Day 1 - Saturday, Nov. 3

Met Lori (aka strider6 from Gateworld) at 9:30am and we traveled to the hotel, where we arrived at around 10:20am. Despite the fact that the weather report wasn't good, it was just quite windy out. The storm remnants stayed out on Long Island, where we live instead of in NJ.

While we waited on line for the con to open, we met some friends from Gateworld: Salty, WWLH, Sue_Jackson, Starbird, lacka1986, and Otera. When they opened at around 11:30 or so, we bought our tickets. The only Preferred seats they had left were the last row (O for Saturday, P for Sunday) so there wasn't much of a point in getting them and we opted for General seating instead.

We browsed the vendor tables (which opened first) and I bought a few stills: A new-ish Daniel one, a Cam/Vala one, a cast pic for the new season of SGA, and some stills from Supernatural (yes I am addicted to that show... I wish Creation would do some cons devoted to it here on the east coast...only ones I know of take place in either CA or Chicago).

After they opened the doors to the main room, we also met Trupi and her family, qksilver99, kitiara, Mesenet, and Watcher652 inside. Brian from Creation was heading this con and he did a great job IMO. I think it was his first solo con on the east coast. To get things started they showed a music video - a gen SG-1 team one to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." Then a round of trivia followed, and another music video (another team one called "Keep the Customer Satisfied").

Jay Acovone was up next and he was quite animated. In fact most of my pics of him didn't come out because he was all over the place, LOL. He started off telling us how Mahopac (the town in NY where he's from) is pronounced, and then about the house he's building. After a short intro he started answering a few questions. Someone brought up Point of View and asked if it was hard to play a Kawalsky that was a shade or two different than the one he usually played. He said it was harder to play a bad guy because people are usually more polite in real life. Another person asked if he was surprised that he was called back to do eps later on after his character was killed. He said that that's the magic of sci-fi, you can come back even if you're dead. He said he was surprised. They said "we want you back" and he said "But the worm came out of my head." They told him "But it's AU" and he said "good enough." :)

He was asked which roles he likes playing best and his reply was that bad guys are the most fun. "You get to kill people and be nasty and shitty, and it's fun." He was also asked what was his preference of genre to act in. He said he was never a big sci-fi fan, but then he was making money in it and said, "Wow, I like sci-fi." He didn't understand it a lot because you're not having to deal with reality. Although, he did mention one of his favorite movies is Bladerunner.

Someone brought up The Enemy Within and the scene where Sam confronts Kawalsky. They asked him "is it true you knocked Amanda out?" His reply: "I knew someone would bring that up." He said it was an accident and then described the scene. He was supposed to grab her and they did three takes. Mario Azzopardi was the director and kept telling him (in Mario's voice) "No, this is not working, we need a stuntwoman" but Amanda insisted on doing it. Mario yelled at Jay to "Take her and THROW HER!!" so he grabbed her, then heard a noise and saw her body hit the floor. All he could say to himself was "look straight ahead, look straight ahead." Then when they called "Cut", he went "Oh my God, I killed the actress!" LOL. He said that he and Amanda became friends after that, and every time he sees her he still asks "How's your head?" AT never lets him forget it either, she'll now and again say "remember when you knocked me out?"

He was then asked what his favorite episode and why. He said it was The Enemy Within (and also mentioned that he had a good time on an episode of NYPD Blue that he was in). He was also asked who was his favorite person to work with on SG-1. He said that Chris Judge is contagious - his smile, his laugh, the whole way about him. They hang out whenever he's in town. Someone else asked him how he got into acting. He said it was when he saw the movie Dog Day Afternoon. He enjoyed it so much that he stayed to watch the movie again. He pointed to Al Pacino and told his friend "Yeah, I think I could do what this guy is doing on screen.". He talked a bit about some of the movies he's made, and about a new one that's coming out soon called "Inalienable." He stars in it along with Richard Hatch, Marina Sirtis and Erick Avari.

