WormholeRiders

Hello again Stargate fans!

Let me start off by saying that this year’s Stargate Convention in Chicago was arguably the best Creation Entertainment convention I have been to yet. The atmosphere was laid back and relaxed and provided a sense of calm for all attending. It was fun and funny and entertaining and more than provided its money’s worth.

The people who were there on Creation Entertainment’s behalf were both accommodating and engaging, never hesitating to assist anyone who had a question or general comment to ask or make. This sort of environment made for a convention that was fantastic from very beginning (once we arrived at the convention) to the end!

Though arriving at the convention was a hassle unto itself, once Tara and I received our access to the ballroom, it was nonstop fun from start to finish. The convention kicked off with Steve Bacic’s Q and A. Due to travel issues we ended up in there a little bit late, but Steve had us laughing even before we sat down.

And that only increased once Dan Shea had joined in on the ‘question asking’ for Steve’s panel. Those two bantered back and forth for a good portion of the end of Steve’s panel (from which I received a lovely personal ‘gift’ from Steve, which I will go into more detail about in my full convention report), which pretty much merged into Dan’s Friday panel (he would be attending all weekend, so would have many other moments on stage).

Though I will not go into too much detail on my personal ‘investment’ (all together unintended, but ultimately hysterical) with Dan’s time on stage that Friday, I will say that he is very entertaining and energetic. He even took a few seconds to stop moving so those lucky people with cameras poised could snap the elusive good picture of Dan on stage (i.e. – not motion blurred).

Friday carried on much the same, with equally satisfying panels from Andee Frizzell and Christopher Heyerdahl (who appeared on stage together) and Robert Picardo.  Andee shared her personal trials of just trying to get into the U.S to get to the convention and Chris was often off the stage ‘assisting’ those asking questions or taking a moment to glance at a banner on the wall. They mentioned how they had flown in on the same plane together and hadn’t even realized it (Andee made a joke about how egotistical she must be to not realize she was on the same plane as Chris Heyerdahl – Chris made a similar comment about himself).

Robert’s panel (which was before Andee and Chris’) consisted of him making a lot of comments about Richard Woolsey being a pretty disreputable character who was then build up to be a disreputable character that the audience liked a little more. He made some parallels between working on Star Trek and working on Stargate (made specific mention of adlibbing lines, such as in Stargate Atlantis where Woolsey forgets Chuck’s name), as well as parallels between Star Trek fans and Stargate fans (with a lot of crossover in between.

Alfonso, Robert’s ‘cousin’ came up often and it was made clear that Alfonso would be appearing later on that evening. Alfonso did appear later, at the Cabaret, along with Dan Shea and Andee Frizzell. Dan was just as energetic as before, and Andee shared some rather hysterical and somewhat disturbing stories. Alfonso, as he seems to be known to do, flirted endlessly with his female audience members.

He pulled a few of them up on stage to sing a song written by his cousin ‘Roberto’ that was based in the Star Trek fandom. He also provided much romantic advice, of which he was sure to emphasize he was the best at ‘romance’ (he had many ‘appointments’ by the end of his show).

Following this display of sexual manliness was the karaoke, which Creation Entertainment held in the ballroom rather than the ball. I personally enjoyed the change because the ballroom provided a better atmosphere – it provided a sense of comfort to be able to stay in the same room where we had been all day and would spend the rest of the weekend. Definitely made it feel more a part of the convention. The laid back air about the karaoke, and the constant support of the audience and stars that were milling about, made it a lot easier for people to get up and sing. I took a stab at a song, singing Time Warp with dear friend Connie_Point.

We could not get Christopher Heyerdahl up on stage with us, but it was satisfying to see him enjoying our performance from just offstage. When we went up to talk to him later, he said we were very good (in one of his awesome accents).

The next day kicked off bright and early with a photo op with Joe Flanigan and Michael Shanks (at least for those of us without tickets to the Flanigan or Hewlett Meet and Greets, which were going on right down the hall from where we waited for the photo op). Both men were amazing as usual (surprisingly, Joe made a comment on my Canucks jersey and Michael didn’t…) and even if photo ops are a rather quick encounter with these stars, they are always worth it to get one. The day continued on in much the same fashion of Flanigan, Hewlett, and Shanks. The duo panel with Joe and David started off with hilarity when both of them started bouncing behind the stage screens, making big shadows appear. The laughs never stopped, especially as they started ribbing each other almost immediately. This only increased when Joe was awarded the Twitter Actor of the Month and David got runner up!

