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Best of Both Worlds Day One |
Sydney, Australia
January 10-12, 2003
Last Updated 02/27/2003
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Saturday,
bright and early, we all trooped down to get our memberships processed for the
convention. There were lots of people milling about, picking up their badges
and then getting in line to collect their tokens for photos and autographs with
the guests. At a little after 9:30, the opening ceremonies began with all of
the guests (except for Lani Tupu and Jonathan Hardy, who weren't here yet),
coming out on stage to say a quick hello to the fans. Then they adjourned to
the foyer for photographs.
The
photographs were done by row so Glen, the MC, entertained us all with some
stories and games. Three volunteers from the audience were brought up on stage
and baseball caps with the name of a character were placed on their heads. They
then had to ask the audience a yes or no question and try to guess who they
were supposed to be. Most of the names were of characters like Teal'c or
D'Argo... but one was of The Stargate and another one was Winnie the Pooh! Our
own Rowan played in the second round and she was Sam Carter! She ended up
winning her round, but only after quite a lot of very inventive questioning of
the audience.
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We
all had our photos taken with Colin, but not before "tagging" him again
with an SDJ badge for the session. You can see some of those photos on the
Cocktail Party page linked below. He was, once again, a good sport about it and
gave everyone lots of hugs and kisses and cuddles. I know that Rowan also had
her picture with Lani Tupu when he arrived, as did I. I've only seen a few
episodes of Farscape but I think Lani is just cute as can be and I think I've
fallen in love with Anthony Simcoe (D'argo), who has the most amazingly
wonderful laugh and has to be one of the friendliest guys on the planet.
David
Franklin (Braca on Farscape) gave the first talk of the day and apparently he's
fairly well known in Australia. He appeared on stage with Martin Shaw in Are
You Lonesome Tonight? and has been in numerous television shows, including, of
course, Farscape and Xena (Brutus). He showed us a demo reel of his work, which
was quite interesting and included some clips from Xena and Farscape as well as
some of the Australian shows he's appeared in.
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Anthony
Simcoe and Jonathan Hardy (the voice of Rigel) came on next and they were quite
a hoot. Anthony is tall and expansive and he told very funny stories about his
convention experiences in the US recently. He said that people were quite taken
aback to meet him and find out he was Australian. Apparently, they thought he
was joking when he said "G'day" in his normal voice with an
Australian accent! He also said how amazingly cool it was for him to get to
hang out with actors from Star Trek and Lost in Space and to find out that many
of them wanted to meet *him*. Apparently Farscape isn't really shown many
places in Australia and is much better known overseas. His trip to some of the
American cons was his first exposure to large numbers of fans who had actually
seen his work. He did say that he frequented the internet quite a lot to read
what the fans thought of episodes as they aired and he often printed out
messages and put them up on the set for the cast and crew to read. Many of the
cast members also tried to come online and interact with the fans or at least
read their thoughts when they could. He said it was really the only way they
were able to get any feedback on their show and their performances. He was
asked about Ben Browder and he went on at length about how wonderful Browder
was and that Browder had adapted very well as an American working with an
Australian crew. He pointed out that in Australia the power hierarchy that
tends to exist in American productions just isn't there but that Browder had no
problem adjusting and that he was always a gentlemen and fun to work with.
Jonathan Hardy had a funny story or two or three to tell and pithy comments in
between throughout. Alas, I didn't take any notes this con, having my hands
completely full with photographic equipment, so I can't tell you much more than
that. Anthony got really silly at one point when they were talking about an
episode where the actors apparently played someone *else* in the cast and he
had to play the part of the redheaded girl in tight leather. He was very taken
with his big breasts and said he kept telling them to make them bigger. Anthony
was asked about the voice of D'argo and he said he does it himself, it isn't
digitally enhanced. He told the producers to just let him know what they wanted
and he could do it...and he did. He demonstrated the voice for us numerous
times. He and Jonathan also talked about how they were told to just make up the
languages for their characters and the script would actually say "D'argo
speaks ??? (sorry, I don't remember the alien name of his race). Anthony will
make something up" and the same for Jonathan and Rigel. Jonathan said he
invented the word "kemper" as part of Rigel's language (David Kemper
is the executive producer of Farscape, I think).
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Lani
Tupu came on next and told us that he had originally auditioned for the part of
D'argo. Besides playing Captain Crais, he also does the voice of Pilot. He said
they auditioned him two separate times and ended up offering him both roles. He
talked at some length about how he differentiates the two characters and it was
obvious that he put a lot of thought into the craft of creating them as two
distinct individuals. Unfortunately, I had to step out for awhile and I missed
much of Lani's talk.