Someone asked if he watched the Stargate film before getting the role on SG-1, and if he drew from the Kawalsky actor in the movie (John Diehl). He did watch the movie and said that Dean Devlin is a friend. He didn't draw from Kawalsky in the movie but he did want to see the history of the character. When asked if he wanted Kawalsky to be a regular character, he said yes. John Diehl wasn't interested in doing it at first, but then thought he would do it if they had him in the pilot and then killed him off in the next episode. Later on he decided he didn't want to do it and the character became up for grabs. Jay said he wanted to do a series and he would love to be a regular character, so he went for it.

Someone asked if he wanted to be on Atlantis. He said he never watched it but he would love to be on it if they called him. The obligatory "If you could zat anyone once, who would it be?" question came up, and he told us the "facial cream" story. He says he likes to use that kind of stuff and once on a trip back from Africa they went to DeGaulle Airport for a layover. Security wouldn't let him through and the female security personnel took the bottle of facial cream (he said that it's pretty expensive here in the states but he got it for cheaper overseas). She told him he couldn't board the plane and "it is mine now" (he did this all with a funny French accent). He got very irate and was thinking "you know it's true what they say about you people, you're all rude and arrogant!" He said he couldn't let this woman win, so he grabbed the cream, scooped it up from the bottle and lathered it all over himself. He went nuts and had all these chunks of cream hanging off of him. It was hilarious.

Getting back to Stargate, he was asked who his favorite bad guy is, and he said Peter Williams (Apophis). They asked who's pranked him the most on the show and he couldn't think of anyone except possibly CJ. Then he brought up CJ's flatulence (he said "I don't know what that boy eats - how can he live with himself?"). Finally he was asked that, if he could be on any show past or present, which ones would it be. He answered The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Grey's Anatomy, and The Prisoner.

After his session ended they played another music video, a Teal'c one based on the episode The Changeling to "Silent Lucidity." Nice vid with some nice implied Daniel/Teal'c friendship. After the video they showed a short film excerpt called Breakdown, which starred Amanda Tapping and Gary Chalk (along with some non-SG actors, although no one I've really ever heard of). Pretty wacky little film.

After an auction, Paul McGillion was up. He was very gracious to all the fans, especially for the Save Carson Beckett campaign. He said that the character is coming back now, later in this season anyway.

He talked about how he got the role of Beckett and said he was the first one cast for SGA. They told him "don't do a Scottish accent, no one will understand you."

He said that the episode Poisoning the Well solidified Beckett as a SGA team member.

He talked about his parents' reaction when he said he got the part (they kept saying "oh it's Star Trek" even though he kept insisting it was StarGATE).

Someone asked him to talk about his audition for the role of Scotty in a Star Trek movie. He said he read for Scotty but it didn't go his way even though James Doohan's son endorsed him to play the role. It went to an actor named Simon Pegg instead. He said it was cool to read for Scotty because he's such an iconic Scottish character.

Someone else mentioned him being in a new Lifetime movie and he said we'd need a lot of Kleenexes and Doritos to watch it (it centers around a bitter divorce). He said the girl who plays Jan in The Office (I can't remember the actress' name) plays his wife in this movie. It's supposed to be released around the end of January and he thinks it's title is "My Father's Wife."

He was asked what he prefers more, stage acting or film acting. He said he likes them both, that you don't know what's going to happen on stage and you just have to go with it. On film if something doesn't work they go "cut!" and that television acting goes really fast (they usually shoot Stargate at about 10 pages per day).

He was hilarious, especially when he impersonated Joe Flanigan and Jason Momoa. He calls Jason "Chewbacca meets Marmaduke" and said something about Joe and his hair products. *grin* Someone asked what other character he'd play on SGA and he jokingly answered "Ronon" (then imitated Jason Momoa trying to pick him up saying "I just love you, dude!" in Jason's voice, then retorting "You're breaking my wrist!" Hee hee).

Someone asked what shows he likes and he mentioned Heroes, Journeyman, Six Feet Under and The Sopranos.

