I’ve read very detailed and great reports about this con, so I’m not even going to go into that ;).
Instead I’ll just say that I had a fantastic week-end, both con and friend wise (until the last minute I did wish you could have been here Finn ! {{{hugs}}} ).
Meeting up with all those Squirrels was an absolute blast. I know it already, and yet, despite that, I keep being amazed by the easy acceptance of those incredible people. We’re from all ages, from everywhere, from all shapes and different ideas, but suddenly none of this counts and it’s just being all together, as friends. And I love it.
The con organisation seemed good to me, but then it’s only my first “big” con after the Meet the Hewletts day from last June, so I’m hardly in position to judge. In any case I didn’t get massively bored, nor completely lost. Even when some stuff got late they took the time to reassure us that all of us would get our pictures and autographs one way or another, and when you know you’re a standard ticket, and rather at the end of those on top of it, it is nice to hear that you will not be forgotten and left out ^_^. Plus I met some people from the crew, and even after the event they had only positive things to say about their conditions of work, and to me that’s something important. Indeed when the crew is happy it makes everyone feel good.
About the guests :
Alexis Cruz surprised me in such a good way. He’s a very positive man, still as enthusiast about his work now as he was when he began, and it’s so very apparent that he has deep respect for his craft. He was fun and very interesting to listen to.
Peter Williams was, in my eyes, the most “British” of all the guests. He had those calm, dry traits of humour, about everything, including himself. He was also much more smiley than I expected, but then of course I did have in memory the Apophis years :p. Very interesting.
Colin Cunnigham was the entertainer of the week-end, he definitely knows his craft well, he’s enthusiastic about it and knows how to share his passion. He apparently made a lot of new fans that week-end, so good for him ! :D
Jason Momoa. I’m a bit conflicted about Jason. On one hand it was nice meeting him and there were times during the talks were he was brilliant. His interaction with Joe was also one of the best thing of the week-end and I’m really glad the organisers decided to put those two together for the talks. On the other hand, at some points during the talks, he also massively gave the impression that he both didn’t enjoy being there all that much, and brought attention to the fact that he was bored quite often. Now I don’t pretend to know the man personally, so for all I know this could have been an act, but it didn’t feel like it. As much as I do believe a part of him enjoys more or less meeting the fans, I also felt that the biggest part of him didn’t really want to be there. I also get that we can all have bad days, and maybe he was having some, I get that meeting the hardcore fans is not always easy, and so on, and so on, I mean there are dozens of excuses for not being 100% at a convention, still I wasn’t seduced by the attitude (especially after the third or fourth time he gleefully told of one more insult toward David Hewlett, sorry but it doesn’t make me laugh when Jason keeps calling him “the fat guy”, or “the ugly guy” or other insults of the same type. Once is barely funny in a room where 80% of the attendant are overweighed, more than once is just insulting, plus I love David Hewlett). So although Jason was, with Joe, one of the reasons I went to this con in particular, I have to say that I will not look out for another of his appearances, or at least not until he learns a bit better how to work a crowd (Colin Cunningham could teach him a few things about that).
Joe Flanigan. Joe is handsome. Yes it’s very shallow of me to begin there but I don’t care because it’s true. So I’ve read about people being disappointed because of the beard and here’s my view on that : Five years ago, when SGA began, I could not have imagined liking it, in fact when Epiphany came out I was a bit “bleh” about the beard, but then, maybe I just got older or something, I began to actually like it when Joe wasn’t close-shaved. And it’s also a known fact that Joe usually doesn’t shave when not on set (and hell, if I had a 5 o’clock shadow at 10am, I wouldn’t shave either when I’m not working !!!). All of this to say that I loved the look of him, yes including the beard. In fact I might mourn its loss when the time will come :p. (I’ll also add as a last point, that given the handsomeness with the beard, I would probably have died if there had been no beard and even more handsomeness, see, staying alive is a good reason for me to like the beard !! :D).
Now, on a bit less shallow subject, Joe seemed to be quite tired during the week-end (which, alas for him made him even more pretty ! :p), but that’s understandable, between the trips, the billion photoshoots and the trillion autographs he must have signed ! He also seems to be quite shy in public, especially at first, and it made me glad for Jason’s presence as it worked perfectly to relax him and be comfortable with the audience. He was funnier than I expected which was a fantastic surprise, and he sounds quite smart and reflective, which, I’m sorry to say, just forces you (well at least it did for me) to completely and irremediably fall in love with the guy, which is completely unfair as he’s already married :p.
For some reason I went to the con believing that I would be disappointed by Joe. Don’t ask me why, I have no idea. But the week-end just blew away that misconception like dust in the wind. Mind you I didn’t really get to talk to the guy like the gold ticket owners, nor like the people who bought a seat to the “private meet”, but the little I saw, the things I heard, and the talks, all of this just didn’t manage to disappoint me at any time. I don’t believe he’s perfect but he’s a good guy and that’s enough to like him more than too much :).
And now that I’ve met both David Hewlett and Joe Flanigan, I’m beginning to understand the chemistry. And it’s somehow leaving me in awe to realise that whatever characters you dress them up with, as long as they interact there will be that little something different. It’s rare enough on screen, especially on tv, to be noted, and I don’t know if they realise it, but honestly I would sell an arm to see them interact in a convention, no being covered by one of their character (apart, of course, from the “public persona” that most actors understandably wear in public), I think it has the potential to be either terrible (if they can’t feel comfortable enough to let it flow naturally) or absolutely brilliant.
And that’s it for my con experience, a fantastic one all in all ^_^ !
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