Wondercon Day 3
True to form, I found my plans altered because I wasn't prepared. Although I had spoken to a volunteer about the internet connection at the Moscone convention center, I still had trouble connecting to the public wifi. Had I decided to test it out the day before, I would have figured a fix and continued on my merry way live-blogging. Alas, I like to fly by the seat of my pants (and I do mean pants) and cursed my stupidness.
Luckily the Chuck panel started, and I sat in rapt attention as a sweet trailer of upcoming Season 2 moments was played. We have explosions, super sekrit spy moments, hawt women in various states of undress, and Chuck's dad. And guess who that is played by? C'mon. No? Two words: Quantum Leap.
AW YEAH TITANS CHUCK!
NGL I had the biggest crush on Scott Bakula as a kid. I used to throw a tantrum if I was sent to bed before the show ended :D In the trailer he looks so rumpled, it just makes me want to pet his head.
No good show would be without a baddie, right? Enter a menacing Chevy Chase. Hmm...
The panel had a great mod who wasted no time in throwing questions at the cast (I'm looking at you Geoff Boucher). Plenty was covered within the hour allocated for the panel, and we have her to thank for moving things along. So, what can we expect for the rest of the season?
There'll be a deepening romance between Chuck/Sarah, and for the shippers there was a mention about possibly seeing wedding bells. When Zach joked he and Joshua's characters would be married, and an audience member yelled, 'About time!' Zach pointed out the fan and said simply, 'I love you'.
Nothing else specific was spoiled, and the subject turned to favourite episodes that summed up the show. Zach's pick in Season 1 was Chuck and the Wookie, as it had a good blend of spy and other genres. For similar reasons he'd pick the Season 2 episode with John Larroquette.
Joshua, on the other hand, was diplomatic and said, 'it's hard to choose. I love them all.' Aww. Then he added, 'Chuck vs his best friend', and Zach sensed there was a theme here. That lead to the question of the possibility of Morgan going on a mission? The answer was no, but Joshua wondered why wouldn't Chuck open up to Morgan with his spy life? Uh, said one of the writers, because Casey would kill Morgan. Zach added, 'That's a valid point.'
Fans of Morgan will like to know that there is a certain move in the show named after him. That's right, the 'Morgan" is something created by Morgan when he was accosted by many girls beating him up in high school. It's where the guy would cover his eyes and crotch, or as Zach succinctly put it, 'the face and jewels'. Look for 'The Morgan' to appear in the episode Chuck and the First Kill.
Next, there was a question about learning to use the weapons in the show. Adam quipped, 'You don't need to teach Zach how to hold his gun. He's very good at it. Weapons, on the other hand...' As everyone howled, he leaned into the mike and said, 'Thank you.' He was obviously enjoying himself.
Yvonne caused a similar ruckus as she answered a question about the time it takes it takes to learn fighting scenes and moves. According to her, 'it doesn't take that much time. I just whip it out. Oh god...'
My favourite part of the panel is the acknowledgment by the mod on the Casey and Chuck relationship. 'Is Casey capable of having feelings? Adam said, 'He's (Chuck) growing on him.' Then he was echoed by Zach, 'Like a fungus'. Adam assured us the two hadn't even practiced the line, and the obvious affection the two have for each other is so cute. Also, I totally ship Chuck/Casey and I was in heaven, I tell you.
Rather than continue to bask in the adorableness that is Chuck/Casey, we had a Chuck/Sarah question: how to keep the relationship between Chuck and Sarah fresh?
I have trouble figuring out which writer is which, plus the camera often was on Zach so I couldn't tell who was speaking, but one of them pointed out that there's lot of natural obstacles inherent. For instance if Sarah falls in love with Chuck, she might compromise her mission and endanger a lot of people. Another example would be since Chuck wants to be loved by Sarah and isn't getting it from her, he'll be looking to hook up with someone else. Still with all this built-in, the show will have an addition of an MI5 agent who was seen in the trailer engaging in some steamy scenes with Sarah, no doubt bringing in angst between the two sorta-lovebirds.
A great feature of this season is the number of excellent guest stars. The next question asked where the show found them. Did the role come first?
'Craigslist,' Zach said. 'You'd be surprised.'
Unfortunately Craigslist wasn't the answer, and the show would approach people they thought might be ideal for the show. The litmus test would be whether they were funny first of all, and then there'd be some adapting in the characters. One spoiler that Zach managed to spill? Jill will return for one more episode. When pressed as to whether Bryce would return, the writers could make no promises either way. Zach then took an informal poll to see who wants to see more Bryce, and the nays have it.
