen) was recently introduced to the Supernatural universe as Kevin Tran the prophet. An impact player at the end of season 7, he will likely be present and accounted for in season 8. Chau was actually briefly on stage at the Halo 4 panel.