If you’ve never spent any time in San Diego, you don’t know what you’re missing; the weather is phenomenal, the food is outstanding and the scenery is top-notch. If you’ve never visited San Diego in July, however, you’ve never witnessed nerd-nirvana at its very best. San Diego Comic-Con has been holding its convention for 45 years, but in the last 15 or so, things have gotten particularly crazy. Not only has the attendance, programs and exhibit space grown explosively, the number of things to do away from the convention center has equally grown. One of the biggest and most popular of these off-site experiences is NerdHQ.

Started in 2011 by Chuck star Zachary Levi and his partner (and former Chuck props-guru) Dave Coleman, NerdHQ aimed to offer an alternative to the convention itself. The venue – which has moved around before finding what seems to be a permanent home at Petco Park – is a place where people can see the latest video game activations, get your picture taken with some of your favorite stars, pick up Nerd Machine (Levi’s company that runs NerdHQ) gear or take in a Conversation for a Cause panel.

In advance of this year’s iteration, Levi and his team turned to crowd-funding to assist with some cashflow shortfalls to ensure NerdHQ’s viability. This was a move that was met with a good deal of criticism, including some of my own. The campaign, launched on Indiegogo, seemed unnecessary and exploitive to some. While NerdHQ does donate a large chunk of money to Operation Smile in the wake of the event, the funds being raised were specifically for The Nerd Machine (a for-profit company) to run the show. The funding is generally sourced from sponsorships, which can make for some significant difficulties in trying to plan for something that could be pulled at the last minute due to a product delay (something that apparently occurred in 2013).

While the campaign did see some success (It raised over $335k via the “Flexible Funding” option at Indiegogo), it fell short of it’s $1million goal. Levi has been frank about the difficulties since the campaign’s end, saying multiple times that taking this type of request to crowd-funders was a bad idea. He believed his goal was misconstrued, and no amount of barnstorming (check out the comment section of that Bad Ass Digest post above and you’ll find Zach defending the campaign several times) would change the perception of those who weren’t fans.

The NerdHQ 2014 experience, however, was largely free of the drama. While I don’t agree with the whys and the wherefores of the campaign – and it sounds like Zach agrees it was a bad idea – I enjoyed the hell out of the time I spent at NerdHQ. I skipped the infamous dance parties (because I don’t dance in general, and I don’t understand how anyone’s feet can do that after a day at the ‘con) and admittedly spent little time on the concourse checking out the offerings there (Though I am sad I missed out on photo-op scaling the side of a faux-building Batman ’66 style). I did, however, attend as many of the Conversations as my schedule – and ability to click quickly enough to purchase advance tickets – would allow (I’m also appreciative of NerdHQ’s Press Relations staff helping me attend a couple I did not have tickets for). I have two major takeaways from those experiences.

First, the panels are generally pretty freaking awesome. I was a little curious about the first version of the schedule that was posted, as it seemed to be an odd collection as well as missing many of the staples of earlier years. By the time the schedule was complete – and they were adding panels throughout the weekend – the plan was obvious: offer more diverse programming to appeal to different demographics — and just how much time NerdHQ favorites like Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion and Yvonne Strahovski would be able to spend there (Spoiler Alert: A lot).

One of the great traditions that has developed is Fillion and Tudyk spending a good deal of time at their panels auctioning off “stuff” for Operation Smile. I’d seen replays of these (All of the Conversations are streamed live and available on YouTube after they air), but I’d never experienced one live. It. Was. Awesome. The tone was set early, as the bidding for a signed (Fillion and Tudyk) Firefly poster jumped from $500 to $1,000 in one bid. Just as Fillion called “Sold,” someone followed with $1,500 (Fortunately, there were two of these posters, and both bidders got it for $1,000). What followed was some of the craziest auctioneering I’d ever seen. You’ve got to watch for yourself (be on the look out for what happens to a hand towel, and how much it goes for):

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuL_YMmblEE

One of the other things that was impressive about NerdHQ was their amazing volunteer staff. You can’t run something as massive as San Diego Comic-Con or its smaller cousin without using volunteers; it’s just a fact of life. But the group of folks helping out at NerdHQ was just top-notch. They handled their tasks with aplomb, and seemed to be as happy to be there as the rest of us.

I’m not sure what the future holds for NerdHQ. If sponsorship funding is as tenuous as indicated, it’s a fun event that could easily disappear, which would be a damn shame. While it might be easy to look at the $260k raised for Operation Smile this year as “less” than $335+ raised via Indiegogo, I’m over that type of analysis (and that’s coming from someone who works full-time for a non-profit). NerdHQ does an amazing amount of things right, and that $260k is better spent there than on nachos during the day and drinks during SDCC late nights.

As the sun sets on San Diego, the first full day of Comic-Con 2014, too, comes to a close. The first day and a half of SDCC have been full of glamour and glitter, fashion and fame … wait, no, not Jem! (Though if the event continues to be the continuing evolution to a wider base of “Popular Culture,” it wouldn’t surprise me if Jem showed up next year.) Until then, however, CliqueClack will focus on whatever the SDCC planners have in store for us.

