Gatecon Stories, I got a million of 'em...
Well, have to say a really big "THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!" to everyone that made Gatecon happen and a blast to be a part of. C4, all the guests, the volunteers, the dealers, Sekh's party people, and the fans. There were so many con virgins this year it was amazing, even the guests were surprised, and all the countries that were represented too, what a great group!!
I think Allan did a fantastic job on the con videos, keeping us entertained at the start of every day and between panels. That song "Everybody" is so stuck in my head now I'll never get it out!!!! It was also cool how they showed it at closing so the guests could see it too.
I will be doing the usual Gatecon 2003 site with photos from every day but it will of course take a while to get it all done, especially since I'm moving my site to a bigger server so I can add all the new stuff. It will be done sooner this year than last though I promise. I will post when it's done.
I appologize right now for how long it may be and all the mistakes I may make, I'm doing this from memory and as fast as I can cause I'm hungry.
As for stories, I think Sekh's party was great because we had lots of guests show up and they made it really fun. They worked the room, got pictures with us and got a bit silly. These guys are so wonderful and nice they really make it a pleasure to be there. If I could give anyone who attends one piece of advice it would be, don't be afraid to go up and say "Hi", shake their hands, get a picture with them and maybe even a hug. They really love to meet the fans and want you to have fun. Also they really have fun getting to know us too. A big thanks to Don, Colin, Doug, Andrew and Brent. We missed you Jr but these guys really made the evening fun, eventful and a bit crazy. I'm so glad we raised more this year for your charity, I knew we could do it, even though you didn't do as many events, we stepped up and met the challenge. Right on!!!!
The cocktail party was very cool this year, way better than last year. David and Doug showed up and got the party started. We got lots of pictures with them really had fun, drinking, eating, and being silly. The 2 fans that came in costume really made it fun for pictures too. The Unas was just incredible, the contacts made it for me and the Jaffa was a cool bonus. I think the best shot was when Robin, Fiona and I got a picture with Dave and Doug doing a chorus line type thing. In girl, boy, girl, boy, girl fashion, we all put our knees up and posed like true professionals until everyone started to want pictures and we all started to fall over. It was so funny. Then after that, Doug said he was gonna go to a nightclub called Bar None and was inviting everyone to come. So, the 3 of us and Fiona's sister Diana went and met up with him there along with a bunch of other fans and danced with him till about 12:30 when he had to go. We stayed till about 1am and enjoyed the nightlife. It was a crazy night, but so much fun, I was glad we went. The next day during his panel, he asked if his Bar None girls were there and we all stood up and yelled, it was so cool of him to do that, what a great guy. You never know what's gonna happen at Gatecon, so my rule is always be prepared!!!
During the con, there were a few surprises, Michael Shanks showing up was the biggest one. We also had the Special Effects guys from Rainmaker do a panel too. Strangely, I was in the dealer's room when I heard some crew members were there. I looked around and could easily tell who they were as they stood out fairly well. I went to say HI, chatted with them a while and got them all to sign my t-shirt and also got a picture with them. They didn't tell me any secrets, but did say that some really cool stuff was coming and I shouldn't miss an episode. I got a few winks head nods like it was really gonna be good, so people have your VCR's ready. So besides Bruce, who was scheduled, it was Wes, Simon and Tom, I'd give you last names but I can't read them off the t-shirt and can't remember them. It was cool cause when I showed up Bruce was trying to talk the guys into doing the panel with him and they needed some convincing. So, I put my 2 cents in and said they should do it and that they'd have fun. I made sure to ask them a question and afterward when I saw one of the guys I asked how they liked it and they said they had fun but Bruce talked too much.
I also got a photo and autograph from Martin Wood in the dealer's room too. He was very sweet and took time to talk to fans and answer questions. He said he didn't think anyone would be interested in him and was surprised when a line started forming for him. They also did an impromtu autograph session with Michael Greenburg, Dan Shea and David Sinclair. I was 3rd in line and got all their autographs and photos with Dan and Dave. Dave had brought some props but never really got a chance to put them out. It's unfortunate cause that was one thing I was really looking forward to. I got to know him at the first con pretty well when he did a prop show and he didn't get the chance to do it in the last 2 cons so was really hoping to do it this year. I know he loves bringing in the props and talking to the fans about them so maybe next year Dave, I'll put a good word in for ya.
The panels were a bit hard to keep up with as they kept changing who was in them and when they were, but they were all good and I caught them all for once, I was really happy about that. The guests were funny, honest, silly and tried to answer as many questions as they could. For the newbies they all got asked Boxers or Briefs and most showed us or at least told us. I was surprised when MS showed us his and his scar from his appendix surgery. When he showed us his underwear he unzipped them only far enough so we could see the word "HUG", and he did it only cause he said he liked them. He left the rest of what it said and what was below to our imaginations.