How, asked the moderator, did the show find the Spy vs Geek balance? Which is an excellent question since we're seeing more and more of the Buy More crew taking up time in each episode. It's a deliberate move on the part of the writers to find new ways to bring the people in Chuck's world together because it makes for good drama and comedy. But I didn't catch exactly what they did in particular to move this along, a good thing because there will be a season 3. WOO! But just in case, the mod asked if the cast and crew needed for fans to mobilise. Because hells yeah, we will do what it takes to make sure the show stays on.
I hadn't seen Zach in anything else before Chuck, and for me it's a little difficult to differentiate between the actor and the character. I was all ears when the mod asked how much of Chuck's geekiness is Zach.
Zach didn't disappoint as he claimed all he heard of the question was '-eenis,' (rhymes with penis), and the question was repeated. 'Oh,' he exclaimed. 'GEEK-iness. Hi-YO!'
Haha! Apparently much of the geekiness is Zach himself, judging by the number of video games he enthused over until Josh interrupted and said, 'So, to sum up: they're two completely different people.'
Meanwhile, Adam's idea of something geeky was to slip in a reference to the Cone of Silence from Get Smart. While everyone else was laughing, I was to busy with the epiphany that Adam Baldwin's grunts are sexy. Yeah, it took me a long time. I didn't watch Serenity, okay? >__< BTW when the cast were introduced, Adam had the loudest welcome from the audience.
The discussion then returned to the Spy vs Geek balance when the mod noted this season had a strong showing by the supporting characters. According to the writers this started out out of practicality as when Yvonne and Zach were off filming, they needed the others to do something. Eventually this led to the writers falling in love with the characters, and a happy development for everyone because we'll see Jeffster perform again. DUDE.
The panel was opened to audience Q&A, and I was amused that the first question was sooo geeky. Even the audience member acknowledged it, but he pointed out that it's the only time he would have the chance to ask it. Fair enough. So the guy asked Adam, 'Who would win a fight Casey or Jane?'
Zach jumped in, 'Adam Baldwin would win.' Which is nice and all, but Adam answered that it would Casey because he has better weapons. That wasn't all though, as he followed that statement by reminiscing, 'working with the Buy Morons was the best fun I've had.' Oooh, burn. I wished I had recorded the look on Zach and Josh's faces.
I keep forgetting that the Wondercon has plenty of overseas attendees because I was surprised by the next person in line. It was a Colombian lady whose husband translated her comments, and noted that she makes him translate every line when they're watching the show. HAHA! That sucks, because damnit, that's happened to me plenty of times with my relatives. And they bloody well know English, they just like to test me on my translation skills. Anyway, the lady asked whether there be plans to send the show to Latin America?
I was surprised again, this time because Zach stepped up and answered that the show is indeed playing in South America, in several markets actually. But if Colombia did not get Chuck, then whatever he could do, Zach will try to have Chuck played there. It was all very sweet, even when Zach called her Senorita.
Less anyone forget this is a panel attended by geeks, the next person asked if all the the Comic-Con references in the show were intentional. Zach said they were very intentional and was happy l that people picked up on it, especially since they were often fleeting glimpses as part of the background.
The fourth question went back to the previous discussion of how much of the character are the actors portraying them. Yvonne pointed out that as an Australian, she felt miles away from her CIA character. Adam had a big laugh when he smarmily said, 'I'm highly skilled with weapons.' And Josh insisted he was nothing like Morgan, and that he was wildly popular with women. Then he hung his head, as if it were a lie.
The next question brought us out of the Chuck mindset when the audience member asked about how it was working with Stanley Kubrick in Full Metal Jacket. Adam said he felt very blessed to work with Kubrick. Wow, I hadn't known this and can't imagine what it must be like to work with someone so legendary. Closest I've gotten to a legend would be listening to my new friend's review of Chuck Berry at last year's Long Beach Jazz Festival. OT Berry was a hot mess who didn't rehearse with the band, was probably drunk or high, and annoyed the hell out of the musicians because he would launch into a song no one knew and expected them to play along. GENIUS!
Next up, a nervous someone asked if Zach liked being hit by Yvonne alot. Zach played it cool, telling the producers to just have her slap him because he could take it. However he hadn't taken into consideration that the way they shoot was to do multiple takes. Heh, brought it upon his own self. Partly through the explanation Zach stopped to ask in confusion why the person who asked the question why are she was walking away when she'd just asked me a question! It was really cute.
