UMS - BOBW12: Ramkat's Report

I wanted to share with you my memories of Michael's Best of Both World's Convention appearance in Sydney, Australia on Sunday October 21st. He was there on Saturday and Saturday night but I was only able to attend on Sunday and Sunday night. These thoughts are not in any particular order.

He was totally delightful. Beautiful manners and a disconcerting yet attractive habit of looking right into the eyes of the person he's talking to and not being distracted. When you spoke to him in the autograph line and at other times you had his undivided attention.

I only went to the Sunday session and the wrap party at the end. He answered questions for over an hour and then returned to help out with the auction. He was quite shy and mostly watched the auction and smiled - totally engrossed in what was going on and forgetting he was the main attraction. Totally unpretentious. From his comments and smiles when various pictures and items with SG1 on them came up he obviously adored his costars and working on the show.

When talking about the show he mentioned RDA a lot but anything personal and Chris's name was the first mentioned. Apparently Chris had rung him at 4.30 am Sydney time on the Saturday night and woken him up to see how the first day had gone. It was only 11.30pm in Vancouver. That he'd been plied with drinks the night before and taught an Aussie accent but wouldn't try it now he was sober. That he'd had a bad morning but taken a few panadol and was much better now, thank you. He drank water constantly throughout the afternoon so certainly seemed to be rehydrating himself. I learned later he was also suffering from a bout of the flu so I guess that added to some of the pain as well.

When asked why he left Stargate he said the scripts were heading more towards conspiracy theories and NID, CIA and there seemed no place for Daniel in that. He didn't want Daniel to just be a wallflower.

He was very serious and passionate about all aspects of the show. At the Q&A he was able to name every single episode people referred to. Even from crytic comments like "the one where you rode horses." Within the same breath he'd recognised it as Emancipation. It really came across that he loves the show. He didn't want to distance himself from it and would be thrilled to return and do the movie.

We were lucky enough to talk to him for about 15-20 mins at the wrap party where he showed he was interested in all elements of the show. He discussed the quality of the different types of film they'd used and when they'd used them and the effect. He even talked about episodes where they had experimented with types of film, like Entity. He discussed what he thought of the sound quality of the pilot, which they saw in a theatre in LA. He was laughing and saying the music score was so loud they couldn't hear the lines. They kept putting their hands over their ears and saying "What did he say?" He also thought the sound on 2010 was bad in places eg: on the cropduster ship. He seemed to to have a mind like a steel trap. He was very fast in knowing what was going on. He asked us particularly during this chat about whether we were online. Had a big smile when we said yes, that we were members of various lists, message boards etc. He said he went online at times.

Back at the Q&A he was asked about practical jokes. He said Chris was the worst, shoving you into a room at the start of scenes so you were trying to get your balance back and say your lines. That Chris had also once taped him to a tree with electrical tape. Apparently Chris thought it was funny but Michael just thought it was "mean." Last year Teryl said much the same thing, although for her Chris would just hold onto her white coat and as she pulled he'd let it go but essentially causing the same problem of arriving flustered on set and trying to say your lines.

When he was asked whether there were any blooper reels he said there was one for Season 1 but that the change in film used after that made it too expensive.

He told the story about swimming across the lake in The First Ones. Apparently he had a wet suit on and with that, his clothes, the boots and his hands tied they asked him if he could swim across it. "You want me to swim across that!" Originally he was supposed to swim part of the way and a stunt man would take over but when he'd done his bit he figured he was already wet so he might as well do the rest. Later on that day walking past a couple of set workers they were laughing at him saying, Dude, did you swim across that lake? Didn't you see the signs? Apparently there were signs all around the place saying do not swim, on no account drink the water. He was wondering why he kept being asked if he was OK, he thought they were worried about pneumonia but there was actually some algae growth in the water.

In the autograph line I thanked him for all his hard work as Daniel Jackson and said that I really appreciated all the layers he'd brought to the character. That to me DJ was a fascinating character. He seemed thrilled and I was lucky enough to receive a couple of those gorgeous smiles where his nose wrinkles up when he thanked me. I also asked if he was doing the director's voice over for the Double Jeopardy dvd and he said yes, with James. I asked whether they received an outline of what to say or if it was adlibbed. He looked rather wicked, said it was totally adlibbed, they just said what popped into their heads. He was pleased to hear that we were enjoying those. He also said the plan for the S5 dvds was for the actors to do the voice overs. At which point he lit up and said he and Chris were hoping to be able to do one together.

On money: He said he was from a blue collar background and knew the value of money. That he'd worked out his finances so he never had to work again - he didn't need much. Was fully aware that he may never get another job and was prepared for that. He just wanted to do the best work he possibly could and continue learning, being challenged and working. That he could see himself working on stage or anywhere. That he was open to all sorts of work. That he would like to do more directing as the power was with directors and producers in TV shows. The actors did their bit but had little control. He said theatre was where he learned his craft but TV was where he got to show it to us.

He was asked his favourite actor and he replied that when he was growing up he would have said, Harrison Ford because he was Hans Solo. However, now he was a "serious thespian" he'd have to say….. "Harrison Ford because he was Hans Solo."

Asked about Danny Whumping: After rattling off every bad moment Daniel had ever had in the series he finished with "I wouldn't walk under any pianos with this guy."

Q. Were you happy with the way Meridian turned out? He thought the fans and the producers and everyone would be happy. He'd fought for there to be lots of character moments and angst. "It shouldn't just look as if the character had walked out to the grocery store".

