Peg and Linzi do Atlantis

[Linzi]

SET VISIT to SGA on 11th June 2008.

By Linzi – demon apprentice!

Well, I’m not going to talk about Peggy’s and my journey, the hotel or our sightseeing. If people would like to know about those, I’ll do an lj post. I’m sure everyone just wants to know about the set visit, right? I know when I read set visits etc, that I find myself saying: ‘For God’s sake get on with the set visit and stop boring me with your vacation!’ So I won’t keep you all waiting!


Well, Peg and I arrived late morning at the set, after a mad dash. We’d decided on impulse to get a make-over and then do some shopping and we were then running late, despite being up since 4.00 am that morning!

When we arrived at Bridge Studios, we actually were 15 minutes too early, believe it or not! So we stood and chatted to Bill, the security guy. He was a sweetheart. He appeared in 200, and also appeared on the Stargate behind the scenes feature. He wouldn’t let Pierre Bernard in the lot! Bill was great. A real scifi fan and a good laugh! We loved him to bits!

Finally Brigitte, from publicity, arrived. She was an absolute sweetheart. So accommodating, and friendly. She took us straight to the Outsiders set. The set is the permanent village set that had been made over for that episode. It looked very different from episodes such as Reunion and Irresistible. It smelt of peat and had soil and had woodchip all over the floor. It was dark and very cold! Brigitte handed us over to 3rd Asst. Director, Sean, who looked after us while we were on that set. What a sweetie he is! A really lovely man, and really funny too... I was given N.John Smith’s chair to sit on, which I thought was really funny!

We watched as David Hewlett and Paul McGillion came on set. They waved to us and then filmed. We then moved and David and Paul came to chat to us, once the filming of the scene had finished. There were quite a few wraith on set, and I have to say, they’re pretty intimidating! Yes, I was scared! The make-up was so realistic, ok, so how can a wraith be realistic? But I mean it looked real! And I was scared! We had our piccies taken with them all!

Both Paul and David remembered me, Paul calling me a ‘Cheeky little bugger!’ for making fun of his kilt at P3 and me saying I wasn’t impressed he wasn’t a true Scotsman! What can I say? I’m bad…


We chatted to both David and Paul for a while. David kindly agreed to an unusual photo request for my good friend McKayRocks! I wanted to do something funny and special for her, and David was a good sport and kindly agreed. I’d love to show you the photo, but unfortunately my XD card corrupted itself, and it looks like all my piccies are lost! I’m trying to get them recovered, but I don’t hold out much hope. Damn it! Good job Peg took loads of other piccies! But alas, not that one

[Linzi]

David and I chatted about his wedding, Jane and Baz, and we talked about Dr Who. David assures me he can do a creditable British accent, but he’d have to work on it, he said! David said Jane was flying out that very day to England and Baz was going too, and that he’d be away from Baz for 5 days and he was dreading it! Poor David! ? We talked about my kids, and David was so sweet because he said I don’t look old enough to have kids the ages they are. “What? You have a daughter that age. No way! What, were you like two when you had her???” He said in that very high pitched disbelieving McKay voice he does so well! He’s my new best friend! Yes, I’m shallow like that!

We talked about whump. David didn’t know what it was, and when I explained he said McKayrocks, an ardent Rodney whumper who likes collapsing Rodney whump, must be nuts! I said yep, we already knew that. He and Paul agreed with me, that whump is generally a women thing! But they had a good laugh with us about it all. David is looking forward to meeting Mx again at Meet the Hewlett’s! No, he really is!

We had some photos done, with Paul being very cheeky and cupping my face! What is he like? Yeah, can’t show you that either because my memory card checked out! Damn thing!

We talked about exploding tumours – yeah, I think I’d better not repeat what the boys said about that - and our love of infirmary scenes, and how we miss Carson in the infirmary. I was going to say I miss Carson taking care of Sheppy, but decided I’d let the boys think I was normal and that only Mx is insane. Well, she is my friend and I really wanted her to feel special!

Then we went to sit behind director Will Waring, who had a nasty cold and wasn’t feeling too well, and script supervisor Amanda. Amanda was lovely. So sweet and informative and she has such a great sense of humour! I was amazed at how technical her job is! (Later on she corrected Joe on a couple of words he got wrong. “Joe didn’t say ‘the wraith’ just now. He said ‘they’’ was the thing she had to correct Joe on. He got it right after that! ) But she was constantly jotting things down! )

Then Joe arrived on set! I saw him on the monitor first. What a thrill that was! I’ve met him before, but Peg hadn’t, and she was so excited! I wish I could bottle her delight and share it amongst you all!

