WormholeRiders

Hi Stargate Fans,

Here is a little treat for you about how we found ourselves “Stepping Through to Camelot: when Stargate SG-1 goes Arthurian”. A fantastic tale that all ages enjoyed!

By the end of Stargate SG-1’s eighth season, the powers that be had wrapped up eight years worth of story lines and character journeys. All (well almost all) of the enemies were defeated, the team had made it home safely and all was well in the world of SG-1.

When the show was confirmed for a ninth season, it gave the writers and producers a clean slate to work with. They were given an opportunity to start anew. And start fresh they did… by incorporating a timeless mythology – one that has been around, reinvented, and reused throughout the centuries.

Having tackled the mythologies of Ancient Egypt, Greece, Hindu, and even Norse legendary, Bridge Studios, the power that be of Stargate SG-1 took a stab at the world of Arthurian legends. How well were these legends incorporated into the already rich labyrinth of countless mythologies? What parallels were drawn between the characters of Arthurian lore and a team of travelers who traipsed across the galaxy on a daily basis, who were already dear and established ‘friends’ of fans worldwide? In what way did the creators of SG-1 make the century’s old stories their own new brand of myth? What was the fan response to such a new installment in the well-established world of Stargate? These are the questions this paper will attempt to answer, in a hope to better understand the ultimate impact King Arthur and his hoard of many heroes had on the universe known as Stargate SG-1.

To understand how Stargate SG-1 came to incorporate the timeless legends from King Arthur’s Court, one must understand where it started. SG-1 (1997-2007) is a television series of the science fiction persuasion based on the idea first established in the movie Stargate (1994). It ran for ten years on Showtime and the Sci-Fi Channel (respectively), with the primary focus of the show being on the characters that made up the team of SG-1 – Jack O’Neill, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, Teal’c, and in later seasons Cameron Mitchell and Vala Mal Duran.

The underlying theme for the show was derived not strictly from its “predecessors” like Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica (the 1960’s version), but also from mythologies and histories known throughout the world. Ancient Egyptian myth was the first and prominent one they tackled and molded into their own unique story. The show has hit on Ancient Greek, Chinese, and even Hindu mythologies. After eight fantastic seasons of “conquering” the most ancient of histories, the powers that be decided to turn towards something a little more “modern” in comparison. They brought the Arthurian Legends into the mix, and took a stab at trying to make it their own.

The most obvious inclusion of the Arthurian mythology into Stargate was the way the writers and producers brought in well known figureheads of the legends. The whole journey in the world of King Arthur begins when Daniel Jackson realizes while looking through a database that one of the Ancients (a race established in previous seasons of the show, later emphasized as the Alterans) is really Merlin (“Avalon Part 1”).

It had already been established that a few choice Ancients were revered and respected by not only the characters, but the fans as well. In making Merlin an Ancient, who ultimately went against his own kind to help our primary heroes (“The Shroud”), the writers seem to be reinstating him to his glory of former years while also planting the Arthurian legend into the world of Stargate.

This was a big deal, as is noted by one of the long-time directors for the series, Martin Wood: “We brought Merlin into it in a big way with Arthurian legends, and that was a huge thing” (Gosling 14). They are showing their reverence towards him by making him the ‘odd man out’ from the rest of the group of Ancients. Yet they hold to what is mainstream knowledge when it comes to representing Merlin visually. In ‘Avalon, P.1’, the first time we ‘see’ Merlin, he appears in the way many people have come to expect him to appear. “He wore a tall pointed blue hat, long grey cloak, and a silver scarf. He had a long white beard and bushy eyebrows that stuck out beyond the brim of his hat” (Tolkien 24).

That description is actually of Gandalf the Grey (who, one could argue, is just as much a Merlin figure in his own right) from the first part of Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring), but it holds true to the image of Merlin done by the creators of SG-1. Using this universal ‘image’ given to some of the most renowned wizards in literary or cinematic history – the Merlin in Disney’s adaptation of The Sword in the Stone is another good example of how SG-1’s Merlin appears – the creators of Stargate are sticking to a comfortable medium for the audience. It puts the viewers, like me, more at ease because we do not have to conjure up some grand science fiction-like image to go along with our grand science fiction show. Merlin looks like we expect him to look, so there is no worry in seeing something different and we can focus on this new story given to him.

The true impact of Arthurian legend blending in with Stargate can even be seen in the reactions of the characters as well. Daniel’s excitement at figuring out Merlin was an Ancient, and Cameron Mitchell’s own interest in finding out the same information is almost palpable through the screen. In the true Stargate fashion, they do not try and make the legends their own as much as they try and build on what is already there and respected. In many of the “previously on Stargate SG-1” segments that play at the beginning of several of the ninth and tenth season’s episodes, they even reuse the scene in which Daniel announces and is excited about the involvement of Merlin, as well as Mitchell’s own disbelief at Merlin being an ancient. It helps reiterate the importance of Merlin in the series now, and reinforces how the characters we think are the most important feel about the inclusion of such a respected character from legend.

Interpretation is also important in how it is incorporated. Morgan le Fay, a character in Arthurian legend who is often portrayed as evil and is the arch nemesis of Merlin, is brought out in a good light. Though she is first thought by the characters to be set on an “evil” purpose (“Morpheus”), an episode later the characters, coincidentally Daniel, and audience find out that she really is trying to help Merlin rather than hinder his attempts (“The Pegasus Project”). There is a clear need in the Stargate world for more of the Ancients to go against their own philosophy and be helpful. By making Morgan le Fay a good character that, like Merlin, helps the SG-1 team, the creators of the show not only bring another Ancient out of the selfish darkness, but shine light upon her name which has become expected to be wreathed in evil and a darkness of its own. With the usually cluttered mythos of SG-1, the fresh start created by the ending of season eight provided a wide girth for the inclusion of the Arthurian mythology into the world. The involvement of iconic characters in the legend as members of a ­SG-1 exclusive race not only tied it back to the already established world of Stargate, but gave new life and a different ‘look’ to the Merlin and Morgan that had been around for ages.

Along with making famous Arthurian figureheads as stand-alone characters within the series, the creators paralleled our heroes from SG-1 with notable characters who were known to have been a part of Arthur’s court at one time or another (or, in some cases, one version or another). Upon waking up in a cave after several thousand years, Merlin believes that SG-1 is the Knights he was separated from ages before. He refers to Daniel as ‘Galahad’, Mitchell as ‘Perceval’, and Samantha Carter as ‘Guinevere’ (“The Quest, Part 2”). In making Sam ‘Guinevere’, they give strength to a character that is often seen as weak because Sam Carter is anything but weak. They are making ‘Guinevere’ a name to be proud of. It is inspiring to women, especially young girls, to look into the world of Arthurian myth and see who this ‘Guinevere’ is because if Merlin referred to Sam as such, than she must be a pretty cool woman. Now Galahad and Perceval, respectively, were Knights who were known to have actively sought the Holy Grail.

When Merlin mistakes them for such Knights, Daniel and Mitchell are actively seeking the SG-1 equivalent of the Holy Grail. Not only are the writers paralleling the characters of the show to characters of the legend, they are also paralleling the journey those legendary characters made. It provokes an interest in the already curious and knowledge seeking fan base. As a fandom, the loyal Stargate SG-1 viewers like to know just when and where the writers got their inspiration from. By incorporating popular characters like Merlin, the audience has an idea of where to find information on the other characters from stories along the same line. Even if they do not really know much about Galahad or Perceval, the fans know what to start with. From a fanfiction writer’s point of view, researching story lines (and at the same time, the mythologies they are based on) helps better their own ideas of what to write about and interpret parallels in creatively different ways than the writers of the show did. Upon surveying a portion of the fan base, I found that several of my fellow fans were even drawing conclusions and parallels that I myself would not have been able to do before taking a class on Arthurian legend. Even after taking such a class, there are parallels being drawn that I never would have considered.

Nytegoddess on Livejournal found a parallel between Teal’c and Bors, and provided several pieces of proof as to why they could be ‘connected’. She mentions how Bors was the only one of the Grail Knights to return from the quest, Galahad and Perceval having died after achieving it; and finds a similar circumstance between Teal’c ‘returning’ from the future where Daniel and Cameron have perished (‘Unending”). She makes several other connections between characters and moments in the series that I never would have thought to look for myself. Daniel walking through the wall of fire in “The Quest Part 1” to obtain the grail is similar to Galahad “quenching the fire that surrounds the tomb of Simeon” (Schadegg). Nytegoddess wrote a fanfiction where Daniel remembers the quests of Galahad as if they were his own (“All That I’m Allowed”). These are the sorts of things that happen when something is incorporated in the Stargate world – it is immortalized in a way never originally thought possible. Arthurian legend “fitted perfect in the SG1 universe”, as is evident by the research and commitment put into the legends beyond the series by the fans (Schadegg).

