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My Question at the #DragonCon 2011 Stargate SG-1 Panel
Sep 3rd
My question was regarding the fact that I had recently seen Richard Dean Anderson do a Zaxby’s commercial… and I inquired what their favorite fast food restaurants were.
The question worked to spark a conversation that went MUCH longer than it should have. The audience loved it, though.
Answers:
C. Nemic – Popeye’s Chicken
M. Gero – McDonalds
J. de Lancie – (refused to answer… LOL)
C. Judge – Taco Bell (because, according to him, he loves a good fart joke)
B. Browder – Ben said it is based on region; West Coast = In and Out Burger; East Coast = Chic-Fil-A (smart answer!)
The Edward James Olmos Battlestar Galactica Trader Vic’s @JoeySnackpants at #DragonCon 2011 story…
Sep 3rd
In order get the full impact of this story you need a little history. First off, Edward James Olmos made this comment about seven years ago…
“I’m going to be the first one to say it really clearly, ‘Please tell your readers, do not watch this program.’ … If you are a real, real staunch ‘Battlestar Galactica’ person, please don’t watch it.” - Edward James Olmos, who plays Commander Adama in “Battlestar Galactica,” to the Television Critics Association in July 2003
That statement made for a way for my pal Joey Snackpants to avoid watching the new series when it aired. He LOVES old school classic science fiction and the original BSG ranks up there with some the greatest fun filled TV of the late seventies and early eighties. When the new series was wrapping up a couple of years ago and its popularity was at a peak, Joey enjoyed jumping into BSG conversations at conventions and pointing out that the ONLY reason he never watched the show was because Edward James Olmos told him not to.
Now, I watched the show at the urging of Jason Dorough and LOVED IT. As a fan, I have regularly encouraged Mr. Snackpants to dedicate some time to give it a chance. His response was the same canned answer about the Edward James Olmos quote… but it eventually became “I’ll only watch it if Edward James Olmos tells me to!”
Flash forward to last night. Each year at Dragon*Con there is a tradition of getting dinner and drinks at Trader Vic’s in the Hilton with my friends. This year, when we were seated, I noticed someone sitting at the table near us:
Yup. That’s Mr. Olmos and Julie Caitlin Brown at the table behind us.
Seeing an opportunity to force Joey to spend about $150 against his will, I began plotting a way to make a moment happen. A few Mai Tais later, I flagged down their server and paid their bill. (It wasn’t until later that we discovered that the server didn’t know who either person at the table was… until we mentioned Selena.)
It worked.
Showing true class, Mr. Olmos and Ms. Brown came to table and shook hands and thanked everyone at our table. I explained to Edward that I was a fan of his work and appreciated him coming over. I then told him the story of Joey’s refusal to watch the show (thus putting Joey, sitting to my right, completely on the spot.)
Edward James Olmos spent about ten minutes pitching Joey Snackpants to watch the new Battlestar Galactica.
Thus, per his own request, Edward James Olmos has now personally TOLD Joey Snackpants to WATCH the new Battlestar Galactica. He has committed to do so.
Yup, It’s Dragon*Con people. 
This post is a test… and a report from The Road to #DragonCon
Sep 1st
I am testing the Android WordPress app from the road. If it works the way it should, you should see my view of the back of Karma’s head while she watches the road ahead to Atlanta.
Working Out with DOCTOR WHO: Planet of the Spiders (3rd Doctor)
Aug 27th
You’d think that iTunes would have somehow put these in something close to chronological order… but where would the fun be in that, right?
Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders (from iTunes): The Doctor’s past has caught up with him, and now he must risk death to save the universe from the evil clutches of the Great One.
The four things of note from this (otherwise cheesy) series of episodes…
THE WHOMOBILE
The Doctor gets a sweet set of wheels! Kevin Smith would be proud of it… since it’s a FLYING car!