Then Joe suddenly appeared next to us to say hello. He remembered me from the Expo where we’d met, which surprised me, and we chatted for a while. He talked about the Water Keeper Alliance and we discussed shoes. I’d bought my eldest daughter some Manolo Blahnik shoes. Yeah, my divorce is coming along nicely thanks! Well it will be when the credit card bill comes in, I can tell you!
Joe then went off to film a scene for Outsiders. It was so interesting watching the filming process. From the rehearsal, to the run through, to the filming. How Will decided on camera angles, lighting etc.. How Amanda realised Joe hadn’t quite got one line perfect, and Will went to tell him and give him some more direction. How Joe had to run, where he had to pause, where the tense moments in the scene would be, and how Joe would pause in certain parts to accentuate that. Most fascinating. They did about 5 takes to get the scene how they wanted it. Technical problems seem to dictate how many takes a scene needs. Is the lighting right? Is there a shadow where it shouldn’t be? Things like that seem to plague shooting, obviously.

We were given a copy of the sides to keep by Sean! We couldn’t believe it. They’re treasured by us, I can tell you!


When the scene was finally done we headed over to the Daedalus set to watch some of First Contact being filmed, while the shooting for Outsiders continued.

[Linzi]

What a thrill for me to sit behind Andy Mikita, who’s one of my favourite directors! What a lovely man he is. We chatted about Midway, which is one of my favourite episodes from Season 4! He was so pleased we loved that episode and said he’s really proud of it! We chatted for a long time. We discussed Search and Rescue, infirmary scenes, BAMSR, and the two part mid season finale. Andy was so informative and seemed to relish talking about directing and filming. We discussed cast changes. He told us he liked Torri, but that things happen and people are let go. It’s the way of things. We both agreed with him there. Business decisions happen, you move on and accept it. End of story. (Andy brought up Torri after I told him I loved BIS, and he talked about her leaving, Amanda joining etc, not us, he brought it all up and discussed it quite openly, and in my opinion, sensibly). He then gave me a continuity piccie of David and Michael from First Contact/TLT which was stuck to his monitor! It’s very spoilerish so we were delighted to be given it!

Then it was time to start filming. The scene was one involving Ronon, Keller and Woolsey. It was very technical and poor Jason was having a few technical problems! That nice pilot of the Daedalus, played by Mark was on set too. He was very sweet!

During a break in filming, Robert Picardo came to chat with us! Oh, what a sweetie he is! He swore he’d met me before, but I assured him we hadn’t met! Peg and I discussed Voyager with him, we’re both big fans of that, and chatted about singing, music and acting. He seems really happy to be on SGA as a regular cast member. He told us Woolsey has changed. He’s funny in some scenes as he gets to grips with Atlantis, but he’s really become braver. They knew Woolsey would have to evolve as a character, because he was too officious and annoying, so he’s more forceful and has really stepped up to the plate now. He’s loving what they’ve done with him. ? We chatted for a long time, and RP is such a nice man. I can’t wait to see him as Woolsey the leader of Atlantis!


We watched more filming. Goodness, the scene we watched was plagued with technical issues. When we see the scene on screen I’ll say why. It had never occurred to me that something which takes a few seconds on screen can honestly take such a long time to get right. It does make sense when you think about it, but I was surprised really. Shadows, poor throwing skills, props falling apart etc…well, it’s not all roses being an actor sometimes, I can tell you!

Of course, while I was monopolising Andy, poor guy must have just wanted me to shut the heck up , Peg amused herself by flirting with Vinnie, Asst. 2nd Director extraordinaire! He was such a hoot, and I think he was quite taken with our Peggy. She’s such a tart! Unlike me, who’s just a fangirlie geek!

[Linzi]

Brigitte then collected us for our lunch date. We collected our food and sat at a table reserved for us. Then Joe arrived carrying an enormous plate of food! How is he so skinny, huh?

We chatted about MGM for a while. We talked about children, shoes again. Yes, shoes kept coming up in the conversation! And then David joined us! That was a pleasant surprise, I can tell you.

