Confession of a Con virgin - Stargate (and other bits)
Before I finish up with my final report on Dragon*Con 2007 I would like to thank
moyawyvern for talking me into going and hooking me up with a group to stay with and everyone who talked me into actually going. I really enjoyed my experience.
Now, onto the Stargate report...
Friday
After the Trek vs Battlestar panel I headed over to the first Stargate Guests panel. Alexis Cruz, Corin Nemec, Paul McGillion, and John de Lancie were present. Obviously this was a smaller panel, but the guys seemed happy to be there even if John can barely remember his Stargate role. Also, before this I didn't know that Paul didn't actually have an accent. Comments of Note:
*Corin gained 25 lbs between his first appearance on SG1 and becoming a regular so that he wouldn't "get lost in Chris Judge's shadow". It's the heaviest he's ever been in his life. Which is not surprising, given how tiny he is.
*Paul considers acting to be an extension of the characters that everyone plays every day and advises people to be honest in their acting. Also, he's a bit of a tease and he likes to pull out Carson's catch phrases to get laughs out of the crowd.
*Someone asked John about what it was like to be a student at Kent State at the time of the shootings. (Wiki article) John was somewhat reluctant to talk about the experience, but we did get the short version. He was apparently near the shooting and saw the whole incident. As such he, along with a few others, was asked to speak before the Senate. They met Ted Kennedy and were taken to the White House. They wandered out of the waiting room they were left in ended up in either Halderman or Ehrlichman's office where they got to read both the actual National Guard report and the FBI report, which was he says an accurate report on what had happened.
After the panel I met up with some of the rest of the SG crew. We went down to the "Walk of Fame." While none of the SG people were down there we did get to talk to Aaron and Jamie. *thud* Then we sat in on the SGA season wrap up fan panel. Not being a regular SGA watcher I was rather bored, but
moyawyvern and I chatted and compared SGA notes through out. Following the panel everyone headed up to the Con Suite for the Apophis Birthday Bash, where we had free cake, ice cream, and energy drinks. I also got my first ever taste of Jaffa Cakes. :-)
I skipped most of the "Congratulations (on your posting in Atlantis) Carter" party to go to the Buffy Horror Picture Show. This was the first Buffy episode beyond season 3 that I'd ever seen so I needed a bit of explanation, but all in all it was a grand time and I really liked the sound track. We went back down to the track room and caught the end of the party, including the costume contest. There was a pretty good Anubis costume and a Jaffa costume I would've thought was the best if we didn't see this guy on our way back to crash for the night.
Saturday
I was rather at a loss for things to do early Saturday after the BSG panel because I knew I wanted to go to the Stargate Megapanel, which I would have to stand in line for. I went back down to the "Walk of Fame" and prepaid for autographs by Michael, Chris, and Claudia. I was prepared to wait in line to have them signed that afternoon, but Chris and Claudia were going to be late. Instead I briefly wandered over to the Dealer rooms in the Hilton. They were really crowded so I didn't stick around very long. I got in line for the 5:30 panel around 3 and it was already out of the building and shortly after it was around the corner.
They opened up (and filled) all 3 of the Hyatt's main ballrooms for the panel. Alexis, Louis Gossett Jr, Lexa Doig, Michael Shanks, Jason Moma, Paul, Chris Judge, Pierre Bernard, Vanessa Angel, and Corin were present and for the most part extremely drunk well medicated. It made for some interesting commentary. All the panels for the SG track were mediated and kicked off by a couple of 'easy' questions from her before going to the floor, which wasn't badly done here though I've heard that it was over done Sunday.
*"Coffee, black -- like I like my men." - Michael, shortly after sitting down.
*The first question from the audience was unfortunate, asking Jason and Paul if they'd like to have their characters be the ones to kill Sam Carter for coming to Atlantis. The Guests were understandably shocked. Hopefully the "boo!"s from the rest of the audience let them know that it wasn't a widely supported line of questioning (even among the Tori Higginson fans).
*Chris was asked if, given his reputation as a gregarious prankster, it was tough to remain emotionless while in character as Teal'c. This sent Michael into gales of laughter. Apparently Teal'c is more a result of botox and being hungover to the point of sleeping. Kel'nor'reem was actually invented as the result of Judge falling asleep while filming a briefing scene.
*Chris and Jason have just finished up 2 weeks worth fight scene filming.
*I don't remember what prompted this, but there was a very humorous exchange between Michael and Lexa that went something like this -
M: "I married you didn't I?" *drinks from beer bottle*
L: *pulls off wedding ring and plops it on the table in front of him*
M: *picks up ring and stands up to peer out at the audience*
Chris: *leaning back* "Hey Lexa...."
*Louis Gosset Jr. considers his time on SG! some of the most valuable time he's spent on tv. It was his visit was what loosened Beau up enough to get him to relax around the rest of the cast.
*One of the moderator questions had been about what the Guests would serve if they were hosting a party for the attendees. Some of the answers were very amusing and Chris's joke about his being a naked shindig with chocolate and strawberries became a running joke.
*The SGA cast gave going away/maternity gifts to Rachel and Paul had trouble coming up with a good idea. Eventually he took photos of himself dressed in Rachel's wardrobe/costume in her trailer and in fighting poses which he compiled into a book for her.
