WormholeRiders News Agency

Author: JandyraCJM

Sanctuary ‘Out of the Blue’ Awakens the Senses! Did Someone Say…Box? With Finale Trailer!

Greetings Sanctuary Fans!

Every week, I love Sanctuary more and more. It’s a true factuary. I love that this wee ‘show that could’ is not afraid to say “To hell with the box!!! THERE IS NO BOX…”, and take its fans by complete surprise with every new installment of this epic story it has to tell. I love that Sanctuary is not afraid to have its own, unique and strong style. I love that in Sanctuary, what matters isn’t WHAT happens….but HOW it happens. Tasteful, intelligent and artistic!

This is where episode dix-neuf of the third season, ‘Out of the Blue’, comes in.

I don’t know what the writers are trying to do. You know, usually they’re pretty merciful, they get the need that we have for inhaling and exhaling at regular intervals. So what changed in the last four weeks? What did we do to deserve this blissful torture!?

First we were given ‘Awakening’, which brought back the dark sultriness of vampires and the earthy underground, then ‘Normandy’ blew our minds to smithereens with the much expected special effects and the return of the Holy Five into the midst of World War II. Then almighty ‘Carentan’ once again surpassed any expectations by adding to the previous episode with an added humanity, a brief but profound window on Helen Magnus (the elegant Amanda Tapping) and Will Zimmerman (talented wildcard, Robin Dunne) in the face of an ethical dilemma, and their own lives, and sanity, hanging in the balance.

And THEN…there was a little segment called ‘Out of the Blue’. Directed by the brilliant Martin Wood.

Not what we expected. Although with Sanctuary, you kind of learn to do away with expectations because really, our imagination fails compared with what they produce every week.

‘Out of the Blue’ sort of feels like an answer to ‘Carentan’. It does away the drama of physical action altogether and leaves us in a dream world full of confusion and frustrated irony. Like any of our dreams (please keep them to yourself…*COUGH*), little of it makes sense, and while everything is somehow familiar, it’s all somehow completely wrong. Disturbingly so. This is a wonderful character episode, It delves into the psyche, trying to unravel the complexity of human desires in contradiction with reality, and is such an intriguing, and at times painful, insight into psychology of both Helen and Will. It is simple and direct, without heroics or an elaborate storyline.

When we first heard of this episode, the cast and creators warned that it would throw fans off their scent. The fans were teased with the surreal content of the episode, that the characters were unrecognisable, and altogether a bit confusing!

It’s true, nobody could have known, but then Sanctuary fans are renowned for their intelligence and passion, and have quickly learned not to accept events in the show at face value. Besides the obvious, there are so many layers and complexities to ‘Out of the Blue’…it’s one of those episodes that every time you watch, you’re blasted with a new level of understanding.

It’s obvious that something is different from the outset. Will Zimmerman, professional ‘freaky eyes’, in a classy suit running after the garbage truck isn’t exactly how we’ve come to know him. Maybe Robin Dunne would (we could expect anything of that dude), but middle-class suburbia isn’t Will’s regular hangout.

One might jump on the science-fiction bandwagon and suspect alternate-universe-timeline or some other doo-hicky. But then you remember: this is Sanctuary. Convention be damned! There is no box!

Too right! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Heehee.

Couple all that with domestic bliss and pregnant wife Abbie (Corrigan, played by the bubbly Pascale Hutton), and we have ourselves a situation!

Despite the complexities and psychology and what-not, the comedy in this episode is unique. No one-liners, cheeky banter, but simply the funny things that happen to everyone, every day. No effort required to make a dork of yourself! Situational comedy hands down.

Funny things like trying to walk and stalk a talkative kitty that just clawed its way over the warm bonnet of your beautiful shiny Beema.

Funny things like that awkward moment when you have to walk AAAALL the way, breathing heavily, over the street to your hermit artist neighbour (whom nobody REALLY gets), holding a squirming cat at arm’s length and trying desperately to NOT get white fur all over that lovely black, smooth blazer.

Funny things like the deadpan look from Helen Druitt as she stares at you. You, who dares to hold her beautiful white Henry like he’s a filthy football.

Funny things like Monty dropping on Helen’s lawn.

Funny things like Helen. With a lawn. And a house.

WAIT A MINUTE. HOLD THAT TEACUP. Did you say Helen Druitt? *cue shipper squee from the world over* But there’s always so much more to it, we should know this by now! It’s not about mach-making, it’s the fact that tension is so much more satisfying than having every wish fulfilled!

Before we delve into the deliciousness of psychological torture (AHEM), just a few comments on a performance that blew most fans out of the water. Amanda Tapping. Helen Magnus as we’ve never seen her. This was something that was so far divorced from the Helen we know, but at the same time, she was one and the same strong, compelling and complex woman. To see a Helen so confused, anxiety-stricken, insecure and at times crushingly vulnerable, Amanda’s performance was subtly and lightly brushed with effortless English humour, flashes of unique strength and pride, and rippled by a heartbreaking humanity. Absolutely breathtaking… *stops breathing*…

It’s so hard to discuss the intricacies of Amanda’s nuanced delivery without plunging into the psychology of Helen, whom nobody REALLY gets. So back to the Blue we go…

The beauty of this episode is that the prequel to it is important, but is just that, a prequel. It is not until the resolution of the narrative that we really have any idea of the premise, and of WHY all this has happened. Curiously though, it doesn’t matter. Whereas many writers would concern themselves with screening the dramatic events that led to this situation, Sanctuary breaks the mould. Writer Damian Kindler beautifully dispensed with the need for exhibition, and made the point of view to be from the patients: Helen and Will.

The most pressing need for them, and for us as the audience, is to make darn sense of all these disparities, to understand why on EARTH Helen drinks coffee, wears lumpy cardigans and paints all night, and why Will doesn’t understand how he married Abbie and became a surgeon. What engages us is not how they came to be in this situation, but the journey of both these characters as they struggle to make sense of their lives. Ultimately it is about the personal journey from moment to moment, more so than the destination.

The first …well…’abnormal’ clue is actually from the very first moment that Helen opens her front door to rescue her precious feline creature from her fastidious neighbour. “DECLAW?! He’s an innocent creature!” Over her shoulder, Will spies the ghostly phantom of what seems to be…a creature? Symbols? But it is gone from his and from our sight before we can fathom what we are looking at. It is as fleeting and surreal as if it were a dream. He is brought jolting back to his ‘reality’ with an indignant English woman demanding he get out of her house. The true nostalgic spirit of Dr. Helen Magnus shining through in this neighbours-at-war scenario.

Also, I think many fans will be naming their future kittens ‘Henry’. The irony is too side-splitting! What would a werewolf think? Ravaged by self-cannibalism?

The ironic paradox is also Helen the painter. What happened to the feisty, gun-toting 159-year-old doctor, hell-bent on abnormal salvation?! The levels of irony in this 19^th episode ebb from hysterically funny, to cruelly tragic. In the real world, Magnus and John Druitt (the versatile and immensely talented, Christopher Heyerdahl) were torn apart by his ferocious demon, followed by a century of revisited pain and anger, torn by what-might-have-beens and the birth of a daughter.

It seems like she can’t have it both ways! In many ways, ‘Out of the Blue’ reflects the innate desires and dreams of Helen and Will; if Helen had followed her young dreams and married the man she loved, if Will had ignored his intuitions, and had become respected in his field. It just goes to show that maybe, after all, everything in life happens for a reason.

As Helen says “I got married because it was supposed to make me happy!”, and yet it didn’t, while in reality having their daughter was everything to her, besides her work. The angst and tension between Helen and Druitt is one and the same, the same betrayed love and trust, the same frustrations. The confrontations between the two of them calls for some of the most sublime deliveries from both actors, as Druitt gently asks, what is it that Helen wants? GOOD QUESTION! Helen herself doesn’t seem to know, her face twists in confusion and anxiety as she tries to make sense of herself, of John, of the whole damn situation! Everything just seems WRONG. Her frustration and loneliness is no different from the real world, and yet back when she was young and in love, it had been everything she wanted. Or so she thought.

And for God’s sake, she’s not Scottish.

Intuitionally, this Helen knows that her life is wrong, there is so much more that she is capable of, work that will actually make a difference to the world!

“I don’t know! Help homeless children! Work with animals….GOD SOMETHING!… BLOODY AGENTS!!”

And once again Helen asks Will to take a leap of faith. And die. Again.

Will, losing patience with Abbie’s “tinky woo-woo crap” (IRONY!), can’t remember the basic names of drugs and medical conditions, not a good headspace to be in with an upcoming bypass surgery. Instead both he and Helen find themselves saying and doing things that, out of context, make no sense at all! Semblances of their real selves start to poke holes in the fabric of this reality, which seems to be making an enmeshed plot out of suppressed desires, which, like all dreams, confuses us as our brain tries to make sense of the disparity between this dream-world, and what it knows to be a fact.

But then again, what would we be without our dreams? WHO would we be? As Will says. “Our dreams are actually our reality”, and while it may be literal in their case, so it could be for the rest of us. Thought-provoking, no?

There is something delightfully homey about this episode. No big guns or historical heroics, but the simple struggle of two human beings who can’t make sense of themselves. It is an episode about the people, not so much about events, and everything within the setting, the plot, the delivery by both main characters, even the glorious music (SOUNDTRACK DO WANT) and pseudo-psycho shimmering mind flashes, all contribute to the very delicious human quality of the story it tells. Flashes of the lost Ashley (Emilie Ullerup), and Will’s mother give a very nostalgic and very anguished frustration to their mindset.

The music. OH the music!! The mere thought of Helen painting through the night in a lumpy cardigan and sound system blasting is hysterical, but Andrew Lockington’s absolutely perfect soundtrack gives Helen’s existence a very artsy, very alternative, very grungy café feel…it positively embodies the hermit and enigmatic painter that she seems to be. The tortured, starving artist. Hah!

This episode bears the true Trademark of Sanctuary. It is not afraid to venture into the unknown, not afraid to demand thoughts and questions from its audience, not afraid to question not only what defines it’s characters, but what defines us as human beings. It tears down the barriers between our internal realities, and the world in which we live.

I’m curious to see what effects the events in this episode have on Helen and Will. Will they remember their experiences? What effects will it have on their respective relationships, in particular, Will and Abbie?

And how wonderful to revisit an old stooge, Virgil St-Pierre! We barely touched on his character in Hero II, so what does this mean for his mercenary relationship with the Sanctuary team? Twisted as he is, there’s something endearing about his arrogant dudeisms. He reminds me of our beloved Edward Forsythe!

And for crying out loud! What in God’s name can be going on in Hollow Earth? What global Sanctuary alerts? I sense another of Damian Kindler’s infamous cliffhangers…

Stay sane for the epic finale of an EPIC SEASON!

If you can. I’ll be sitting here. Chewing up my cushions as usual. Waiting! Rocking in my corner… In the meantime we include the Sanctuary season 3 finale sneak peak courtesy of Syfy via Hulu!

Thanks for popping by WormholeRiders News Agency and reading!

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June 20, 2011
Sanctuary: “Wingmen” and Other Delicious Encounters … with “Awakening” Sneak Peek!

So far, in the world of fandom, Sanctuary Season Three of this ingenious and creative series has kept every single human, abnormal or otherwise, perched on the edge of their couches/sofas/beds in a squeaking flurry of anticipation and awed grimaces.

With a WHOLE TWENTY EPISODES (YUS, THE BIG TWO-ZERO), not only has the devilishly talented team at the Studio been able to extend the epicness over months and months, but they’ve been able to sneakily play with pushing our boundaries of suspense. Cheeky buggers.

It’s also allowed them to expand their horizons and push the intensity of the overlapping story arcs even further. We fans are only human (partly), and every now and then we need to be able to BREATHE, so for the past few weeks, Sanctuary has graciously spared our lives by mellowing out the freakishness of its epic, and settled into a lovely little bubble of softness, joviality, somewhat light-hearted stroll through romance lane. It’s nice to see a deep and darkly intense scifi show that is not afraid to mention the word ‘love’ or point a fun finger at it.

Even so, such fun romantic trips are not merely for the sake of our lung capacity and overstretched suspense. Each relationship consist of entire people, with decades of love, anger, fear, adrenaline, happiness and grief behind each. Each person comes from different walks of life, from a different host of experiences, with different skills and different passions.

With the fabulous scope that twenty episodes has given Sanctuary, we have also been privileged to welcome new characters into the fold. Through the various adventures of certain boys, we’ve had introduced to us two new girls on the block: Abby Corigan (Abigail, played by Pascale Hutton) a behavioural scientist and agent of the FBI, and the Hyper-Accelerated Protean, Erika (Pauline Egan).

Both these women are incredibly strong and grounded in their own ways, but at the same time are so DIFFERENT and COLOURFUL.

Given their crazy and unpredictable working environments, and the scarcity of non-dangerous creatures, it was almost a given that our two Sanctuary boys should find some comfort in the arms of these two ladies. But to REALLY appreciate the chemistry going on, we need to have a look at this latest episode ‘Wingman’ to understand some questions, and to raise more. Because that’s how we roll. Innit.

The very opening soundtrack of this episode is lilting and fun. There are a lot of flashbacks which may or may not interrupt the flow of narrative, depending on who you are! I myself found it to be some kind of angsty nostalgic trip down memory lane, and it gave me this insatiable craving to go back and watch certain episodes to fulfill the craving for, mainly, epic Magnus (Amanda Tapping) kicking ass with whatever tools she could find. Seriously. Blowing up a chopper, flailing pipes and slashing tentacles ten metres under water. Nothing unusual there. Moving on…

It was lovely to revisit a character, and also a familiar face, from the original webisodes, with director Peter Deluise appearing as the devious Ernie.

The whole date scenario is sweet really. Of course Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) and Abby first met in ‘Vigilante’, but they finally went on their inevitable first night of romance in ‘One Night’, when they were kidnapped by a gang of traffickers. Abby’s beginnings on the show have not been unlike WIll’s. After all, they do have the same background, whether or not he actually remembers it. Her first confrontation with her first abnormal, Biggie, was a bit of a shock, but her compassion and understanding was swift, quiet and sweet.

She seems to confront unexpected and violent situations pretty calmly. I mean, given her FBI training one would expect nothing less, but Will’s initial reactions were a little less believing. Most likely because he didn’t want to admit that his childhood fears were a reality.

This episode is no different for Abby, the delicious prospect of a gourmet Italian dinner followed by a night of canoodling warms her to a jolly glow, and the inevitable intrusion of Will’s insane work schedule (and the ever-present Dr. Magnus) doesn’t faze her in the slightest. As she says to poor Will “As long as it’s fun, I’ll keep coming back for more!”.

She brightly traipses through the sewerage tunnels in pursuit of the Lepidoptera, and offers Henry her hands to be useful in any way that she can.

I have a couple of niggling questions though. Although we have seen Abby’s calm demeanour when they’re plunged into rather outlandish situations, we have not had much of a chance to see her in action as a professional in her own right. We have not been able to see her own skills put to use in the field, and in this episode in particular, she seems somewhat of a helpless lady in distress. Amiable and jolly, but not adding much usefulness to help solve the situation.

She is a little of ‘a sucker for punishment’, and somehow always ends up mortally poisoned or crippled. I do hope we get to see her exercise her brilliance some more in the future! She is, after all, undoubtedly a strong and brilliant woman in her own right. As an FBI agent, there is so much more to be explored!

Erika seems to be the complete opposite. Although when we first met her in ‘Animus’, she was plagued with fear and indecision, her new found freedom and venturing out into the world seems to have given her a sense of self-worth, and she is now taking her life into her own hands. Erika’s entire demeanour has changed, from one of timidity and suppression, to a full-blown woman comfortable with her femininity, and taking on the world with open arms.

We are familiar with her talents and skills as a HAP. Fortunately in ‘Wingman’, we are able to see her full blown brilliance, as she and Henry bounce technobabble of each other…the language taking on a personal deep need of…erm…well. *CENSORED*

Despite the shameful innuendo, of which we can’t get enough *COUGH*, her passion and love for the world of circuit-boards is astounding, as she ingeniously makes-do with the situation and materials at hand. Her talent isn’t just for the lab, she’s on FIRE when it comes to inconceivable moth-man situations. ‘Impossible’ or ‘difficult’ doesn’t seem to be in her dictionary. Yet. But then again, having the personal closeness and with her absolute faith in Henry’s brilliance (somewhat blindfolded at times), she has no reason to doubt herself …or her date-partners!

Her new-found self in the wide world is still apparent. Erika can be, like Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins), extremely naive at times. The fact that she supposes that he can just drop everything and leave everything behind with but a few hours short notice just bawls for some more life experience. It was doubtful that Henry would ever leave his Sanctuary family in such a way, but Erika’s potential as not only perhaps an activist in the abnormal world, but even as a leader in her own right, is astounding.

We’ve only had a short introduction so far, but let’s see how this intriguing woman develops with the series!

Like Erika, Henry can be quite naive at times. I mean, we’ve seen it in random little situations, but his relief and revelation at realising that he, in fact is NOT alone in the world, his discovery of a brilliant and beautiful woman who is just like him, leads him besottedly onward. The poor guy had a hard enough time getting used to the new reality of who he is…let alone dealing with it on his own. Well, sort of.

It WAS immensely fun to see him finally in the clutches of human(ish) contact. The provocative banter between he and Erika is just delicious, and giggleworthy, to behold, and surely the tech geek deserves SOME romantic action. FINALLY.

His naivety matched Erika’s in the very opening scene of the episode. As he presents to Will his amorous intentions for Erika, Will’s shock at the speed of their relationship catches him by surprised. A WHOLE WEEK AND A HALF. They’re perfect for each other!

“Why, because she’s a HAP?!”

Henry doesn’t understand Will’s reaction, but his journey of personal growth through the episode, and in particular the revelation in his last meeting with Erika, sheds an incredible amount of light on his understanding of relationships. As he so rightly states to Magnus: “I know it’s weird, but apparently there’s a lot more to a relationship than just being a HAP”.

Will’s the lucky one in this episode. Though his perfectly planned evening goes inevitable awry, with a sigh he takes it in his stride, and it turns out to be far more exciting than the date he had planned. He and his lovebird even get to sample the deliciousness of Alfredo’s, and we’ll leave the bedroom goings-on to your imagination *titters*.

Akay, I’m going to be brutally honest here. I know Amanda Tapping is working her gorgeous self to smithereens, and we love her for it. But I miss Helen Magnus. I miss the intriguing and mysterious games she plays, the history that always seems to be hidden from us, her unpredictability, her strength and awesome ass-kickness, her vulnerabilities. The little tid-bits that we hang onto in this episode, be it her cheeky but powerful and sympathetic (or not!) presence, or the flashbacks to other episodes, they tantalisingly dangle her in front of our eyes, before whisking her away to the dark recesses of the *COUGH* delivery room.

The little she says is to the point, and either breaks you down into grimacing snorts, or touches one with her simple and honest sensitivity. She is more than a boss to her team, she is like a mother at times. For one, she scolds the boys like a couple of hormonal brothers (I just couldn’t stop LAUGHING in ‘Hangover’). In ‘Wingman we see another two sides to her weird boss-motherliness.

*CLICK CLACK CLICK CLACK*…the sounds of her heels striding toward the hopeful lovebirds is almost to be expected. It echoes through the halls as though the presence of Dr. Magnus is watching everything with a Godly eye, whether the mortals can see her or not…

She cheekily grosses the boys out in a motherly way, pressing on them that what she asks of them is imperative, really they don’t have a choice….unless they want to monitor a cervix. Ahem.

The other side of Helen’s coin is at the conclusion of the episode. Though she never compromises her leadership and strength, her sympathy to the miserable Henry is touching. She strives to make up for his missed love-call by treating him to the date he’d missed out on.

Only to be interrupted by a pair of half-naked and ravenous psychologists stealing half the goods away.

Somehow, despite her “Will you two be joining us for dinner?”, I just can’t see Helen Magnus ever letting Abby or Will attend the table in such attire. It would be positively improper and a disgrace to table etiquette!

Red wine and agnolotti be darned.

Can’t wait to see the epicness and story arcs continue! BRING IT!! In the meantime for here is the extended promotional trailer for “Awakening” !

Thank you for stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency and reading.

Please feel free to contribute to the discussion below, or visit me on Twitter, or even share this news article with other fantabulous members of geekdom by clicking one of the social media icons below.

SPREAD THE LOVE, THE GRACE, THE COMPASSION.

JandyraCJM.

May 15, 2011
AT5 Reverberation: Day One – Meet and Greet, Hey Soul Sister (video) and More!

Greeting GABIT Events Fans,

Oh. Wow. What….what a first day! The tumultuous and highly anticipated arrival of the hundreds of fans from every corner of the globe caused something of an explosion of excitement and uproar at the Renaissance Hotel, Heathrow.

Nobody was injured in the cacophony, but I have a feeling that much of the excessive excitement was exorcised, and by evening, everyone had settled into a serene but joyous celebration of what this convention is all about: Love, the coming together of fans with common passions, the sharing of the spirit of giving and open hearts, all under the blessing of Amanda Tapping and the reigning GABIT Team lead by Julia Hague.

For us, the AT5 Reverberation experience really began with our arrival at Heathrow Terminal 3 (after 37 hours of airports and flights) at Thursday lunchtime. Welcomed at the door by people whom we have all come to love as siblings on the internets.

The day was spent in struggling to accept that this was not Skype or our often frequented Amanda Tapping Dot Com chat room, but was real. Real life. It is a concept that still boggles the mind somewhat. Scifi geeks from all across the world over simply must understand how difficult this is to accept!

After very little shut-eye, the experience fairly carried on without interruption into Friday morning, as more and people poured on from all corners of the UK, Europe and around the planet.

The first official congregation of the day was GABITs AT5 Reverberation ‘Meet and Greet’, a welcome designed specifically with fans who are traveling alone. By this point, those who had been there for at least a day were well accustomed to each other’s quirks, but it was a lovely way to formally bring those people together.

After short stint in central London, involving Harrods where we observed a Helen Magnus Desk for only 75,000 Pounds Sterling (pictured above) and Subway, we returned to the base of operations for registration, and the collecting of a fantastic array of Sanctuary For Kids merchandise!

Sue George manned the charity desk, which was overflowing with S4K hoodies, shirts, wristbands assorted badges of quotes from both Sanctuary and Stargate, memorabilia, raffle tickets, car stickers and and on!

After emptying exhausting our daily spending allowances, it was another brief burst of craziness in the lobby, before everyone retired for showers and makeup in preparation for the evening’s Cocktail Party.

Being one of the ‘unfortunates’, we spent the entire evening lounging in the lobby, before migrating out into the cool but mild night air, armed with guitars and our vocal chords. What followed was the most sublimely cathartic and uniting love fest of the day so far. For some three full hours, inspirational and uplifting songs floated up through the night air above Heathrow, and cast a warm glow in our hearts which will echo throughout the weekend.

As Amanda left the cocktail party, and strode out into the night air, the strains of Train’s “Hey Soul Sister” were being harmoniously warbled, and she bopped cheekily with an even more splitting grin. One shut door later, she drove away with a massively excited grin, waving madly through the window at our cosy and equally flailing bunch. A beautiful and perfect closing to a wildly fantastic day!

I sincerely hope that you enjoyed my day one overview as much as I did sharing with you. Being one of the lucky admirers who were able to attend, I think we can say that this day will always be in my heart. The WHR AT5 Reverberation Team will be back with more daily reports each day and detailed reports in the future.

Thank you for stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency and reading. Please feel free to contribute to the discussion below, or visit me on Twitter, or share this news article by clicking the button down there, or click my avatar to the right!

CHEERIO!

JandyraCJM

February 12, 2011
Gate to the Sanctuary, Melbourne: The Amanda Effect! One small drop…

CALLING ALL SANCTUARIAN GATERS!

Gate to the Sanctuary was an incredible Stargate and Sanctuary convention, held in Sydney by Culture Shock Events, and in Melbourne by Hub Productions. On the weekend of 11-12 December, 2010, several hundred extremely blessed fans had the opportunity to meet with some of their favourite artists, including Amanda Tapping of Stargate and Sanctuary, Robin Dunne of Sanctuary, as well as Carmen Argenziano (Stargate) and Chuck Campbell (Stargate and Sanctuary)

Further to my convention report, and the transcript of Robin’s panel, below is the MUCHLY anticipated, sublime and utterly inspiring transcript for Amanda’s hour of magic. Amanda’s panel was the most memorable for its soul, its beauty, its crazed goofiness, the hysterical giggles, the moved tears, and its intelligent and thoughtful Q&A.

Please note that these are written exactly how they are spoken. I chose to leave in the ‘umms’ and ‘aahs’, the little vocal nuances, so that you may read it exactly as was spoken by HER, and not by anyone else. I did not want to filter it, but left it as it is so that you may hear it as Amanda told it. It is not a written report, but a transcript of spoken language, and should be read as such. I have also tried to include descriptions of actions and facials expressions where possible. In the case of Amanda, it’s kind of essential!

I hope you enjoy the panels as much as we did! May you finish with a painful stitch, inspired beyoond belief, a mind in smithereens, and a heart exploding with love…it’s all about the living experience!

A MASSIVE bouquet of gratitude to the lovely @PaganX @MichelleDaGreek and @Abydos71 for your fabulous photographic contributions!

Please also note that this transcript continues on DIRECTLY from where Robin’s left off!

A day NEVER to be forgotten…

AMANDA TAPPING

(Bouncing and clapping in seat)I wonder who’s up next?! I’M SO EXCITED!!!!! (laughter and cheers)

(VIDEO)

Moderator: Amanda Tapping everyone!! (MENTALLY UPROARIOUS SCREAMS AND CHEERS)

Amanda: I look SO MUCH COOLER on TV than I do in real life! (laughter) I can’t believe how COOL I look!

Wow…Can I get a copy of that? Wow…for the days when I’m feeling a little low! I’ve had a lot of bullets in my time…HELLO EVERYBODY!!!!

Audience: HELLO!!

Amanda: Hi MELBUN!…Uh..Melbun, you never say ‘R’s in Australia (laughter). Um ARRRRGH. That’s Olivia’s favourite joke; What’s a pirate’s favourite letter? ‘ARRRRRR!’. Um HI! I’m so excited to be here, thank you so much for having me, for being so gracious. I have to say one thing: Australians. What is it with you guys and your eyes?! I have never seen more beautiful sets of eyes anywhere in the world (AWWWWW). I’m not kidding you!..I’m not, (to an audience member) YOU..HELLO! I’m not kidding! I…every time I…What do they put in the water here?!

Audience member: FLUORIDE! (laughter)

Amanda: YEAH! Brilliant, I’m blown away…I’m not kidding! So there’s..

Audience member: It’s the Vegemite!

Amanda: It’s the Vegemite. I confess, I like it! (CHEERS) But I’m from England originally and we have Marmite which is not that different. (cheers) Thank you very much! My favourite thing to do when I go to London, is to find like a, you know, a grungy little local caf’, and have a cup of tea, and toast and Marmite. And that’s…my start to the day *giggles*. That’s my dirty little secret!

Ummm…what…AH. Okay, I’m in *goofy voice* Australia. Last week I was in Nepal (CHEERS), hence all my accoutrements. But I, for those of you that don’t know, I just..I feel like I have to tell you a tiny bit about Nepal, uh…and then we’ll get into questions.

Um. About a year ago I started a foundation called Sanctuary for Kids, and uh *cups mouth* www.sanctuaryforkids.org (laughter) and uh..one of the charities that we support..- we support really small..it’s a very grass-roots charitable initiative that we started. And honestly we started it because of you guys. It was my understanding after a …decade plus *ironic grin* in the scifi genre – a decade and a half, alright I’ll be serious! – that, um, I have never met a more…aaah…more socially connected, socially aware, generous group of people that is scifi fans. It BLEW MY MIND every time there was an auction, or every time I go to England and do the GABIT events..that there…we raised SO much money for these incredible charities, and I think “What…these people are so CONNECTED, they really GIVE A HOOT” and it’s so beautiful.

