I spent this past weekend at WonderCon in San Francisco, the comic book and popular culture convention operated by the same folks who put on the giant San Diego Comic Con every July.  It is a mid-sized convention, but the presence of Hollywood has been growing every year.  Last year TV shows from Dollhouse to Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles all had strong showings and this year looked to be no different.

From early screenings of episodes of Human Target, Caprica, and Fringe, to a convention floor filled with autograph opportunities such as The Incredible Hulk‘s Lou Ferigno, to Firefly fan fave Adam Baldwin, and a host of legendary pro wrestlers, there was something for every TV addict.  Even Larry Thomas, Seinfeld‘s “Soup Nazi,” was there signing, I kid you not, soup ladles!  Fan clubs for Jericho and Firefly were selling merchandise while great panels on TV writing and the composers of shows like Heroes and Pushing Daisies were happening all day.

All this was enough to make a guy thirsty.  Thank God there were samples of TruBlood from HBO’s True Blood being served out by “waitresses” from Merlotte’s!!  It is of course not actually blood like, and not really that tasty either, but a neat little promotion from comic publisher IDW as they announced their upcoming True Blood line of comics to premiere in San Diego this July.

On Saturday, I sat in on a screening for the new ABC show Happy Town, set to air on April 28th at 10pm.  Along with Doctor Who, this was one of two premiers at this year’s WonderCon, and while Who blew me away, even with no expectations at all, I felt Happy Town was a miserable failure.

Am I being too harsh?  Perhaps, but judging from the level of laughter in the 5300 seat room aimed at the show not the jokes, I’m not alone.  Billed as a Twin Peaks style mystery, Happy Town is the kind of thing that got greenlit in the network’s desperate attempt to try and hold on to the Lost audience after the show bows out.

The series follows a small town, Haplin, where a “Magic Man” is believed responsible for the disappearance of numerous townsfolk over the years.  There is a cranky sheriff, his not quite committed to the badge son, a bunch of wives that all look a like including Dollhouse‘s Amy Acker, a dude from Wings (Steven Weber) who owns the towns main supply of jobs, the “Our Daily Bread” company, and something called Thaw Fest.  Excited yet?  Me neither.  But hey, someone is killed and there’s all these graffiti questions marks and a mysterious movie man played by Sam Neill…

yeah mystery!  Oh, is that a peanut on the ground!  I think I’ll watch that instead.

When a teenage girl whines about her “Romeo and Juliet” relationship (a reference so obvious, the writers had to acknowledge it or otherwise they’d be laughed at… although they were anyway), the giggles were deafening.  The dialog is easily the most atrocious thing about the show.  I can give them all the mystery beats and forced story elements if they want them, but when your characters sound like morons, there’s not much I can do to save you.  The lines are sophomoric attempts to create a setting, failing far more than they succeed, which is twice.  The lead, Geoff Stults, was much funnier on the panel than he was in the show.

Once Happy Town rolled credits, the Q & A started.  It was not kind.  They got some very critical and appropriate questions from the crowd but one was left out that I’m curious about.  How come if your whole show is predicated on it being a small town does the Sheriff’s office have a staff of like 40 people complete with a cheap suit wearing Law and Order inspired black detective who says crazy things and made a joke about his balls?  Have you ever seen a small town sheriff’s station?  Cause thanks to about a hundred other TV shows, the rest of America has and there’s usually about three people working in them.

From Josh Appelbaum, the guy who ruined Alias, Happy Town is rife with problems.  At only eight episodes, it will play out, but based on the pilot, I cannot see it getting fan support necessary to move ahead.  Especially with the budget they’re blowing on the Sheriff’s station!  Seriously, it irks me.

To wash my mind of Happy Town, I sat in on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars panel where director Dave Filoni talked a little about an upcoming “Godzilla sized” monster coming to the show and the difficulty of squeezing the classic film Seven Samurai into a 22 minute CW episode. Daniel Logan made his first official appearance promoting his return as the animated young Boba Fett and from the little he revealed, Boba’s three episode arc looks fantastic.  Let’s just say Mace Windu better keep his eyes open!  At the end of the panel, it was funny to see how Dave has kind of turned into George Lucas for kids.  He was mobbed by young fans wanting pictures and autographs!!  He deserves it, that show is amazing.

What doesn’t irk me is Chuck, and Sunday brought a panel and day early screening of the episode “Chuck vs. The Other Guy.”  Fans of the show are rabid, and while its future is up in the air, it was obvious from the shows creators and attending stars Zachary Levi and Adam Baldwin, that they have a passion and commitment to the series.  The episode they showed was originally designed to be a season finale and was very satisfying for the fan inside me.  They urged fans to watch the show live to bolster their numbers and joked about the supporting cast members.  It was very lively and upbeat, and I hope the show will continue on next season.

All in all a very busy show for television fans.  Comic conventions across the country have been great at adding content like this to their shows, so keep an eye out for one in your area and you just might get to meet Denise Crosby from Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Yeah, jealous?  Thanks WonderCon, see you in San Diego!!