An Irishman, Scotsman and a Czech Walk into a Bar....

A long time ago (January) in a Galaxy far, far away (Heathrow) I and a select group of rebels attended a conference of high culture and discussed the future of life, the Universe and everything...yeah right! Gateway to Sanctuary rocked muchly and I've yet to do it justice in full on this 'ere piece of the web.  Consider that put to rights...since the Force demanded it.

So, I pretty much covered all things Robin Dunne (and some of Dunne's bum even) which can be caught up with here But, apparently, Robin Dunne wasn't the only guest, though my pages of notes dedicated to the chap would suggest otherwise, what can I say...the guy's a charmer.

David Nykl was in fact partaking in a convention in Ireland on the Saturday and apparently he and Paul had a conversation which went something like:

Paul "What are you doing this weekend?"
David "I'm at a convention in Ireland"
Paul "I'm doing a convention in London"
David "You should come over to Ireland for one of the days"
Paul "I'm at a Cooney con, and when you're at a Cooney con...you stay at a Conney con, so get you butt over here"

And that is how we ended up with an extra guest.

David seemed to be having a jolly good time indeed and was hilarious.  He's also been a busy fella since the end of Stargate Atlantis, talking about roles in Fringe and Human Target as well as a version of Mortal Kombat (which I believe is now airing online) He plays Johnny Cage's agent....which led to a wave of chuckles int he audience...and apparently he get's his "ass kicked".

Multi talented David did a brief tap dance for us and made fun of the way Carson was killed off in season 3 "exploding tumours....really Paul" and I think many of us would agree it wasn't Atlantis' finest plot bunny.

 Not looking too unlike Stan Laurel in this pic

We talked about Zelenka's use of Czech when annoyed at McKay and how in Czechoslovakia it's dubbed over, even though it's in the same language...okay then.

I'll let you try to decipher what he was saying here...and no points for the last word.....

Here David enlightens us to some of the problems with costumes

One of the strangest auditions David had to do was playing a one sided poker game which went something like....places card, long pause, picks up card, long pause, makes bet, long pause...really Hollywood? not sure whether he got the part or not.

David also does quite the good impression of Jason Mamoa, which...unsurprisingly...mainly involves grunting.

I chatted to David at the autographs about the first time I had met him, which was at Wolf Pegasus 2, and what a great time he had been having checking out the Justice League with Chuck Campbell.  David was also very sociable coming to the parties and hanging out at (or onto...it was difficult to tell) the bar.

And if Robin is the charmer and David is the joker, then Paul McGillion is the absolute sweetheart.  Every time I meet the fella, and to be honest he is fast becoming a permanant fixture to the Wolf event, I come away with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, which is far to schmaltzy for this Brit but then you really have to go with the flow at a convention.

So, what did he have to say for himself....He actually didn't arrive until the Saturday, literally walking off the plane and rocking up to the event.  He had got a part in a pilot about Alcatraz which JJ Abrams is involved with (obviously remembering Paul's talent from his 15 second part in Star Trek then).  Unfortunately he couldn't say much about it, but he had high hopes for it to be picked up and anything with JJ attached these days is well worth looking into I say.

Paul either doing his Sean Connery or, more likely Joe Flannigan impression

Still a bit bleary eyed from catching a red eye just to be with us fans, Paul mentioned how he loves coming to this particular con because it's a little like visiting a large extended family, pointing out that many faces were the same (including the rather dubious lot in the front row) and he brought up to the front a brother and sister who's whole family were from Germany.  As the lad towered above Paul he mentioned that when he first met the youngsters his height barely reached his chest.  Dedicated us Sci-Fi fans and best to start the rug rats off early or else they may just get into sports of something...or even worse....reality TV *shudders*

For many years poor Paul has been the butt of many jokes from his fellow cast mates due to him being the only single fella left, Kavan Smith in particular teasing the guy with much mirth about his single status and possible reasons as to the cause.  This time however Paul was proudly showing off his wedding ring...much like the Royal wedding I'm guessing my invite was lost in the post...and very smitten he appears to be too.  He mentioned the honeymoon was spent in Hawaii where they took a tour of the islands by helicopter the pilot apparently asking if the pair were afraid of heights before carrying out some rather acrobatic flying and leaving the new bride and groom with white knuckles...McGillion not so much with the action hero it would appear.

One of his latest project is playing a Witch Slayer in a Sci-Fi version of Hansel and Gretel with Shannon Dorherty.....yeah....and from his following description of one of the scenes he was involved with it certainly sounds like the usual 'high quality' entertainment we have come to expect from the Sy Fy channel.



Since the introduction of the pet turtles for Carson, poor Paul has been inundated with every type of turtle product you can think of including cuddly ones, chocolate ones and even a tea cozy...and after this con he went home with an inflatable beachy one, signed by the gutter crowd.