Michael and I spent the day getting our feet wet, traveling here and there across the San Diego Convention Center and out into the Gaslamp District, attempting to get a feel for everything going on (though, with nearly 30 years of SDCC experience between us – that’s my four years to Michael’s whole-lot-more – we know darn well there’s no way to experience it all). These, however, were some of the highlights:

• The week technically kicks off on Wednesday. I arrived in town early enough to partake in an adult beverage at Kansas City BBQ, where scenes from Top Gun were filmed (“SHOW ME THE WAY HOME!!”)
• Preview night always feels like a little more trouble than it is worth to me. I don’t covet the – admittedly cool – exclusive merchandise available on the floor so I’m in no rush. I did take a couple of minutes to check out the Outlander experience; while these types of things aren’t usually my style, I’m really looking forward to this new Starz show.
• Later, Michael and I stopped by the Enchantment under the SDCC Party thrown by our friends at the SDCC Unofficial Blog. These guys packed Henry’s Pub, creating one of the longest lines (compared to the size of the venue) I’ve ever seen at SDCC. We didn’t stick around long enough to score one of their swag bags, but their sponsors hooked them up!
• Thursday started with the pair of us having breakfast at Ascension Café. Every year Syfy themes out Mary Jane’s restaurant at the Hard Rock (though with Eureka’s departure, CafeDiem is a thing the past). They’ve done a great job with Defiance Café the last two years, but let’s be honest: I was there for the carbohydrates that the large stack of pancakes provided.
• I stopped by NerdHQ for Zachary Levi’s annual kickoff panel (known as Conversations for a Cause, based on the funds each event raises for Operation Smile). Levi has received criticism on several fronts for his crowdfunding campaign for this year’s event — some of it may be deserved, but more on that as I take a longer look at NerdHQ later next week. I will say this: I’m particularly impressed by how diverse the program is this year … as the schedule was first released, I scoffed at some of the decisions. But seeing how different the crowd was for that first panel vs. The Last Ship event I visited later, you can tell the intention was to attract different types of crowds.
• My press room of the day was sitting with the cast and crew of a new show premiering on TNT in late August, Legends. Sean Bean wasn’t able to make it, due to a wedding in the family (no matter how many times that one lady kept asking), but I particularly enjoyed Ali Larter and Tina Majorino’s take on their characters, and how the toll of the job of these types of Federal Agents has on their personal lives.
• Michael sat in with some of the folks involved in the next Toy Story special. While he had a blast talking with Kristen Schaal, he was particular impressed with composer Michael Giacchino (because, really … who wouldn’t be)?
• I’m loving TNT’s newest show, The Last Ship, so I took advantage of the opportunity to both talk to the cast and crew from the show, and watch their panel at NerdHQ – something you should definitely watch online … it wasn’t all people falling all over Adam Baldwin, I promise.
• But seriously, folks: I enjoyed them in both places; particularly with Charles Parnell, who plays Command Master Chief Hugh Jeter, and producers Hank Steinberg and Steve Kane.
• Michael, however, probably attended the event of the day: the press conference supporting the BluRay release of the classic Batman series. I’d heard rumor about some of the stories coming out of the room, but I can promise you he’ll be sharing a heck of a post about his experiences soon.

Tomorrow promises to be even more full than today, as we sit down with folks from The 100, Syfy’s Dominion and others, all while Michael and I try to keep each other out of trouble.

No promises.

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All week at Comic-Con, I’ve been trying to provide a post each evening covering the highlights of the day (Day One and Day Two). I’d known all along however, that I would probably fail at trying to complete one Saturday night. I was right.

That being said, now that it is Sunday evening and the con has come to a close, I can take the time to fill you in on the goings on of the last two days. Sunday is always the worst day at Comic-Con, primarily because it marks the end of the experience. It is a little tough knowing that next year’s convention doesn’t start for 360 days.

But enough of me whining; let’s get to the awesomeness of the last couple of days:

• Saturday morning was always going to be one of the best moments of the con, and reality lived up to the hype. Keith and I lucked into – I say “luck” due to the wonkiness of the NerdHQ ticketing process, and the fact that only 250 seats were available – tickets to the Joss Whedon event (part of NerdHQ’s very cool “Conversations for a Cause” series).
• The awesomeness of the Q&A was set right from the beginning. Zach Levi – the leader of all things NerdHQ – came out on stage to “host” the panel … but revealed to the audience via pantomime that he either had no voice left or needed to protect what little he had left for his Broadway gig. No worries; he asked a pal of his to step in, and out walks Nathan Fillion.
• I’d imagine that an hour with Joss would be great enough in and of itself. As you would expect, he is a genuinely funny, insightful and all around swell guy. But throw Fillion on stage with him, and you have struck gold. You can check out the video here.
• Quick Draw! and Cartoon Voices are two Comic-Con staples that most attendees – specifically those only coming for film and TV related content – would probably miss. Both are hilarious, and have truly become can’t-miss panels for me (The table read of Snow White during Cartoon Voices was worth the price of admission alone).
• Next I attended a series of TV panels: Person of Interest, Grimm and Revolution. All were great; I loved the camaraderie the Grimm cast showed, the smart “marketing” by the POI folks to play up the Prism controversy (and the announcement that Amy Acker was joining the cast full-time) and the fact that the folks from Revolution weren’t afraid to actually share some of the details of the upcoming season (Check out my live-tweeting of that and other panels at @CliqueClackTV).
• Saturday night ended with the NBC Party, which is always a good time. This I spent more time catching up with colleagues that write for other outlets than mingling with the talent; it is always good to catch up with friends you only see once or twice year. (We were going to go to the Serenity screening at NerdHQ, but it wound up being much less Fillion&Tudyk-y than we’d hoped)
• Sunday was a nice, quiet affair. Keith got a killer scoop in the Supernatural press room, while Michael and I screened the next episode of Under the Dome with the cast.

So ended another Comic-Con. It was a good trip, marked by doing more of what I would find fun rather than attending events specifically for the site. Each year, I refine that process a little, and will probably try a completely different approach next time around (Just like this year). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much fun I had palling around all week with my buddies Michael Noble and Keith McDuffee, as well as seeing a bunch of old friends like Kelly, CJ, Carissa, Alix, Jason and Amrie. Our Comic-Con experience is about so much more than what happens at the Convention Center.