Previously on The 100: What. The. Fudge. Critics can talk about Scandal, they can talk about The Walking Dead, or they can talk about a host of other much-hyped shows that provides shocking twists and turns, but for my money, The 100 has them all beat.

I was describing the show to a friend this summer, trying to explain how the show kept ramping up the action. I told her there was a big shocking moment at the end of the pilot that left audiences jaw-dropped. Then Clarke topped it at the end of episode two. Then Charlotte topped it once and then once again in the following episodes. There’s nothing like The 100 on television anywhere, and I’m damn glad the show is back.

I talked to the cast and crew at San Diego Comic-Con this summer, and I was particularly struck by something showrunner Jason Rothenberg said. The full quote is in the video below, but he basically didn’t think that the show deserved its reputation for killing off characters; other than Wells, none of the characters killed was portrayed as a regular character. Rothenberg implied that since the show received that reputation, they were going to attempt to live up to it in season two. Boys and girls, if that statement does not scare you, you are not paying close enough attention. There’s an influx of characters on the ground with the return of the Ark, the Mountain Men (People?) and more Grounders. More characters to track makes it considerably easier to chop off a couple here or there as the story allows.

The end of last season left most of our characters a scattered, battered, bloody mess, separated and in a heap of trouble. Clarke, Monty, Jasper and 45 others have found themselves in relative safety in the welcoming arms of the denizens of Mount Weather. It seems that some aspect of the American culture and government were saved from the holocaust, but are now trapped by the radiation their bodies were protected from. Mount Weather’s comforts – including power from Philpott Dam (which in reality is a three day walk from Mount Weather) – are too good to be true. Other than Clarke’s feeling of unease, it is impossible to pinpoint exactly what is off about Mount Weather, but something obviously isn’t right.

The finale and premiere have introduced a variety of game-changers, none of which are going to be as impactful as the landing of the Ark. Kane saving the boys was a hint of the safety that the returnees (can the show come up with a cool name for them stat?) represent, but Bellamy’s arrest proves that whatever trials they experienced on the Ark, they will likely never comprehend what the 100 experienced on the ground. The politics of the myriad groups now on the ground are going to play a major role in the story arcs this season, but none will be trickier than the reintegration of these two groups … if it is even possible.

One of the other things Rothenberg mentioned in our conversation was the possibility of learning more about Murphy, and how that might humanize him a little. He obviously was referring to his conversation with Raven in the drop-ship. Rothenberg was clear to say that Murphy wasn’t necessarily going to be redeemed, something I think is impossible. I don’t particularly care that he had a particularly good childhood; very few of the 100 did. Bellamy was hard on everyone early on for the right reasons without realizing it, but Murphy was a sociopath. It’s hard to embrace someone who urinates on someone who just wanted a water break. Raven wasn’t there for the worst of things. She might show a little mercy, but it is doubtful others will.

The return of the Ark, the mysteries of the Mountain Men, the savagery of the Grounders and the resolve of the 100; so much of what we learned last season will soon be disproven. Our heroes are going to face challenge after challenge that continues raise the levels of WTF in ways that the first season couldn’t even begin to prepare us for.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnrZ4Lzi4Qc

• I have seen the first three episodes of the season, so it is admittedly difficult to dance around what I already know. A smarter man would have stopped in between episodes, but I was too damn excited.
• One of the few truly “fun” things that The 100 gets to explore is the relationship between Jasper and Monty, and tonight’s cake/pie interchange is a great example.
• There were several WTF (and for the record, the F stands for “fudge”) moments, but Kane shooting Tristan through the head was the first of several times that got me off the couch.
• Speaking of which … how did a politician on a space station become such a great shot and a tactical leader?
• Some of the casting cross-over is due to where the show is filmed, but the show adds a Cylon tonight in Rekha Sharma (Kate Vernon appeared and was too-quickly killed last season) and will add another Battlestar vet next week.
• We’ll get more into Octavia and Lincoln next week, but I am really interested in where their story is going. Ricky Whittle was one of two recurring actors upgraded to regulars this year (Lindsey Morgan) and was extremely entertaining at SDCC – I’ll be sharing that video in a week or two.

After what felt like an agonizingly long wait, The CW finally gave us the debut of the new DC Comics TV series The Flash. Has all the tease, all the build up, all the anticipation been worth it? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

Last season, Fox’s Sleepy Hollow was the new show to get me excited about the new fall season, and this year it’s definitely The Flash. (Sorry, Gotham. While watchable, you’ve already fallen into a rut after three episodes of “Jim Gordon: Good Guy” constantly being doubted, questioned and suspected of nefarious deeds by everyone around him. At least Jada Pinkett Smith and Robin Lord Taylor bring a little comic book life to the show.)

But The Flash has all the elements that make not only a good comic book TV adaptation, but a good TV show as well. Right off the bat, we get Barry Allen’s backstory quickly out of the way. Even if you have no idea who Barry Allen is coming in to the show, you pretty much know him within the first ten minutes: he’s a kid who lost him mom under mysterious circumstances, his dad is in prison for the murder, and he has a close relationship with a detective (who raised him) and works as a forensics assistant. And he can run really, really, really fast.

Grant Gustin is perfectly cast as Barry. He’s young enough to be slightly dorky, especially when it comes to the opposite sex, and he can be a grown-up when the need arises, like when he has to save someone’s life. He can also deliver some of the funnier dialog without being too obvious about it, such as the line he utters after waking from his nine-month coma: “A coma gave me abs?” Best of all, he makes Barry’s unbelievable situation very believable.

The show is stocked with an excellent supporting cast as well. Law & Order alum Jesse L. Martin hits the beat once again, adding father figure to his repertoire, and thankfully he learns of Barry’s abilities by the end of the first episode. At least we won’t have to endure an obsessive hunt for another masked vigilante. Tom Cavanagh’s Harrison Wells, the man who used to run STAR Labs, seems to have many, many tricks up his sleeve. He’s the man responsible for Barry’s new abilities – as well as an untold number of others in the surrounding area – and the same accident caused him to be paralyzed. He’s now a seemingly benevolent man bent on righting his wrongs by helping Barry adjust … but his final scene revealed a shocking, multi-layered surprise. There’s definitely more to Wells than meets the eye.

The rest of the supporting cast, including Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker and Carlos Valdes, turn in some fine work, and for old school The Flash fans, it was more than a little thrilling to see TV’s original Barry Allen, John Wesley Shipp, playing the new Barry Allen’s dad. And although he was carted off to the pokey, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him throughout the season (his last scene in the pilot with Gustin was a real tear-jerker).

We were also introduced to the first of the bad guys affected by the STAR Labs accident, a criminal who could control the weather, and the season promises to roll out more familiar faces (at least to the comics fans) including Firestorm (Robbie Amell), Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller), The Clock King (Robert Knepper) and Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell … hmm, does someone have a fascination with the cast of Prison Break?). And we’ve already seen Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) show up to lend Barry some superhero advice (and there will be another Arrow/Flash team-up), and John Diggle (David Ramsey) will pay a visit too. Oh yeah, Dr. Tina McGee (Amanda Pays) will also be dropping by (hardcore geeks will know why this is so exciting)!