The highlight (okay, one of the highlights) of his talk for me was when someone asked him what the best part about coming to cons was. He said it was meeting all the fans. He was really gracious for all the support he gets from fans. He invited a couple of young girls up on the stage. He asked if they were shy and then asked their names, ages, and if they were married (or had a boyfriend). He said he's been to so many places to do cons, like Australia, the UK... He said it was incredible.

He talked a bit about A Dog's Breakfast, where he was made to dress like a woman. He said "I don't make a good-looking woman", and one girl yelled out "Yeah you do!" ;) He talked about filming it and being stuck in mud, which was pretty uncomfortable. When asked who he would zat if he could zat anyone once, he replied "Definitely McKay just to shut him up!"

Another funny bit was when someone asked what it was like to kiss David Hewlett in Duet. He immediately replied "Let me clarify something - he kissed me. And he won't stop calling me." He joked that DH's lips are like sandpaper and also mentioned something about halitosis, LOL.

He was asked if he could say anything about the ep he filmed for S4. He said he really couldn't, but it's a very smart way to bring the character back, and things are left very open to bring him back again. He again mentioned the Save Carson Beckett rally, that it was really something with all the people out in the rain and the bagpipers and everything. He said the character is really the emotional core of the team. It's really his favorite role, such a multi-layers, fun character that does lots of dramatic work and that's why it was so sad to leave. He praised the crew and said they are very hard-working.

He was then asked that, if he could write his own SGA ep, how would he write it. He said he'd put DH in a dress. He was asked what his favorite scene to film was. He mentioned some of the scenes from Poisoning the Well, and the scene in Irresistible with Richard Kind (Lucius), where Beckett was crying. A girl asked him what his reaction was when he heard his death would be by exploding tumor. He replied in his Carson Beckett accent "You're an evil young lady!" He said they told him they needed to shake things up and so they have to kill him. He said "Is this a joke?" He was surprised but he did his best with the episode.

When asked if he preferred dramatic eps or more light-hearted ones, he said he likes both. They can both be challenging, and good writing is what matters. He said he and DH have comedic timing (he played the straight man to DH in Duet). Someone asked how acting with DH was different from having DH direct. He praised David, saying that he is fun to act with and is a good director.

Someone else asked how it felt to be replaced by Jewel (Staite) as the lead doctor. He said he wasn't really being replaced; it's just different and we'll see where it lies in the future. He said he got a chance to act with her in SGA recently.

He talked about some pranks on set and that Joe Flanigan is a big jokester. He mentioned an ep where he and DH had to carry stretchers. Joe told a 250-lb guy to lie on one of the stretchers, then filled his medical backpack with rocks. When Paul was helping carry them Joe said to something "oh, wow, you sweat a lot!" He found out there was about 40 lbs of rocks inside and Joe was laughing his head off.

Someone asked if DH is indeed allergic to lemons. He said "I don't know, but I hope so." He was really great.

After his talk they showed some more videos: A Vala-centric vid, then a Siler vid (about "the fall guy"), a Rodney vid, and finally a Daniel/Weir vid. They finished it up with a Zelenka vid.

Afterwards all the Gateworlders posed together for a few group photos. We were all going to go out to dinner together, but a few people had to wait on the autograph line.

We decided to go to Chili's for dinner, so Lori and Sue_Jackson and I drove over there (everyone else would join us later after autograph session ended). There ended up being a 45 min. - 1 hr wait, and Sue_J had to be back for the dessert party at 9 pm. It would be cutting it a bit close so strider took her back to the hotel while I stayed at the restaurant. She came back a few minutes later and not long after that everyone else (Trupi with her daughter and hubby, lacka1986, Watcher652, and Mesenet (sorry if I've forgotten anyone) arrived. We didn't end up eating until around a quarter to 9 pm.

When we got back to the hotel, we all met for a while in the bar. As the dessert party ended, we saw Jay and Paul milling about in the hall. Jay came into the bar but he sat alone at a table on the other side. Paul walked up to the see-through glass window we were sitting behind. We all waved to him and he pressed himself up against the glass, looking at us. Then a guy dressed as a wraith pretended he was sucking the life out of him, lol.