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As I
understand it, Michael Shanks and Chris Judge will be coming to a BOBW
convention during the summer hiatus next July (date to be announced) since they
couldn't make it to this one. [As an aside, BOBW is indeed doing a Stargate
convention in July with the announced guests, so far, being Dan Shea and
Douglas A. Arthurs. Michael Shanks will not be able to make it to Australia
over the summer. No word yet on Chris Judge. Shanks will be coming back to BOBW
on a different date.] The Millennium hotel where we are right now is being torn
down or something, so the convention will be held in Melbourne, not Sydney. [I
believe the venue for the convention has also been changed. The one in July is
being held in Canberra.] Nothing is set in stone yet or officially announced,
though. Dan Shea, however, *did* say (more on that in a moment) that he would
be coming out for that convention in July and that hopefully some of his
friends would be along with him...
So,
to Dan Shea. In the afternoon on Saturday, a phone link up with Vancouver was
established and we had a short talk on the speakers with Dan Shea (Sgt. Siler
and Richard Dean Anderson's stunt double). He apologized for not being able to
make the con. He had been invited when Michael and Chris had to cancel and he
said he was already packing his clothes for the beach when he found out that he
had to be at some production meetings for a film he is working on with Kurt
Russell. He commented that Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn are living there in
Vancouver now. I had quite a laugh at the thought since, of course, Kurt played
the original Jack O'Neil. Wouldn't it be great if they got Kurt to do a cameo
on Stargate in Season 7? Anyway, Dan couldn't make it out this time but
definitely hopes to be in Australia in July. He told us that we should all ask
Colin to show us his amazing biceps and also that we must demand that Colin
take his shirt off on stage. (See below!) He was asked if he could please get
RDA on the phone for us, as well. He said he was game but he only knew RDA's
phone number by pushing a button on the phone so he couldn't do it and talk to us
at the same time.
Skipping
ahead now, since I already commented on some of the Farscape guests, Colin took
the stage by storm, as usual. He was wearing a lovely sleeveless black tank top
that I'm sure most of the ladies quite appreciated. He's still got the same
facial hair that he did at Gatecon and it looks very sartorial on him, I think.
He had a black bandana on his hair, though. He looked handsome -- hard to
imagine that he ever wouldn't -- but what is it with actors in Vancouver and
wearing weird things on their head all the time??? At least it wasn't one of
those silly stocking caps that RDA and JR Bourne are always wearing!
1172_14
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Colin
was his usual enthusiastic self and told everyone how happy he was to come,
even on short notice, and how much he appreciated the fans supporting him and
recognizing him for his role on Stargate. He said he'd never expected the role
to last so long and he was grateful for every appearance. He loves working on
the show and really does hope to come back for more in Season 7. He said
Prometheus was a great episode for Davis and he loved the fact that he had so
much to do in it. There was a comment about how brilliant he was in the scene
in the car at the beginning. He told a little anecdote about that and said that
he certainly wasn't complaining but he had asked the producers why Davis had so
many more lines than normal in that episode... He said he thought the answer
would be about how much they liked him and wanted to give him more to do,
etc... but the answer was "Rick doesn't want to memorize as many lines
this episode." LOL!
He
was asked what he would like Major Davis to do that he hasn't gotten to do yet.
(I also asked him when he was going to get to go through the Gate for real and
he reiterated again that, of course, he'd love Davis to go through the Gate!)
Anyway, he said he'd like Davis to have to wrestle with making a major
decision, some sort of moral dilemma and having to deal with it. In other
words, just a bit more substance to Davis' as a character. He was asked which
character he thought Major Davis would like to kill (kind of an odd question,
but okay...) and after some bandying about with the crowd, he decided on John
de Lancie's character, Col. Simmons. I then made a major faux paus by pointing
out that Simmons was already dead. Apparently, some in the audience didn't know
that yet. Oops. Colin said that was okay. They'd dig him up, ascend him, then
descend him so Davis could kill him.
Colin
was asked the inevitable questions about Corin Nemec and Jonas and the absence
of Michael Shanks in Season 6. I can't imagine why folks asked him these
particular questions, quite frankly, since Colin isn't a regular on the show
and, really, what do they expect any of the actors to say about it *anyway*?