The first episode of The Flash really brought back memories of the first episode of Smallville, which was also able to hit the ground running (there was even a bit of a callback to that show with mention of Barry’s own Wall of Weird), by introducing us to what is a pretty large cast of main characters and giving them all strong personalities and reason for being so we don’t have to focus on lengthy relationship stories. We feel like we already know these people (well, except for Wells). The premiere episode gave The CW its best premiere ratings since the debut of The Vampire Diaries (it even beat Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD over on ABC!), and if they can keep up the pace and the story without falling into some of the ridiculousness (and bad writing) Smallville suffered a few seasons in, we should be in for a real treat as the series progresses. I’m fully on board with The Flash. Are you?

It is hard to believe that Arrow is now entering its third season. It seems like it was only yesterday that the Internets were abuzz with discussion of Stephen Amell and his salmon ladder. Today Arrow is a much different show than it was when it started: We’ve gained a Felicity and lost a Tommy. The Black Canary has come and gone (and will be back again) and Roy Harper has gone from street hood to Arsenal. In the meantime, Arrow has developed a rabid fan base and is the most watched show on The CW.

The show has always had a big presence at San Diego Comic-Con, and this summer was no exception. We had the opportunity to sit down with some of Team Arrow while we were there, including Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen), David Ramsay (John Diggle) Willa Holland (Thea Queen), Colton Hayes (Roy Harper), John Barrowman (Malcolm Merlin) and producers Greg Berlanti and Mark Guggenheim. As season three prepares to kick off next week, here’s what they told us to expect:

Oliver finally might have everything

Oliver will be – at the beginning of Season Three – a guy who is relatively at peace. “You’ll find a happy Oliver,” teases Stephen Amell. “Did you see me smile in the preview for season three? It’s like, ‘What’s that???’” Things are so different, that Amell and the premiere director had to figure exactly how Oliver smiled. “He got the baddie without killing him. He’s officially become a hero – that doesn’t kill and brings them to justice,” praises Ramsay. Oliver, at this point, wants to see if he can balance being a normal person and being the Arrow.

His relationships with those around him are changed as well. Amell highlights how things have changed mostly for the better – though not in all quarters – in the video. “Everyone’s in a good spot” says Amell. Most important to some fans, is his relationship with Felicity: “There is one woman in his life this year, and that is Felicity.”

But how long will it last?

“A large part of Oliver’s journey this year is dealing with whether or not he can have it all,” producer Greg Berlanti tells us. The previews that we’ve seen show us that Oliver and Felicity have a moment together, but it looks like it is interrupted. Plus his dynamic with Diggle will be altered by the latter’s new responsibilities as a father.

John Diggle: “Daddy Diggle”

“I always joke that he’s going to have a Bjorn and a Glock,” jokes David Ramsay. But the challenges of being a new father might not compare to trying to be a father and a member of Team Arrow. “Oliver is really going to have a problem with the idea that this guy’s a father and he’s risking his life everyday.” Being a father changes the dynamic between the two, especially considering what Oliver experiences in the first episode back.

“Diggle has always been the voice of reason,” continues Ramsay. Beyond fatherhood, he is also still involved with ARGUS and the Suicide Squad. “We’ll see what all of that means to the team.” ARGUS will be a big part of the story this season, especially considering Amanda Waller’s appearance in the Hong Kong-based flashbacks this year. In the present, Lila starts the season as the head of the organization, but Diggle teases a promotion might be in his future.

Balancing a “real life” in addition to their extra-curricular activities is something both Diggle and Oliver will face, but it sounds like the former will handle it better. Ramsay explains that “some of the things that Oliver wants to do, you’re going to see that happen with Diggle.”

Roy is a full-fledged member of Team Arrow

That being said, he doesn’t entirely trust everything around him (perhaps a lesson he learned from Thea). Not only that, Hayes says he doesn’t think Team Arrow should trust him. But he wants in: “the thing he’s been missing his whole life was his family, and he sees a sense of family in Team Arrow.”

He continues to deal with the fact that he is the reason Thea left, a secret he is not something going to share with Oliver or the rest of the team anytime soon. But he and Thea will cross paths sooner rather than later, much to the chagrin of Malcolm Merlin.

What about Roy’s “identity?” While he didn’t confirm Roy’s new name, he certainly stumbled over the word “arsenal” when describing all of the weapons he carries. Hayes seems excited to be going all in as far as crime fighting goes, including calling his costume “badass.”

No one was talking Thea, not even Thea herself

In a show like Arrow, you always expect a lot of vague answers when you ask certain questions. The cast here is particularly worried about saying too much (there’s a great run in the video above showing reactions when several think they may have slipped up), but to a person, everyone was steering clear of anything Thea Queen related.

“All I can say is that the Thea Queen you saw leave at the end of season is not the Thea Queen we see in season three.” Holland coyly hinted that she works with a personal trainer now and hits the gym everyday. The one thing she would say she’s not done (yet) is pick up a bow. “I’ve not … it’s something I ask about, I’m sure everyone asks about, and none of us get an answer.” She’s taken to the added responsibility, “being told to work out is great.”

But when the questions returned to the story, Holland clammed back up, “I can’t really give much information out about [Thea and Roy].”

The producers are excited about John Barrowman’s return

The producers wanted to get back the air of mystery that the first season had; one of the ways that they plan to do so is the reintroduction of Malcolm Merlin. Barrowman joins the cast full time this season, and that decision pays immediate dividends. Guggenheim explains, “we decided to re-inject [mystery] into the show, and certainly John’s character allows us to do that.” Malcolm’s agenda is mysterious, but we will get to see the second half of the scene between he and Thea at the end of season two. “A big part of the fun of season three is mystery of ‘Where is Malcolm and what is he up to?’”

Malcolm and Thea

“Her relationship with Malcolm is very interesting” says Holland. She explains that the decision to go off with someone – even if it was her father – who she knows to be a mass murderer, was a choice that said a great deal about where her character was. Considering all of the trust issues Thea has developed in the last two seasons, going with a character that she wasn’t going to bother trusting was different. “She trusts not trusting him.”

Malcolm has lost everything except Thea, and he’s going to try to control her – which might just be how he shows his love. Barrowman: “He’s got to control her by controlling her emotion … that’s the way he’s going to look at it now. He will love her, in a very different way.”

“Malcolm’s not evil … I say as I twist my ring like an evil-doer”

Speaking with actors who enjoy playing their characters is always a treat, and in a room where everyone loved being there, Barrowman stood out. He even went into character to explain his motivations, “If you think I’m bad, lets go back and look at what Oliver has done; we’re both doing the same thing and just going about it in different ways.” He is pissed about it: “I as Malcolm see myself as the hero; but goddamn it, no one is recognizing that.”

“Malcolm can control people with money, power and also his destructive techniques.”

It shouldn’t go without mentioning that the only reason I got to speak with him after a rotation or two went long, was that he offered to stay back after everyone had left and spent about fifteen minutes putting on a master’s class on what makes Malcolm Merlin tick. Since it was so good, I’ve added the entire video of that session at the bottom of this post.