After that, it became a ‘contest’ of who go more questions and who was best (as is to be expected with them). The ‘Stump the Experts’ Trivia contest was shortly after their panel, and I made sure to get up and participate for that one (since I have quite a love for SG-1 trivia). I was able to answer one question for a set of prizes and got to ask my question (which someone finally answered correctly while on line for Joe Flanigan’s autograph), but had to head off before I could ask another because I had to get to Michael Shanks’ Meet and Greet.

Many of the things discussed within that lovely little room I have been sworn to secrecy on, but let me say I would gladly spend more than I did for another experience like it. I would highly recommend doing a meet and greet to anyone who is considering it. Michael’s panel followed immediately after. I will say my one disappointment with the convention occurred when it was announced the video that would normally introduce Michael would be shown after his panel (I had hoped my video would win – which it did, but it was shown after). It is not something that angered me, just a minor disappointment in an otherwise excellent weekend. Michael’s panel went off spectacularly and I made sure to shout out my comments to dear Shanks whenever I felt the need!

Michael responded in kind and much fun was had by everyone all around! When his panel had ended, I received my certificate for my winning Stargate video Good to Be Bad, and then headed to his photo op. That was quite a pleasing experience, even more so than usual, but those details will have to be saved for my full report about Day 2 of the convention.

The rest of the day consisted of autographs from Michael, David, Andee and Dan. The events of the convention this day ended with the Gold dessert party. The spread this year was spectacular and the ‘impromptu’ centerpiece submissions that came about were fantastic – I entered a hand drawn Stargate…hand drawn on the bottom of a pizza box insert!

It got several pleasing comments.  Andee Frizzell (who, along with Dan Shea, was a guest at the party) even became a centerpiece for a time. Our group also made sure to kick off the dancing right with a request to the DJ for ‘The Cha Cha Slide.’

Sunday, last day of the con, was just as amazing as the previous too. Another early rise for the Charity breakfast, but it was worth it for the company there and the wonderful breakfast that was provided. Brian J. Smith, Alaina Huffman, and Elyse Levesque were all on stage as the morning’s featured guests. It was nice to be able to see these stars who are rather new to the Stargate convention circuit. I made sure to let Brian know that he had never replied to my tweets – and he promised to do so before the end of the day. Which is a promise he kept! Each of the Stargate Universe guests had a separate panel, all of which were very informative and entertaining!

Finding out that Brian was such a big history buff was very exciting for me because I am one myself. I made sure to ask him what his favorite period in history was and he said it was definitely The U.S. Civil War. Later, just before the panel that had all three of them, I ended up winning a bid on the Shanks banner that had been hanging on the wall all weekend. So the rest of my day was spent smiling at my ‘big purchase’. The SGU trio panel was just as entertaining as their individual ones, if maybe a little more giggly much to the enjoyment of the audience.

They all shared lots of inside jokes of what went on behind the scenes of Stargate Universe. It came up several times during the day, actually, that David Blue is the closest to the character he plays on SGU. Their group photo op came after their joint panel and then it was time for autographs and one sad, final exist from the ballroom for the weekend.

I did not hesitate this year to reup my seat for next. The experience had this year was out of this world amazing and I cannot thank Creation and the Stargate stars (plus all the attendees) for providing such a wonderful experience. If I was not always looking forward to the Creation Stargate Chicago Convention every year already, I most definitely am now!

My grade for the Creation Entertainment Stargate Convention known as ChiCon 2010? An “A++”!

DannysGirlSG1

Hello Creation Entertainment Stargate Convention Fans!

My annual trip to Creation Entertainment’s Chicago Con this year started out quite slowly, as in at a standstill. My plane had mechanical difficulties and had to be checked by mechanics at the gate. After taxiing around the runway, sitting and then getting off and back on the plane, everything was set to go. All in all, I was an hour and a half late leaving NY and arriving in Chicago. Though, as it turns out, this ended up being a good thing, as you will see.

