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Down and Nerdy: Comic-Con and "Torchwood: Children of Earth"

IN WHICH a massive gathering of nerds is discussed, and a heart-wrenching piece of television sci-fi is appreciated.

Briana's recommendation: Comic-Con!

Comic-Con is a hustle. You can’t knock it. This weekend (July 23rd – 26th) in San Diego, California all of your heroes will be together in one building. And you’re not going. Because it’s sold out. That’s right. Approximately 125,000 men, women, children, wookies, and cyborgs have already purchased tickets to the massive 4-day convention focusing on comic book, sci-fi/fantasy, film, television, and other related pop-culture arts. Safe to say, if someone dropped a bomb on the San Diego Convention Center this weekend, the world would lose like 85%* of its geeks.

But this isn’t just a weekend of nerd lollygagging. Now celebrating its 40th year, Comic-Con International: San Diego is a serious get together for professionals, creative types, and professional creative types. In addition to an endless array of art for sale, artists to meet, new films, books, games and television shows to preview, there are over 70 seminars and workshops offered to help you break into the industry.

Are you an animator who needs help putting together a tight portfolio so you can design comics for Marvel or DC? Industry professionals are on sight, ready to take your questions and review your work. Already have a comic ready for publication, but don’t know what the next step is? There is a session devoted to trademark and copywriting laws specific to comic book publication. Comic-Con: San Diego can also give you tips on screenwriting and film production, costuming, and voice-acting. There are seasoned professionals who can give you advice on how to pitch your idea to publishers, studios, and gaming companies. And even if you’ve never drawn as much as a stick figure in your life, you can learn the business of opening a comic book store.

BUT like I said, you’ll have to wait until next year. Plan now!

For more information on the event so massive they started their own blood drive and provide child care, visit www.comic-con.org.

*give or take 83%

James' recommendation: "Torchwood: Children of Earth"

All this week, BBC America has been running the five-part miniseries "Torchwood: Children of Earth," and I've gotta say, it's some of the best science fiction I've ever seen on television.

Torchwood is a spin-off of Doctor Who, but a lot less silly in its tone – you can think of it as a British answer to "The X-Files." Torchwood is the name of a secret British organization, more than a hundred years old, that monitors aliens and their technology (it turns out aliens have been visiting us for a long, long time, and our governments are good at hiding them).

Frankly, I never cared much for the show before, but the writing team has kicked it into high gear with this series. It's incredible.

The premise: It's a school morning in England, and kids are walking to school, playing in the playground, life goes on like normal. Then, suddenly, all over the world, every child freezes in his/her tracks. As the adults panic and try to figure out what's going on, the kids start to chant – in unison, in English – "We are coming … we are coming … back."

Picture that – every child in the world, speaking at the same time, saying the same ominous message. Bone-chilling! It's as good a set up as the Twilight Zone ever had, and the rest of the series is devoted to unraveling who is communicating through the children and why they are coming back. And the moral dilemma presented in episode 4 is gut-wrenching beyond words.

The complete series comes out on DVD this Tuesday. Seriously, this is really, really good.

Also, I must point out that the main female character, Gwen, is my current crush. It's all I can do not to post dozens of photos of her. So I'll keep it to this one. She is sooooo dreamy …

[podcast]http://archive.wfpk.org/Podcasts/20090724-nerdy.mp3[/podcast]