As SYFY celebrates its 25th anniversary and its recent brand reboot, the network is headed to San Diego Comic-Con bigger and better than ever before. In addition to 15 SYFY series panels or screenings, the network is rolling out a host of events, activations and parties designed to leave no fan behind. And SYFY will once again extend the fun to fans nationwide, with a three-night live TV event,SYFY LIVE FROM COMIC-CON, hosted by Zachary Levi.
“San Diego Comic-Con is the pinnacle event of the year for sci-fi enthusiasts, and as the only network dedicated to the genre 24/7, we can’t wait to celebrate in a big way,” said Alexandra Shapiro, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital, USA Network and SYFY. “SYFY is going to San Diego this year with a singular focus: to put fans first.”
SYFY’s SDCC takeover includes:
PANELS AND SCREENINGS!
15 SYFY panels and screenings, including:
- A frakking great BATTLESTAR GALACTICA reunion! With creator Ron Moore and cast from the hit series.
- The ultimate sci-fi debate throwdown! Moderated by John Hodgman, the biggest names in the sci-fi universe duke it out over the most influential moments, milestones and people in the genre’s history. In “SYFY Hosts the Great Debate,” our expert panel will have the final word (or not!) on important topics like: “Star Trek” or “Star Wars”? Did Han or Greedo shoot first? And just who was the most influential captain of all time?
- Panels for 11 SYFY shows! Including:
- o SYFY’s upcoming Superman prequel series KRYPTON and the graphic novel adaptation HAPPY! (KRYPTON panel is co-hosted with Warner Bros. Television Group, and HAPPY! is co-hosted with Universal Cable Productions)
- o Stars and creators of current SYFY hits THE EXPANSE, THE MAGICIANS and 12 MONKEYS (THE MAGICIANS and 12 MONKEYS panels are co-hosted with Universal Cable Productions)
- o Fan favorites SHARKNADO, VAN HELSING, WYNONNA EARP, Z NATION and DARK MATTER — and upcoming new series GHOST WARS(All panels hosted by their respective studios)
- Two big screenings! SYFY and Universal Cable Productions are screening an all-new episode of the grindhouse series BLOOD DRIVE and the premiere episode of “NO-END HOUSE,” the next installment in SYFY’s hit horror anthology CHANNEL ZERO.
EVENTS AND ACTIVATIONS!
- SYFY fan parties! Stripping away the exclusivity of traditional Comic-Con parties, SYFY is throwing two nights of first-come-first-served bashes. Hosted at the Children’s Museum on Thursday, July 20 and Saturday, July 22, the themed parties feature photo booths, hourly surprises, live performances and more.
- Superfan nuptials! Who says Comic-Con isn’t romantic? Actor Orlando Jones makes fans’ dreams come true, as he presides over pop-up nuptials at TBD locations throughout the weekend.
- Trivia trolleys! Test your sci-fi knowledge and compete to win prize money and other giveaways on SYFY trolleys roaming the streets of San Diego.
- Cosplay karaoke buses! Take the stage – and the mic – to belt out your favorite sci-fi theme songs on SYFY buses traveling throughout the city. You might even be surprised by one of your favorite stars!
- Cosplay repair carts! Get an expert makeup touch-up or costume repair at these roaming carts, designed to ensure that all cosplaying ‘con-goers are at their camera-ready best.
- A SYFY drumline! A drumline marching through the streets of the Gaslamp Quarter, playing sci-fi theme songs and commemorating major moments in science fiction history? Yes, please.
- The Nerd Party lives on! SYFY is partnering with Zachary Levi to co-host his annual invitation-only Friday night party.
ROUND-THE-CLOCK COVERAGE!
- Levi will host SYFY LIVE FROM COMIC-CON, a three-night live television event that allows fans across the country to experience the best Comic-Con has to offer, dissect breaking ‘Con news, and hear from their favorite stars and creators. Airing Thursday, July 20 through Saturday, July 22, the live event is produced by Wilshire Studios.
- SYFY WIRE’s intrepid reporters and correspondents are providing 24/7 coverage of all the breaking news from the ‘Con, online via www.syfy.com and on air on SYFY (including SYFY LIVE FROM COMIC-CON).

