In an effort to make sure we got into the HBO True Blood panel, we got into the room early for the Capcom Street Fighter IV panel. Who knew there was a story behind a game where your object is to beat the crap out of your opponents? Fellow snobs Musgo Del Jefe and Tío Esqueleto, who had ventured out from their respective midwestern states, joined us. When the panelists threw it to the floor to ask whom the fans would like to see in the game, I shouted out, “Boba Fett!” Licensing issues aside, it would be cool. The gamers kept going, so I yelled, “Vegeta,” which got the attention of a woman passing by who thought I was speaking to her. Turns out she was Hygenia from the show Who Wants To Be A Superhero?
As Alan Ball, the creator of True Blood, and author Charlaine Harris, whose books provide the source material, began to describe the series about humans and vampires, it sounded an awful lot like an adult version of Twilight. However, it turns out that Stefanie Meyer is the one late to the party as Dead Until Dark, the first in the Southern Vampire series predates Twilight by four years. When asked about the project, both were polite. Ball had a Buddhist view that there was room for all in the universe. Harris agreed, but did point out that her crew could take the Twilight vampires any night of the week. Ball offered his motto for the series, “No blue light, no contact lenses, no opera music.” Unfortunately, the moderator was horrible. She apparently had no idea that some people in the room weren’t devotees of the books, so she constantly gave away plot points to the disappointment of more than a few looking forward to the series. I wish I caught her name, but thankfully our paths never crossed again.
Next up in the same room was the Showtime Dexter panel that included the lead Michael C. Hall and executive producer Clyde Phillips as fans gathered to discuss their favorite fictional serial killer. The trailer for the new season showed Jimmy Smits was joining the cast. Phillips was asked about his thoughts on the show being run on CBS during the writers’ strike. He was more than fine with it and the cuts needed for network television because, as he stated, Showtime on its best night gets one million viewers; CBS on its worst night gets six million. This also likely helped bring the series to the attention of Emmy voters who bestowed it with nominations. Fans got excited when a special guest was announced, but it only turned out to be Mark Ecko promoting his company’s Dexter game for the iPhone, bringing to mind Ralphie Parker’s Ovaltine reaction, “A crummy commercial?”
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