The next person thanked the show for the Legend of Zelda reference as she was a big fan. She asked if the cast could be another character from the show, who would it be? Josh wondered if she meant from the show. Said Zach, 'Yeah from our show, because I would want to be The Twilight Princess.' Josh then grinned and said, 'I would want to be Sarah Lancaster and stare at myself all day.' He paused. 'And take showers twice a day.'
Yvonne meanwhile smiled and said she wanted to be Lester. The shock was so stunning, a few people were heard to stutter in disbelief. She then hurriedly explained it was because Lester's so funny, but erm yeah, okay.
Adam was happy to claim Captain Awesome. Again, for Sarah Lancaster. But on second thought, he picked Chuck instead. And Zach returned the favor by saying he'd want to be Casey. Aww, they're just too precious for words.
We finally came to the last question, which had the potential for so much gossip when the cast was asked what was the most embarassing moment on set. Zach noted there was almost too many to count, though Yvonne said they didn't get embarassed. The word 'shameless' was thrown about, hmm. But it eventually came down to Adam to throw us a bone when he said it had to be when Zach kissed him. 'Yeah,' Adam said, 'Sucking face with Zach was embarrassing.' Zach had this look of indignation. 'That's news to me!' He then termed it 'awkward'. Not content to let it die, Adam grimly said, 'Just do it hard and fast.' The hall exploded in laughter. 'C'mon,' he said to the audience who was clearly having their minds in the gutter. 'A hard and fast kiss!' *snerk* I swear he was enjoying this.
Although that was it for the Q&A, Zach noted that there was still people in line and somehow managed to get one more question slotted in. The lucky audience member asked Yvonne what her favourite part of playing Sarah was, other than the kick-ass part. For Yvonne it's doing the fun comedy and romance stuff. She spoke about how there's more to the character, and she enjoys the opportunity to explore that. Good stuff, and I absolutely agree. As much as I like the mysterious spy to remain mysterious, I like how Yvonne is making Sarah connect with the audience and allows us glimpses of what she'd be like, if not a spy.
And that was it. The audience was thanked for coming by, we cheered, and the panel ended. I was SO glad I made it out that afternoon. To think I was going to go to the Brubaker/Fraction panel instead. I love those guys, but honestly I had much more fun with the Chuck cast and am filled with excitement for what's coming up next.
Luckily the Chuck panel started, and I sat in rapt attention as a sweet trailer of upcoming Season 2 moments was played. We have explosions, super sekrit spy moments, hawt women in various states of undress, and Chuck's dad. And guess who that is played by? C'mon. No? Two words: Quantum Leap.
AW YEAH TITANS CHUCK!
NGL I had the biggest crush on Scott Bakula as a kid. I used to throw a tantrum if I was sent to bed before the show ended :D In the trailer he looks so rumpled, it just makes me want to pet his head.
No good show would be without a baddie, right? Enter a menacing Chevy Chase. Hmm...
The panel had a great mod who wasted no time in throwing questions at the cast (I'm looking at you Geoff Boucher). Plenty was covered within the hour allocated for the panel, and we have her to thank for moving things along. So, what can we expect for the rest of the season?
There'll be a deepening romance between Chuck/Sarah, and for the shippers there was a mention about possibly seeing wedding bells. When Zach joked he and Joshua's characters would be married, and an audience member yelled, 'About time!' Zach pointed out the fan and said simply, 'I love you'.
Nothing else specific was spoiled, and the subject turned to favourite episodes that summed up the show. Zach's pick in Season 1 was Chuck and the Wookie, as it had a good blend of spy and other genres. For similar reasons he'd pick the Season 2 episode with John Larroquette.
Joshua, on the other hand, was diplomatic and said, 'it's hard to choose. I love them all.' Aww. Then he added, 'Chuck vs his best friend', and Zach sensed there was a theme here. That lead to the question of the possibility of Morgan going on a mission? The answer was no, but Joshua wondered why wouldn't Chuck open up to Morgan with his spy life? Uh, said one of the writers, because Casey would kill Morgan. Zach added, 'That's a valid point.'
Fans of Morgan will like to know that there is a certain move in the show named after him. That's right, the 'Morgan" is something created by Morgan when he was accosted by many girls beating him up in high school. It's where the guy would cover his eyes and crotch, or as Zach succinctly put it, 'the face and jewels'. Look for 'The Morgan' to appear in the episode Chuck and the First Kill.