Brandon Routh’s Ray Palmer shakes things up on several levels

Palmer is introduced trying to buy Queen Consolidated – which seems to be standard operating procedure for Arrow villains. Finding the right guy to do that while not coming across as such, at least not completely, was a challenge. Bertlanti:” We kind of had John Wayne with Oliver, that kind of essence, and we wanted Cary Grant.”

We’ve heard that Palmer might be a corner in a potential love triangle with Felicity and Oliver, but it doesn’t sound like things start out that way. Berlanti explains that the character is interested in, “this IT girl that went from being IT girl to being the assistant to the chairman of the company, and he’s particularly interested in her rise.”

How much will Arrow and The Flash interconnect?

To make life easier on the folks that are working on both shows, the production offices – including editing – are on the same floor of the same building. Berlanti, one those doing double duty on both shows, told us new shows end up taking more time, so the office arrangements will help.

But what about the stories? The universe is interconnected, and the characters know each other, so expect crossovers big and small. Sometimes, like in the second season episode “The Man Under the Hood,” and others where the stories – and the villains – are woven together.

This season’s theme is “Identity”

I asked Mark Guggenheim about the third season’s theme, and his answer was the most quick – and direct – answer of the day. He was especially excited that the question of identiy extended beyond just Oliver as previous year’s themes have focused mainly on the lead. But this year everyone is questioning who they are:

• Oliver: Am I Oliver or am I the Arrow?
• Laurel: Am I Laurel or am I my sister?
• Thea: Am I Moira Queen’s daughter or am I Malcolm Merlin’s daughter?
• Diggle: Am I a sidekick or am I my own man? Am I a father or a crime fighter?
• Felicity: Am I Oliver’s crush-object or do I have my own identity outside of him?

No really, John Barrowman is awesome

Since his conversation was so great, we’ve shared it all below:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=u72B39titXw

Once you build a successful comic-book based series on a network that loves you, the natural thing to do is to build a spinoff. The Flash, along with “parent” show Arrow, represent much about what’s right on The CW these days. Grant Gustin is a perfect Barry Allen, and producers Geoff Johns, David Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg have surrounded him with an outstanding cast, including Broadway star Jesse L. Martin (Joe West), TV heavyweight Tom Cavanagh (Harrison Wells), newcomers like Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow) and they have even brought in someone who knows what it’s like to be under the cowl in John Wesley Shipp (Henry Allen).

We sat down with these folks at San Diego Comic-Con this summer, and as the show is set to premiere next week, we share what they told us is coming up in season one:

Grant Gustin

You can tell that Gustin really likes Barry, “He’s just full of hope and optimism. He’s easily relatable.” He’s played so many characters that he wouldn’t want to be in the same room with (we’re looking at you, Sebastian Smythe) that it is refreshing to play someone who people like. He grew up a big (very big, says the tattoo he showed us) Superman fan, so he’s had to learn a lot about the character he now portrays. He’d originally thought about reading the entirety of the run of Flash books, until he saw just how many there were. The New 52 series seems to be similar to what they’re trying to do, and Gustin points to just how knowledgeable and accessible the producers have been in helping build the character grounded in the canon.

Gustin is looking forward to delving into some of the Flash’s extended powers, specifically time travel. They tease it a little in the Pilot, but he wants more. “I think it just presents a lot of fun storylines.”

John Wesley Shipp

Shipp hasn’t yet felt that moment of weirdness seeing someone else in the suit, but the following week was to be his first scene with Grant in the Flash costume. If that moment of “weirdness” was to happen, he expected it then. But his Flash was much different tonally then this Flash. “I can’t imagine Emmet Walsh killing Priscilla Pointer [the actors who played his parents], you know?”

You can tell that Shipp is still disappointed that his show was cancelled after just one season. “Although for a one season show, it has had an incredible life … but how often do you get to come back?” He called it an extraordinary opportunity for healing.

When asked about watching the evolution of superhero properties in popular culture since 1990, Shipp talked about how audiences are more informed, “It’s a smarter sensibility … so we can address the fact that The Flash is about speed and needs to be aerodynamic.” But he kids that the landscape is saturated with comic shows and movies now. He joked with our table that we were too young to remember it used to be all about westerns, and lately it’s CSI and Law & Order.

Shipp is taken by Grant Gustin. “He’s really sincere … he’s very real.”

Shipp says he doesn’t want the character to be “Dawson’s dad thirteen years later.” Obviously prison has changed Henry, but he thinks that it is more important to demonstrate that impact in a nuanced way, “If you don’t [see how prison changed him] that’s my bad, that’s my failure.” One of the most difficult things he experienced in prison was that no one – save Barry – believed him, including specifically Joe West, his neighbor and friend … and the man who raised Barry in Henry’s absence. That’s a reunion I’m looking forward to seeing.

Shipp points to the audience’s thirst for darker shows like Constantine and The Walking Dead as to why there’s been difficulty getting another Flash property off the ground. And while this The Flash tends to be a little darker in some areas – specifically in the Allen family backstory – it is still very much rooted in the tone of the comics. Gustin’s sense of comedy: running into himself, tripping over his feet balanced with his power, demonstrates an everyman quality that is endearing.

Tom Cavanaugh

Cavanaugh was asked about what research he might have done with folks who are wheelchair-bound. He dodged the question specific to The Flash, but talked about the work he did for a little-seen independent film called Sublime. After that, he said, working in a motorized wheelchair was a big improvement. He said that the differences in the two wheelchairs were symbolic of the differences of working on a big-budget production like the show, and a much tighter-budgeted small film.

Cavanaugh was attracted to the different layers the characters portrayed, especially Harrison Wells. You could tell too, that he was a bit taken aback by fast-paced storytelling that occurs in the first nine episodes. If there is anything that The CW should get credit for, it is helping to usher in shows that tell stories at a breakneck speed, and it looks like The Flash is going to be one of them. “Things that you might want to keep in your quiver, they’re firing those things off in a hurry.”

Cavanaugh thought he had a pretty good understanding of The Flash’s stories from the comic books, but after taking the role, he realized he was a neophyte. But producers Kriesberg and Geoff Johns have been incredibly helpful, informative and – almost more importantly – welcoming to someone who wants to learn the canon.

Danielle Panabaker

Panabaker is excited to be a part of a superhero franchise with a preexisting fan base, “It’s so cool! It’s so great because people are excited about The Flash.” Playing Caitlin Snow, who brings a lot to the table, is a big part of that. “It’s great to have a really smart woman on board who also brings that emotional, sensitive perspective.” Snow is fresh from the trauma of losing her fiancé in the accident, so has that drive to keep Barry safe. That trauma has also made her much more serious than she was pre-accident (a side of her we will get to see in flashbacks early in the season).

It doesn’t look like Caitlin is being set up as an immediate love interest for Barry, but there’s a triangle dynamic that might develop with the two of them and Iris. “Barry has always pined for Iris but he can’t have her, so he’s got to figure out what’s next? The sad scientist over here?”

