Convention report - Saturday

[selenay]

I've finally had time to code up the 27 new reviews (and ignored the six new reviews that dropped into my inbox over the weekend *g*). They can be found here. Now I remember why I don't normally do that number in one go...

Anyway, convention report part 3:


Wolf have this wonderful system to handle the queues at a convention: they issue 'virtual queuing tickets'. This involves a quick queue very early to pick up a raffle ticket with a number. This is the number you keep for the rest of the day and the stewards call people into the hall in batches of these ticket numbers. A very sensible way of doing things, IMO. Limited queuing, no need to get up at a silly time and miss breakfast to get a good seat and Wolf only issues one ticket per person so you can't elect a member of your group to get tickets for everyone.

Sadly, paranoidangel42 had managed to get 6.30am breakfast and the virtual queuing tickets were scheduled to be given out at 7am. We decided to be sneaky - we'd nip down at around 6.45am (grabbing Kate and Beth on our way) to get a good spot in the queue, pick up our ticket at 7am and be in the dining hall by 7.15 for a very quick breakfast before the 7.30am crowd arrived. It was a good plan...

Wolf, as is typical at conventions, scuppered the plan. At 7.20am they finally began handing out the virtual tickets (No. 76 here) so PA and I made it to break fast at 7.29am. Ooops. They let us in, we quickly ate (and I finally got some coffee - can't handle mornings without it) and then passed Kate and Beth in the 7.30 queue, smiling smugly at us as we trotted away. Hmmm. Back to the rooms for showers (yay for hot water!), dressing a little more respectably, checking cameras and then wandering down to the convention suite for just after nine. Programming was scheduled to begin at 9.30am, so our timing was great *g* While we waited to be called in, Beth handed out some questionnaires to attendees for her dissertation (why can't I write a dissertation on Stargate conventions? Whaa!) and we chatted to some of her victims. I won hands down in the improbable pairings debate with Walter/George. Sorry msbeata *g*

Eventually we were called on and we scrambled for good aisle seats so that we could easily rush forward to get photos of the guests. Very vital tactic. The first guest (after Bryan the organiser's welcome message) was Neil Denis, the young lad who plays Ryac. It was his first convention and he seemed to be having a blast. His parents were in the audience (he was apparently flying on to Nairobi afterwards to revisit his roots) and I hope they were proud of him - he was lovely :-) He's practically grown up on the show and has a lot of respect for everyone involved. Neil was a great guest; he was quite happy to babble and chatter about the show, his career and anything that came into his head if questions were thin on the ground. He also showed a lot of maturity and intelligence in many of his question answers.

Paul McGillion was next up. He plays Dr. Carson Beckett in Atlantis and I think that his appearance at SG-8 created a lot of Beckett fans :-) He's very insane, announced that he's single to every attractive female (*g*) and is obviously having a blast on the show. Apparently the producers made him tone down the Scots accent a little in the show - not that the Americans would believe it *g* His normal accent in Canadian with a hint of Scots but he falls easily into a fairly broad Scots accent. Give that man title credits next season!

Peter Wingfield was the last guest before the lunch break. He had been invited on the basis of his appearance on Stargate as Tanith, but there were a huge number of Highlander fans in the audience so three-quarters of his questions were about Methos. Not that I was complaining *g* He was charming and lovely and had some fascinating insights into Methos. He seemed a little tired that day, but he perked up a lot on Sunday.

We broke for lunch just before twelve and were shooed out of the hall so that the techies could do a sound check for the concert that night. Beth and Kate elected to stay in the lobby area to get food from the tuck shops (and hand out more questionnaires). PA and I returned to our room to make sandwiches. I'd bought tickets for photo shoots with Peter Wingfield and Teryl and left instructions with Beth to call me if I was needed. Mid-way through the sandwich my phone rang, I squealed in Beth's ear and high-tailed it back to the suite for my Peter Wingfield photo. One of the fun things about photo shoots is standing in the queue waiting - you're in the room where the photos are being done so you get to watch the actors for a quarter of an hour. Of course, this also helps to build up nerves :-) Peter's photo with a Jedi Chef was great fun :-)

I got back to the hall just as Ronny Cox arrived on stage. He had his hand along to sing a couple of songs as a 'taster' for the concert that evening (and also as a sneaky extra sound check). As noted before, he is nothing like Senator Kinsey *g*

Part way through his Q and A session, a message appeared on the screen above and behind the the actors (it usually displays video of the guests for those at the back who can't see the stage well) that Teryl's photo shoot was beginning. Yay! I sometimes wonder how disconcerting it is for the actors to suddenly see fifty people get up and leave their talk...

My ticket number was an early one, but I stopped by the bathrooms to change into the cool shirt that Beth had made me (Sam, Janet, not smutty 'cos...Teryl). I couldn't wear it for long because the transfer Beth had used was trying to detach (the poor thing had a nightmare with the shirts this year), but I was determined to wear it during the photo *g* Of course, this meant that I was a long way back in the line when I got there. Oh, the hardship of watching Teryl have photos taken for half an hour...