He would have liked to seen more of the Atlantis team behind the scenes, much like the episode Sunday...but with a little less exploding tumours I'd imagine.... and commented that Sheppard would be talking to the mirror ala DeNiro in Taxi "You talkin' to me?" and gelling his hair and that Mckay would be knitting.

He talked about how the series panned out for him

Did a bit of audience participation with a scene from the very first episode, mate Tina starring as Dr Weir

Chatted about how it's never a good idea to go out to lunch with Jason Mamoa

Later in the day it was autograph time and the atmosphere was very relaxed and unrushed since it was such a small con.  I thanked Paul for coming over, as he had been working and jumped straight on a plane just to see us and he gave me a huge hug and some very kind words.  As it had been Paul's birthday a little while before a cake had been organized and the gutter gang rocked up during Paul's final photo shoot.  We even sang a song (I should've had the foresight to get someone to record it) but basically the gang crowded round Paul and sang "Thiiiiiis iiiiiis your birthday song, it is not very long..." cut off the singing abruptly and walked off in different directions, much to all the guests amusement. Then there was a group photo with the cake (we opted to not push Paul's face in the confection at the last second, as had been suggested) and then there was eating of cake...nom, nom,nom.

Now the parties at conventions differ greatly depending on which organiser you go with, but the Wolf con parties are legendary and this event was no exception.  We has previously organised that the Saturday night party was to be themed as a beachy event as the weather earlier in the month had been absolutely shocking and some light relief was definitely needed.  So there were lifeguards, beach bums and surfer dudes a plenty, with various inflatables, mini drinks umbrellas and a limbo thingy which quickly turned into a volleyball net.  What really made my night was when Paul arrived and joined our 'team' for some indoor beach volleyball kookiness...I mean where really can you not only play a bit of beach volley ball inside in January but have an actor join in the fun too.

On Sunday night, many folk had already left the con and us hardcore lot ventured over to the nearby pub (which had also been a regular feature of the con)...inviting the guests along.  An indication to the utter niceness of  these chaps they came along and I managed to get a seat opposite the three of them.  They were facing the TV and watching/ making fun of Dancing on Ice, if I recall, but I managed to chat away with Paul, Robin and David while I enjoy my scampi and chips.

Some pics from the auction...the fellas making sure they keep the vocal chord lubricated

 I fear there has been some kind of gutter remark which Robin has decided was my fault *whistles innocently*

My Photo shoots and Autographs

Not only did I have to 'endure' mutiple pictures with Robin due to the flash on the lens of me glasses but my 'friend' Wend shouted "get your hands off his bum" making me turn beetroot red as Robin reacted as if I'd pinched his bum (if I had known it was an option....)

Robin had also pretended to fall asleep while giving me a hug, leading to the highly chucklesome moment of him...sliding to the floor.

 Then we eventually got it right.

 I didn't have the funds for individual shots but I did splurge on a group pic...getting a bear hug from Robin

This was the gutter crowds prize after winning the TV theme tune quiz (I laughed in the face of the quiz and we had quite the group bonding session belting out the there from Fraggle Rock)...the poor guy in the centre is organiser and 'chief' Brian Cooney.

L-R Sam, Vicky Random Scot, Tina, Random Czech, Wend, Random Irishman, Christina, Angie and your truly

And how could I not mention the epic toilets of the hotel...yes I can see your excitement at the prospect is barely containable, but it's not everyday you have a piddle with James Dean....

Or Elvis

 Or Errol Flynn

And for the boys (yes, I did sneek in just to take photos)

Audrey Hepburn

Veronica Lake (I think)

And of course Marilyn Monroe

Convention Pre-Amble

At some point last year, undoubtably still on a high from the last one, I decided that booking two conventions one weekend after another was a fabulous idea.  Meeting like-minded people, hanging out with the stars, danicing, laughing and generally having a hootnanny of a time.  This of course is all true enough, although, as mentioned in my previous post, the down side is a variable mix of  the tired and the post con glums.  But then you start remembering all the most excellent stuff which occured and so I guess I should start to pass on the convention happies.

Now, I'm going to start with the latter of the two conventions I attended, mainly coz it's still fairly remember-some in my brain...so, are you sitting comfortably...well, hurry up and plump up that pillow....okay, you can get a drink if you're quick, but leave those cookies alone...ready now? good, now let the reportage of Chevron 7.4 begin:

Birmingham was the place to be at last weekend, never thought that sentence would grace these 'ere pages of cyberspace, but to Birmingham I travelled none-the-less.  A different kettle of fish in terms of the kind of convention I'm used to, so to prevent any confuzzlement on my part I invested in a Gold Ticket to ensure the best fan girl experience, with extras including; reserved seating, autographs and photo sessions with all guests, a meet and greet wine party and a mug (no expense spared). And just who were the guests in attendance: Ryan Robbins (everyone's favourite Genii), Sharon Taylor (everyone's second favourite gate technician...what can I say Chuck gives the best hugs), Suanne Braun (everyone's favourite false God), James 'Bam Bam' Bamford (everyone's favourite stunt choreographer), Brian J Smith (everyone's favourite guy off of SG:U) and of course how could we forget the David Hewlett (everyone's favourite grumpy genius)...quite the assortment of Stargate stars...and other Canadain based television productions natch.