So THAT’S why Sanctuary for Kids was born, not only because we see, um, how incredibly lucky we are that we’re working in our industry, but also that we’re incredibly lucky to be connected to such an amazing and generous group of fans! So that was sort of the impetus for Sanctuary for Kids. And VERY grass-roots, no overhead, um..Damian Kindler and I cover all the costs of administration and people and banking and blah blah blah. Um…but we just do small online auctions, and we do, you know, little charitable conventions and things so…Anyway that’s the impetus behind Sanctuary for Kids! Um, and we support really, really small charities. And one of them is the Nepal Orphan’s Home which Kamil, who used to run my website, volunteered at. And he came back, and he sent me the most incredible email and pictures, and he said that “I am transformed, this place is amazing!”. And so I started doing some research, and hooked up with the people who run it, and so…Jill Bodie, who is the other person behind Sanctuary for Kids, and myself got to go to Nepal. And uh…we were in Kathmandu, we visited with Nepal Orphan’s Home, as well as some other groups while we were there, um …groups primarily dealing with trafficked women and children. HEART-WRENCHING stories, but this speaks to the incredible resilience, and open hearts, and beauty of the Nepali people- that EVERYONE we met was so gracious, and so uh…LOVING. And the GIRLS at this orphanage…there’s one house of boys, but I stayed at Sanctuary House. Partly because of the donations that we have made, they were able to open another house, and they called it Papa’s ‘Gumba’ House, and ‘Gumba’ is the Nepali word for Sanctuary. So, uh, again..(‘aww…wow’ from audience)…yeah the power of fandom and the power of just a simple movement.

So twenty-seven more children were added to the orphanage roster, and it united seven sets of sisters, this one house, who had been separated, and potentially would never see each other again, um, and they were reunited because of Sanctuary House. Uh, so we got to go. So it was an incredible gift, to be able to go and see what they needed, to uh..to crank lanterns that our crew all contributed money to buying these crank lanterns, because in Kathmandu, for 15-18 hours a day they are without electricity, and um…crayons, and art supplies. These kids were..phenomenal. And Happy. Brilliant, beautiful children, who will change this world. Um, the one thing that struck Jill and I while we were there was the incredible need and we felt “God we’re just tiny drops in the bucket”, and you know, I feel like that…as an actor in this industry, and sometimes you feel like that as a fan, and we’re…we’re just a drop in the bucket.

But honestly from that drop in the bucket, AMAZING ripples emanate. And that –uh- it was never more clear than when we were in Nepal, that that’s what was happening. That, you know, 132 children at this house are being educated. And you know, they say, if you educate a woman…you educate the village, and therefore the ripple effect! So, uh, KUDOS to you guys for your support. But um, if you wanna check it out, check out sanctuaryforkids.org, and there’s actually a blog called the Nepal Blog. And there’s pictures of some of the kids…so uh…if you get a CHANCE.

(At this point, Amanda’s voice was breaking with emotion)

(HUGE APPLAUSE)

(Moderator asked for cameras to be put away, so that they could bring the microphone to people)

Amanda: Oh great, there’s gonna be a lot of pictures of Amanda in Melbourne…Please don’t post them on the internet. There’s about twenty-seven THOUSAND bad pictures of me on the internet. I ENCOURAGE you to put the good ones on! *GRINS*

(LAUGHTER)

Um…what else can I tell you? WE FINISHED SEASON THREE! We are SUPER-EXCITED about it. I know a lot of you are up to date on it, thank you very much for watching! Um, but I’m still, you know, very much a part of the Stargate franchise, so feel free to ask me questions about that as well. Um… hard to take off those army boots, I tell ya! (laughter). A couple of girls brought two replica P90’s (laughs) during the photos…*smooshes* I WAS SO HAPPY 😀 ! (laughter). It’s just really sick, because I HATE GUNS! But you know uh, there’s something about the zen that I found as Sam Carter with a gun that…belied my inner turmoil *chuckles*(laughter). So when I started playing Helen, and I was wearing stilettos and pencil-skirts, I just like..I…I was doing this scene and Martin said “What’s WRONG Amanda?!?” and I was like *mutters out side of mouth* “Can’t I, you know, just carry a gun?” (LAUGHTER). “You’re going to your library!” – *whispers* I know, but…maybe she has a P90!” (LAUGHTER)

YAH!. But …still. Okay. HI! Let’s start with some *giggling* questions!

Q1: Hey Amanda

Amanda: HI! 😀

Q1: If you could describe the relationship between Jack and Sam in a few words, what would that be?

(scattered laughter)

Amanda: I think it’d be ONE word. FRUSTRATING!!!!!!! (LAUGHTER AND CHEERS) SERIOUSLY…..COME ON!!!

Rick and I actually talked about it not that long ago, and I had been asked so many times “Do you think they should get together, do you think..”. YES DARNIT. JUST ONCE, just get it out of the way! GOD! One night of crazy passion…where they *suggestive gestures*…(LAUGHTER) I don’t think that’s too much to ask…on SO many different levels! (LAUGHTER) But yah, I think it’s really frustrating. I mean, it’s usually respectful and loving and all those wonderful things…FRUSTRATING!!! is what comes to mind.

Q2: (gorgeously British guy sitting behind me): Hi Amanda, um, welcome to Melbourne! So nervous…(laughter) sorry! This is the most nerve-wracking experience since I got married! So um…uh..where to start. So, both Dr. Helen Magnus and Sam Carter, they’re both SUCH amazing characters, and they’re wonderful, I think, to so many of us, they’re STRONG female characters, but they don’t rely on being…you know..adopting male, or kind of macho…I mean they’re somehow so powerful and so feminine. They’re sensational! And my question was, how much influence have you had over the years with both characters, to be able to say to the guys…you know..”Can I go this way with Sam, or that way with Sam”…just you know, kind of put that out there…and …you know…stick up for women, and wave the flag!

(Giggles in audience)

Amanda: Yeah…RAR RAR! (LAUGHTER) It’s a great question! Um…Here’s a prime example: In the Stargate pilot…Sam Carter has that…*rolls eyes*..

(LAUGHTER)

Q2: YEAH the line…the line!

(Audience: Say it!)

Amanda: *Magnus accent* Would you like me to say it?

(CHEERS)

Amanda: It goes..aaaah: Just because my reproductive organs are on the inside instead of the outside, doesn’t mean that I can’t do whatever you can do…

(CHEERS AND LAUGHTER)

Amanda: HONESTLY I think every woman in this room would agree, we’d NEVER say that. (laughter) Even though it’s absolutely true, it…ah…IT’S JUST NOT SOMETHING THAT WE SAY! (laughter). So I remember, it was the pilot and we were under a contract whereby they could fire us after the *chuckles* the pilot if they didn’t think it was working out. So we were all *chuckles* on our ABSOLUTE best behaviour (scatterings of chuckles), so I was like “I WILL SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT ME TO SAY!” (laughter). And then as soon as the contract were, you know, okay you’ve made it through the pilot and you were continuing with you character *chuckles*, I was like *stern look* “OKAY..yeah.” (LAUGHTER)…”women don’t talk like this!”

So, I remember sitting down with the writers and saying “STOP trying to write what you think a strong woman would say…and just write a human being, right? As if you’re writing for a man, if that makes it easier, and I will bring an inherent femininity to it, EVEN if only my virtue of the fact that I’m a woman!” (laughter) This I did bring to the table! “But there will be an inherent femininity, just write a normal human being, don’t write a woman trying to prove herself in a man’s world, ‘cause it..the more you red-flag the fact that, you know *thick Texan accent* “I’m a woman in the military!”, the more boring she becomes! You know, we get it. You’re a chick with a gun…OKAY! Just write a cool, interesting smart character! And uh, the writers, to their great credit, did exactly that, and for me it was…we steered a little bit away from the vulnerability, and I think it deeply important that as much as we show a character’s strength, we also have to show the weakness. And i think the true power of a hero comes in their failings, and the, you know, the learnings from those failings! Um, so that was always my sort of bent with her, and they listened! And honestly after a few years, it was so much a part of each of us, our voices…you know Michael brought so much to Daniel, Chris brought so much to Teal’c, and so on and so on, that it became them. I mean, Don Davis WAS General Hammond!…(stirring of sympathy in audience)….heh…yeah..I can barely say his name without crying, still. Um…but that was, you know, Teryl came in and she WAS Dr. Frasier…and the things that she did. So EVERYONE informed their characters, and so…by virtue of the fact that we were on for so long I think.

Now with HELEN, I got the script that Damian had written in 2000, and aah, really I didn’t deviate from that very much. Except that we…it’s important to me with Helen because I don’t GET her, all the time, I don’t UNDERSTAND the choices she makes. Which is COOL. ‘Cause she’s 160, and I SHOULDN’T understand her (LAUGHTER). Sometimes I FEEL *chuckles* like 160! But there’s a loneliness there, there’s a wariness, and a WEARINESS of the world that she has, that I don’t necessarily understand. But I bring, I think um…aah..when I’m talking to the writers I think she really WOULDN’T make that choice. But she MIGHT make that choice. And at other times I would go I DON’T KNOW if she’d make that choice, let’s make her make that choice, let’s see her screw up! I love it! So, I don’t know *chuckles* if I answered the question or not…I’m just rambling! You see I’M NERVOUS!! (laughter). But um YES. I think After a while the actor does start to… inform what’s happening, and I’m just really incredibly proud, and privileged that I’ve TWICE now been able to play really strong…who I THINK are really cool, interesting women. (APPLAUSE)

Q3: I heard in an interview, regarding the extended season, that I THINK the thing is that because you know that you’ve got the time, that it’s a lot more pressure, but it’s a bit more of a luxury for you…

Amanda: Yes…

Q3: ..um…and that’s how you were choosing to look at it. Then you said “Ask me in ten months”. How has it been? (laughter) Not that it took ten months, but how’s it been?

Amanda: AWESOME! It’s awesome! I forgot, you know Stargate was such a machine; ten episodes, take a little summer holiday, ten more episodes. And you just ground it out. And after ten years of getting up at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning, and working till, you know, 7:30 or 8 o’clock at night, you know, it just becomes…your life! And with Sanctuary we only did 13 episodes, and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited, and did another thirteen and it was like “OOOH this is NICE! Thirteen is NICE, I have a LIFE!” And then…we got twenty, and still I say it’s a huge luxury. We did what we did with Stargate, modelled, did ten episodes, took a summer break, and we’ve just finished the last ten. But honestly by the end we were all….*audience chuckles*…a little bit coocoo for cocopuffs!(laughter) It’s a privilege. Honestly, because I think the story fits better, the arcs are more interesting, I think, what I LOVE, and I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but I think that fandom…me BEING a member of scifi fandom…I don’t WANNA be spoonfed the answers! I don’t WANT somebody soft-pabbleming (?) me going “HERE, this is what we mean by that!” I wanna wonder, I wanna ask some weird questions and NOT get answers, and go “*STARES*…(laughter)… I guess I’ll have to watch NEXT week’s and find out what the hell they were talking about!” It makes sense to me! Because I think we’re an intelligent group of people, who don’t NEED to be told what’s happening.

Audience member: There’s always more guessing going on…

Amanda: EXACTLY, this season we’re trying to do that, much to certain networks…chagrim *makes face*. You know, “The audience isn’t gonna know what you mean”…*STARES…rolls eyes* (laughter) “well…*goof voice* I THINK they’re SMART!” (laughter). Yeah, so it’s been great.

Q4: Hi, my name’s Gochin (sp?)…

Amanda: HI! 😀

Q4: …I just want to say that, you know, I think you’re an amazing person, and you’re an amazing actress….And…yeah…I just…

Amanda: *goof voice* GOSH! (laughter)

Q4: Um, I’ve noticed that the music of Sanctuary is very beautiful, and there’s a very specific melody, and tune to all of it, and I was wondering if you, personally, had any kind of say in the choices for the episodes? And also, um, whether they were specifically chosen to suit the theme or something…or if it was just “Oh that one sounds pretty”…

Amanda: YAH! I’ll tell you what’s happened.

Okay, so in Season 1 we had Joel Goldsmith, who was the composer for Stargate…was AWESOME, awesome composer. Ah, VERY orchestral in his..in the way that he writes his music, and we were very lucky to have him. But we are really striving to be a 100 percent Canadian show, and part of the issue was that we had an American composer. So we found Andrew Lockington who I think is ABSOLUTELY brilliant, and what Andrew brought to the table was a very world theme, ah, much more um, drumming…less orchestral and much more world music kind of feel to it. What happens, and this is part of the beauty of being a producer, is we do what we call ‘sound spots’. So, we’ll watch an episode with Andrew on the phone (he’s in Toronto and we’re in Vancouver), and we’ll watch exactly to time…and he’s on the same computer..to time. So we’ll watch the episode, we’ll pause- anyone can pause at any given time, and can say ‘here we need some more drum’ or ‘here we need some more of this’ or ‘wouldn’t it be great if we could get a big sweep into this scene’ or ‘let’s not have any music in this scene’. So we actually do, um…to a degree..aah, inform how the music plays out. And then we just leave it in Andrew’s incredibly capable hands, and he comes up with stuff way better than we could *chuckles* ever imagined! So in terms of where the music is placed and the, uh, the sort of temperature of it. Yes. But then it’s up to him. And aah, I think he’s brilliant, personally.

And I…I know that now that Syfy International only shows the ten second opening title sequence…right? (mumbles in audience)…*Amanda makes a face*…YEAH not into the ten seconds! (laughter). We fought REALLY hard, because aah, we have a BEAUTIFUL thirty second opening title sequence, and aah..I think everywhere else in the world, except for Syfy…um…because they decided that um…*snirks* you wouldn’t stick around if it was thirty seconds *makes face* (LAUGHTER). ALL of their shows have ten second opening title sequences. I’m never gonna work for this network again, apparently *chuckles* ‘cause I keep telling people bad things about them (LAUGHTER)…*goofy voice* but I LOVE Syfy, and I owe a GREAT career to them…BUT. Ten seconds. It was like ‘Seriously? The audience is gonna…you guys are gonna stop watching ..AWH *SIGH* it’s twenty-seven seconds *SLUMPS*” (LAUGHTER).” I don’t CARE what happens between John and Helen…*shuffles away*”

Audience member: Bring back the Stargate intros…that were like…

Amanda: YEAH! Exactly, and they just keep getting smaller. So no it’s..ten second into the scene. The REST of the world gets thirty seconds. And that…again it’s now ANDREW, doing the opening title because part of the problem was… that Andrew was having, was that Joel’s music was very orchestral, and he’s trying to feed that into the first scene. You know from a…ah..it was too much of a JOLT in music styles, so now Andrew does it all. So…*chuckles* did I answer your question? (laughter) I tend to RAMBLE on… wow…

Q5: Hi…

Amanda: HI!!! Up there!!

Q5: *mutters* My friend Miranda thinks I have this one game where I like to ramble on…*chuckles*

My question is…now, you’ve done a lot of scenes with David Hewlett when you…went over to Atlantis…

Amanda: Yeah!

Q5: ..and your guest one when you did ‘Grace Under Pressure’, did you enjoy it more…doing that episode, or the one where you were with Jewel and you all fell down into the shaft…

Amanda: OOOH TRIO!…YEAH…I LOVED doing that episode! Aaaaaaaaand I… I couch this by saying I have an incredible and ridiculously paralysing fear of heights. And uh, and I was supposed to be like, the one who walks across the beam all ‘yo, yo!’ and THEY’RE the ones who were supposed to be scared, and they were just, like, hangin’ out on the beam…like..*relaxes*. But we had a BLAST. That episode, just in particular, it was very strange…we were on a gimble set, and this metal box..aaah..up on these rafters, DUST falling on us, DIRT, and aaah…we laughed. Our. heads off. I just…I COMPLETELY remember shooting every day of that episode, it was SO much fun. So THAT for me, um, but not only because of the character interactions, but because of the personal interactions…between David and Jewel and I. And just being goofs in the makeup trailer. I LOVED, you know, getting covered in dirt…you know, I love that kind of stuff..so..it was really fun.

‘Grace Under Pressure’ was, you know, had it’s OWN *goofy voice* sense of fun! (laughter) But that was…aaah…yeah that was *chuckles*. That was a strange episode for me. Ah…David’s..aaah, WIFE was there, not quite then his wife…Jane, was his ‘fiancèe’ at the time. And aaah, so that was…awkward! (LAUGHTER) It was like ‘I love you Jane! I love you…*pulls face*’ (laughter).

Q6: Hi…

Amanda: Hi!

Q6: GOD you’re pretty!…sorry…(LAUGHTER). Much prettier in real life…umm *Amanda’s making shocked faces* (LAUGHTER)….(couldn’t hear what she said)…

Um…I just..we saw you when we were watching ‘The Tok’ra’ and you just peeked in, down there with Robin, and had a peek. What was the thing…what runs through your mind, seeing, like, those images of you from so long ago…with that hair..and…

Amanda: *sobs* I was SO YOUNG!!!! (LAUGHTER)

Q6: ‘Cause it must be stranger when…I mean, a lot of us see photos from we were younger but, like, you’ve got…over ten years of your life on…

Amanda: *Stunned face* YEAH. (laughter)

Q6: So what was that like, to watch back…from your perspective?

Amanda: It’s actually, now I can look back on that with a much greater sense of detachment, and really appreciate what the show was. And go ‘AWW yeah, that was the first day that JR Bourne and I met, and …and we hung out for seven hours talking, and we, you know, these scenes happened so beautifully and…you know, so I can look back on it now…much EASIER than I could. You know… I couldn’t WATCH Stargate for the longest time, ‘cause I was so self-critical about everything. And NOW I step back and go ‘Well…it was a FUN show, and that…’ I remember the moments BEHIND them. The moments. And it is HONESTLY really FREAKY…to see…the videos that are put together *chuckles*, you know, of the transformation of Sam Carter, and of Helen. Uh…it…yeah. *whispers* OH GOD! (chuckles in audience) I’m like, ageing…before my eyes. There’s no denying that!…(Audience member: Aging gracefully!) …thank you VERY much! But yeah. It’s really weird. My DAUGHTER watches , you know, like…I got a video from a fan, and I put it in and she *chuckles* was like *shocked face*‘Mama!’, and I was like *wide eyes*“I know.” (LAUGHTER).

Q7: *mutters* Okay you’ve got the mic, now don’t screw it up! (Iaughter)

Amanda: *grins* NO PRESSURE!(Iaughter) Everyone’s listening!

Q7: Well, first of all I would like to say that, well, for the better part of, well, fifteen years of being just…NOT just a strong role model for women, but also a good match for most men, knowing that…you could probably take them ANYWHERE. (LAUGHTER)

Amanda: *GRINNING BROADLY*

Q7: ..I’d just like to say that, I don’t either way pertaining to Stargate, and Atlantis..and Sanctuary, you’re just a GOOD role model to watch on the screen. So, I just wanted to say that…

Amanda: Thank you!

Q7:..And, my question is..um..I’m not sure if it’ll ever happen. The SG-1 third movie. Would you be in it?

Amanda: *wide eyes* I hope so! (LAUGHTER)

Q7: But if they..asked you, would you…

Amanda: Oh God yeah! Yeah, I mean…aah.. I was asked this in Sydney, and I don’t KNOW if it’s ever gonna happen, it would be great. I …I don’t know if the ship has sailed on that. There was so much BUZZ about it for a long time, and we were all very excited. And then…the buzz sort of died, and after that we heard about MGM having trouble…and you know, all manner of different scenarios were being spread and…and we didn’t KNOW. And now, were just no hearing anything, so I, I don’t know. Maybe…someone would like to write one, and we could all do it! (laughter). (audience member makes a comment, perhaps about the movie campaign?) Oh is there? Yeah, I would ABSOLUTELY. I mean… I will NEVER turn my back on Stargate…that…it’s just such a HUGE part of my life. Yeah. And the boots are SO comfortable!*GRINS* (laughter). Who could say no? I mean it’s….Win, win, win!!!

Oh…HI!!..YOU FINALLY GOT THE MIC!!

Q8: Hi Amanda *very tearful*

Amanda: Hiiii! (laughter)

Q8: (quietly) I’m losing my voice…um…I just wanted to say..thank you, um, you’ve given me a lot more confidence, and you’re an Angel, and thank you…for…*buries face*

Amanda: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

(scattered laughter in audience and THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE)

Amanda: Oh please! *goofy voice* You’ll make me cry! (laughter)

Q8: Amanda, my question is, back in webisode four…

Amanda: *stares wide-eyed trying to remember*…UH HUUUH…(laughter)

Q8: What did Druitt say to Magnus?

Amanda: What did…?

Q8: Druitt, say to Magnus?

Amanda: *trying to place it* Okay, so we shot it as a two-hour pilot…so…that would be… about halfway through*stares*…(chuckles in audience). Where were we…? (laughter)

Q8: Magnus…was tied to the chair…

Amanda: OH YEAH! And then he…yeah. And I say “Are you gonna carve me up like one of your whores?’ and…

Q8: Yeah…no just before, when he starts like…

Amanda: *staring totally lost* (chuckles in audience)….Let’s call him! (laughter). I don’t…..CRAP! *staring*(laughter). I think he said ‘I still love you, you gorgeous thing’ (awww-laughter). I THINK that’s what he said. Yeah. It might have been ‘I hate your guts you evil BITCH’ *GRINS* (LAUGHTER). I think it was ‘My God, you’re even better-looking close up’ (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE). Kinda! (audience chuckles)

Q9: Uh Hi! First, welcome to Melbourne!

Amanda: Thank you!

Q9: I hope you’re enjoying your time…I have two questions for you. The first one is just a short…little one, the second one is SLIGHTLY more involved. The first one; If you could live in any of Helen’s decades, which would you live in, and why? And of the decades she’s lived through, if you could live through any of those, which one would you live in and why? And the second is, um, you’ve often spoken of your background in theatre, your training in theatre, you’ve had years on the screen now, and television. And you’ve had a very significant role now, behind the scenes, you’ve done directing, and I was wondering which of those transitions was…the most challenging, but also the most rewarding for you?

Amanda: Uh..okay. First question. Um, I think she would go back to the twenties *nods*…the roaring twenties, BEFORE the *chuckles* Great Depression. Um…at a time when women were a bit more liberated…I’d LIKE to say the sixties but I think Helen is too much of a *chuckles* control freak. (laughter) Except for the sexual liberation part…but I think all the other stuff…she’d…boot it! (laughter). *whispers emphatically* Silly woman, SILLY WOMAN! UM…but I think maybe that the roaring Twenties, I think that was a time of, sort of, decadence and fun and…and political upheaval…and…women were a little, were staring to get a little bit more liberated, uh I think that..YEAH. THAT’S my answer for today *grins*(laughter in audience). Ask me again tomorrow!

Um…second question *stares up*.

Q9: Span of you career..and what…

Amanda: Oh yeah, yeah! Oh YEAH! (laughter). *sings dorkily* HEEEEEEY GOOD LOOKIN’ (laughter). THAT’S what he said to me! (laughter)…I think the transition to…(laughter continues) *chuckles* I don’t know WHERE that came from…I’ll tell you that story in a minute! AH…the transition to producing, for me, has been really incredibly rewarding, because I never quite understood what exactly a Producer did, like the full extent of what they did. And to be able to sort of, have a hand in …in the MINUTIA of putting together an episode, of going through a sound spot after the fact, or doing the final mix on an episode and going ‘Oh you know what, we need another clip of the gun here, a screech of tyres here…’the LITTLE things. I LOVE that. The details. I really, really enjoy that. Um, I would LOVE to go back on stage, um…time permitting, and it just hasn’t been.

Um, a few years ago I got the chance to do the ‘Vagina Monologue’s in Toronto, and um…(scattered chuckles in audience) *grins* (LAUGHTER)..*dorky voice* Sheee saaaaid “Monoloooogues…”(LAUGHTER). And uh…it was to raise money! To raise awareness against violence against women…um…Awareness FOR…AGAINST violence against…*chuckles* you know what I mean (laughter). And I had not been on stage for such a long time, and I literally had this moment, which was very telling for me, which made me think I gotta get back on stage, where…I was about to go on, and I saw the stage door, and I was like *STARES* (chuckles in audience)…*glances around awkwardly-breathless* I wonder if anyone would notice..if I just…left! Then I..I literally PANICKED, I literally went *anxious*. And uh, it was very telling for me, because I used to LOVE that pre-stage rush, you know that moment before *takes huge breath-EXHALES* HOHKAY! I used to LOVE that feeling, and then it scared the LIVING DAYLIGHTS out of me and I thought “UH OH, *dork voice*I’d better get back on stage!” Um, so eventually I would like to do that, I think THAT would be the full circle that I need to, you know. I always say, creatively you need to scare yourself…it..I think IN LIFE you need to scare yourself, as soon as you start to become complacent, do something that scares the CRAP out of you! And you…feel alive, which is what directing is for me. And what producing is. So now it’s going back on stage. I’ll just pretend I’m doing a play right now! (laughter). Yeah…

Q10: Hello!

Amanda: Hi!

Q10: Hi, how are you…um..

Amanda: Good!

Q10: My question was, um, which historical figure or mythological character would you like to see on Sanctuary in the future?

Amanda: *GRINS* Elvis! (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE) *chuckles* Naw I’m kidding. There’s a bad…you’re gonna leave aren’t you! *thoughtfully* Who should I say that would make you happy? Ummmmmmmm…..John F. Kennedy. I think she knew him well *coy smile* (LAUGHTER).

I think that uh…Yeah I think that there are some amazing political figures that we should explore, because for..Helen has such an interesting history, politically. But I would also really like to see some strong women, from the past. On the show. Um, dive back into that part of Helen’s past. (audience member: Eleanor Roosevelt…) Yeah! Eleanor Roosevelt would be amazing! Amelia Earhart would be amazing. There’s a whole bunch of them; Dorothy Parker would be really cool, ‘cause she’s kinda weird and that would be fun (chuckles). Ummm some great artists. I mean, like..yeah I. Honestly, I think we showcase some really strong men, I think it would be great to showcase some really strong women…from history. Um, so I’ll say Eleanor Roosevelt, ‘cause I want you to be happy!*cheeky smile*(laughter). Molly Brown…*to audience member* yes! We did a brief reference to her in the ‘Next Tuesday’ episode. I TOO am suddenly remembering the names of episode *grin*(laughter). You know, people ask me ‘Do you remember the episode such-and-such from Stargate..?” and I’m like *whispers* “What happened??” (laughter). But yeah. Strong women!

Q11: Hi!

Amanda: HI!!!!!

Q11: Um…two questions!

Amanda: UH HUH!

Q11: The first one is, um, at the beginning of ‘Pavor Nocturnus’ (Amanda: yes!) um, it looks like it was a really difficult one to shoot, and also a fair amount of the set was built, rather than green screen (Amanda: Yep!). Um, it looks really cold and…what was the experience like with the intensity? Because Robin was talking about it as well…

Amanda: It was..aaaah…it was a VERY scary episode. Um, and it wasn’t being wet and cold. We shot the majority of it in-house, on the stages, uhh , besides the matte paintings that you see of the ruined city, most of it was a practical set. And it’s amazing to me what our set decorators were able to do, in creating the city-scape with the, you know the plastic sheets and the..our special *chuckles* special effects guys, have this, like, CRAZY love of Hudson sprayers…which are like fine mist sprayers, and fans. And they put the HUGE fan, and this water, and they all look REALLY happy about it (laughter). Then they throw dirty leaves at you…(laughter). So it was a VERY uncomfortable episode. The shower scene in particular, obviously, was one of the scariest. Um, a lot of our crew members walked off set. Not…walked off and never came back…they were like ‘it’s too much, we can’t handle it’ and they left. Um, because it really…it really was an awful scene to shoot. But it was an IMPORTANT scene to shoot, um, for Helen’s vulnerability, and to speak to the absolute anarchy and chaos that was happening. The WEIRDEST thing was Robin. He walked onset with this crazy hair, and this eye and this MASSIVE intensity that FREAKED me out! (chuckles). And he..in the scene where he sort of yanks Helen up, right off the top, I … I had bruises for weeks. Because he *grits teeth* GRABBED SO…HE WAS MEAN! (laughter). Next time you see him in the autograph line, KICK HIM!!! (laughter and some applause). The whole line…this can be our little secret! *grins* (laughter). But yeah, it was..uh..a VERY intense episode. It was VERY wet and um…but YEAH. That sort of speaks to the whole philosophy of SCARE yourself! It was scary! And so afterwards we were all like PHOOOO!! It felt great!

Q11: And the other question is um, in the sort of …three seconds Syfy told about Season Three, you talked about it being more romantic. Can you, talk more about that?

Amanda: *Exhales frustratedly* Helen should have …more fun relationships than she does *frustrated stare* (chuckles) EVERYONE ELSE…is getting (scattered chuckles). Just get some. (laughter) Get some… dot, dot, dot! Aah…so Will finds romance, Henry finds romance, I don’t know if the five years are up for Biggie and it’s time for HIM to find romance (laughter).