Teryl is an absolute sweetheart and remembered me *g* She also loved the shirt and insisted on pointing it out to everyone in the room *g* I, in turn, pointed out the artist (who was waiting for her turn in front of the camera) *g* Sadly, that darned transfer was pealing in one corner. Teryl couldn't have that so she carefully helped it to stay on during the photo. My face is a pretty shade of pink in the finished product...

It took descended_sg1 (who was on steward's duty in there) a little while to calm down my goofy giggles afterwards :-)

I arrived back in the hall for the end of Don S. Davis's talk. He's a cuddly grandad and absolutely adorable :-)

Last (but absolutely not least) up was Teryl. Yay! She was bouncing around and hyper, as usual, and quickly scooted into the audience to take questions. She drives the convention camera men nuts :-) A fan had given her a T-shirt - on the front it said "Oh my God! They killed Janet!" The back read "The ba****ds!!" She was wearing it proudly :-) sazzle_02 has threatened her with physical harm if she tells the bird story again. Saz was signing (because she is wonderful) and the bird story was hideous to sign - how many times would you like to sign "and there was this bird!" *g* Teryl told it with a lot of energy, a ton of gestures and the trademark Teryl humor. She also came up with a way to return to the series - as Gwendolyn, Janet's younger (but very similar-looking) sister. Gwendolyn would need a different surname, so that nobody would realise she was Janet's sister until she appeared, so Teryl decided that Gwendolyn would be married and her love interest/husband would be played by...Patrick Stewart :-) Wonder why...

Teryl was eventually pulled off stage (to the biggest applause of the day) and Bryan made announcements about the evening program and the autographs. My lovely low ticket number (244) meant that there was a good chance that I'd get my autographs that day and Beth was doing her questionnaires again, so PA, Kate and I wandered away to our rooms to grab things, leaving instructions for Beth to call if numbers came up. We booked a table at the hotel restaurant for 6.30pm and Beth called us at around 5.30pm. She and Kate both had sub-250 tickets so the three of us joined the queue, leaving PA to relax and possibly get our table if we were late.

The photo shoot room was now doing duty as the autograph room and the actors each had a table around it. We queued for each actor in turn and were allowed to have one personal item (i.e. not a photo for £10) for each actor to sign and any number of bought photos. I had the poster I'd been getting signed at SG-7 for most of the actors and a magnet for Teryl to sign. Well, she'd already signed Jack's crotch on my poster and she's probably get disappointed if she signed it again :-) I also bought a Peter Wingfield picture and a Teryl one.

Ronny Cox was the first table - he was being gracious and lovely to everyone. Talking a lot, but being lovely *g* Peter Wingfield was next in the line-up - my photo from the photo shoot earlier was placed in front of him just as I got to his table (all the actors sign their photos before they're given out). His comment - "What a familiar face" *g*

Neil Denis was at the desk next to him so we went straight onto him - he looked a little overwhelmed, but was thoroughly enjoying himself as well. Awww. At this point Kate, Beth and I worked out a rota of 'who gets autoed first' in our little group that would culminate in me being the last to have Teryl's auto. Not that I wanted to spend extra time at that end of the room...

After Ronny and Neil, we joined the queue for Paul. The man is chatty as anything and his queue was taking *ages*. Kate was first in our little group that time, followed by me and then Beth. Now, Beth had made a T-shirt with Beckett and Fraiser on in honour of their appearance and she was using that as her personal item for Paul and Teryl. When she finally reached Kate and I in Don's line, she showed us the T-shirt. Paul had signed and written "Stargate's No. 1 doctor". He'd then had the temptation to draw glasses and a mustache on Janet's face - and Beth told him to go ahead *g*

Don was adorable and we worked our way through his queue quickly (all the time hoping that nobody would divert us to Teryl's queue - they were attempting to speed things up a little). And then we were at Teryl's table where there was barely any queue at all. I hung back to be the last in our little group and Beth was the first - with the T-shirt. Teryl got a mock-outraged look and promptly signed the T-shirt, adding "In his dreams!" She then proceeded to doodle on Paul's face *g* Her expression and her outraged mutterings had us in stitches. Kate got through fairly unscathed and then it was me, with my photo and magnet. And she still recognised me - that shirt on Thursday made an impression. Apparently I need to buy an entire wardrobe in that colour because it suites me so well *g*

And then the autographing was over and we dashed to make our table. PA was already there (phew!) and we had a raucous, fun dinner, telling the tales from the autographing. Our plan was to go back to the room PA and I were sharing for chocolate and a rest before taking in the evening program. We had the chocolate, we had a lot of giggling and silliness and completely forgot about everything else :-) We finally turned in at 12.30am, our earliest night of the convention.

Comments

[selenay]

To which you strenuously objected.

Absolutely *g* Er...

PW and Teryl. I envy you.

I thought you might *g* Those two alone made the con worth going to - who needs Michael Shanks and Chris Judge anyway?

BTW, I enjoyed your Atlantis fic and I should have told you so sooner.

::blush:: Thank you :-)

[mmmchelle.livejournal.com]

Actually, I do kind of need Michael Shanks.

PW caught me ogling him at a con. He smiled knowingly; I blushed.

[selenay]

Actually, I do kind of need Michael Shanks.

*g*

PW caught me ogling him at a con.

::snicker:: I think they twig to us rather quickly...