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As always, lots going on at SDCC - as you can see from all the posts on the site. There is lots to do at SDCC besides watch panels and previews. I spent some time today in the crush in the exhibit hall. Cosplayers were out in force today, and there were many, many wonderful costumes. There are also lots of special activities put on by the various shows, such as the Sleepy Hollow experience or having your picture taken as a Viking or zipping through Gotham on a zipline. I started my day flying a drone at the 24 experience. They were super nice - and I managed to land the drone without breaking it!
Due to scheduling and the fact that there were even more people in attendance today, I was only able to catch two panels today - both for SyFy shows: Helix and Defiance.
Stephen Maeda, Ronald D Moore, Kyra Zagorsky, Jordan Hayes, Neil Napier, and Mark Ghanime. Maeda and Moore promise that the show will continue to feature 1 day per episode, to be darkly comedic, and to keep the audience guessing with its twists and turns. There may be a time jump between episodes as it did in the first season. There will be a new location - which they did not disclose, although they did tease that it was on an island. They did show concept drawings for two sets - they couldn't show more because they haven't started shooting the second season. One of the drawings was a greenhouse of sorts, but the other seemed like a distinctly British hall, leading me to believe that the island could be the British Isles - England, Scotland, or Ireland...
Maeda and Moore stressed that viewers often don't get enough credit for being as smart as they are. They praised the network for letting them under things and trust the audience to work it out. Zagorsky said that she researched a lot of the technical terms to help with the pronunciation - so she'd know at least somewhat what she was saying. Jordan was crowned Queen of the technical jargon, however. Maeda and Moore discussed their music choices, saying they wanted a jarring juxtaposition - so the music creates a sense of unease as it isn't simply the regular horror type cue.
The cast and producers certainly seem to have a great relationship. There seems to be a fair bit of collaboration as Napier said the actors felt supported and heard by the writers and producers, and Moore said that like any show, writers will write to the actors' strengths once they start seeing them in a role. Peter and was actually supposed to die, and Jordan was supposed to be more duplicitous than she ended up being. Sarah's pregnancy will feature prominently in the new season.
I was only able to see the beginning of the Defiance panel as I had to head to the press room for interviews - be sure to look for that post in a day or two! The panel had Kevin Murphy, Grant Bowler, Tony Curran, Stephanie Leonidas, Jamie Murray, Julie Benz, and Jesse Rath. We were told that Amanda will clean up her act, but she's still surrounded by people who may not have her best interests at heart. The E-Rep are not going to be ousted out of Defiance by the end of the season. Pottinger was not the one who raped Amanda. We will find out in season three who did rape her.
The show hasn't received a pick up yet, so if you like the show, make sure you watch it and encourage others to watch it. In addition be sure to get online and tweet about the show including a hashtag (#Defiance) or even (#RenewDefiance). They should - and need to - hear in a couple of weeks.
Tony Curran said he enjoys playing Datak as down and out because it gives the character something to fight against and overcome. There may be troubled times ahead for Irisa and Nolan. Stephanie said she felt isolated from the rest of the cast because she shot so many of her sequences without them. Bowler described Nolan as Kevin Murphy's Don Quixote. Rath refused to pick one of his "parents" over the other, saying there was a bit of both Stahma and Datak in Alak. Murphy pointed out that Alak and Tommy were the most human and the ones that the audience would/should identify with most.
Linda Hamilton will be doing an arc as Pilar McCauly. Murphy promised flashbacks to where all the aliens came from - eventually. There will be a flashback episode in season 3 that explores what everyone was doing during the Pale Wars. Jesse Rath lamented that he's never recognized in public. He told a great story about being in a record store with a friend when a customer came in and thanked his friend for telling him about Defiance. The customer had watched the whole first season and love it. When his friend pointed at Jesse, the customer looked at him and asked, "Oh, do you watch it too?"
Don't forget to look for my interview posts - lots more interesting tidbits to come! You can also follow me on twitter deangirl1 though coverage at the Con is sketchy at best. You can watch part of my drone flight below - a big thanks to Fox and 24Drones!