Next, there was a question about learning to use the weapons in the show. Adam quipped, 'You don't need to teach Zach how to hold his gun. He's very good at it. Weapons, on the other hand...' As everyone howled, he leaned into the mike and said, 'Thank you.' He was obviously enjoying himself.
Yvonne caused a similar ruckus as she answered a question about the time it takes it takes to learn fighting scenes and moves. According to her, 'it doesn't take that much time. I just whip it out. Oh god...'
My favourite part of the panel is the acknowledgment by the mod on the Casey and Chuck relationship. 'Is Casey capable of having feelings? Adam said, 'He's (Chuck) growing on him.' Then he was echoed by Zach, 'Like a fungus'. Adam assured us the two hadn't even practiced the line, and the obvious affection the two have for each other is so cute. Also, I totally ship Chuck/Casey and I was in heaven, I tell you.
Rather than continue to bask in the adorableness that is Chuck/Casey, we had a Chuck/Sarah question: how to keep the relationship between Chuck and Sarah fresh?
I have trouble figuring out which writer is which, plus the camera often was on Zach so I couldn't tell who was speaking, but one of them pointed out that there's lot of natural obstacles inherent. For instance if Sarah falls in love with Chuck, she might compromise her mission and endanger a lot of people. Another example would be since Chuck wants to be loved by Sarah and isn't getting it from her, he'll be looking to hook up with someone else. Still with all this built-in, the show will have an addition of an MI5 agent who was seen in the trailer engaging in some steamy scenes with Sarah, no doubt bringing in angst between the two sorta-lovebirds.
A great feature of this season is the number of excellent guest stars. The next question asked where the show found them. Did the role come first?
'Craigslist,' Zach said. 'You'd be surprised.'
Unfortunately Craigslist wasn't the answer, and the show would approach people they thought might be ideal for the show. The litmus test would be whether they were funny first of all, and then there'd be some adapting in the characters. One spoiler that Zach managed to spill? Jill will return for one more episode. When pressed as to whether Bryce would return, the writers could make no promises either way. Zach then took an informal poll to see who wants to see more Bryce, and the nays have it.
How, asked the moderator, did the show find the Spy vs Geek balance? Which is an excellent question since we're seeing more and more of the Buy More crew taking up time in each episode. It's a deliberate move on the part of the writers to find new ways to bring the people in Chuck's world together because it makes for good drama and comedy. But I didn't catch exactly what they did in particular to move this along, a good thing because there will be a season 3. WOO! But just in case, the mod asked if the cast and crew needed for fans to mobilise. Because hells yeah, we will do what it takes to make sure the show stays on.
I hadn't seen Zach in anything else before Chuck, and for me it's a little difficult to differentiate between the actor and the character. I was all ears when the mod asked how much of Chuck's geekiness is Zach.
Zach didn't disappoint as he claimed all he heard of the question was '-eenis,' (rhymes with penis), and the question was repeated. 'Oh,' he exclaimed. 'GEEK-iness. Hi-YO!'
Haha! Apparently much of the geekiness is Zach himself, judging by the number of video games he enthused over until Josh interrupted and said, 'So, to sum up: they're two completely different people.'
Meanwhile, Adam's idea of something geeky was to slip in a reference to the Cone of Silence from Get Smart. While everyone else was laughing, I was to busy with the epiphany that Adam Baldwin's grunts are sexy. Yeah, it took me a long time. I didn't watch Serenity, okay? >__< BTW when the cast were introduced, Adam had the loudest welcome from the audience.
The discussion then returned to the Spy vs Geek balance when the mod noted this season had a strong showing by the supporting characters. According to the writers this started out out of practicality as when Yvonne and Zach were off filming, they needed the others to do something. Eventually this led to the writers falling in love with the characters, and a happy development for everyone because we'll see Jeffster perform again. DUDE.
The panel was opened to audience Q&A, and I was amused that the first question was sooo geeky. Even the audience member acknowledged it, but he pointed out that it's the only time he would have the chance to ask it. Fair enough. So the guy asked Adam, 'Who would win a fight Casey or Jane?'
Zach jumped in, 'Adam Baldwin would win.' Which is nice and all, but Adam answered that it would Casey because he has better weapons. That wasn't all though, as he followed that statement by reminiscing, 'working with the Buy Morons was the best fun I've had.' Oooh, burn. I wished I had recorded the look on Zach and Josh's faces.