After a while I started getting tired and went up to bed around 12:45am. Lori came up a bit later.

Day 2 - Sunday Nov. 4th

Lori and I had breakfast in the hotel at around 8am. When we finished we hung around near the ballroom where the Brunch was being held and checked out the silent auction (I bid on a couple of things but got outbid on both - oh well). At around 9am we saw Michael Shanks heading over to the ballroom. Looked good - and wasn't wearing a hat this time!!

I had to go up to the room to get something and while I was gone Lori and Erica (lacka1986) saw Tony Amendola and got a pic taken with him - just my luck I had to miss that! But after I came back down, Tony was hanging around by the coffee shop for a little while.

The con opened a bit earlier than yesterday and the first thing they did was show a Jack/Daniel music video... a silly, funny vid to "The Ketchup Song."

Kate Hewlett was the first celebrity guest of the day. She was great - quite funny. She was mostly there to promote her new play Humans Anonymous, which was being performed in New York City that night (would have liked to go, but it was too late at night and we had to get back).

She pretty much started her talk with "it's weird to be here without David." She said she just did a second episode of SGA with Steven Culp (sp?) from Desperate Housewives. She and David would be doing a serious scene in it, but they'd keep giggling "It's the guy from Desperate Housewives!!" Then Steven would look at them and start giggling as well.

She mentioned how McKay and Mrs. Miller established the relationship between her and McKay and she talked about what it was like filming the episode. She didn't know how loud all the explosions would be. She and David were wearing earplugs... she would giggle and David would go, "be serious," but then he would giggle too.

She then talked about her new play, which was playing in the city around 54th and Broadway. It was about 60 minutes long when it was first written for a festival in Toronto, and now it's about 90 minutes long.

She joked that she's suddenly very aware of her Canadian accent since she arrived here. "Apparently I do say 'aboot'" and she can't say "about." *grin*

She read a monologue from the play. In it people mostly talk about their various fears. I wish I could remember some things from the monologue but it was pretty funny. She also wrote a song that is sung at the end of it. She was asked how she found someone to produce the play. She said a girl from NY saw the show in Toronto and fell in love with it.

Someone asked her if she's always been a writer, and when did she first want to write. She said she was interested in writing long before she got interested in acting. She did poetry as a child and did playwriting at theater school. She also enjoys screenplays and television writing.

Someone else mentioned the unique clothing her character had in A Dog's Breakfast and asked whose decision it was. She said that her shoes were held together with duck tape. The costume lady for the film used to work on SG-1 and found most of her clothing for this film in second hand stores.

Another question was whether there was a rivalry between her and David where acting was concerned, and how did she get started in acting. She said there was really no rivalry between them. David got into acting rather young while she got into it later on. She saw him acting and it became a possibility for her. She said he's been really great about it. David suggested that McKay's sibling on SGA would be a woman, not a man, and Martin Gero made it happen. She talked a bit more about McKay and Mrs. Miller. Martin Gero has a similar sense of humor to her and David, and he wrote the episode with their relationship in mind. She said the banter between them was dead on, and the ep lets fans see a different side of Rodney. She mentioned that the new episode of SGA that she's in has more action.

Someone had a question about David - that he's very talkative on the show, and is he like that in real life. She replied, "No, he's very quiet and deep" and then took it back, saying that he is very talkative and very funny (and that he has verbal diarrhea... *grin*). She was then asked if working in SGA or in A Dog's Breakfast was more fun. She said, "the truth, or what David would want me to say?" She said that SGA was less stressful. A Dog's Breakfast took longer to shoot and was a creative learning experience. When she was asked what it was like working with her brother behind the scenes on SGA, she said David is very protective of her and really makes it comfortable for her. They make fun of each other. She said it's a much different experience when you know someone on the set and coming back to do the new episode was great. She and David also have giggling fits.

