The Celebrity Panel:
How to get them to spill their deepest darkest secrets…
By Sarah Graner

Dallas. The crown jewel of the great state of Texas. The place conjures thoughts of such things as the grassy knoll, Walker, Texas Ranger, and provokes questions such as, “Who shot JR?” and, “Are there really places I can select my own cow before it is turned into a delicious steak?”

During my brief stay, I experienced strange and wonderful things I had never expected. Such as snow in Dallas and the utter pandemonium that ensues the moment a Texan gets being the wheel. There was a McDonald’s with chandeliers and fireplaces, and the best bourbon pecan pie I have ever eaten. Then there was the Dallas SciFi Expo: Much smaller than the like of Denver’s Starfest, and much more sedate. Half the primary cast of Firefly attended; we were graced with the presence of Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher and Ron Glass. Eliza Dushku also attended, however, the Firefly cast was much more interesting and engaging.

If you’ve never been to a panel before, expect to hear stories from the set, and what the cast does in their off time. Depending on the individuals, the panels can reveal personal stories about how they spent the night in jail in their boxers (such as Joe Flanigan of Stargate Atlantis) or end up being a discussion about their political beliefs (Sean Astin). The crew of the Serenity hosted an extremely enjoyable panel. The chemistry between them was almost tangible. Between Adam Baldwin’s stern glares and Jewel Staite and Sean Maher consistently breaking down into fits of giggles, and Ron Glass’ insistence he was good at yoga, the panel was fantastic. But what pushed me to the edge of hysterics was the interaction with the crowd. It didn’t help that the poor guy asking the question pronounced Alan Tudyks name in such a way that the maturity level of the whole room dropped from Sci-fi geek to 8-year-old boy. Which isn’t saying much.

The key to a good panel is the fan interaction. Just keep in mind that celebrities are real people, so there will be things they probably don’t want to talk about in public. So questions about family or other personal things are probably not wise, or questions about their plastic surgery. But sometimes the more random the question, the better reply you get. For example, the story about Joe Flanigan spending the night in jail in merely a pair of boxers was prompted by someone asking him about a night club stamp on his hand and making a smart-ass comment about it being a wild night. The audience was then regaled with the story about how he was arrested over an incident of an overdue ticket for speeding on a mountain bike.

This year at StarFest I am looking forward to seeing Jewel’s panel. I first saw her in The Odyssey (points for those of you who don’t have to look that up on IMDB) and since we are similar ages and I was a Nickelodeon addict, I watched most other shows she appeared in. Space Cases happened to also be one of the first scifi shows I watched religiously (and one my parents actually let me watch). Of course, later on came Firefly and Stargate Atlantis, and I was delighted to see her in my all-time favorite show, Supernatural, even if she did play a monster. I have yet to figure out if I have a question to ask her or if I will merely mention just how talented she is and thank her for doing a good job.

The StarFest Entertainment Convention will be held at the Denver Marriott DTC- April 20-22.