Joe and David together? OMG. What a pair! They’re incorrigible! Two big snarky kids! The banter was hysterical and a joy to behold! They have such wonderful chemistry off screen, and boy, they don’t take any prisoners, I can tell you! We talked about JM’s blog, …we talked about food reviews! I’m a fussy eater and so is David. Joe? Not so much! Joe went to get dessert and David and I marvelled at how he ate so much! We talked dogs.


Joe talked about his dog which was killed by Coyotes. He said he sniffed when he died! He did a few fake sobs, bless him. He loved that dog. The dog, Lazlo, had escaped from their property and been killed. The same had happened to another dog too. Joe now has two new dogs, Felix and Oscar. He showed us piccies on his iPhone, which was nice.

We talked hotels. Joe talked about where he stays during filming. He also talked about him and Jason lining up the empty booze bottles in the room and feeling depressed at how much they’d drunk…I told him I know how he feels!

I asked David about the scene from ADB where he shares Mars’ toothbrush. Yes, he really did clean his teeth after doing Mars’. Yes, Jane was disgusted and refused to kiss him for weeks!

David and Joe discussed a musical SGA episode. Both Peg and I expressed our concern about that. I told Joe I’d heard him sing and that he was awful, and he agreed. He said when it’s anyone’s birthday on set, they sing happy birthday endlessly to annoy everyone, and do it until people shout at them to shut the hell up! David said he’d sing and dance and entertain everyone in the musical episode while waiting for Joe to finally get his lines right! Joe replied with a grin and ‘ Hah!’ Which made me chuckle. They also discussed their trick for trying to disguise it when they don’t know their lines.

“What we do is, we look at the camera and start our lines. We then get quieter and quieter and turn our heads away from the camera and just mumble and hope they don’t notice we’re making the lines up!” Joe told us. David then demonstrated. A most cunning plan, we thought. I told him JM had mentioned actors not saying lines when the camera is on them, and that he was obviously talking about those two! They both laughed! (JM wasn’t talking about them actually, it was a different scenario, but we enjoyed teasing the boys!

Joe said he should blog. He always means to, but never gets round to it. Both he and David joked about doing a food blog. Some very colourful descriptions of food were then discussed – none of which can be repeated on a PG site like this! I discussed David’s blog with him and Joe F said he’d post a review of some alcoholic drinks on JM’s blog. He thought that’d be more interesting than discussing food! Not hard to see what Joe likes doing in his spare time with Jason when away from home and filming!

Peg did ask the boys about all the hype about romance in season 5. Both said ‘Huh? What romance, I’ve not seen any!’. So, yeah, either they're very good fibbers or yet again the romance will be a blink and you miss it situation open to the individual to interpret!

Then Joe went back to filming as did David. Our lunch had lasted over an hour! Time does fly when you’re being entertained by two amusing and snarky men! And boy, I sat opposite Joe and David, and what a hardship that was! Watching Joe delicately shovel food into his mouth - he had both chicken AND fish for lunch! – was just one of those moments that are so surreal! David had warned me about Joe and his food. “Huh! I wonder what he’ll be eating today!” he remarked, “you won’t believe how much he eats!” Well, no, I don’t! Where does he put it all? David ate like a sparrow in comparison!

Then we gave Joe a gift we’d brought him, and we chose well, because we bought him single malt scotch. He was most grateful and said he’d review that on JM’s blog after sharing it with Jason. Peg and I think Joe probably won’t even remember drinking it!

[Linzi]

So, next we went on the set tour, and our first port of call? A certain Mr Joe Mallozzi was coming down to meet us on the Atlantis set. We waved to Martin Gero, who was heading off somewhere, and then entered the Atlantis main set. Wow, I can’t tell you how beautiful it is. Stunning comes to mind. So beautiful. Lovely blues, greens and golds everywhere. The ‘gate was even lit up for us! Can you believe that? The ‘gate is so pretty, though everyone seems to prefer the SG1 one. That turns and both JM and David said that makes is so cool. David had joked over lunch that the SGA ‘gate looks like a disco ‘gate!

JM? He’s actually a really nice guy – very personable and accommodating. We chatted about Peg and I whining on his blog. He said he knows we’re both passionate fans and that we do care very much about the show. We discussed Remnants and his desire to keep the Shep whumping scene in it, even though he’s not had much support from the writers about it all – well except Carl, who’s obviously a closet Sheppy whumper! JM is passionate about the show. From talking to him both Peg and I thought the same. He DOES care very much. He tries to put out the best show he can. Obviously they can’t do what every fan wants. They have many things to consider. MGM, the Network what most viewers might like, what they like etc… Most of all, as a writer, he sticks to what he believes in. If he feels something is called for in his script he’ll fight to keep it in. They do have to let the network have input, but at the end of the day, if he felt strongly enough about something, he’d keep it in. It’s about his artistic integrity, and I understand that.