Andrew Kreisberg

Kreisberg was taken by one of the decisions that Smallville made early on, showing how Clark had trouble adjusting to his powers. There is something to be said too about having too much power and becoming god-like. “We’re going to try and keep [his powers] – at least early on – as limited as we can.” But there is definitely a desire (as is apparent in the Pilot) to eventually get to some of the Flash’s more dynamic powers like phasing through matter and (gasp!) time travel. Expect a Smallville-esque difficulty in learning to contain those powers.

There was a conscious decision early on on Arrow to ground the stories in reality as much as possible (thus the mirakuru storyline). The Flash, however, represents an ability to go a step farther and open the world up a bit. Berlanti came up with the idea of the particle accelerator as a way of “building” a group of super-humans all tied to the same event. “The thing that will keep it like Arrow is the way in which people view these impossible, miraculous things,” explains Kreisberg. “We’ll never have a show, especially early on, where people are just like, ‘oh yeah … guy’s flying.’”

Kreisberg doesn’t see a lot of competition between Arrow and The Flash and the other new DC Comics properties coming to television this season. “One of the things that DC did really well this year is for all of the shows they’re doing, they are so completely different. Even Arrow and Flash are two very different shows; one is a grounded, crime, revenge, Shakespearian drama and Flash is more blue skies, superpowers.” Their approach is that they are only in competition with themselves to make quality television. But a “rising tide lifts all ships,” and he’s looking forward to seeing Gotham and iZombie.

TNT’s The Last Ship has been one of the surprise hits of the summer, drawing in over 5 million viewers in its premiere. The network brought the cast and creators to San Diego Comic-Con and even threw a big party on the deck of the USS Midway. We talked with the cast and writers of the show, including Eric Dane (Tom Chandler), Rhona Mitra (Rachel Scott), Charles Parnell (Russell Jeter), Travis Van Winkle (Danny Green) and producers Steve Kane and Hank Steinberg. This is what we learned about the show’s relationship with the Navy, the second season and more.

The Navy Way

Learning the “Navy Way” was an experience. Kane related a story where they’d written in a punishment for a character to be placed on kitchen duty, as they had seen in old war movies. One of the technical advisors, a ship’s captain, corrected that quickly. “The culinary specialists take that job very seriously … they are the ones that keep the troops fed, that keep morale up. If they saw you punishing somebody else by giving them their job, it would make their job feel like crap to them.” 

“The greatest thing about the Navy is that they’ve been studying leadership since 1775. They’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years and they’ve learned from them, codified them and are constantly updating it.” The producers wanted to make sure that history – in its own way – is represented in the show. They cannot get everything on this show perfect from a technical perspective, but they are proud of everything they get right, especially this. Kane shares a great story about the many different ways of saying “roger that,” that’s in the video.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrKeyii5lzo

Aboard the USS Halsey

Many of the actors were not particularly familiar with the Navy and how they do things. Dane’s father was an Ensign, and Baldwin’s father served in the Naval Air Corps in World War II, but everyone else received their first real Navy experience when they spent a couple of days aboard ship. The cast – and some of the crew … those that don’t get seasick – took a familiarization tour on the USS Halsey, experiencing torpedo evasion drills and shooting the 5-inch cannon fired. Dane spent time with CAPT Mike Weeldreyer and learned from him. “I got to see how he behaved when a couple things went wrong, how everything was a learning experience for him and his crew. He always asked his crew ‘what can we take away from this and how can we do it better next time?’”

Van Winkle worked with the members of the Navy’s elite fighting force that were advisors: “Michael Bay’s first request to me was, ‘Hang around the Navy SEALs on set; breathe them in.’” He expected them to be grizzled, war-heavy veterans, but was found them to be “tender, genuine and creative people.”

For Mitra, the research was different. Fortunately, she had taken an interest in virology before The Last Ship came around, “I was studying neurotoxins and their impacts classes of species … so I get the opportunity to talk to virologists every day and geek out.”

Baldwin also enjoyed working with the military. “It’s an honor to be aboard of Navy Guided Missile Destroyer … it’s been humbling and a great learning process for me … I just want to serve them well. And the virus? I ain’t worried about no fricking virus.”

Location shooting pros and cons

The entire pilot was shot on ship, but they’ve built sets after that. “You can’t ask the Navy to give you a ship for six months … they’ve got other things they’ve got to do,” kids Steinberg. They did two additional location shoots after the Pilot, for a total of two weeks. Filming obviously jumped around during those shoots, which made for production challenges. “We would doing episode two, episode nine, episode seven today … where are we?!? But we couldn’t have done that had the creators not kept so organized and had the backing of TNT,” added Baldwin.

Shooting on a ship, especially the interiors, presents challenges. Dane: “The geography of the shooting spaces are very tight. You can become a little stilted when shooting in that environment; you’ve got to learn how to stay loose.” The ships are tight quarters to begin with, but adding in camera crews, boom operators and the like makes things even more crowded.

The production incorporated the real crews of the ships they filmed on when they could. “We used the actual Navy enlisted and officers for certain roles when we need them … Who better to do their job than the guys that do their job” explains Dane.

Apocalypse Now-ish

Despite the continued efforts (at our table) to classify the show as being post-apocalyptic, the cast and producers weren’t buying it. “This is actually an apocalyptic environment; we get to see it as it’s unfolding. It’s like ‘Apocalypse Now’ … if anybody’s used that term before I’m not aware,” kids Dane. “It’s an interesting subject matter for me; I think it’s rich in story telling and the characters are great.” Steinberg adds, “The difference between our and any other show or movie is that our guys can stop it. That’s the key; the show is about the hope and these people hanging on and being heroic in the face of all odds. That’s what gives this show its urgency. It’s got a ticking clock. Every day they don’t come home with the vaccine is the day a half million people die.”

Despite the finality of the desertion story last week, it sounds like we might see another rift develop amongst the crew. Van Winkle: “We have more threats come at us, from unseen areas. The ship is its own culture, there are some rifts between power, and some rifts between what we need to do and how to do it … the typical drama that might come along with that.” This is a fairly important storyline in the book, and is ripe for adaptation.

When Dane was asked about the tension between Chandler and Slattery in the Pilot and whether or not it might come back up, “Absolutely. There’s always going to be friction between the CO and the XO because the XO is never going to fleet up and become a CO; there’s no government left. The only chain of command we have to preserve is the one that’s on the ship.”

The Navy’s reaction

The show knew that the Navy would bristle at the scene between Green and Foster in the Pilot. At the premiere in Washington, DC, the crowd definitely reacted. They had to have a couple of discussions with the Navy to share where their story was going. The point that they were trying to make, as we saw in episode six, was that is something that is detrimental to order.

Van Winkle is enjoying how the story is progressing. He particularly liked the moment in episode three, where he confesses his love to Foster, but tells her to stay away. “That’s actually become a hashtag on Twitter: #iloveyoustayawayfromme. It’s a complicated relationship and scenario, because all of us, within our fabric, there’s love … To have found love and be drawn to someone, it is hard when that is the one thing that gets in the way of my responsibilities.”

There’s a story told by several different people in the room that day about one Navy family’s specific reaction to the premiere screening. Look for it in the video above.

