2009 Comic-Con: Chuck Versus Rockband at Comic-Con

By Fused Film Staff • July 26, 2009 • 8 Comments

I sure hope the suits at NBC will take notice of the Beatles-esque treatment the folks from Chuck received Saturday at Comic-Con. Just the line to get into the Chuck panel was insane: thousands of people filling a large hallway then moving outside wrapping around a landing before winding down the stairs to the lower level and all around a large courtyard and then back up again for more switchbacks. It appeared that hundreds of Chuck fans (some festooned in “Jeffster” shirts) were turned away. Fortunately, I was not among that lot. But by the time I did get in, the panel had already been going for about 20 minutes (more on the panel in another article.)

My first impression was that there was as much or more electricity in that room than anything that I had seen in the main auditorium (Hall H) over the previous 2 days. I’m sure some of that can be attributed to the charisma-sucking qualities of the cavernous Hall H, but mostly it was the passionate fervor of the Chuck fans. Except for the Twilight hysteria generated by the “Twerds” (name courtesy of Jessamyn and Marilyn) who comprised less than half of the audience and the brief bursts of excitement when Johnny Depp and Robert Downey, Jr. made appearances, nothing matched the sustained passion of the Chuck fans.

I think that the difference in the fan reaction can be attributed to a couple of things: Chuck fans feel a heightened level of empowerment and ownership in the show due to the success of the “Save Chuck” campaign and the fans genuinely like the cast and have become emotionally invested in them as people, not just their characters. The Twilight phenomenon is mostly limited to pre-teen and teenage girls and the Depp/Downey thing didn’t seem to represent affection as much as excitement over their surpassing fame.

Once the cast and creators made the trek down to Exhibit Hall floor to sign autographs, the craziness continued. Due to space constraints in the aisles next to the signing area, the line was opened (and capped) before people could even make it down from the panel. So, hundreds of people continued to pour in in hopes of getting autographs only to be told that the line was already closed. Many left, but hundreds stayed just to catch an up-close glimpse of their favorite stars. It was bedlam. Cameras flashing. Fans screaming. True rock star status was bestowed upon them, which was a bit of foreshadowing I suppose given the fact that the culmination of the Chuck portion of the day was when Zachary Levi, Joshua Gomez and Adam Baldwin convened on stage to play the game Rock Band (“You Give Love a Bad Name” was the song choice) much to the delight of the crowd. Fortunately, I have this whole episode on video and will put it up on the site on Monday.

On a refreshing note, this level of affection from the fans seems to be genuinely reciprocated. A prime example of this was evident when Zachary Levi first came down to the Exhibit Hall to sign autographs. The girl standing next to me was holding a hand drawn picture of him and it caught his eye. She asked if she could come over there to give it to him but the staff refused. When he saw what was happening, he got up from his seat and waded through the photographers and made his way over to her. It was a very classy thing for him to do and nicely encapsulates the feelings the cast and creators have for the fans. We have video of this as well, and it too will be on the site shortly.

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