Colin said that he wasn't there all the time, of course, and when he was there
everything seemed fine. He said that Corin was welcomed by the other actors (as
he should be, I would hope, since they are supposed to all be professionals)
and that, of course, Michael was missed. He pointed out that the dynamic was
different and things felt different, naturally, because someone who had been
there for all five years of the show was suddenly *gone*. In other words, he
said exactly what anyone with some common sense would expect him to say about
the situation... He also added that Corin had large shoes to fill when he took
over after Michael's departure since Michael already had such a large fan base
and was such a great actor playing a very beloved role. Corin knew what he was
getting into, though, and Colin complimented him for having the courage to give
it a try. He said it had to be really tough. As for Corin himself, Colin
pointed out that he barely knew him, but he seemed like a nice guy the few
times he'd met him.
1172_17
He
did comment at length about the value of fan feedback (something the Farscape
people had also commented on). In fact, he seemed to be of the opinion that the
fan response to Michael's departure to the show certainly would have played
into any decisions to bring the character back. He pointed out that the
audience does have a lot of influence at times on the shaping of shows and that
every card and letter definitely counts. He congratulated the fans who
campaigned for Michael's return for their efforts.
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When
asked if there was a project Colin would really love to work on, he told us
about an old Jimmy Cagney movie (I've forgotten the name at the moment) that he
would love to do a remake of. It is about a man who becomes a prize fighter to
help pay for his kid brother to become a concert pianist. The man eventually
goes blind from fighting and ends up destitute at the end but his brother does
become a pianist. Colin said he'd love to tweak the story a bit and maybe do it
with a black cast.
Colin
touched on the internet rumors about him only briefly and in a joking manner.
He said he couldn't believe some of the crazy things he had supposedly done!
There was a little girl in the audience whose birthday it was and she loved
Colin, so he tried to get her to come up on stage with him. She was frightened,
though, and when he picked her up, she began crying. Poor Colin was mortified
and commented that now he would be accused of terrorizing small children at
conventions, as well. (The little girl was fine her mother said; just scared of
the crowd.)
At
the end of the day, all of the guests were brought back on stage for closing
ceremonies and a few more questions. I'm mindwiping at the moment on anything
in particular, but will try to recall for the next report. There was a small
auction and Colin got up and in the spirit of things to help raise some money
for the Guide Dogs. A photo collage of him went for $500.00 with his help, as
he raced from one bidder to the next, sitting on their laps, hugging them,
kissing them and generally egging them on. In the end, everyone who had bid got
a kiss! (That Casanova Colin!)
It
was DJ's birthday a couple of days ago, so Colin called her up to the stage and
had everyone sing happy birthday to her. Poor DJ. <g>
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As
they were all leaving, Adele reminded everyone that Dan Shea had said Colin
should show us his biceps and also take his shirt off. So, Colin ran back on
stage, flexed his muscles for us (and commented that he thought Dan Shea had a bicep
fetish because he was always checking out Colin's biceps...) and then stripped
off his shirt. Of course, I was in the middle of changing film in my camera! I
think I got a few shots before he got dressed again, though! (see below)
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The
actors all went to do autographs then. All of them were writing little notes and
personalizing if you asked them, too. Colin got a little silly or naughty with
some of his... actually, a little flirty. I had him autograph the Gatecon
cartoon Leah had done of him about the pantyhose and he thought it was a hoot. [You
can find this cartoon at our Startoons site.]
In
the evening, we had a lovely banquet. The food was divine and the setting and
service quite nice. I left early, being completely tired out and wanting to
write some con reports, but the others told me that Colin did play the piano
and sing later on and he also joined everyone on the dance floor, as did the
other actors, I believe.
Michelle & Sarah at the banquet
1171_6
Day Two – Farscape and Stargate Guests
Featuring pictures of Brad Wright,
Alexis Cruz, Virginia Hey (from Farscape), Jay Acovone, Jay Brazeau, Tony
Amendola, Erick Avari, Gary Jones, Teryl Rothery, Don S. Davis, Dan Shea,
Amanda Tapping, Colin Cunningham, JR Bourne and more!
Featuring pictures of Brad Wright,
Alexis Cruz, Jay Acovone, Tony Amendola, Erick Avari, Gary Jones, Teryl
Rothery, Don S. Davis, Dan Shea, Amanda Tapping, Colin Cunningham, JR Bourne,
Corin Nemec, Frida Bertrain, Sueann Braun, Wil deVry and more!
Featuring pictures of Michael Shanks,
Amanda Tapping, Tom McBeath
and Lexa Doig (from Andromeda)
Come visit a Stargate Forum by and for
the fans of “Classic” Stargate: Our Stargate!
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