Command Master Chief Jeter: The Chaplin

As originally scripted in the Pilot, there was a separate character written for the chaplain (specifically in the funeral scene).  They didn’t envision the role to be one that would show up again, and saw the opportunity to cross-utilize Parnell. “We thought he’s got the gravitas, he’s got the voice and the demeanor, and it developed in the Pilot that he would become that guy and it’s become a great thing for his character to become the spiritual leader as well,” says Kane.

“Master Chief is a man of strong backbone, a man of deep faith and a great sense of duty.” He’s a stoic man, who is going through the same pain of loss that the rest of the crew is, but cannot afford to let it show, as he’s tasked with keeping the crew on the same page. He is responsible for the enlisted crew to the officers. Including the chaplain into his character makes sense.

A “loose” adaptation

The Last Ship is based on the novel by William Brinkley, which deals with a very different story. The virus epidemic in the show replaces a nuclear holocaust in the book. Dane sees very little connective tissue between the two, “We have two things in common with the book: the name of the ship and the name of the character.” A more detailed reading, however, shows a great deal more. The tension between the CO and the XO is a major part of the book. There’s also an (admittedly different) interaction with a rival Russian crew … even the excursion to the cruise ship was lifted.

Looking ahead to Season Two

“The cliffhanger for this season is going to throw everyone on their ass,” teases Van Winkle.

“The long-term plan is to save the world. There’s a lot of saving and repairing to do. That can take many different forms and shapes,” states  Time is obviously of the essence. The first season takes place over a condensed time period, but there not a plan for how much time will pass during the second season. There is a general blueprint for future seasons, but they’re open to the fluidity of the process and aren’t locked in to telling specific stories at specific times.

Would you like to know more?

The video highlights from our discussion are above, but we also have the trailer shown at The Last Ship panel, as well as the NerdHQ panel:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv7nZk6feG8

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6JjLuSi0pI

SyFy’s Dominion has developed a strong cult following in its first season. While initial reviews from critics were not that positive, the show has found its niche and turned out a strong narrative. While the show was based on the feature film Legion, Dominion has established its own story than fans are eating up. We sat down with Alan Dale (General Riesen), Anthony Stewart Head (David Whele), Chris Egan (Alex Lannon), Roxanne McKee (Claire Riesen) and show creator Vaughn Wilmott, and this is what we learned (Beware, there are some spoilers for tonight’s finale):

The focus on Anthony Stewart Head’s accent has been a surprise

While there has been a great deal of focus on Anthony Stewart Head’s American accent in the show, we were reminded several times that the cast is internationally diverse (and not just from hearing them speak). Dale says that for non-Americans, “if you haven’t picked up an American accent, then you’re not very good with accents.” But Head isn’t bothered by the talk, and likes how the character was constructed. “I could have taken the easy way out and make him a bit of a redneck, but I wanted him to be urbane and smooth.”

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbT8gS-JWpQ

Reviews, damn reviews, and Twitter

After the initial critical response, Dale was doubtful about the show’s chances. The screeners sent out “didn’t have the special effects in them, and the critics gave us a really tough time.”  He thought that the show was done.

But the fan response has been surprising. While the numbers aren’t earth-shattering, they’re not bad either. The cast attributes some of the show’s popularity to social media, and the live-tweets they do for each episode. “It’s been really quite amazing,” said Dale. “I love interacting with the fans, tweeting out pics and luckily the cast is really willing to jump in every week.”

Alan Dale doubts General Riesen will die of a heart attack

While General Riesen is suffering from a pretty serious heart condition, he believes he’s fairly safe. Dale kidded, saying that if we looked in the Guinness Book of World Records, we’d find his picture next to the entry about “Most heart attacks on television.” He’s suffered heart attacks on several shows, including The OC and Ugly Betty. The producers have assured him that if and when he dies, it will be a violent death. But not ever promise can be kept, ‘ya know.

Alex Lannon was not ready for the life he was thrust into

“Alex is trying to figure it out; he doesn’t like it.” He had a plan for what was going to happen next in his life, and these events have turned that upside down. Egan says that the character is finally beginning to accept his role, though he doesn’t think he truly understands it. He likens it to stages of grief: “The anger, rejection and then coming to that stage of acceptance. Each episode has that stage, that I wanted to make as real as possible in this other-worldly world we’ve created.”

But he is beginning to see the advantages … or power … that comes with the distinction. Egan pointed to the episode that had aired last week, where he tried to save Claire’s mother, as proof that he was stepping into it.

Claire Riesen is a much different character

McKee respects the choices that Claire has to make. “I would hope to have the rationale that Claire has. She is doing something for the greater good, and I think she believes that though her heart is telling her to run away and be in New Delphi with Alex, the most important thing to do is to help the masses.” She’s not so sure, however, that she could do the same in her life

The first season of Dominion has been a coming of age story for Claire in many ways, as the character discovers who she is morally. “Throughout the series she learns to manipulate … for the greater good, for what she believes is the best situation.” But as that evolution occurs, we see that Claire is flawed, and while she wants to be as innocent as we found her in the Pilot, she likes the power she is exposed to.

Not all of that change, however, has to do with power. McKee referred to the killing of her mother’s inhabited body as an emotional moment for the character, “she lost her innocence … there is no going back, and she feels that Alex is a part of that pain.”

Enter Dominion fills out the story’s mythos nicely

Much of the material was written in advance, building out the world and the mythos of the show. When it came to the site, though, the staff writers put a lot of effort into filling out the world and writing the prose on the site. Wilmott was proud of the writers, but also of the site’s designers, and the decisions made by the team. He particularly likes how the something new is unlocked each week. Wilmott says that “the site does a nice job filling in those details” so that he can avoid long monologue expositions scenes.

There is a little bit of Kings’ David in Dominion‘s Alex

There are similarities between the two roles. Alex “is kind of like David on ecstasy.” But he sees Alex as someone who has grown more than David had, and has had to make some tough decisions. “[Alex] is so over it he wants out; but he has to grow up and accept the destiny, or accept who he is as a man. I think we all go though that journey in our life where we come though that stage, not like sink-or-swim, but you’re either on this side of the fence or you’re not.” It sounds like Alex isn’t done making those hard choices.

Wilmott says that there is a lot of grey in the characters by design, and that Alex is probably the “most true.” “I’m interested in characters that when they do evil things, we may be appalled or turned off by, but we can kind of understand their point of view.” But while Alex might be better off than many, “there are shades of darkness in him, and if we’re lucky enough to get more seasons, I think we’ll see a lot more of those shades.”

Counsul Weil is a decidedly un-Giles like character

After kidding with us on what a Giles-version of Weil would be – there were references to drinking tea and constantly cleaning his glasses – Head spoke like he’s been looking for more heel-ish roles since Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He referenced Warehouse 13 and Merlin, saying that Uther was a bit of an asshole, but he was one because he had to be. He sees the same in this character:

“David Weil has done a few fairly despicable things, but … he didn’t kill Bixby easily; he had a little bit of a pain, but it had to be done.” Weil tells himself he is doing things for the good of Vega, and the survivor instinct that all of these characters inherently have (to still be alive) shapes him a good deal as well.

