This year, the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo celebrated its tenth anniversary. It has been a long ride and this year, without exception, was peppered with cancellations and a mishap or two. However, the convention pulled together beautifully. Calgary Expo is special, and it draws repeat patrons every year.

"One of the great things about our job is we get to come to conventions like the Calgary Expo, and the Expo is really special," said Teddy Wilson, one of the hosts on SPACE channel’s InnerSpace. "I think that’s because people feel the love here."

He and his other hosts try to make it out every year and are often found at their large booth, taking pictures with fans and happily chatting away about upcoming programming.

"When you’re a guest at the Expo every morning, when you come in the back door, all of the volunteers clap. I’ve never been to a convention that’s done that! And it really sets the table for the day. I think that vibe really bleeds over in a great way."

The landscape of fandom is changing, and the type of material fans have access to now is becoming more diverse and sophisticated with each season that goes by. The hosts of InnerSpace really know their stuff, and being able to sit and speak with Teddy about it was an absolute pleasure. Not only were we able to discuss the channel’s programming, we were able to dig a bit more into the pioneering aspect of many of the shows.

While Teddy’s very knowledgeable about the pop culture landscape, it is a combination of passion and facts. "We are first and foremost fans. Ajay, Morgan and I are big fans of all things genre; we all have our own specific interests and think differently. We certainly never have to fake our arguments and debates. I feel like on InnerSpace we get to be an avatar for fans, and we take that very seriously. And we really know how lucky we are to have the jobs we have."

Likely one of the more popular topics in recent years has been the movement towards proper representation and diversity for people of all races, religions, genders, sexualities and disabilities. For example, the influx of women into sci-fi and other areas of media is becoming more and more noticeable, both onscreen and behind the scenes. In an industry that is still heavily populated by men, the latest season of Face Off still saw a woman as the winner.

"I think Face Off is a wonderful show," Teddy said. "Most reality shows drive on conflict, but what I love about Face Off is that it’s one of the few reality shows that’s not about people being crappy to each other. On the contrary: it’s about people being talented and showing that talent. It’s about the studio; it’s about the work they’re doing. It is a fantastic show and we’ve got a couple of female winners now. What I find cool is that this season there were a lot of contestants who got into special effect make-up because of Face Off back in seasons one and two."

Usually the contestants are big fans of sci-fi and horror, and are drawn towards the film industry for good reason. Love is the cornerstone of geek culture; companies like Weta Workshop, the group behind the special effects and props in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, hire on passion alone. Weta also had a booth at the Calgary Expo, which was flocked by fans at all hours, reverently handling props and looking through costume guides.

Though much of geek and nerd culture concerns love of a shared media, that isn’t always the case. As of late, a lot of concern has been expressed over the changing landscape of games, television, movies and other forms of storytelling. Storytelling is an art form, and art has always represented the dreams, desires and reality of people. However, fandom culture runs deep, and there are those resistant to change. The call to boycott the newly released Mad Max: Fury Road, for example, is both hilarious and distressing. Fury Road is not the first movie to challenge action movie norms, but it certainly is one of the biggest and most popular to date.

But that doesn’t seem to matter. SPACE isn’t the only channel to pioneer new content, but it certainly has quite a bit in its collection. Bitten, which recently wrapped up its second season, is based off of a series by Kelley Armstrong and features a female main character – the only female werewolf. But that’s not the only reason you might want to watch it. "There is far more male nudity, by far, than there is female nudity," Teddy exclaimed. "And I think that’s great, because there are plenty of shows out there with scantily clad women; it’s about time there were shows with scantily clad dudes. The guys are super hot on it. They have their shirts off every second episode and, certainly I don’t think you want every episode to be all that, but I think it’s kind of nice that there’s an equality in skin on that show."

Alongside Bitten there is also Orphan Black, which blew away its viewers in the first season and is still going strong, with the chameleon-like Tatiana Maslany flickering in front of the cameras. And soon we will all be able to watch Killjoys, a show being produced by SPACE and its U.S. counterpart Syfy, which is about interplanetary bounty hunters.

So what can we expect from the future of sci-fi and other genre film and television? Looks like more minorities, more plot, more ass-kicking, and more of a good time. If there has ever been a time to embrace the nerd you keep deep inside of your heart, it is now. And, luckily for you, Edmonton Expo is right around the corner.