Uh, Helen…There’s only one scene, I think, which is truly romantic in Season 3, and I don’t know if you’ve seen the episode ‘King and Country’ yet (resounding YES!). Right, okay, so THAT SCENE…I would like to take credit for, so I will! (laughter) And um, I had this WEIRD sort of daydream vision, because I think part of the problem with…part of the problem…*dorky voice* Part of the problem with Helen and John *chuckles*, is that. Um. It’s SO HARD to fathom what this love is. Because he’s a DICK! (LAUGHTER) And..but she… He is her FIRST. LOVE. He…he’s her Jack O’Neill *smiles* (laughter). Unrequited! Uh, no but HE’S her first love. He EMBODIES the innocence, the joy, the first BLUSH, um…of True… Love .Until he became this hideous thing! And, she blames herself for that…even still, um, knowing all the other variables in place. And I think that there’s just this…nobody else, besides Tesla, and Watson and Griffin, well Griffin’s now dead and Watson’s now dead! Nobody else understands that! The depth of that loneliness, the history, the…so…I had this vision …

(Mobile phone in audience rings)…do you want me? *grins and mimes holding to ear* (laughter).

Uh. I had this vision, of Helen taking a moment. So I went to the writers and I said “Could, we..in this scene…find a moment where Helen just takes that: It’s safe, he’s not gonna wake up, she just wraps herself in his arms and *EXHALES*. Because he’s the only one…who would understand, the loss of a child, the depth of despair, she’s dying, finally…like…everything. The weight finally hits her, and nobody else who she could turn to. But she couldn’t turn to him AWAKE, because that’s all..you know *dorky voice* ‘cause then all SORTS of weird stuff happens! So that…I asked for that moment of…and I talked to Christopher about it and we both just LOVED it. It’s a great moment to play. So that’s the extent of her romance, with a guy she’s KNOCKED OUT! *chuckles* (laughter). *dorky British* Caught in Cambodia, wraps herself in his arms *chuckles and punches air* WOOOOH HELEN!! (LAUGHTER) YEEEEAH that’s romance! *nods*. I’ll take what I can get!

*To audience member* HEY YOU GOT IT, YAY!

Q13: We’ve been talking a lot about you being a role model for a lot of people in this room, and all around the world. What’s it like now, that you’ve got a career, you’re producing a show, to be a role model and a mentor for a lot of the younger actors that belong to your show?

Amanda: I take it very seriously. Uh, I think that..um…there weren’t a LOT of women, when I was starting out, who were doing…uh…everything that I’m trying to do! Um, or that, basically, had the time! So I’m really…I’m really CONSCIOUS about trying to …to talk to young women. I work with women in film, in the Flashforward program, I do a mentorship program with them. I have a DAUGHTER. And I think it’s really important that she understands that…there’s a whole…you know, there’s a whole world of possibility. And that it’s gonna be hard and crappy at times, but then it’s okay. Um, I…but with Agam. Agam’s constantly coming up and asking me stuff and it’s very cool, same thing with Emilie. I DO take it very seriously, because I think…I was really lucky. And I feel that somehow *chuckles* I’ve sort of stumbled into this crazy life, and I LOVE it, but I’ve been given a great gift…and if I were to not…share it…that would be really…dumb. (chuckles all round). Uh, I remember, before I directed Stargate, I sat on a plane to LA with Helen Shaver. And she was directing ‘Judging Amy’ or something at the time, and she was in ‘Poltergeist’. I don’t know if you know who she is or not, but um. She’s a female director and, um, SHE. WAS AWESOME. She totally mentored me the whoooole flight down to L.A. I was like, you know “this is what I wanna DO with the scenes” and blah blah blah. And I thought “If I can do what SHE’S doing, that’s great”. There’s another director, Ann Wheeler, who’s one of my favourite female directors. And she that kind of woman too, she’s like “Come to editing! Come and sit! Watch what I do!” Which I think is so cool! So, yeah.

Q14: Hi Amanda!

Amanda: HIIII!

Q14: Um, I was just wondering. Aaah Robin was talking about practical jokes on the set (Amanda: AHA :D!) and I was wondering if you had any really, really funny moments that you can remember?

Amanda: Well…Robin’s big thing, as you ALL know, is taking his pants off (LAUGHTER). Which is why I wrote ‘THIS IS MY BUM’, because I’ve SEEN it so many times!(laughter)*makes a face* (LAUGHTER). Don’t tell him I said that! Uuuh, so..the big thing *sighs* practical jokes is hard because our cast is really funny, and so the biggest thing we do is crack each other up off-camera. And it was the same thing that happened on Stargate. It would be… you know, Michael and Chris behind the lens, you know, making stupid faces..or, and trying to get you to break. And that’s the biggest practical joke that actors ever play on each other. I mean with Christopher, it’s taping…duct-taping you to chairs (laughter) *chuckles* It’s funny! …until everyone leaves the room and you have to pee! (LAUGHTER)

But, I told this story in Sydney about Christopher’s flatulence…and I’ll BRIEFLY tell you now. Um, he has this horrifically gaseous body (chuckles in audience), um and…he would constantly clear rooms with like, you’d walk into the room and go *complains*“Oh God… Christopher we BEGGED the caterers not to serve beans!” …and we would, you know EVERYTHING we could do, our ..Our craft service guy had like, bottles of Pino up against the back wall, to stop Chris’s gas, and it never worked. So he finally had his own, when he had to wear a full NASA space suit (LAUGHTER). THE REAL DEAL. And he got bolted into it. And then the helmet came on. And the GUY FROM NASA was THERE, putting this thing on! And…(chuckles all round) We all sat back and were just like *waves hands*..it…it HAS to happen (LAUGHTER)! We watched him go, you know, from his delicious chocolate brown, to this weird shade of green *chuckles* (LAUGHTER). It was nice,…himself. His face was kind of *screws up sour face* (LAUGHTER). And I swear the entire crew had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard (LAUGHTER). That’s KARMA! *grins*. That’s not a joke, that is KARMA. Yeah…I wish we’d filmed it!

Q15: Hi!

Amanda: Hi!

Q15: Um, you have acted with Christopher Heyerdahl in every series from SG-1, to Stargate Atlantis, to Sanctuary. Which character, out of the five that he’s played with you, is your favourite? And why?

Amanda: Druitt. Although..umm.. I really like him as Biggie. Uh, although…ahh..I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Helen never refers to him as any… she never calls him ‘Biggie’ or ‘The Big Guy’ or…she never…One day we’ll actually reveal what she calls him. It’s interesting with Christopher, obviously I have more to do with him on ‘Sanctuary’ than I DID on the Stargates, but um. There’s just such a great connection when he plays John, and there’s such a..aah..well..it’s a very interesting passion between the two of us when we play those characters together, and I LOVE it. Like, as actors we sort of HOOAH! There’s a connection, it feels so real and great! Yeah, but when he plays Biggie, he’s a completely different guy! He walks onto set and he is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT GUY. And he’s …a bit more aggressive, and he’s …bigger *chuckles* which is weird, because he’s tall and big as he is! But he’s…he’s SO interesting to me as an actor, how…how he transforms himself. Um, and the relationship between Helen and Biggie is soooo…gentle, and they’ve known each other for so long, and they have such a deep friendship. And with John it’s all about passion. So, but I think John. Because I can actually look at Christopher’s face. When he’s Biggie I forget he’s Christopher, I TRULY do. Wow….till he slaps (laughter). But yeah, I think John.

Q16: Hi Amanda, how are you?

Amanda: Hi! Good thanks!

Q16: Ah, look, just a two-part question! Any chance of, aah, an episode of ‘Sanctuary’ starring Richard Dean Anderson? (laughter, Amanda: OOOH YEAH!). If so (laughter)…If so what…as you’ll be HIS boss, what would be the most interesting abnormal you would make him? (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

Amanda: *smiling* I would give him some REALLY special skills (laughter). Ah, we actually tried to get Richard for the webisodes to play , um, Helen’s previous assistant…aaah…and I think there’s this sort of weird video blip that Will looks at. It ended up…ROBIN ended up doing it, in full make up, which is really cool. But we wanted to get Richard to do that, just play this cranky, crazy *chuckles* old FART (laughter)…who’s dying ‘cause of all the experiments he’s done with Helen and…I thought THAT would be really fun. Um, but we have yet to get him on the show…But if we did. I don’t…I don’t think I’d make him an abnormal. WELL I mean he is…*chuckles* just by being Richard (laughter) Dean Anderson *chuckling*. Have you all met him? (YEAH! He was here earlier on in the year) YEAH. So…ah, he doesn’t…*chuckling*…really need makeup or anything (LAUGHTER). He’s just weird (laughter). Lovely. Um, yeah I don’t think I’d cover up that beautiful mug with any prosthetics or anything. I think in one of Helen’s…*cheeky smile* (LAUGHTER)…I think it would be a really lovely full circle if, uh, SAM doesn’t get it on (LAUGHTER), then Helen could at least get it on with somebody who *chuckling* looks a LOT like Jack! (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE). But yeah. And of course there’s the whole Richard-Dean-Anderson factor for ME! (laughter)

HI!

Q17: Hi, um I’ve got two questions. The first one is; Is there any chance in Season 4, you would come down and film here.

Amanda: Oh I would LOVE to, are you kidding? My God, I think there’s a Melbourne Sanctuary, don’t you? (YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!)

Q17: Um, the second question was; Did you do all your stunts in ‘Breach’ yourself?

Amanda: Um, I think there’s ten…LESS than ten shots that aren’t me.

Q17: Because it …was amazing!

Amanda: YEAH. Thank you! That was aaah, I have an AMAZING stunt double, aaah for fights. Her name’s Ashley. She. Is. AWESOME! And ah, so she taught me all the fights. Rob Hater is our fight coordinator, and uh, the two of them taught me all these fights. But I’m like “No let me do it, let me do it” and obviously it’s easier to FILM if it’s really me. Um, so there’s a couple of things like, when she does the pipe thing over her head, that is HER going over her head, but the rest of the stuff is me. Um, and I think it’s because…that I’m…too much of a spaz (laughter) to have this *chuckling* long metal pipe to swing around my face! (laughter) Um, and that drop from the ceiling is HER *COUGH*…*cough* sorry! *HAAAAACK* (laughter) And uuuuuh, there’s a couple of sequences in the, aah, hammer/machete fight, that are her. Um, but for the most part…YEAH…I got my ASS kicked! (chuckles) But I got to do some kicking too! (Yeah…it was pretty cool!) YEAH, Ian Tracey, too, is a PHENOMENAL actor. We fought REALLY hard to get him, he’s just SO great. Um, so the two of us had a lot of fun *laughing* beating each other up! *smiling* I’ve got a…I’m kind of a fan of his…kind of…I am! I’m a fangirl…ah…so it was like *chuckling* “Uh…okay…*breathes* Really?…uh. Okay…you really want me to punch him?!” (laughter) But it’s really interesting, when you get actors who actually understand, ‘cause he’s done a lot of stunts, of his own stunts, himself. And you get actors who understand it, it’s REALLY FUN to play that you’re…kicking the CRAP out of each other! And very rarely…land a punch! You know, I’ve actually…punched, one of our stunt guys, Clint, on three different shows (laughter). He’s really cute, like…REALLY CUTE. Aaand maybe that’s why I keep connecting him *demonstrates* “Oh…OH!…OH I’M SO SORRY…here let me help you up!” (LAUGHTER) That’s why, I dunno. Umm, but it…it’s…usually I’m pretty good about swinging punches, but for some reason I…actually in ‘Pavor’ I punched him, I elbowed him right in the chin *demonstrates* “oh CLINT!” (LAUGHTER) *goofy voice* I’m blushing now! (chuckles)

Q18: Hi Amanda.

Amanda: HI!

Q18: Just, um, one question about two episodes of Stargate. Um, how much fun was it to do episode 200? And how emotional was it to do ‘Unending?’

Amanda: Uh, okay. Aaaaah. ‘200’ was sort, of, the episode where we got to do EVERYTHING we ever wanted to do! Um, all in one episode. And aah we had a blast! I LOVED ‘100’, I loved ‘200’, because when you get to 200 episodes you ought to be able to do something completely irreverent and silly and fun. And sort of, the things…that a fan had written you about, or things that we’ve asked the writers about or things the network has said ‘no’ to. ‘200’ is like, *goofy voice* “Let’s DO it!” So we GOT to do it, but it was REALLY fun. We laughed a LOT during that episode!

Um, ‘Unending’ was aah, I’ll NEVER forget the moment, um…aah, and I think there’s a lot of pictures that have made their way out into the world. Um. Rob Cooper was really smart, ‘cause he waited until the VERY last scene, VERY last day, for us to step through the Stargate. The VERY last shot we did on the series was…stepping through the Stargate. And…we were bawling. Christopher was bawling. He could barely…he…they were like “Cut. Are you okay Chris? Just your…make up…” (laughter) *does Chris impression, crying and whimpering*(laughter). We, we ALL were. It was, it was INCREDIBLY emotional, and Rob Cooper, again, was REALLY, REALLY smart to save THAT moment. Because we thought “God, this is the last time we’re gonna walk through the Stargate on this television series” It was really, REALLY emotional! And it was RELLY…it was like, WEE hours of the morning, and ALL the production staff stayed. And so like, the entire GATEROOM was FILLED, with people who had worked on the show for ten years. People came BACK, who hadn’t been on the show for a few years, came back just to watch that moment. And then the coolest thing happened, was: Michael, Christopher and I snuck upstairs, we went through the control room, and up the spiral staircase to um…the briefing room. And the three of us just stood there and looked down at the Stargate, and we put our arms around each other and we were like “Wow. So that happened”. Umm, because that’s how we started! The three of us aah, found ourselves around the corner and saw the Stargate for the first time before the pilot. And ah, I remember turning to Michael at that moment, before we had even SHOT…you know…a roll of film, going *chuckling*“Oh my God! We’re working on a really cool show, LOOK AT THAT THING!” (laughter) “It’s HUGE!!” And we were SO EXCITED, and so…you know…YOUNG, and “Oh my GOD this is, you know, our first big series for both of us!” and we were just like “aaah!” and then Chris joined us, and the three of us were just like “WOW. This is gonna be GREAT!!!” Flashforward to ten years later, when we were like “Oh my…GOD ten years!”. It was veery emotional, but REALLY, really beautiful. And it was…we didn’t even say a word! Except for “wow!” Just…we all kinda looked at each other, SO many people, and everyone’s talking and crying…we sort of FOUND each other, and went *wow!*. And uh, it was REALLY beautiful. Yeah, very….*sheepish smile* (chuckles).

Mic handler: One last question…

Amanda: WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?! (groans and complaining from audience) AWwww COME ON! *makes face* (LAUGHTER) I don’t have to be anywhere at the end of this panel!…*mumbles* just the autograph line…*mumbles*

Q19 (Me): Hi Amanda! (Amanda: HELLO!) Welcome to Melbourne! (Amanda: THANK you!)

Um, I’ve got two quick questions…at the end of Season One, you had…um…Babz Chula, guesting with ‘Sanctuary’, and how…how was that to work with her. Because obviously, what happened afterwards (Amanda: Right…yeah…) She seemed like..(Amanda to audience member: Oh she’s asking about Babz Chula…) and she seemed like, before she came on ‘Sanctuary’ as well, um, I know she was a role model for a lot of young Vancouver actors as well. So um, what was it like working with Babz on the show? And also (Amanda: She’s an AMAZING woman…sorry..!) …SORRY! Um, The Sanctuary Experience. The auction…was AMAZING. I mean, I don’t know about everyone else here, but we felt the energy (Amanda: YEAH!) across the oceans. I mean, everyone was just…over the moon, and we were wondering where the fund from that went to?

Amanda: OKAY! Alright, so the first part of the question was about Babz Chula, um….I dunno if..uuh…all of you know who she is. She’s…WAS…sadly..uuh…passed away. An INCREDIBLE local Vancouver actor, activist, role model…amazing, AMAZING, FEISTY woman. And, I had ALWAYS wanted to work with Babz. And we were both being honoured for…a…women in film…I won a Woman of Vision award, and she won Woman of the Year. And, uh, so AT this event, the two of us…uuh… so EVERYONE came up and gave these very nice speeches and thank-yous, there were ALL these different awards being given out. And then I got Woman of Vision, and she got Woman of the Year. And I gave this completely irreverent and goofy speech, and then Babz came up and gave a completely irreverent and goofy speech, and so the two of us were just like “YEEEEEAH!” (laughter) “AWESOME!” And I said, “I would LOVE to have you on the show!”, and she said “I’d LOVE to do your show!”, and I went “…oh…well ALRIGHT!!!” (laughter). And so we wrote her a part. And that was it! Um, I never got to really work with her! *chuckles* Which SUCKED, I was like “Why did you write her a part where I’m not even…I don’t even TALK to her? *stares hard*” (chuckles) “I…I…*sighs* it’s BABZ CHULA, and SHE’S WORKING WITH OTHER PEOPLE!” I’m…I really…I’m peeved! But as much as I get peeved…HMMM *makes face* (laughter). Uhh. So I didn’t get to work WITH her as an actor, which…yeah…SUCKED. SHE brought something…the role is written for a man, aah, originally in the script it was a MALE doctor, and aah, we thought “Wouldn’t it be really interesting if it was a woman, and we played up the MATERNAL side of this …creepy scientist”. And she just…she did a beautiful job. We just…put it in her hands, and said “Do WHATEVER you want, because we know you’ll bring something incredible, to the table” Umm, so yeah. It was amazing. Amazing. Uh, she passed away last year and…aah…there’s a big hole in the Vancouver acting community. She…touched a LOT of people. She passed away shortly after I…ah…one of my best friends passed away, from…from cancer. And so it was a really…it was a tough beginning… it was the beginning of this year! So it was…a tough beginning to the year to lose somebody that special.

Um….*stares into corner* OH! The Sanctuary Experience. Aaah. Sanctuary Experience was aaah run…aaaah a Vancouver convention in the summer! Aand, aah, we raised aah…ALL TOLD, ah, about $100,000, for Sanctuary For Kids, which was…PHENOMENAL, ‘cause there’s 250 people in the audience (amazed mutterings) and, YEAH! It was…ALL the actors donated time, the crew, EVERYONE…I mean everyone donated everything, and we raised…an INCREDIBLE amount of…I thought we’d get away with maybe $20,000! So a hundred thousand was insane. Um, THAT money has gone…uuuh…to, Nepal Orphan’s Home. We’ve also started a new, um, partnership with Next Generation Nepal. Uh, Nepal Orphan’s Home specifically, aah, we were going to but the vitamins, multi-vitamins for the children. And, uh, INSTEAD what’s happened, which is actually WAY better, is they were doing a…they were getting a mid-level grade of rice, they’re now getting the top level which is…packs far more nutrients. They’re getting double the amount of vegetables and fruits, and they’re getting chicken twice a week instead of…once a month! And the energy…aah…I got an email literally THE DAY before I came to Australia, from Michael Hess, who runs Nepal Orphan’s Home, saying “You won’t believe how much energy the girls have, aah, so much brighter, and so much, you know, more focused on their schoolwork, and just…simple nutrition”.

So that’s where…a big portion of the money went. Also to a local organisation in Vancouver called the Atari Tip Program, which deals with…homeless teens, transitioning to housing, and…homeless teens with children. So, it’s getting them off the streets into affordable house…housing, and helping the transition into lives that don’t involve…ah living on the street. So, it’s been amazing, yeah. We donated …aah…a bunch of money for bus passes! Quite simple, right? But when you’re on $600 a month and a bus pass is seventy dollars, that’s…a MASSIVE part of your budget. So, to get a bus pass gives them absolute freedom. They can get to their training, they can get to their schools, they can get to their jobs…aah. We didn’t limit it to bus passes! You know if there’s…there’s a guy who, ah, got an aaah apprenticeship! On a construction site. And we bought him…steel-toed boots! And a hard hat, and now he can go to work! So it’s…it’s the little things, but those are the things that…the little drop, big ripples! But yeah, it’s really done some…phenomenal…but yeah…

(MASSIVE APPLAUSE, CHEERS)

Wow you guys ask great questions!

Carissa: Before she leaves, we’re going to do one of those LOVELY teeshirts…

Amanda: III am NOT taking off my top! (laughter) I don’t look nearly as good topless as Robin! (comments in audience) well maybe…to some people..(chuckles)…I…I’m NOT gonna take off my shirt *chuckles* but I will put it on! Umm…HEY. THANKS guys! I…that was AWESOME. I feel like, you know, I watched the end of Robin’s talk, and it was really funny and…and great, and I felt just a little bit… maybe I was BORING…but um…aah, you asked really beautiful questions and I really appreciate it. And I LOVED Australia (to audience member), yeah thank you!

AAAAAH, so I get to stay in Melbourne for a few more days, ‘cause I have my daughter, Olivia, and my MUM! (“YEAH!” from guy in the audience, punching his arms in the air. Chatter and excitement) YES!! *points* My mum’s new BFF! (LAUGHTER) *laughing* they were sitting in the hotel lobby in Sydney, and Vance *laughing* just struck up this conversation with my mum! And…he’s like “So, you know, you’re a fan?” she’s like “Yeeah…okay…o.O” (LAUGHTER) Y’know: “Where are you from?”, “Vancouver…”, “OOH you came a long way!!” (LAUGHTER). And they had like, this REALLY CUTE conversation where they….and finally my mum was just like *leans over and whispers* “I’m Amanda’s mum…” (LAUGHTER). GOSH….*chuckling* she refers to him as her new best friend *grinning* (laughter).

AH! Okay thank you…*Is given teeshirt and marker*…okay WOW What do I do?! OH MY GOD, Robin is not going to *mumbles*…

(At this point, Amanda put on the shirt and started pulling funny faces as she tried to draw on the left side of her chest) *deep, thick voice, goofy grin* AM THRYING TO DRAR ON MAH SHIRRRRT!! (LAUGHTER) *draws and colours in heart over her own* So I do these heart paintings! And uuuuh, now OLIVIA *trying to draw on very awkward place, making faces* I’m SELF-colouring! (LAUGHTER) I do these, HEART paintings, and aaah, my daughter Olivia has just started doing her first canvases, and uuuh *chuckling* so this is ALL she draws! But it’s beautiful, so homage to her.

*Finishes drawing* Ummm, alright! So I think we should all wear our hearts on the outside. Dorky, I know! I can’t do anything funny, I’m not gonna draw a penis (laughter) aah…or…nipple rings, or anything like that…*drawing* and I apologise!

Umm, alright. Does anyone wanna draw something?! (chuckles in audience). *British accent* NOT ON MYYY NUBBINS!! (LAUGHTER)

(PaganX gets up from front row to draw something…expectant chuckles. She crouches behind Amanda and begins writing. Amanda alternates between a screwed up awkward grin and outright silent giggles, people are laughing at her. She’s muttering about how weird it feels.

PaganX finishes writing and hands her the marker with a big grin, while Amanda twists around to see what she’s written) OH IT’S MY GUNBUM!!!! (laughter and cheers) YAAAAAAAY! THAT’S PERFECT…yeah…I dunno if you guys know it *big grin,giggles *proudly* I have a GUNBUM!!! (laughter) And uuh, on the show (Carissa hands out mic to her) oh right…*yells* ON THE SHOW!!!!! (laughter) Ah…nobody could figure…like…the CREW started asking “where is she getting her GUNS from?”, because I wear these tight skirts, and these stilettos, and all of a sudden I’ve got…like an AK-47 (LAUGHTER).And uuh, so we decided that I have a gunbum *grins* (laughter) AS you do! Um, one of the great things about doing scifi is *laughing* anything is possible! (laughter) I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the show “The Backyardigans”, it’s a little kids show (cries of YEAH! In the audience), I don’t know if you get it here, but they like, produce props…from behind their backs! So aah, and Olivia is OBSESSED with ‘The Backyardigans”, and so…I’ve just decided I’m *chuckling* a Backyardigan, and my special talent is MY GUNBUM! (laughter) Yeah! Umm…

Carissa: Was there someone else?

(A guy gets up and Carissa hands him the marker. He approaches Amanda slowly and she seems terrified)

Amanda: *deep and shaky* I’M AFRRRAID!…(laughter. He goes behind her and begins drawing on the back of her right shoulder. Amanda’s face is torn between looking scared and looking awkwardly amazed) No I’m not afraid! I’m not afraid at all…*awkward facial expressions*…(Writer is saying about how she shouldn’t be afraid, it’s something nice, and it was nice of her to come) Oh thank you! (he keeps writing. She’s grinning expectantly) What is it? What is it?!?! (chuckles in audience) Uh ooh…Uh oooh…UH OH (laughter)

(Writer is just finishing up when we hear a familiar voice from the back of the room):

OOOOOOOOOOOHKAY, HERE WE GO!!!! (UPROAR OF LAUGHTER AND CHEERS. Robin’s standing there nodding his head comically and grandiosely clapping his hands in preparation for the shirt-fest. Amanda is laughing as her writer finishes writing on her shoulder. MENTAL LAUGHTER AND CHEERING)

(Writer finishes and gives Amanda the marker. She peers over her shoulder)

Amanda: “OMG Amanda wore this!” *turns to Robin and exclaims emphatically* See?! NICE..and POLITE! (laughter)

Carissa: *pointing and grinning* I believe there’s a charming gentleman up the back DESPERATE to draw on that teeshirt!

Amanda: *stares challengingly at Robin* Bring it! (laughter)

(Robin swaggers purposefully down the stairs with a grin on his face and hands in his pockets, everyone is laughing. Someone is singing the ‘Star Wars’ march in accompaniment)

Amanda: Oh…OH OH!

(Robin pauses halfway down, throws back his head with a MWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Laughter! He reaches the bottom of the stairs, right in front of Amanda, and approaches her)

Amanda: Wow, look at you walking all… butch-like! (laughter) *leans forward* You’re still in the running towards becoming America’s Next Top Model!!! (LAUGHTER and some claps)

(Robin takes the marker from her and stands back, slightly to the left, so he can choose where to start first. Amanda puts her hands on her waist and pushes her chest right out, emphatically smiling and throwing her head back slightly. Robin has a fit and drops his pen in shock, like some kind of hormonal adolescent. Amanda breaks the pose and folds over, clapping her hands in hysterical laughter. Everyone is cracking up!)

(Robin goes behind Amanda and splits his legs to the side so he can reach her lower back. Amanda’s standing nervously making ridiculously frightened, awkward and goofy faces at the audience and trying to figure out what he’s writing)

I..I don’t trust him!…(LAUGHTER)*frightened giggle* Can you see what he’s actually writing?!….*more faces* (LAUGHTER) IT HAD BETTER BE ANGEL WINGS! (LAUGHTER)…

(Robin has a smug grin on his face, and Amanda’s face is getting more and more anxious by the second, laughter continuously! When he’s done, Robin grasps her by the shoulders and turns her around to face him. Her teeshirt reads: MAGNUS IS HOT!!!! UPROAR OF CHEERS, CLAPPING AND LAUGHTER. He whispers it in her ear and she collapses in helpless laughter. Once the noise has died down…)

Amanda: *very coyly*Would you like to sign your name on it?

Robin: Yes…

(Amanda grasps the back of the chair, and assumes a seductive pinup pose, arching her back, and assuming the most cheesy, wide-eyed, open-mouthed look on her face. Everyone is in hysterics! Robin stands back and doesn’t know what to do, staring at her in awe, like a teenage boy. Finally he drops the pen and grabs his crotch, doubling over, and waddling awkwardly to one side, exclaiming,

Robin: “OH,..OH MY GOD!!…*waddles embarassedly* this is a bit awkward, I gotta go!!!”

Amanda breaks her pose in a fit of laughter. Robin recovers, grasps her shoulders, and turns to face the audience with her back to us so that he can write on her…AHEM…shoulder. Amanda throws her hair back seductively, and pushes her chest out, Robin can’t restrain the grin as he starts to write on her…erm…SHOULDER. Everyone is laughing their faces off!)

(When Robin is done, Amanda takes of the teeshirt, and grabs the marker herself . She lays the teeshirt on the counter and starts writing. Someone yells “Write ‘Property of Jack O’Neill!”)

