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!