Last night was the Sci Fi dinner. In attendance: representatives from Sci Fi, Eureka, Who Wants to be Superhero, Flash Gordon, and, Stargate Atlantis. We got there for 8:00 p.m., assuming we’d be sitting down to eat at 8:30ish – but we weren’t actually seated until 9:30 p.m. by which time I was pretty much stuffed on passing mushroom empanadas, chicken taquitos, and little shrimp and salsa nacho things. Still, I managed to make it through all of my soup and a good part of my chicken with Diablo sauce (I assured the waiter I liked spicy so I suspect he relayed this to the chef who took it as a personal challenge. It was definitely, uh, piquant. I felt as though I’d been sucking on heated coals!). Our table (David and Jane, Nora, Claire, and Erik from Sci Fi, Jewel and Matt, and myself) had a terrific time and by the time I hit the hotel at a little before 11:00 p.m., I was exhausted. It had been quite a day.
I sat in the audience for the Ark of Truth panel. They kicked things off with a truly spectacular trailer (makes me want to see the movie one more time) after which Rob, Ben, Chris, Amanda, and Martin took the stage. This year, there was plenty more time for questions. Lots of good back and forth between the panelists. The highlight, I thought, was the moment a fan belted out a Stargate parody for the less than appreciative audience. Chris, Amanda, and Ben weighed in on the performance as Randy, Paula, and Simon.
The trailer that Sci Fi put together for the Atlantis panel also kicked ass. Hopefully, you’ll all be able to catch it soon. The panel itself went well although everyone complained about the lights (hot!), and the acoustics (no one could hear anyone else talking). It was hard to see anything from where we were sitting, but I did catch the yellow and blue of the waving Scottish flags. And, once the panel wrapped and the lights went up, the bagpiper who started playing near the front row startled the hell out of me. As I made my way down to the convention floor, I signed some autographs, posed for pics, received a nifty gift bag from the SCB campaign organizers, and chatted with fellow Vancouverite Vikitty and SCB organizer Michelle (who I ended up walking the floor with for a while). Some truly, truly bizarre outfits on display – as some of these pictures will prove.
We were done and I was planning to head back to the hotel when our publicist Brigitte informed me that a small fan gathering would be taking place in one of the smaller rooms and would I like to stick around to say hi. I said sure and so, an hour and a half later, I made my way up to room 24A where a bunch of SG teams were loitering about. Met some more fans and also spoke to absent fan Desiree way back on the east coast (her friend handed me her cellphone and said: “Here, say hi to Desiree”. I, of course, admonished her for not showing up and choosing to attend Dragon Con over Comic Con).
And so, Martin Wood, Ben Browder, and myself put in a brief appearance, saying hi to the gathering and a special hi to Late Night correspondent and Stargate fan Pierre Bernard. Ben, upon spotting Pierre who put in an appearance in 200 as a zombie that Mitchell guns down: “Bernard! Didn’t I kill you already?”.
We retired to the Green Room for a few minutes where I chowed down on brownies and pecan tarts, and met actor Brandon Molale who is in the running to play Captain Marvel in the upcoming Shazam! After that, it was another long limo ride back to the hotel.
Well, I’ll leave the rest of this blog to the pics. I have an afternoon of R&R during which I’ll be holed-up in my room, reading A Game of Thrones. Then, at 7:30 p.m., we’ll be heading out to the big Sci Fi party. I’ll snap some pics for ya.
Today’s pics: David and the ladies, Marla from Eclipse Magazine, Ben kicking back before the panel, Nora sabotages my photo-op, Mr. Flanigan, Shaun Farrell from Adventures in Scifi Publishing, Jordan from UGO, a character from Star Wars I assume, Black Cat, WTF?, Is this what my life has come to?, Evil Bo Peep?, the original Wolverine bub, Mad Eye Moody, Hey it’s the Batmobile! a bad night at the prom, SG teams ready to head off-world, the off-world gathering of fans, Brandon Molale the new Captain Marvel?, heading out the back to catch our lift, Claire all dressed up and ready to dine, Nora reprimands the ever-naughty David Hewlett, Oh my Gawd I can’t believe I’m sitting beside Jewel Staite!, Nora O’Brien and Erik Storey in an animated discussion, Jewel and Matt show off the menu.
Please try to persuade SciFi to post that trailer to their site! Neat shots of the cast!
lol, those are great photos. Love the one of David with Amanda and Jewel.The smirk on his face is priceless!!!
