Falling Debris

I didn't really get to see much TV coverage at SDCC, mostly because I walked the exhibit floor or waited in line for Hall H. I did sit in on a panel for Marvel's "Super Hero Squad", but that's not worth mentioning. Instead, to fill in the TV section, I'll mention the live Revision3 shows I saw, Diggnation and Totally Rad Show. For those that aren't familiar, Revision3 is an "Internet television" network of video podcasts that recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. Diggnation, the first official series, is the "Wayne's World" format show where Digg.com founder Kevin Rose and TechTV co-host Alex Albrecht discuss the week's most popular user-submitted stories (it usually involves drinking). The Totally Rad Show is a roundtable show where actors Alex Albrecht (of Diggnation) and Jeff Cannata and director Dan Trachtenberg discuss mainstream entertainment from movies, TV, video games and comic books, usually when one medium is adapted to another.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience to be a part of shows that I regularly watch. You're not just a member of the audience, you're a participant in what is quite possibly the future of mainstream entertainment. If you don't already listen to/watch podcasts, you really ought to try them out. There's tons of content out there with enough variety to interest everyone. Between Revision3, TWiT and ThisWeekIn, you're bound to find something you like. And you may very well refine your tastes and move on to other podcasts.

Diggnation

Diggnation was amazing, although exhausting. Like many evening/night events, it wasn't actually part of the convention. Revision3 rented the venue space at the House of Blues to have the show. When Prager announced the best way to get guaranteed admission would be to call ahead and make dinner reservations, the phone system blew up. We couldn't make reservations, so we ended up having lunch there beforehand. Little did we know, to get tickets to "pass the line" for any event at the HoB, you just need to spend $20 per person. Pff. We spent enough money to get our tickets and left at about 1:30pm - to find that at least 7 people were already in the free admission line for the 7:00pm show. Thank God we found that out, there's no way I would have waited that long just to see... wait, nevermind, check back for the movie section. We got in to the general admission floor at 6 and stood there until the show started at 7. By "started", I mean get briefly entertained by other Rev3 hosts for a few minutes and told to wait. At 8pm, Mike Relm showed up and provided an hour's worth of entertainment while we continued to stand (and put our hands in the air, waving them like we just didn't care). Finally, the real show started at 9pm. Kevin and Alex gave a great show, but the drunken festivities were hindered by Kevin's recent pneumonia. The show ended with a costume contest, which wasn't as exciting as it could have been, given the nature of the convention. After standing for about 5 hours straight, I had to give up after the show and went straight to the hotel. A perfect example of how utterly draining Comic Con can be.

Totally Rad Show

The Totally Rad Show was a lot more relaxed (and informative). Unlike Diggnation, it was actualy in the convention center (their third consecutive show). We got in line early at least 2 hours before it started, which allowed us to see 2 small panels: one on the creature design for Avatar, and another on the inner workings of comic book publication. It was pretty nice, but I honestly can't remember who they were at this point and I don't think too many people were there for them. For some reason, the TRS guys decided to give people in line right before their show free DVDs for The Lost Room. Now, if it was a consolation prize for not being able to get in, that's one thing, but I would think that those who got in line hours in advance and sat through meaningless stuff should be rewarded more than people who got in line late. Regardless, the show was good, but I didn't feel my mind blow or anything. Instead of a segmented show, it was just a general discussion of what they saw up until that point, a surprise appearance from Todd Stashwick and Dennis Calero (creators of The Devil Inside), followed by a QA session, and ended with a live discussion with the creators of The Lost Room. It was definitely a great experience to see the inspiration of this site in person. I even got to shake Alex's hand and wish him luck with his directorial debut, Neverland (which began shooting the week after SDCC and concluded a few days later).

Be sure to watch me at 37:00!

We have to go BAAAAAACK! Where? To... the island... in Lost. Time to get ready for Lost's sixth and final season by catching up.

It's really no surprise that we're talking about Lost a second third fourth time; it's captured the hearts and minds of such a wide audience without much explanation.

Lost is a recurring topic around here for several reasons. It's science fiction that involves philosophy and and mythology. It's a unique blend of classic storytelling and post-modern serial drama that has had audiences glued to their TVs for five years. It's making sci-fi popular again. In an era of TV dominated by "reality shows" and medical/law procedurals, Lost has planted itself as one of the few remaining mainstream sci-fi series at the moment. And that has mostly to do with "the reality of it all" with survivors and having no resources, but also the intruiging mystery surrounding the island and its past.