A well-known Stargate website, Gateworld Dot Net, put the characters of Galahad, Perceval, Guinevere, and Mordred (who Merlin referred to the SG-1 character Ba’al as) in their character database. Now these were not stand alone characters like Merlin or Morgan le Fay in the series, but the maintainers of the site knew the curiosity of their fandom and incorporated them into the Gateworld database. It gave such characters a place in the world of SG-1 fans, which is a big deal considering SG-1 fans have pretty good memories and like to use the material brought to them by the creators of the show. And by making our beloved SG-1 like those characters, a whole new level of respect is created for characters like Galahad, Perceval, and Guinevere and the material they were built on. Even for the fans that do not care to delve deeper into the Arthurian legend behind the Stargate veil, a simple understanding of how such characters are generally perceived is obtained. By building on the knowledge of how the show’s characters operate, the audience immediately understands the ‘operations’ of their legendary counterparts. Daniel and Mitchell are good guys, so one can interpret Galahad and Perceval are good guys as well.  Reversely, Ba’al is a bad guy (a very bad guy loved by fans all around), and in having Merlin refer to him as ‘Mordred’ it can be guessed that Mordred was not such a nice fellow.

One interpretation done by the powers that be of Stargate SG-1 that could reflect the social connotations in the world is their interpretation of the Holy Grail. In the time of Arthur and his Knights, as well as in the time of the authors who wrote the stories, religion had a big influence. In many of the Grail stories, said Grail was seen as a cup or chalice that was a symbol for the religion – Christianity. There are versions out there, such as Wolfram’s Parzival or Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, which portray the Grail as something other than a cup. In Parzival it is a rock. In The Da Vinci Code it is Mary Magdalene.  Stargate SG-1 takes the same route of these works by not making the Sangraal a cup, but a weapon instead. Except, once again in the fashion of twisting the legends into something they could call their own, this weapon was not a symbol of the ‘all-mighty’ religion of the show, Origin. Origin, in a lot of ways, can be compared to many monotheistic religions such as Christianity or Islam. It is the religion dedicated to the Ori, who are the (also ascended) enemy of the Alterans. The best description of what makes them different from the Alterans is given by Orlin (who is an Alteran himself): “A long time ago, the Ori and the Alterans were one society, human, on an evolutionary path to ascension, but a philosophical division grew. The Ori grew more and more fervent in their religious belief. The Alterans…for lack of a better way of putting it…believed in science. The Ori tried to wipe them out” (“The Fourth Horseman, Part 1”). It is true the Ori are a group of higher beings rather than just God, but the practices and beliefs that are a part of the religion of Origin are quite similar to those found in many of today’s religions. In truth, the Holy Grail weapon of the show is a symbol for the direct opposite of what Origin is.

Origin is submission, ultimately giving up one’s free will in devotion to the Ori. The Sangraal was a weapon for independence and free thinking, which is why SG-1 is searching for it. They do not believe in the practices set down by the Ori, and are constantly fighting them in order for their free will to remain just that – free. They are not fighting for the big religion, but against it. It can clearly be seen how making the ‘great religion’ of the show might offend a portion of viewers. “Why not tackle some not-so-obscure Christian myths? Well there goes the mid-West demographic…” Michael Shanks (the actor who played Daniel Jackson on the series) jokingly wrote in the foreword to the season nine Illustrated Companion (Gosling 7). Going in, they knew some of the fan base could possibly find it offensive. But they also knew how attuned the fan base was to the show and the level of intelligence that came along with such a fan base. In the very next paragraph of the foreword, Michael wrote “trust me, we believe the long-standing fans of Stargate SG-1 have suspended their disbelief enough that no one is going to start protesting outside the studio” and “you know that we often carry on with tongue planted firmly in cheek, so you’ll know that offending anyone is not our intention” (Gosling 7). There is an innate trust of the fans the people involved with the show have, and they know to give them something that is intelligent and eye-opening. So making the Grail a weapon that destroyed the Ori (or at the least, brought them down from their ‘godly’ status) was simply the SG-1 way of making something so known their own. In fan reaction to such ‘changes’, there was an overall enjoyment of the Grail being used as a weapon, though opinions vary about how it was visually portrayed. Some were happy that it was a red jewel, while others wished they could have been a little more creative in their retelling of it (Schadegg).

In Approaching the Possible: The World of Stargate SG-1, the author explores several different aspects of the Stargate culture, including the fans that make up the show (what she refers to as “fanchise”). In the chapter focused on this “fanchise”, there is a wonderful part that sums up what SG-1 fans are: “fans are what make SG-1 as good as it is – because they demand the best” (Storm 97). The creators of the series, when coming to tackle the massive “emptiness” left after season eight, knew of this demand for greatness. For years, they had provided such greatness in the way of mythologies that predated the Arthurian myths, such as the Egyptian myths – “many of its gods and goddesses harbor both good aspects and evil or unflattering aspects” (Storm 3). It was this same understanding that led the Stargate creators to go exploring in the worlds of Arthur for their “fresh and new” sources. But what was the fan reaction to throwing Arthur and his band of gallant knights, wizards, and sorcerers into the mix? I surveyed for opinions on a known site where Stargate SG-1 fans frequent – Livejournal. Upon reading and reviewing the answers, I find that the majority of people replying to my questions have an overall enjoyment of the inclusion of Arthurian myth into one of their most favored series. Several of them find it a “refreshing retelling” of the stories that were considered stale and overdone time and again (Schadegg). Nytegoddess on Livejournal, who provided a two comment response to my questions (in terms of Livejournal use, that’s a long response), said “the way these shows,” (she wasn’t just referring to Stargate, mentioning Xena and Hercules as well), “brought history to life made me see the real depth to those previously bland stories.”

She also added how the “Stargate spin” on the myths “can only add to the enjoyment of the Arthur legend” (Schadegg). Just the knowledge that I got any response to the questions at all shows there was at least some impact the inclusion had on the fandom. The fans remembered the myths because it was incorporated into the show, and thus were able to make opinions and notes on it however they saw fit. As a devoted fan of the series myself, I absolutely loved the involvement of the Arthurian stuff into the series. It was something they had never done and, like they had done with the other mythologies, made me strive to learn more and watch more. I never would have gotten as into the Arthurian legends had it not been for Stargate’s involvement in that genre. It has inspired me to understand it all better, and to be more creative in how I pursue things like fanfiction and fan videos.

“When a story is translated  from one medium to another – novel to stage, film, television and so on – the first question people ask is how the copy differs from the original” (McGregor 131). It can be seen through interpretation and explanation how Stargate SG-1’s take on Arthurian legend differs from its predecessors, but the similarities can be seen as well. Though the creators of the show strived to take something well-known in Western mythology and make it their own, they also held to some of the things that make Arthurian legend a genre all to itself. The fans of the series believe Stargate has left a mark in the world of Arthurian myth, and the myth has left a mark on them. I believe scifi_tv_addict on Livejournal said it best – Stargate SG-1 made it “like the Gods of Greece and Egypt, and the North actually existed – but not in the way that we might think they did. That is what they did with this story as well – taking one of the most famous and popular western myths and creating a new version of it” (Schadegg). I am in complete agreement – the Arthurian legends of Stargate SG-1 are new and original, while still being true to the sources from whence they came.

I hope you have enjoyed. Thank you for  reading. Please feel free to leave a comment here or by visiting me on Twitter by clicking my avatar. Thank you.

dannsygirlsg1

Works Cited:

“All That I’m Allowed.” Fanfiction.net. 18 March 2009. 5 April 2009             <http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4932840/1/>.

“Avalon, Part 1.” Stargate SG-1. MGM/Sci-Fi Channel, Vancouver, 15 July 2006.

Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. New York: Random House, 2003.

Eschenbach, Wolfram Von. Parzival. London: Penguin Books, 1980.

“The Fourth Horseman, Part 1.” Stargate SG-1. MGM/Sci-Fi Channel, Vancouver, 16 September             2005.

