Saturday and Day 4

Yesterday we waited in line for two and a half hours for the "Family Guy" panel in Ballroom 20. Due to the less-than-spectacular Hall H line turnout for most of the week, Ballroom 20 suddenly became the big wait to beat. Of course we had no idea this was going to happen because it's pretty rare that we actually go there for anything. Plus, even though "Family Guy" continues to be huge, I never would have expected gi-normous Hall H lines for that, "Futurama" and others that were scheduled right before and after it.

With a few worried moments about actually getting in to see the "Family Guy" panel, we just barely made it in the room four minutes before it began! Rebecca was dressed in her Consuela costume and had a question already formulated, asking Seth McFarlene if she could get her own spinoff show like Cleveland did. I kept a spot for her in the Q&A line which was seven or eight people from the front. Unfortunately, the questions people did manage to ask brought elongated answers from the panel which also included Seth Green and Alex Borstein. So Consuela didn't get to ask her question but was a big hit on the Exhibit Hall floor! She was nervous that people would not recognize her and that was NHL further from the truth. Many wanted photos of Rebecca in her perfect costume and persona, commenting on how the Mexican maid was one of their favorite characters.

Surprisingly, we ran into our friend Chili who was dressed as Stan Smith from "American Dad". We weren't really sure if he was going to be here as we hadn't spoken in a few weeks. Chili is the show's sound designer in real life and we met him at the "Back to the Future" 25th Anniversary event in November. He also hosts regular movie screenings as his home in The Valley.

After hitting the Exhibit Hall for most the afternoon, it was time for Kevin Smith's annual talk-fest in Hall H. I REALLY look forward to seeing and hearing him each year and as usual, he had some great detailed stories about his writing process. Certainly the big revelation is that he is about to direct his last film. But when he explained the reasons why it made a lot of sense. He's big into his Smodcasts right now and that had been an enormous writing and creative outlet. I've been really bad at catching up with the word of 'Tons of Fun' over the digital airwaves. But after hearing Kevin spin the tale of creative juices, I seriously want to make sure and hunt down Smith's show as well as propel a more regular schedule of the LA Filmcutter podcasts as well.

Right after Kevin Smith's panel we all reconvened up in our rooms to change and head out for our annual steak dinner at Chianti's Restaurant up the hill from the convention center. This time, Bill had offered in advance to take us out as a congratulations for getting engaged, which we really appreciated! Once again taking in the post day's event nightlife, we made our way back to the hotel in anticipation of getting in the Hall H line first thing this morning in anticipation for the "Doctor Who" panel that dominates today's activities.

Can't believe it's the last day of Comic-Con!! Each day has rolled along at a pretty normal pace, although yesterday seemed to fly by at an accelerated pace. But we're here in Hall H right now and wading through the "Glee" and "Supernatural" panels on our way to the Time Lord's big moment.