Amanda: “What?”, (“WRITE PROPERTY OF JACK O’NEILL!!”), (LAUGHTER) Amanda: “YEAH!!!” and she starts to write)

Carissa: So we may start the bidding whilst Amanda is…scribing.We’re gonna start the…

Amanda (interrupting): This is totally dorky! This is exactly who I am. I’m an idiot. Not an idiot, but I’m kinda, you know, lame and dorky, and I ..OWN IT! (chuckles) I uh…I uh…YEAH! (Call from audience: ’Me too!’) YAY! I totally own my dorkiness, so aah.. (calls from audience:’ It’s what we love you for!!’,’You’re our role model!’) THREE of my favourite sayings *holds up teeshirt*…

Carissa: So, can we start the bidding at two hundred dollars. We’ve got 200 in the front row there…220…350..sorry 250! Three hundred! (comment from audience : “yeah I think I’ve got enough in here…” laughter)

(A guy calls out: “One thousand!”, “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH ONE THOUSAND”, Amanda looks up from the teeshirt with the most shocked, wide-eyed, bunny-in-the-headlights-of-a-car expression to stare at him in AWE. Everyone cracks up at her facials)

(SCREAMS, CHEERS, LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

Robin: That was GREAT!

Amanda: This is uuuuuuh…*mumbles aside* I’M NOT EMBARRASSED. I OWN my dorkiness! (laughter) ….I’m a LITTLE embarrassed! (laughter)

(silence for some time)

Robin: I think he won (laughter)

Carissa: There are a lot of high-flyers in the audience, I wouldn’t bet on it!

Amanda: *holds up teeshirt* Okay these are three of my favourite sayings: Live Peace, Speak Kindness, and Dwell in Possibility (AWWWWWW applause and cheers). Before my friend Cynthia passed away, I gave her this necklace because she was going through and incredibly difficult time with chemo, and she wore it…and..uh, I believe is STILL wearing it. Um…uh..yeah, the saying “Dwell in Possibility”, because I really believe that it can change…*chuckles* I’m getting sooooo dorky! (LAUGHTER) *goofy voice* I CAN MAKE MYSELF CRY! (laughter) YEAH but these are three of my favourite sayings. So there you go! AND AAAAH. I have a gunbum!!! So…I’VE GOT EVERYTHING! (laughter)

Carissa: One thousand dollars going once!…

Amanda: *remembers to sign* OH…CRIMANY! (chuckles)

Carissa: One thousand dollars going twice…sold for one thousand dollars (UPROAR OF CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(Amanda stares at the winner mouthing silently: ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS *GAPES*…LAUGHTER)

(The winner, of course, gets to take her top off. He walks straight up to Amanda and tries to grasp the bottom of the teeshirt. Amanda embarassedly shuffles away laughing awkwardly, then shakes her hair back, grabs his wrist, and coyly tries to drag him into a dark corner. She finally, with much blushing and giggles, lets him grab the shirt, and he pulls it up off her while her face is blushing and grinning cheekily. CHEERS, LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

Carissa: Put keep clapping for the LOVELY…(is drowned out by SCREAMS,CHEERS AND DEAFENING APPLAUSE WHICH TRANSFORMS INTO AN EPIC MINUTE LONG STANDING OVATION UNTIL AMANDA, GRINNING AND WAVING, LEAVES THE ROOM, ALONGSIDE ROBIN DUNNE)

Amanda: BEST AUDIENCE EVER!!!!!!! (CHEERS AND CLAPS)

I sincerely hope that you enjoyed these panels as much as we did. From all of the lucky admirers who were able to attend, I think we can say that this day will always be in a corner of our hearts for the inspiration, the stitches and the tears that it manifested.

Thank you for stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency and reading. Please feel free to contribute to the discussion below, or visit me on Twitter by clicking the button down there, or my avatar at right!

CHEERIO!

JandyraCJM

December 24, 2010
Gate to the Sanctuary, Melbourne: Robin’s Happy Hour!

CALLING ALL SANCTUARIAN GATERS!

Gate to the Sanctuary was an incredible Stargate and Sanctuary convention, held in Sydney by Culture Shock Events, and in Melbourne by Hub Productions.

On the weekend of 11-12 December, 2010, several hundred extremely blessed fans had the opportunity to meet with some of their favourite artists, including Amanda Tapping of Stargate and Sanc tuary, Robin Dunne of Sanctuary, as well as Carmen Argenziano (Stargate) and Chuck Campbell (Stargate and Sanctuary).

Included are banners on two very worthwhile charities we ask that you support, Starlight Foundation of Australia and Sanctuary for Kids. Thank you for your generosity and support!

Further to my report on the convention, below are the transcripts of Robin’s and Amanda’s PHENOMENAL panels from the Melbourne event. Throughout Robin’s panel, the entire audience was in bouts of hysterical laughter, while Amanda’s panel was the most memorable for its soul, its beauty, its crazed goofiness, the hysterical giggles, the moved tears, and its intelligent and thoughtful Q&A.

Please note that these are written exactly how they are spoken. I chose to leave in the ‘umms’ and ‘aahs’, the little vocal nuances, so that you may read it exactly as was spoken by THEM. I did not want to filter it, but left it as it is so that you may hear it as Amanda and Robin told it. It is not a written report, but a transcript of spoken language, and should be read as such. I have also tried to include descriptions of actions and facials expressions where possible.

Some details may be blurry, so I apologise for any slight mistakes in spoken words. I hope you enjoy the panels as much as we did! May you finish with a painful stitch…it’s all about the living experience!

A MASSIVE bouquet of gratitude to the lovely @PaganX @MichelleDaGreek and @Abydos71 for your fabulous photographic contributions!

A day NEVER to be forgotten…

ROBIN DUNNE

(Intro. video playing)

(Robin appears at top of stairs, runs down. Stops. “YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!”! With his arms punched in the air. Runs down to floor at the front of the theatre)

(LAUGHTER AND CHEERS)

Robin: HOW ARE YOU NEAT PEOPLE?! (laughter) I gotta say, um, before we get into the REAL…meat and…and potatoes, I’m just kidding around around by the way (laughter)I’m totally like…OH NO…

Um, …okay let’s get those photos first alright? (LAUGHTER)*starts posing* (LAUGHTER)….I should just hold it up here like this *demonstrates with arms thrown apart in a sort of victory pose*(LAUGHTER)

I’d just like to warn you, um, and I mean the several people speaking today, uh… I’d just like to warn you that this may be the more X-rated of the uuh…(LAUGHTER)…I…I can’t help it, I ..I… I just go there sometimes, so forgive me. I know it’s sort of a family thing, I’ll try to keep it as..uh…family-friendly as possible! But uh…you never know. It’s me, I’m the wildcard of the…(chuckles)

Uh, but I just wanna say, before we get into it. Before we get into the..uh..all the questions..and the, you know, DEEP, DARK, and the underbelly of Sanctuary, and all those things that you wanna know, and that I will definitely tell you. Aaah, even if you DON’T wanna know, I’m gonna tell you! …(laughter).

Um, I just wanna say! I just spent the last couple of hours walking around Melbourne. *waving arms* OH MY GOD! WHAT AN AMAZING CITY THIS IS!! (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)I went to the…um, the Australian Centre for Moving Images?(Murmers of YEAAAH). Oh my GOD! It’s fantastic!! I mean, you know, I was..I was totally uh, TOTALLY blown away! And then, you know…pouring rain! Five minutes later, beautiful sun!! (LAUGHTER) YOU GUYS WEREN’T LYING, I SAW IT TOO! Wait five minutes! What is this huh? C’MON! (Audience: Four season in one day!) I know…four seasons in like…half an hour! (LAUGHTER)CRAZY! I’m sure it’s like, hailing and snow out there right now! (laughter)

Um, so anyway. Thanks for coming! It’s so great to be here, I love talking about the show! Uuum, I’ve said this many times before, you know…I’m a fan..you know, I’m a HUGE fan of the show. It also happens to be my job. But I…I love it, I love the show, and uuuh, I’m happy to, you know, let’s talk about it! I mean, um, I guess I’ll just open it up to the floor, open up some questions, you know and it’ll jog my memory. And I’ll probably you know, go into some long, boring, meandering stories. Um, but do we have…anybody who wants to open it up with, like, questions? Are we gonna, are we gonna…(Moderator: We’ve got a mic going around) Right…

Can everybody hear okay? (Yep! What? Yep! laughter)…Yeah…yeah your answer to that is, WHAT!?! (laughter). Physical comedy is my life…I’m telling ya…

Q1: Hi Robin…

Robin: HI!

Q1: I just wanna know, on the episode of ‘Breach’ what WAS the ‘knock knock’ joke?

Robin: *ponders for a moment* I have no idea! I uh…I really don’t..okay i have no idea what the ‘knock knock’ joke is. I think uh, that was the whole point of the show, you know, that there’s sort of this…this GAP in reality, um. But on that subject of that episode. What an AMAZING episode for Amanda to do, I mean, she got her ass KICKED (chuckles), uh…in that episode. And..and I remember talking to her after she shot it! She said “God!.. you know, umm, it was really tough! Like, it was really, really physical, and I really got beaten up!…in that episode!” And I sort of looked at her and went, “*STARES* WELCOME TO MY LIFE!!!!” (LAUGHTER). EVERY episode, I get my ass kicked! Um, but also! That’s another exciting thing about season 3, um, is uuh..IAN TRACEY, who is our new, AMAZING villain, um. GOD what an ACTOR! I got to do, um, quite…quite a lot with him this season, and I think he’s gonna become one of those, uuh, favourites. You know, he’s kinda gonna go into one of those Hannibal Lecter, you know, love-to-hate-him kind of zones. Um, and…you know, i think he’s gonna become a fan favourite like, in the way Tesla is, you know, Tesla…you guys love Tesla right?! (LOUD CHEERS AND WHISTLES)

Yeah…’cause like..You know, ‘Sanctuary’ is so cool, ‘cause like, they’re CONSTANTLY…you know, it’s such an INNOVATIVE show, and..and we’re constantly getting these new characters coming onto the show, who are…who are SO amazing. You know, of course Ian, Pascale Hutton, who plays Will’s girlfriend this year…WILL, has a little bit of a romance this year. Kinda nice, you know, I…I’ve been unlucky in love a few times! I’ve had…I’ve had a couple of girls DIE on me! (LAUGHTER) Which is..not..that great. But uh, ANYWAY so yeah, that’s that. But if I can think of a ‘knock knock’ joke, throughout this talk, I will definitely do one. Uuuh…

Q2: AAAH, in the INITIAL, Season 1, your relationship with Amanda’s daughter…did you find that challenging? Or…

Robin: My relationship? *stares, Bill Clinton impression* I did not. Have….*stabbing finger emphatically* (LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE). *still in character* What I did was wrong, but I did not…have…

Q2: Did you find that a challenge? That…there was a divide between you? One ran one way, the other ran the other? There was no…communal…

Robin: It was very challenging because she’s not an attractive girl *smiling* (laughter). Um, no I think..I think it was interesting because the two characters were very, very different. Particularly, in Season 1, um you know, I think we’ve talked about it. You know, Will has come a long way. Um, I was saying earlier, you know there are certain episodes in Season 1 where Amanda’s like “BOOM! Blumblumblum!” and Ashley’s like, “BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!” and Will’s like this, *cowers covering head* “AAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargggGGHHHHHHHH!!!” (LAUGHTER). Um, so that’s kinda gone away a little bit, um, it’s the natural progression of the character. He’s the guy who’s, who’s sort of resigning himself to the fact that he’s gonna be living in this dangerous place, and that he’s life is gonna be, you know, at stake. Risked every week. And he’s just sort of, numb to it now! But, in Season 1 he certainly wasn’t, and I think…YEAH…sort of…Ashley and Will were very mismatched! In that first season, because…she was obviously, you know, more cavalier and…I don’t..I don’t think Ashley would go for Will, particularly in Season 1. She’d be like*impression* “God this guys..is….what a LOSER! Get away from me loser…you…you’re crying! STOP CRYING!” (LAUGHTER) “You’re EMBARRASSING!”. So, yeah…

YES! *waits*…WAY UP THE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Q3: Hi I’m here! Hi I’m Suzie…um..is there any…

Robin: Hi Suzie. (chuckles)

Q3: At the end of Season 2, um, you had a REALLY nice scene….dancing! (LAUGHTER)

Robin: Dancing…dancing…DANCING! UUUUUUUUGH…THE BOLLYWOOD SCENE, that’s what you’re talking about! Um. Don’t remember it! (LAUGHTER) Have noo..noooooo recollection.

I..the only thing I really remember from that is this, it’s disappointing, but, I’ll do it for ya anyway! *Prepares himself. Double hand clicks up, double hand clicks down*(LOUD CHEERS AND WHISTLES AND APPLAUSE). Yeah you know, that was one of those things where…I honestly thought it was a practical joke! I did, I said to Damian, you know, “I know that I’ve gone into your computer many times, and, you know, uploaded the most…disgusting pornography (laughter), or you know, upgraded your Facebook status to say, you know ‘Damian Kindler is getting his nipples pierced’ (laughter). I know that I’ve done that many times, but, this is going a little far! You’ve written an entire script as a JOKE! (laughter). Uuuh, shouldn’t you be writing ACTUAL EPISODES for the show? Like, shouldn’t that be the important thing…”. And uuh, both Martin and Damian told me that “uuh, no actually, that’s actually a real episode. We are actually going to be shooting that!” IN TWO WEEKS!!! (laughter) Um, so I remember, the girl who came to …teach me to dance, um…lovely girl, um, very well versed in dance…particularly in Bollywood dance! She said uuh, “Okay you know what? I’m gonna…I’m gonna just, you know, just so I can gauge your level of…rhythm. (laughter) No no no, I’m…I’ll play some music, and just sort of…dance a little bit for me! Just so I can see, you know..like…how much work you need to do! (laughter)”. So, as if that’s not humiliating enough! So at first, like…I start doing this…*bends elbows and starts bopping and swinging slightly*(LAUGHTER)And she literally did this, she turned off the music, *STARES….buries face in palm*, *under breath* “OH my God…” (LAUGHTER). “When are you shooting this?!”, “uuuh two weeks…”, “TWO WEEKS!! Alright…aaah okay…”. Yeah, it was a very nerve-wracking thing, uuh, I said, just before I tell you…Uh. At one point, um, Martin Wood stood up on a chair, and he was like *demonstrates holding up phone* “HEEY! I JUST WANNA…” On the set, the day we were shooting, “I JUST WANNA SAY, UMM, YOU KNOW ON MY IPHONE HERE, IT SAYS IT’S FORTY DEGREES IN MUMBAI. And it’s…FORTY-TWO DEGREES IN VANCOUVER!! So…GREAT, you know, SO WE HAVE THE INDIAN WEATHER!”. And me, I’m like, literally sweating, like, really patching out, and I haven’t even done the dance yet. Um…and aah. You know, ALL DAY, people were like, you know crew guys, all sorts, *strained deep voice, nudging and smirking* “Heey, can’t wait to see you dance!” (LAUGHTER)”My wife…and, my brother came in to see this!” (LAUGHTER)” I told them you were gonna dance, you know and, they just need a good laugh! (LAUGHTER)”. And I go, you know, we were setting up the shot, and you know, we’re in the Mumbai set… in our parking lot. And aah,…I could see on the landing, like, people from ACCOUNTING (LAUGHTER), the caterers haven’t left! I was like, “You know, what…what is this? This is NUTS! It’s not some SPECTACLE, where everyone’s like, let’s laugh at ROBIN!” (laughter). Uuuuuh…actually, who am I kidding, like, that’s the whole show…(LAUGHTER). So um, we started…we started going into the dance, and it..it sounds like baloney. It sounds like, something that just came from anybody…I SWEAR TO GOD, this is exactly what happened. We start doing the dance, and I don’t know if it was the HEAT, or if it was…ABJECT FEAR on my part, but I honestly…don’t remember doing ANY of it. (laughter). I remember…it was like, I swear I went into some kind of hypnosis. Aaand, Martin Wood goes…, “Okay everyone! We’re done with the dance!!”, and it was almost like the hypnotist was like, was… SNAPPED me out of it. I was like, “What? We’re done with the dance?…wha…When are we doing it?!” (laughter), and he was like, “We’ve just been doing it for the last four hours!…Are you okay?”, he said, “SOMEONE GET HIM SOME GATORADE! (laughter)”. But yeah, it was a pretty…it was a pretty cool thing to do. And again, one of the great things about ‘Sanctuary’, is that…they DO that kinda stuff. I mean, who would have THOUGHT, that you could watch …an episode…of scifi, a scifi show, and have a Bollywood number! (laughter). You know..umm, you know, with episodes coming up this season, where you go, ‘Is this..?! Like…what SHOW is this?!?!” And, I think that’s one of the GREAT things about ‘Sanctuary’, is that: It’s NOT a show that’s gonna spoonfeed you, It’s NOT a show that’s gonna be like, “Hey…hey c’mon, let’s watch…let’s just watch a little episode of television! It’s okay, you don’t have to THINK”. You kinda actually HAVE to think with ‘Sanctuary’, and you have to kinda keep up, and I THINK that, certainly for ME as an actor, that’s one of the things that really draws me to the show and makes me excited about it. And I think, from an AUDIENCE standpoint, that’s really cool too, is like…you’re gonna be like, ‘Wait a second..what..wha..where are we?! What are we doing?!” Umm, and that, that…I credit, you know, Damian Kindler, and…and the writing team for REALLY coming up with those innovative stories. EVEN if it means, *British accent* I have to be…publicly embarrassed! (LAUGHTER) I think that’s where the root of the ideas come from. They…they sit in the writing room, they’re like, *scheming voice* “How can we make Robin look like a COMPLETE idiot this week?(laughter)” and then they come up with the story…so…Anyway, that’s…that’s uuh, it was a pretty fun! It was pretty fun…

Q4: Hi Robin

Robin: HI!

Q4: I was just wondering, from…Seasons 1, 2 and 3, in each of those, which has been your most favourite episode?

Robin: From each…each SEASON? My favourite episode?

I think uuum, ‘Requiem’, in Season 1. Umm, and I wanna…GOD I wanna say it was episode SIX, of the first season. Um, so…it, it was, I mean I always knew that ‘Sanctuary’ was something special, aaand it was a show that…uh, was trying to do something different. But…but really, ‘Requiem’ was, was the point where I was like “Okay, no…on second thoughts, it’s something really COOL” . It was, we…you know we, Amanda and I …it was REALLY amazing to just be able to, to work with Amanda in… in that sort of intensity. And also we…we shoot things out of sequence, as you may or may not know. I don’t know if…if… but like, you know. Let’s say there’s a, like, a scene that takes place…there’s two scenes in a movie that take place in an auditorium like this, one at the beginning, one at the end. Well, on a day of shooting, we would just shoot BOTH of those scenes the same day, rather than coming back to it, right? Sooo, a lot of times you have to really kind of, as an actor, know where you are, know where you are in the story, because…you know, you jump AROUND a lot. But in..in an episode like ‘Requiem’, because it was…a BOTTLE show that we say…isn’t…a bottle is we don’t leave, like, ALL of the scenes in one…bottle (LAUGHTER) That’s why we call it a bottle show,..(chuckles) It doesn’t happen…like…in a BOTTLE (laughter) we’re not DRUNK…well…sometimes (laughter) well…But no, it takes place in one…in one LOCATION. So, BECAUSE of that, we were able to shoot the ENTIRE thing in sequence. Which is very cool…it’s,…it’s very much like it’s a PLAY. So YEAH, I mean…it wasn’t…it was a difficult episode to shoot, I mean we were soaking WET all the time. You know, I think you saw a little flash of me wearing that…RIDICULOUS…aah…jumpsuit, as opposed to dry clothes…like Freddy Mercury. (laughter) It’s not really a look I’m going for. Um…so yeah, I think from Season 1 that was aah….In Season TWO, I think just..there were several that I really, really like. If I HAD to pick one, I would say…’Pavor Nocturnus’. Aaah, really kind of a DAUNTING episode for me to shoot, because I was PLAYING Will…this is the apocalyptic future…one. Umm, I was playing Will, but…a Will that was UNRECOGNISABLE to the one that we…we know. So it was like playing a different character, but I was playing the SAME character. So it was really, kind of different. Uuh, AGAIN LOVED the stuff, sort of, with me and Amanda one-on-one. Uh it was a …you know THAT’S a very weird episode too, because you know, NORMALLY we have…we’re joking around all the time, you know, people are taking their PANTS off (chuckles), and people are playing JOKES on each other…and you know, Martin Wood is throwing tennis balls, and it’s usually a very jokey-laughey set. But in an episode like THAT, that’s so heavy and serious uhh… that kinda goes out, ‘cause you…I mean I was REALLY kind of struggling to STAY in that character, to keep that intensity, and so was…Amanda. I mean she had, that was a very, very TAXING episode…for her to shoot! Uh…and there’s definitely a different MOOD on that episode. I noticed that some of the crew people were like, *strained whinge*“I don’t LIKE this episode (laughter)! No-one’s…like, LAUGHING or GIGGLING, I don’t LIKE this. It’s not like…it’s not like an episode of ‘Sanctuary’!”. Umm, but it was a, it was a very COOL episode…uuh, I think AGAIN, you know…some of the PRACTICAL sets on the show. You know we talk about the VISUAL effects on Sanctuary, and rightfully so they’re AMAZING, BUT..but…the PRACTICAL SETS. You know, the Bollywood episode, that was just… built in our parking lot. Uuuh, and…and in PAVOR, you know that was just built in a WAREHOUSE. It was all…you know, all that apocalyptic stuff, and how they really, like, DESTROYED Magnus’ office, destroyed the Sanctuary. Uhh, really amazing stuff. So I would say, Pavor is…Season 2 my favourite! And SEASON THREE MY FAVOURITE, I…I CAN’T TELL YOU ‘CAUSE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET (LAUGHTER and awwwwww!). You haven’t seen it yet, but I’m telling you! We did an episode THIS YEAR…the BIGGEST, MOST EXPENSIVE, biggest in SCOPE, biggest STORY, most…UNBELIEVBLE pieces of MACHINERY onset, that you’ve ever seen! It’s episode 17 this year…it’s called ‘Normandy’ (chuckles and oooh!). Which uuh, which uuh…ish very exshiting! (LAUGHTER)Yeah…that’s, that’s definitely my favourite one. And you know, the thing about…and that’s the thing about ‘Sanctuary’ too, you can just be like “OH MY GOD my LIPGLOSS! (LAUGHTER)” Um…yeah you definitely look at…and just be like “Wow, I just can’t believe, how cool …what a cool job. Yeah, those are my three favourite I think…

Anybody else…? Oh sorry…YOU’RE in control of this, I’m not controlling this…I’m…

Q5: Over time, or actually from the very BEGINNING, you’ve had a bit of a penchant to…um…lose your pants (LAUGHTER).

Robin: I don’t know, I don’t know if LOSE is…

Q5: You tend to DROP it!

Robin: YEAH…um…If I’d worn my tear-away jeans today *mimics ripping them off* (LAUGHTER) PRRRT! You know…that’s a good question! I was…I was talking about this yesterday in Sydney. Uh, I DON’T know where that stunt came from, I don’t know the root of that! Ummm, I do know this..sort of…if I take it back…there was ONE point where, early in Season 1, we were doing…interviews, you know, for ….aand Martin Wood was sitting there, and…you know I love Marty, but he can kinda go on a little bit. Sometimes, at you know, like Comic Con, you’re just like “Martin! WHAT are you TALKING about?! You’re like…ranting…you’re like my MUM! (laughter) You’re ranting on like a story, and then a branch, and then another story, and we’re beginning to forget where we even STARTED!” (laughter) so I think…I think Martin was just doing that, and was doing his little interview and…I was sitting there watching him, and …I dunno! I had this…perverse desire to just see if…he was sitting right here doing the interview, right, *sits in chair, arms folded and demonstrates* He was speaking this way, and I kinda walked up and I was just like *turns around, bends over and mimes pulling down pants next to Martin’s face*(LAUGHTER) I dunno! I was just like, had to, had to see…I just had a desire to put my bare ass… next to his face because I wanted to see…if anyone could tell the difference! (LAUGHTER) So then AH…you know, it just became, just became a THING, it waqs, it was …you know…I…I dunno, I’ve embarrassed myself, you know…and I’ve embarrassed my PEERS, and uuh, the SHOW, certainly I’ve embarrassed. But the people I feel REALLY bad for …are my POOR Mother and Father (LAUGHTER). Because you know, they actually…, that THING that I just described? THEY PUT THAT ON TELEVISION. (laughter) They ACTUALLY put that on TELEVISION..they, you know they…you know, pixeled out my…my naked parts (laughter). But they PUT it on TELEVISION, and my PARENTS saw it, and PHONED me! (LAUGHTER)”WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!” (LAUGHTER) “Could you wait until we’re DEAD” (LAUGHTER). Um, yeah…I dunno where it’s come from, but…you know what? This is what I think. If you’re good at something, just stick to it. (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

Where are you? There you are!

Q6: Um…I wanna…

Robin: *British voice* Hello darling, how are you?! How’s it going? A’right? *suave* I’m trying to ignore ye…(one of the organisers leans on one the wall cubes, it falls out of the wall and onto the floor, LAUGHTER) … wow, you touched it. They look like TEETH actually…*reaches out to touch one* anyway uh… Anybody who works here, I didn’t mean to touch those, and I will not touch anymore!(laughter)How many times have I said THAT in my life? (LAUGHTER, steward says something) yeah, I told you, I TOLD I WORK HERE YOU DIDN’T I?! This is what it’s gonna be…

Go ahead!

Q6: I remember you talking about the entire experience…filming in Tokyo! And um…going to a, to a convention there…and can you tell us about it?

Robin: Tokyo was AMAZING! Amazing, and one of the crazy things about shooting in Tokyo is that…we work on this show where we…go to Mumbai, or we go to…you know, ALL over the world, or we go to, you know, Hindu Kush, we go…around the world, but we never leave our STUDIO. Um, and we had this opportunity to go and do some PRESS for Syfy Asia, and uh, Marty Wood got the brilliant idea of, “Well, we can’t… we’re not going to Tokyo without SHOOTING something!” So uuh, you know, in the… you know n the seventy-two hours we were actually IN Tokyo, we managed to do a whole bunch of press, AND shoot a scene! And um, the funny thing about THAT, is that people actually go “WOW man, the CGI is getting REALLY GOOD!” (laughter)”They look like they actually went to TOKYO!! (LAUGHTER)” Um, but we were actually there…But, it was AMAZING to be over there in…in Tokyo. It feels like, it’s just like coming here. It…it’s crazy for us, because we WORK in…this little, you know, abandoned BIKE factory in, in Vancouver, aaand we do the show! And we all kinda think it’s cool! But you know, you don’t really KNOW if anybody else is watching it, or…you’re just, I don’t know! We just kinda work in this bubble! And we’re working on the show. And to be able to travel, to such…to such far-away places, like Tokyo, or like this…how do we pronounce it? Melbun…Melbun?! (LAUGHTER) *tries Aussie impersonation* I like Melbun…Melbun, Australia, I like it…*fails* I’m working on it, sorry guys I’m working on it! (LAUGHTER) AAAAH I’ve only been here a couple of days, let me work it out! UMMM, it’s amazing to…to talk an interact with people, and see…that, you know, people are actually watching the show, and like it. Um, we did get some SERIOUS notice in Tokyo though, and…as you may KNOW the, the Japanese culture is one of…uuh…privacy, they’re very polite, they’re very…sort of, non-invasive. They’re very, VERY …gentle people, the Japanese! And um, you know we…we did some crazy things like…you know. The four of us went to do some interviews in the Syfy…Syfy office in Tokyo, and um…they took…they took Amanda away *ironic grin* (LAUGHTER, someone says something) NO, they took Amanda…I mean, Amanda, AMANDA is…the star, right? So you know, everything Amanda does, she…she just does it for the longest. So, they take Amanda away to do some interviews. And, literally, Marty, Damian and I….we call Damian ‘Aussie’ by the way, ‘cause he’s Australian…just to avoid any…any confusion. Um, and I’m sorry, I know, he’s an embarrassment to your nation (LAUGHTER). Um …alright, okay (someone in the audience asks something :”….did he do?”) Um…I just heard you say, you think he’s an idiot!! (LAUGHTER) Um, ANYWAY. So….So AMANDA’S off doing interviews, okay? Martin and I are literally sitting in this APARTMENT, Damian and I are literally sitting in this room, like this *sits on chair, legs sprawled open, hanging head over the back, clearly bored as heck* (laughter) TINY little room with a couch, and…and some art right? So FINALLY after forty-five minutes, I’m like “GOD…I am BORED, I’m gonna do like, something CRAZY here, what do we do?”, and then Martin goes: *whispers* “….Let’s change all the furniture around!” (LAUGHTER) And so we…*mimics panicked rushing around* ”No..NONONO..nono take the couch, COME ON, and this art over HERE and.., take this ART from over HERE, and take this art from here, and take that one THERE…” (LAUGHTER) The SECOND we put in the last of the artwork, one of…one of the um, the Syfy executives walked into the room like *opens door* “Hey guys! We’re gonna…! *STARES IN SHOCK* (LAUGHTER)…*long silence*…we’re ready.” (LAUGHTER) And it just worked out that people thought we were insane (laughter)

But ANYWAY…this is…uuuuuh….this is a HUGE display of my childishness. You know…we, we were standing in an elevator going up, you know, one of those HUGE buildings they have in Tokyo. Me, Martin, Amanda and Damian, and like about….ten Japanese people. It was just…a CRAMMED elevator, and it’s …SILENT right (expectant laughter). And all the Japanese people are standing like this *stands with arms and feet very close together, still, staring straight ahead*. And we’re goin’ up, goin’ up…and it’s silent…silent…and literally I just go like this, I go, *covers mouth: PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFRRRRRRRT* (LAUGHTER). Damian turns around is just like *demonstrates* “YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT!! (LAUGHTER) YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAAAAAAAT! *flailing hands*” (LAUGHTER). Great, GREAT times…but yeah it was a lot of fun! (chuckles in audience)

Anyway…who’s next?