His favourite writers for the show were Robert C Cooper for storylines and Brad Wright for dialogue because he knew the characters and the actors so well. Although he did add that he and RDA sometimes looked at the script and then just went with something else or added the banter to it.

Another question started with stating he cried a lot on SG and did he find that difficult. "No." was the prompt answer.

He was also asked if he liked archeaology. That also received a prompt , "No", followed by the comment that he "didn't even excavate his closet".

He was asked about SG's popularity around the world and if he'd heard his part dubbed in any foreign language. He cracked up laughing and said he'd heard his part done in French by this sexy , smoke sounding, Frenchman. His first thought was what! Where did they get this voice from? After doing an impression of it he said he rather liked it, it was very sexy. On SG's popularity in the US he said it was the top rating show follwed by Andromeda. He rolled his eyes at that, then grinned and said he could bag Andromeda because his "girlfriend worked on it." There was a petition there to get Andromeda shown on Australian TV. Apparently it's been bought and the TV station is sitting on it. He signed as well… care of Canada. LOL. Wonder if TPTB will believe that one when they get it.

His favourite eps are Torment of Tantalus and Fifth Race. This was in answer to a question about when he thought they'd got all the elements in the show right.

At the end of the Q&A section he was asked a rather convoluted question. The poor lady asking got completely tonguetied. It came out sounding like she was asking whether there was any off screen romance between the actors and he seemed shocked but then someone else interjected from the front and shouted out " Jack and Daniel". He then went on to talk about Jack and Daniel's friendship describing it as (and with my friends who were there we wrote this down so we wouldn't forget the wording) theirs was an "oil and water relationship where they can't do without each other' that they "snipe and score points but they need each other" and that they were like an "old married couple".

He told us about trying to teach his daughter to recognise him on the TV. "Sweetie. Who's that?" This was followd by him acting out her looking from the TV back to him, back to the TV but not being able to recognise him because of the glasses. He'd tried it again about five months ago and she looked at him, back to the TV said "Daddy" and walked off. So no, he didn't think she was a fan just yet.

He was asked his reaction to AT and TR's jokes about puff and ruffle and said it was far more amusing watching the girl's reactions to the guys reactions, than what the guys reactions were in the first place. He then got up and did a very funny rendition of the girls being glum because noone was paying any attention to them. Very wicked.

He came across to me as being really sweet and nice with a wicked sense of humour. He seemed very bright, hearing both what was said as well as undercurrents. He laughed a lot. He appeared very interested in people and his fans and hearing from them. It was very difficult to get a photo with him. They had a professional photographer at the banquet on Saturday night and he posed with everyone who wanted a photo. They were able to be picked up the next day. It wasn't really possible to have one with him casually as he was carefully whisked away at the end of his sessions. Those of us who only came on Sunday therefore had no chance of a photo.

However, on the Sunday, in a lull before a session, two girls politely asked him if they could get a photo with him and he said yes. The first one went without a hitch but whilst the second girl was getting in place, the con organiser saw and was shouting "No, No." and moving towards them. The girl stopped but Michael said "Yes." and dragged her over. It was really nice of him. He then smoothed it over with the organiser dragging her away from the two girls and giving her a hug.

The professional photos were beautiful. Have I mentioned he is simply beautiful in real life. I mean, REALLY beautiful. He was big, seemingly towering over everyone else. Has wonderful posture, stands very straight and smiles a LOT. Lovely manners. His hair looked great and he said that was his favourite style. He also said he preferred the short hair for DJ as he could just get up in the morning, run his hands through it, a quick look in the mirror and yep, it was fine.

Asked if he'd tried vegemite ( an Aussie delicacy) or if he would. He said no. He'd heard it tasted like shite and when we had tried prairie oysters we could get back to him on the vegemite. LOL.

He's in Sydney for only a couple more days and tomorrow he's going on a harbour cruise. At the wrap party which was held on the 17th Floor with a panoramic view of the city and harbour one of the organisers was pointing out to him where he'd be going.

He adores kids. He seemed rather reserved and shy with adults but there was a three to four year old there and he just opened up and relaxed each time she was around. Her Mum sent her to get several things signed in the autograph line and he was so delightful with her. He even told her to say "thank you" when he returned one of the items. LOL, once a Dad always a Dad I guess.

He seemed to be having a good time. He said he was having a good time. He said he'd like to come back. Everyone was very polite and didn't crowd him so I'm hoping it was a good experience for him and he will enjoy the bigger con in London. He's sort of gotten started with this one. I believe there were a lot more people on Saturday but there were only about 100-120 people there on Sunday which was rather nice. He was the only guest there for the Sunday auction which made things more difficult but he seemed to take that in his stride. He had noone to trade remarks with and play with as we saw Teryl and Don do at BOBW last year, especially in the auction and also around and about. However, the organisers kept him under very close wraps and everyone was very polite and quiet in approaching him anyway.

As I said, hopefully this was a pleasant experience that will make him want to do more. I feel immensely lucky to have had this opportunity to see him at his first Convention and for it to have been intimate enough that we were able to actually have a conversation with him He was very easy to talk to after you get over the initial nerves of approaching him. At the beginning of the day even the thought of seeing him was too much but by the end I was talking to him in a casual setting. He's that normal and charming. He is nothing like Daniel which makes me realise how much thought and effort must have gone into creating that character. He was amazing. If you ever have the opportunity to see him, run don't walk. He's a total delight.

Ramkat
ram_kat@yahoo.com

Many thanks to Ramkat for sharing this!

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