TV
Top Ten Times Willow was the Worst

With all the discourse surrounding the much anticipated Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, not
to mention Sarah Michelle Gellar’s and Alyson Hannigan’s joint interview on the Today show
discussing the show’s legacy! Many fans have revised their opinions on some of the
original show’s titular characters. One such character is Hannigan’s own, Willow Rosenberg. Once seen as the shy, lovable, nerdy sidekick, now her image is less than rosy. Manipulative? Petty? And maybe worst of all: a bad friend.
10. Easing us in with a somewhat annoying one. In Season 6, Episode 11, ‘Gone’, it is
morning in the Summers household. After throwing out most of Willow’s magical stash as
the fallen wiccan tries to go cold turkey with her magic addiction (more on that later). Buffy
is post-traumatic-resurrection trying to keep it all together after a night of hot,
passionate…fighting with a vampire. Willow appears to be living in the Summers’ home rent-free and is cooking Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) an apology omelette. She is making a
mess while cooking, as one does, but leaves her traumatised friend to clean up after her! Poor
Buffy (you’ll hear that a lot) was just lambasting herself for not noticing Willow’s self-
inflicted downfall. Buffy is literally chopping off her own hair in distress, and no one notices!
The audacity!
9. In Season 3, Episode 2, ‘Dead Man’s Party’, Buffy has returned to Sunnydale after her
secondment in LA. After a traumatic year, Buffy clearly just wants to hang out with her
friends like a regular teenager. Willow agrees to meet Buffy in town to re-bond over
shopping. Yes, Willow did say earlier in the episode that she had school work that she would
have to rearrange, which is fair enough, but at least cancel instead of leaving poor Buffy
(see?) sitting alone waiting for you!

8. Anya (Emma Caulfield), the ex-vengeance demon, was treated pretty coolly by the
Scoobies. Willow was clearly jealous of Anya’s relationship with Xander (Nicholas
Brendon), taking Xander’s attention from her. Throughout the final seasons, Willow treated
Anya like an annoyance at best and undermined her with cruel remarks at worst. In no
episode was this more obvious than Season 5, Episode 11, ‘Triangle’. Willow is brazenly
stealing spell ingredients from Anya’s and Giles’s (her friends) small business. Willow even
says herself she is not “stealing”, she is “…just taking things without paying for them. In what
twisted dictionary is that stealing?”.
Willow comes off as a bully throughout this episode, cruelly mimicking Anya and trying to
make Xander choose between his childhood best friend and his girlfriend. I want to mention
that not only is Willow gay, but has her own girlfriend at this point. So her possessiveness of
Xander comes off as particularly childish.
7. Willow’s irresponsibility with magic becomes a large feature of the series. Even her most
ardent fans can’t explain what she was thinking in Season 5, Episode 17, ‘Forever’ when she
draws Dawn’s attention to a dark spell book. This book encourages 15-year-old Dawn to raise
her mother from the dead. Culminating in what is, in my opinion, one of the creepiest scenes
in Buffy: the shadow of zombie Joyce walking past Summer’s curtained window, returning
home. Presumably, Willow knew the dangers but was fine with a child dabbling in dark
magic.
6. Back to Season 3, Episode 2 ‘Dead Man’s Party’. After not being satisfied standing Buffy
up, she also wants to rant at a clearly distressed Buffy that Willow’s now got a boyfriend and is
practicing witchcraft, AND had no one to talk to about it when Buffy ran away. Bear in mind
that Buffy had to stab her boyfriend through the heart and send him to Hell after months of
his evil alter ego psychologically torturing her. But Willow needs her gal pal.
Very similar to Season 7, Episode 19 ‘Empty Places’ when Willow joined the group pile on,
blaming poor Buffy (and again) for everything that’s gone wrong. And then throwing Buffy
out of her own house (you know the one she pays for?)! In the words of one Buffy fan ‘Y’all
hate her so much, why did you resurrect her?’
5. Going to my personal favourite season, Season 6 (I’m not arguing about it), Episode 10
‘Wrecked’. Willow is caught in the throes of magic addiction. Within the Buffy universe,
magic was a metaphor for lesbian sex, but the metaphor changes in Season 6 to substance
abuse. Willow takes Dawn to what is essentially a magical drug den and leaves her waiting
there for over an hour. Then, high on magic, he proceeds to not take Dawn home, instead
offering to teleport her back home. Willow then gets behind the wheel of a car with Dawn
while high and crashes the car.
Buffy was known to tackle social issues, and its handling of substance abuse was surprisingly
Realistic, mainly due to Alyson Hannigan’s amazing acting!