Q7: Um, G’day! I’m Lucas…umm…*Robin’s grinning cheekily*

Robin: *PFRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT* (LAUGHTER) you know what, we can send a MAN to the MOON (laughter). But, making a noise with your ass will never NOT be funny! (LAUGHTER) Okay sorry! I WARNED you DIDN’T I?! I warned you I’d…okay…

Q7: Um, working in a predominantly, um, green-screen environment, you work with practically…nothing, but…green. I suppose, I mean you have your imagination. Could you talk about the challenges…you faced, and how, um, what you’ve done to overcome those challenges.

Robin: NO Lucas, I can’t! (LAUGHTER) *chuckling* Um, no I can’t do that Lucas…and uh. SHAME ON YOU FOR ASKING THAT QUESTION! (laughter) Just…um, I’m challenged somehow as an actor! (laughter) No, you know…it’s interesting. You know, every actor…*sighs* in the last…fifteen or so years, has worked with some…sort of green-screen. Um, but usually it’s just like, you know, ”HEY THIS IS A MONSTER LOOK OVER HERE!” (chuckles)”SOMEBODY SWING THE TENNIS BALL ON THIS THING”, so usually that’s just the gist of it. So when I first…started doing Sanctuary, it was a LITTLE BIT of a learning curve! Because, you know we’re working…with such a…CRAZY amount of green screen! And uh, you know, there’d be…there’d be scenes where I’m running away from…some kind of abnormal, you know, and I’d be like, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH *flailing*”, and Martin would be like, “Okay cut! You see this line…you see this line over here Robin?! *bends over and points out* That’s a WALL!” (LAUGHTER) “Unless…unless Will can WALK on AIR…you’ve just…ruined everything for that take”(laughter). Bu uh, now …now that we’re more used to it, and particularly being IN the Sanctuary, we really KNOW the dimensions of those rooms, we know what the library looks like…you know, that kind of stuff. It’s a LOT easier! And…you know, AMANDA uses this analogy, which I will steal, and use as my own (laughter): It’s kinda like doing…THEATRE. It’s kinda doing minimalist theatre. ‘Cause you know, you’re there, and you’re really relying on the actors. And that’s a lot of fun too, ‘cause we DO have some…AMAZING actors on the show. Not me, but…some…(laughter) some amazing actors. So that’s…that’s really cool, and ALSO, it ALLOWS you to do …to do so many cool things. I mean, we…WITHOUT green screen technology, we really, LITERALLY couldn’t do the show. ‘Cause you know like I say, we’ve gone to all these places, we have these cool monsters. So any, any sort of…difficulty in imagining…that stuff, or…working with it, is FAR…you know it’s FAR better to have that, to be able do these things. Um, ONE THING that does happen to me frequently, is that…you know, you’d be like…”Okay, so. The monster’s coming after you, uh, this is the vista, you’re looking at a disc…and there’s like, this big creature…you know there’s a ….the spider monster’s coming after you, you know, and you’ll be running, and it’s kind of this HEIGHT. So as an ACTOR, what you have to do is go, “Okay. Giant spider….it’s running this way, so I have to look over here, okay imagining the spider …what that looks like. Okay cool yeah!”. So we shoot the scene, “CUT! Great okay…”. And then you WATCH the finished product, after Anthem, our visual effects company, very cool…you’re like, “WOW! That’s uh…that’s WAY cooler than what I imagined!” (laughter) My imagination sucks! ‘Cause…you know, If I was in charge of Anthem, I would have actually done something much different. So…but it’s actually…it’s VERY cool. Um, a lot of times, there are difficulties…for the TECHNICAL people as well, because, the LIGHTING is difficult, because you know…you kind of, you don’t wanna get GREEN reflections off things, and off the actor’s faces. Sometimes some actors…come to set, ALREADY green uuhm (laughter), yeah, we won’t mention those people. Me. Uh, but you know…psychologically it’s difficult as well, but I think…certainly, you know, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. So…not like…not, not CONS *waves arms over audience* (laughter)…so…

Q8: Um Robin, I just want to know, were you into…I mean obviously, Sanctuary takes a lot of your time, currently…

Robin: HHYEAH. (laughter)

Q8: Were you into, scifi before you got this role, and…and um, what other scifi shows, besides Sanctuary, would you enjoy watching…or DO you enjoy watching?

Robin: UM…you know, it’s…it’s a CLICHÈ answer, but I think if I had to…find ONE film, that really got me into the film and television business, at all, it would have been Star Wars. I mean, I’m a HUGE Star Wars fane, aah, the (applause) …the ORIGINAL. I know they made…ah, weren’t there like, three OTHER pieces of crap that they made? (laughter) We don’t really need to talk about that, but, so yeah. Certainly, you know, I definitely LOVE that genre. Um, it’s NICE to be working in the genre, because…there are SO many different things you can do, and…and you know, obviously. Obviously EVERYHING, that we do are metaphor sort of things, but certainly in …in the scifi genre, you can go that much FURTHER with things. Um, I think there’s some pretty cool shows on television, you know, I really recently got into ‘Being Human’, aaaaah what a GREAT show (applause). Um, but yeah I mean, it’s really kinda nice to work…to work in the genre, doing things that we do. It’s pretty cool. (audience member: Do you watch ‘Firefly’?) I DO watch ‘Firefly’, you know, and that was one of those sad things about television, aaaah, you know. Sometimes things get cancelled and you go, “God, why did that get cancelled?!” Um, I certainly HOPE that that doesn’t happen to US (laughter).

Q9: Keep in mind before, before you answer the question. (Robin: UH OH, here we go! laughter) No remember on the…eco-downloading, which of course…we…we HAVEN’T (laughter) um, there are in Season three…um so… keep that in mind. But, IF…based on previous episodes, it seems…that the writers would like you to be an abnormal.

Robin: Or maybe they just go, “this guy is so abnormal, we can’t help it!” (LAUGHTER)

Q9: Yeah, the question is…do you think that..they ARE, or are they just playing around with you. And, if you were to settle with one abnormal power, what do you think would be the most fun power to play with?

Robin: Um, interesting question. I think, you know, the thing about Will, is that, and it’s a JOY to play, is that I think..I mean he DOES have special skills. And yes, you’re right, he is NOT an abnormal. Um, I will go so far as to say he’s normal (laughter). But,…that might be a stretch, but he’s not abnormal! (chuckles). But the COOL thing about that, is that…you know, *tedious voice* “NOOOOOOOOOO I don’t get to turn into a werewolf, Ryan’s real proud of that, loves to turn into a werewolf”(laughter) “great for you…” you know, the guy’s a CANINE and he loves it, I don’t know!…But um, the cool thing about playing Will, is that I get to be the…the, particularly in the..in the FIRST season, the first few episodes even, is the EYES and EARS of the audience, sort of stepping into this world and experiencing it. And I think that’s a very cool trade-off, to sort of, not have…not have an abnormal POWER. Um, *chuckling* yeah I got this question one year at Comic Con, you know, if Will could have an abnormal power, what would it be? And I made the major mistake of saying, “You know, I’d like to turn, I’d like people to …you know, to be able to turn myself invisible!” And Martin was sitting next to me and goes, “You know Robin, we could make you invisible REEEEEALLY easily!” (LAUGHTER)” Just keep up that crap you’re doing in front of the camera…(LAUGHTER)…you’ll be invisible in NO time!” (laughter) Um…but yeah, it’d be kinda COOL to be invisible, or to be able to make yourself invisible..um….I’M NOT GONNA BE GOING INTO THE LADIES’ CHANGING ROOMS OR ANYTHING (LAUGHTER)…MUCH…(laughter) but yeah, that would be …that would be kinda cool! (Muttering quietly, hard to hear)

Q10: Hi. Um…I have a question to ask about, um, working with Jonathon Young, and …have you got any good stories on set?

Robin: *SIGHS* you know Jonathon….he’s just the CONSUMMATE actor, you know. He’s a guy who comes in,…we have a great time with him. The thing about Sanctuary too, that’s really fantastic, is ..You know, when you start off on a show, there’s a core group of people that you, you know, really get along with, have a great time, and LOVE working together. Like…WE ALL DO. And, as the show PROGRESSES, more actors come into the fold, and ..and…as soon as the GET there, you can’t really remember what it was like WITHOUT them. And, that was…that’s certainly true for Jonathon Young, um ..Ian Tracey, you know, all these actors who have come on the show, who are just sort of…you know, NOW are part of the family! And…and we get ALONG with, we joke around, um…And Jonathon is certainly one of those guys, who’s REALLY taken …the ROLE he’s doing. And done something VERY very cool with it. I mean, he’s …he has that GREAT stuff with Heyerdahl, and stuff in scenes with Druitt, um…but HE’S just a…solidly CONSUMMATE professional, ALWAYS in a good mood, and always CHALLENGING. The thing about…the thing about a great actor is, they’ll…they’ll come in, you know AMANDA’S like this too…you know very GENEROUS, you know, NEVER wanting to steal a scene, but always wanting to kind of challenge you, to make sure you’re LISTENING, and taking the scene in a different direction. And…and, Jonathon’s just certainly come in and done that, and has REALLY stolen the hearts of a lot of the fans, which is REALLY, really lovely. ‘Cause he’s this, you know, this CHARACTER who’s…KINDA DESPICABLE (laughter) you know I, Will doesn’t like him…Tesla, at all! You know, he’s really, he’s REALLY stolen the hearts of the fans, and uh…we LOVE him. You know, I THINK…has he ever come out to one of these things? I think it would be GREAT (murmers of agreement in audience) he should come out! You know, …I’m gonna have a convention in my living room! (cheers and applause. “YEAH! We’re all coming!”)

Hi! THERE YOU GO!

Q11: Hello, my question is about the …I forgot the name of the episode. It’s the one where…you get stuck down…the helicopter? All hanging by the wires?

Robin: YEAH, Next Tuesday! (Q11: right..!) Yeah just before you…you say…you DO know that the original title of… that episode was…you know what I’m talking about right? (chuckles) Next Tuesday…’see you next Tuesday’, you know the…(OOOOOOOOOOOH right!) WHAT?! ‘We’ll see you next Tuesday” What are you talking about?! I dunno..! (laughter) What…yeah…sorry go ahead…see I’ve done it again! Like…okay we’re sinking lower and lower here, it’s terrible…sorry …

Q11: That’s alright…I wanted to know about that, but also, the difference between that and the episode where you’re…stuck in the submarine with Amanda, between THAT episode, and the differences?

Robin: YEAH. I mean *sigh* that AGAIN, was another one of those GREAT two-handers, um, again…it was a difficult episode to shoot, because it was …we were LITERALLY in water…the entire…for, for SEVEN DAYS. Fifteen hours a day, uuh, in wetsuits, floating around in the water…but ummmm, ANOTHER great episode, to sort of, play out. And I, I THINK …I really like the RELATIONSHIP between the two characters in that episode! It’s kinda like this odd, sort of, JEALOUSY, sort of..brother-sister kind of things, we’re it’s like “AW COME ON, you’re gonna…you’re going to see her!” and, you kinda really get the crux of the relationship between Will and Magnus in that episode. Because, they CAN’T really lie to each other, you know, they’re…they’re two characters that really RELY on each other for survival. Umm, they kinda really see THROUGH each other. And it’s BECAUSE of that RELIANCE on each other, that they really see through each other! And I thought that was a really COOL thing in the writing where, we sort of had that play-off back and forth. ANOTHER really cool thing that…that happened, uuh, another EXAMPLE of sort of, the tight-knit group that we have on ‘Sanctuary’, is, …You know, a lot of…a lot of directors, would have just been like, you know…Sitting back *sits on chair and rests feet on table*, on the nice dry land, you know, going *mimics holding cup of coffee* “OKAY GUYS…NOW I WANT YOU TO TRY IT ONCE MORE”, you know, sitting here nice and dry, sipping…sipping a coffee…cappuccino, “Yeah NO, NO! GET FARTHER DOWN INTO THE WATER (laughter)…somebody get some…get some WEIGHTS to put around his ankles! *sips*(LAUGHTER)…no, no GET DOWN, ROBIN…in the water…NO. KEEP HIM DOWN UNTIL HE TURNS BLUE!…keep him down until he turns blue! (LAUGHTER)…WE REALLY WANT TO GET THAT REALITY” But um, the thing about Martin is that, HE was…in a wetsuit, in that water, just as long as the…as the actors were! And, you know, that…that really goes to show, what kind of a group we have, you know. Um, and a lot of the CREW guys, I mean, AGAIN…a show that’s really pushing the technology…we had, underwater CAMERAS, I mean we had, literally, guys…They did this really cool thing where, there was a microphone in…underneath the water, and…I didn’t think you could actually HEAR under the the water. I mean, you’re in the water…I dunno, I’m not…technological! But it’s WATER right? I don’t know if you can hear, but you literally hear CRYSTAL CLEAR down there…the direction. So, they would have these camera guys…you know with air tanks, and wetsuits, and all…the WHOLE gear, and obviously a waterproof camera. …

YEAH Robin a waterproof camera, they’re not STUPID they know it’s waterproof! *flips back to argue with himself throughout the sequence, flailing his arms indignantly*

*High pitched* Well YEAH I’m just trying to…I’m just SAYING (laughter) . What’s the matter, why are you going all grumpy?

I’m not going GRUMPY. You didn’t have to SAY…you know, it’s waterproof…they KNOW that! (laughter and applause) *stands staring* Why do you embarrass me in public like this?! (laughter)

You’re not very nice, I’m just trying to tell a story…can I continue?

YEEEEES of COURSE you can continue! I just…you know. *silence* Would you like ME to continue?! ‘Cause you’re sulking…

I’M NOT SULKING! I just…(LAUGHTER)

Do you wanna…? You’re sure..?

Yes…go ahead…!(LAUGHTER)

NO..no..just…just do it, will you please?!

Um. *stands awkwardly facing audience*(LAUGHTER) *chuckles* you’re all like, “OH MY GOD…THIS GUY’S CRAZY, HE’S TALKING TO HIMSELF!” Um…but um, underwater…but ALSO, just talking about camera stuff, just pushing the envelope…like…technologically. Um, we had an episode shot this year, in Season 3, where we….I just have to think about it…um, where we…it was ENTIRELY from Will’s perspective. And they put this camera on a…it was almost like a BIKE helmet, and with the camera sticking out like this *demonstrates*. And I LITERALLY shot the entire show…just…sort of…you know, the camera was on my BODY. So, you know, in…in MANY ways, we’re trying to break the boundaries of technology.

Now *chuckling* now everyone’s trying to be…everyone’s like…*whispers* “Just get him OUTTA here!” (laughter). “Don’t ask ANY more questions, just make him LEAVE!” (laughter) But…who’s next?

WAY UP THE BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Q12: Yep, right up the back! Um, in Sanctuary, there are a lot of characters, or historical figures like…Nikola Tesla, John Druitt, or Dr. Watson. Are there any characters…that YOU would like to brought into the show?

Robin: *gazing intently* Yes.

Q12: Oh…GREAT! *laughs* (LAUGHTER)

Robin: *Elvis impression* I, uh…would like to see a bit of…uh…Elvis Presley! (LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE AND CHEERS) thanks…I love you, I love you…(LAUGHTER)

YEAH maybe Elvis should show! I mean we did have a …we did have a THING where, you know ah…I think it already happened this year? Or was it last year? (murmers) I don’t know…it’s all together in my mind…OBVIOUSLY …I’m TALKING to myself (laughter). UH…she kind of has this thing with Elvis…THAT WOULD BE KINDA COOL…to see Elvis. Um, you know, um…I dunno, I dunno what ERA we would take. Um…I kinda, …I would kinda like to see him, if Elvis was gonna come on the show, I kind of wanna see him in that …Aloha, Hawaii them you know. He can wear mine! I actually have one of those! (laughter)

(Audience member talking to him) Yeah…YEAH…*starts singing deep Elvis voice* I’m bluuuuuuuuuuuuue….without you…(laughter). You know it’s funny, when I get tired on set, which is normally…I always say, like, I’m getting ‘Elvis’ syndrome, ‘cause like, my voice…my LIPS get tired…and I…I can’t TALK anymore, so it’s like, *deep lazy voice* “WELL…I justwannatellyouthat…I think we’re…I can’t pronunciateit..” (chuckles). Yeah, I’m digressing, I’m sorry. Who’s next? What’s going on? Who wants to know anything else?

YES!

Q13: If you had to write a dating ad for yourself, what would you write? (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

Robin: If I had to WHA..A WHA A WHA?!?

If I’m gonna what? I’m sorry…repeat the question…

Q13: If you were gonna write a dating ad for yourself, what would you write?

Robin: *STARES* (laughter)

*Sobbing anxiously* Psychiatrist…*trembling* works in mental…ASYLUM. NEEDS…human…COMPANIONSHIP…..*shaking and sobbing* PLEASE (laughter). PLEASE…please don’t ask me about my job (laughter). *crumbles to knees sobbing* JUST HOLD MEEEEEEEEEEEE…..(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE).

*silence*

*SOBS* I’m so ALOOOOOONE! (LAUGHTER)

That’s what I would write…*mumbling*

Ahhh, what else…what else, anyone?

Q14: Uuuh HI. Um…

Robin: *British accent* Helloo! (laughter)Hello darling, you alright? (LAUGHTER) DON’T TOUCH THOSE TEETH THINGS. (laughter) I touched them, and I got in trouble, don’t touch them!

Q14: *chuckling* Yeah you mentioned the amount of jokes being played on set, and stuff like that, and I was wondering which was the best one that you played on someone, and which was the best that someone played on YOU?

Robin: UMMMM. I…I think, I like telling about Holden MacPhillips, do you know the story? (mixed replies). It’s a looong story, but I’ll try to make it really quick. But um, basically:

I created this character named Holden MacPhillips. He’s…he’s this OLD man, he’s a realtor in Hollywood, but he’s also a film producer. And uuuuh, I …I made him a fake email address, and…for YEARS…like this is going back to the end…maybe the MIDDLE of Season 1, I was emailing Martin Wood…these weird things like: “Hello!..” and I always spelled his name wrong, “Mr. Woods! *muffled dorky voice* Dear Mr. Woods!”, you know, “I’m a filmmaker, out her at sunny Hollywood, California, and I have some VERY exciting projects that I would like to team up with you!” Uhh, and i would email these ideas, ideas like, you know, uuh, a SEQUEL to Rocky, where Rocky’s BRAIN…is..is taken out of his body and put into a FIGHTING ROBOT (LAUGHTER), set in some..some planet in the future, and I called it ‘Gingko Balboa” (LAUGHTER). I kept emailing these things, and Martin would be like, “oh my God, check out these emails, this guys is crazy *laughing*”, and as the emails kept going on, he STOPPED talking about it. (laughter) “Hey Martin! Have you got any emails from Hold…”, “No.” (LAUGHTER). So then one day I called up a florist (expectant laughter), I said to the florist, I said, “You know, I want you…I want you to put together an arrangement of flowers. But I want you to do it as though….a CRAZY person, has put together (laughter) an arrangement of flowers. I want it to be like, CLASHING and UGLY, and just like, the most DISGUSTING arrangement of flowers. I want you to do that!” And the woman goes, *stares hard* “WHY?!?!” (LAUGHTER). “Trust me, trust me! I just need it.” So, I sent these flowers to Martin FROM Holden MacPhillips (LAUGHTER), and uuh, you know, Martin’s sitting in his office, and aah, the door’s here right *shows*. He’s sitting at his desk, like this. Right, *sits in profile to audience, hunched over desk*. Damian comes in and goes “OH MY GOD *laughing* oh my God, you gotta go look at the flowers dude, you gotta go look at the flowers!” So, Martin’s sitting at his desk, but I CAN’T SEE HIM, I can’t see him ‘cause there’s this HUUUUUUUGE bouquet of flowers right in front of him (LAUGHTER). All I can see is his BACK sticking out like this *demonstrates*. And they’re like, PINK, and like plastic…GREEN ones, and it’s disgusting, right! So I like, I pretend to like, ask him a question, so I walk in, I’m like, “Hey Martin! PFFFFFFFTAHAA *doubles over* (LAUGHTER)”. Damian’s like, ‘No, no we’ve gotta see him” So, Damian walks into the office, he’s like *nonchalant*,

‘HEY! Martin, howsitgoin…?”,

Martin’s like this *hunched over work*, “Fine” (LAUGHTER).

“Like uuh, SO what’d you think…of the last draft of uuh, the script…”,

Martin: “Yeah it was good”, “Anything that needs to be done with it…?”,

“NO..no it’s, it’s fine”,

“Okay, cool man….uh…say…who are these, uh, who are these flowers from?”,

*Head buried* “Uh…uh they’re from no-one” (LAUGHTER).

So THEN, we’re about to go to Comic Con, right, and CAROLE our publicist, she didn’t know…she didn’t know anything about this. So she comes down to me and says, “You know what? I’m really worried about Martin!”, “Why?”, like, “Well, *sigh* you know, we’re doing the uuh, the hotel arrangements for Comic Con, and he wants to check in under an ALIAS!” (LAUGHTER, CHEERS AND CLAPS). I’m like “What?!”, “Yeah, he wants to check in under ‘Martin Carruthers’!” (LAUGHTER). And I was like, “you know what, he’s fearing for his LIFE”, ‘cause I’d also sent him an email saying, you know “I’m gonna be at…”, from Holden, “AAhm, Mister Martin Woods, I’m going to be at, aah, at Comic Con, I happen to be staying at the same hotel you’re staying at! (LAUGHTER) You know, maybe we could get together and discuss some of these projects!” (LAUGHTER) So, I like, NOW I panicked. I’m like “Oh my God, he’s actually FEARING for his life. So I go into Damian’s office, and I go, “You know what?! We gotta…we got to aah …I’ve gotta tell him! I can’t keep doing this to him, I can’t…he’s losing SLEEP! (laughter), and he’s WORRIED, and…this has, this has gone BEYOND a joke”, and Damian looks at me, and goes, *choked with laughter*“I know. It’s brilliant” (LAUGHTER).”There’s no way, NO WAY, we’re going to pull the rip cord on this, NOT YET”

We get to the…*sighs* we get to the hotel at Comic Con right, Marty…Marty’s in the lobby, literally going like this, *stand arms folded, twitched, staring nervously around and over his shoulder* (LAUGHTER). You know, like he’s looking out for some frail old man from Hollywood. We got to the counter, like:

“Checking in?”,

“Yes! Yes, um…Damian Kindler”,

“Okay..there’s your room key”, “Okay thank you!”,

“Checking in?”,

“YEP…aah, Amanda Tapping”,

“Okay thank you, there’s your room key”

“Checking in?”,

“Yep Robin Dunne!”,

“Your room key!”,

“Checking in?”,

“Uh yeah…uhm *coughs, leans over and undertones*…Martin Carruthers” (LAUGHTER).

SO, FINALLY. I’m like, actually feeling really, really bad. So, ‘When are we gonna let him…when are we gonna let him know what’s happening?”, Damian’s like, “We’re gonna do it RIGHT after the panel at Comic Con”. So we do the panel at Comic Con, we walk out, we’re in the Green Room, and I get..uuh…I think it was Carole, she..she, I heard her go to Martin and say, “Uuuh, Martin, listen um. Holden MacPhillips is outside” (LAUGHTER AND CHEERS), “DON’T WORRY, he’s not, he doesn’t look dangerous. But, he’s out there, he’s NOT going away, why don’t you just go talk to him? And just, like, and just be nice to him. I’m SURE if you just say hello to him, he’ll go away”. So Martin…Martin literally turns, he turns WHITE like this thing right*places hand on white bench* (LAUGHTER). And i go, “Marty, what’s wrong?”, he’s like “Yeah, HOLDEN MACPHILLIPS…stopped by”, and he’s like, “Yeah…I’ve got to go and talk to Holden MacPhillips!”. So, I run out, and I beat him, I beat him outside to the front of it. And I’m…I’m, I’ve got a video camera, somebody had the TERRIBLE idea of giving me a video camera (LAUGHTER). For the BTS, most of it was just like, *dorky voice*“LOOK, MY FEET, I’M WALKING!” (LAUGHTER). *Dorky voice* “I’M TAKING A PEE LOOK! I took lots of vitamins and now my pee is REALLY YELLOW!” (LAUGHTER). I mean, I didn’t do that, but I do some funny things (LAUGHTER). So, I’m standing, Martin comes around the corner, and I’m standing there, right? And Martin’s still like, white like a sheet, and he looks at me, and he sees ME there, you know, with the camera. And everybody starts laughing…and I…except for me, I felt so bad, I was like:

“*grovelling* MARTIN I’M SORRY! (LAUGHTER), I’M SORRY I DIDN’T MEAN IT (LAUGHTER)”,

and Martin’s just kinda standing there, he’s like, shocked! He’s like,

“*STARES*…………..*mumbles* Holden..MacPhillips…is YOU?”,

“*grovelling* I’M SORRY!! IT’S JUST A JOKE, IT GOT OUT OF CONTROL, I’M SORRY…I’M TERRIBLY SORRY, I KNOW YOU HAVEN’T SLEPT”

He goes, “*STARES*…..*breathes* WOW…(LAUGHTER)you know…you know, you’ve been writing me emails for, like…three YEARS! (LAUGHTER)”.

So, “YEAH I know”,

He’s like, “YOU’RE A SERIAL KILLER…I DUNNO!” (LAUGHTER). I mean…IT’S BRILLIANT don’t get me wrong! But you’re …CRAZY!…You need a HOBBY!” (LAUGHTER). So yeah…I’m yet to be trumped. But you see the PROBLEM is when you get to do a show, where everybody plays practical jokes on everyone else. EVERYBODY gets super, like, suspicious, and you know. No…I mean, because of ME, nobody leaves computer unlocked! (LAUGHTER) It’s not happening, you know! Everybody’s like, you know, Martin’ll be like, you know, installed in his chair, and he’ll be like, “Okay, for this scene, I think…WOAH…where’s my phone?! Where’s…(LAUGHTER). I don’t care WHAT we’re doing, I don’t care if we’re doing the most brilliant scene in the world, you are NOT getting my phone!” One day, I’m like…my like, computer broke, you know, the boy who cried ‘Wolf’ right? I’m like,” I don’t have a computer today *SIGH*, can someone…lend me theirs?”, and they’re like “SORRY PAL! Guess who’s not getting any emails today!” (LAUGHTER). So…

God you guys are gonna be like…I will NEVER shut up (laughter). “Who gave this guy a microphone?” *dorky voice*, “THIS IS FUN! I CAN…MY VOICE IS REALLY LOUD! (chuckles)”. Who’s got a question?

Moderator: This is the last question.

(AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!)

Q15: Hey Robin, how you goin’?
Robin: *fails Aussie accent* How you goin’ mate, you alright? (laughter)

Q15: HA…HA…HA funny, what are you…?

Robin: No no, I’m just trying! Trying to learn…is that okay?(YEEEEAH!) When I…when I try to talk in an Australian accent I just start talking *impression* like Russell Crowe (laughter): “ You alright? Yeah…yeah just going down to Dundee…” (LAUGHTER and claps) *continues impression under his breath*….

Yeah, go ahead. I’m going well thank you! HOW ARE YOU GOING? (chuckles) Are you GOING? I’m gonna GO after I finish this panel…(LAUGHTER) to the autograph line!

