Tom provided yesterday’s feature for the TV and movie fan. Today’s column may fall a little bit into that area as well, as I enlisted the aid of my non-comic reading wife, Michele, to give some tips. Michele’s been to the con three times prior to this year.

So take it away, Michele …

1. Scope out some panels you’d be interested in seeing. Or, at the very least, scope out some actors you’d be interested in seeing. The TV Guide “Hot List” panel (11 a.m. Saturday) caught my eye because of Billy Campbell and Skeet Ulrich. And Sendhil Ramamurthy will be at the Heroes panel (12:45 p.m Saturday), while Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles will host a Supernatural panel (2:45 p.m. Saturday). Josh Hartnett rounds out Saturday at the Columbia Pictures panel (5:15 p.m.), while Sunday’s Jericho panel (1:15 p.m.) gives you another chance to catch Ulrich, in case you missed him the first time.

But hot guys aren’t the only draw. There are a lot of other panels I’m interested in for some of my favorite TV shows, like Lost and the Simpsons. And just about any of the movie panels feature looks at upcoming films, from Indiana Jones to the Disney/Pixar film WALL•E. I’m also interested in the Popeye panel ( 5 p.m. Thursday), the Jim Henson Company panel (Friday at 4:15 p.m.) and the Bionic Woman panel (10 a.m. Saturday) purely for nostalgic reasons.

2. Do some sightseeing. Find another comic widow, and take the ferry over to Coronado Island for the day. Go check out the world-famous San Diego Zoo. Eat tortillas and have a margarita in Old Town. Do some shopping in Horton Plaza. Basically get out and see San Diego instead of fighting the crowds at the convention center, especially on Saturday. If you don’t have a car, there’s a trolley you can take around the city.

3. Get some R & R. Sleep in after your spouse gets up at the crack of dawn to get in line for a panel. Then have a leisurely breakfast and head to the pool to catch some rays while reading a book, such as the new Harry Potter.

4. Earn some brownie points. Whether it’s attending a comic book panel or hunting down an exclusive action figure, show them you care and do something for them. Who knows – you might discover something you like.

5. Turn on your iPod and people watch. Even if you aren’t as excited about attending as your spouse or significant other, take a seat and look around at all the other people who are excited to be there … it can be infectious.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 20th, 2007 at 10:00 am and is filed under Conventions, News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.