*waves*
Ah Mr M you’re truly spoiling us with all the pics and the news. I’m glad everything went well, and it’s great to see everyone having a good time. Well except for the Racoon man… was he a racoon or a wolf? Oh he did not look a happy camper, lol.
Thanks for sharing your yummy stuff it’s got me all excited once more, if not a little jealous at everyone who got to go. 😀
*hugs*
amanda!! 😀
and yummy pictures of ben!! 😀
thanks!
sally 😀
I love the Pics!
And yes that is a Pic of a fan as a Character of Star Wars…
Question about ComicCon, what was or is the best part for you…tell the truth now!
NZJ
“After that, it was another long limo ride back to the hotel.”
lol!
That is definitely some crazy stuff, Evil Bo Peep… Never thought I’d see the day.
You don’t happen to have a video of all this do you? For all the unfortunate Stargate fans that couldn’t make it?
I think the good people of Scotland with their finely honed sense of humor know full well I was joking about all of us not liking Scots. While I can’t speak for everyone aroudn the office… I, for one, love the birthplace of golf and the noble people who live there. Those around the office know full well how I like to kick back with a tasty haggis and regale the troups with tales from my adventures on the links while listening to bagpipe music — while wearing a kilt. Come on Joe, come clean, and admit it. I was the one who insisted you bring back Carson Beckett and when you said okay fine, one episode, I insisted it be two. Whether you admit it or not, the people of Scotland know the truth. We Canadians never lie. Long live Carson Beckett.
Nice Pics. Sounds like you’re having a great time at Comic Con.
I was wondering if you could dedicate a blog to my son David. He broke his nose yesterday.
SueS
Hey Joe, I’m glad you’re having such a great time, I’ve never been to a con but it looks amazing. I get to go to my first one in January. Can’t wait!
Any idea if the trailers for The Ark of Truth and/or season 4 will be up on the web any time soon?
Sounds like you guys had a great time, Is it me or does Joe Flanigan look a little hungover???
Joe,
Just wanted to thank you for your pictures of Ben Browder. The two from this blog are two of the sexiest pictures of Ben I’ve seen in a long time! You’ve made some of us females fans quite happy. THanks!
Is that Little Bo Peep? I am confused…
I have to say, I’ve seen cosplay at conventions before and I thought I’d seen it all… but no, Comic Con wins… *is still just a wee bit speechless at the erm… cow… woman… thing…*
I like that you make so much time for the fans… I know that it’s appreciated so much…
Enjoy your R&R, I hope you get the book finished and don’t have to leave at a crucial part… *hates when that happens*
Mary
Fabulous photos! Wish I was there…
Hi Joe!
Wow….can’t believe I haven’t seen your blog before. Cool stuff! Thanks for doing it!
Just wanted to say….Stargate rocks in all its forms. You guys deliver such excellent writing…entertainment that does more than entertain…impressive impressive work.
Hope Comic-Con is a blast for you…dying to see Season 4!
john (in New Zealand)
Doesn’t sound like any fun what-so-ever and i’m not at all jealous because i have far more important things to do…..Ooo, CHiP’s marathon on Sky, can my day get anymore exciting.
Ah poor Mr Cooper, that icy tingle up your back is the ghost of William Wallace (Brave Heart)a haunting yer. We English learnt a long time ago not to mess with our Scottish cousins they are a people who know how to hold a grudge.
My best advice is to avoid the following, Haggis, Bagpipes, and kilts/sporrans.
Oh and avoid water the Loch Ness Monster likes to travel.
Pauline
How awesome! I truly hope your experience is favorably memorable. Love the pics! Traveling graces –
Forget adding Amanda. All you have to do to boost the viewing audience is get Flanigan to wear that white shirt on the show.
Do you know how lucky you are to have him? He makes pretty much every other lead man look like a peasant!
Hi Joe,
Another great bunch of pictures. I just read on Solutions and Gateworld that we’re going to get some Daniel whumping in Arc of Truth. THANK YOU ROB! Please feel free to give Rob a huge hug from me. If we get to see the whumping (bonus points) then please feel free to include a great big kiss to go with it.
Looking forward to more pictures. I’m crossing my fingers that Michael is there this time. Chris and his cell phone – too funny!
Hey Joe!
I’m new to your blog, but a long time fan of both ‘Gate series. But I must say I love the pictures…there are few things in life more entertaining than getting candid shots of people that you can use for blackmail in the future.
Joe, wonderful job on the Atlantis panel. David said the acoustics were terrible. Yall play off one another well! We would love to see your video from the Atlantis Panel! Most fans don’t get to see the panel-speakers point of view.
