Best of #SDCC - Television

Comics News
Best of #SDCC - Television
By Dan Horn
July 28, 2014 - 16:13

Hannibal season 2 poster. Season 3 premiers in early 2015.

Hannibal

I've said it once and I'll say it again: NBC's Hannibal is one of the best shows on television. And one of the things that makes the show so fantastic is Brian Reitzell's astonishingly atmospheric soundtrack. At their Ballroom 20 panel, the showrunners announced that in early September Reitzell's soundtrack for Hannibal season 1 would be released in two volumes. Panel attendees were treated to a B-sides disc of tracks that whet our appetite for more. We were also given a look at the Season 2 DVD's outtakes reel. Head writer Bryan Fuller went on to detail the upcoming season 3, saying that the procedural elements of seasons 1 and 2 would be largely discarded, especially in the first half of the new season, which will be like a much different show that follows Hannibal Lecter and Bedelia Du Maurier's travels abroad. Raul Esparza also made an appearance at the panel, assuring fans that even after being shot in the face Dr. Chilton would be back for season 3. Eddie Izzard will be reprising his role as Abel Gideon as well, but only for a flashback sequence.

Community

The Community panel with Dan Harmon, Gillian Jacobs, Joel McHale, and others brought an abundance of wonderful news for fans. Since the show's cancellation by NBC, it has been picked up by Yahoo and new episodes will air weekly (and for free) on the Yahoo Screen app. Harmon said that he believed they'd start airing the new season after Christmas of this year, but also lamented that because of this schedule Community's fantastic Halloween and holiday episodes might not be viable any longer. Harmon also mentioned a Pokemon episode, but when the audience became excited about this prospect he backed off, asserting that it was only a joke.

Gotham

Fox's Gotham premiered its pilot episode at Comic Con this year, and for the most part it's a solid bit of television. Ben McKenzie's Jim Gordon isn't exactly the Gordon we've all grown so accustomed to in the comics or even in Chris Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, but McKenzie plays the character well. Other highlights include Robin Taylor's magnetic performance as Oswald Cobblepot and Dave Mazouz as a young Bruce Wayne. The show is also brilliantly cinematic and there's a timelessness to its imagery. But all is not right. Some of the writing is clunky. Donal Logue's Harvey Bullock is played straight out of "Bad Cop 101." However, the pilot strongly hints at a promising television series, and its one to keep an eye on.

Constantine

Full of dark delights, Constantine stays startlingly true to the Hellblazer comics that defined the character. Let's just say that casting for Constantine is about a good as it gets considering someone once thought Keanu Reeves could best portray the reluctant and irreverent British exorcist. David Goyer's writing can be really hit or miss, and he's kind of a jackass to boot, but here everything seems to working quite well in the story--that is, if we overlook the dubiousness of yet another heaven-and-hell supernatural thriller, and if we overlook the fact that the main character is not bisexual as he is in the comics. At least he (sort of) smokes, though. Right? NBC's Friday night prime-time slots are becoming a pretty fantastic haven for discerning nerds, and I think Constantine will be a welcome addition to the lineup, despite its few shortcomings.

The Flash

The CW debuted its second DC Comics television series at the con this year. The Flash spins right out of the popular Arrow series, and its pilot will air in October. While Arrow is a dark and gritty take on the superhero Green Arrow, The Flash pilot displays a lighter, campier superhero show. The pilot was very enjoyable but wasn't much more than escapism. However, I'm sure CW's Arrow crowd will be on-board for another solid superhero series.

The Walking Dead

AMC's The Walking Dead cast and showrunners fielded questions and unveiled the trailer for season 5. Jokes were made about the entire season occurring in the train car, inside of which everyone had been locked at the end of season 4, but from the looks of the trailer season 5 will largely follow the beginnings of a journey to DC. And we'll also find out what happened to Beth.

Game of Thrones

The Game of Thrones panel was a bit of a mess: too many actors on stage and not enough time for all of them to say much more than "hello." George R.R. Martin and the HBO series writers seemed cranky as they fielded numerous questions about what will happen when the show temporally eclipses the books. In the end all we really found out about the series is that some of our favorite characters from the books would be making their onscreen debuts in 2015. You can read more on the casting announcement at The Independent.

Evil Dead

During the surprise The Last of Us film panel, Sam Raimi briefly discussed plans to make an Evil Dead television series. He said that he was currently scripting the series with his brother and that Bruce Campbell was attached to the project in some way.

The Simpsons and Family Guy

Yes, there will be a Simpsons/Family Guy crossover. More on that at Rolling Stone.