Thursday, January 05, 2006
YOUR FAVOURITE SHOW IS ON, KIDDIES
and by that, i mean BLOG TIME with your host, GARY JONES.
hello children and welcome once again to "blog time" with gary. i'm gary and you're a bunch of other people. today we're going to talk about my travels to some different cons that i had the pleasure of being invited to.
last november i appeared at the L3 convention in the "butlin's holiday camp" in bognor regis. strangely enough, i spent a week in that very camp when i was about 8. i spent my childhood in wales and since my parents considered going to europe much akin to joining the space program, we holidayed close to home. the name "bognor regis" has always made me laugh since it has the word "bog" in it, which any brit will tell you, is slang for "toilet." as in, "bloddy hell, i'm bloody burstin'! where's the bloody bog?"
and speaking of the word, "toilet," it's everywhere in britain. i was so used to it growing up but after living in north america for so long where we always ask to use either, "the bathroom," the "restroom," the "mensroom," or "the little general's room." north americans never say the word "toilet" when looking for the room that includes the toilet.
i judge not here. it's just that it's a bit jarring when you're in a high-end hotel and you see a sign for the "gent's toilet." north americans will know what i'm talking about but brits will not care a whit about what i just wrote.
the butlin's camp at bognor was also hilarious. well, when i say "hilarious" i mean, so many fans told me that they booked rooms there for the convention weekend only to find out that they had to supply their own towels and that they were rationed one roll of toilet paper for the weekend, regardless of how many there were to the room. that kind of "hilarious."
the L3 girls were fabio! they gave me my own night to get up and talk for an hour and a half. and so i did. it seemed to go well although i did hear back through the grapevine that people were expecting some kind of "one-man show." i don't have a one-man show. i'm less "one-man show" than i am "one-man show up." i show up and talk off the top of my head. about stargate. i heard that some fans had heard some of my stories before and thought they'd be getting something else. i can see where that would've been a bit disappointing.
but for me, the fact that i get to go to stargate conventions means that i owe it to the fans to give them a different stargate perspective.
so many have written to this blog site already and commented on my role in the show, which, while crucial, is limited. i only get so many scenes and hardly any are with the leads. it's my job to appear at these conventions, have fun with what the producers give me to work with and keep everything stargate-centric.
my background is in improv and i like to show up with an empty head and some back-up stories. the bottom line is: make the fans laugh. that's what i did at L3 and all i can say to some fans who had heard some stories before is, stick around and the more seasons i have, the more stories i'll have.
the brit fans were great. i'll tell you that it's quite strange to meet someone in britain and think that you've met them before only to find out that they flew to canada to meet me months prior. that's when you realize, as an actor, the kind of fanbase that watches the show. i've done tons of other shows and movies and every once in a while someone will tell me they saw me in something. but with sci-fi fans, they are the only group i've encountered where i'm meeting the people that the show gets beamed to. it's pretty humbling.
after i did the L3 gig i stuck around in cardiff to stay with my cousin and then it was off to nuremberg the next weekend. i'd never been to germany before and i loved it. the german city con ladies were just uber-lovely! i enjoyed the language and the german fans were really fun. we got driven out to rothenberg, i believe is the name, to visit the christmas market. and we got driven there in new mercedes and audis at about 600 mph on the autobahn. it was an hour long drive that was over in 7 minutes. great fun.
the gig involved being on stage with peter deluise and his two brothers, david and michael. my only mistake was in not ordering extra oxygen ahead of time. i simply could not keep up with the boys. they are a force of nature.
okay i'm going to go now as family life calls.
i'll blog again soon.
cheers,
jonesy
Posted by jonesy @ 2:12 PM
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Gary has co-starred on Stargate SG-1 as
Ohhh.... hello! Cool, nice to see you blogging!
Hey got a question for ya... ever heard of SGCSim?
If no, maybe you would like to register at the forums: http://forums.sgcsim.com/index.php? and perhaps talk with us and see our nice program.
Once again, cool to see you blogging,
~Avalon
Glad to see you are taking this blog thing seriously, as in, not at all! Knew you'd get the hang of it immediately. :-D
Welcome Mr. Jones.
I'm bored.... It's my nephews first birthday today, and because I'm in Australia its really hot and I don't really feel like going anywhere except the beach but I have to my sisters and give my nephew his present, then watch while everyone talks to eachother and I quietly SMS my friends about how bored I am.
My nephew is so cute though, he can walk and he can't really talk but he tries. He looks like my brother in law aswell which is unfortunate.
I think I just went completely off topic... Sorry Gary... umm you rock!
Yay for Gary blogging! And 2 in less than a week, you go! I'm so glad that you are going to be taking the time to give us a little piece of a day in the life of Chevron Guy (I know you got promoted and finally have a full name but you'll always be Chevron Guy to me, and I mean that in the best possible way).