4. In Season 4, Episode 6, ‘Wild at Heart,’ we get to see the true darkness that appears to live
inside Willow. After being cheated on by her long-time boyfriend Oz (Seth Green), Willow
takes it upon herself to hex both Oz and his cheating partner, Veruca. She casts ‘in the name
of Hell’ wanting to break both their hearts and find no peace or solace…harsh. To be fair to
her, she does stop herself, but Willow, I appreciate you got cheated on, but we can’t just go
about hexing people.
3. And now to one of the best episodes ever! Season 6, Episode 8 ‘Tabula Rasa’ delivers
some serious comic gold, but the premise of the episode is rather disturbing. Despite
promising Tara (Amber Benson), her long-term partner, that she would give up magic for a
week, Willow casts a spell. Tara is understandably upset that the woman she loves cast a
memory spell on her to make her forget their arguments. Willow’s answer to this is to cast yet
another memory spell to make Tara forget the first memory spell (stay with me). Willow also tries to cast a spell on Buffy (you know her friend suffering from depression) to make her forget being in Heaven. As is a staple in the Buffy universe, the spell goes awry, making the whole gang forget who they are, leading to hilarious hijinks.
Yes, it’s one of the funniest Buffy episodes, but if the spell hadn’t accidentally been broken, then they all could have been stuck like that.
2. For such a trailblazing relationship, Willow and Tara have a lot of problems when
scrutinised. Almost everything stems from Willow’s overuse of magic. The relationship
gets darker the more you examine it. As Tara said in ‘Tabula Rasa’, Willow violated her
mind. Some fans have pointed out; not only was the flower Willow used to cast the forgetting
spell (Season 6, Episode 6) is in an oddly convenient place in their bedroom. This begs the
question: how many times has Willow cast these spells? Fans have also pointed out that if
Tara had sex with Willow after any spell was cast on her, she wouldn’t be consenting.
1. As a surprise to literally no one, the number one time Willow was a bad friend on top of
being completely irresponsible, resurrecting one Miss Buffy Summers. Now, many may
argue that after the finale of Season 5, ‘The Gift’, it would be understandable that Willow
would think Buffy was trapped in some Hell dimension.
Ok, let’s stay with that logic. Willow is aware that resurrection spells are extremely volatile,
presumably why the Scoobies have been planning it for weeks. Xander voices it perfectly, in
Season 6, Episode 1 ‘Bargaining Pt 1’, Buffy may try to “eat our brains”. Willow even
comments (Season 6, Episode 3) on how messed up Angel was when he came back from Hell.
Willow could have caused an emotional and physical catastrophe for them all by bringing
back a ‘wrong’ Buffy who still possesses super-strength and super-speed. Spike (James
Marsters) declares in the same episode that he shut down any idea Willow had about bringing
Buffy, back in case it went so badly, they would have to “get rid of what came back”. It’s bad
when the soulless vampire is more mature than you, isn’t it?

Willow Rosenberg is indeed a very complex character played expertly by Alyson Hannigan. Willow has her flaws, but it is those flaws that make her such a compelling character. I, for one, am very interested to see what they do with the character in the reboot.
Movie
Review: From the World of John Wick: Ballerina

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is a stylish and brutal addition to the ever-expanding John Wick universe. Set between the explosive events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, the film seamlessly slots into the timeline without feeling like a stopgap. Instead, it builds something fresh, introducing a new protagonist on a vengeful journey of her own.
Ana de Armas delivers a fierce and emotionally layered performance as Eve Macarro, a ballerina-trained assassin seeking justice for her family. While her motivations mirror Wick’s, the film avoids repetition by diving deeper into the Ruska Roma and High Table lore. It’s a testament to the world-building that this spin-off doesn’t just feel justified—it feels essential.
As expected, the fight choreography is at its peak—gritty, inventive, and ruthlessly beautiful. Every action set-piece hits with a kinetic energy that’s both thrilling and brutal. This franchise continues to prove that when it comes to stunt work and direction, it’s in a league of its own. Can the John Wick series really disappoint? So far, no.
The story is tight, the pacing brisk, and each supporting performance, especially the cameos from familiar faces, adds weight and continuity to the narrative. Ballerina proves that this universe is more than just one man’s war; it’s a whole underworld waiting to be explored.
With compelling characters, rich mythology, and jaw-dropping action, Ballerina is a strong 9/10—one of the best spin-offs in recent memory.
Movie
The Top 5 Movies of James Gunn — A Symphony of Heart, Humor, and Heroism

Few directors in the modern cinematic landscape have reshaped genre filmmaking quite like James Gunn. Known for blending irreverent humor with profound emotional depth, Gunn has left an indelible mark on both indie horror and superhero franchises. As he transitions into leading DC Studios, it’s the perfect time to revisit his five finest works—each a statement of his unique voice in an often formulaic industry.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Rating: 9.5/10
A rare sequel that deepens its characters rather than merely expanding its universe, Vol. 2 is Gunn at his most personal. The film wrestles with the pain of abandonment, the search for belonging, and the complexity of father-son dynamics—cloaked in vibrant visuals and a killer soundtrack. Yondu’s “He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn’t your daddy” line alone secures its legacy.

2. The Suicide Squad (2021)
Rating: 9/10
Chaotic, gory, and gleefully anarchic, The Suicide Squad is a wild remix of the superhero genre. Gunn injects pathos into misfits like Ratcatcher 2 and Polka-Dot Man, proving his unmatched talent for humanizing the bizarre. It’s a subversive spectacle that doubles as an anti-war allegory—with a giant alien starfish to boot.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Rating: 8.8/10
The film that redefined Marvel’s creative boundaries, Guardians took a gang of obscure comic-book characters and turned them into pop culture icons. With its perfect balance of humor, heart, and ‘70s mixtape vibes, it’s the origin story of Gunn’s mainstream rise and one of the MCU’s most beloved entries.

4. Slither (2006)
Rating: 8/10
Before superheroes and intergalactic misfits, Gunn gave us Slither—a grotesque and hilarious horror-comedy with serious B-movie charm. This film showcases his roots: practical effects, quotable dialogue, and an affection for the genre’s oddballs. It’s disgusting, delightful, and distinctly Gunn.

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Rating: 8/10
An emotionally charged finale to the Guardians trilogy, *Vol