Alas he wouldn’t be drawn on the type of whump he has planned for Shep in Remnants or whether it’s real whump, hallucinatory whump, repli whump or whatever. He said he’d keep us posted on his blog about the whump situation. I did ask if he was whumping Shep’s hair, and JM laughed and replied that the hair was safe!

He told us to keep posting on his blog. He likes reading the comments, even though he can’t answer everything he wants to.

He took some piccies for his blog, and we took some piccies too. I can honestly say it was a pleasure to meet him, and I felt very happy with what he said to us.

Everyone we met was so passionate about the show. The actors, the directors, the crew. They all LOVE it. We came away feeling so happy that they’re all so invested in the show. I just got such a good vibe from everyone at Bridge. If there are any unhappy moments, diva like behaviour, dissatisfaction…well, they hid it well. They seem like one big happy family. I’m sure they have their ups and downs, but seriously, so many people told us they were living their dreams working at Bridge on SGA, and they didn’t have to say that, they just did!

After we’d bid farewell to Joe M, we toured the rest of the sets. We saw Woolsey’s office and took piccies of his diplomas, saw the conference room, the stairs, touched the ‘gate!

[Linzi]

We then headed to the SGC set. Boy, I felt like a kid in the candy store! So many years of watching SG1! The concrete isn’t concrete! It’s all plasticy stuff! Can you believe it? We stood by the ‘gate. Walked down those grey corridors, went in the control room and sat in Walter’s seat and touched the open Iris device! Hehe! What a great experience!

We then went to look at all the props, and storage rooms before heading to wardrobe. Val, the head of Wardrobe was adorable! What a lovely lady. We looked at all the costumes and discussed the actors. Rachel’s outfits are tiny! She’s so slim and petite! Saw Sheppard’s too. We might have swooned a little, much to Val’s amusement. We touched the suit Shep wore in Outcast. Val said Joe looked gorgeous in it, we said, yep, we noticed! Hehee. We saw the lovely zip up top Joe wore in DG. And also saw the jeans he wore in Outcast too! I know, we’re such fangirls, it’s scarey! Val showed us the leather jacket they’d got for Joe which he wore in DG and not since. Joe likes the BDU’s and the uniform he wears most of the time best. He’s comfortable in that and doesn’t like getting dressed up!

In Wardrobe we met Jason. Despite what I’ve seen a few folks have been saying around, I thought his wig looked great. Very realistic. I couldn’t tell it was a wig, to be honest. I hope it comes out as well on screen as it did in real life. Jason was really sweet and a little shy. We saw his guitar there with him and Peg talked to him about his tattoo on his arm for a while. We saw him skateboarding around the lot a fair amount. Didn’t see JF doing that though! Damn it!

We then toured the wraith set! SQUEEEE! That’s all I can say about that! What a fantastic set. It’s changed since season 4. It’s so pretty! All oranges and new bits in it. It was so beautiful that Peg and I just stood there mesmerised!

Saw the PJ and a wraith dart too. Very exciting for us geeks, I must say!

Then we were asked if we wanted to watch some close ups of Joe filming. Um let’s see, we REALLY had to think hard about THAT one!

Joe came up to us again, and told us how passionate he is about the environment and the Water Keeper Alliance. He thanked Peg for everything and then hugged and kissed her. He then grabbed me and hugged and kissed me too. We both gave him a peck on the cheek back. He was so spontaneous with the hug and kiss that we were both surprised. Peggy more than me because he hugged her first and with no warning! She looked pretty pleased with herself after that, I can tell you. We then took some photos of Joe and us! And I am so NOT a fangirl! My eyes were closed because of the brightness of the flash. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it, so there!

We sat again behind Will and Amanda and watched Joe film a close up scene from Outsiders. What can I say about Joe? He was wonderful. Pure and simple. Spot on with his lines, really angsty, emotive acting. Fantastic facial expressions, and just so bloody good! So sincere and, well, just full of charisma. I was so impressed by his performance…Ok I’ll stop gushing now! Seriously though. Just because I like Joe on screen didn’t mean I’d be impressed by watching him act. I like Joe, and adore Sheppard, but for all I knew he could be rubbish without being edited etc.. Watching him film was a revelation to me. What we see on screen IS what Joe does. Yes, he was that good and we were blown away by his performance. Yes, we silently squeed at the emotional whumping of the scene! Silently though. After all, we didn’t want to embarrass ourselves more than usual!