I keep forgetting that the Wondercon has plenty of overseas attendees because I was surprised by the next person in line. It was a Colombian lady whose husband translated her comments, and noted that she makes him translate every line when they're watching the show. HAHA! That sucks, because damnit, that's happened to me plenty of times with my relatives. And they bloody well know English, they just like to test me on my translation skills. Anyway, the lady asked whether there be plans to send the show to Latin America?
I was surprised again, this time because Zach stepped up and answered that the show is indeed playing in South America, in several markets actually. But if Colombia did not get Chuck, then whatever he could do, Zach will try to have Chuck played there. It was all very sweet, even when Zach called her Senorita.
Less anyone forget this is a panel attended by geeks, the next person asked if all the the Comic-Con references in the show were intentional. Zach said they were very intentional and was happy l that people picked up on it, especially since they were often fleeting glimpses as part of the background.
The fourth question went back to the previous discussion of how much of the character are the actors portraying them. Yvonne pointed out that as an Australian, she felt miles away from her CIA character. Adam had a big laugh when he smarmily said, 'I'm highly skilled with weapons.' And Josh insisted he was nothing like Morgan, and that he was wildly popular with women. Then he hung his head, as if it were a lie.
The next question brought us out of the Chuck mindset when the audience member asked about how it was working with Stanley Kubrick in Full Metal Jacket. Adam said he felt very blessed to work with Kubrick. Wow, I hadn't known this and can't imagine what it must be like to work with someone so legendary. Closest I've gotten to a legend would be listening to my new friend's review of Chuck Berry at last year's Long Beach Jazz Festival. OT Berry was a hot mess who didn't rehearse with the band, was probably drunk or high, and annoyed the hell out of the musicians because he would launch into a song no one knew and expected them to play along. GENIUS!
Next up, a nervous someone asked if Zach liked being hit by Yvonne alot. Zach played it cool, telling the producers to just have her slap him because he could take it. However he hadn't taken into consideration that the way they shoot was to do multiple takes. Heh, brought it upon his own self. Partly through the explanation Zach stopped to ask in confusion why the person who asked the question why are she was walking away when she'd just asked me a question! It was really cute.
The next person thanked the show for the Legend of Zelda reference as she was a big fan. She asked if the cast could be another character from the show, who would it be? Josh wondered if she meant from the show. Said Zach, 'Yeah from our show, because I would want to be The Twilight Princess.' Josh then grinned and said, 'I would want to be Sarah Lancaster and stare at myself all day.' He paused. 'And take showers twice a day.'
Yvonne meanwhile smiled and said she wanted to be Lester. The shock was so stunning, a few people were heard to stutter in disbelief. She then hurriedly explained it was because Lester's so funny, but erm yeah, okay.
Adam was happy to claim Captain Awesome. Again, for Sarah Lancaster. But on second thought, he picked Chuck instead. And Zach returned the favor by saying he'd want to be Casey. Aww, they're just too precious for words.
We finally came to the last question, which had the potential for so much gossip when the cast was asked what was the most embarassing moment on set. Zach noted there was almost too many to count, though Yvonne said they didn't get embarassed. The word 'shameless' was thrown about, hmm. But it eventually came down to Adam to throw us a bone when he said it had to be when Zach kissed him. 'Yeah,' Adam said, 'Sucking face with Zach was embarrassing.' Zach had this look of indignation. 'That's news to me!' He then termed it 'awkward'. Not content to let it die, Adam grimly said, 'Just do it hard and fast.' The hall exploded in laughter. 'C'mon,' he said to the audience who was clearly having their minds in the gutter. 'A hard and fast kiss!' *snerk* I swear he was enjoying this.
Although that was it for the Q&A, Zach noted that there was still people in line and somehow managed to get one more question slotted in. The lucky audience member asked Yvonne what her favourite part of playing Sarah was, other than the kick-ass part. For Yvonne it's doing the fun comedy and romance stuff. She spoke about how there's more to the character, and she enjoys the opportunity to explore that. Good stuff, and I absolutely agree. As much as I like the mysterious spy to remain mysterious, I like how Yvonne is making Sarah connect with the audience and allows us glimpses of what she'd be like, if not a spy.
And that was it. The audience was thanked for coming by, we cheered, and the panel ended. I was SO glad I made it out that afternoon. To think I was going to go to the Brubaker/Fraction panel instead. I love those guys, but honestly I had much more fun with the Chuck cast and am filled with excitement for what's coming up next.