Dan Shea happened to be waiting for the same hotel shuttle, and after informing him that the shuttle should be arriving in 10 minutes, we were all off to the hotel, where everything was a rush to get checked in and then signed in at the Con known on Twitter by the hashtag #ChiCon . I thank Monica of Creation Entertainment for her professional courtesy and help.

Due to my flight being delayed, I missed part of Steve Bacic’s Q&A, but it appeared that I hadn’t missed the best part.

Steve’s Q&A was interrupted by Dan Shea, who afterward called Steve out by challenging him to push-ups on stage. This then led to Steve writing all over Dan’s back with a marker!

Dan then moved on to his Q&A and is quite animated on stage. Here, my personal experience comes in to play. Dan proceeded to tell an elaborate story about how Pip and I had deliberately told him wrong directions to the hotel shuttle as watched him walk back and forth. Dan asked my name and then launched into a discussion on Gone With The Wind! It was very funny! Eventually Dan talked about current stunts he has been working on and briefly discussed a stunt on Psych with Cary Elwes and on Fringe, where he doubled for John Noble!

Robert Picardo was up next and briefly discussed the difference between Creation Entertainment Star Trek and Stargate conventions, the fans and the shows themselves. Robert then proceeded to auction off a signed cast photo from season 5 of Stargate Atlantis for a charity he supports and endorses.

Christopher Heyerdahl and Andee Frizzell came out together for their Q&A. I had no idea how chatty or funny Andee was until she started speaking. Andee told several stories regarding Wraith costumes and props. Christopher was a little quiet at the beginning, but soon started jumping off stage to help people with the microphones and even sat in the front row!

Dan Shea hosted the Creation Entertainment Cabaret, at which Andee Frizzell told several embarrassing stories and Robert Picardo put on a wonderful performance of his well known character Alphonso. Each were absolutely hilarious to watch.

The fun Creation Entertainment Karaoke followed the Cabaret with special guests Robert Picardo, Dan Shea, Christopher Heyerdahl and Andee Frizzell. Each walked around the room and chatted with people. Robert Picardo even sang a few songs, one with his wife.

Saturday started with photo ops with Michael Shanks and Joe Flanigan and only proceeded to get better from there. Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett were the first on stage for their Q&A. Joe and David play so well off of each other and are a hoot to see in person. Of course their Q&A involved joking and making fun of each other, especially when a fan awarded Joe with a trophy for “Twitter Actor of the Month” and David won the the runner up trophy!

Dan Shea was again up on stage and told stories regarding stunt work which then led in all kinds of humorous directions.

After various photo ops, Michael Shanks was up for his Q&A. Michael came out with a shirt that said “Tweet This”, which I will leave my fellow reporter DannysGirlSG1 to share with you in her report. Needless to say, Michael was very comfortable up on stage and proceeded to joke with fans as he answered questions to the delight of the audience!

That evening was the dessert party and tasty treats with guests: Dan Shea and Andee Frizzell, who went around to each table to chat with the fans about their experiences of the day!

Sunday brought the wonderful Stargate Universe stars out for the Creation Entertainment Charity Breakfast, as well as Dan Shea, and on stage for Q&A’s. Elyse Levesque, Brian J. Smith and Alaina Huffman each did an individual Q&A before a combined panel Q&A in the afternoon. Each spoke about the upcoming season of SGU, their fellow casts members and aspects of shooting the episodes.

The convention came to an end with autograph sessions for each of the SGU stars. All in all, the convention was a lot of fun and the weekend was amazing. All the guests were happy to be there and enjoyed their time with the fans.

A more detailed report of each day of the convention will follow in the future.

taralee2

Welcome back Stargate Universe fans! The last episode of season 1 took us on a thrilling ride with what I think was the best cliffhanger of all the Stargate series, leaving so many storylines unresolved. Sure, we can do our best in speculating about who makes it or not next season based on what we think we know about the actors and actresses presently filming in season 2. There is still some wide territory that remains very open about who makes it and who does not.

