Guests from the hit show Resident Alien landed in the Marriott Atrium Ballroom on Sunday at 1PM. Meredith Garretson, Sara Tomko, Alan Tudyk, and Alice Wetterlund joined moderator Mike Crugnola for the panel, “Resident Alien Guests: Visitors from…Beyond” to share their experiences both on and off the set. Of the four panelists, only Tudyk has been to Dragon Con before. “This is amazing,” Wetterlund said of the con, “the greatest fans on earth!” All four guests admitted to also being nerdy fans. Garretson, Tomko, and Wetterlund got to meet Jonathan Frakes here. According to Garretson, they were so excited they were in tears. “I’m such a Trek fan,” she said.
What is Tudyk nerdy about? Yardsticks. When Tomko asked why yardsticks, Tudyk said because they used to be advertising tools and are remnants of businesses that closed long ago. They often had puns on them, and one even listed a business as an unlikely combination of funeral home/furniture sales. “I have over a thousand,” he said of his collection. Tomko turned to him incredulously and said, “I’m learning a lot about you.” After which Wetterlund informed him that her mom has a yardstick from Jimmy Carter’s home and Tudyk can have it… for the right price.
When asked how their Resident Alien characters feel about love, Tudyk said Harry both loves it and thinks it’s “the worst thing ever.” Tomko sees Asha as slowly learning how to love herself. Wetterlund talked about Darcy being able to accept love but needing to learn how to give love because it isn’t natural for her. Garretson noted that Kate resents love at first because it took her to this small town, away from her own job and life, but she’s slowly learning to make deeper connections with others.
Would they ever consider filming a musical episode? They were heartily in favor. In fact, Tomko has pitched the idea to producer Chris Sheridan, but he’s concerned that viewers might not “respect” it. Wetterland whipped out her phone and filmed the audience’s cheering approval of a musical episode she plans to show to Sheridan later. Tudyk said he’d like to sing an old Jerry Lewis song and proceeded to imitate the comedian’s voice while singing, “something awful… I can’t carry a tune.” With that comic performance, maybe Sheridan will reconsider.
If they ever decided to cosplay, who would they be? Wetterlund would like to wear a signing-booth outfit with tiny headshots on it so she could go around and enjoy the con. Tudyk would be a zombie with “a lot of mushrooms on my face and serious skin tags.” Tomko thought she’d be either someone from Twin Peaks or Chewbacca. The furry suit would be hot, she realized, so maybe she’d just wear the head.
Something they all loved about Resident Alien is getting roles with both comedy and heart. The serious segments are “a special gift,” Garretson said. Her favorite scene is the girls’ night. For Wetterlund, the most memorable was the birthday scene when they “were all together.” Tomko loved filming the crevasse because it was a crazy time in the character’s lives, plus Asha had to put her hand in Harry’s chest to save him. Tudyk loves getting to be in so much of the show. He particularly enjoyed the part where Harry is learning to use his body. Most of that scene was unscripted, so Tudyk had to come up with awkward things for the alien to do.
They loved interacting with fans, seeing cosplay of their characters for the first time, and hearing how much fans love their characters and show. They hope to be invited to Dragon Con again, a sentiment their fans returned with boisterous approval.
