Live from Comic-Con: Post-Preview Night Blues

SAN DIEGO -- It's been a long, long day, starting at 5 a.m. EST in Pittsburgh and landing in San Diego noon PT. Then an hour of chill time at the hotel, and then off to registration -- another hurry up and wait day for the media. It took until 2 p.m., waiting outside of the convention center in the sun (shouldn't complain; weather is spectacular) before press, presenters and professionals were allowed to pick up their credentials. Nothing was open to us in the Con until Preview Night kicked off at 5:30 p.m., but we -- actually my son, Josh Axelrod -- had an off-site appointment at 3 to demo Madden 10 and Brutal Legend, the new Jack Black-voiced third-person action beat-'em up game (or so Josh tells me).

Josh was wearing a Steelers T-shirt, and a young man from Atlanta came by wearing one as well. He said his father was a big Steelers fan and had brought it back from Pittsburgh. Another T in the press-pro line was a Steelers' "Got Six?" Steelers Nation is everywhere, even in the shadows of the Padres' Petco Park.

We ventured far into the Gaslamp District to a place called the Thin Onyx, and Josh was at first barred -- the demos were in an over-21 club. But after some discussion, he was given a security escort, and a long demo with the art director of Madden. He'll tell it in the PG later this week.

After a stop at the Ghiardelli's ice cream shop, we headed back for the convention center and took a spot in the long line for Ballroom 20, where Preview Night featured the pilots for three Warner Bros. TV series -- "V," "Human Target" and "Vampire Diaries." I'll leave the reviewing to the pro, TV editor Rob Owen. We stayed for the first two, which got great receptions from the audience every time a genre actor showed up -- Elizabeth Mitchell, Joel Gretsch and Morena Baccarin (with guest star Alan Tudyk) in "V" and Mark Valley, Chi McBride and Jackie Earle Haley in "Human Target" (with guest star Tricia Helfer). The preview for the next "Human Target," based on a DC Comic, showed a guest spot by Danny Glover. We liked the show's sense of humor, and maybe Valley and McBride will finally find a show with staying power.

We left to spend the last hour in Exhibit Hall, which was packed -- so much so, Warner Bros. had already given away its 12,000 giant bag allotment for the day. The bags this year have a Harry Potter theme.

My computer says it's 1:29 Pittsburgh time, which means we had better get to bed because we wouldn't want to miss a spot in line for Summits "New Moon" panel tomorrow. When we were waiting in that line tonight for the pilot screenings, we heard that a couple of dozen people were already camped out for tomorrow's 1:45 p.m. panel with Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

I'm going to bed now. I'll join those folks tomorrow, from a spot way in the back, I'm sure.