Gatecon04

We woke up about 6:30 or 7am. We were all getting ready for the day, but about 7:30a, we were watching the news and there was a man downstairs reporting from the hotel about Gatecon! He was dressed for the occasion in fatigues, he fit in quite nicely. Anyway we noticed how long the line was already, so decided to head down then instead of the 8am Jo had suggested. (And we thought that was early!) Jo went to the restaurant for breakfast and Brianna and I got in line. Thought I realized soon that it didn't matter where I was in line, my Supersquad seats weren't that great. It was really far back, there were about three or four rows of empty chairs between us and the VIPs! So for us quads it was really choosing between lesser evils when it came to seats. But while we were waiting in line Alexis, JR and Peter walked by and said hello to everyone. The first time they were alone but then the next times they were surrounded by security! It was still a nice wake up call on my first day of my first convention!

9 AM - Panel #1 - Colin Cunningham

Well, that's when the panel was supposed to start. We got in the room I believe fifteen or maybe even thirty minutes later. Then Allen had to give us some Gatecon announcements and showed us a video of clips from previous Gatecons. Yes we got in there late, and yes Allen just prolonged my wait for Colin but I was in such a great mood I didn't give a hoot!!
Finally though, out came Colin Cunningham (AKA Major Davis). He's really a great guy, this showed from the moment he stepped out on stage. A little while into his panel he decided to come down and see the audience since they weren't allowed to come up to the stage this year. He noticed that this year security was much tighter, he had to tell his guards to step back when he went to meet the audience. (By the next day I don't believe Colin had any security, by his own request I think.)
One of the women who asked a question he recognized as someone he had met earlier that week in Stanley Park. He mentioned there had been a Japanese family sitting nearby who started staring and chatting in Japanese after the girl asked him for his autograph. Then he said that he had a question for us. He wanted to know how Japanese people pretended to speak English, you know like English people pretend to speak Japanese or Chinese or something? Then the women I went to Gastown with stood up and told him that Japanese people learned how to speak English. He began to sheepishly laugh as the rest of us let out a roar of applaud and laughter. Though we were so high on life at this point that we laughed at almost everything.
One of the most interesting answers of the convention came next after someone asked Colin what he knows about Major Davis that we don't. He said Major Davis wears pantyhose, and that General Hammond does as well!! He says sometimes they look at each other and have this secret pantyhose stare. That sent everyone into hysterics! Though he did answer it seriously. Colin sees Major Davis as sort of a lonely guy, very committed to his job and the one who goes home to an empty house. Another comment I remember well is him saying that Mexicans are just Irish people with tans! This came after him saying his favorite people in the world were Texans, Mexicans and the Irish.
Later he said he thought Major Davis had "thing" for Sam Carter. (What guy ever on the show hasn't?) Though we reminded him of her past record with men on the show. And when asked what character he'd like to play on SG-1 if he could pick any one of them, he said Major Carter. Why? He said: "So I could go to bed with myself every night." I was not expecting this response and let out quite the chuckle.
Colin's panel was only supposed to go to ten a.m. but since they started late everything ran over�just about the entire convention happened this way. Next up was Alexis and Peter according to the schedule handed out. But JR and Alexis walked out on stage, quite a pleasant surprise. JR told Colin about the girl from the charity lunch, she didn't care less about JR she just wanted to know if he could get Colin there! JR said he tried but Colin doesn't have a cell phone anymore and his voice mail was full. They started talking about Colin and his car, and how he would talk to himself in the rearview mirror. Then JR and Alexis started to mimic him with a cell phone talking to himself. Alexis held up both his hands like he had a cell phone to both ears and was like "You hang up, no you hang up, no you hang up!" I think Colin got a little embarrassed at them teasing him. Luckily for him JR left to sign his sister's children's book (the proceeds went to CCF). Colin left, since he panel was long since over.

10 AM (ya right) - Panel #2 - Alexis Cruz and Peter Williams

Alexis is a great guy; warm, down to earth, intelligent, articulate�I could go on. He mentioned he was going to college for a double major of psychology and anthropology. I was nearly jumping out of my chair when he mentioned anthropology!! I've always loved history and learning about all the different cultures, past and present. (I actually got up the courage to ask him a question on Sunday!) He also mentioned he had done another episode of "Touched by an Angel" and was going to be in another episode of Stargate. ("Full Circle" the season finale. I believe he was actually shooting his scenes at the time.) He thanked us for his role of Skaara; he said it was probably us who got them to bring back his character because he didn't expect to ever be on the show again! The panel seemed to be going quite smoothly and semi-seriously (compared to what I had sat through earlier). Then from behind the stage we heard "I am your fasha." (Like Goldmember would have said it). Alexis turned around and said something like "Poppy?" Out comes Peter Williams. I must admit I had never seemed him in anything else and didn't know much about him. So I didn't expect the Caribbean accent! Yes I know, "How could you not know he had an accent?!" Sorry! I've spent too much time just on JR's website and message board I guess�waiting for updates. I don't remember much about the panel beyond Alexis grabbing Peter's hair (someone asked if they could, he said thanks for asking other people don't and Alexis practically dives over and grabs his hair!), both of them reading the hieroglyphs and Peter getting his "Dead Man Walking" shirt. (He's wearing it in my photo with him.) He was also asked if Apophis was going to be back and said he didn't know�that's better then just plain no!

My first two panels at my first convention ever�what a rush! These guys were probably three of my favorite guests�though if I get right down to it every guest was a favorite in some way. I'll do a short summary of each of my favorite moments of all the guests at the end.