A girl congratulated her on becoming Aunt Kate (regarding David's new little boy). She said she didn't get to meet the little guy just yet. His name is Sebastian and they call him "Bast." Someone asked what it was like growing up with David. She said he is 9 years older than her and is the eldest child. He tormented her other sisters the most, but she got along great with him and they were the pranksters.

Someone then mentioned Paul McGillion's appearance yesterday and asked what it was like working with him on both SGA and A Dog's Breakfast. She said it was like having a second brother - that he's very much like David (very silly, funny, and a jerk). She said he was a blast to work with, but he is the ugliest woman alive (referring to A Dog's Breakfast... LOL). Someone else asked what her reaction was when she heard that her brother kissed Paul (in Duet). She answered, "Like this..." and then mimed vomiting. She said anything that torments David is great, and that he and Paul made a nice couple. She really was very funny.

Before Cliff Simon came on, they showed a music video devoted to Ba'al. It started with the words "How many Ba'als does it take to make a music video?" and then "That depends on how many Ba'als do you have." It was to the "Real Slim Shady" song.

When Cliff came out he started by playing the "South African anthem" which basically sounded like one of the Chipmunks singing it and had a lot of "bla bla blah" later in the song. He said that's usually how they sing it in sporting events.

He said he moved from South Africa to LA 7 years ago. He wanted to start over so he moved to the States, and mentioned that going to each state is like going to a different country. He was quite tanned (and Lori and I both agreed he looks so much better in person) because he'd just arrived back from Mexico. He said he loves the water and goes kayaking in the ocean.

He started talking about working on SG-1 and said that they messed around a lot on the show but it's very professional. He is friends with Michael Greenburg. He was a professional dancer for 12 years with Michael's wife, and he met Michael through her (and he approached Cliff to do the show). He said he wanted a character that has longevity, and now that they've cloned him a million times....

He briefly mentioned the new movie and said it was amazing. He said it was an interesting story that involves time travel. Apparently Ba'al goes back in time and changes everything. It's as if the last ten years didn't happen. He said three or four of his clones are involved in it (the last surviving ones, anyway). He also mentioned that he wears a sleeveless top in the movie (Martin Wood apparently didn't know how in shape - or "ripped" as Cliff put it - he was and told wardrobe to cut off the sleeves of one of the tops he was wearing). Hee hee...

First episode of SG-1 he did was Summit. He said he watched how the other guys (meaning the actors playing the other goa'ulds in that ep) played their characters, and that the baddest people on earth are the most charming people; that is how you draw victims in. Michael Greenburg said he was fantastic after doing that ep (and Cliff mentioned that he was checking out Osiris up and down, smiling at her and leaning over in the chair).

He talked about the sort of "rapport" between his character and Jack. He worked off RDA as far as the humor went and they established a "thing" between O'Neill and Ba'al. The writers started writing humorous lines for him, and he started playing Ba'al as himself.

He said that Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro are his heroes in acting because they live their characters. He said that when filming SG-1, he'd stay in character all day. He wouldn't socialize with anyone and would just go off to his trailer. When he'd get home he'd completely push it aside.

Someone (I think it was a little boy or girl) asked why he has so many clones. He replied "So I can keep earning money on the show." This was followed up by the "if you could zat anyone once on the show, who would it be" question. He said probably Teal'c because he wouldn't expect it.

He was asked what his favorite part of acting as Ba'al was. He said it was when they made all the clones and he had to play each one. He said playing each different clone was fun. He'd have to walk around and look at himself, and no one was there. Follow up question was how difficult that was. He said it was very difficult in the beginning. It took a long time to shoot those scenes - from about 4pm to 4am. He had to remember in his own mind where "he" was standing.

An interesting question was whose idea was it to use Ba'al's human voice in the show (instead of the Goa'uld voice all the time. He said the Goa'uld voice got less and less over time, and the only reason the Goa'uld spoke like that was because they pretended to be gods. He said that notion worked well in the episode where Teal'c was his prisoner. He said he wanted his own voice to be heard and talked about the "flanging" process (he had to speak slower when they did that because otherwise you can't hear or understand what is said). He said his voice will sometimes be flanged in the movie, sometimes not.

