SAN DIEGO - As always, the good ship Comic-Con comes with a lot of barnacles - offerings that really don’t belong at a convention dedicated to science fiction and fantasy but nonetheless come along for the ride. A good promotional opportunity has a way of making shame evaporate.
On Thursday, for instance, TV Land rolled out Roseanne Barr to discuss her classic sitcom, which stretched for nine seasons starting in 1988. (TV Land runs old episodes.) Also on the dais were Wayne Knight, a k a Newman from “Seinfeld,†who appears on “The Exes,†one of the cable channel’s new programs, and William Shatner, who has appeared on “Hot in Cleveland.â€
Mr. Shatner is Comic-Con royalty for “Star Trek,†but he quickly made it clear that Capt. Kirk would not appear. “I’m here for TV Land, TV Land, TV Land,†he said. He then repeated: “TV Land, TV Land, TV Land.â€
Opening day of Comic-Con has traditionally been packed with movie stars. This year, the big draws - Jennifer Lawrence, Sandra Bullock â€" were pushed closer to the weekend. Perhaps that accounted for the strong attendance at the TV Land panel: the 24,000-square-foot Indigo Ballroom was about 90 percent full.
Or maybe the crowd really did want to hear the show business veterans wax nostalgic about even older sitcoms like “All in the Family†and discuss how “Roseanne†tackled hot-button issues like same-sex marriage. Ms. Barr thanked attendees for “remembering old people, like ourselves.â€
“Does anybody have any weed?†she continued.
As for Mr. Knight, he announced that he was simply there to “pimp†his show.
Well, points for honesty.