I recently marathoned all five seasons (instead of going home for Christmas) just to keep everything fresh in my mind. It's such a heavily serialized show and that's what divides those who love it and those who can't get into it. It must be watched in order and preferably as fast as possible. It's practically 24 on an island. I've had discussions with many people on this subject and they were either an addict who never misses an episode, or completely unintersted in what it's about. At the very least, the requisite of having no life prevents them from getting interested.

Unfortunately for the series and its fans, there are just too many questions and not enough time to answer. The final season will have 18 episodes, a number that has been modified several times since the contract for six season was finalized, mostly because of the WGA strike and then realizing that they ran out of track (train reference). Likely, what will happen is that JJ Abrams will just spill the beans on every fan question after the finale like he did with Cloverfield.

Lost is ultimately a well written show plagued with terrible execution, which is hard to justify when most of the story was organized very early on. It's not like they're flying by the seat of their pants as they go (regardless of evidence to the contrary). Even though I am disappointed with Lost's progress, I will follow it to the end and most likely buy whatever gigantic Blu-ray set comes after. I do give it credit for doing what Heroes could not, which is make pulp fiction popular again. And for anyone who doesn't think it is, you are exactly why it's doing suc ha good job at it.

You may not have enough time to go through our 2009 holiday movie list, but there's plenty of time to get through at least a few Christmas-themed TV episodes. Let's hope that these special episodes get you into the entire series. For a complete list of US Christmas-themed TV episodes, check out Wikipedia.

Bones

• Bones: The Man in the Fallout Shelter (2005)
• Bones: Santa in the Slush (2007)
• Bones: The Goop on the Girl (2009)

House

• House: Damned If You Do (2004)
• House: Deception (2005)
• House: Merry Little Christmas (2006)
• House: It's a Wonderful Lie (2007)
• House: Joy to the World (2008)

Twilight Zone

• The Twilight Zone: The Night of the Meek (1960)
• The Twilight Zone: The Changing of the Guard (1962)

X-Files

• The X-Files: Christmas Carol (1997)
• The X-Files: How the Ghosts Stole Christmas (1998)

West Wing

• The West Wing: In Excelsis Deo (1999)
• The West Wing: Noël (2000)
• The West Wing: Bartlet for America (2001)
• The West Wing: Holy Night (2002)
• The West Wing: Abu el Banat (2003)
• The West Wing: Impact Winter (2004)

Ally McBeal

• Ally McBeal: Silver Bells (1997)
• Ally McBeal: Making Spirits Bright (1998)
• Ally McBeal: Saving Santa (1999)
• Ally McBeal: Blue Christmas (1999)
• Ally McBeal: 'Tis the Season (2000)
• Ally McBeal: The Man with the Bag (2000)
• Ally McBeal: Nine One One (2001)

Scrubs

• Scrubs: My Own Personal Jesus (2001)
• Scrubs: My Monster (2002)
• Scrubs: My Best Moment (2004)

30 Rock

• 30 Rock: Ludachristmas (2007)
• 30 Rock: Christmas Special (2008)
• 30 Rock: Secret Santa (2009)

Robot Chicken

• Robot Chicken: Christmas Special (2005)
• Robot Chicken: Robot Chicken's Half-Assed Christmas Special (2007)
• Robot Chicken: Dear Consumer (2009)

Arrested Development

• Arrested Development: In God We Trust (2003)
• Arrested Development: Afternoon Delight (2004)

Boy Meets World

• Boy Meets World: Santa's Little Helper (1993)
• Boy Meets World: Easy Street (1996)
• Boy Meets World: A Very Topanga Christmas (1997)
• Boy Meets World: Santa's Little Helpers (1998)

Frasier

• Frasier: Miracle on Third or Fourth Street (1993)
• Frasier: Frasier Grinch (1995)
• Frasier: Perspectives on Christmas (1997)
• Frasier: Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz (1998)
• Frasier: The Fight Before Christmas (1999)
• Frasier: Mary Christmas (2000)
• Frasier: We Two Kings (2002)
• Frasier: High Holidays (2003)

Futurama

• Futurama: Xmas Story (1999)
• Futurama: A Tale of Two Santas (2001)