Gateworld. 3 March 2009. Gateworld LLC. 3 March 2009. <http://www.gateworld.net>.

Gosling, Sharon. Stargate SG-1 Illustrated Companion, Season 9. London: Titan Books, 2006.

McGregor, Gaile. “Stargate as Cancult? Ideological Coding as a Function of Location.” Reading Stargate SG-1. Ed. Stan Beeler and Lisa Dickson. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd, 2006.

“Morpheus.” Stargate SG-1. MGM/Sci-Fi Channel, Vancouver, 21 July 2006.

“The Pegasus Project.” Stargate SG-1. MGM/Sci-Fi Channel, Vancouver, 28 July 2006.

“The Quest, Part 1.” Stargate SG-1. MGM/Sci-Fi Channel, Vancouver, 22 September 2006.

“The Quest, Part 2.” Stargate SG-1. MGM/Sci-Fi Channel, Vancouver, 13 April 2007.

Schadegg, Mandy (dannysgirlsg1). “Need Some Opinions Straight From Fandom…” Weblog entry. A Canvas of Insanity. 17 March 2009. 24 March 2009. <http://dannysgirlsg1.livejournal.com/2009/03/17/>

“The Shroud.” Stargate SG-1. MGM/Sci-Fi Channel, Vancouver, 4 May 2007.

Storm, Jo. Approaching the Possible: The World of Stargate SG-1. Toronto: ECW Press, 2005.

The Sword in the Stone. Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman. Perf. Rickie Sorenson, Karl Swenson, Junius Matthews, Sebastian Cabot, Norman Alden. 1963. DVD. Walt Disney Productions/The Walt Disney Company, 2009.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954.

“Unending.” Stargate SG-1. MGM/Sci-Fi Channel, Vancouver, 22 June 2007.

My fellow fans,

This past weekend I interviewed Dan Payne of, to name but a few, Stargate: SG-1 and Atlantis, Human Target, Transparency, and who you will soon see in an upcoming Sanctuary episode. A few of the things we discuss in the video are: some of Dan’s experiences as a Kull Warrior, particularly a rather humourous anecdote from filming Prometheus Unbound (the episode in which Claudia Black as Vala Mal Doran is first introduced), and as a “big Wraith” in Atlantis; what it was like to work on Human Target with Mark Valley and Chi McBride, and his impressions of Jackie Earle Haley from working on Watchmen; some of the differences between stunt work and acting; his favourite television shows (one of which totally cracked me up simply because it was so unexpected); and the interconnectedness of the Vancouver acting community.

Dan Payne as a Kull Warrior with Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson

SGU also came up in the course of the interview: although Dan has not yet worked on it, he would like to because Patrick Gilmore, who plays Dr. Volker and is a friend of Dan’s, is just so sexy. Well, that and the fact that he enjoys watching the show himself. I am guessing that if you know anything at all about me you know that I am a Fringe fan and so, naturally, Fringe also came up in our chat. And for you Canucks fans, Dan is a big one himself.

We also discussed some upcoming projects with which Dan will be involved, including Tower Prep, which actually sounds pretty neat, and his own on-going project Pucked. As part of Pucked, Dan has an “alter-ego” on Facebook named Andy Zirkor (you can follow the link to check him out). At the moment Dan is also filming a movie of the week with Faye Dunaway which sounds rather intriguing.

If you want to contact Dan you can check out his official site: http://dan-payne.com/.

Before I wrap this up, I want to express my thanks to Patricia Bertrand of Auroris Entertainment for helping set up this interview.

If you have any questions, or just want to chat, feel free to drop me an email at the link below or click on the picture to visit my Twitter page.
NaddyCat

As always, thanks for reading and watching!

Nadine Ramsden

Hey Stargate and Creation Entertainment fans!

My first day at VanCon Stargate 2010 morning began with preregistration at the Hilton Metrotown Vancouver located in Burnaby, British Columbia. It is a beautiful facility that Creation Entertainment selected for the convention .

I received my convention pass and Press Credentials for WHR from the wonderful team of Convention Masters at Creation Entertainment. I also purchased many Fan Photo Opportunity tickets, simply a must do at any convention.

I think I may have to go back for a few more photo tickets, though. There are some that I just can’t pass up – such as Michael Shanks and Joe Flanigan in a combined photo op. I do have the individuals, though, so I’m not sure yet. Since I purchased have a gold pass also, I also received a cool Stargate Universe shot glass. I think I know what I’ll be using from now on – even for just normal drinks.

Almost immediately after getting my ticket, it was time for Peter Williams’ (Apophis, Stargate SG-1) panel to begin. He was wearing dark glasses and joked that it was just in case his Goa’uld eyes were to act up. He did take them off after a couple minutes, though.

Peter looks very different – but then, he was not wearing gold lipstick, so I suppose that is to be expected. Just as an interesting tidbit, on the topic of wardrobe, he said he actually kind of liked the leather skirt he had to wear as Apophis. Peter also mentioned that underneath he wore tights, which he needed help getting in and out of each day.

Peter said that the only practical joke played on him was when Apophis was in a straight jacket and once they called cut, he was left alone on stage and all the lights were turned off.

They left him there for twenty minutes until finally he heard a giggle from off-stage and the joke was done. He joked his revenge would be the asteroid Apophis – which he owns and controls – comes to destroy Earth in 2029.

When asked what he has been up to lately, he replied that he has been living in Antigua. He joked that when you live on a beach for two years, you have to be in good shape – and believe me, he was. As for work, he mentioned that he has an audition coming up for a guest spot on Sanctuary. He said his character is evil and, though he hasn’t read the end, he would put money on it that his character dies in the end. Peter also added that anyone in the audience who knows Amanda Tapping should put in a good word for him.

Next up were Dan Shea, Sgt. Siler of Stargate SG-1 and Dan Payne, “Kull Warrior” in Stargate SG-1, and “Big Wraith” in Stargate Atlantis and recently in the episode ‘Corner Man’ in Human Target. Sadly, I missed the beginning due to business, which means I missed the fact that they started off the panel by taking off their shirts. They were just re-dressing as I got back into the room. These two Stargate legends were hilarious!

Most of their panel was focused on the two of them discussing different stories of stunt anecdotes from the careers. Dan Payne mentioned that he was glad he could not be seen from behind his costume because he said he was chasing Amanda Tapping while giggling – which would not have been very scary. I was busting a gut laughing at their stories.

If you ever get a chance to see them in a panel together, I definitely recommend you do so!

My last panel of the day was for Cliff Simon (Ba’al, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Continuum). Cliff’s panel was quite funny as well. At one point, he answered a bunch of questions (from a script) in character as Ba’al.

When it was pointed out by Patricia Stewart-Bertrand that he had changed the line in the script, Cliff stated that they always changed up lines on Stargate and no one would say anything because then they would have to re-shoot the whole scene! The audience burst out in laughter!

Cliff was asked about his experiences working with Claudia Black (Vala Mal Doran) – more specifically if it was awkward during scenes where he was flirting with her. He replied that they had hit it off right away because she loves South Africa (where he is from) and found it easy to get along. Someone later called out from the audience asking who is a better kisser: Amanda Tapping or Claudia Black?

Cliff  replied that he hadn’t kissed either of them, though not for lack of trying. He said Amanda punched him and Claudia slapped him. He said they’re so vastly different, but he’d happily kiss either, or both, or both at the same time. Someone else asked whether he preferred the slap or the punch and he answered that he really liked the punch at which point the audience howled.

Cliff also gave his thoughts on the movie District 9, as it’s a South African movie. He mentioned as well that if he were to play any other SG-1 character, it would be General Jack O’Neill, but he would play him the same way he does Ba’al.

As for upcoming projects, Cliff mentioned that he has been doing some writing and producing, which is exciting because he gets to do the work he wants. He has a project in the pitch phase, which he would like to see turn into a television show, or, alternatively, a miniseries. Cliff is also interested in making a documentary on the Moulin Rouge, which he is currently in negotiations for, and a movie about a swimmer. An interesting tidbit is that Cliff actually qualified for the Olympics in swimming when he was younger.

I did a little bit of shopping while waiting for Cliff’s autograph session to begin. I bought a couple of t-shirts, which I’m excited to wear. Geeky attire always brightens my mood. Then, while waiting for my section to be called, I chatted with a few people around me. Seems there are a lot of newbies at this con, which is exciting. By the way, I love that I’m not the newbie this time around.