Ha, too bad you aren’t coming to Dragon*Con.
Wow Joe!!! Thanks for the pics and the news from the comic con. I hope your flight back is a better trip then getting there.
Enjoy your R&R.
Thanks again,
acdj3179
Joe,
http://www.scifihero.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=3038
I was wondering if I could copy locally the two photos for this thread?
I hope you are having fun!
Thanks for all the updates and pictures Joe!
It really looks like a great time being had by all.
Amanda looks amazing. I love the longer hair.
Joe looked terrific too!
minigeek, tsaxlady, ForeverSg1, starrgazer and I wanted to know who is Claire…
Joe, it was great to meet you at the con! I’m gonna toss out some of my other questions I’d amassed for the con, since there was so little time to ask stuff.
Um, what kind of a deal do you guys have with Evian? I tell ya, for a water planet with extremely limited Earth supplies, these folks have a bottle of frickin’ Evian at every table! Truthfully, it’s distracting for this show’s premise. Just wanted to find out if there’s some kind of rich Product Placement deal you’re not allowed to mess with.
Thank you for the lovely photos; and an especially big thank you for the picture of Joe Flanigan.
Thanks so much for the continued updates. This is almost as good as being able to go myself. And those costumes…wow. I admit I’d enjoy going to one of these things to quietly have a good laugh.
And does Ben normally wear his hair that way or has he been borrowing Joe’s hair products?
Great pics! Thanks for updating. The one of the cat lady – look at the guys behind her… they’re all staring!
Oh, what the camera will capture!
Uh-oh Joe, it looks like your stories are being put to the test by Mr. Cooper. Who to believe?
To Rob Cooper, if that’s really you… I’m sure the Scots will see through the cranky exterior to your deep vein of humor. It’s just the Carson fans who recognize a bit of mockery when we see it, being the clever, sensitive souls we are.
Truly I thank you for your less-than-diplomatic comments, because it gave the perfect opportunity for the Carson fans to wave the 700 Scottish Carson flags we’d handed out before the panel… only wish we’d had a couple thousand more based on the demand.
Sorry no one really asked about Ark of Truth in the Ark of Truth panel, but I’m sure it’s going to be an awesome movie!
To Joe, it was wonderful meeting you in person. Thanks for telling me what all your colleagues are really like. 😉
Saw the panel from yesterday! Nice! I must say though, I had no idea that you, Amanda, and David were going to have such a close on camera relationship this year! That’s kind of neat huh?! What will your character’s name be? And how will this romance progress through the season? 😉 Yea, I noticed that twinkle in your eye when David slipped his arm behind you! 😉
Yey! A mention! I feel special! Thanks Joe!
Glad you’re having fun. Did you discover any new anime?
Hi Joe!
Thanks for the Con report and piccies! Seems like the panel went really well.
SciFi have a video of the panel up at their site, but guess what? Only those in the US can watch it. So as I’m in the UK, I can’t view it…sniff.
I did see a transcript a kind fan put up though, and I just want to say I’m delighted about the Sheppard backstory that’s coming up. I’ve wanted to know since LFP why Sheppard doesn’t appear to have anyone waiting back on Earth for him, and it’s sort of a dream come true for me that we’ll find out. That and winning the lottery. Maybe that’ll happen now too? I could buy a ticket to the US and watch the SGA panel on SciFi wire then…
The backstory episode sounds so exciting, and, as usual, I can’t wait to see it all on screen.
I also hope SciFi puts up the video trailer it did for Comic Con, though, what’s the betting that’s only for viewers in the US too? Growl!
However, I can’t be too unhappy, as I’m so thrilled about the Shep backstory we’re actually going to get!!! Hooray!
Blue and yellow flags? I hope that means the saltire and the rampant lion otherwise you may have just annoyed some Swedish people. GO Scotland!!
ROB COOPER – AWA’ AN BILE YER HEID YE BIG TOTTIE!
As if we’re gonna believe you over our beloved Mallozzi!
Yup, that blue girl with the weird head is a female twi’lek.
That Star Wars girl’s a Twi-lek. (Useless piece of trivia left over from my junior high years of reading Star Wars novels) I always thought it was funny when I thought it was funny that they *don’t* have ridiculously thick necks. Those head tails have got to weigh at least ten pounds each. (If they were real, of course.)
I gotta give props to that Wolverine guy for getting passably believable hairstyle.
I thought the guy with long hair was a woman or that fat guy who only wears t-shirts, until I saw the eye and realized, “Oh, it’s Mad-Eye.” *sniff*
In that pic at the table, David looks like he’s holding an invisible bottle of wine. ?