11 AM - Photograph Session (By ticket number) Not me! Are you kidding?!

After the morning panels was the photograph session. It was by ticket number so I didn't get to go to this one. I just grabbed a bite to eat (pretzels and Hawaiian Punch from Sav-On) and wandered the dealer's room. I figured I should get back in line, it was already forming. The best Quad seats to get were aisle seats, better and easier for getting pictures. While I was considering heading to the room to freshen up before I got in line Colin came running past from the Garden view room! He stopped for a split second and begged a few of us not to tell security where he was. But sure enough as soon as he ducked into the men's room a guard came running after him and waited for him outside. God, can't a guy go to the bathroom without being hounded?! And by the security too, not fans! But I shouldn't say anything, the guy was just doing his job�it was rather funny watching him chase Colin though.

1 PM to 2 PM - Lunch Break
Um�no. People were already starting to get back in line by one thirty or so. So no one had time to have a real lunch if they wanted a good seat.

2 PM - Panel #3 - Frida Betrani

The next panel was Frida Betrani. She played Lya the Nox in a few episodes. (My favorite episodes she was in: The Nox, Pretense.) She talked about her makeup, filming and the correct pronunciation of "Goa'uld". LOL. She was told how to pronounce it and she had to practice it a lot, but then along comes RDA-executive producer-who pronounces it any way he feel. Like "Goold".

Frida had done a TV miniseries with JR Bourne called "Aftershocks; Earthquake in New York". (I remember seeing it advertised, at the time I thought it looked stupid now I regret not watching it. I can't find it to rent it anywhere!) According to others JR was backstage and said something like "There's an earthquake in New York"; I don't remember hearing him. I just saw Frida turn around to see JR walk out. They talked about how mean his character was to hers. Then it somehow got to how Martouf and Lantash are both dead, and that the Nox can bring people back from the dead so he's better be nice to her. He told her how long his death scene was. So slow that after Cater shot him she had time to get all the way across the room to have him die in her arms. Also that everyone took a shot at him, even Jan the makeup lady.

JR mentioned "Stuck" the movie he did with Amanda Tapping. (There was a special preview for ten fans at Gatecon.) He said a part of his butt shows; he and Amanda's characters make love in an elevator! He talked more about his dog Scooby, who he had mentioned had a slipped disk. Since JR has hardwood floor in his apartment Scooby was sliding and couldn't walk well with his bad back. The vet told him he'd need carpeting, but when he looked into it it was really expensive. So he just bought the blue foam that's put under carpeting. He put it down where Scooby usually went, but then he just avoided it! So now he has it all over his apartment, but he likes how it squishes under his feet.

3 PM - Panel #4 - Jay Acovone

Hi character getting killed off was one of the reasons I didn't really watch most of season one and two. This being because I was such a huge fan of the movie, and wanted as many original characters as possible on the series. And since his character is one of the few to return home alive through the Stargate he was one of the few original characters on the TV series.

Jay is great in person, funny as hell. He told us a few little stories about his wife. One was how she had him wear his fire-proof racing shoes in case the plane crashed� he had the funniest expression on his face as he sort of replayed the scene when she hands him the shoes. He mentioned a small part he has in T3, a guard or police officer I think. But this is a terminator movie, so he dies like everyone except Arnold.

Then he explained why Kawalsky died so early in the series! Something I've always wondered. John Diehl (who played Kawalsky in the movie) didn't want to do an entire series. MGM arranged it so Kawalsky died early, and so he agreed. But when it came to signing on for the role he changed his mind. Jay was offered the role and took it, but wanted to be a series regular. They told him however that the scripts were already approved by MGM so they couldn't change it! But since he was so interested in the part they managed put his character into a few other episodes later on.

4 PM - Photographs (by ticket number)

I got into get my photos taken! I got pictures with all four people that were there; Peter, Jay, Colin and Frida. First up were Peter and Jay. We got a big group shot with me in the middle. Peter said, "It's a Bethany sandwich!" I got two shots there. Next was a group shot with Colin and Frida. They were both so likable, though I'm not saying Peter and Jay weren't. Frida took time with everyone to chat a bit, made it seem more like a casual picture with friends, not celebrities. Colin was the same way! He had been sitting down talking to someone; Frida got up when I came over. I said I'd like a picture with both of them together, so she got his attention. He shot up out of the chair and jumped over to where we were. He had been in so many pictures yet still seemed happy and excited whenever anyone wanted another one. It was an awesome experience and I didn't want to leave the room! But not wanting to seem obsessed r too weird I left quietly. I found it hard to strike up a conversation with any of them throughout the convention. I knew their characters but other then that I knew nothing about them. And I didn't want to just ramble on about how great they are on SG-1. Ya I know that's basically the purpose of the convention, but�I didn't know what I'm trying to say, let's just move on

After that I called home and chatted a while. I was on such a high from my very first day there, I had to share it with someone and didn't really know who else to share it with other then my mother. When I was finishing the conversation and coming in from the courtyard area I ran into Gilder again. She laughed and said everytime she catches me I have a phone to my ear! I said goodbye and hung up, and told her it was because I was lonely and didn't really know anyone here. So I went up to her room to help her put on her costume for the contest at the banquet (VIP event). Though I just wound up advising her on her beaded headpiece, and chatting with one of her roommates. (I'm so terrible! I forgot her name�very tall, long brown hair, like MacGuyver and SeaQuest too�) After Gilder headed down to the banquet I chatted a little longer then headed back to my room. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the 5th Element was on. So I watched that and flipped till Jo and Brianna returned then headed to bed. I knew then what a long day I had ahead of me; I hadn't been as prepared for today never having gone to any convention before. It was going to be a great day though; I had Colin and JR to look forward to first thing!

Friday, September 13