Cliff’s autograph session was fairly standard. We didn’t get much time to talk, but I gave him my card and he recognized Wormhole Riders. He was very nice, but we had to keep the line moving, so I didn’t dally.

Thus concludes the first day of my experience at the Vancouver Stargate 2010 convention. With the fabled Creation Entertainment Karaoke Party and the Cabaret tomorrow night, I’m expecting VanCon day two to be a lot more hectic than day one. I can’t wait!

ValaBlack

Hey guys!

This is officially my first report for WormholeRiders News Agency! How exciting, right? Well, for me it is, anyway. Right after the convention I was scheduled for extended travel, but I am BACK! . First off, this is a largely personal report. I talk a lot about what happened personally to me, during my photos and autographs. 

And I’m sorry in advance for rambling. I’m detailed out of habit when it comes to conventions. I feel like I can’t miss anything out. *nods* So yeah… this report might be slightly different to what you’re used to.

Okay, down to business. First off all our thanks to PaganX (Lisa W) and ImWebGurl (MaryAnne), friends of WormholeRiders, for their assistance in taking and providing photos at Hub Con’s Stargate 2010 convention for my report.The picture above is mine!

In an arrangement with WHR, all the photos provided Lisa are linked to her Flickr page and those Maryanne provided are linked back to her Twitter account. Hover text is provided in each instance.

Please visit and follow Lisa and Maryanne on Twitter by clicking their avatars as they are wonderful people and I thank them for their help!

The Hub Productions held an event called “Stargate 2010” over a single weekend in two different cities. Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. I only attended the Melbourne event.

Now, on the day the guests were due to fly in to Melbourne, a mini cyclone hit. A lot of the venue had been flooded, but the management team had chosen not to cancel, and tried to make the best of the situation.I guess Australia can’t handle RDA. Heh. (I’m from New Zealand. Australia/New Zealand = Canada/America, if you know what I mean.)

The event started late, due to the lovely weather, so everything had to be reorganized. Photo ops took a while to get sorted, but everything worked out. My first photo op was with Claudia Black. Claudia Black Online was the first fan site I’d ever joined, and it was how I found WormholeRiders aka WHR. She was one of my absolute favourites. I’d heard she tended to be a bit distant, so I was pretty nervous.

I walked up to her and shook her hand (totally formal, I know! But everyone was doing it and there was a no hugging rule… and the guest actually seemed to appreciate the politeness) and smiled and said “Hi!” She smiled back and replied with a “Hello! Nice to meet you!” I told her I was a mmmber from Claudia Black Online, and we had a little mini conversation about the site.

Then we posed for the photo, and the photo snapped. Obviously something messed up, and the photographer went about fixing the camera.  I’d seen a lot of Claudia’s photo ops, and she looked pretty much the same in every single one, so I wanted to be different. I perked up and said “Oh yeah! Can you do one of those massive Vala smiles?” She thought for a while. “Uhm… noooo.” I kind of stared at her and went “Noooo?!” in the same way someone would say “Excuse me?”

I mean, how hard can it be to smile, right? (apparently my reaction was hilarious… everyone started laughing. Aaand apparently she was totally messing with me, but of course, I had no idea at the time.) And then she started laughing and said “Naah I’ll do it.” So we posed, and the camera made some snappy sound, so I thought the photo had been taken, and I stopped smiling.

Then it flashed. I freaked. “NOOOO I DIDN’T SMIIILE!” Claudia started laughing. “Hahaha whaat?” I pouted and whined “I thought it’d been taaaken! I stopped smiling!” and she kept laughing at meeee. The photographer sighed and said “okay, ONE more.” And we took it.

Claudia then took notice of my top, which she apparently really liked. “Oooh I love your top! Is it [insert famous sounding brand name here]?” I didn’t hear the name properly, so I was a bit confused. “Uhm… I uhh… I don’t know. I just bought it?” And she smiled and said “Oh okay. Well it’s nice!” and I said “aw, thank you!” And I was leaving, I thanked her again, and she called back “You’re welcome! Oh… and I don’t do that for everyone… just so you know.”

Let me just say I love how she looks in my photo op!

Anyhow, next up was Ben Browder! I was amazingly excited for him. I was told to go up to him right when the guy in front of me was about to leave. He was still shaking the other guy’s hand, so I kind of didn’t know what to do, so once he was done, I piped up “Hi!” And this is where it got weird.

As soon as he saw me, his eyes went all soft like they would if I was a little girl. I shook his hand and smiled a little awkwardly, and he grinned and said “hey honey!” before hugging me to him. I was feeling rather awkward. I mean, it was really nice, but… I’m not used to being treated like I was ten? He kind of half faced me, and looked like he expected me to say something, so I blurted “I’m Zoe, by the way!” and he nodded and said “Zoe?” I nodded back. “Zoe.” And we went back and forth, repeating my name in about twenty million different tones before he finally said “Okay, I think I got that.” And I said “yep! Just so you remember.”

And he smiled and said “Yeah, I think I will.” Then we took the photo. He STILL had his arm around me, so he bent down and said “okay… so… Zoe?” I smiled and said “oh look! You got it right!” And he laughed and said “yes, I did!” The most amazing feeling in the world is when one of your favourite actors finds you funny. He kept hugging me to him, which was sweet. And he kept smiling! Aw. I really didn’t want to leave. He smells really good… you know that? And I love how he actually tried to make conversation. Well we said our goodbyes, and he called me by name, and it was sweet, and then I was off.

And guess what? During his and Claudia’s panel, instead of Chloe (referring to Uncharted 2), he said Zoe. HAHA. I like to think that was because of me.

Next up… the absolutely AMAZING Richard Dean Anderson!

He was pretty much the reason I’d begged so hard to get to this convention. I mean, he’s done like four in his lifetime, and I wanted to meet him! You can tell he’s just really funny and down to Earth. And he is! He was sitting down for his photo, wearing a fisherman’s hat, which made everyone kind of go… “huh?” But we understood. He’d also lost a bit of weight from when he first had surgery. He had a huge line, which was understandable. It meant they were rushing the photo ops.

I hung around a bit when the lady told me to go ahead, since I didn’t want to get cut short. I walked up once he finished talking with the guy in front of me. I smiled, and made sure to make eye contact and shake his hand firmly (apparently it was very important to him.) “Hi Richard!” He looked up (I was standing, he was sitting) and said “Why hello there!” I sat down next to him and said my name was Zoe. I wasn’t sure WHY I did that, exactly, but I’m glad I did. “Zoe, huh? That’s one of my favourite names!” (Going all grandfather on me) And being genuinely surprised, I was like “wow, really?” He replied with a “Yeah! Oh… uhm… don’t take this the wrong way… but my dog’s name is Zoe.” (Switching from grandfather to Jack O’Neill in two seconds) I was thanking God that my parents had named me Zoe at this point. “Oh really? That’s cool!”

And he smiled and said “Yeah, I like the name!” And I was like “well… I’m born in the year of the dog… you know… Chinese Zodiac.” And he kind of lit up and said “Oh cool! So in a way, you’re kind of like my dog!” giving me the biggest smile ever. I kind of sat there, blank, because I had NO idea what to say to that. But he laughed, and put his arm around me. I leaned slightly on his shoulder and we took the picture. The photographer kind of went “Aww… how cute” in a slightly sarcastic way. I felt like throwing something at her but I just grinned.

The photo actually got printed three times, funny that. He looked so cute! Well anyway, I stood up and said “Thank you! It was super nice meeting you!” and I shook his hand again, just because I could. He said it was super nice meeting me too. He has this way of saying things that makes you want to show off about it for the rest of the day. Probably because he’s Richard Dean Anderson. He’s amazing.

So that was the three major guests done, according to the Hub.

Next was David Nykl. Little Zelenka! Who was taller than me. Yeah that sucked a little bit. Haha. And his last name is pronounced like “nickel.” I’d always said “Nye-kill” So weird.

Anyhow, walked up, smiled, shook his hand, said my name was Zoe (after Richard Dean Anderson… well, no harm, right?) He smiled and said “hey Zoe!” Really didn’t know what to say, so I decided to go with small talk. “Did you survive the cyclone?” He put his arm around my shoulder and posed for the photo. I wondered if he was actually going to answer the question. Once we were done though, he said “Actually I did! Flew right through it. Woooh. Is weather like that normal here?” I shrugged and said “you tell me! I’m from New Zealand.