Plans for season two and beyond

While SyFy hasn’t – as of this writing – picked up Dominion for a second season, the production team is already planning. “Season two is really going to be shaped out by the choices that are made in the finale.” Wilmott says that a pickup announcement could be made within the next couple of weeks, but he couldn’t say for sure. The show’s series bible was a 40-page document that detailed the first three seasons, so there is a solid road map on what is to come.

So what happens next?

One of the main characters isn’t going to make it through this season. Wilmott: “At the end of the season, we’re going to have someone not make it out, one of our main characters is going to die.” Also? Gabriel is going to be visiting Vega himself. Are those two things related? I’m guessing yes.

“Some shit’s going down,” teases Head.

TNT’s Legends is set to premiere August 13^th. The show follows Sean Bean’s Martin Odom, a federal agent who specializes in deep undercover operations. Odom has gone so deep, though, that he might be losing the ability to tell fact from fiction, legends from history. CliqueClack sat down with the cast and executive producers of the show at San Diego Comic-Con, and this is what we learned.

What is a “legend,” and why is it different than simply going undercover?

Executive Producer David Wilcox explains: “A legend is a fabricated identity used in covert operations.” It’s a much more complete history than someone just going under cover. They have their own apartments, contacts, wardrobe, style … these are constructs that are developed and used over time and potentially in different investigations.

So, will the show be procedural or more serialized?

It sounds like a little of both. Legends won’t be an “undercover of the week.” Martin Odom lives in these roles for multiple episodes.

The season’s Big Bad will emerge over the course of the season, but that arc might include private armies, mercenaries and the perils of living in a surveillance state. We are introduced to a conspiracy in the first episode that will drive Odom the whole season. But producer Howard Gordon is proud that they’ve been able to avoid some of the lazy tropes with the character and the story that other shows have not.

Who is Martin Odom?

Martin Odom is a legend that Sean Bean’s character has gone so far into he no longer realizes he’s living. He is beginning not to be able to tell the difference between these legends and his real life. Wilcox says “the question of his identity is very much like a Russia doll: he opens it up and there’s another one.”

Sean Bean is bringing depth to the character, stepping into very different alternate characters “profoundly well.” But it was important to weave a piece of Martin Odom in each character, and each legend he plays informs the Odom legends as well.

(Bean couldn’t be with us at SDCC due to a wedding in the family)

Ali Larter plays a bit of a badass

Larter’s Crystal is a Special Agent at DCO (Division of Covert Operations) who leads the team and acts as Martin’s handler. She’s an extremely capable, kick-ass, undercover agent in her own right. She and Martin are a little like oil and water in the beginning, but she’ll begin to invest in him – and his mystery – as the season goes on.

Larter said the role of Crystal was a way to explore her alter ego, someone who has chosen her career over her family. She was interested in how that choice allows for the freedom to do her job differently, to be able to put her life in danger without worrying about the repercussions.

It was important to Larter that while Crystal is a strong, independent woman, her story would go beyond that. The producers promised her that they would explore the emotional side of the character. She wanted to play a character that lived in a male-dominated world, but still held onto her femininity.

So where does Crystal’s story go this season?

Her arc this season looks to be one of disillusionment. As the conspiracy plays out, she will question the system she works within. She’ll become disappointed by the fact that she’s following the rules her whole life and it isn’t giving her the outcome she desires. She will find that the people that she’s trusted and believed in have let her down, and let the country down.

Crystal’s father – whom we will meet this season – seems to have been a big catalyst for her career in the FBI. I am guessing he is a senior agent of some kind, and is probably part of the “system” that Larter mentions Crystal becoming frustrated with.

Wait … Tina Majorino too?

Yep. She plays Maggie, a part of the support team for the DCO. Her job is to help set up the operations and keeping the agents in the field safe. She’s highly trained and capable, and bears the responsibility of safeguarding the team well. She is, above all things, a patriot. Majorino says it takes a “very specific person to do work like that. You have to have a ‘greater good’ mentality. They sacrifice so much of their real life.”

Tina Majorino did a great deal of training in advance of the show, starting six months before filming. Running, boxing and what she called the “Jailhouse Workout” rounded out her workout. Just to mark how far she’d gone she voluntarily took the FBI PT test. It seemed like it was important for her to get the role right. She has very obvious respect for the men and women who do this job, and wants her performance to feel worthy of them.

Morris Chestnut was a late, but important, addition to the cast

Chestnut’s Tony Rice begins his story at conflict with fellow agent Martin Odom. The latter asks him about a crime, but Rice isn’t getting the full story. Until he does, he becomes a bit of a thorn in Odom’s side.

He starts off in the Transportation Security Division, but joins the DCO team midway through the season. How that factors in to his case of Martin Odom remains to be seen. Will he be joining the team to further his investigation, or is he drinking the Kool-Aid?

Howard Gordon had a bit of fun before joining us

He joined our Press Room several minutes late as he rushed over from the big 24 panel in Ballroom 20. He shared with us, however, a picture he’d snapped on his way out the door. He’d gotten Kiefer Sutherland to hold up one of the #dontkillseanbean t-shirts that were given out to the audience in the Legends panel.

First published in 1991, Diana Gabaldon’s series of Outlander books are, to the excitement of fans everywhere, finally being adapted for television. The show, premiering August 9th (though the premiere is available to watch online now at Starz.com) stars Sam Heughan as Jaime Frasier, Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall (nee Beauchamp), Tobias Menzies as both Frank and Jonathan Randall, Graham McTavish as Dougal MacKenzie, Lotte Verbeek as Gellis Duncan and is executive produced by Ron Moore. We sat down with them during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and learned about the show’s first season.

The books have a lot of fans, so there’s a corresponding amount of pressure

Fans have been waiting for twenty-three years to see these characters brought to life. “I think there is definitely pressure to get this right. But we’ve been very lucky that we’ve been supported by Diana from pretty much the beginning … so you’ve got this wealth of knowledge to draw upon” says Heughan, who plays Jaime. “ What we have to focus on is our character, and being true to that” adds his co-star Balfe.

Scotland is almost a character in and of itself

There is no place else on the planet that they could have filmed this show. The settings are absolutely stunning. McTavish – a native Scot – is appreciative of the cinematography and care with which the filming is done. The first episode opens with a long shot that, if it does nothing else, hits viewers over the head with the idea that Scotland is an incredibly beautiful place. “We would spend all day setting up shots, because they were so particular how it was lit and how the set was decorated; it was amazing to be there” says McTavish.

The cast is proud of the show and were almost nervous about sharing it with audiences

Filming on location in Scotland, the cast has been isolated from the public as the premiere has grown closer. Between the TCA Summer Press Tour and San Diego Comic-Con, they’ve only recently “peeked over the parapet” to see how the show’s buzz has developed. Heughan: “There’s an element of sadness, yesterday [at the premiere screening] releasing this … we’ve been working on this for a year, giving our heart and soul into it, and suddenly we have to give this over to people.” You can tell they are nervous, but having seen the first episode, they have no reason to be.

The show will follow the books fairly closely

“The first two episodes set up the story, much like in the book, but then the journey begins. Each episode has its own feel to it, like a chapter almost, and it really turns it on its head.” Heughan also hinted that Ron Moore will play around with perspective to tell the story (The series used a growing number of POVs as each book was released, though Claire is the only true first person perspective).

