If you don't mind, allow me to backtrack a bit. Not wanting to overwhelm the attendees with so much to do and so much to miss while doing so much, WonderCon split the Hollywood talent: Movies on Saturday and television on Sunday. "Chuck," the television series about an accidental geeky super spy going through a quarter-life crisis on NBC and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," the televised story arc based off but not exactly related to the "Terminator" movies on FOX were the veterans of the television with their fans already established. CBS threw the upcoming murder mystery "Harper's Island" into the WonderCon crowd hoping to generate hype for the show before it airs.

Despite their differences, "Chuck" and "Chronicles" share uncanny similarities. Both are near the end of their second seasons and both are at a critical point. Neither of their respective studios have officially given either show a green light for the third season. In reaction, both shows claim to have shot a spectacular season finale that will either end the series on a high note or set things up well for the third season. Naturally, both shows hope to achieve a third season.

On Sunday before the television panels, I noticed several fellow Press members milling around a separate line from the attendees waiting for the panels. Thinking they were waiting for Press seating at the panel, I joined them. It turned out I stumbled onto the exclusive Press interview portion before the panels. People familiar with Traveling Valentine know that I am primarily a field observer, critic, sketch writer, and occasional performer. Communicating within my species is not my forte; never mind communicating with celebrity guests. But given my adaptability on the field, I usually wing it when necessary.

I first encountered the cast and writers of "Chuck." Adam Baldwin (Casey), Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah), and series co-creator Josh Schwartz started off by saying that the 3D episode is a one-off with no intention for others. Baldwin and Strahovski mentioned how quickly they learned the combat training for fight scenes. They can pick up the sequence and shoot within the same day. Strahovski does most of her own stunts, which leads to lots of bruises. Schwartz joked about other gimmick episodes of "Chuck" such as a musical episode. Yvonne and Adam were both flattered to see their likeness portrayed in the "Chuck" comic books. But with the busy shooting schedule, they spend more time reading scripts than comic books. Adam Baldwin discussed how he tries not to step out of his role despite his image as the straightlaced NSA agent with comedic sniping tendencies. Though he does speak well about Reagan. Josh says that while still in the dark about a third season, NBC acknowledges the value of the show and its appeal.

The guests shifted to another table and now I found myself talking to Zachary Levi (Chuck), Joshua Gomez (Morgan), and co-creator Chris Fedak. Chris stated that the season 2 finale will either wrap the series up well or launch it into a new game for season 3. Compared to the previous seasons, viewers witnessed growth in the characters--Morgan in particular. Gomez comments that his character has had a long journey and is still evolving to find his niche. When asked who is the nerdiest of them all, Adam's daughter commented that her father had the dancing ability of the basic white and nerdy guy.

With the "Chuck" guests departing for video interviews, the stars representing "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" took their places. The soft-spoken Summer Glau (Cameron) and series creator Josh Friedman had interesting things to bring up regarding the series. Josh admitted that "Desert Cantos" was the episode least liked by the writers. Season 2 is wrapped and Josh kept to his vision to "make the best episode on TV each week." Josh reminds people that "Chronicles" and the movies are two different animals that do not entirely go together. Despite the upcoming "Terminator Salvation," "Chronicles" will not attempt to merge with the movie. When asked if the final episode made him happy, he corrected that he would not be happy if the series ended and hopes its fans share the same sentiment. Summer stated that her complex character changed the dynamic of future human resistance leader John Conner's family dynamic. The insecurity she portrays and damaged chip challenged Cameron's identity and Summer's acting skills even more. Summer found comedy of "The Big Bang Theory" more difficult than the drama of "Chronicles." Summer remarked, "Comedy is precise. Every word determines whether it's funny or not."

After her successful run singing with Garbage, Shirley Manson (Catherine) liked the challenge of acting and took the role as a T-1001 Terminator posing as a CEO. "It was a new learning curve." She liked the silliness of being a human woman playing a cyborg posing as a human. Transitioning from musician to actress took some getting used to due to the different disciplines. As a musician, Shirley shows off herself through the emotion in her songs and lyrics. But as an actress, she has to hide herself behind the role she plays. As a favor to Josh, she covered the "Samson and Delilah" song during the "Chronicles" episode of the same name. Might I add, Shirley had a pair of cool high heeled shoes with mirrors in the front.

With both television interviews finished, I proceeded to the panels for the attendees. In contrast to their professionally friendly demeanors, on the panel stage all the stars were kicking back casually as they played off each other while answering questions. Adam Baldwin is an excellent comedic sniper with his one-liners as himself and as Casey. The guest stars for each episode manage to contribute bits of their unique talents into the episode in which they appear. Zachary showed off his geekiness when while answering a question about how much of his real life geekiness factored into the Chuck character, he veered off topic to rant about video games like RE5 and SFIV. The audience easily related to the fervor of Zachary's rant. For those who notice the bits of Comic-Con decor around Chuck's room, that is an intentional Easter egg for attentive viewers. When asked if Zachary liked getting slapped by Yvonne during the beginning episodes, he replied that he lived for it and she replied, "It's very satisfying for me." One interesting question for the panel was what character each cast member would rather play for a day. Josh answered Sarah so he could "stare at myself all day." Yvonne selected Lester because he was really funny. Adam initially chose Captain Awesome but switched to Chuck. Zachary in return, selected Casey. Adam's most embarrassing moment for the series was kissing Zachary. At the panel's end, Zachary acknowledged that without the audience, there would be no panel and the "Chuck" cast would have no jobs.

"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" began with a montage of footage ending with John Connor lying on top of Cameron. This sparked the first question of "What was THAT all about?" Creator Josh Friedman remained tight lipped, only hinting that not everything is reality. Most of the discussion revolved around contrasting Catherine and Cameron. From the squeaky clean and white settings of Shirley's Catherine character versus the dirty and distressed settings of Summer's character, it's a matter of time before the two eventually meet if they ever meet. Josh continued to hammer the point that "Chronicles" is not intended to follow the movie universe. He does not want to turn the series into a Terminator of the week format. The panel audience received Shirley well and welcomed her as an actress while simultaneously asking her when she would resume singing. Josh ended the panel proclaiming that sci-fi fans were the best fans in the world.