Flew all the way here for this little thaaang.” He was like “Oh yeah? I’ve been there!” I like to make sure I know every single SG person that’s been to NZ, so I know when they might come back, but I had no idea he’d been here. “Whoa really? When did you come?” “A couple of years back. Nice place.” “Yeah… I think I only like it because I was born there. I have an attachment.” He nodded. “Yeah I know what you mean, that’s like me and my country. But New Zealand is a really nice place.” And I was like “Well, glad you liked it!” and then I got stared at again, so I said “thanks for everything!” and he said “no problem!” before waving, and I was off to Connor’s photo.

Connor Trinneer. How cute is he!? He is adorable. He just has really soft features and it’s just adorable. I’d seen a bit of him in Star Trek, and of course as Michael, and I just thought he was so cute! So I was really excited. I went up to him and said “Hey!” and he was like “Hi! Oh I really like your shoes!” Connor Trinneer: Fashionista. Who knew? I grinned and said “thanks! I like your t-shirt!” He looked at it and said “thanks! I like your top too! And your hat. It’s a nice hat.” And I was like “Awww thanks! I like your… shoes!” and he looked for something to compliment. “Thanks! I like your… uhm… jeans.” I grinned and said “OH I LIKE YOUR WHOLE OUTFIT.”

He laughed and we posed for the photo. He did his half arm hug thing. It actually makes up for the no-hugging thing. They keep their arm there until you leave. I adore it. Anyhow, when we took the picture, my hair fell in my face, causing me to turn AWAY from him. I wasn’t facing a couple of the stars in my photo ops. No idea why. The camera was taking my bad side? Haha. So I photoshopped it to make it look closer. Heh.

Once it’d been taken, he looked and me and said “so… they are really nice shoes!” and I was thinking “aw! He’s trying to make conversation!” I love stars who do that. I smiled and thanked him again. He told me he really liked my style. I was seriously getting SO flattered! He’s so sweet! Haha. I said “aw thank you!” and he said I was welcome, and he smiled the cutest smile ever. I mean, he’s just adorable. So then I had to leave, so I waved and said bye, and he smiled again and waved.

He complimented me so much! I did kind of lie… though. His shoes weren’t the best. But they looked comfortable! And anything would look good on Connor. I bet he was bluffing about my jeans. Haha.

Wow, this is long. Sorry for dragging this out. I just like to be detailed.

Chris Judge was next! I actually really wanted to bear hug him, but it’s cool. He’s actually really soft spoken. Or maybe it was just me. Apparently I’m ten.

I walked up and shook his hand, said hi and introduced myself. He was like “heeey!” I asked how he was. He said he was good. With his head nods. He kind of nods his head a lot. Then we posed for the photo, he put his arm over my shoulder, and apparently (I didn’t see this) he side-stepped massively so he could lean down to my level. Everyone watching was like “awww.” I was oblivious, but according to the people there, that’s what happened.

I didn’t even notice. I was too busy dwelling on the fact that he was BALD again! I saw him on Jace Hall, but I didn’t expect him to still be bald… yes, well I said thank you, and he bowed his head, like Teal’c does, and grinned and said I was welcome. And he thanked me too! Strange. And away I go. Really sweet. And his smile is so cheesy. Haha.

And last but not least, David Blue!

As you guys probably know (and if you don’t know… well, you can learn now.) I’m not the hugest fan of SGU. I mean, I don’t mind it, just not obsessed yet. I just see it as “another show.” But ever since the beginning, I thought Eli was amazing. I also saw David on Ugly Betty. He was just so cute! Not a lot of people went to see him… poor guy. He’s so cute! How can you not?

So I walked up to him, didn’t shake his hand (didn’t actually cross my mind. Strange. I just walked up and started talking.) I said “hey! I’m Zoe!” with a smile on my face. He smiled back… he actually smiled the whole time. He stops smiling to talk, but then he goes right back. It’s so cute! He was like “Oh Zoe huh? Hey!” and I was like “yeah, what’s your name?”

OH. MY. GOSH. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW DORKY I FELT AFTER SAYING THAT. OMGWTFBBQ WHY DID I SAY THAT!?

He took it well though. “Oh, I’m David. Hi.” Big smile.

I said it was nice to meet him. He said “you too!” We took the photo. Then I turned to him and I was like “oh I totally follow you on twitter! You like… don’t tweet me.” And he replied with a “yeah? What’s your username?” I told him it was “superhuman.” He thought for a little while, and then he said “oh yeah, I’ve seen your tweets. with two R’s, right?”

HE RECOGNISED ME FROM TWITTTTEEEEERRRRR! HE HAS LIKE 180,000 FOLLOWERS AND HE KNOWS ME! And I don’t even tweet him that much.

I was thrilled, so I happily confirmed it. Then his handler I think it was, yelled “CARAMELMONKEY!” and I was like “OMG! YEAH THAT’S MEEEE!” and she was like “I FOUND YOUUU!” and we had a mini ten second reunion. Then I turned back to look at David, who was kind of lost. I just said “usernames.” And he nodded. Mutual geek understanding right there. Gotta love it. Anyhow, I had to leave, then, so I said “bye!” and he smiled and said “Oh we’ll talk later! On twitter! Bye!” AHHHHHHHHH. And he actually kept to his word! I got home and he’d tweeted me. How nice of him.

So that’s what my photo experiences were like. I’m content with them. Rather epic, I like to think. Squeezed in so much more time than twelve seconds. *claps*

PANELS

These were epic, let me just say. We also weren’t allowed to record, at all, and if we were caught, we’d be screwed, so sorry if this seems a little vague. Just based on the notes I took.

Dan Shea, Chris Judge, David Blue

As Dan Shea was being introduced, he jumped out of no where, ran off stage, and started high fiving everyone he possibly could, running around the hall a bunch of times. He has a lot of energy. As he was about to jump on stage, he pretended to get stuck, and requested some audience help. The whole time his mouth was running like a motor.

Once he got on stage, Chris Judge was introduced. Dan Shea bowed down as Chris walked up to him. Dan stood up and threw his glasses off, and ripped off his shirt. The day before, he and Chris had a push-up contest, and evidently he wanted a rematch. Chris just sat down. Dan tried to get him to join in. “I wonder if David will do it…” Dan kept trying to get Chris to rematch, even though Chris just sat and refused, laughing at the same time. “Come on! Let’s go! NOW!” Dan put his legs up on the seat and started doing push ups on his knuckles. Chris finally got up, only to sit himself down on Dan’s back as he did the push ups. Ouuuch.

David Blue was originally supposed to have his own panel, but time was cut short. He had to leave at 4, and the cyclone just didn’t help at all. So he was stuck with two guys from SG1. When he came on stage, he fistbumped Dan, who challenged him. David asked how many they had done. Two answers were given at the same time. “Uhh… 2.” “147.”

David politely declined, but offered to take his shirt off instead. Laughing at the cheers, he changed his mind. “You’ll pay me to put it back on. Trust me.”

As David sat down, Chris turned to look at him. “So… who are you?” David looked mock hurt. “I was your stunt double for THREE YEARS! Then you started working out.”

Dan was asked a question. He exclaimed “You’re not just asking me a question because you feel SORRY for me, are you?” Chris piped up. “I have a question for you!” He pointed at Blue. “Who’s he?”

Dan spent the rest of the panel looking depressed and ignored.

Answering his question, Dan told the audience about the time Amanda Tapping almost caught on fire. He said that there was this one extra, who was ‘very pretty’… and who he did NOT have a man crush on… although he hired him at every possible opportunity, causing the audience to laugh. He accidentally set off an explosion, which set him on fire. He started screaming and yelling (as Dan so kindly demonstrated) and started running towards Amanda, who started running away from him. She had a ton of hairspray in her hair, which is highly flammable, but he was put out before any serious damage was caused. As dangerous as the story sounds, Dan made it sound hilarious.

Chris was asked about his new show, ‘Rage of Angels.’ He explained what it was about, then turned to David, smugly asking what his show was called, to which David replied ‘Rage of Demons.’

Someone asked them all what their favourite episode was. Chris looked at David and said “We aren’t talking about your show. We’re talking about SG1!” David jabbed a finger at him and half yelled “Hah! I thought you didn’t know who I was!”

When it came down to actually answering the question, David replied with the name of an episode, and Chris looked at him smugly, answering for himself. “Oh I think it was episode 161… no, episode 197…” emphasizing the success of SG1. Dan said his favourite was 200, since he got ‘to die cool’. “If you die cool, YOU ARE COOL.”