Joe stopped by again and said ‘I didn’t realise you two were still here!’ Yes, we were really quiet. I know it’s hard to believe, but we really were pretty over awed by Joe’s acting!

[Linzi]

Then it was time to go. We’d been on set over 7 hours! Brigitte gave us some gifts! Peg got two dvd sets! Isn’t that great? We both got limited edition 200 SG1 posters, SGA calendars AND a Continuum film crew limited edition arctic lab t-shirt each, which are really hard to come by! SQUEEEEEE!!! I wasn’t expecting a gift. I’d hoped they’d give Peg something, because honestly, she deserved it. But me too? Well, I was feeling pretty emotional by then, I can tell you. Brigitte called us a cab, we hugged and said thanks for the wonderful visit, goodbye, promised to stay in touch, and we left.

What a wonderful day. The set visit and lunch surpassed both our expectations. I can tell you that! We felt as if we were treated like royalty, yet one of the family too. Brigitte was just wonderful. Very good at her job and very aware that we were both passionate fans. In fact she told Andy Mikita we were officianados! I said we’re just fangirlie geeks, me more than Peggy! She’s just a complete tart!


I have to say thanks to all at Bridge. We had such a wonderful time and were so impressed with everyone’s dedication to the show and professionalism, yet with a healthy dose of humour thrown in. Their love and passion for SGA was tangible.

Finally, I have to say thank you to Peggy. The set visit was all about her, not me. I was just the lucky devil she invited to come along for the ride! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to accompany her, though at times I have a suspicion she wished I’d stop gushing, particularly to Andy, and shut the hell up! I’m delighted the visit was all she hoped for and more. Me? I’d have been happy with 30 mins there, but 7 hours of such fun, excitement, interest and awe…wow, what a day to remember.

Thanks Peggy for asking me. I’ll be eternally grateful to you. What a ride!

[fuchsia]

Wow, Linzi... just wow!Thankyou for such a great write-up, I bet you're still floating in a blissful squee bubble!
Wasn't it so great of them to pull out all the stops for you... let's face it, they didn't have to.
It warms my heart to hear what a super time you both had.

May it stay with you forever!

[Jollina]

Hi Linzi,

as you see, this is my very first posting, but I had to say thank you for your report!
It is wonderfull to read through your lines trying to fetch the impression and keep dreaming of visiting the set oneself.

Thanks alot,
Jollina

[Linzi]

Wow, Linzi... just wow!Thankyou for such a great write-up, I bet you're still floating in a blissful squee bubble!
Wasn't it so great of them to pull out all the stops for you... let's face it, they didn't have to.
It warms my heart to hear what a super time you both had.

May it stay with you forever!

Thanks! Blissful squee bubble? Yep, that sums it up perfectly!

Hi Linzi,

as you see, this is my very first posting, but I had to say thank you for your report!
It is wonderfull to read through your lines trying to fetch the impression and keep dreaming of visiting the set oneself.

Thanks alot,
Jollina

You're most welcome! Thanks for posting!

[Gate Geek]

So not jealous............

Aw, who the hell am I kidding!!! But it really couldn't have happened to two more lovely people.

Glad you got to have the experience of a lifetime hon! The fact you got to enjoy it with another friend who is as passionate as you makes it all the more special.

Thanks for the write up. Now, where is the LJ for the rest of the vacation? I wanna read about the personal whump expereinces.

[Linzi]

So not jealous............

Aw, who the hell am I kidding!!! But it really couldn't have happened to two more lovely people.

Glad you got to have the experience of a lifetime hon! The fact you got to enjoy it with another friend who is as passionate as you makes it all the more special.

Thanks for the write up. Now, where is the LJ for the rest of the vacation? I wanna read about the personal whump expereinces.

Oh you do not! I just humiliate myself endlessly! Seriously, I'll do a detailed LJ one, if you'd like, with piccies too. Well, Peg's piccies that is! We had a fantastic time in Vancouver! It's a beautiful place, and Canada is a stunning and friendly country! I can't wait to visit again!