Sorry, go ahead.

Q15: Um, we were just watching the first episode of ‘Sanctuary’, and …just up here today…

Robin: The very first? From the first Season?!

Q15: YEAH!

Robin: Back when I was young and innocent! (LAUGHTER)

Q15: You still ARE young and innocent (LAUGHTER AND AWWWWWW)

Robin: *stares* *dorky voice* THANKS EVERYONE! THAT’S GREAT! (LAUGHTER) That’s really nice…!

Q15: So, I just wondered…that Will, the Will that we …that was written in the first episode was before you got pummelled along. I just noticed, I guess, that over the three years of the character’s evolution, ummm, there’s quite a difference, in the first episode…you know, he was not the kind of character that would walk into a scene, and he knows exactly what’s going on…

Robin: Just enough to know that he’s a beautiful man, thank you. (laughter)

Q15: Um, I just wanted to ask you, you sound like you seem to know a lot of the episodes by their titles, which a lot of the actors who come to these cons do NOT know, and you sound like you watched the episodes. And I was wanting to find out your method as an actor, and how you evolved his ongoing character, and…do you go back and WATCH the…your parts, and EVOLVE the character. And how much word do you have with the writers, on where you think Will as the person, and the plot, should very much run. As for Will’s character, do you have…a method?

Robin: NO…No there’s no method! (laughter) There’s no method…no method whatsoever!

Um, yeah. The thing about…the evolution of the character I think, is very organic, I mean I think..it…it’s a character who has got…BELIEVES in this type of world, you know, was convinced that it was out there. But when it was FORCED upon him…*awkward pause* Not in that way!! (LAUGHTER), dirty mind….umm…when it …when it was REVEALED to him, by Magnus that, this thing that you believe in, it actually exists, and why don’t you come and live in this world, and actually help me DEAL with this. Uh, it was very DAUNTING for him, so I think the evolution of the character being kind of, nervous about it, to continue on, and get to the sort of, more cavalier…I wouldn’t say, completely cavalier, you know, as we know him now in Season 3. But certainly he is…MORE so..than when we…first saw him. Um, but you know…*sighs* YES there are times when I’ll…you know…I’ll add a line or sort of…do something, but REALLY, the …the credit to the character and the story, are REALLY…goes to Damian Kindler and the writing team. You know what they do, and how they do it, you know how they…crafted this character. And ALL their characters, I mean, we have such AMAZING…CHARACTERS on the show…um…characters obviously taken out of history, and turned on their ear, and I think THAT’S the real feel of the show! SO…YES…it’s pretty much done up in the…in the writer’s room, which I like to call ‘The Lab’, you know it kind of…sort of…trickles down to us…NOT ‘trickles down’ in that way! (LAUGHTER) But um, but it is kind of nice to know, being so…we’re all kind of really close, because we’re all friends, you know…You DO find aspects of your own character are worked INTO the character you’re playing. You know, I’ll find, you know, that I’ll be out…with Damian one night, and it’s sort of, *slow and deep* “Hey Damian, how’s it goooin’?” (laughter), “Would ya like anutha DRINK? I think I’D like wun!” You know, it’s just terrible…that was Jack Nicholson by the way! (LAUGHTER) It’s really awful when you do an impression and you have to explain afterwards, I shouldn’t HAVE to do that! But you know, I’ll sort of do something, and then a couple of episodes later you’ll see it sort of…you know… WILL AS JACK NICHOLSON “MAGNUSS…please down’t give me a hard time here, I’m working with a SASQUATTCH!” (LAUGHTER). Yeah, so that IS kind of cool…to see…the evolution of the character comes through with sort of the, ‘cause…all our relationships, PERSONAL relationships, are strengthened. NOT personal relationships in that way…(LAUGHTER) *chuckling*Yeah…but REALLY it’s all really crafted upstairs.*Hillbilly accent* “Aye just…aye just reed the wurds that they write daown!” (LAUGHTER, CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Moderator: We want to ask if you agree to wear one of these wonderful personalised teeshirts, which will be auctioned off for the Starlight Foundation…

Robin: *deep voice* YES (applause) (as moderator approaches with teeshirt) *British accent* Hello darling, how are you? I like having this microphone (laughter) You know why? Power. (LAUGHTER) *normal voice* OH MY GOD I’m gonna buy a megaphone! I want to… carry it around *mimics*”HI! HOW MUCH IS THIS NEWSPAPER?!” (LAUGHTER) Um, I should never be allowed to have one of those, maybe you should take it *shoves toward moderator*…take it…(laughter) She took all my POWER!

Moderator: You’re going to have to take your shirt off

(WHISTLES, CHEERS AND LAUGHTER)

Robin: I mean can I…go all the way? (LAUGHTER AND CHEERS)

(Robin takes off his teeshirt amidst a barrage of cheers and laughter, pretends to be embarrassed. Once off, begins to undo the fly of his jeans, exposing his underwear. People are laughing hysterically!)

Robin: I wasn’t going to wear underwear today! (LAUGHTER) BECAUSE IT’S SUNDAY! (laughter) *mumbles*…look!..*chuckles* I’m kidding! You’ll be like…Oh my God…it doesn’t STOP with Robin Dunne! (laughter)

Moderator: What we’re going to do, is we’re going to get you to draw on it, write something…

Robin: WELL, I think maybe…maybe the thing to do , might be to have..someone come from the audience to come and write something! (LAUGHTER) Uuuuuuuuuuh…UUUUUUUUH.

(The first girl comes down and writes the word ‘Sanctuary’ across Robins chest)

Hey cool, it kinda looks like the ‘Sanctuary’ logo!

(The second girl approaches and writes ‘I <3 U’ on Robin’s right shoulder)

OKAY. WHO WANTS TO MAKE THIS INAPPROPRIATE?!?!

(Yells of ME! From the back. A Kiwi girl runs down and kneels in front of Robin. When she comes away, his teeshirt reads “GOT YOUR SANCTUARY RIGHT HERE vvvv”. Uproar of hysterical laughter and cheers!)

Robin: I warned you that I was going to be inappropriate…BUT YOU GUYS..!!!! (LAUGHTER)

(Suddenly everyone hears a familiar yell from the back of the room: “I WANNA DRAW ON IT!!” After a moment, everyone breaks into cheers of laughter and clapping as Amanda Tapping comes running down the stairs, giggling madly and rubbing her hands together. She approaches Robin with her arms thrown wide open, and an evil grin on her face, and gives him a massively warm cuddle. Robin has a look of doomed shock on his face, he knows what he’s in for!)

Robin: *heartbroken voice* I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE HERE! (LAUGHTER)

(Everyone is cheering and laughing, as Amanda crouches down, and when she backs away, there is an extra “KEEP GOING vvv” on the front of his teeshirt. People are giggling and laughing madly as Amanda moves behind Robin with a massively cheeky grin on her face, smoothing his shoulders sweepingly and rubbing his muscles. Robin’s knees crumble and he shivers, as everyone breaks with laughter. There is much cheeky banter going on between them, and then Amanda begins writing on his back. When she finishes, there are shouts of TURN AROUND!! and his back reads: “AND THIS IS MY BUM vvv. Squeals of laughter echo through the theatre and the grin on Amanda’s face is splittingly HUGE. There are shouts of PULL YOUR PANTS DOWN etc, Robin is standing there with a look of amused weariness on his face, as he endures the mockery brought on by Amanda, who is laughing and giggling manically in the background)

Carissa: We’re starting the bidding at 370, for those who’d like to make a contribution, going once at 370!

(Amanda is making comments in the background , Robin is responding. Shouts of ‘WHAT DID YOU DRAW’, “WHAT DOES IT, SAY WE CAN’T READ IT” and “CAN YOU COME UP SO WE CAN SEE IT?”)

Amanda: *demurely* I just drew a heart! (LAUGHTER)

(Robin runs up the right hand aisle, and walks across the middle of the theatre so we can have a good look at his teeshirt)

Robin: MODELLING ITH FUN! (LAUGHTER)

(He makes his way to the left aisle staircase and stand so people can see the shirt)

I’m too sexy for this shirt! (LAUGHTER)

(The whole auditorium is riddled by hysterical laughter, giggles and thrown out comments. The moderators are grinning hugely down the front, and Amanda is alternately laughing her face off, and giggling with a splitting grin)

Carissa: So going once at 370!…380!…400! 400 going once…..400 dollars going twice…

(420!)

OOH 420! (claps and OOOOOOHs from around the theatre)

(450!)

450! (OOOOOOOOOOOOH!) You could claim your …name Robin Dunne! (LAUGHTER) (call from audience, LAUGHTER)

Robin: For the sake of everyone I work with…DON’T (LAUGHTER)

Carissa: So it’s 450…going once…

Amanda: He’s a little shifty…so it’s nice and *contours his shape* (LAUGHTER)

(460!)

460…SEE? *grinning* (LAUGHTER)

Carissa: 460 going once…

Robin: I’ve never known what it felt like to be a piece of MEAT! (LAUGHTER)

(500!)

Carissa: 500 DOLLARS! (applause and cheers) So 500 dollars going once, 500 dollars going twice…

Sold to the….(drowned out with cheers and applause!)

Carissa: Now the winner can take your shirt off…(LAUGHTER, CALLS AND CHEERS)

(Robin goes to the winner, a lady in the very front row. She is shy, and as he stands there waiting with his arms straight out to the sides, she wraps her arms around his middle in a big hug. Eventually she pulls his shirt off, and he runs back to his clothing hugging his naked torso in a big show of awkward embarrassment. THE LAUGHTER IS HYSTERICAL)

Robin: WOW LIKE….(laughter)…Um…I’ll never forget Melbourne! (LAUGHTER)

(Audience member) So are you coming back?

Robin: I’m not leaving!! (LAUGHTER)

Carissa: Ladies and Gentlemen, can you please put your hands together for the amazing…(IS DROWNED OUT WITH CHEERS AND APPLAUSE. Robin dons his clothing, and runs up the stairs high-fiving the audience, while Amanda remains behind, still laughing, applauding and grinning like crazy)

Robin: Goodnight everyone! Thank you so much! (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Amanda: Oh my God you guys are really FUN!! (LAUGHTER) Who’s up next?!?! *sits in seat* (shouts from audience) I’M SO EXCITED! *bouncing and clapping* (LAUGHTER)

(Amanda’s intro video begins – transcription coming in next report )

I sincerely hope you all enjoyed the stint as much as we did! Stand by for Amanda’s fabulous hour. Thank you for stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency and reading.

Please feel free to contribute to the discussion below, or visit me on Twitter by clicking the button down there, or my avatar at right!

CHEERIO!

JandyraCJM

December 23, 2010
Gate to the Sanctuary: Melbourne – An Experience Like No Other,The Taster!

Even as I sit writing this, I wipe away the tears on my cheeks from the joyous comradeship of the weekend, and the pain of parting with old and with new friends. Even now, the newest of friends have made the familiar stamp on my heart, and the torn feelings of unashamed uproarious snorting, inappropriate jokes (GALORE), soul-touching anecdotes and overwhelmed tears gives a promise of even more exciting things to come!

Hub Productions‘ and Culture Shock‘s Gate to the Sanctuary is the first exclusively Stargate/Sanctuary event from the Aussie-based organising team. With two consecutive events taking place in Sydney and Melbourne, they brought four loved and admired guests closer to the hearts of Australian and Kiwi fans.

It is a downside of living downunder, the expense and time of travelling so far makes it extremely difficult to host such admired and loved artists. This year, however, several hundred very lucky Stargate and Sanctuary fans managed to finally meet their some of their favourite actors and role models.

Gate to the Sanctuary this year dual hosted by Culture Shock Events was host to four very special (in OH so many ways….) artists: Grand Empress of Scifi, mother and giver, Amanda Tapping; professional actor/crazy person, Robin Dunne; the wise and spiritual Carmen Argenziano; and the spontaneously quirky Chuck Campbell.

If you’re a fan, none of these incredible human beings need any introduction, and they each shared with Australia their unique energy. Considering the scope of the convention, the organisers (Hub Productions) had organisation down pat and wrapped up in the neat package of one day.

The schedule was well planned, and thoughtful for both the fans and guests: Breakfast with the guests (Platinum pass holders), photograph opportunities followed by a series of panels, auctions, and concluding with the autograph sessions and cocktail party (for VIP and Platinum holders). All proceeds of Hub auctions go towards the Starlight Foundation, and items bidded on included an authenticated panel from the ‘Aurora’ ship (from the set of Stargate Atlantis), framed photos signed by almost the entire Stargate cast, and an original zat-gun in a case signed by Amanda Tapping.

For me, it was a particularly sweet occasion: What’s better than visiting your beloved hometown and meeting (for the first time) your favourite actors and mentalists. And on top of this, mixing with the oldest of friends and newest of dorks. Words fail. I dare Shakespeare to attempt it!

On arriving to registration queue outside the main doors of the Business Faculty, University of Melbourne, early last Sunday morning, I quickly skimmed around to see what the energy of the patiently waiting fans was like. It was pretty early in the morning (MichelleDaGreek and I had ended up catching a taxi to the city…IN MELBOURNE! BLASPHEMY, I KNOW!), so people weren’t very talkative (I’m on the national register for motormouths).

And then I saw this guy in full SGA combat gear. Epic SGA combat gear. And this Rob-guy said “Hey come join us over here!!” So that was it! From there on in we blabbed to all and sundry, and everyone blabbed back. That’s how AMAZING Australian Scifi fans are. I’d forgotten how friendly a people we are. C’mon Kiwis, time to flash those teeth and wag those tongues…!

My ticket was ready and waiting, so I breezed through registration and made contact with the chief. It’s a pity we couldn’t catch upon the day, she was utterly swamped!

All of the main action happened in the Spot basement theatre. It’s exactly that, a basement, so tweets were nigh impossible from down in Hollow Earth! So my apologies for the sporadic twitter updates. It wasn’t long before all the minions had torn themselves away from the pretty merchandise, and seated in what looked like a gigantic Repli-Carter cave. There’s no other way to describe it, though Robin Dunne called them teeth. I was waiting for a gooey Samantha Carter to emerge from the walls…any moment now…

The Hub people are true Aussies; openly friendly, you can strike up a conversation with any of them (provided they’re not chasing an emergency!). As we were welcomed, it was straight into business, and while VIP and Platinum pass holders were called up first for their photo opportunities, we played celebrity heads Stargate-style (NO HE’S NOT A GOA’ULD. GOOD THING HE CAN’T HEAR YOU OR HE’LL SMITE YOUR FACE!), then watched the Season 1 pilot of Sanctuary in epic, cinema-scale! There’s nothing quite like watching Druitt looking into the barrel of a gun held by his former lover, on a screen that’s twice the size of your living room. Yes, you heard correctly! TWICE.THE.SIZE.

So as row by row, we were called up for a massive cuddle and photo with the actors, Stargate SG1 was played on that gigantically epic screen. At some point Amanda came dashing down the stairs (she could hear it playing) with her handlers straggling in her wake as she cringed and facepalmed at seeing herself in ‘The Tok’ra’. As Amanda said later, she practically had a whole ten, no wait… fifteen (‘Okay, I’ll be serious!’) years of her life documented on camera. Olivia has some things to say about it. But more on that in the transcript!

Let me just say a word or two about the attendees here. Oh, wow. My mind is blown. Like Amanda once said, as much as these conventions are about the guests, it is the fans who make them what they are. Sitting in the midst of the cheery, diverse crowd, I couldn’t believe it. EVERY.SINGLE.PERSON here…WAS A FAN! It’s a bit like what I imagine heaven to be. Finally, we can squee and debate and totally geek out, with pretty much every single person in the building. Utter paradise! It’s as if one can finally be oneself and stand tall, because you know that you have your own part to play in this family, and everyone shares in the humour, the laughter, the tears, the strangling hugs, and the outrageous dorkism. I arrived there with five friends, and came away with fifty. THAT is what Australian scifi fans are like. BEAUTIFUL.

In the queue for photo with Amanda. Meeting her was nothing like what I’d expected. For all you people out there who respect this incredible woman, please take note: She may be generous, loving, talented, genuine, sincere and darn good-looking. But she is, above all, human. Don’t ever forget it. So walking up to her, big fat grin on my face, I said “I come bearing the love and hugs of EVERYONE *gestures* on your website!” Her face melted with an ‘AWWWWW’ as I was smooshed against her in a gigantic cuddle. “See you at AT5! “GREAT!!! :D”. One flashbulb later, I came away with an even fatter grin on my face, knees slightly wobbly, and ready to bring on whatever was in store!

Whilst hanging out with a group of these wonderful fans, we heard Robin Dunne raucously yelling from the photography corner. On trotting curiously over, we found that Robin and Amanda were just hanging out..you know, chilling. She quickly kissed him on the cheek and padded away to sounds of ‘awwwwww’ while Robin stood there pointing emphatically at his other cheek. With a sigh, Amanda shuffled back to him, pecked his other cheek, and walked away to the sounds of his claps, bounces and squees of “SHE KISSED ME, SHE KISSED ME!!!”

First up was the adorable Chuck Campbell Q&A panel. All of the panels were delightfully informal, the atmosphere throughout the whole day was relaxed and somewhat on the mental side. As most of you will know, Chuck Campbell has appeared semi-regularly on Stargate Atlantis, and recently on Sanctuary as two-face man (“I WANT TO EAT YOUR FACE!”), and he is as quirky and fun as he seems onscreen. Chuck told many hilarious anecdotes about working on SGA and Sanctuary.

Most awkward moment? He had an…um…an embarrassing man moment in the middle of shooting a scene. “Who was the scene with?!” someone in the audience yells. Chuck flicks his nose and replies, “well that’s the embrassing thing, it was with a guy!”. Said guy headed straight to his trailer afterwards, and wouldn’t speak to poor Chuck for the rest of the day. Ironically enough, Chuck got engaged this year! CONGRATULATIONS CHUCK!

When asked about his funniest prank onset, Chuck thought for a moment, pensively staring up at the Repli-Carter ceiling. Amidst a barrage of grins and chuckles, he related a time he had secretly turned David Nykl’s (Dr. Radek Zelenka) SGA computer screensaver into an explicit photo of the male anatomy. When the screensaver loaded in the middle of filming a scene, David didn’t know what to do.

As for Sanctuary, Chuck spoke a fair bit about working with Chris Heyerdahl. As fans well know, that revered actor is one of the best character artists in Canada, and an absolute gem. Sometimes, when in prosthetics for Biggie, he’d forget, and it was almost impossible to have a normal conversation with him for the enormous hair and flat nose staring you in the face. More than once, Ryan Robbin’s little daughter (who normally ADORED Chris) was too scared to go near him, until he started telling her about his new kitten and she relaxed somewhat!

Beef jerky? Apparently on a visit to his hometown In Nova Scotia, Chuck found a brand of it called ‘Sasquatch’, and the guy on the poster looked frightfully like Biggie. When he asked if he could buy the advertisement to take to set with him, the wary shopkeeper just told him to go home.

Who would he like to play as himself if a movie were made about his life? “Colin Farrell! Have you seen ‘In Bruges’? FANTASTIC film!”. How would he feel about Chuck Norris playing him? “EVEN BETTER!”

Chuck has nothing but the utmost respect for Amanda Tapping and Christopher Heyerdahl.

Dear Carmen Argenziano is a Pandora’s Box of wisdom and graciousness. His entire panel had a spiritual zen about it, and his pride and adoration for his wife Eileen (who was sitting in the audience) was beautiful to behold. Carmen had many beautiful and personal memories about beloved Don S. Davis, and moved the audience almost to tears. He discussed much about working with Amanda Tapping in Stargate SG1, on developing their relationship as father and daughter, and he described her as a Meryl-Streep class actress: When she comes into a scene, she never takes the limelight. Instead, she challenges your reactions and tries to drag it out of you in the humble manner of a true artist. The relationship just sort of happened.

What character would he most like to play? Carmen stared thoughtfully at the back wall, and after a pause, pronounced “God!” Laughter!

For Robin and Amanda’s panels, the transcripts are currently in progress!! There was too much gold and hysteria in every passing second with each of these fabulous people, so they deserve nothing but a full narrative. Robin Dunne had the audience in hysterics throughout his hour, dramatically re-enacting every anecdote he had to tell…including their trip to Tokyo, and the Holden MacPhillips saga. The first thing he warned on arrival was “I WARN YOU, this may become very x-rated!!” and then proceeded to vent his excitement and admiration for the beautiful city that is ‘Melbun’.

After a somewhat failed Aussie impersonation, and many successful Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson and Russell Crowes, the questions began. In the last ten minutes of his panel, the organisers gave him a blank white teeshirt, on which audience members could volunteer to write or draw. The teeshirt was to be auctioned in favour of the Starlight Foundation.

The first fan wrote “Sanctuary” across his chest. After a few more demure notes, Robin bawled “WHO WANTS TO MAKE THIS INAPPROPRIATE?!”. A Kiwi girl ran down the stairs, and knelt in front of him. When she came away, the front of his teeshirt read ‘GOT YOUR SANCTUARY RIGHT HERE vvvv’. Oh the hysterical laughter! As Robin stood there astonished and exclaiming “Well I warned you that I would get inappropriate, but YOU GUYS…!!!!”, there was a familiar yell from the back of the room: “I WANNA DRAW ON IT!!”. As everyone turned, Amanda Tapping came running down the stairs, giggling madly and steepling her fingers to the accompaniment of screaming cheers and laughter.

A massive hug, some feeling up of deltoids, and many giggles later, Robins’ teeshirt had an extra ‘(keep going vvv)’ on the lower front, and ‘AND THIS IS MY BUM vvv’ on his lower back. “I’ve never felt like a piece of meat!” He bawled, and proceeded to strut his catwalk around the aisles with Amanda grinning massively under the enormous screen. “Modelling ith FUN!…..I’m too sexy for this shirt…”.

The auction winner got to take his shirt off…the poor girl was so shy!

Robin: “I WILL NEVER FORGET MELBOURNE…NEVER!”

As Amanda had crashed his panel, she was told to sit down and wait for her film reel to be played. After a second of flopping in a corner seat, she spun around clapping and bouncing excitedly and cried “I wonder who’s next?! I’M SO EXCITED!!! 😀 :D” Laughter!

Amanda’s panel began with a passionate talk about Sanctuary for Kids support of the Nepal Orphan’s Home, which moved the very ground beneath our feet, before heading into Question time. I will leave it entirely to the transcript for you to see what the experience was like. Ever question asked was thoughtful, intelligent and Amanda’s humble and eloquently dorky answers made the entire panel absolutely soul-touching, moving, hysterically funny and an experience all in itself! Amanda Tapping ‘Owns her Dork!’, and I have never laughed, nor cried as much as I did that day!

It’s an incredible experience. When you ask Amanda a question, she wholly absorbs herself in you, and her reply is always from the bottom of her heart. She does not stare at the floor, nor around the room in general, but directs her answer straight at you as if it were a heart to heart discussion on the topic at hand. I was lucky enough to ask the very last question in her panel, before she was dressed with a white teeshirt, and the hilarity began. I wanted to go down and write ‘CHECK OUT MY NUBBINS ^^^’ But thought better of it.

Amanda grabbed the pen herself, and tried to write on her own chest while someone held the mic up to her, and she started pulling faces with “GRNNGHGHREEEEEEERRRRRRR”. She ended up drawing a huge heart over her own, “because I think we should all wear our hearts on the outside” and proceeded to tell about the necklace she had given her dear friend, Cynthia Semon, and how Olivia had started to love painting hearts. Amanda took off her teeshirt and wrote her own inspirational quote on the front: Live Peacefully, Speak Kindness, Dwell in Possibility.

True to form, Robin Dunne returned the gate-crashing favour splendiferously, to much laughter and roaring!

He rubbed Amanda’s shoulders until her knees buckled and began writing on her back. Amanda stood nervously with a ridiculously goofy grin on her face, and when Robin turned her to face him, her back read ‘MAGNUS IS HOT!!!’ at which the audience exploded into laughter and cheers. Robin flipped Amanda around to face the back, and as he began signing her shoulder, she threw her hair back seductively and assumed a pin-up pose…after which he wobbled away squeezing his legs together awkwardly, squeaking out: “Okay…I’m…gonna go now!”.

Then the bidding began! At $450, a guy near the front cried out “ONE THOUSAND”, and Amanda flipped up her head and stared at him like he was some sort of crazy person. Needless to say, the guy won the bidding, and was given the chance to take her shirt off. Oh the hysteria! As he nervously tried to grasp the bottom of her teeshirt, Amanda grabbed his wrist and coyly tried to drag him into a dark corner of the room. The teeshirt came off without too much inappropriateness, and after a massive hug of gratitude, Amanda wobbled around fanning her face and giggling. I have never. Laughed. So much. In my life!

After a cacophonic standing ovation complete with cheers, screams and applause, Amanda Tapping was whisked away upstairs for the lengthy autograph process. As every single person queued up for an Amanda autograph, she was signing for a solid two hours. That woman has stamina! I tried to pick a slightly more dorky or relaxed photo of Robin. I said to him “You look so relaxed, utterly fabulouth”, “It is rather!”

I then thanked him for coming so far, as it’s rare that we have the opportunity, down here in the basin of the world, to meet these incredibly wonderful people. I managed to have a wee heart to heart talk with Amanda during the session, and then it was all over. We couldn’t believe it. The day seemed full, yet when it was over …it felt so painfully short.

I had completely underestimated Gate to the Sanctuary, a mistake never to be made again. All of we who attended are still swamped in the experience that was December 12th, every moment of hysterical laughter and moved hearts is stamped in our minds and souls for many years to come.

Even now, we are still swimming in the memories and emotion of this last epic weekend, and it’s impossible to drag ourselves away. Every moment is reliving itself in our hearts and minds. From the rare chance to meet such phenomenal guests, to the warmhearted love of all the fans who were there…and an ENORMOUS bouquet of gratitude to Hub Productions for making such a precious experience possible! I feel blessed to have been a part of it.

Stay tuned for transcripts on Amanda and Robin’s INCREDIBLE panels. Buckle up, it’s a wild ride!

A massive, UBER, HUGE thank-you to the wonderful PaganX, MichelleDaGreek and abydos71 for donating some of their priceless photography skills!

Thanks for popping by WormholeRiders New Agency and reading! If you have any comments, please feel free to contribute below, or you can visit me on Twitter by clicking my avatar at the right.

CHEERIO!

JandyraCJM

December 15, 2010
Sanctuary: ‘For King and Country’…A forty-minute, mouth-gaping feature!

GREETINGS SANCTUARIANS!

Following the overwhelmingly smackdown super-Magnus episode that was ‘Breach’, I think impassioned Sanctuary viewers everywhere could barely expect another episode of such a sheer amount of epic. The utter ferocity of Amanda Tapping’s physicality in that episode, combined with the combination of unbelievably brutal fight choreography and the quiet and poignant humanism left fans all over the world breathless! To exceed the nuclear effect of this episode was inconceivable. And then the following happened:

‘For King and Country’. Sanctuary, Season 2, Episode 8.

Though perhaps the most anticipated episode of this third season of Sanctuary, nobody could possibly comprehend what it entailed. Was it a grossly epic plot? Was it the character catharsis? Was it historical flashbacks? Was it the fantastic visual effects of Amazing Anthem? Was it the personal chemistry? The passionate depths of emotion? The nuances of the sublime actors? The directing?

Truth is, it was every single one of those. Every. Single. Blasted. One.

Unlike ‘Breach’, ‘For King and Country’ started at a measured pace. The initial energy was urgent, carrying on from the close of ‘Breach’, but did not inspire the edgy mystery that the former episode did on opening. This enabled we anxious viewers (perched on the edge of our sofas, chewing our cushions anxiously…nothing unusual here, carry on please!) to be drawn into the plot immediately and smoothly. Sucked right in. Unknowingly. Into the powerful depths of their clutches. And then the mouth-gaping arc began.

Helen Magnus’ (Amanda Tapping) defensive, agitated and emotionally charged state creates a perfect bridge between ‘Breach’ and ‘For King and Country’. As she gradually calms from being smacked around concrete walls by a dead classmate, her determination to understand it all begins a new series of action…

The depths of history that this episode burrows into, the emotional arc and personal development of characters, the beauty and attention to detail of the production, all make this episode feel like an entire film within the space of forty minutes. The tasteful abundance of Anthem’s work helps give the narrative the weight it deserves; they have captured the atmosphere of 19^th century London gorgeously, while the costume design (Christine McQuarrie) and attention to detail is authentic and beautiful.