He said he’s practised this for the longest time. It was going to be perfect. He ran, in slow motion, perfect timing, falling dramatically, with a perfect landing (we saw this. On stage. I swear, everlasting energy) and lay there, waiting for the applause. He had pulled everything off as planned.

He only ever heard one voice. Martin Wood’s. “WE WEREN’T ROLLING, A__HOLE.”

Chris was asked why he suddenly had hair mid season. He suddenly dropped his smile. “Well MAYBE the guy who plays Teal’c is a REAL HUMAN BEING, who liked his hair like that! Maybe that human being wanted change! MAYBE…” and he was drowned out by audience laughter. He cleared his throat. “Sorry, I just have some issues with that…”

When he’d first been cast, the producers asked him whether he’d been bald before. He answered “well yeah… when I was born…” and the producers had asked him to shave his head, only for the first three or so episodes. He agreed. He ended up staying bald for quite a while.

He mentioned that in the early seasons, he liked to drink. So he would come to set hungover, on some days. So sometimes, he would fall asleep during takes. One day, a producer asked him “Chris… what are you doing?” He panicked… then started off tentatively “Well.. uhh… you see… Teal’c… would not… be… concerned…with these… human matters…” The producer started to look interested, so he got bolder. “I mean, why would Teal’c worry about these dumb human matters when he has a wife and child to take care of? HUMAN MATTERS DO NOT CONCERN TEAL’C. TEAL’C. IS. MEDITATING!”

Thus, Kel’no’reem was born.

Then it was time to leave, so they said their goodbyes, Chris patting David on the back in a friendly matter, and Dan running up and down, high fiving people again.

Ben and Claudia

As Ben was introduced, he ducked under the screen, as all the actors did to get on stage. He missed. He hit his head, making the audience wince. Still, he smiled and waved. Just to check how many scapers there were in the room, he yelled “CAN I GET A HELL YEAH?”

Surprisingly, he got a large response, although there weren’t many scapers in the room. Claudia was introduced right after that, and they hugged each other, which was absolutely adorable. She turned and yelled “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!” Which got a huge response of “OI OI OI!” Of course, I said nothing, but it was cool. Ben fist pumped the air, like he had to do something. They both sat down. Claudia started recounting when she had lived in Melbourne, getting all these “oohs” and “ahhs” from the locals, but I was kind of lost… so I zoned out for a bit. She mentioned that the Melbourne audience was the most fashion forward audience she’d ever encountered.

Ben recounted Claudia’s casting. He’d already been cast, and the producers wanted someone else as Aeryn, but after running lines with Claudia, he refused to budge. “No! She’s the one! It’s her! She’s the one!” which made the audience “awww”… I mean, how cute is that?

Someone asked Claudia about her outfits on SG1, which made Ben grin and go “YESSS.” The designer had seen Farscape, and wanted lots of leather, but Claudia wanted to make Vala different from Aeryn, so Vala got a uniform, with baby patches. Aw. She also said she liked Vala wearing a lot of bling, which made Ben roll his eyes. “Black Ops! We’re in the bushes, the sun will catch on your ‘bling’ and the enemies will see us!”

They bantered for a bit, ending with Ben muttering about how much he liked her bedroom ‘jammies’ and her courtroom outfit.

They started talking about ass kicking, and Ben claimed Claudia broke his finger by jumping on him. Claudia insisted he broke his own finger. “Yes, it was my fault. You jumped me and I broke my own finger!” Claudia sighed. “When you say it like that, it sounds dumb, but it’s true! How was my bum supposed to know it was going to land on your fing… “ She broke off laughing at how wrong the conversation was sounding. Ben recovered first. “Well how was MY finger supposed to know where your bum landed!?” making the audience laugh even harder. Even the kids were laughing… although that was probably because Cam Mitchell just said ‘bum’…

They moved on to talk about Uncharted 2. Ben mentioned that his kid had a really big crush on Claudia’s character… “He’s always saying ‘I really like Zoe!’ and I’m like ‘You have a crush on Zoe?’ and he was…” Claudia cut him off. “Ben. It’s Chloe.”

I actually kind of hope that was my fault.

He amended himself “Oh, Chloe Chloe Chloe. I got it.” And he told how his son would text Claudia for cheats.

Claudia randomly complained “I’m sitting so far away from you!” and dragged her chair closer and leaned on his shoulder. Awwww. She was very touchy feely during this panel, by the way. Always touching Ben’s knee, or shoulder, or leg… not that I blame her at all.

Someone asked Ben what the difference was between working in Australia and Canada. Ben said Canadians were much more polite. If you didn’t do too well, they would apologise for you. “ I’m sorry… but can we do that again?” Whereas Australians would say “Oh that was terrible! Do it again.” He also stressed how upset he was that Australia never got properly introduced to Farscape. “It was made by Australians, in Australia and it never got it’s chance.”

Claudia told us that in Sydney, someone had asked her why her accent in the Dresden Files was so… “kids, it rhymes with ‘it’…” She took it well though, but she had no idea how to answer that. What, did he want a technical reason?

Apparently, when Ben had been sitting up on stage, chatting with everyone, someone had yelled out “YOU KNOW, I REALLY PREFER O’NEILL” making him, and everyone else cringe. Rude much? Ben said he didn’t take that too well, since he tried really hard not to be like O’Neill.

Claudia was asked if she’d like to do any other genre. She asked “what other genre is there?” Claudia then recounted a story of an interview she’d watched, where the actor (she said she thought it was Hugh Jackman, but it was actually Nathan Fillion…) who pointed out the three faces you need if you’re going to work on a soap opera.

“Did I leave the stove on?”

“…I think I left the stove on…”

“…No! I turned the stove off!”

They were asked if they would drop everything they were doing to go film more Farscape. Claudia joked “oh yeah, even if it’s a baby. Sorry baby! Gonna film more Farscape!” But they both agreed that If the chance came up, and all their personal needs were accounted for, they would definitely do Farscape or SG1 again in a heartbeat. But family comes first, they made that clear.

The MC came up to tell them it was time, but Ben told her to freeze. “You might not have time, but we do! Now… back! Back back back back back!” But he caved, and they said their goodbyes. As they were leaving, Ben yelled “THANK YOU AUSTRALIA!” Claudia said she’d always wanted to do this, then yelled “GOODNIGHT AUSTRALIA!” Leaving the stage, Ben made sure Claudia didn’t bump her head like he did. Aw. So cute!

David Nykl and Connor Trinner

David came out first, jumping about and throwing random karate kicks everywhere. Connor entered the room calmly, looking at David a little strangely, causing a lot of laughter. David mentioned that he and Connor had never actually worked together, even after being on the same show for so long.

The audience was rather quiet at the beginning, so David suggested they just throw a mic into the audience, with Connor pretending to throw a mic. Once the questioning finally started, Connor was asked how he got ready for the day. He informed the audience he would get to work at 4 in the morning, and be reading for filming at 7:30. He was then asked who he preferred to play, Trip or Michael? Good or Evil? He said he preferred Trip, since he was more layered, but he loved playing Michael too.

The next question was for David. David grinned smugly, happy to finally get a question, jeering at Connor. He was asked about the origins of the Zelenka/Rodney banter. He told the audience that Brad had been looking for someone to help Rodney with the technobabble. He recounted fondly, that Rodney and Zelenka’s relationship had developed a lot towards the fifth season, but then THE SHOW WAS CANCELLED! Neither of them were happy at all that it was cancelled, and brought it up a lot during the panel.

The guy who asked the next question asked about Zelenka speaking Russian (niiicely done, Australia.) The entire audience yelled “CZECH.” The guy paused, and continued, referring to Zelenka as Russian. David rolled his eyes and muttered “Russian, Czech, same thing…” The guy asked if Zelenka was actually talking rubbish, or if he was actually speaking real words. David said the character was actually meant to be Russian, but they changed it after finding out about David’s background. David confirmed it was definitely real, genuine swearing, which had the audience in hysterics.

A little boy bravely stood up and asked “What’s the funniest thing that’s happened on set?” David put on a childish voice and replied “the time Ronon farted!” He said he was kidding, then told the audience about him and David getting into all sorts of trouble. The next guy asked if they had ever gone home in their costumes. Connor said he’d been busted for drink driving once, when he hadn’t even been drinking! “You are in no shape to drive, sir. Look at your eyes!” Speaking of his eyes, Connor mentioned there was no peripheral vision, so he had to be led around. By the hand. You see this big ol’ scary wraith being led around by the hand. And being fed.