[Pegasus_SGA]

Peggy's turn

I think I might just ditto what Linz said. And they say I talk a lot.
Okay i’ll do a little bit to, but I think most of it is covered by Linz. So, as I love to hear the sound of my own voice, i’ll talk about the lead up first, and the excitement.

We got up at 4AM.... well, I got up first, not because I was excited or anything, but because I’d drank too much coffee you understand. I’m sure all the coffee aficionado’s can relate to my predicament. *cough* Where was I? Oh yes, I was talking about how exceptionally calm and prepared we were getting up at that time of the morning. We’d of course simply threw on the first thing that came out of our suitcase, spent absolutely zero time preparing our makeup.... only because we were hoodwinked into having a makeover before our visit. And we were late because Linz felt I had big black bags under my eyes and needed urgent assistance... who knew to make me respectable would take so long? That was a rhetorical question by the way.


So because of how long it took to make me look gorgeus.... no comments on the grizzly looking face on JM’s blog please. That was me attempting to hold my squee in.... I did warn peeps it wasn’t going to be a pretty sight.
Ok, so where was I? Ah yes, looking ravishingly beautiful or attempting to, for the boys. So we hurtled down to the alcohol shop, and resisted the urge to down a few whilst we were there. Linz, has been training for the Olympics I think and sprinted ahead of me and we chose a nice bottle of Scotch.... that’s all i’ll say on that topic, as I have bad flashbacks to drinking scotch and it didn’t end well.


So we finally got to the set and early to boot, and talked with Bill a lovely man who asked us if we wanted to know all the gossip on the actors, directors, writers, and pretty much everyone that walked or drove through the gate. Obviously we said we weren’t interested. So, after a long talk about..... things, we talked about what Bill’s roles have been on the show, and we remembered seeing him in some of the SG1 eps, which he enjoyed. I have to say what an absolute sweetie he was and made us feel very welcome, a common feeling throughout the day. Whilst waiting for Brigitte, (as we were a tad early) I noticed a casting call sheet pinned to his little hut for extras.... I wonder if they were ever found. Alas I can’t reveal the details, not because I can’t, but because I never had my glasses on and squinting really isn’t a good look for me.



Anyway Brigitte arrived and Linz and I at this point were trying to act cool as a cucumber when inside we were dying to squee.... and if Linz ever says I released my squee, pay no attention, she’s using it as a distraction from her fangirlieness.

[Pegasus_SGA]

So off we headed to the set!!! And oh my goodness it was impressive, I was slightly nervous as I wasn’t too sure what to expect, and i’m a little shy. And the smell of the room just hits you as you walk in, and no it wasn’t due to a nervous tummy. The smell of peat on the ground and woodshavings was powerful to say the least. Ok I have to confess something.... i’m amongst friends so it’s all good. I actually have a bit of a fetish for wood and soil, yeah I don’t get it either, but the aroma makes me want to eat it.... don’t look at me like that, it’s some kind of anaemia thing. So moving swiftly on, Brigitte brought us onto the set and the detail of it up close was absolutely amazing, you can see all the hard work and effort they have taken to make it look amazing. All the little extra’s they place in certain strategic places just add to the whole ensemble, and we did get a little excited. More so when the lovely Sean (3rd AD) came over with some chairs to sit on behind the poorly Will Waring. Bless him, he did nothing but cough, but he was kind enough to share his cough drops with me. Linz declined, as she was mesmerised with what was ahead of us!!



The scene from outsiders, with Chuck as standin for David initially and someone else.... can’t think of who it was, but he played Beckett, whilst they set the lighting and corrected the positioning etc. As we took our seats, Will directed the shoot, and then they replaced the standins for Paul and David. Who saw Linz and I and waved. After that part of the shoot, David and Paul headed over to us to say hello and remembered us from Pegasus 2 and 3 convention; something neither of us expected. So that was just so sweet. David being very cheeky said he couldn’t believe I’d paid that much for lunch with Joe, and that he wasn’t worth it.


Linz and I tried to explain to the boys about who we were... as in whumpers. Bless them they just didn’t get it at first. Paul got it eventually after a lengthy explanation about the fact that it’s all about the character development. Luckily we didn’t totally scare them off, that wouldn’t have been good so early in the day. Linz then got out her sign for McKay Rocks and asked David if he would mind holding it up so she could take a pic for her friend. He said he could do better and headed us off to meet the wraith.... I wonder if at that point we should have kept quiet about being whumpers. Paul was being very cheeky with Linz, as she had insulted his manhood... minds out the gutter i’m referring to the fact that he had not been a true Scot! Shame on her the little hussy, I couldn’t believe the cheek of it. Linz commented that she wished she had the cheek.