On Friday, June 11, 2010, we were treated to two different chats. The first chat was on Syfy.com/Connect with the always-lovely Alaina Huffman and Jamil Walker Smith up close and personal with the fans. What a fun time that was. Thanks for Syfy for hosting. It remained 98% spoiler-free, although now I understand why Jamil is not allowed on Twitter. Jamil turned the tables on the fans and started asking us questions. The World Cup and basketball were talked about quite a bit as well. I was lucky to have had several questions answered by Jamil. He asked us why ships are always named after women. I responded, “Because women can weather ANY STORM.” He said, “I like that! Cos I’m a momma’s boy with 3 sisters….but no girlfriend :9″ Ladies? Can we remedy this situation for Jamil? Form a line, please; no pushing. By the way, Jamil is on Facebook; do a search for, “Make a Movie Like Spike.”

Superhero Alaina Huffman can now outlast even the Energizer Bunny. Not only did she spend 1-1/2 hours in the chat at Syfy, she also turned right around and joined the chat at SpaceCast in Canada. Ming-Na had already been in that chat for awhile before Alaina could join. Alaina then spent at least another hour and 15 minutes in there and then at 4:30 a.m. had a wake-up call to go to the convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Joining us in the SpaceCast chat was surprise-guest Louis Ferreira. David Blue and Andy Mikita were in the studio of Innerspace. That was something, however, to which the Canadians only had access.

If you missed the chat, it is still archived at http://www.syfy.com/connect. Then click on Stargate Universe. If you cannot access it because you live somewhere else, let me know (post a comment below) and I can get in there and summarize the comments for you with a post below. The chat on SpaceCast was not archived for the public.

The episode itself began with medical supplies being packed up. As a condition to the supplies being sent, Young (Louis Ferreira) had to be present. He plans to exchange Greer disguised as a medic for TJ. I loved the witty humor of the writers putting Greer in a red shirt. Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips) appears very concerned for TJ before she heads off to the exchange. Dr. Brody (Peter Kelamis) is getting very good at pushing buttons with suspense. I think he could also be a hand model. I realize you may think that is a joke, but I am being totally serious. Take a look:

Kiva (Rhona Mitra) tells her to check the supplies first. TJ shakes her head “no” subtly to Young. Before the swap can happen, there is a power brown-out on Destiny. Suspicion flares, tensions escalate and Young’s plan fails. Kiva tells Young that her second in command, Dannic (Ian Butcher) has orders to shoot the hostages if she is killed (an important point for later in the episode). An angry Kiva walks back into the gate room and without blinking, shoots Rivers (Zak Santiago). Poor Rivers; we never got to know you. When I saw this scene in the previews, I was certain that Riley (Haig Sutherland) was going to be killed. I am glad I was wrong.  Trivia:  Jamil said Zak is a DJ in Vancouver on the Syfy chat.

One of the bigger complaints out in fandom this season has been the makeup issue of the women of Destiny. To be fair, we were told that people were able to bring some personal items and I’m sure Chloe (Elyse Levesque) had makeup in her purse that she took with her. Makeup sharing is a no-no because of cross-contamination. Also after about 3-6 months, makeup has to be thrown away because of the bacterium that accumulates on it. I do not think the shower mist will solve that problem. The makeup, or lack thereof, on Chloe this episode, as we see her to continue to deteriorate was SPOT ON. Her lips are getting chapped from the dehydration from volume loss (combination of blood loss and no fluid intake). I want to applaud the make-up artist and all the others involved in making this decision.

After chatting with Chloe about what the status of the crew and the invaders might be, Eli picks up Chloe to continue their journey to get help.

Obviously frustrated with not having this situation under control and a man being killed, Young explodes at an unsuspecting Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle), Dr. Brody, Dr. Volker (Patrick Gilmore) and Dr. Park (Jennifer Spence). He screams, “Screw analyze: FIX IT.” Dr. Park does not respond well to the yelling. I think this might be the first time they have ever seen Young, who has always been so calm, cool and collected, this tightly wound.

Camile (Ming-Na) suggests to Young that surrender is an option. Being a military man, surrender at this point is still unacceptable, that Kiva would kill everyone except a few who would be of value. Kiva calls for Camile to go through with the prisoner exchange but also requests food and water. Camile agrees on the condition that the hostages be fed and hydrated as well.

Kiva says to Telford, “Next time, we take food and supplies in the first wave.” Next time? Does this mean more Lucian Alliance people will try to board Destiny at some future point? I think it is time Rush finds a shield for that gate!

