The Blog to Nowhere

Whew, that was a long day! I don't think I've ever attempted to get that many autographs done at once. Despite all the running around I had to do, it was a very satisfying day. But let me start at the beginning...

( A full day of geeking out behind the cut )

Last day tomorrow. Slack day. Hayley photo-op, then her panel, and then Arthur's photo-op. Then I can go home and maybe catch up on some sleep before it's back to work on Monday.

- Oh dear god, they're going to reboot Stargate. Do. not. want. :-( Seriously, Roland Emmerich had his chance and Brad Wright did a way better job with the universe on the TV shows. My only hope for this is that they create completely new characters. I don't want to see another Jack O'Neill; no one can compete with Richard Dean Anderson's portrayal. And it's weird that they're not bringing in someone new to help with the reboot. It's the same two guys. Wouldn't you want different people so the universe isn't the same? We'll see...

- Has anyone read the Newsflesh trilogy? newnumber6, I know you have. I was finally able to read one of the novellas, "San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats". Basically, it's the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con. I wanted to read it because, hey, Browncoats and zombies. Cool. Then I read it and I was left feeling, well, kind of freaked out. I know the chance of a zombie apocalypse is nil, but the story really brought home what a bad place a con is if a huge emergency were to break out. Tons of people, crowded aisles, not a lot of exits. At the same time, the author shows how random people can band together and that's geekdom in a nut shell. It also doesn't hurt that the main characters are Browncoats. I was expecting more Firefly references, but there weren't that many in the end. The theme song is mentioned, though, and how it's used in the end... I won't ruin it, but the moment sort of sent a shiver down my spine.

- I've been watching Penny Dreadful because, well, I really don't know really. I saw that Billie Piper was in and that got me to the first episode, but her character isn't a big part of it and yet I'm still watching. It kind of reminds me a little of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the comic book, not the crappy movie) in that you have these different literary characters in the same universe and they're coming together to fight the forces of evil. It's not horrible, and I do love Timothy Dalton, but I could do without the nudity and the sex. Just because you're on cable doesn't mean you have to have that stuff. It doesn't make the show better. Seeing as there's not much else to watch during the summer, I'll keep with it. It should hold me over until August for a certain Doctor's return.

- I saw X-Men: Days of Future Past last weekend and it was actually pretty good. Better than I expected. The plot focuses more on the "Past" part than the "Future" part and I think that helps. You don't feel overwhelmed by all of these characters. The plot of the comic is sort of there, too, but I can see why they changed some things for the movie universe. And I'm really glad they did one thing:

( Spoilers for X-Men: Days of Future Past )

Oh, and they filmed most of the movie in Montreal. Yay, Canada! I'm headed there in September so it'll be neat to see what parts of the city they used for Paris and Washington.

I got back from my vacation last night and what was the first thing I did when I got home? Watched Doctor Who, of course. :-D A geeky end to a very geeky holiday.

I wouldn't say this Stargate convention was better than last year. This year and last year were both equal in their unabashed geekiness. No set tours this year due to some unavoidable circumstances, so everyone who had the tour as part of their package got $150 credit. Which was cool and kind of annoying at the same time. Money to spend on whatever you want? Cool. Credit only good at the con? Not so cool. I ended up buying photo-ops just because there was nothing else worth buying. So $300 worth of credit later (used my mom's credit as well as mine), I now have photos of me with Michael Shanks, Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell, as well as a group photo with Brian J. Smith, David Blue, and Elyse Levesque from Stargate Universe. That last one I'll have to get back through the mail, which kind of sucks, because that was my favourite. Those three guys are tall. I expected Elyse to be tiny, but she's maybe 5'10, 5'11. Me being the dumbo that I am, I blurted out, "Wow, you guys are tall" before they took the photo but that led to them squatting down to match my pathetic 5'4. So I hope the photo turns out.

Also, David Blue, who plays the resident geek on SGU, is going to go far on the convention circuit. He's a geek in real life so he'll actually know what people are talking about when they ask a question about a certain episode. He was snapping off episode titles at the drop of a hat. And he was personalizing every autograph he did. I also didn't realize he was on Moonlight, that short lived vampire show. He played the geek vampire on the show. Hmm, I'm sensing some typecasting...

Anyway, I got a crap load of TV to catch up on. TV addict? Yup, that's me.

I'm off to often-not-sunny Vancouver Monday for the official Stargate convention. My first con of a sizable sort. I'm not sure what to expect, except expensiveness. I am, however, looking forward to the set tour included in my ticket package. They open up the sets to the fans every year so it's not like it's a once in a lifetime thing, but it's a look behind the scenes most people won't see. A potentially hazard look if the waiver I have to sign is any indication. Apparently if I get crushed by heavy equipment, set on fire by pyrotechnics, or get sliced open by wayward cables, I can't sue MGM or Stargate because I signed the wavier.

But I'm more bummed that I can't post the photos of the set that I take. I'm forbidden by a confidentiality clause. While I'm sure MGM and the producers can't patrol the Internet all the time looking for fan taken photos, I'll be kind and not post any of the sets. Sigh. We're not even visiting the Stargate Universe sets, so I don't see what the big deal is. It's the only show in production, that I'm aware of, so there's nothing to see on the SG-1 and Atlantis sets, besides the sets themselves of course. Are they going to stop people from posting about the con, too? I could reveal shocking plot details that were given freely! Oh no!

Since the whole point of the trip is geek motivated, I'll also be checking out some of the filming locations from Stargate (and BSG and every other Vancouver filmed TV show). I'm making an effort to visit Simon Fraser University, which is like the filming location for any Vancouver based, sci fi series. Notably, it's been Caprica and Tollan and a bunch of other places I'm sure.

There's an added bonus, too. The new V remake is also shooting in Vancouver right now. That means Morena and Alan are there, wandering around the city. Well, not wandering, but there, making television.

A week of geek. Just what I need. :-)