My normally placcid, reserved, shy and quiet nature takes on a life of its own at a convention and, the disire to wear underware over outerware aside, I know that to make the most of it to kick back and be assertive is key.  The meet and greet was fun, my mates were arriving later so I was flying solo but fortunately you never run out of conversation in a room full of Stargate fans.

Ryan Robbins was at the table when I first arrived and was chatting about Sanctuary and the new web series Riese.  As a recent fan of jPod (if you haven't seen it check it out it's dark, kitsch and Canadian) I asked what exactly it was his character was eating all the time, he was hooked on a orange powder substance which was apparently a mixture of tang, Gatorade and gelatin to make it stick to his fingers and Ryan found that when he got home from filming a detox was needed.

Suanne Braun, and for the record can I just say wow, what a pretty lady.  She's from South Africa and has travelled loads, she was discussing places she'd been too and I joking said 'I bet you've never been to Bognor Regis' at which point she replied 'Actually I have...once, at a convention'...ah, yes the infamous Bognor Stargate convention at Butlins which apparently was a tad nippy.  She also talked about her character Hathor and what would happen if she ever returned in a SG:1 movie (let's just ignore the fact that Hathor is supposedly dead...coz you know...sci-fi) she liked the idea that her and Ba'al would hook up and have lots of Go'ald together.

David Hewlett descended and he was looking very slim-line.  Looks like fatherhood is working for him.  And he talked about Baz (who was also at the convention with Jane), he likes the nursery the tot is at the moment...David and family have been spending some time in the UK recently...and that the kids get report cards for their daily activities '11.15  had a nap...12.00 ate lunch...12.30..took a poop' He takes immense pride in e-mailing these to friends and family...complete with extra notes on his sons ability to finger paint and the like...oh yeah, David's a total dad-nerd.  He does feel that he's having a bit of an identity crisis what with all the moving 'British say you're American, Americans say you're Candian and the Canadian's say...you left' ...That's alright David just bombard Stephen Moffet with letters of The Doctor worthyness and come live here full time, sorted.

Now, I should really have issue with next guest Sharon Taylor...she did bump Chucknician from his post in the Gateroom after all and ended up at Ronan's side on the balcony in the finale, but dammit she's just so nice.  We chatted a while about TV shows she likes...Lost and Secret Diary of a Call Girl and what show she would like to be in...C.S.I., but not as a victim.  She can totally kick your arse too, being all into martial arts and having a black belt too as I recall.  A really lovely lass and also in the Riese series (hey, it's a Canadian show so no doubt 90% of the folks in it will be recognisable as off of other sci-fi shows)

Bam Bam I have met before and is great fun to have at a con.  He saw my Goonies tee and regaled us with a tale of working with Sean Astin on Jeremiah and when it came to an end he got gifts from the cast.  The gift he got from Samwise was a signed picture of himself which Bam Bam subsequently 'hung up' in a closet.

I'm still not completely sold on SG: Universe, it's quite the adjustment from the previous Stargate series, but Brian J Smith is certainly a great advocate for the show.  Slightly catching me off guard when arriving at our table Brian took one look at me and said 'Do I know you, I feel like I know you'...I just shrugged and shook my head replying 'I just have one of those faces' when I should've come up with something endearing and witty...darn.  Anyways Brian is smart, funny, entertaining and very fan friendly he talked about the direction the writers have taken with the show.  I asked him about his upcoming role in Agatha Christies Poirot, a remake of Murder on the Orient Express, and he was a little star struck with Eileen Atkins.  Also did I mention that Brian is...Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.

In the evening it was party time, I finally met up with my mates who were hanging out in the bar with Bam Bam and other guests before the decision was made to inject some life into the empty dance floor.  Brian, Sharon and Ryan had a go on the infaltable snow boarding thingy...kinda like those mechanical bull things you have to stay on for the longest time, but with a snow board.  Unfortunately I didn't have my camera at this point so you'll just have to imagine said three wobbling and clinging to the board trying to beat each other's times...then being beaten with ease by a 12 year old kid.  Ryan admitted that he was fighting the urge to 'push him off' as he got close to his own score.

Shortly after Swampthing and other con dances kicked in and, with Philippa and Tina taking the lead, we rocked the Birmingham Hilton Metropole until the wee hours. 

Next time guest talks....