Home Improvement

• Home Improvement: Yule Better Watch Out (1991)
• Home Improvement: I'm Scheming Of a White Christmas (1992)
• Home Improvement: 'Twas the Blight Before Christmas (1993)
• Home Improvement: Some Like It Hot Rod (1994)
• Home Improvement: 'Twas the Night Before Chaos (1994)
• Home Improvement: 'Twas the Flight Before Christmas (1995)
• Home Improvement: No Place Like Home (1996)
• Home Improvement: Bright Christmas (1997)
• Home Improvement: Home for the Holidays (1998)

The Office (US)

• The Office: Christmas Party (2005)
• The Office: A Benihana Christmas (2006)
• The Office: Moroccan Christmas (2008)
• The Office: Secret Santa (2009)

Seinfeld

• Seinfeld: The Red Dot (1991)
• Seinfeld: The Pick (1992)
• Seinfeld: The Race (1994)
• Seinfeld: The Strike (1997)

Simpsons

• The Simpsons: Short: Simpson Christmas (1988)
• The Simpsons: Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (1989)
• The Simpsons: Marge Be Not Proud (1995)
• The Simpsons: Miracle on Evergreen Terrace (1997)
• The Simpsons: Grift of the Magi (1999)
• The Simpsons: Skinner's Sense of Snow (2000)
• The Simpsons: She of Little Faith (2001)
• The Simpsons: 'Tis the Fifteenth Season (2003)
• The Simpsons: Simpsons Christmas Stories (2005)
• The Simpsons: Kill Gil, Volumes I & II (2006)
• The Simpsoms: O Brother, Where Bart Thou? (2009)

Spin City

• Spin City: Miracle Near 34th Street (1997)
• Spin City: Monkey Business (1998)
• Spin City: My Dinner with Caitlin (a.k.a. Christmas 1999) (1999)
• Spin City: Toy Story (2000)
• Spin City: An Office and a Gentleman (2001)

Titus

• Titus: The Last Noelle (2000)
• Titus: Houseboat (2001)

What was once a medical mystery drama that put ER and Grey's Anatomy on a gurney has become nothing more than a sugar pill. House, MD (commonly known as House) is currently on its sixth season on FOX and things aren't looking much different. House is still a pill popping misanthrope who always gets it right with ten minutes to spare.

Over the past five years, nothing has really changed to make the series compelling for this long. Nothing can really happen with the rest of the cast when the only meaningful character is House himself. Foreman's still black, Chase is still Australian and Cuddy's ass is still huge.

The biggest dynamic shift came in season four, when the cast reshuffled, putting House's team in the backseat while he searched for new recruits. A whole story arc was devoted to weeding people out, then the survivors left the cast a season later. House is sent to the insane asylum, which finally implies a huge change for the setting. Maybe House will solve medical mysteries while people think he's crazy. Unfortunately, he gets better immediately and is sent home.

Now that the "new team" has dissolved, the old team is back with a slight shift. House's license has been revoked and Foreman is in charge, leaving House to solve medial mysteries from his office. This is truly getting to be an awful series. Perhaps it's time someone pulled the plug.

No puns were harmed in the making of this article.

I suppose there's still time to cram one horror-related TV series in before the biggest event of the year. Here's a show that I never thought I'd get into because it's on the WB/CW and is aesthetically aimed towards teens. However, knowing that the writers of The X-Files are the masterminds behind Supernatural, I had to get it in while the getting was good, and it's only getting gooder better.

What started as a typical "monster of the week" supernatural drama has become a surprisingly well told story of the battle between Heaven and Hell, with Earth as the battlefield. Brothers Sam and Dean Winchester are a duo of demon hunters, following in their father's footsteps. Sam, the youngest, is the tag-along who is everyone's pawn, while Dean is the alpha who cares most about sticking it to the monsters... and ladies.

This series is full of that suspenseful action you know and love from The X-Files and the immature sexual comedy found in one beloved Fox Mulder. Granted, having two young men as the leads makes one think that it's primarily aimed at teenage girls, but the stories are surprisingly well told and the action can be intense. Getting back to the Heaven vs Hell story, the intricacies and twists make Constantine look silly.

One of the most iconic elements is classic rock music. Dean is somehow timelocked into the generation, along with its cassette format for his 1967 Impala, which gets replaced with an iPod dock by his brother during his absence. Every "Previously..." sequence is accompanied by a different classic song and most of their driving is also backed by AC/DC, Metallica and Led Zepplin.

If there's one horror related series that I have to recommend this Halloween season, it's definitely Supernatural. Need more proof that I believe in this show? I actually bought the Season Pass to the current season on iTunes. It's that good.