This means they are not skipping any of the darker material

The cast teased that this season’s story includes some pretty dark moments. “It’s a major thing that happens to [Jaime], and it will probably test his character … he questions everything. He questions who he is and what he’s always believed about himself,” says Heughan. They’ve not yet filmed the scenes in question, but it sounds like the show isn’t shying away from the darkness; a good thing, as subsequent books are full of them as well.

It was important, however, to focus more on Frank Randall in the first episode

There is more Frank in the series than in the book, helping to fill out the relationship between he and Claire. They wanted to develop Frank and Claire as a relationship that has real depth. At some point Claire has to make a choice, and the show wants audiences to be more torn than perhaps they were when reading the book.

Menzies did a good deal of research into the two different time periods in an attempt to draw the differences between the two characters (Frank and Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall). Ron Moore shared an important note with the actor, that “both Frank and Jack are two men shaped arguably by their experiences at war … with very different results. Frank, by the love of a good woman, has survived … whereas Jack has gone to a very dark place.”

Filming a period piece provided for some fun with horses and costumes

“[Horseback riding is] actually one of my favorite parts … it just feels great. It’s the stuff that you dream of when you’re a kid,” says Balfe. She and Heughan apparently have developed a competition on who can get the horses to like them best. “It’s not a competition; it’s my horse and she keeps feeding him sugary treats!” protested Heughan. (I commented to them both at this point in the interview how their dynamic even at the table proves just how good their chemistry will be on screen.)

Becoming accustomed to wearing kilts regularly has provided some fun moments. Balfe says that “she gets flashed quite a lot,” a problem that the cast and crew have just gotten used to throughout the production. Once the actors have grown accustomed to the … erm … freedom, it is tough to go back: “It is actually very comfortable riding a horse in a kilt. I recommend it,” says Heughan.

Why Ron Moore wanted to bring this story to life

The character of Claire is one of the main reasons Moore was interested in doing Outlander as a series, “I thought she was smart, strong and interesting. I liked her voice all the way through the book.” As a history buff, he also thought doing a piece on the specific historical period would also provide for compelling storytelling. In the books, “the period was realized with a great deal of detail and authenticity, and the plot itself had a lot of twists and turns and reversals of fortune that I didn’t see coming” that would be great for television.

There are plans for future books, and the challenges those stories might bring

If the show lasts a couple of seasons, they have a plan on how to handle changing times, ages and locations. Most importantly, there is no plan to recast any of the actors (though sadly, wee Rodger did not show up in the premiere). But the changes mean good things are coming. “There’s a lot of interesting casting still coming up, because there’s so many characters we haven’t gotten to in book one,” says Moore.

But the actors know what the following books bring for their characters?

Most haven’t read past the first book. Menzies has started in on the second, Balfe is looking forward to finishing filming this year so she can start on the second (she flew through the first book in a weekend), Heughan is nearing the end of book two. “I’ve read the first one. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself … but people keep telling me things that happen,” kids McTavish. Considering how much we learn about the backstories of certain characters in later books, series author Diana Gabaldon played an important role in helping fill out the characters for the actors.

The show has a great title sequence

Moore is proud of the main title sequence. “Bear [McCreary] did a great job scoring it, Raya [Yarbrough] sings … we shot some stuff that was specific for the title and other pieces were outtakes or unused angles from other episodes. It was a process; it took a few weeks to pull it all together.” While many shows are eschewing these sequences – often for time – there has been a small resurgence with shows – TURN for example – and Outlander continues in that trend. “It takes you to this place and to this world in a very nice way, and keeps the two periods alive and reminds you of the time travel aspect with it becoming all about that.”

Menzies has recently joined the cast of two fan-favorite adaptations

Menzies has played roles in both Outlander and Game of Thrones this year. He complimented David Benioff and Dan Weiss on the sophistication with which the Thrones adaptation has been brought to the screen. But getting on the “ground level,” as with Outlander, is fun as he’s had the ability to weigh in on a variety of decisions, including apparently his costume.

Adapting a story is a different process than writing something new

Outlander differs from Moore’s previous work on Battlestar Galactica in that there’s a very specific roadmap fans will expect the show to follow. On BSG Moore was unafraid to let the story develop organically and take turns not necessarily envisioned in the breaking process. “It’s very different; it’s been an interesting exercise just in terms of that, in writing and structuring a show in the writer’s room because normally on an original piece you are sitting there tossing out ideas all the time … you don’t do that here; we try to stay in the lane. We start with the order that’s laid out for us in the book … It’s a different task intellectually.” Diana Gabaldon has been a tremendous help, making sure that fan favorite lines didn’t end up on the cutting room floor.

Gellis and Dougal are characters that should be interesting to watch

Gellis Duncan is not at all what she seems, but Verbeek promises that we’ll learn more and more about her over the course of the first season, “We see everything from Claire’s perspective, so everything we see of Gellis is what she actually gets to know about her.”

With Gellis, there’s a lot of game playing; she shows different faces to different people. She always seems to know a bit more than everyone around her. “When push comes to shove, she actually shows her true colors, which I thought was great to get to play all of that” says Verbeek. McTavish thinks Dougal is a complicated character, “He does bad things … I guess you could describe them as bad possibly … but he does good things. His relationship with Jaime is evidence of that complication.” Both have very specific motivations and goals that are not immediately evident at the beginning of the story.

Fans of the Loch Ness Monster will not be happy

There was a lot of discussion about the decision to leave out a scene from the book where Claire encounters the famed Loch Ness Monster. Moore says that while it was a great passage in the book, translating that scene to the screen might have felt out of sync with the rest of the show …  but Menzies teased that he remembered that sequence in a script at some point during production.

Moore plans on recording podcasts for Outlander

It was a fan at the autograph signing at San Diego Comic-Con who reminded Moore of the podcasts that he did for Battlestar Galatica. The recordings, which served basically as commentaries that could be played in sync with each episode, were a great window into the production of the show. Thus, everyone needs to send a thank you note to the fan that brought a nice bottle of Scotch (Moore’s refreshment of choice during recordings) to the signing.

Each year, as I look across the mass of people who attend San Diego Comic-Con, I always wonder if they should just rename the whole kit-and-caboodle “Line Con.” Hell, the two queues that are traditionally the longest – for Hall H and Ballroom 20 – now have their own Twitter accounts, which cover everything from tips for managing one’s line experience to good-natured trash-talk between the two. This year, one of the longest lines (based on the amount of space and time in the event) had to be for Game of Thrones’ Survive the Realm experience.

It’s no secret that I’m a pretty (damn) big fan of both George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and of HBO’s adaptation. The show has had a big presence at SDCC since it premiered, starting off with a panel in Ballroom 20 in its first year before quickly getting upgraded to Hall H (and its 6,500 seats) ever since. The show twice has announced the new slate of cast members at their panel (quick rule of thumb: If I manage to attend the panel, they won’t announce new cast members; if I miss it, they will … I’m two for four). And for two years now, the HBO has hosted the Survive the Realm experience across the street from the Convention Center.

The line for the experience was insane, wrapping around the building. Attendees were allowed in in small groups to keep the space crowded. Inside was an interactive experience that held everything from props and costumes to a pair of real tattoo artists.