His favorite form of torture in Abyss? "All of it." When asked who else he'd like to torture, he said it would be Teal'c and then mentioned how much he liked the acid torture.

He said the relationship between Ba'al and O'Neill will continue in the movie. He is a prisoner in the movie when he first confronts Jack, and says to him "Well, well, General Jack O'Neill" with a sarcastic emphasis on the "General" part. Jack replies with "Ba'al! Nice to see you again!" Cliff said this is how the movie starts and it sets the tone for the whole movie. Hmm, interesting. :)

He talked a bit about the mythology behind Ba'al - that the character on the show is an enigma (not knowing exactly where he's from, coupled with the accent), but the name Ba'al is short for Beelzebub, and it means fallen angel or the Devil.

He was asked whose idea it was to have Amanda hit him in The Quest Part 2. He said it was fun and that he thinks there was always a "thing" between Ba'al and "Samantha." Ba'al wanted to get a rise out of her in that scene and was happy because he had an effect on her. Her reaction was what he wanted.

He was then asked that if he could add any Ba'al scene to the show (maybe movies as well), what would it be? He said he'd like to add a love scene between Ba'al and Vala (*ducks D/V shippers* Hey, he said it, not me! *snerk*). He said that such a scene should have been in Continuum.

That was about the extent of his talk. After it ended, they showed another music video. This time "Moondust and Starlight" by brihana25, showcasing long haired Daniel (*Jess sighs*). There was another auction and then a final round of trivia for the weekend. I ended up winning an autographed picture of Daniel/MS. Someone was able to stump the participants with a question - "what was the name of the rebel Jaffa lead by Ishta" (answer was "the Hak'tyl"). I wasn't even going to volunteer but Lori said I should, so up went my hand. Brian said he had an autographed pic of Paul McGillion for me, but he ended up giving me an autographed Michael Shanks pic instead (it was the one with the slightly scruffy beard from S9). Would have liked a Paul one but it was a lovely shot of MS so I didn't mind too much. ;)

Before Michael came on, they showed another Daniel-centric music video. This time it was to "Eve of Destruction" and was centered around the episode Icon.

Michael came out dressed all in black, again with NO HAT on. *huge grin* You may say what's the big deal, but the last couple of times he was in NJ he wore a hat and I've never seen him hatless in person before. :) Someone yelled out "you did your hair!" or "I like your hair!" and apparently he'd been convinced not to wear a hat.  He'd also tamed those humongous lamb chop sideburns he had at Collectormania the weekend before. His hair was quite long, I'd say pretty much like early season Daniel and was quite unruly (and pardon my shallowness, but it looked just perfect to run the fingers through and tug on... *sigh*... okay where was I now? LOL). 

Someone asked him why he didn't go to the Arctic to film the scenes in Continuum. He said that at the time he was filming 24 and his wardrobe from that didn't really allow him to do so.

Someone asked him what kind of music he likes. He said he likes an eclectic mix - rock, classical, country and even some pop. He mentioned something about singing to "Jesse's Girl" by Rick Springfield in the car. Hmm.... ;)

He was then asked how the characters in Lifeboat came to be. As far as the little boy was concerned, they had a casting call for Revisions, and the boy who appeared in Lifeboat didn't get the part in Revisions. They told Michael he only had a few lines in it, so he studied the boy's audition tape to prepare for doing the role of Keenan (he basically mimicked the kid). He also mentioned the girl who was in All Around the Town, and that he also stole things from movies and popular culture and whittled them down to what we see onscreen.

A young girl asked him if Daniel and Vala would get together in the movies. He paused for a bit and then simply said "you'll have to see." Sue_Jackson mentioned the scene in Unending where Daniel goes off on Vala and asked where he got all the energy he had in that scene. He answered caffeine. He also said that the way Coop (my own "pet name" (yes sarcasm intended) for Robert C. Cooper) originally wrote it, they would have Vala bugging Daniel and then suddenly they were sleeping together with no rhyme or reason, and Daniel just saying "so this is what a relationship is like." Both he and CB weren't happy about it though. Sue also asked him what his favorite scene with CB was and he couldn't really name one favorite - he mentioned a few like the burning scene in Avalon.