Back in the make-shift infirmary, Koz (Primo Allon) of the Lucian Alliance comes in to help TJ with Varro’s (Mike Dopud) surgery. When the lights brown out, Koz asks TJ what was wrong and TJ came back with a snarky comment, “I don’t KNOW Koz, I’m up to my wrists in someone’s body right now.”

Rush, Brody, Volker and Park have some answers for Colonel Young. Each event is exactly 46 minutes 37.4 seconds apart. The culprit — gamma radiation –a white dwarf — an accretion disk, which was accurately guessed by Joe Mallozzi blog follower Darren Duncan (kudos for him!) before the show aired. Volker goes into a great explanation about what this is. Patrick Gilmore, as Volker, does a wonderful job with the dialogue. It must be very difficult to not only memorize the lines, but to try to get the words to sound right when it isn’t your particular field of expertise. I bought it.

This is what an artist’s conception of a binary star system with one black hole and one main sequence star.

Here is our scene from SGU:

The second problem is that Destiny’s FTL has been compromised. I loved when Young seems to talk and Park yells at him, “Don’t yell.” Sooner or later the shield is going to fail and when it does…. Camile communicates the problem to Kiva. They can withstand two more bursts.

Telford volunteers to visit TJ instead of Kiva’s second-in-command to see how Varro’s surgery is progressing. Telford uses TJ to divide the Lucian Alliance’s loyalties with the young and impressionable ones, like Koz.

Pvt. Becker (Jeffrey Bower-Chapman) loads up food in preparation for the prisoner exchange and food/water supplies. Can someone please write some more lines for this young man?

TJ reports Varro’s status to Kiva and asks to treat the others. I love how TJ is so fearless in this whole process even though she has another life to worry about within her.

Even though Young told Scott (Brian J. Smith) she would not take it, the always-kind Scott offers Camile a flak jacket. She turns him down.

Greer asks Young if he is sure about this “exchange” and Young says, “No.” Greer: “Good enough for me.” Greer always follows commands; he never strays.

Kiva brings three, living prisoners out. Camile is surprised because they thought Eli and Chloe were there. The 4th prisoner was the dead body of Rivers. In the game of hostage negotiation, semantics is the key (see Stargate Atlantis: Common Ground with the Kolya/McKay exchange). Camile never said all four bodies had to be alive; I imagine this is her first hostage negotiation, however, she will know better for next time. Camile tries to find a compromise; Kiva is not a talker.

Back to Eli and Chloe, Eli is bumping poor Chloe’s leg into everything he possibly can snare it on. He jokes that carrying her is exercise he could actually like. Good times! Chloe and Eli had a talk about their relationship. She never knew what a real friend was until she met him. Eli makes a pop-culture joke about Facebook and talks about people who friend everyone with no discernment.

I love the conversation between Greer and Scott about Eli and Chloe. It reminded me a great deal of Kino 25 where the two of them have a heart-to-heart and at the end, Scott asks Greer how many officers he has trained. He responded, “Only the ones I like.” In this sequence, he tells Scott to keep the faith. Eli will protect Chloe. You have to believe that 100%.

Varro is awake. He appears to be a very polite bad-guy; he even says “thank you.”

A very emotional Chloe and Eli talk about what they feel for each other. Chloe says she knows how he feels about her and she berates him for thinking that it is second prize when she says he is the best friend she has ever had. Then he is about to tell her that he loves her and she says, “I know.” This was one of my favorite scenes of the episode. After the exchange, he looks over and sees a console and tries to send a message.

Greer and Scott will need to go for a spacewalk to restore FTL. Camile informs Kiva and adds that they will need to access the corridor to get there the fastest. Kiva makes her power move: She wants total computer access and then she will let them in.

Telford sneaks off to talk to Young and tells him to surrender everyone except Brody and Rush. Then he will transfer control to Rush and Brody. The Lucian Alliance will herd everyone into one compartment and if they don’t, he will suggest it. Then Rush and Brody can vent the atmosphere in the surrounding area. Telford is acting more like the person in charge than Young right now, who appears to be falling apart at the seams.