UNIT (UNified Intelligence Taskforce, or United Nations Intelligence Taskforce)
I guess the good Doctor worked for the British government? From Wikipedia…
UNIT (UNified Intelligence Taskforce, or United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Operating under the auspices of the United Nations, its purpose is to investigate and combat paranormal and extraterrestrial threats to the Earth. In the original Doctor Who series, several UNIT personnel (such as The Brigadier) played a major role in the programme.
Following the broadcast of the 2005 series, executive producer Russell T Davies explained that the real life United Nations were no longer happy to be associated with the fictional organisation, and the UN’s full name could no longer be used. However, the “UNIT” and “UN” abbreviations can be used, as long as it is not explained what the letters stand for.[1] In 2008, he announced that the organisation’s name has been changed to the “Unified Intelligence Taskforce”.[2] This new name was first mentioned on-screen in “The Sontaran Stratagem”.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART
The Brigadier is a great addition to the show and this was my second time seeing him. A fun straight man to many of the Doctor’s offbeat actions and comments, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart very much grounds the series (pun intended) on Earth. He helps carry Planet of the Spiders with humor and a sense of purpose.
SPOILER ALERT! (THOUGH YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS AFTER 30 SOME ODD YEARS…)
It seems that my SECOND outing with the THIRD doctor was his FINAL appearance. In the last episode, I was treated to my FIRST regeneration scene… Jon Pertwee fades away to become Tom Baker.
Overall, the most interesting thing about the Planet of the Spiders was the passing of the Doctor. The Spiders as villains seemed somewhat inferior in comparison to previous villains, and I was kind of disappointed that such weakly developed evil characters where the undoing of the Third Doctor.
William Shatner FTW
Aug 26th
Thanks Blackspearvoid for sharing this awesome little nugget from TrekMovie.com. Both photos are real.
Thought for the night regarding the #BotCon staff & fans returning to my blog…
Aug 25th
You know, if BotCon truly is such a GREAT convention AND you think that the review from Joey Snackpants and I penned was wrong because we “didn’t spend enough time” there – wouldn’t it make sense to want us to come back and experience it again to see if we were wrong and write a follow up? Or does the show really just fail that badly that you’re afraid of what we’d notice the second time around?
It makes for some fun reading. For now, though, I’m going to bed… and yes: Beast Wars stills sucks.
Working Out with DOCTOR WHO: The Time Warrior (3rd Doctor)
Aug 25th
or “Spotting Star Wars Characters in Doctor Who #1: Boba Fett”
Yeah… that’s Jeremy Bulloch totally rocking that mullet.
The Time Warrior was my (pleasant) introduction to the 3rd Doctor: Jon Pertwee. Thus far, he has proven to be my favorite with his dry British humor and Austin Powers flair. The man exudes sixties awesomeness… all the way down to his karate chop fighting skills.
Doctor Who: The Time Warrior (from iTunes): Scientists are being kidnapped from a research station, and the Doctor suspects they are being pulled backwards into the past.
From what I read about these episodes AFTER watching them, it seemed I started watching the 3rd Doctor’s adventures from an interesting point in the story. From Wikipedia:
This episode marks a number of firsts: the first appearance of both Sarah Jane Smith and the Sontarans; the first mention of the name Gallifrey, in reference to the Doctor’s home planet; and the first appearance of several actors who would later reappear in other stories, including Kevin Lindsay and David Daker. It also marks the first appearance of a new opening credits sequence and a new diamond-shaped logo.
I had heard the name Sarah Jane mentioned before as a favorite “companion” among the Doctor Who fans. I had assumed (incorrectly) that the newer appearances of her were as a recast actress in the same role which confused me a bit since all the recast Doctors are technically the same doctor. It would seem, though, that the same actress had returned for the recent appearances… but I digress.
The Time Warrior seems (to me at least) a great example of classic Doctor Who. I can’t go on enough about how magnificently Jon Pertwee sells me on the eccentric traveler through space and time to the point of watching him in even more episodes.
I am fairly certain I need that groovy looking jacket the Doctor is wearing.