Someone asked about the SG-1 video game Stargate Alliance and he said that it's pretty much dead now, that they did the voices and got their images put on it but it was shut down before it was released and he owns some of the only copies of the unfinished discs. He said there was another coming out called Stargate Worlds but it's more like Warcraft so it doesn't involve them or their voices at all.

When asked the customary "if you could zat someone only once who would it be" question he answered "a television executive" and that it wouldn't be only once.

Okay, the question that confused me in part 2 of my report about the Transformers character was this... would he prefer dying like Bumblebee from the Transformers movie or like Kenny from South Park. His reaction (esp. his expression) was hilarious. He went "Where the hell did THAT come from??" and then "I HATED that movie. It was a two hour commercial for toys... toys from the eighties!" And then finally, "Uh... yeah, Kenny from South Park."

A boy asked him if he feels his character has influenced Daniel, and if playing the character has influenced him over the years. His immediate reply was a quiet "that's so deep." He then said that, having played the character for ten years, his personality has affected the choices the character has made. He thinks he's had more of an effect on the character than the character has had on him, but the two of them have become intertwined.

A girl mentioned about how Daniel is a linguist and speaks all these foreign languages. She asked Michael if he speaks any, and he answered "honey, I barely speak English." ;) He then said that in Canada part of their schooling is learning French, although where he grew up on the far west coast he didn't get to use it much. He said it comes back to him now and again if he's doing something like visiting France, but he can't understand what they're saying in Quebec. He also said that Vaitiare's family speaks French so he had to get reaccustomed to it. Plus Tatiana attends a bilingual school and if he tries to speak French to her she says "Daddy, speak English."

Someone else asked him how he was able to play two distinct personalities in Holiday - Daniel and Ma'chello. He said they had trouble casting the role of Ma'chello because it wasn't a very big part and because whomever would be cast would have to imitate Michael himself. He said he talked to Michael Greenburg about this little dilemma and finally said "well most of what you see of him is Daniel inside of him so why don't we just age me?" That was when he mentioned RDA being aged in Brief Candle. They liked the idea because it saved them money, and it was also a big challenge for Michael to do.

He was asked what the most fun episode and the worst episode were for him to do. He said Prometheus Unbound was the most fun (talked about how they filmed it on second unit at the same time as Gemini) and either Broca Divide or Space Race was the worst. Broca Divide because of the makeup - he mentioned something about the weird eyebrows that Daniel had to have when he was infected. And Space Race because Lexa told him it was like watching an Andromeda episode. He said that the little scenes with the newscasters were pretty stupid.

He was also asked to talk about what his fellow SG actors are like. He said that AT is like a surrogate mother, very nurturing, proper, by the book, and doesn't like to rock the boat (sort of imitated her saying something like "oh, you boys..."). RDA is like a crotchety old uncle. He said that when he first met RDA back when they started the show, RDA, apparently in a very good mood, just told him "I get grouchy." He (RDA) was in his late 40s at the time and said that he's been an old man for 19 years already and will make the worst old man imaginable. Then when Michael saw the cuts from Brief Candle he said something like "there he is!" He also said RDA has a great sense of humor and pragmatism... but "what a grouch." *grin* He said CJ was the biggest prankster and is nothing like Teal'c. He is like a big kid... "Teal'c is 150 years old and Chris is 12." Ben Browder is quite like Cam Mitchell, has integrity and wants to do the right thing. And he also praised Claudia, talking about her comedic timing and things like that (he didn't gush over her quite as much as he has in the past in interviews, but it almost seemed like he still had a little crush on her).