Young issues a conditional surrender to Kiva. Volker receives Eli’s message. Dr. Rush and Dr. Brody venture off. Volker shields Dr. Lisa Park from the bad men of the Lucian Alliance. Was he just being noble? Is there is a Kino episode we haven’t seen being saved for the DVD release that shows the two of them a couple? Look how Dr. Park is touching him back. This could be intriguing with a Dr. Volker, Dr. Park and Dr. Brody love triangle.

None of the military are enjoying the surrender, including 2nd Lt. Vanessa James (the lovely Julia Benson).

Varro wants to make conversation with TJ. He understands TJ’s anger and says they are all going to have to get along. He offers the first hand of truce. A sensitive bad guy? I AM LOVING IT. Please WRITERS, PRODUCERS ON SGU, PLEASE KEEP MIKE DOPUD’S CHARACTER ON DESTINY!!! Varro is a sensitive, yet lethal killer. Every crew on a ship not knowing where it is going needs one of those.

Greer and Scott take a walk outside of the Destiny.

Telford sneaks away and shoots out a power relay. He relieves the guy at the control panel. He starts transferring control to Rush and Brody.

Jamil and Brian do a great acting job here, making it appear like they are walking in zero gravity with mag boots on. The camera view on this side is incredible.

Telford’s spidey-sense tingles. I did not expect a simultaneous gunshot. Exciting stuff. What I thought was additionally wonderful is when SGU comes back from the commercial, they do not immediately go back to that scene in the show that shows you what happens. They very smartly make you wait. The suspense was killing me! Great job whoever decided to edit it there. While Kiva is a ruthless female villain who you hate to love, I need Telford to stick around for season 2 of SGU.

After this segment, the commercial runs and when we come back, the last segment goes into hyperdrive: The transfer of controls stops. The Lucian Alliance thinks there are more soldiers hidden because Kiva and Telford are found shot. Scott and Greer are ready to come in, but the Lucian Alliance will not let them. Rush tells them to hoof it to a different section of the ship. Rush calls Eli to help.

Eli tells Chloe that no matter what happens she knows, then leans down to kiss her. After carrying Chloe all this time, now Eli has to run and run fast and climb.

Kiva and Telford are brought to TJ. Young has become the Lucian Alliance’s punching bag. They go and separate civilians from the military.

Varro calls the 2nd in command who is about to execute the military. TJ refuses to save Kiva. Another military man in the makeshift infirmary makes his move on the Lucian Alliance soldier. Gun fire erupts, turning in circles, hitting people on both sides. Varro shoots the soldier who initiated the offense. Koz is the only other Lucian Alliance soldier unhurt or dead (besides Varro). Varro spots TJ.

Greer and Scott are running. Chloe passes out or is dying (or both). Varro turns over an injured TJ and sees blood on her front where the baby is. The civilians are carted off. Eli runs.

The door opens on the military personnel who are told to kneel. Look carefully — Where is James? We know she was brought in by the Lucian Alliance at the surrender, but she is not in this group. I thought maybe she was in the sand-colored fatigues behind everyone, but once that person is shown, it is not her? Young looks up. Jamil joked on the Syfy chat, “Was he looking up at God, or his line/mark in the ceiling?” The power to Destiny goes off and the screen fades to black…..

TO WAIT FOR SEASON 2.

What an episode! October is such a long wait, but the DVD release of SGU 1.5 in July will help ease my pain until October while I peruse the special DVD content from Ivon Bartok and the wonderful commentaries. How do you all plan to occupy yourselves until SGU comes back? Leave comments!

I want to thank you for reading this extremely lengthy recap and my thoughts about certain scenes/elements. I have greatly enjoyed writing all these episodes from the second-half of season 1 and look forward to continuing for Season 2 in the fall. Please feel free to comment and or visit me on Twitter by clicking my avatar below right. Thank you.

By PBMom (Hilda) 

Hi Fellow Convention Fans!

I’m back home now and far, far away from Minnesota. No more Uggs and hoodies and 60 degree weather — I’m back to flip flops and tank tops and scorching heat. I’ve had a couple days to look back on the entire Creation Entertainment Stargate convention and one question that stands out is, “Did I REALLY play Rock Band with Brian J. Smith while Alaina Huffman and Gary Jones (among others) watched?” I’m glad I’ve got pictures as proof that it did happen!  It’s too bad you can’t see the massive grin on my face right now, however it looks much like my avatar below!