Connor was asked why they killed Trip, and how he felt about being killed again on SGA. He replied with a “you guys do this in Australia, right?” and flipped off (stuck up his middle finger). Yes, it was hilarious.

David was asked whether he could swear in Czech. He thought for a while, then rambled something, which Connor gasped at and put on the most horrified face.

Someone then asked Connor what he would like to create if he was Michael again.”A Teyla clone! Come on… aw, Teyla, you don’t wanna come? Lemme have a fingernail…”

They finished up, and thanked the audience. It was longer than it sounded. They both turned and yelled “AUSTRALIAAAA” before leaving the room.

Richard Dean Anderson

Rick ran on stage, turned around, stared at the screen, and looked back at us. He raised the camera in his hand and yelled “SMILE!” before taking the picture. He whipped off his sunglasses and said “hello everybody!” He takes off his hat, fixes his hair, and apologised for his lateness. He said he’s fallen asleep in the hotel, and apologised in advance for possibly falling asleep in the middle of any conversation. “Take it… not personally.”

He greeted everyone, then seriously apologised for being late. He said he didn’t want to make us wait more than we had for the whole day (aw!), but he had earplugs in and no one could get in the door. He pretended to freshen up a bit more, checking out his hair via the screen behind him, and kept fixing his pants, complaining about how baggy they were. He said this was the first time he’d been to Australia, and said he adored the place, causing a cheer to erupt throughout the crowd. He said his daughter was very jealous that he got to be here. “Daddy! You’re SO lucky! You get to miss Monday, and that’s the WORST day!”

He apologised again for being late, and thanked us for waiting, saying he was very rude to show up late. “So… uhh… if you guys haven’t noticed. If you’re… well… blind, I’ve gained a bit of weight. When you get your pictures, you’ll see what I mean.” He looked back at the screen, trying to make himself look thinner. He said he had a little heart problem, and a feet problem, and he was also dead lazy. He announced that he’d turned 60 in January, causing a round of applause. He grinned and said “Aw, it was easy! Just… surviiiive.”

The mic was finally handed to someone. “Did you prefer playing MacGyver or O’Neill?”

His answer? “Yes.”

He explained that MacGyver was his first gig, so it was a lot of fun. He was a little more experienced playing O’Neill, and once he’d sucked up to the writers, they let him do whatever he wanted. Which is probably why RDA = Jack O’Neill…

He said he was very grateful to the cast for supporting him, and he couldn’t do ANY of it without Dan Shea (who was sitting at the corner of the room, watching.)

As someone began to ask a question, one of the staff brought in some coffee for him, which he placed on the ground, crouched down, and stared at it, fiddling with the lid and testing the heat. After a while, he looked up, saw everyone staring at him, and asked… “what was the question?”

The question was about a MacGyver movie. Rick said he couldn’t grow a mullet, so it was impossible. He said an old guy trying to act like a young guy wouldn’t work out. He went straight back to playing with his coffee. He set the lid down, tested the temperature again, and bent down to sip it. Bending down on his hands and knees, he crawled behind the lecturn, and started to talk to his coffee. “How hot are you?” and he held his mic out to the cup. “Oh yeah, so hot.” He then crawled back out from behind the lecturn, and saw people staring, which seemed to shock him. “What?”

I swear, that man is Jack O’Neill.

The question was about his fishless pond. He told us that yes, it was indeed a real pond, and the fish that weren’t there were props. He said he actually did have a real cabin in Minnesota, but it wasn’t the one shown in the series. He had to refer to Dan Shea to remember where it actually was…

Someone then asked who some of his greatest co-stars were. He named about two, then asked the audience to name the rest. When someone yelled out Chris Judge’s name, he smirked. “Did he keep his shirt on?” Someone indicated he’d shown a little bit, and RDA smirked again. “And what does that mean? OH HE TOOK HIS PANTS OFF.”

A little kid asked him what his favourite season or episode was, and why. Rick thought for a while, then questioned “…in the world?” The kid replied “In SG1!” He seemed to be clueless, so people started shouting episode names. “Stop shouting, I won’t know what you’re on about…” He said he liked the episode where he got to be the 100 year old man. It meant he could get away with anything, including grabbing a girl’s butt. “One day kid, you’ll learn to grab a lady’s butt.” *pause* “And get sued for it.”

The next question was asked awkwardly. “Was it your idea to make O’Neill seem so…” Rick cut in. “Dense? THICK? Yep, pretty much.”

An obvious shipper asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to. “What’s happening with Sam and Jack?” He paused, then just shrugged and said “I dunno!” He informed the audience that nothing would happen, since they’d been trained to control their feelings. They deliberately teased viewers on screen, but apparently it would never happen. With a sly look, he asked “Why? What did you want to happen?” Someone yelled “MAKE BABIES!” causing everyone in the room to laugh.

Rick then made a random discovery – that the sound from the mics echoed through the speakers. He stared at the speaker, looking at it carefully. It was hilarious.

He was asked what his reaction was to Michael Shanks leaving. “Oh… he looked the same when he came back.” On a more serious note, he said he really enjoyed working with him, and was glad to see him back. He respected Michael’s decision, but was definitely glad to see him back.

Someone asked, with a sly look to Dan Shea, whether or not he did his own stunts. Rick took credit for all the MacGyver ones, but asked Dan about the Stargate ones. “No sir, you did them all.” Which led to some hilarious banter between the two, including nicknames being thrown around. “Big Boy” and “Coat Tail…”

Rick then started talking about his dogs over the years. He listed all his dogs, and then mentioned that most of his dogs were dead, including Zoe, which meant everyone I’d told turned to look at me, and started laughing. I was kind of like… “oh”… which made them laugh even harder. Sigh.

The screen behind him shut off as soon as he was about to begin his farewells. He turned around, shrugged, and announced “It’s all gone! Let’s start over!” gaining applause from the audience. The MC gestured for him to finish up, and he took one last picture of the audience, asking us to pose, before saying goodbye and leaving the stage.

That was all the panels. Amazingly funny, I have to say.

Autographs

These were kind of lame. I was actually getting them for someone, since I was out of cash. And my amazing friend Ben (not Browder) had an extra auto token, which I SHOULD’VE used on Shea since I hadn’t met him, but I was kind of infatuated with Connor. And I couldn’t use it on Ben, Claudia  or RDA. So I was going to see Ben, Claudia and Connor at the autographs!

Management made it very clear that no personalizations were allowed. Ouch to everyone that bought autograph tickets. They were expensive! Although Chris, Connor, The Davids and Dan were allowed to personalize.

So my Claudia experience was lame. I put the photo down, she signed it, I said thank you, she said I was very welcome, we exchanged smiles and I was off to Ben.

Now, with Ben, I’d planned to ask him about the whole Chloe/Zoe thing. I was curious. But the guy in front of me had a MILLION autographs he wanted signed. So Ben’s handler just took mine and handed it over, and Ben thought it belonged to the guy in front of me. Ben didn’t even look at me! I was like… so disappointed! I wanted to go beat up the old man who took my Ben time, but instead, I waited for my friends to get theirs signed, feeling totally gutted. Ben went to shake my friend Kat’s hand after signing her autograph, and I was standing next to her, so after he’d shaken hers, I piped up “Oooh can I shake your hand too?” He said “sure” and then shook my hand, really slowly, looking at me like he was analysing me. I thought he was just weirded out that I’d kind of jumped out of no where, but people watching said they said he looked like he remembered who I was. So that made me happy. I LOVED the gang I was hanging out with, by the way. Mwah. So yeah, Ben held my hand for ages, and then we said bye, and left.

Next up… Connor!  I bounced up and half yelled “Connor! The guy that liked my shoes!” He grinned and said “yeah! They’re great shoes. And I liked your top too!” And I was like “and I liked yours!” He looked at me for a bit and said “wait… didn’t you have a cute scarf too?” I was so lost. “Uhm…no?” And he looked really confused, but then pointed to the chick right next to me, who was getting Dan’s autograph, and said “Oh wait, no I think it was her.” I kind of smirked and said “oh yeah, because we look SO much alike.” The most innocent expression appreared on his face. “Oh, I meant you have a really cute style, I just assumed the scarf was yours too.” AW! By this time, the stranger with the cool scarf was listening in. I was like “well maybe I should just do this then!” and I took hold of her scarf, and she held it across my neck, and we randomely started posing, making him laugh. So when it came to actually signing the autograph, he wrote “To Zoe…” and paused, not knowing what to write. Usually he just scribbled “best wishes” or something like that, so it made me really happy that he actually put thought into this. I piped up “you liked my shoes?” He grinned and scribbled “you have great style.” And then I left.