When David Palffy did it, he didn't just unzip, he just dropped them, but then again, we'd all seen his butt at the first auction so it was nothing new really, but this time we all got the frontal view so that was exciting to say the least. Then Jr is just cracking up and says, do you realize pictures of this will be all over the internet within minutes. He then proceeds to do this whole dialogue of fans working together to get the pics online, it was hysterical. He wasn't worried about it as none of them really are anymore, but I did hear him say later that he couldn't belive he did that.
Oh, and Douglas Arthurs dropped his at Sekh's party and he wasn't wearing any underwear so we all got mooned, that was hysterical cause we weren't expecting that. I believe he also showed us during the con too but I'm not sure if he was wearing any then either. So, we all got to see lots of skin this year. The auctions are great for that. They all put on shirts and we got to see lots of them topless and when Colin dropped his pants and showed us his stockings I just cracked up. They were the kind that just went up to your thighs and had lace and elastic at the top to keep them up and they were black. Later on when I spoke to him he said it was all part of the gag he started about wearing pantyhose and figured at some point he's have to follow through so he had planned it of course and complained how uncomfortable they were. I couldn't believe he actually did it and still had them on throughout the day. What these guys will do for us, it's astounding!!!!
Last year I videotaped the whole auction, this year did just photos and my friend Robin took some video, but next year I'm doing video again. It was just too funny not to get on tape. I can only hope we have as good a group as this year.
The photo sessions were a bit crazy as usual. It was incredibly hot in the room, so the guests hung by the door and outside to get some air. So, this is how it worked. You got in the room and sat down. Then moved along till they were ready for you to buy your ticket. After you bought your tickets for each guest you wanted a picture with you sat in a different line. Then they called you to stand in line for the pictures. They had about 5 or 6 at a time waiting, there were 3 photographers going at one point but then 1 camera stopped working so it was down to 2 most of the time. So, you waited your turn then when it was your turn you stood in front of the backdrop and got your picture with each guest you wanted. And if a guest wasn't there you did all you could then moved down to the next photographer to wait for 2nd shots to finish up your list. So, I must have been in lines for at least 45 minutes before I got in line to actually get my pictures taken. So, while we waited Teryl brought around a tin of cookies then later on brought over glasses of water, how incredible was that. Then Doug got in the act and brought water around too. I felt like I should be tipping them or something. Boy did they work for us. They basically got to hang out and talk to each other until they were called for a picture and we got to see them just being themselves and being silly and stuff like that. They'd come over to the line occassionally and talk to us, entertain us, they're all just amazing people. So, after I was in line, here I am standing right with all the guests as they mingle with each other so they talked to me and we joked around and stuff, it was very cool. It was finally my turn and it got pretty silly. I had on a shirt that said "Sixty 9" and on the butt of my pants it said "Troublemaker". So I got a few pics with the pants showing and then Jay decided to pick me up for the picture and after that they all decided to pick me up so I was swept off my feet several times in a row. It was funny cause when I got all those pictures autographed, each guy looked at the picture and read what my shirt said, laughed and made some kind of comment about it, mostly saying they didn't realize what it said at the time and how great it was. It was fun to see each of their reactions as they saw it, they are all quite flirty and the shirt (and pants) gave them plenty to work with.
During the autograph sessions it was a bit of mayhem as well cause some guests came late, some had to leave early, and some just kept dissappearing. So, getting them all was work. Basically you went in by ticket number, like from 100 to 200, 200 to 300 and so on. Once in, you could choose which person to start with and you just got in a line in front of each guest to get your autograph then moved on to the next with the shortest line. It seemed to take forever, I swear I was in there for 2 hours but I got them all. Teryl's line was the longest as she had to leave first. I was glad I got hers cause it was a very emotional con for her. I swear she was brought to tears so many times by the fans that she had a box of tissues at the ready. I won't spoil anything for anyone but we were told to not miss the episode Heros by lots of them.
One thing that started Teryl's tear fest was the Stuffy guard. They did the presentation of how many they got and what it's all about and even brought in kids from the hospital that gets alot of the stuffed animals that they collect. Teryl was so touched, she hugged each of them and watched as their eyes lit up as they saw all the stuffed animals that were in the containers. I think each child got to take one and Teryl needed a minute after that to collect herself. She wanted to go back to happy silly questions to put the mood back to a happier one but then Allan showed up to end the panel. Poor Allan, I felt bad for him cause he kept getting booed every time he showed up on stage to end the panel. Anyway, Teryl also got the chance to meet a young girl she had been keeping in touch with over the last few years. I believe the girl was a singer and was really good. Anyway, when Teryl realized it was her she went down and hugged her and chatted and hugged her some more, started to cry, hugged her again, it was very touching.
Well, I'm sure there's so much more I could tell ya all but I'm starving. Overall, it was a fantastic con, the guests made it more fun than ever and really connected with the fans. It's well worth it to try to make it next year if you've never come before. I guarantee you'll have a blast.
Oh and if you don't know, they've moved the date of the con to July. I don't remember what days but I'm sure they'll post it on the Gatecon site when they get settled back home. So, keep checking and hope to see ya there!! SS/Kim Fox