As we got nearer to the Wraith, Linz commented that she got a bit nervous, bless her, I really needed to remind her on several occasions that we weren’t in an episode called Linz and Peggy do Atlantis, but that this was all pretend and that the Wraith weren’t real. The makeup is incredibly good, and bloody hell they’re so tall. I’m thinking it was the manure that’s on the ground. Put the actors on there and they grow a few more inches. We took some pics, Linz getting into a lock hold with Paul, and David and I on the other side as I attempt to rescue his chest from the Wraith’s deathly grip.... at least that’s what I kept telling myself.

[Pegasus_SGA]

We seemed to talk for ages about things here and there, in particular David missing Baz and getting all set for the wedding, and about Jane leaving David Home alone, bless him. We also talked to Paul about the wonderfully executed exploding tumour..... David and Linz talked kids while Paul and I chatted about not having kids.


So where was I? Oh yes, pics taken and we bid adieu to the Wraith, David, and Paul saying we hoped to see them again soon.
So we went back to sitting behind Will and the very talented and exceptionally organised Amanda the script supervisor. She was absolutely lovely and unfortunately had to put up with poor Mr W coughing and spluttering everywhere. She handed over the earphones and I got to listen to the behind the scenes stuff! Then I heard over the set, “Can we have hair in, please, Joe’s on set!” *giggles* See the hair always has to have special attention, and no Teggy there wasn’t a shipload of gel trailing behind him.



So up came Joe’s scene, and it was great watching it on the big screen and it’s amazing how many takes they do of the same scene from varying angles and positions. As Linz said, Amanda’s job was to ensure the actors stay to the script.... i’m assuming due to timing and continuity issues, but don’t quote me on that. After that scene was completed and I stopped jiggling in my seat from excitement, Joe came over to say hello, and thank me for the donation. And believe it or not I was very calm. Yeah I did say believe it or not. We chatted briefly about the charity and his missus as he had to get back on the set. I don’t know who was more nervous, me or Joe. A passing thought did go through my head, had he heard of my obsession.... passion with shirtless Shep and that’s why he was nervous.


So we sat back behind Will and Amanda and watched some more Outsiders being filmed, the conversations between Shep, Teyla and Ronon on the radio, and what was really interesting was that when this is being done, the script supervisor shouts out those person’s lines. It was intriguing to say the least. Then between each take, more lighting needed adjusting, or the mark where the actors need to stand is adjusted. Then the lovely Sean handed me some of the sides for Outsiders, I was absolutely ecstatic... sorry peeps these are for Linz and our eyes only. But they were absolutely fascinating.


Whilst Joe was finishing up with his part, Brigitte came over and told us that it was time for lunch!! We couldn’t believe it, the time had flown so quickly. So she took us down to the catering trucks to grab some food. In line I spotted my name on the white board, and tried not to act too fangirly in front of company, but it was a lovely touch and very kind... ok so i’m gushing again. Linz and I both had the chicken with mushroom sauce and we waved to David and Paul in the queue. Joe wasn’t too far behind and then we went into the tent and they’d reserved a table for us, complete with pot plant and table cloth. It was very sweet. I sat next to Joe, and Linz sat opposite. Joe was very relaxed and we talked about MGM and the films the politics of filming which was very interesting. I remarked how it would be nice if they could try and capitalise on other revenue.... I tried to act like I was actually intelligent. Not sure if I pulled it off though.



I talked to Joe about Robert Davi, (Kolya) and about the rumours that had been circulating. At that point David turned up. I have to say those boys together adds up to nothing but trouble. So whilst Linz flirted shameless with David.... she was completely smitten with him, it must have been the compliment about her age. Joe and I talked about his kids, and the travelling along with blogging, which of course led to JM’s blog. After Joe polished off his dinner and desert we will still discussing blogging with David and Joe and I asked shamelessly if I could take a pic of his dessert.... don’t ask, you had to be there. It was very funny at the time. Linz and I mentioned how often we bug JM for news and stuff, and the boys and us had fun discussing how to leave a review for JM on his blog, and the boys banter became even funnier as we discussed them posting on the blog every time they wanted to talk to JM, or were heading to another part of the set. They really were encourageable, and we lapped it all up. Joe said he might do a write up of the whisky if he and Jason were able to remember anything.