Nice to hear about all the CB support. But the flags were yellow and blue? I thought the Scottish flag was white and blue.
On cable, channel G4 is covering Comic-Con. I’m a little ticked. They have said nothing about Stargate or Atlantis!
pettygrew
Wheeee.. Finally caught up on a couple of days worth of your blog after a crazy Friday of international travel.. (btw, I thought of you whilst perusing the chocolate shop at Schipol airport! ;))
Thanks for the great pictures and blogging on ComicCon – it looks like it was a blast. Now if only SciFi would realise that there are Stargate fans *outside* of the US and make the ComicCon panel vids on their website viewable by those aforementioned non-US viewers too.. *sigh*
Hope you have a safe trip home and are rested and refreshed ready for the new arrival on Monday! 😀
Bonjour ! Je me permet de vous poser en question en français car je sais que vous comprenez. Et aussi parce qu’en anglais je ne suis pas très douée !
Est ce que des acteurs de stargate sg1 feront des apparitions dans la saison 4 d’Atlantis ?
Ps : Merci pour les photos de la convention. Elles sont magnifiques !
Thanks for all the lovely photos. Any chance of seeing Jack in season 4? How big will be Tealc’s appearance? More than 5 minutes?
Thanks for the picspam. It’s nice to live vicariously if we can’t attend.
And I believe that Batmobile belongs to a friend of mine. He took it back out to LA to have some repairs done and it was going to stay in the area for a “few shows.”
I’ve been hearing much about these parties. How are you guys still standing after all of that?
And always nice to see Marcia. She has way more energy than I could ever aspire to have.
Thanks for the con report! Those of us who live on the east coast and are poor appreciate the info and pics! What is the wierdest thing you saw at Comic-Con?
Morning Joe! *waves*
Thanks for the pics from Comic Con. Mr. Flanigan looks a bit tired…..otherwise as hot as ever!
Here’s a question for you. I was wondering why Michael’s hair didn’t go back to the normal Wraith “do” when he changed back to Wraith from human. When Michael’s watching the discs he stole from Carson, his hair is long. At first I thought in “Michael” since he was half human half Wraith now it wouldn’t change back all the way. Then in “Misbegotten” when all the Wraith began to change back, everyone’s hair went back to normal except Michael’s. Juuust curious! Is it because he got more shots of the retrovirus? Not that I don’t like the spikey look Michael’s hair has now….Connor’s hair looks fabulous!
Have a great day, and keep those pics coming!
I’m glad you are having a nice time and I’m a little bit curious, so I might experience Comic Con next year, I still have to come to terms that I’m a SciFi fan, if it makes sense…
I watched the SGA panel on SciFi.com, you seemed to be kinda of timid in a way…
I was also suprised by Nora from Scifi when she was asked about of SGA could go on for 10 years, times have changed and we all live in a world with Tivos and DVRs, they should accept that and find other ways to measure not only the success of a show but also how to make it work with the advertisers, yes, the way of watching tv has evolved, between being running back home to watch tv and going our for dinner with friends, I will always choose the lattter, if felt like being asked to go back home and wait for a phone call instead of using my cel phone!
Of course this is not only SciFi but also all the TV Networks.
I really hope that for the benefit of all a solution is found, but in the meantime I will make sure that before I leave my house on Fridays I leave the TV on the SciFi channel to satisfy their needs 😉
Hey Joe:
Well done, Robert Cooper. I loved your blog entry. And Joe, you were as hilarious as ever. Thanks.
Questions: 1)Did the studio provide the limos or were they provided by Comic Con?
2)You all seemed to wander around fairly easily. Did they have security for you?
Patricia
Wow, those pictures are awesome! It looks like it must have been amazing to attend.
Understanding that you are a featured guest at Comic Con – can you tell us who you are most excited about seeing/meeting when you attend. Example – I would have just wet myself if I had come face to face with Leonard Nimoy. He is a God among men to me. Okay, maybe you wouldn’t get that excited, but … is there anyone that you admire that you would love meeting?
I’ll never understand people who get dressed up in costumes for conventions. Especially since most of them are adults. Just…. weird.
Sounds like David and Amanda took over the panel. Great. If that’s a sign of things to come on Atlantis, I’ll be looking elsewhere for something to watch.
Some truly, truly bizarre outfits on display – as some of these pictures will prove.
D’ja notice how, in that pic of the catwoman, most of the guys behind her are staring at her sleek, black latex-covered a$$? That’s probably the closest those fanboys have been to a flesh and blood woman since high school — and will probably ever be. LOL!