*Lexa was asked how she kept Michael's head on straight given his fangirls. Michael says she doesn't have to do much more that hand the kids over to him. Poopy diapers and emergency trips to the store do well enough.
*Michael and Chris were asked about filming "200". Apparently Michael was nervous about spoofing "Farscape" with Claudia and Ben around. Ben was originally supposed to be Crichton in the skit, with Michael as D'argo. Claudia suggested switching them because it was supposed to be Vala's fantasy.
*Michael also talked a bit about the evolution of Daniel Jackson.
*Another fan questioner got a smaller "boo" for asking the Guests about religion and false gods. Some of them did tackle the question. Alexis pointed out that in the case of Stargate the false gods were more about power than religion. Chris and Michael talked a little about their new project, "Rage of Angels", and how it was inspired by 10 years of exposure to questions about religion and spirituality.
*At the end of the panel all of the guests were present with fan-created military dossiers by a man in the Canadian military who was leaving for Afghanistan shortly after D*Con.
Sunday
I got up at a relatively (for the Con) early hour to go get in line for my SG1 autographs. First I had to sit in line to get into the "Walk of Fame" and then I waited in another line until the Guests arrived. Their handlers all seemed to have sticks up their asses, but the Guests themselves were very pleasant and I did get to snap pictures of most everyone (Paul and Lexa were MIA).
That white blur in Chris's hands is "Teal'cum Powder" for 'itchy symbiote pouches and other afflictions' which Corin gave Chris.
I hung around in the WoF a little longer taking pictures of other Guests before grabbing some food and crashing the Torchwood fan panel where I ran into
kiss_me_cassie who has a good write up in her journal. I didn't go to the Stargate panel that afternoon, but there are some clips up on youtube (here, here and here).
Monday
I went to the final Stargate panel my last morning at the Con. It was only 10 am, but all the men (Alexis, Jason, Chris, Michael) already had beers as well as coffee, juice, and water. Lexa and Vanessa stuck to coffee.
*Chris to Michael after he was asked about guest roles - "(you're) Kinda a whore...you just go slutting yourself from one show to the next."
Lexa chimed in, "Baby has to keep Mamma in Prada."
*The Guests were asked about how frequently they broke stuff on set. Apparently they break things all the time. While shooting the pilot they broke every staff weapon the props people had, more than once. Zat guns (~ $7,500 each) also get broken frequently. Chris was very funny demonstrating the motions and noise they make when the activate.
*Lexa and Michael were asked about guesting on "Eureka". It was a fun set to work on with a lot of good energy. Michael said that it reminded him of the early days of filming SG1, even with everyone comparing him to Lexa (who shot her appearance first).
*Chris was asked why he didn't go to the North Pole to film scenes for the upcoming movie with the rest of the cast. He said the decision between freezing his ass off and playing golf was actually very simple. Particularly since, "I would be the darkest thing in the North Pole. And I have seal colored skin."
*The Guests were asked what they considered the wildest moment in their Stargate History.
Jason, obviously hung over and drinking straight from the water pitcher - "Now!"
Alexis has a moment he can't share
Vanessa - being involved at all
Michael and Chris - filming the pilot: "Summer camp for grown ups" - Michael, "Like we had re-invented the 60's" - Chris
*The guys haven't really said goodbye to each other or to their characters because of the time spent working on the movies, though when they do finish up Michael will always think of Daniel as being out there having more adventures, sort of like the ending of the series where they step into the wormhole one last time.
*Chris was asked whether he'd prefer to be a 'responsible, small screen star like Richard Dean Anderson' or a 'movie star like Charelton Heston'. They were having trouble understanding the speakers from the audience, but once they finally understood Chris said, "Moses or MacGyver? Why do I have to choose between two white guys?"
*Jason on the other hand would rather be Chris than "not a jack-ass". (wording is Michael's)
*"You're our mirror as much as we are yours. It's a symbiotic relationship." - Michael (I think) on acting and the audience
*Lexa enjoyed being on "The 4400" and really wants to know how the show's turned out as she no longer has time to watch big people tv.
*Towards the end of the panel, the Guests were asked why they chose Dragon*Con given the myriad of cons out there.
Lexa came cause she could get baby sitter.
Chris says it's because they like to go place together and this is some place where they are comfortable because it's a real fan event.
Michael ads that this is as opposed to Comic Con which is impersonal and commercial.
Alexia likes D*Con because of the people and how everyone is free to express themselves.
*Michael likes that the attendees express themselves, but he wishes people would stop before they got to Furries. Chris didn't know what Furries were and the other guest tried to put off explaining as it wasn't child friendly, but he kept asking. The audience yelled that it was people in furry costumes and Chris wanted to know why kids couldn't hear about that. Lexa recommended he watch the CSI episode, but Chris kept asking, so she leaned over and whispered to him. Chris jerked up in his chair and yelled, "WHAT?! WHAT?!" into his microphone. Michael says, "That's right ladies and gentlemen, you've managed to offend Chris Judge." Best Video Ever!
After the Mega panel, Paul had his own little panel about Carson which I didn't go to, but there was also a small charity auction tacked on at the end of which there's been some very funny footage posted. Signed poster goes for $500 and the kiss. Another bidding and kiss.
Links to photo albums: Stargate, Battlestar, parade, other
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the rambling, photos, and videos.