Someone then asked why he started the trend of doctors getting killed on Stargate. He seemed pretty annoyed by this, saying that he didn't write it. LOL. He said that they thought it was the end in S7 so they wanted to do something dramatic. He didn't like the fact that Janet was killed off and said that Teryl had done a great job. "McGillion, on the other hand...." Hee hee. :)

Finally came my question. I asked him "Many of us have enjoyed the friendship between the SG-1 teammates over the years. Will we get to see any more of the friendship between the original team members, especially Daniel and Sam, in the movies?" Michael's answer was, "Ummmmm... not really." He did say that there will be interaction in the movies - nothing like them having tea and crumpets at O'Neill's house, but I think he said it would be mostly action-based, and we'll see it especially in Continuum since RDA will be back for that one. He also told me that Brad Wright is penning another screenplay so we may get to see more in the future. While that would be great I couldn't help being a little disappointed. It's sad how the 10 year friendships have been sidelined quite a bit recently. I guess the only thing we can do to reconcile that is write fan fiction. *sigh*

Anyway...

A kid asked him what his favorite part of playing Daniel Jackson was. He answered "kissing all the girls." He was then asked if he could take out any scene from the show, what would it be. He replied "the nude scene in Fallen" and said something about his "nads" shrinking since it was so cold out there in that park in Surrey, BC.

Someone else asked him how many times Daniel has died. He said he lost track at about 8, and there's probably more on the way (hmmm...). He was also asked earlier which Daniel he prefers playing more - Naive Daniel or Warrior Daniel. He said a combination of both. That sometimes it's good for him to be a little naive and filled with integrity.

At the very end of his talk he mentioned something about next year, and at first Lori and I thought he said he wasn't going to be there next year but we didn't really hear what he said. If anyone else was there and heard what he said, please let me know.

They began the photo op session immediately after his talk ended. I had to scramble and take out the drawing (I've posted a scan of it below) so I could get out there before the line got too monstrous. It looked a bit long when I got there but luckily I was only waiting about 20 minutes. I was a little worried that I wouldn't get to give the drawing to him, but the Creation folk told me I could give it to him once I got in the room.

So, there I went. I went up to him, he smiled, shook my hand and said "Hi!" I told him "I'm not much of an artist but I wanted to make this for you" and I handed him the drawing. He said "Oh, thank you!" and said it was very nice. He stuck it on a nearby table and the photographer had us pose. He snuggled up to me and put his arms around me in a sort of hug, with his head leaning on top of mine. I put one arm around him too. After the pic was taken he thanked me again for the drawing. It was all pretty rushed, definitely seemed more rushed than the last time I had the photo op with him in 2004 (and strangely enough I believe there were more people at that one). I have to wait 2 weeks and then find the pic on Creation's website so I can order it. They did offer to burn a jpeg of it on a CD but it cost extra and we really had to get going.

After the photo op Lori found me and had all my stuff for me. She got my second camera back (I'd given it to helena aka qksilver99) to take pictures of Michael for me since she was sitting in the first row. and all the other stuff I left at my seat. We left at around 5:30 and thanks to some traffic on the George Washington Bridge I got home at 7:30. Still it was good timing, much better than last year when the autograph session ran long.

All in all it was a great experience - I loved hanging out with my fellow Gateworlders and am still squeeeing over the photo op with MS.

And now, on to the pics. Like last year most of them did not come out too well (I was using a crummy little credit-card-sized 2 megapixel camera). Here are the best that I could pick out. Helena took a bunch of pics of Michael with my better 7.2 megapixel camera (thanks again!) so I also have those to share.

Jay:

Paul:

Kate:

Cliff:

Michael:




Michael (higher quality):



 









Scan of the drawing I gave to Michael at the photo op (scanner cut it off but it says "Thank you for 10 years as Daniel Jackson"):



Gateworld group photo (thanks, Lori!):



first row l-r: JessM (me), Watcher652, lacka1986, Mesenet, and Sue_Jackson
second row l-r: Strider and Trupi
third row l-r: Salty, Otera, knightie, Gate_Geek, and Starbird
fourth row l-r: sugar_shake, wwlh, sherryw, and SG1_poz



My photo op with Michael
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