Rob C.: Blessed is Scotland, the land of faeries, where my soul was born at the dawn of the Age of Man.
KJC
I can’t decide if I look drunk or smug in that picture. I’ll go with subtly cool. Nice to see it up. Our interview should hit my podcast feed next week! Thanks for chatting with me. Talking with you and the Atlantis gang was the highlight of my con, by far.
Pierre Bernard is my hero! I think I’ll have to make sure I record Late Night on Monday…
People get rather… creative… with some of their costumes, don’t they? *giggle*
Great pics! Thanks for posting them.
Cheers!
Em
Firstly, I’m going to skip saying hello because I’ll have the chance to do it in person at Anime Evolution (yayy–I’ll be the East Coaster hiding in the background trying to work up the courage to over, but eventually will bring you chocolate) ^.^
Secondly, MAJOR LORNE! I wanted to know if he was gonna be in Season Four much?? Is he in Tabula Rusa? (I also wanted to pimp him for rank promotion, although it’s probably too late for that, isn’t it?)
Joe, you are a prince among show runners! I’m adding my sincere “thank you” to the rest of them here for the photos and narrative.
Only 61 days to season 4 and it is increasingly difficult to wait!
“Forget adding Amanda. All you have to do to boost the viewing audience is get Flanigan to wear that white shirt on the show.
Do you know how lucky you are to have him? He makes pretty much every other lead man look like a peasant!”
Amen to that!!
I’m so looking forward to some Shep backstory.
The con looked like loads of fun. Thanks for the pics and report.
Oh gawd. Congratulations! Worst. Picture. of me. EVER!
Why did I sit so close to the front again?
Firstly, I want to commend you, the cast, and writers for such a wonderful show; Stargate Atlantis. I’ve been an enormous fan from the start with the pilot episode. And Joe Flanigan.. I’m sure you’ve not heard this *wink*, but he’s pure magic in this show!!
It’s been a great 3 years and so much fun to see how this show has grown from season to season, improving at every turn and every episode.
I could not go to Comicon *cries*, so I need to ask my question here because.. as much as I love this show and in a large part due to Flanigan’s amazing presence, there is the alluring dynamic of your core characters, my second favorite being Dr. Elizabeth Weir, played by Torri Higginson.
Given that, I’m sure you can guess where this is heading…
I’d heard that Torri was given recurring status while Tapping lives out the last year of her contract at SGA, not cool, but I get why. Now, however, I’m getting conflicting info about the episode wherein Weir is.. killed? Have things changed and Torri’s decided to NOT take a recurring status and decided to quit????
Contractural issues with Tapping aside, I hate this decison to sideline Higginson. I figured I could hold on thru Season 4 in hopes that Weir/Higginson will be back for season 5 (assuming there IS a season 5, though situations like this alienate fans to a very large degree and we don’t want this show to become SG1 Atlantis with retread characters from the previous show…)
Whatever the case, please reconsider! If Higginson’s back on board in Season 5, that will ensure my continued support, not that you care, but I thought I should share.
Thanks for actually taking my phone and talking to Desiree! 😀 And thank you for appearing at the panel as well. We loved seeing you, Martin Wood, and Ben Browder. Pierre Bernard was a surprise too. I was quick to learn that he was there as a fan and had come to check us out at the panel.
But back to Desiree, I’m working on her. Gonna get her to Comic Con one of these days. We’d love to have you at D*Con, too, though! 😀 I can’t go this year, but I’m going again next year. Last year was soooo much fun!
Hi Joe,
Things have been crazy with getting ready and recovering from SDCC and then gearing up for Dragon*Con, that I didn’t get a chance to check your blog in a while.
It was great meeting you, Martin Woods, and Ben at the “little Stargate Fan meeting” that you guys were kind enough to stop by for. I was the asian guy in the blue SGC Garrison costume that you took a picture of the side/back part of my head in your blog. Best shot of me at the panel I found so far!
Alot of the folks in Stargate SG1 and Atlantis costumes (who were not working for the MGM Ringtones gig) were members of our Stargate Costuming and Prop Building fan community called StargateHero.Net. We are part of a larger costuming community called SciFiHero.Net.
May be I missed an explaination, but why did you guys change the Atlantis jackets again in Season 4? Not that we mind, means more research and costumes to make… We just want to know what was the logic for doing so, and why that configuration/design of jacket? We would love to see more pictures of the jackets too 🙂
I look forward to see you again in the future and thanks for posting up this blog of yours.
-Dan