Not just the changing fashion of the clothing as they progress through the eras, but also in style , where it authentically reflects the social and class status of the Five. The superb directing of Lee Wilson, and the tasteful post-production work, created a succinct and clear narrative despite the constant flipping in time periods! The editing is well thought out, as every single scene in the episode fills out the plot arc fantastically, and at the same time allows the full weight of human interaction, and the importance and consequences of those interactions.

It feels like an entire film, so much information crammed into forty minutes, yet at the same time we’re taken on an incredible personal and emotional journey. Even Andrew Lockington, the musical genius, and the glorious work in the music editing reflects the changes in time period sumptuously (including a repetition of a particular theme from ‘Breach’, which catches my inner drum every time!). There are so many important aspects to consider in this episode, that the task leaves me gasping for air. Where in Hollow Earth do we BEGIN?!?!

Let’s begin with the crowning glory of genii: The Five. Back in their ‘young and passionate’ days these five, talented individuals assembled and set to work with a common purpose in mind. Helen Magnus, following in her father’s inspirational footsteps, had a brilliant and inquisitive mind, shrewd, cautious, and passionate in her study of abnormal life. The lightning-quick James Watson (Peter Wingfield) was not far away, dedicatedly putting his brilliant genius to work in abnormal research.

The arrogant and witty Serbian ex-pat, Nikola Tesla (Jonathon Young), dedicated his genius to their brilliant work, but we are still to gain light on why exactly John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl) and Nigel Griffin (Vincent Gale) were active participants. Druitt may have been there simply as Helen’s lover, but are there more scientific reasons to his interest? Jack the Ripper was an avid anatomist…hmmmmmmm thoughts?

The earlier flashbacks in which we see them all together are just delicious, as they labour away at the source blood, trying to unlock its secrets, then interrupted by the nuisance of Adam Worth (Ian Tracey). After Druitt rids them of him, the cocky humour is positively bouncing off the walls:

Druitt: “You have to admit he’s brilliant!”

Griffin: ” …and British.”

Tesla: “Hysterical.”

Magnus: “Does anyone else notice something …odd…about Adam?”

Tesla: ‘He just pointed it out, he’s British *winks*”

The entire dynamic between the members of the Five, and also in their contact with classmate Adam Worth and the outside world, is really given weight in the narrative. As Nikola aptly pointed out, they were young, and even a tad arrogant (young, self-confident, invincible!), and their actions and attitudes remind me a little of the ‘Trust Fund’ kids in Season 2’s ‘Sleepers’: Young, self-confident in their brilliance, feeling invincible, and somewhat cliquish. Although *AHEM* it must be said they they do comprehend the consequences of their actions…at least to some extent!

Adam Worth was more than capable of pushing their work forward, yet they bar him from their ‘club’. After Druitt menacingly drives Adam from their lab, the scene between Helen and Worth, as she watches him work a chemical compound on the wall, is key in their attitude toward such an ‘outsider’.

In true Magnus sensitivity, she sincerely appeals to his vanity, to try and soften the blow of their final decision. It will be interesting to see what the more sound reasons for refusing him were, as Magnus said ‘we’re heading on different paths’, after noticing ‘something odd’ about him. Perhaps they already sensed a dormant obsessive darkness in him?

From that moment on, it seems that the deep chasm between the Five and Mr. Worth began to push apart. Adam was forced to build a desperate bridge in the bid to save his beloved daughter, and despite Helen’s and Watson’s best efforts, the Leukaemia won its war. Was it the loss of his daughter that caused the rift in Adam’s personality? Or, as Will suggested; a betrayed rage at Helen’s pursuit and attempted assassination? Perhaps both. Over to you, Will!

Either way, Adam needed someone to blame for the premature loss of his daughter (much as Helen did), and it fell on Magnus’ and Watson’s shoulders, for their inability to save young Imogene (Margot Berner). The memory is a heart-wrenching revisit for Helen, “The loss of a daughter. It’s a wound that never heals”.

Adam seems to be dealing with it a lot differently to her; the continuing post-trauma of his loss seem to have caused Adam’s hatred grow to irrational lengths, while perhaps his spatio-temporal dimensional travel has adverse effects on his mind? Let’s wait and see….*stuffs fists in mouth anxiously*.

There is definitely a sense of sympathy between Magnus and Adam; she is much more forgiving than most of the men around her, and the grief for Ashley that she nurses could help her to form some sort of bond with him. But to do this, she must speak Adam’s language. Hence ‘Breach’ showed the violence that she needed to get through to the beast, contrasted with the soft humanity she employs in this episode to talk to the gentle genius: “I want to help you, Adam”.

Helen sincerely regrets the awful action and betrayal she had made a hundred years ago; it goes against all her principles and instincts. Now, Magnus and the Five’s sacrifices for the sake of their work have come back to bite them in the behind, the moral sacrifices they have made have brought a huge threat to the very work they meant to protect. The irony wears a bit of a rough edge!

How much the Five have all changed over the past 100 years! And how much has changed…the devastating loss of the bright James Watson feels pacified a little by his return from the past in ‘For King And Country’, and it was utterly delightful to see him in his original habitat, surrounded by his ambitious peers, and to see his working relationship with Dr. Magnus. We don’t tend to feel the loss of Nigel Griffin so much, as we’ve had very little light shed on his veiled past (AS OF YET!).

Obviously, the greatest change has been in Helen and, through the angst of their relationship, Montague John Druitt. The history of their tearing apart by his demon, the resulting fear and resentment, and the loss of their daughter, has really put them through the mill.

Will Zimmerman, poor laddy, is desperately trying to play catch-up in the presence of these ancient genii, yet despite his overwhelmedness, he has learned quickly that he also has his own respectable and capable place in their work. Robin Dunne has, over the entire series, developed with his characterisation the bumpy growth of Will as he continually encounters situations that he simply never imagine possible.

He is loyal to Magnus, but not blind, and has an immensely strong moral integrity…especially for his age! His frustrated confrontation with the fatally ill *WAILS* Magnus shows an ethical consciousness and strength, which is something that the Five seem to have lacked over a century ago. He confronts Magnus with his bitterness: “To protect society, or your work?”. Magnus is not impressed, he’s just a child after all…

His sensitive understanding of the complex and fluid psyche is invaluable in a jungle of chemical and biological scientists. Even Helen admitted, throwing her hands in the air, “We didn’t understand the mind back then, Will! We saw him as a threat!”. Yet she has the unique ability to quickly adapt to new and changing concepts. I think her iPhone speaks for itself…BY the WAY. Is Henry’s iPhone app from ‘Bank Job’ available on iTunes yet?!

At this point, I feel the overwhelming urge to hit PAUSE, and pay awed homage to the phenomenal actors in this episode.

Guest artist Ian Tracey…why on EARTH have we not heard about him before this series?! The man IS Adam Worth…both of Adam Worth! The softly gentle Irish nuances are juxtaposed harshly with the rough and crude ‘bully’ within him. While his character is modelled after Jekyll and Hyde, the original writing (James Thorpe), combined with Ian’s humane characterisation, brings the fable to a living and believable reality.

Ian Tracey IS Adam Worth, a slighted genius traumatised by the loss of his daughter, betrayed, and on a century-old mission for revenge. Ian’s sudden, but smooth, transition between the two personalities are breathtaking, and are so rapid that it takes you a moment to register the change. He is subtle, there is no affectation in his portrayal, but the character opens up in the most organic and quietly natural way possible.

The personal crumbling and fury appears as a natural progression from 100 years ago, to the present day…the actor manages to show 100 years of continuing torment in just a few minutes. The same, of course, can be said for Amanda Tapping, Chris Heyerdahl, and Jonathon Young. Can’t wait to see more of Ian!

Amanda Tapping’s acting especially floored me in this episode. Her expression of the 159 year old Doctor carries so much weight, so much versatility and so much poignancy. Throughout ‘For King and Country’, Amanda’s delivery felt completely organic, unforced, and Magnus’ physical exhaustion, sickness and emotional torment was heart-touchingly real.

It’s the little things that have the most drastic effect, as Amanda once said “small pebbles cause great ripples” and the inconspicuous glances, gentle throw-away comments, and even the moments when Magnus doesn’t speak at all, managed to convey over a century of growth and experience in one fleeting instant.

For Amanda and her character, this episode was a direct contrast to the one which preceded it; a contrast between the raw and gritty physicality, and feminine strength and vulnerability. A sublime delivery, absolutely gorgeous. Perhaps the most beautifully touching scene in the series to date, Helen’s intimate moment of fleeting tranquillity with Druitt is a perfect example where no words are needed, and yet so much can be said.

With the impending doom hanging over their heads, the angst of the past and the uncertainty of the future seem to cloud around their aura of closeness, and come colliding above them during her moment of touching, human need.

Here, Helen is not merely a scientist, but a woman. She is vulnerable, and seems to seek comfort in the relief that he is alive, in the familiarity of his nearness, and the basic need for human comfort. I watched my television screen shudder and melt with ripples of emotion. The delivery was simple, and honest.

It was utterly FANTASTIC to have the sumptuous James Watson (Peter Wingfield) back in the fold, his familiarly suave brilliance reverberated in his classy wit was just DELICIOUS to welcome back. And ever so British. His languorous nationally iconic humour was reflected delightfully in that of Druitt and Griffin, and contrasted even more appetizingly with the Serbian Nikola Tesla, who basically used his own particular brand of wit to throw their comments right back in their faces. The typically English humour is sharp as a knife:

Druitt: “It seems Victoria was wrong, the old boy DOES have a backbone!”

Watson: “He’s not a LORD, he’s a King. And no…go to hell, MISTER Prime Minister”

Druitt: “Seconded!”

I think this is one of the most delicious exchanges in the episode.

Everyone’s favourite ‘Magneto’, Nikola Tesla seems to have found a new setback: his outdated knowledge. He just doesn’t DO humble, and his final admission of finding Henry’s (Ryan Robbins) expertise in tech rather daunting heralds a new kind of emotional maturing. The 160 y.o. genius who finally hit puberty?! Well maybe not in a physical sense, but definitely in his cranial juices. To humble himself enough to make an admission that, just maybe, he isn’t Captain Invincible, is ringing little tingling bells of emotional growth.

Yet he constantly returns to his usual, self-centred, egotistical, conceited…at the expense of his colleagues. Once again, poor Magnus is blinded from the truth by his deceit (“And you are nothing, if not a man of your word!”, though he had good reason for it. Nevertheless, let’s hope it doesn’t go too far though, we love his infuriating snirks!

“I was wrong, there is a God”!

Needless to say, the loss of his Vampiric traits dealt an enormous blow to Mr Tesla, and ever since then, much of his egotistical bravado has been overshadowed by disappointment and a sense of failure. It is as if Nikola has begun to rediscover his new self, and found that he has, like all other humans, his own set of flaws. To live as a Vampire for a century, and then suddenly find oneself mortal, the withdrawals must be enormous!

Even his physical attitude has changed, as we can see in the flashbacks juxtaposed with the present timeline: His normally ramrod straight posture, serenely self-confident, snobbish manner has been melted into a more relaxed and uncertain air. You could even say, more…scruffy-looking. More like a professor and less like Dracula. Even his accent (obviously) has been muted from a strong Slavic “I-vant-to-suck-your-blood’ to sharp-tongued American drawl. Kudos on the accents Jonathon!

Druitt. Oh, Druitt, great to have you back, torn man that you are. Christopher Heyerdahl is a man of mouthgapingly incredible talent. Not only in his versatility with prosthetics and character work, but in the subtleties of his delivery. He has a magnificently theatrical, spellbinding magnetism on the screen. From an over-drugged state, we saw so many stages in his development as an individual in this particular episode.

His character seems to swimming in cruel irony. From that moment on the bridge, in foggy London (thank you special effects!), the fateful promise: ”And when we are done, you and I will begin our dance anew”, to the exchange in the river, where he finds himself (unknowingly) at the mouth to Hollow Earth:

Adam: “She will hunt you forever”

Druitt: “I hope she does”

How will he act from here-in? THE NEXT EPISODE COULD NOT COME SOON ENOUGH!!! *chews fingernails*

But back to the plot. Oh dear goodness, what’s in store?!?! Plotwise, ‘For King and Country’ has the nerve-wracking feel of a season finale cliffhanger. As we’ve discovered, Adam purposefully lured Helen Magnus into his interdimensional wormhole, in the vengeful hope of contaminating her with radiation. Devious b****!!

With the two of them heading down the dark tunnel toward the heavenly (or otherwise!) light, drastic measures to save Helen’s life are no doubt just out of reach of our vision *CHOKING SOUNDS*. Poor Will has been slammed with world-changing decisions, and though Tesla’s actions through the Sanctuary Charter may seem “dude, that is cold”, it may (or may not have been) a wise decision to make. Even Helen does not protest, though looks somewhat frustrated, but knows she is helpless against the Charter which she herself wrote.

Although Magnus’ work constantly puts her life in the line of fire, this is the first time that she is in direct peril….well actually….dying. Helen Magnus, DYING?!? Now all of their fates, the fate of the Sanctuary network, and the life of the beloved Magnus, lies on the young Will Zimmerman.

Helen Magnus and Adam Worth are dying, the remaining members of the Five are back together, and the only chance to save the head of the Sanctuary network is to go to Hollow Earth. The teetering, violent and unpredictable Adam Worth seems to be their only guide.

OH.DEAR.GOD.

A huge thank-you for stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency and reading!

Please, do feel free to comment, or contribute constructively below by clicking one of the icons below to share this review article. Varied perspectives and discussion make the series all the more enjoyable for everyone!

Alternatively, you can find me on Twitter by clicking my avatar.

Cheerio!

JandyraCJM

December 8, 2010
Sanctuary: A lightly ‘comic-al’ Hero II: Broken Arrow

Hailing all you Sanctuary fans out there!

On this posterior side of the Gemini’s 25th Anniversary Gala, welcome to yet another exciting Kate Freelander (played by Agam Darshi) episode! You know, considering that there was so much controversy raging in fandom when her character was introduced, I don’t think anyone can possibly deny that she has blended beautifully not only into the Sanctuary team, but into the overall tone of the series.

We have been blessed with a thread of deliciously insightful revelations, and small glimpses of her journey from lone ranger, to a woman more comfortable with herself and with her beloved teammates. Altogether,’ the Freelander’ has grown to become more…sociable? Civilised? Loveable?

Okay, well so far it’s been very touchy/feely with the Kate-centric narratives, but this week we saw her juxtaposed with the nostalgic return of everyone’s favourite super-hero, THE ADJUSTERRRRRRR a.k.a Walter (an alias for the always refreshing Christopher Gauthier). Although it is a more-or-less stand alone episode, Hero II provides what could be described as the inevitable employment of Ms. Freelander’s *aherm* “mad skills”. I mean, c’mon really, Hero and Hero II: Broken Arrow are basically as geeky as the geekfest gets; we’ve got scifi, comic books, comic book heroes, comic book movies, San Diego Comic Con quips, corny catch-phrases, and (most importantly) spandex.

These episodes provide the meeting point between every corner of fandom; a blissful unity of nerds, geeks, dorks, and hot people.

While Hero II: Broken Arrow oozes coolness in every way possible, it is not merely a showcase for mindless sensationalism. This is a trait with which the Sanctuary team have gloriously comported themselves throughout every single episode of the whole series. Every narrative in the story arcs has contributed to a gorgeous harmony and balance between sensational ‘wow-factor’, reflective and shrewd thought, and the velvety richness of deep-seated human emotion. The series is intelligent; fans have even been known, having watched one episode or another, to go on the internet and research historical or scientific references from the show. Thank goodness for Google.

In contribution to this ying-yang balance of the show, Hero II: Broken Arrow is predominantly just plain cool. However it also drives home the earnest ethical and moral standards of the powerful Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping), and reinforces the symbiotic relationship Kate Freelander now has with her fellow teammates.

The bantering bet between Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins) and Kate at the very opening of the episode sets the fun tone for the entire narrative, right down to Magnus’ motherly reprimands. There are two wonderful character spotlights switched on in this episode, apart from the usual Magnus-centric plot of the series. The first, and obvious, is the demonstration of Kate’s intergratedness with her teammates by the complete opposite means, separating her physically and mentally from their familiar base of operations.

This exile, as it were, from the team and family she has come to love and trust, serves to strengthen her bonds by placing her in the cold solitary confinement of a primal super-hero. It is interesting to watch the effect that the suit (which we mustn’t forget, is a living abnormal; a symbiotic assembly of telepathic bacteria) has on Kate, reverting her social behaviour to the very primal instincts of a female predator.

She stalks her prey with a seductive and deadly grace, while her rational decision-making abilities and judgement are thrown to the wind. Her raw, feminine power is delicious to behold. The climax to her hunt is reached beautifully, as she grabs Magnus by the throat and shoves her up against a piece of iron (whilst deep inside, the hearts of all fans are melting down in horror).

Magnus makes a choked appeal to the humanity inside of Kate, and once again we are privy to the stripping away and the poignant exposure of her soul…it all pours out through her eyes. Magnus and Kate have shared many of these tender little moments where in the midst of chaos and violence, there’s a little momentary cocoon of strength and calm between them. This trust and family bond is repeated at the end in the beautiful closing scene between the two of them.

The other spotlight, which also serves as a filler for goings-on since early Season 2, shines warmly on the endearing Walter. Not only has he now become a ‘somebody’ in the world, but we find that the outside pressure and attractive business ventures of the movie industry have changed him. In a nutshell, it’s a return to the early days of comic book superheroes: the black-and-white division between good and evil, the journey of a normally insecure guy from the fringe of society, to fame, to self-compromise, followed by an epiphany and a redemption of sorts, followed by a fight for his own integrity with the studio bigwigs.

Like any geeky comic-book fan, he tries enthusiastically to turn his fantasy into a reality by continually ghosting the Sanctuary team’s mission, but is ultimately ordered to stay put at the base of operations while the ‘big cheeses’ do their work. As usual. Watching the real action from a distance. Until they need his …erm…expertise, that is.

Obviously his slip leading up to the whole situation with Virgil St. Pierre (bless his parents for choosing that name), guested by Matty Finochio, makes him keen to redeem himself in both the Sanctuary team’s, and his own, eyes. Ultimately, he protects his integrity and stands his ground against the power of the movie industry. The Adjuster indeed!

As for Virgil, well he’s some character. It was interesting, his sneering superiority complex seemed a bit too pretentious at first, but then it turns out that most of his behaviour is pretty pretentious, being, as Magnus blandly puts it, a ‘child with money’ (“how mature!” he says). The way he goes about his business is in direct contrast to the way Magnus does, like a kid who has so much money and no boundaries. Even his tardy exit in pursuit of Kate just cries out as a somewhat foolish childish blunder. Not to mention that he also no sense of ethics of any sort. He’s like a spoiled brat who’s used to having his own way, short-tempered and patronising. Playing with his toys just because he can.

I LOVE the overall stylistics of this episode; the creators have carried the classic comic-book theme of the episode all the way, no holding back! It takes us right back to the good ol’ days of the first comic book movies ever made. Many of the creative camera wipes are from a comic stylised freeze-frame, swiping to another, and then the action continues smoothly from the graphic image.

It makes you feel like you’re reading a series of comic frames, except that they move: FANTASTIC! Even some of the visual effects, such as Kate’s flying leaps and slinky scaling up sheer walls are reminiscent of the old Spiderman or Catwoman superhero movies. Like I said: here is an episode that brings nostalgia in so many forms! Right down to the final ‘A’ shape that the abnormal suit makes in homage to Walter, the comic-styled corniness is utterly ravishing; from the superhero spandex, to the catch phrases, Walter’s adorable melodramatic shirt-ripping, to the stylised dialogue of super-Kate and super-Walter.

Even the grunty voice super-Walter speaks with is just tasty, especially when Virgil imitates it mockingly, and his butt is ultimately kicked. You know, Helen was right: It’s better without the catch phrase. This week’s episode was too much fun to be taken too seriously. A geektastic romp from start to finish, bringing back our favourite geeky memories, together with a sensational appeal all its own.

GEEKS UNITE! LONG LIVE SPANDEX!

Bring on Animus. Every week ups the gasp notch just little. By the end of this spectacular season, nobody will be breathing…

Thanks for popping by WormholeRiders and reading. Please feel free to post constructive feedback or discussion down below. You can also click the Avatar/icons to talk to me on Twitter.

JandyraCJM.

November 23, 2010
A Creative Powerhouse: EVENT Cinemas, ‘The Art of District 9’ with Weta Workshop NZ
Calling all special effects and film fans!

A HUGE and heartfelt ‘thank you’ is extended to EVENT Cinemas Ltd of New Zealand, and Weta Workshop, for being wonderfully warm hosts and enabling their admirers to witness and experience the amazing work of Weta up close. EVENT Cinemas Ltd together with Weta Workshop recently hosted ‘The Art of District 9’, a small event held at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington to mark the launch of Weta’s fantastic new book of the same title. District 9, screened in 2009, is a science fiction film Directed by Neill Blomkamp and Produced by Sir Peter Jackson, and has put a new face on scifi as a film genre. If you haven’t seen it, DO, the acting and the narrative are just mindblowing, and the visual effects are out of this world.

Deep in the heart of tiny New Zealand, a little Miramar warehouse district hides one of the world’s most talented and enthusiastic visual effects teams who quietly work away in their corner of the globe, wowing the film industry with their amazing vision.

To date, Weta Workshop and Weta Digital have been an important part in the making of over 35 major films including: Lord of the Rings (Trilogy), Master and Commander, The Water Horse, King Kong, iRobot, Contact, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Peter Pan, Hellboy, The Last Samurai, Kingdom of Heaven, The Legend of Zorro, Eragon, Bridge to Terabithia, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Jumper and most recently Avatar, The Lovely Bones, and District 9.

As well as films, Weta Workshop creative genius has been applied on the enormously popular television series Xena: Warrior Princess for over five years, as well as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and many others. The incredible talent of both companies has helped placed New Zealand on the map as a phenomenal force in the film making industry (i.e not just for supreme filming locations!)

The distinctly ‘Kiwi’ Weta Workshop first started breathing in a tiny flat in Wellington, over twenty years ago, where Richard Taylor and his wife Tania, were pursuing their creative passion by making puppets for Gibson Group’s Public Eye satire show. It was while Richard Taylor and Tania were working away in their humble abode that Peter Jackson heard about their handiwork and went to visit them. He was amazed to see their amazing artistry and “realised that they were doing the same thing”.

From that moment started their famous collaboration, as Richard and Tania began working with Peter Jackson on several of his films. Since then, Richard and his collaborators have managed to assemble a team of some of the world’s most talented, passionate and deliciously geeky artists, designers, sculptors, costumiers, armourists, painters, engineers, makeup artists and more, and as the workshop has expanded, so has the scope of their mission.

More and more is becoming possible with the new opportunities and the new technologies thrown their way. But when all’s said and done, these guys are a self-professed bunch of geeky boys and girls, playing with their toys, who get as excited about their creations and discoveries as the rest of the world does!

Weta Workshop itself is comprised of eleven workshops: Make-up and Prosthetics; 3D Modelling and Printing; Armour, Weapons and Props; Costuming; Engineering; Miniatures and Model-Making; Moulding; Painting and Finishing; Sculpting and Chainmaille. And yes, it’s all true. They have a 3-D Printer!! Apparently it’s a lengthy process though, taking up to four hours to form a piece the size of your hand.

So at the end of a lengthy, dreary working week, it’s down to Wellington we drive for the experience of the year. The ‘Art of District 9’ event, organised by EVENT Cinemas in conjunction with Weta Workshop, was held at the fabulous Embassy Theatre in downtown Wellington, host to several NZ film world premieres, such as Lord of The Rings, and a fantastically elegant theatre in itself. A simple but expectant facade welcomes one into the main foyer, with marble floors and staircases sweeping up the sides. Up these gorgeous stairs is where the action takes place. A luxuriously long candy bar extends itself on one side of the small plaza with seating tables, while a drinks bar snuggles in the opposite corner. Directly opposite the little annex housing the bar lives another annex, in this case, the congregation of the night.

The atmosphere is wonderfully relaxed, there are no pretences here, everything is as ‘New Zealand’ and laid back as it should be. The medium sized crowd mingles around comfortably, looking at the impressive historical photos of the Embassy Theatre interior, and of the Lord of the Rings premiere, when the whole of Wellington was brought to a standstill, the central streets blocked off, and hundreds of metres of crimson carpeted between tens of thousands of excited fans.

Gently winding our way through the quietly excited crowd we arrive at the room’s centrepiece: A gigantic ‘Weta’ backdrop, in front of which excited admirers stand staunchly wielding a ferocious District gun amidst the flashing of cameras, while the always broadly-smiling face of Tim Launder, General Manager of Weta Ltd, looks on. What exactly does the title ‘General Manager’ entail? “Well basically, I have to reach everything on the high workshop shelves” he says, deadly serious. Okay, right.

So we then go to the Weta Workshop website (www.wetanz.com) for a little more clarification, and sure enough, the much sought-after, intricate details of his job description: “This is a really important job at Weta because there are a lot of high shelves in the Workshop, and if you don’t do it right, all the dust can fall in your eyes. Fortunately he is blessed with supernatural powers which allow him to be really good at this; he has very long arms”. Oh, and also besides this job, the wonderful and eloquent Tim is in charge of the marketing and promotion of all of the art that the talented Weta team produce.

Talking to Tim Launder is like interfacing directly with Wiki-Weta, but with a wonderful openness and frank spirit. He’s in prime position to explain the general happenings in the depths of the workshop. Whilst the shuffling of papers, armour and spray paint goes on, Tim stands back at a distance, and he now puts it succinctly into context for me.

Of course, the whole purpose of the evening’s great meeting is to celebrate and promote the launch of Weta Workshop’s new gem, The Art of District 9. Such books are rare, an overwhelming compilation of the most incredible and intricate concept artwork and design processes of some of the most talented in the special effects field. Put together by the surpassingly eloquent Daniel Falconer, Senior Designer (whom I later had a wonderful conversation with), The Art of District 9 assembles all the hard work that did not make it to the final stages of the making.

The sheer volume and quality of the work that Weta does, but is not seen, is incredible. Leafing carefully through the display book, Tim Launder goes on to explain the further perks of his job at Weta. “A lot of these amazing artists are terribly shy, they prefer to stay in their workshop and tinker away at what they love to do best. My job is to drag them out so that they actually talk to people about it.” Thank you Tim for helping to bring them out and share their passion with their admirers!

A little more light on the book. To understand the process, it helps to have seen the finished product, so if you haven’t seen District 9, it may be time to whip out the video hire card! Tim offered some fantastic insights as to the general making of the film. Leafing through the 160 pages, the reader is rendered comatose from the stream of delicately rendered drawings, dynamic photographs from the finished product, prosthetic makeup, detailed concept art of weaponry, aliens, space ships, vehicles and more. With the foreword by Director Neill Blomkamp, and introduction by Richard Taylor, the book just oozes creative zeal, and seems to capture perfectly the passion of the artists themselves.

Let’s take that exo-suit. Oh, dear Lord, the exo-suit. It is the life-size embodiment of every little boy’s dream. Reminiscent of a ‘Walker’ from The Matrix Revolutions, it stomps its way through the Johannesburg shanty-town with a curiously mechanical humanity that is all its own. Is this another fantastic toy from the guys of Weta’s Engineering workshop? Not so fast!

It turns out that, the initial designs forged on paper by the phenomenal Greg Broadmore, the final film product was entirely CGI. So were the prawns, which were designed and sculpted by the quiet and ragingly talented David Meng. Another equally exciting tidbit (heard from the wonderful host at Weta Cave) is that the cockpit for the exo-suit was actually constructed, but the footage was never used in the final cut. Lead actor, Sharlto Copley, instead sat in a blackened room with projected lights on his face.

Yet, the truly exciting thing about The Art of District 9 is that we can see the process first hand, the prototypes, the original designs that are usually so far divorced from the final cut, and the development process from original to final concept. Besides the sheer amount of work that ends up on the editor’s floor, there have also been those films which, unfortunately, never came to final fruition. Of course, one of the most heartfelt losses was the Halo film. The movie itself may have never reached the theatres, but Weta Workshop has definitely made its Halo mark on the world, with the amazing products which came out of the workshop during the making.