There are usually things at a convention I wish I could have done if I’d had more time or things I may have skipped if I could have traveled back in time and changed the past. I don’t feel that way this time. This was a much smaller, more intimate convention. I was fortunate enough to see all the guest panels and even catch the costume contest.

Of course there was that fantastic dessert party, the autograph sessions and the photo ops. I did it all. I just realized there is one thing I would change — I would play Rock Band before the convention and give Mr. Smith a run for his money. I would have to play it a lot though. And maybe get a little tutoring. Yes, he’s that good. Plus, he’s a good sport — the kind of person with whom you want to play video games. During the Smith/Huffman panel it was mentioned that David Blue has Rock Band parties. How fun would that be?

I’m also very curious about season two of Stargate Universe. I’m wondering just what stunt Mr. Smith gets to do that’s so fantastic. You see, they wouldn’t tell us. They whispered to each other up on stage and both agreed that this mystery stunt is spectacular.

I suppose we’ll all have to tune in to the show to find out. I’m sure Ms. Huffman is happy she can now “speak Stargate” as she calls it. She said it had taken her a good two to three months to learn it. It sounds to me like the cast and crew at Bridge Studios will be setting the bar even higher for the next season of SGU.

It was great to see Gary Jones again. He is a comedian for a reason: he’s hilarious. I keep thinking about this one story he told us and I can’t help but laugh. Mr. Jones was “on the set of Stargate SG-1“. He was doing a scene where he walks backwards off the set. The director asked him if he could leave the scene “in a manly way.” Mr. Jones’ then demonstrated his “unmanly” walk and it was quite funny. He calls his experience working on Stargate SG-1 “the most fantastic gig.” I have no doubt that it was.

It was great watching a clip of Mr. Jones doing a Walter scene as William Shatner. Creation Entertainment had surprised him with the clip. The expression on his face was priceless. Later Mr. Jones said he’d never before seen it. He explained that Peter Deluise (Stargate Director) always made him do the scenes as Shatner and that’s why the clip exists.

If that’s not proof of a fantastic gig, I don’t know what is. If you’re wondering, Yes, Mr. Jones does a side-splitting William Shatner impersonation. I recommend seeing him perform live wherever you can. Fortunately, Sanctuary fans can look forward to seeing Mr. Jones in an upcoming episode.

I’m thrilled I got the chance to meet Brian J. Smith and Alaina Huffman. It was so much fun to hear stories about the cast of Stargate Universe. It seems that, like Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis , the cast and crew of Stargate Universe are like a tight-knit family!

I was equally thrilled to see Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett again. I’ve never seen them together in a panel and I have to say that was a special treat. They are snarkastic, funny and unpredictable. Both actors discussed future projects. Joe is trying to work out the next TV show that shoots in LA so he can stay close to his family. He is also working on a western/thriller type film called “A Good Day for It,” as well as being in discussions with SyFy for a show. Mr. Hewlett is in the newly released movie, “Splice” and says there has been renewed interest in “Starcrossed.”

When asked if either actor would appear in Stargate Universe both Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Flanigan said that they would. My fingers are crossed for season two! It makes me wonder, who would win in a battle of the brains, Rodney or Rush? I’d say Rodney. Not that I’m biased. Or what about Rodney versus Eli? My two favorite geeks. And think of Sheppard vs. Telford. Or Sheppard and Rush. There are so many ways to have fun with those two.

I was also fortunate enough to ask questions to the guests at the panels. I asked Joe how many dogs he currently owns and if he’s ever had six at once. It was a question I received on Twitter. Joe said he grew up with six dogs, two Swiss Mountain dogs and four St. Bernards. I own two Great Pyrenees myself and all I have to say is WOW! If you don’t know, those are all very large dogs. With lots of fur. And slobber.

Joe told a story about the ranch he grew up on. He said it was his job to make sure the grass on an island on the property was mowed. He hated going over to the island and mowing it. He happened to own a rabbit. He realized if he put the rabbit on the island it would keep the grass mowed for him. He put the rabbit on the island and went off to boarding school. When he came home a few months later the island was filled with rabbits. Apparently his mother had also put a rabbit on the island. Mr. Flanigan said the six dogs could see all the rabbits on the island and it drove them crazy. One day the dogs could not take it anymore and swam to the island. “No more rabbits,” he explained.