So that was me for the day! Oh and I should mention that Julie person who was there. She was an actress/manager? Yeah she was doing a lot of organizing on the day. A lot of people got really annoyed with her but… I don’t know. She was nice to me! Haha. Although I think she thought I was ten, too… seriously. “Sweetie” “Honey” “Darling”

Well that was me for the day. It was epic! I loved it. And this is really long…  hm. Hope I did okay! Glad this one is done. *rubs hands together*

Zoe aka SuperrHuman

Okay, folks!  Here’s the one you’ve been waiting for…  The Creation Entertainment Farscape Farewell 2009 Ben and Claudia panel!  This panel was packed full of people. If you’ve ever seen Ben and Claudia on stage together, then you know why it was.  They are hilarious!  Well, let’s get down to business.  I’m sure you don’t want to read through me rambling on about how amazing they are.  Read for yourself!

Note: Due to a camera failure, images are courtesy of Ms. Amanda Rae Smith. Click any of her images to visit Amanda Rae’s web site! WormholeRiders thanks you Amanda Rae!

Ben was running a little late for this panel and Claudia said she was always waiting on a man.  I think this may have something to do with the fact that she is surrounded by men in her house…  The lights were down, so the audience yelled for the people in charge to turn them on.  Claudia agreed.

Claudia Black: Let’s get some lighting because, quite frankly a girl takes what she can get at this age!  (There was a lot of “Awwww”ing from the crowd)  No!  Listen!  We’ve all gotten older.  If you started with us at the beginning, time did not stop for us.  I have two kids!  (She had the biggest smile on her face when she said this.  She was every inch the proud Mama.)  I’m working up to explaining to them what it is I do for a living.  I heard a phrase come out of my older son’s mouth that I never hoped to hear come out of a young child’s mouth.  (In imitation of her son) “Mama!  Your limo’s waiting for you!”  It sounded SO awful!  How do you know what a limo is?  That’s what you get for bringing kids up in LA.  We were just reminiscing back stage about when Ben arrived on the show.  He had his whole family with him already.  So many things have changed for a lot of us.  Pygram, Raelee, and Becca, we now, on the other side of it – most of us met our partners while we were shooting Farscape, or just afterwards – so now we’ve come through the (chuckles) wormhole to the other side with very different lives.  I’ve been going through the whole juggling being a working Mum in this business and trying to, you know…  I was talking to someone because my kids have got some food allergy stuff going on and we were talking to a counselor about it because we don’t want them to have food issues as they grow up.  He said, “Look, in general, you can be a great wife, a great mother, a great career woman.  You choose two out of those three.”  So, I think I’m going to be a crappy actor.  Well, hang on a minute!  I’ve been doing that for over a decade!  Hopefully, I’ll continue to be a great mother and a great wife.  And my poor husband came to set and he came the final day Ben and I were doing the scene of the final episode of season four and he’s proposing to me on the boat and we kiss!  My husband said to me (laughs) “This completely sucks!  Thanks for bringing me to set…  That was really awful.”  And it’s funny because so much of what became my personal life while I was filming the show – (a baby made a loud noise from the audience and Claudia smiled) A little baby!  (Long pause)  I can’t…  I can’t.  I’ll start lactating again…  (Laughs, then someone walked on stage carrying a tray)  Oh, look!  My lunch is here!  I’m going to eat.  (Everyone in the audience started laughing and Claudia stopped and looked at all of us)  I am not kidding.

Ben Browder: (He was backstage with a microphone) Need someone to hold that for you?

Claudia Black: (She didn’t realize it was Ben who had asked that…)  Oh, no thank you, I’m just fine.  Thanks for the offer.  Hands up mothers in the audience!  (Scans the crowd)  We can do five things at once, can’t we?  Sorry you have to watch it.  It’s really quite embarrassing watching me eat.  It’s just, I’m not a lady.  (She saw what she was about to eat)  Oh, how delightful!

Ben Browder: Are you sure you don’t want someone to hold that for you?

Claudia Black: (At this point, she realized it was Ben and squinted up her face and looked back and forth) It depends…  Are you from Carolina?

Ben Browder: …I have been there.

Claudia Black: Do you like In’N’Out burgers?

Ben Browder: Almost as much as you do.

Claudia Black: (Laughs) That’s quite a lot.  Did you spend a large portion of your illustrious career wearing black leather and getting spanked by Australian women?

Ben Browder: A fair portion, yes.

Claudia Black: Well, color me happy, come out here and hold my plate. (Smiles)

Someone in the audience yelled out, “Can I get a hell yeah?” before Ben was able to.  Needless to say, they only got a halfhearted reply from the audience.  Ben looked a little miffed and just stood there and shook his head.

Ben Browder: CAN I GET A HELL YEAH?!

The audience was far more enthusiastic with their reply of “HELL YEAH!” to Ben.

Ben Browder: Wow!  You guys have been practicing!  What did I miss?

An audience member yelled out “Lunch!”

Claudia Black: Yeah, your breakfast is getting cold, you skipped that too.

Ben Browder: There’s cold oatmeal back there if anyone wants it…

Claudia Black: Want a bite?

Ben Browder: Sure.

Claudia fed him a bite off of her fork and the cameras went wild!  I don’t know how they could even see after all of those flashes…  A guy yelled out, “Careful!  His wife’s in the building!”

Claudia Black: It is alright.  I have been put through the Francesca test.  I’ve been given the seal of approval.

Ben Browder: Yeah, you were telling the Jamie story.  First time her husband came to set.

Claudia Black: Oh, poor guy!  I mean, really!

Ben Browder: (In a sarcastic tone) I love your work, Hun! (Laughs) Any of you guys got Uncharted 2? (Points at Claudia) Chloe?  Ok, it’s one of the greatest video games ever.  My son has already beaten it on “hard”.  He’s working on “crushing”.  It takes awhile to beat these games, so I’ve spent the last two weeks listening to Claudia Black.

Claudia Black: So, a haunting, really.

Ben Browder: In a nice way.

Claudia Black: It’s amazing.  I was just talking about when you arrived with your family, they were very young.  Your son was in diapers, literally.  He was on your hip and you came with both of them into the room when I was having my costume fitting.  And now, they text me asking for Beta codes to the game I’ve just made!  It’s really weird!  And I love text messaging, so they know how to get to my heart…  They’re texting, what’s your number?  And then, how’s it going?  Whatcha up to? – You know, on a Saturday night – Can I have the Beta codes for the game you’ve just done?  And I’m like, “Uh, okay, and I’m gonna have to say something that feels quite weird, but I’m going to have to check with your father first.” (Laughs)

Ben Browder: And so you try to explain to him, “Yeah, I know you want the Beta codes, but don’t you think Claud’s going to catch on to the fact that that’s why you’re texting her?” (In imitation of his son) “No dad!  I just want to say hi!”  Hi, how ya doin’?  …Do you have the Beta codes?

Claudia Black: We have to finesse that negotiating skill when they’re little.  Cloak it.  A little more social banter first.  (Offers Ben another bite) Want some more?

Ben Browder: No, I’m good.  This is typical of our lunches on Farscape.  I would have one bite and she’d eat a whole plate.  And part of my plate!

Claudia Black: It’s a metabolism thing.  I remember the crew used to set their watches by me because when I started walking around set saying, “When’s lunch?” it was between ten and eleven am everyday.  So they knew it was morning tea time because I was already hungry.  (To Ben)  Did you see the “Nine to Five” video? (They show the winning fan made videos from the contest they hold each year before every panel) No, you were working.  Very good.  It was ironic.  We found it very amusing.

Ben Browder: (Looks at Claudia funny)  Who is “we”?

Claudia Black: Me and my peeps.  (Laughs)  We were hangin’ out, waiting for our man.  You’re not just my man are you?  I have to share you with Francesca and all these guys.  Oh well, worth sharing…  (Ben turned red and didn’t say anything)  What are you doing for Christmas?  What do you want for Christmas?  I’ll tell Fran.

(continue reading…)