Arguably, the crowning glory of all these props was the famous Warthog, a fully working all-terrain vehicle, featured in the X-Box game. I was lucky enough to witness the full magnificence of the truck at Armageddon 2007, in Wellington. It was stationary to be sure, but oh the thrill of it! According to Daniel Falconer, the craftspeople at the workshop are just a bunch of geeks, who squee about their work as much as the rest of us. For all you despairing Halo fans out there, never fear. Tim Launder dropped a hint about a follow-up project to the Warthog. Apparently, to promote the launch of Halo Reach in the U.S of A, Weta will be fabricating two Mongoose’s, courtesy of Engineering, and shipping them to the States as crowning prizes in a promotional competition. This is to take place in 2011, and is available to U.S citizens only. Details are to be released at a later date. Imagine owning a Mongoose, what would YOU do?!

A last word from Mr. Tim Launder. The CGI work on District 9 was partially done by Weta Digital, but most was undertaken by Canadian-based company Image Engine Design Inc. At the time of the making of District 9, Weta Digital was tied up undertaking a whopping 80% of the visual effects on James Cameron’s Avatar. At this point, the wonderfully tall, long-armed and friendly General Manager encouraged me to approach the amicable designers. Moving forward…

But wait, it seems Sir Richard Taylor, Co-founder and Co-Director of Weta Workshop (recipient of five Academy Awards and four BAFTAs), has meandered in the door. As he wanders through the crowd, I overhear “I heard something was going on down here, so I left work a bit earlier and came down to see what it was all about”. A humble and friendly man, the innovator of all this creativity signs a few books, chatting to the several admirers standing around. He blends into the crowd comfortably, and the Wellingtonians there are equally relaxed, if slightly awed, by his drop-in. He chats to the visitors, asking about their jobs, encouraging aspiring designers and costumiers, all very comfortable and relaxed conversation.

It is truly wonderful to see such a prominent innovator still immerse himself in the ins and outs of the design process, getting into the workshop himself. It is where his his passion originated, and is what he loves. I did not want to steal too much of Richard’s time, so after a few quick words and some dorky photos, I approached the equally relaxed Greg Broadmore.

The approachable nature of these talented designers seems to be a thing of looks too. Greg Broadmore, designer and concept artist of all tech, alien weaponry and vehicles in District 9 looks like any New Zealand bloke, a cropped beard and beer in hand, he welcomes me with a warm smile and a jolly hello. Behind this easy-going guy is a positive avalanche of passion and talent, as well as a fascinating history. As he states it, when Greg left school, he had no idea what he wanted to do. Basically, he was a little as lost as many kids who graduate high school. So Greg applied for a Fine Arts course, but was turned down. Not to be swayed, he applied for a lesser Fine Arts course, who also didn’t admit him. It turns out the lesser course only gave him a place because one of their students dropped out.

So began his path. Upon graduating, Greg Broadmore remained unemployed for seven years, but as he clarifies “I was never unproductive, even when I didn’t have a job. I was always doing something…making comics, a couple of small exhibits and so on (more of which he has done since working at the Workshop). After seven years on the dole, Greg was booted off the Unemployment Benefit, so he shifted down to Wellington. Came the magnificent Lord Of The Rings premiere, and he thought “This is what I should be doing-making movies!”.

So Greg sent his portfolio to Richard Taylor. Three weeks later, Richard called him back. And that was that! As Greg himself puts it, he went from what he liked to do in his spare time (drawing robots, tanks, and dinosaurs) to working on King Kong and other films. “It doesn’t matter if it’s film, or games, or an art exhibition, it’s all the same. The pleasure is not so much in how it’s applied, but the artistic and crative process itself. “ovies happen to be a brilliant way to showcase it. Seeing the artwork manifest itself up there on the screen is one of the most satisfying experiences”. Greg himself has published four books so far, and he recognises it as one of the purest pleasures; to make a book for nothing, but for that it inspires the imagination and allows the readers to conceptualise it themselves.

It is noted that, especially rampant in science fiction and action films, there are loud bangs, and everything’s racing along so quickly, the image is in one shot, and gone in the blink of the eye. All the months of hard work and delicate processes boil down to a few seconds onscreen, so the release of The Art of District 9 is a true experience in itself.

After this engaging and enlightening chat with Mr. Greg Broadmore, it was time to move on. Whilst flitting around the cheery crowd I had skedaddled with the idea of talking to Daniel Falconer, Senior Designer, and the writer and compiler-in-chief of The Art of District 9. His cheery, bright countenance caught my eye not a metre away, and so we conversed away! Tim Launder had mentioned how very approachable the Weta designers are, and Daniel is no less so. In fact, the passionate man loves his work so much that there always seems to be a riveting anecdote spilling from his area of the room. I mentioned the avid admiration of fans around the world, and how people in New Zealand take the Workshop for granted with a very “Oh-yeah-I-can-see-them-from-my-house” sort of air. Daniel’s response was utterly delightful: “But it’s kind of nice and refreshing isn’t it? It’s the Kiwi attitude, and it stops people from getting big heads about stuff. Talk to us! We’re just like everybody else!”

Daniel himself has a colourful history too, though quite the opposite of Greg Broadmore’s. It just goes to show that no matter where you come from, what matters is your passion and determination:

Daniel Falconer always knew that it was going to be his line of work. Even as a kid, he remembers seeing Star Wars, Jim Henson movies and so on and going “’WOW…this is the screen, propelling imaginary worlds, and so beautiful!’ I remember seeing the ‘making-of’ documentaries on television and saying ‘Oh my God, people actually do this full-time, for a living!’”. He had thought he’d have to go overseas to do that sort of thing, but it was in his final year in his Arts degree that he heard about Weta, “That these guys were actually doing this right here in New Zealand!”.

It was 1995/96 and he was lucky with his timing. As he was getting ready to graduate, Weta Workshop only had two designers at the time and were looking to create an Art Department with a team of about five or six guys to design for them. “I mean, here’s this raw kid, who’s straight out of Art School. I said ‘Oh, I would LOVE to do this!’ and they replied ‘Okay, come and try out! We’ll see how it goes!’”. That was fourteen years ago, and Daniel’s been there ever since.

Weta Workshop now has a large Art Department, with some twenty designers, who are so often split into different projects. Daniel himself only had a very small role in the designs for District 9, “But it was great because now we’re doing stuff like books, so I can say; Well why don’t I step in as a chronicle in this case, and write about my buddies and what they’ve done!’”. Daniel goes on to explain his inspiration for putting together such an enlightening and exciting book. He’s in the design studio with these guys, he sees the process from start to finish, and sees all of the stuff that doesn’t make it to the screen. “I’m like ‘Theres a BOOK there!’. Part of the impetus for doing the book was to get all these ideas out, ideas that we never saw in the movie’”. To show the world just how much these talented guys are capable of! Thanks, Daniel!

So does Daniel himself do much of the concept art? Yes! Although not so much on this project, in which he only contributed a couple of drawings, but he’s involved in most of them. “I was about to say it’s a great hobby…it’s a great job!!!”. Some of what Weta Workshop produces is displayed at the Weta Cave, but of course due to film ownership rights and so on, their options there are slightly limited.

After the sheer exuberance and subtle geekfest that was a wonderful talk with Daniel Falconer, the bell rings, and the mingling crowd wanders toward the auditorium doors. It’s time for the presentation.

The presentation consists of an impromptu welcome and introduction from Sir Richard Taylor, who then scurried back off to work, leaving his boys to carry on. Basically, it was fantastically informal, a creative and nostalgic discussion (and slideshow) of each of their roles in the design process of District 9. Participating were:
Absolutely fascinating:

To conclude the evening, District 9 was screened in full force on the giant Embassy theatre screen.
Saturday morning, after a delightful brunch with our friend whom all Wellingtonians know as “the-guy-with-the-two-Deloreans” (for real!), it was off to Weta Cave in Miramar. Weta Cave is the small and humble museum which houses many astounding props, miniatures, armour, some books, and general props from many of the films Weta has worked on. Miniature models of characters and creatures from so many of their greatest films line the shelves of the tiny premises. Armour from Lord of the Rings, a statue of Gollum “the most photographed celebrity in the whole of New Zealand”, lifeboats from the ship in Master and Commander, and endless treasures! Perhaps the most captivating of all was the twenty-minute film shown in the small room at the back, a goldmine of Weta’s history (narrated goofily by Richard Taylor himself) opening with a mindblowing montage of all their most famous conquests. It took a few hours to recover from the sheer epicness of it all. If you’re in the neighbourhood...CHECK IT OUT! Who wants to pass up the opportunity to see Sir Richard Taylor freak out one of his designers, with his hand in a very real-looking sheep’s head?! A true New Zealand icon! The trip back through Miramar was paused for an admiring gander at Park Road Post Production premises. A gorgeous design in itself if there ever was one! Park Road Post Production is a state-of-the art facility brought about by a community of filmmakers (including Sir Peter Jackson), and includes Weta Digital, Stone Street Studios and Portsmouth Hire. Weta Workshop has planted two feet in the world of film-making, and is forging ahead with creative enthusiasm and zeal. It is in such dilemmas as with The Hobbit, that the true determination and passion of such creative nebulas as Sir Richard Taylor is inspiring, not only to the film industry itself, but to young artists who aim for such opportunities. The Art of District 9, published by HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Ltd, is now available for purchase. For more information, please visit www.wetanz.com, or www.harpercollins.co.nz . Thank you. Thanks also for reading and stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency! Please do contribute with comments or constructive discussion below by selecting the social media avatar of your choice. Or you can visit me on Twitter by clicking my image avatar or text link below! JandyraCJM
October 21, 2010
Sanctuary: A Haunting of things to come…with Season Three on the horizon!!

Hi Sanctuary fans!

WELL…’Haunted’ is definitely an episode over which shippers will squish and thud about, the world over! That said, I must warn you that I am heavily Magnus/Druitt (when appropriate) so please stay with me on this one. This eleventh episode of Sanctuary Season 2 comes as a heavily, profoundly poignant narrative in the series.

Primarily, of course, it gives us a chance to …ahem…rip open (figuratively of course) the mysterious John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl) and his relationship with Magnus portrayed by Amanda Tapping, and examine his trouble consciousness. In a manner of speaking, it’s an attempt to shed more light on the man-come-beast who has inhabited a sizeable corner of Magnus’ heart for over a century.

Arguably, as of yet, no other supporting character’s life story has held quite as much sway over the entire plot arc as has Druitt’s; not only because he is so personally close to the enigmatic Helen Magnus, but simply as a member of The Five, and due to the impact of his judgment and actions across the Sanctuary Network itself.

Druitt confronts Magnus in ‘Sanctuary For All’

We first met Druitt in the pilot of Sanctuary (which was yet another testament to the weight of his presence in the narrative), where we first encountered him in his violent exchange with Ashley, and then via Helen’s apprehensive familiarity. Helen and Druitt’s impassioned meeting was mysterious to us then, but over the development of the series we have had the chance to come to understand SOME of the historical weight and the profundity of their personal relationship. I say SOME because, obviously (unless NASA’s space program rockets to new heights), most of we mortals will never experience a relationship with someone or something for that long, or with such intensity.

It was in this revealing and fiercely emotional meeting that we first learned the secret of Ashley’s existence, and since then, we’ve been on some sort of astronomically emotional roller coaster ride, being thrown from a state of hysterical laughter to a state of hysterical grief, and visiting every shade in between on this delicious journey.

Magnus dreams in ‘Kush’

We have seen brief flashes of Druitt’s and Magnus’ history in ‘Sanctuary For All’, ‘Kush’, and notably in ‘The Five’ where we saw the integral part he played in the early days of the group, as well as being shown the more human side to the savage rage that fills this man. ‘The Five’ was rather a special episode, it was the first time we were really shown the man behind the beast, a brief touch on the heart, a brief window to the soul of John Druitt, a touch which has been expanded into a fuller, more rounded, symphony in this episode ‘Haunted’. We began to come to terms with his hopes, the dreams he held closest to his heart, the desires of Jack the Ripper through his relationship with Ashley, and revelations of his relationship with her mother.

Druitt joins Magnus and team to chase the Cabal and find their daughter in ‘End of Nights’

At the cliffhanging conclusion of Season 1, and the concussive opening to Season 2, Druitt was really welcomed into the fold as a team member, with the reuniting of the Five, and the personal affiliations of their mission. These impacting episodes really served to consolidate his strong presence in the series, his work with Magnus and the other members of the ancient club giving him his own rightful place as a resonant personality and a strong undercurrent in the story arcs. From an independent outsider, he was reunited with his old colleagues (somewhat apprehensively and not without some adolescent animosity), and embarked side by side with them in the greater mission of fighting the Cabal.

Magnus and Druitt torn over the fate of their daughter, Ashley, in ‘End of Nights’

His and Magnus’ personal feelings were brutally ravaged as their daughter became un unwitting victim, and the Network that Helen had spent decades establishing was shaken to the very foundations. ‘Eulogy’ brought a renewed, painful separation once again; torn asunder by their loss, Helen’s grief and his bloodthirsty revenge.

The grieving parents, in ‘Eulogy’

Druitt seeks revenge, in ‘Eulogy’

Since episode three, we viewers have been given a chance to regain our own emotional footing after this onslaught, have been diverted to other developments. Now, with ‘Haunted’ we once again have the delicious chance to delve into this tragic relationship, and really come to explore more and more of the complex and torn Druitt. The narrative once again poignantly juxtaposes the pressing urgency of the Sanctuary mission, with the personal history and tragedy of the two characters, Magnus and Druitt.

‘Haunted’ is not an episode that can be discussed as lightly as some others, perhaps, could be. The history behind the two weighty characters, and the gravity and urgency of the narrative make this episode cry out for the full and weighty attention it more than deserves. ‘Haunted’ provides a insightful and poignant petri dish that is key to the series. Both these wonderful characters arc hugely in this episode, and there is a definite learning curve between them, or if anything, a series of revelations between them as the struggle to contain the latest emergency (a stricken boatload of Ugandan empaths).

Magnus and her team in the midst of the rescue effort

Amidst the chaotic urgency of the opening sequences, there is a definite undercurrent of mystery surrounding Druitt’s presence in this mission; Why is he here? What are his motives? What has he been DOING since we last saw him? Druitt lives on a constant battlefield between his human form, and the unfathomable beast within him, so he is never wholly readable or trusted by anyone, onscreen or off. The intensity of the rescue mission is eventually marked by a scrutinising confrontation between Druitt and Magnus; he, mesmerised by the blood on his hands and she, warily familiar with his possessed focus.

Magnus searches Druitt for signs

She searches his face for signs of simmering bloodlust, reads nothing and returns to the task of containing the chaos on her hands. Almost as if in answer to Helen’s suspicious scrutiny, the scene closes with Druitt, and the audience gets to see what Magnus missed: the ultimate evil death glare in the history of evil death glares. Actually, this final shot in the scene sets the ground for the menacing events to come, as we are introduced to two key refugees.

Helen’s statement “I couldn’t have done it without you” is interesting; we know that in the past, Druitt depended heavily on her skills in his treatment. Their roles have been briefly reversed.

Helen’s initial edgy suspicions are confirmed at the discovery of poor Nozipho in the hallway closet. Interesting point: In the episode commentary it was mentioned that the victim was originally one of the Ugandan men. Although it was later changed to a woman, Christopher Heyerdahl did comment “See! He kills men too, not just women!”. It sort of makes you think, well…so far we only hear about his victims being female. Perhaps they are easy prey, and when he has a hankering for a real adrenaline rush he hunts the Cabal. Nozipho was an easy target for Druitt, not just as a woman, but as a gentle refugee seeking asylum in the enclosed Sanctuary.

The refugee victim is found, and Magnus has suspicions

As Magnus aptly put “Exactly… they’re the perfect target”, and her suspicions are realised. Perhaps her request for camera footage of the corridor was a bit of a show for the benefit of her team, or simply to confirm what she dreads she already knows. Magnus seems to know very well who is responsible, yet she never voices it. Throughout the episode, with all the action that goes down, she never discusses it with her staff. Perhaps the personal baggage is something she doesn’t want to open to the world, and so in her usual enigmatic and secretive way, she guides her staff through the situation without having to actually explain anything to them.

“Beautiful”

AHA…the notorious confrontation in the hallway. Just a side note, but the close-up on Druitt’s face as Helen points her gun is just SUBLIME. The rapid shift sideways from his face gives a dramatic edge to their exchange, and warms us up for the chase. Druitt’s comment “Beautiful” is enigmatic at first, does he really mean the view out the window? No likely, the demonic side of the man almost seems to relish the violence of his relationship with Magnus.

Druitt forces Helen’s hand

Everyone cringes inside to see Druitt (whom we love despite his evilness) brutally smack his paramour down, so why in the Great British Empire does he menace her so coldly?!?! If you haven’t heard the podcast or commentary for this episode yet, DO…DO! It saves you much angst BELIEVE me. Christopher Heyerdahl’s insight into Druitt’s motives, at this point in the action, gives a slightly touching but violent reason to explain them.

Magnus takes action

Druitt trusts and depends on Magnus. In the pilot episode of Season One we witnessed his desperate and forceful demand for her blood; her thick, crimson life-force being the only thing that can help keep his power in balance. He knows that as he can’t control, nor end, his wretched battle, Helen must do it. He also knows that she is strong, but she will not let him go. Neither will she will submit to grovelling or pleas. So he does what he knows he must, drive her to the point where she has no choice but to take action, and end his sorry existence.

The only way is to mercilessly prove how dangerous he really is, is to let his demon take him all the way to the brink of utter chaos, and force her to face what she must do. It’s painful…All his language is geared toward convincing her just how dangerous he, Druitt, is: “I am who I am, and it’s high time you did something about it”, as with lightning speed he flings his blade into the wall beside her (note: not AT her), and runs. Helen Magnus has no choice.

Kate looks on while Magnus is desperate

Inevitably, Helen tries to bring him back, which young Kate absolutely CAN’T fathom. It seems Magnus knows what Druitt’s motives were, that unspoken understanding of people who have known each other for two lifetimes, “It’s more about compulsion than murder…he wanted me to kill him”, and Kate is dumbfounded, “you guys have a seriously messed up relationship”. Obviously such a long-term relationship is completely out of this world for any of us to comprehend (well, maybe in fantasy *COUGH*), but her forwardness with Magnus really shows how enmeshed she has become into the Sanctuary family.

Rather than spend a precious entire eight days explaining her reasons to Kate, Helen ends all questioning with a clipped “it’s complicated…charge the defibrillator”. Kate has no option but to comply. Magnus’ determination to bring back Druitt becomes apparent to her when she is instructed to raise the power output dangerously, which ultimately surges the electrical system, and causes events to spiral from here in. The confusion on Druitt’s face is evident; to see him awake from what he thought was a peaceful end to the torture, to a completely alien peace of mind and a strange calm.

Something has changed

He questions Helen “Why did you bring me back?” Well, we know why. Nevertheless, over 100 years of distrust seems to have become a sort of habit with the doctor, she’s not taking any chances, therefore into the Shoe it is. Please note that it’s a VERY long time before that gun lowers from its target.

Helen doesn’t take any chances

It’s a fun awkwardness with the Sanctuary lock down! Every single person is at their complete discomfort, and it allows a whole new look into each of their personalities. Let’s have a look:

Kate and Biggie communicate through the oldest intercom ever made

Kate and Biggie in the jammed elevator.

Biggie is trapped in a giant shaft, and he can’t take care of his friend and mentor as he usually does. Logical, wise and calm that he is, he also happens to be trapped with the young wildcard of the team, who never ceases impatiently chattering in his year. Kate’s cellphone has no reception (CRISIS ARGH!) and hates rides, which is interesting for the tough cookie that she is, but it also makes her more human and…normal. She’s trapped with a big, smelly abnormal who really doesn’t say or explain much…and puts his hands in inappropriate places.

Trapped, Will looks on while Henry can’t calm Musa

Henry and Musa in O.R, Will on Medical level.

Henry spreads loveage to his machines, people; he’s not so comfortable with. Yet he’s trapped in with a distressed post-operative patient, whose language he doesn’t speak, and whom he can’t help either medically, nor with councelling (he’s just not that good at it). Not only that, but he has a technical breakdown on his hands, is away from his equipment, and is locked out of the mainframe.

Ironically, the person who CAN help calm Musa is two metres away behind a piece of glass. Will, the forensic psychologist-come-monster-hunter, is trapped on his own in Med level, and with all his intuition and experience, he can’t help calm the refugees. Poor Musa is isolated from her loved ones, in pain, distress, and can feel the darkness swamping her from all around. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t explain it to her rescuers. She can sense the mingled panic, confusion, frustration from everyone in the vicinity.

Lockdown.

Magnus and Druitt, in the Shoe.

She has a gun but he can unlock his cuffs. Druitt is experiencing the first inner silence he’s had in over a hundred years, a forgotten peace, and feels completely out of his zone. Meanwhile, Magnus has lost complete control of her facility. Magnus not in command does NOT go down well, as we saw for the first time in ‘Requiem’. It scares her. Not only that, but she’s locked in a high security vault with her, potentially homicidal, former lover.

What is going on?!

Helen’s frustration at losing control of her facility mounts, and as the lights flicker “WHAT IS THIS?!” vents her confusion and frustrated helplessness. On his knees, gun aimed at his head with his hands in the air, Druitt’s mind visibly ticks over as slow realisation dawns on his features. Inevitably the two of them put two and two together, and thus the perpetrator is identified.

Now Magnus has a footing, and regains control of the situation as she assertively delegates tasks to her worthy staff. Once again, she is in control. It is a difficult thing for her to accept; that, after 100-odd years of pain and having somewhat resigned herself to her loss, it may in fact be due to none other but an abnormal creature, intertwined within the very soul of John Druitt. She knows this is too good to be true, though Druitt hopefully suggests it:

“It’s as if a part of me has been severed”

“The darkness within me is gone, far more than when Tesla shocked me. That was appeasement, this….is so peaceful…”. Helen’s reaction is hesitantly doubtful:

So peaceful…

“Oh John, I want to believe you, but it’s far too easy to blame everything you’ve done on something else”. Ultimately, Druitt has the last word. The feeling of peace and release inside of him is too convincing to be dampened by Helen’s doubts “That thing WAS my rage, I am sure of it” and Helen’s face is a torn battlefield between her hopes, desires and the reality she dreads.

Ahem. If you’re not aware, the next time you watch this beautiful episode, listen out for one Robin Dunne’s Bruce Willis impression a la Christopher Walken as he crawls through the heating system. As each of the pairs commence their work, the music at this point is fabulous. Slightly funky, with an edge that mirrors the situation, it drives the narrative forward with its building rhythm.

Our resident geek, Henry, is a true techie to the letter. As soon as he mingles a Eureka-moment with the frustration of a man pushed to his limit of patience, the guy becomes UNSTOPPABLE with his determined zeal. We can see why Magnus relies on him so; Henry owns his job. Gadgets are his life, he understands the language better than anyone. So, at this point, ‘Electra’ doesn’t stand a chance.

Henry Foss is on the warpath, as he sweats and frets, curses away and bit by bit regains some control over his domain. Though Henry is not much good with counseling, Musa can feel his determination, the joy of his success, and feels the darkness slowly weakening around her. It seems to do her more good than any amount of talking could have. Henry is the direct opposite of Will, Will understands the psychology, he dabbles in the ebb and flow of emotions and the enormous maze that is the human (or abnormal) mind.

So um…now what, Big Guy?

It’s fortunate that they both ended up trapped on the same level. Or rather, we have some flipping clever writing to thank. CRIMANY!

Henry finally manages to gain control over the facility as Will restarts the main power. The lights flicker back into normality, Biggie and Kate still clinging to the top of the elevator shaft. As it becomes apparent that the situation has been contained, the retreat of the energy being to the lab is reminiscent of what Dr. Magnus stated earlier, as she and Druitt mulled over the situation :

“Energy beings behave like a virus, they form a parasitic relationship with whatever host they can invade”. Not only does this echo John Druitt’s historic internal battle with the creature, but it labels him as a carrier for the being. As they reach the door to the lab, he knows that as the carrier for this creature for over a hundred years, he is the only possible solution to this dilemma. The clock is ticking.

It is moments like these in the series, when listening to cast and crew pod-casts is absolutely invaluable. At this point in the podcast there ensued a heated debate between Damian Kindler, Martin Wood and the wonderful Christopher Heyerdahl concerning Druitt’s motives into re-hosting the bloodthirsty parasitic entity.

A key point from this debate was reiterated in the commentary, namely, that some part of self-sacrifice is selfish. We won’t be assigning percentages here, but one of the more obvious reasons for Druitt’s actions is the tragic hero that he is. Despite the pain he has caused Helen Magnus, he will do anything to keep her safe (as seen in ‘The Five’), the act of a man for the woman he’s loved for over a lifetime.

Yet there is another side to this impetus. Is it possible, that although he loathed the violence and chaos that had plagued him in the past, half of him craves the vicious freedom and satisfying bloodlust that came with it? It’s as if he has a dark craving for the irresistible attraction of vice. His haste in his actions, in his speech with Magnus, is half that of a smitten man who would sacrifice anything for her, and half that of a man plagued with a hunger for the familiar bloodlust which has invariably been a part of him for over a century.

This scene, outside the lab door, is one of the most poignant and soul-stirring of the entire series. Beautiful in it’s simplicity, even Henry and Will realise the weight and significance of the moment; the two protagonists wrapped in their own bubble as it were, an entire century of pain, love, and doubt passing between them.

Druitt’s words strike deep within Magnus, yet she is still, it is perhaps the first time she has heard the words fall from his lips for many decades. It is a promise that will hold despite anything that has happened, or that will happen, yet the slight guardedness in her eyes mirror what is perhaps a sense of the demonic hunger that stirs deep within him.

“For all eternity…” the very weight of this sentence, and everything it implies, is underlined by a gruesome irony. These words echo that which he uttered in their passionate youth, and since then they have been torn apart. People say “till death do us part”, but in their case it seems to be the very opposite which applies. This moment between the very depths of their souls is at once the climax and resolution of the entire episode. It carries all the weight of their past, but also rings the knell for what is in store for John Druitt.

The final, electrifying melding between the ever-torn John Druitt and the parasitic being completely motivates a whole new phase in the history of Druitt, and all whom he touches. From the passionate, calm gentleman to the violent and unpredictable killer, the change is sudden and confronting. “I don’t need your help!!” the brutality of this is in direct contrast to the history of he and Helen Magnus; she has always been the one he turned to for help, to keep his demon at bay, to guide him.

Having spent most of her life negotiating the demon in Druitt, Helen Magnus is calm in her acceptance of his fate “It would have killed a lot more if it were not for you. You kept it at bay”. Perhaps Druitt really is the only person who can possibly have any control over this destructive force, having spent most of his life with it, his whole body and consciousness are geared to harbouring it.

For the record, the fan speculation at the conclusion of this weighty episode was HUGE! Druitt’s last words “I have no destination in mind”, reacted distraughtedly by Magnus, inspired a massive debate as to his fate. Don’t worry guys, we have the whole of Sanctuary Season Three to witness (MASSIVE SQUEE). And the commentary does provide some comfort. To quote Damian Kindler: “If he had wanted to kill himself, he would have teleported to Mars”. ‘Enough said. Thank goodness *wipes brow*.

“I don’t need your help!!”

Throughout the entire episode of ‘Haunted’, Helen Magnus exercises a wary air of caution. Although she is usually one of the most rational and calculating of scientists, her caution throughout the events of this episode is unwavering with a wary sense of familiarity. The arcing of her character takes place on a delicately personal level, as she comes to experience what she hasn’t for over 100 years, while Druitt himself embarks on a journey of self-discovery, taking his audience (and Helen) with him.

This is the first time we have been able to see the enigmatic John Druitt through a magnifying glass, and the experience is invaluable for us, allowing us to appreciate the rough edges of his personality, to understand his unrelenting inner battle, and the sheer power of his possession.

“I have no destination in mind”

Since Druitt was integrated with this demon over a hundred years ago, Magnus has had to wage an unrelenting battle with the consequences of his bloodlust, and her relationship with him has become one of suspicion, alertness and some accusing disappointment, heavily underlined by the warmth of their past. Druitt is complex too, he’s not a villain, he’s not some sort of one-sided antihero from a comic book. The tear between what he was, a passionate gentleman, to what he has become is an ebb and flow, and we as the audience get to see this wavering battle between the two essences of the man.

As the FABULOUS James Watson once said “Time is a great healer. Redemption, that requires a little more”. The man had insight.

As always thank you for reading and visiting WormholeRiders News Agency.

Please feel free to leave a spam free comment or contribute to discussion on the episode below. Discussion makes the series all the more enjoyable for everyone! Or as so many of our visitors prefer, visit me on Twitter with your comments or questions.

JandyraCJM

October 15, 2010

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