“Lost” opportunities or How to have an extra- “Ordinary” time at this year’s Comic-Con

Jim Hill

14 years ago

With Preview Night at this year's Comic-Con just getting underway,
let me offer up a quick cautionary tale to all attendees.

Before Nancy and I headed out to San Diego back in 2004, we
carefully went over that year's schedule. Cherry-picking all of the panels
& programming events that we wished to attend.

But then came Preview Night. Which was so crowded & so
crazy that the two of us were completely exhausted by the time we got back to
our hotel.

Which is why – when the alarm went off at 6 the following
morning – I hit the snooze button. Figuring that – what with how busy the next
four days were going to be – that we could use the extra sleep. Which is how we wound up missing out the very first panel that we wanted to see on Thursday. Which was where
ABC was going to screen the pilot of this brand-new hour-long drama.

Maybe you've heard of this show since ? "Lost" ?

Yep, because I wanted to grab a few more Zzzs, Nancy and I
missed out on being among the first to sample the wonder & the weirdness of
this Emmy Award-winning series.

I bring this up now because … Well, as it turns out, ABC is
showcasing another brand-new hour-long drama – "No Ordinary Family" — at this
year's Comic-Con. And where this gets interesting is that the pilot episodes of
"Lost" & "No Ordinary Family" both feature a plane crash which then has
this profound impact on all of the characters who appear on this program.

(L to R) Michael Chiklis, Julie
Benz, Jimmy Bennett, Kay Panabaker and Tate
Donovan from ABC Studios' new
series, "No Ordinary Family." Photo by Eric
McCandless. Copyright 2010 American
Broadcasting Company, Inc.
All rights reserved

Anyway … With the hope that they'll then be able to get some
good buzz about this new action drama, ABC is setting up this really crazy "No
Ordinary Family" booth at the San Diego Convention Center. Where Comic-Con attendees
can come through and – thanks to their new-found super strength — lift up a
full-sized car. What's more, they can then have their picture taken and walk
away with a free souvenir photo of this amazing feat.

Mind you, there are other swag-eriffic reasons that you
should make a point of dropping by Booth 3921. For – over the course of the
four days of Comic-Con — ABC will be giving away "No Ordinary Family" backpacks
& t-shirts. And then – at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 24^th — Michael
Chiklis and Julie Benz will be in the booth autographing full sized posters
from this new ABC show.

Speaking of those"No Ordinary Family" t-shirts … Keep a
sharp eye out as you're walking the exhibit hall floor. For ABC reps will –
without notice – be handing out tees for this show to Comic-Con attendees.

And if you really, really, REALLY want a "No Ordinary Family"
t-shirt, then you should probably head on over to the Cine Café at 412 K Street
and order a "No Ordinary Hero" sandwich.
For the first 100 people who come back to Booth 3921 with the wrapper
from their "No Ordinary Hero" sandwich will then get a free t-shirt.

Okay. Enough with all the free t-shirt talk … If you're more
interested in learning more about "No Ordinary Family" (the series) than you
are in scoring swag, ABC will be airing the pilot episode in Room 6A on
Saturday, July 24^th starting at 3:15 p.m. Immediately after this
screening, there'll then be a brief Q & A with Chiklis & Benz as well
as this series' executive producers Greg Berlanti, Jon Harmon Feldman and David
Semel. What's more, everyone who attends this "No Ordinary Family" panel will
then receive an exclusive t-shirt that will not be available anywhere else at
Comic-Con!

(Alright. I promise. No more talk about Comic-Con swag.
Anywho …)

So don't make the same mistake that Nancy and I made back in
2004 and then miss out on the chance to see something cool like the world premiere of "Lost." When you
make out a schedule for Comic-Con, stick to that schedule. That way, the time
that you spend inside of the San Diego Convention Center now through Sunday
afternoon will be anything but "Ordinary."

Your thoughts?