Nuke 'Em: 24, Prison Break, WizardWorld, MORE

Whaaaaaaat's happennin'.

So this weekend the usual crew and I went to WizardWorld in LA, with VIP access thanks to NBC-provided press passes ... as usual, good times. Some highlights:

- I met VERONICA MARS! Yes, though it was kind of embarrassing, since my friends all but pushed me into Emmy-worthy actress Kristen Bell, where I had about the most awkward 30-second conversation of all time with her - the end result was that I got a picture with the star of one of my favorite shows, and probably a restraining order as well. But seriously, it was cool to meet Kristen and express to her how great the show is.

- HEROES panel - we heard Tim Kring, Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale, and others talk about the show in a very interesting Q and A session. Tim Kring comes off as very cool and down to earth, with a lot of perspective on the show and what does and doesn't work for it. The one obnoxious thing was that, when a concerned fan asked about the controversy revolving around the show's sudden removal of a character's implied homosexuality, Jeph Loeb basically denied all knowledge about the subject, despite this being a well-publicized issue. Then, as the crowd sensed Loeb's blatant denial, Tim Kring addressed the topic head on, making Loeb look a little foolish in the process.

- After the panel, I met some NBC.com people who were doing a promotion for the Heroes website, where they were filming fans, asking about their theories about the show. And I got filmed! So I'll keep an eye out on NBC.com and see if my interview made the cut ...

- KISS! To promote their latest comic, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were on hand, and we heard them speak, which is always interesting as they are huge geeks with encyclopedic knowledge of comics. And really badass.

- Random celebrities! I had another ridiculously awkward conversation with Playboy covergirl and TNA wrestler Chisty Hemme, chatted with the Suicide Girls, professed my love of BEASTMASTER to Marc Singer, spotted Bud Bundy, Virgil, that trainer guy from Rocky, The Incredible Hulk, Jerry from Survivor, and walked by Stone Cold Steve Austin.

- Great photo ops! aside from my prized pic with Kristen Bell, I posed with KISS wannabes, guys in robot suits, etc ... Not as many cool costumes as year's past, but there was this one woman dressed as Black Cat ...

- Hey Kids, Comics! We attended the DC panel and heard greats like Marv Wolfman, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, and DC EIC Dan Didio speak. I even asked a somewhat biting question to writer Bill Willingham about one of his stories which generated a lot of buzz - no hard feelings, Bill - while I have issues with some of your stories, I still consider Fables one of my all-time faves. On the show floor, I talked to a bunch of creative people who are some of my personal inspirations. Guys like Peter David, Greg Horn, Josh Middleton, Dustin Nguyen, and many more, not to mention the brother of the X-Plosian, who is an accomplished comic book artist in his own right. Plus, I got a ton of trade paperbacks at bargain prices, so I shouldn't be in short supply of reading material anytime soon.

So yeah, good times were had, even if the show seemed a bit quieter and less star-studded than in years past (no Kevin Smith, no Lost, no Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, etc). Still, look forward to doing it again next year.

TV STUFF:

24! 24! 24!

24 this week was very ... meh. Most of the focus was away from Jack Bauer, and the spark of electricity that the likes of Aaron Pierce, Charles, and Martha Logan brought to the table last week was vanished into the ether. Instead, despite the plot going full speed ahead with the threat of another nuclear bomb detonation, the focus was squarely on the excitement, the intrigue, the drama ... of interoffice politics. Ugh. A nuclear bomb is minutes from going off and we have scene after scene of petty soap opera squabbling? Another mole in CTU? More oval office infighting? How is it possible that Wayne Pa;mer's administration is comprised of people with completely disparate political views? Furthermore, the show's politics are just getting silly - it's "Let's blow up a random country" VP vs. "I'm a shrill, spineless liberal" Karen Hayes. Both liberals and conservatives had to have been groaning at how cartoonishly each side is being portrayed. And you're seriously telling me that Karen Hayes is going to risk killing Wayne Palmer so he can wake up for 30 seconds and magically override an executive order? Laaaaaame. Also, yet again, seemingly no government agencies exist in the world of 24 other than the consistently understaffed, security-compromised, ineffectual CTU Los Angeles, whose ability to stop a nuclear strike comes down to ... Jack Bauer playing a 1980's vector flight sim, complete with PC joystick circa 1991? Not only can Jack fight terrorists with the best of 'em, he is also a videogame wiz. Who knew? Finally, this new guy Doyle is completely sucky. Please tell me HE's the mole so Jack can whup his metrosexual, poser ass.

Otherwise, this ep had some cool action scenes and some good tension surrounding whether or not the bomb would actually go off. The revelation that Audrey had died trying to save Jack in China was the most interesting bit of the episode, and Jack's rage, and his vow to find those responsible (his dad?), was the best hope we've been given that, at some point soon, the show will refocus on Jack and get away from all these stupid subplots and side characters. This was kind of subpar for 24 though, and if things don't turn around soon this will go down as the worst season since 3.

My Grade: B -

- PRISON BREAK was pretty good, but kind of contrived, as the writers stretched all plausibility for the sake of having all of its surviving main players converging in Panama for one final play by Mahone. Hopefully, the show can pick up some momentum for its last two installments, but in this episode you could practically see the invisible hand of the producers descending upon the chess board that is this show, moving the pieces around so everything is alligned just as they see fit. In the process, a lot of plot points seemed to get lost in the shuffle. How did Mahone get access to Michael's website and Sucre's user ID. How exactly did T-Bag end up in Panama? What exactly happened to Sucre's girlfriend, and when?

The show had some interesting drama between Michael and Lincoln, and the C-Note storyarc came to a nice conclusion. William Ficther, as always, was terrific, and his descent into ever-increasing levels of insanity was a lot of fun to watch, especially the scene where he realizes that one of his own men is keeping tabs on him. I do look forward to next week though, as even though it took a lot of forced plot manipulation to get the this point, I do have to admit that the writers have now set up a potentially kickass finale.

My Grade: B

- I am actually liking THE WINNER on FOX. Despite it having a terribly dated laugh track and mostly subpar writing, Rob Cordry just does such a great job with his material that he elevates the show to a much higher level of quality than it should be. Cordry just does the whole overgrown kid thing to perfection, and he makes this show a lot of fun to watch despite its uneven comedy. I really enjoyed Katey Segal's guest appearance on Sunday's episode, and I find it kind of funny how despite being such a suppoesed loser, basically every episode sees Cordry lying on some woman's (or man's) bed, awkwardly trying to figure out what to do about their sexual advances. In any case, it's leagues better than The War at Home or 'Till Death.

OTHER STUFF:

- Have you seen the Pirates III trailer? Pretty awesome, especially that one scene of Jack Sparrow and Davey Jones sword-fighting atop a storm-wrecked Pirate ship. Can't wait to see this in May - see for yourself:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31947

Alright - I'm out. Yo-ho!

BTW - for my pics with Kristen Bell, KISS, etc - check me on MySpace or Facebook. Cya.