By Stacey Harrison
OK, so Heroes fans are scary. The 11-member panel (yes, Zachary Quinto and Hayden Panettiere were there) drew rabid response from the packed Indigo Ballroom in the Hilton Bayfront. Security was tight and more than one fan asked for a hug and/or autograph (a big no-no in Comic-Con Q&A rules). Not bad for a show that has supposedly fallen out of favor.
But it had some competition. The panel right before it was for Glee, which FOX premiered last spring to an amazing reception. Buzz has been building for months about this quirky high-school set comedy that follows the trials and tribulations of a teacher struggling to assemble a glee club. Reminiscent of Election and Freaks and Geeks — don’t you dare say High School Musical — it seems to answer the prayers of all those musical theater geeks who never had their say. The audience got to see the entire second episode, which didn’t dawdle. A lot of story lines that, on other shows, might have been dragged out for an entire season, took major leaps forward. But as anyone familiar with executive producer Ryan Murphy’s other show, Nip/Tuck, the man is not averse to packing several weeks worth of story into a single episode.
Here’s a roundup of what was spilled about Glee, Heroes, True Blood and Sanctuary.
Glee
- In the second episode, Mr. Schuester must get his show choir enrollment up to 12 from 6 (or 5-and-a-half, according to the insensitive cheerleader coach Sue Sylvester, in referring to the wheelchair-bound Arte)
- Among the show-stoppers viewers will see are Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” Salt-n-Pepa’s “Push It,” Dionne Warrick’s “Say a Little Prayer for You,” Van Halen’s “Jump,” as well as numbers by Barbara Streisand and the Rolling Stones
- Guest stars this season will include Kristin Chenoweth, who will sing a Heart song, Josh Groban (who will not sing at all), Debra Monk, Eve and Victor Garber
- A soundtrack for Glee will be released in November, and the cast is set to go on a 10-city tour, stopping at Hot Topic stores
Heroes
- “Volume V: Redemption” (which is actually Season 4), begins with the heroes going back to their regular lives. But a new threat arises by a shadow group of people with abilities who have been in hiding. They’ve been using a traveling carnival as their cover. New cast members include Robert Knepper (Prison Break) as the Carnival’s reluctant leader, Samuel, who is an earth-mover; Dawn Olivieri as Lydia, whose shifting tattoos have empathetic powers; Ray Park (a.k.a. Darth Maul) as Edgar, a knife-thrower with super speed; Madeline Zima (Californication) as Gretchen, Clare’s new friend at college who becomes a confidante and, from the looks of the preview, a friend with benefits; Swoosie Kurtz as a new threat to the Petrellis
- Hiro’s terminal illness causes his powers to go out of control, leading to a lot more time traveling
- Peter discovers new powers
- Creator Tim Kring promises fewer stories, but told more deeply
Sanctuary
- Star Amanda Tapping will step behind to direct an episode (“Veritas”) of the Syfy show’s second season
- One episode will show an apocalyptic vision of the future, and the Sanctuary in decay
- A new character named Kate Freelander, played by Agam Darshi, joins the group. She’s a mercenary who brings a different dynamic to the cast
- Tapping will reunite with her Stargate costar Michael Shanks in an upcoming episode
- The season finale will show the Tokyo Sanctuary
True Blood
- The love triangle between Sookie, Bill and Eric will play out as it does in Charlaine Harris’ books
- Writer/executive producer Alan Ball said a Tru Blood soft drink will be available Sept. 10. He described it as “blood orange,” but it’s unclear whether that’s the flavor or the color.