My question to Mr. Hewlett is one many fans have been asking: Will he be attending Dragon*Con 2010? He has said yes on twitter but Dragon*Con has not listed him officially on their website. Mr. Hewlett said that his agent has been handling it. As far as he knows he is all signed up and set to go to Dragon*Con.

I took a chance this time with my photo ops. I’ve always done serious ones. One exception has been group photos. It’s always easier to look like a major geek when your friends are with you. I’m going to be taking more chances in my photo ops in the future. I sincerely thank Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Flanigan for being such good sports.

I have one last funny story to tell. Every squirrel knows about the yellow rubber ducky. It’s become a sort of mascot for the squirrels. This is because there is a hilarious bathtub scene in the movie “A Dog’s Breakfast.” If you haven’t seen this movie yet what are you waiting for?! The bathtub scene alone is reason to watch the movie. One of the squirrels brought something very special for Mr. Hewlett to sign. I must say his reaction was quite priceless.

I’m not sure where this squirrel found such a massive rubber ducky. The entire autograph line burst out laughing when she pulled it out of her bag to be signed. I think Mr. Hewlett was genuinely shocked to see it. And then he recovered and asked, “WHERE do I sign it?” He decided to sign it right under the tail. That’s the Squirrel King as I know and love him.

Moments like these above are why conventions are heaps of fun to attend. This is especially true because a fan never knows when such a moment will happen — not to mention getting to geek out with dozens of fans who feel just as passionately about the genre as you do. This con was no exception.

Until the next one fellow sci-fi fans, please feel free to contact me on Twitter by clicking my avatar (right) or by leaving a comment here at WHR! Thank you.

Whovian99

Fellow fans,

As some of you will remember, I recently interviewed Josh Blacker of, most recently, Stargate: Universe, Human Target, and V. In the course of the interview Josh and I talked about everything from how he first got into acting – a rather circuitous and interesting journey – to his thoughts on Sgt. Spencer (of SGU) to some of his plans for the future.

A short aside for some random trivia: we filmed the interview in the Rose Garden out at UBC (University of British Columbia), which is where a scene from the SGU episode Human was filmed.

I found it fascinating to hear Josh’s thoughts on Sgt. Spencer and how he had created his own idea of what Spencer’s past was like. Interestingly enough, Sgt. Spencer didn’t actually exist when Josh first auditioned and was written specifically for him by the Powers that Be on Stargate. Spencer was not actually Josh’s first foray into the franchise: he had a role on Atlantis, and he was a fan of SG-1. Both Josh and I are hoping that at some future point he will get to reprise his role as Sgt. Spencer, perhaps through flashbacks. When asked if there was anyone in particular with whom he would like to work, Josh pretty much listed the entire cast – just goes to show how much respect the cast has for one another, and I think that comes through in the interview.

In the course of the interview we also discussed some of Josh’s favourite television shows (he has a lot of them), and what it was like to work on Human Target. Apparently Jackie Earle Haley is one of the nicest guys Josh has ever met in the business and the great dynamics between the three main cast members – Mr. Haley, Chi McBride, and Mark Valley – is just as evident off screen as on. Most likely shocking to no-one, Fringe also came up in the discussion; however, this time I was not the one to bring it up – Josh himself is a big fan and hopes to work on the show next season. I thought it was great that Josh’s favourite episode from season 2 was Northwest Passage (a favourite of mine as well), guest starring Josh’s SGU cast mate Patrick Gilmore.

Aside from upcoming shows, Josh is also putting together a webisode series focusing on the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) when they were first established. I, for one, can’t wait to see the finished product.

Before Josh’s interview I put out an invitation on Twitter for people to send in any questions they may have for Josh which I could pose to him during the interview:

apndrgn: Do you find the strong Vancouver acting community limits your options as far as roles? Are you considered a “sci fi” guy?

FrithMcCOBrien: What inspired you to get into acting? What was your first job that told you “yeah, I’m an actor”?

punslingerr: What was it like having an episode [of SGU] centred around your character when you didn’t even appear in most of it?

WormholeRiders: In Human Target your character didn’t die… Any chance you’ll return next season?

If you want to get in touch with Josh, check out his Twitter feed by following the link in the headshot or by clicking here.

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