HBO brought just a portion of the displays from their Game of Thrones: The Exhibition that has toured around the world. The costume displays were particularly well done. The pieces were displayed in groups, showing off items that were designed for specific pairs of characters: Jaime and Brienne, Bran and Hodor, Dany and her dragon.

There were also several interactive features. There was a green screen photo-op where Dany sat on a rock with Drogon (the rock was real, the dragon CGI, natch). There was also a very cool activity featuring Oculus Rift technology. Attendees stepped into separate “elevators” for The Wall. Once the VR Headset was in place, we were pulled to the top. Vibrations and cold air fans helped with the effect, but VR work was immersive. Once at the top, we were told to turn around as our character would walk to the edge, taking in the land beyond the Wall. I’m not going to lie … my body knew I was standing on the ground in San Diego, but when I leaned over the ledge and looked down, my mind forced my hand to grab onto the elevator. The effect was incredibly well done.

The last two activities had to be the most popular, and I think it is easy to assume that the first is why most people waited in the first place. I know it is a prop, actually one of several that HBO uses at similar events … but sitting down in the Iron Throne and getting your picture taken? Pretty damn cool. The only thing that lasts longer than a picture, though, is a tattoo. HBO brought in two real tattoo artists and were offering – at no cost – a tattoo from a selection of Game of Thrones designs. I walked through about 45 minutes after they’d opened up on Friday, and the waiting area was already full.

Giving out swag at SDCC is a staple, as networks and studio bring exclusive items for their fans. What was given out at Survive the Realm might have set an unbreakable bar. The network commissioned Robert Ball – the artist who designed the amazing Beautiful Death series that premiered in advance of the show’s fourth season – to design four shirts, a unique design for each day. The piece I received was a silhouette of a member of the King’s Guard over the Lannister crest. There were a limited number of each shirt made – only 2,000 – making them one of the most exclusive things publicly available at the convention.

These off-site experiences are becoming more and more commonplace at Comic-Con. This year, you could do everything from ride a zip-line through downtown “Gotham” to run an Assassin’s Creed themed obstacle course. The Simpsons’ Home Dome was impressive, as with the Godzilla setup. None of these, however, compared to Survive the Realm. I’m looking forward to what the network does next year, as True Blood’s final season leaves Game of Thrones as their sole property at the show. As the network has used True Blood to sponsor the annual Robert A. Heinlein blood drive, maybe they can shift that to GoT. Just think: The “Fire and Blood Drive!”

If you’ve never spent any time in San Diego, you don’t know what you’re missing; the weather is phenomenal, the food is outstanding and the scenery is top-notch. If you’ve never visited San Diego in July, however, you’ve never witnessed nerd-nirvana at its very best. San Diego Comic-Con has been holding its convention for 45 years, but in the last 15 or so, things have gotten particularly crazy. Not only has the attendance, programs and exhibit space grown explosively, the number of things to do away from the convention center has equally grown. One of the biggest and most popular of these off-site experiences is NerdHQ.

Started in 2011 by Chuck star Zachary Levi and his partner (and former Chuck props-guru) Dave Coleman, NerdHQ aimed to offer an alternative to the convention itself. The venue – which has moved around before finding what seems to be a permanent home at Petco Park – is a place where people can see the latest video game activations, get your picture taken with some of your favorite stars, pick up Nerd Machine (Levi’s company that runs NerdHQ) gear or take in a Conversation for a Cause panel.

In advance of this year’s iteration, Levi and his team turned to crowd-funding to assist with some cashflow shortfalls to ensure NerdHQ’s viability. This was a move that was met with a good deal of criticism, including some of my own. The campaign, launched on Indiegogo, seemed unnecessary and exploitive to some. While NerdHQ does donate a large chunk of money to Operation Smile in the wake of the event, the funds being raised were specifically for The Nerd Machine (a for-profit company) to run the show. The funding is generally sourced from sponsorships, which can make for some significant difficulties in trying to plan for something that could be pulled at the last minute due to a product delay (something that apparently occurred in 2013).

While the campaign did see some success (It raised over $335k via the “Flexible Funding” option at Indiegogo), it fell short of it’s $1million goal. Levi has been frank about the difficulties since the campaign’s end, saying multiple times that taking this type of request to crowd-funders was a bad idea. He believed his goal was misconstrued, and no amount of barnstorming (check out the comment section of that Bad Ass Digest post above and you’ll find Zach defending the campaign several times) would change the perception of those who weren’t fans.

The NerdHQ 2014 experience, however, was largely free of the drama. While I don’t agree with the whys and the wherefores of the campaign – and it sounds like Zach agrees it was a bad idea – I enjoyed the hell out of the time I spent at NerdHQ. I skipped the infamous dance parties (because I don’t dance in general, and I don’t understand how anyone’s feet can do that after a day at the ‘con) and admittedly spent little time on the concourse checking out the offerings there (Though I am sad I missed out on photo-op scaling the side of a faux-building Batman ’66 style). I did, however, attend as many of the Conversations as my schedule – and ability to click quickly enough to purchase advance tickets – would allow (I’m also appreciative of NerdHQ’s Press Relations staff helping me attend a couple I did not have tickets for). I have two major takeaways from those experiences.

First, the panels are generally pretty freaking awesome. I was a little curious about the first version of the schedule that was posted, as it seemed to be an odd collection as well as missing many of the staples of earlier years. By the time the schedule was complete – and they were adding panels throughout the weekend – the plan was obvious: offer more diverse programming to appeal to different demographics — and just how much time NerdHQ favorites like Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion and Yvonne Strahovski would be able to spend there (Spoiler Alert: A lot).

One of the great traditions that has developed is Fillion and Tudyk spending a good deal of time at their panels auctioning off “stuff” for Operation Smile. I’d seen replays of these (All of the Conversations are streamed live and available on YouTube after they air), but I’d never experienced one live. It. Was. Awesome. The tone was set early, as the bidding for a signed (Fillion and Tudyk) Firefly poster jumped from $500 to $1,000 in one bid. Just as Fillion called “Sold,” someone followed with $1,500 (Fortunately, there were two of these posters, and both bidders got it for $1,000). What followed was some of the craziest auctioneering I’d ever seen. You’ve got to watch for yourself (be on the look out for what happens to a hand towel, and how much it goes for):

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuL_YMmblEE

One of the other things that was impressive about NerdHQ was their amazing volunteer staff. You can’t run something as massive as San Diego Comic-Con or its smaller cousin without using volunteers; it’s just a fact of life. But the group of folks helping out at NerdHQ was just top-notch. They handled their tasks with aplomb, and seemed to be as happy to be there as the rest of us.

I’m not sure what the future holds for NerdHQ. If sponsorship funding is as tenuous as indicated, it’s a fun event that could easily disappear, which would be a damn shame. While it might be easy to look at the $260k raised for Operation Smile this year as “less” than $335+ raised via Indiegogo, I’m over that type of analysis (and that’s coming from someone who works full-time for a non-profit). NerdHQ does an amazing amount of things right, and that $260k is better spent there than on nachos during the day and drinks during SDCC late nights.