I'm so happy you now have a blog here at Gateworld! I'll be looking forward to the, hopefully, many in the future! :)
Gary, great to see you here on GateWorld after having met you at Dragon*Con in September with Dean (I'm the one who did the silly/cartoony pictures of all the Stargate folks).
Thanks for the improv show you guys did. I nearly bust a gut watching it.
And to echo something I'd mentioned at Dragon, and other folks here have said... your commentaries on the DVDs with Peter DeLuise are the /best/ of the lot. :)
Thanks for stopping by to blog with us. :)
Phoenix.
Laughing about your comment on the usuage of the word "toilet", having experienced similar british oddities.....such as "people carrier" instead of minivan. :)
~Kait (Trek_Girl42)
Jonesy welcome to the World of the GW Blog.
Man I saw you in Burbank last July and you were great. Got a copy of your William Shatner Lent Me His Hairpiece at the con and I've shown it to several folks and we laugh our heads off at it. Hope you will have some at the Vancouver Con as I have a friend that wants his own copy.
Hey Gary! Nice to see ya bloggin' with us! Cheers!
minigeek
Jonesy, just wanted you to know that the words you left for me on galaxy of stars made a huge difference to the attitude I had regadring the question I asked. You don't need to know what the question was (although I'm sure you can make the connection via my name), all you need to know is that you've had a positive influence on my life and not just thanks to Stargate. Keep up the good work champ.
Update- I went to my nehpews B'day and had to sit outside in the heat (rather than inside because there's more space outside) and watch little kids playing in one of those plastic pools! So in about 1hr i'm going to the beach!
Gary, you didn't go to the BOBW convention that I wanted to go to because of David Hewlett but that I couldn't go to because I had to study for exams which I didn't end up studying for and wrote a letter to David Hewlett instead which I then started regretting instead of worrying about my exam results which I passed anyways!
Welcome Jonesy! Looking forward to reading more from you. Big hugs from a big fan, susan
I knew this was going to be a blast.
Loved the story of the toilet. :D
Hey Gary, you see those keys above control that say "Shift"? If you hold one of them down and press a letter, it's bigger. SEE?
LOL JK Nice to see you here I've always liked your character.
Ah yes the genius of us Brits, actually using the real names of things, instead of shirking around the suject! And the Butlins loo roll, things haven't changed since the 1930's!!
Brilliant Blog, here's to more cons! And more Blogs! And more Stargate! And perhaps even a episode revolving enitirely around Walter.....now that would be a hit!
Thank's for blogging!
Ahhh Garry Jones, every time we (my bro and sis and I) see you on stargate we cheer! :D
On stage with peter deluise and his two brothers - FUN! Wish I could have seen that! :P
Happy New Year by the Way!
-Kc
Pity I could make L3 - I'm sure that most people appreciated your talks. Next time, you could always make stuff up! :)
I'm going to be at the Pegasus Con in February, but aside from that I don't know when the next one would be. However - I'd love to come along to one of your cons in future - sounds like a riot.
Is it my turn to complain? No? Then I'll just say I'd give my right arm to see you and the DeLuise brothers in full improv mode. Stinkin' German fans. [grumble, grumble] Me stuck in the States. [grumble, grumble]
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and what fun you have at conventions. It is nice to know that we as fans are not the only ones having fun at the conventions.
Court
Hey Gary,
Saw you when you came to Arlington, Virginia last year. Enjoyed the show (estpecially the Don Davis impressions). It's always a treat to see someone from the show come to the east coast (other than NY)
Konedima, maybe I'm just conceited, but I'm afraid that was my fault. I wrote a comment about uppercase being screaming the last time. He probably just wanted to rub it in how nit-picky I was...
... well, at least I'd like to think that.
... though ... come to think of it ... does Ancient have uppercase characters? Maybe he's so used to the SGC's dialog-computer keyboard with the gate symbols that he thinks the shift key was for raising the gate up the silo... ;-)
dialING computer keyboard ... durrn those chubby fingers...
Gary-
If your blog is half as funny as your DVD commentaries, I look forward to all of them. I would have loved to have seen you and the Brothers D together. One can only imagine the insanity!
Later. . .
ShipppyChick
Jonesy, trying to pitch an episode to Joe with you as the lead on an average day around the SGC. Hope he takes it to heart. Would love to see you take a lead on an episode for once.
hey Jonesy,
love the ''Bognor Regis bit'' im a brit, from hamsphire, you may kno that, Bog Bloody, yep both brit words hhaha, take car have fun, and keep bloging
brett
Hi Gary!
met you in the lovely Bognor Regis! man was that place cold!!
We thought you were hilarious and hope to see you do some more solo comedy stuff soon!
we also found the auction hilarious!!
I know there are a lot of jealous people out there who would have loved to have traded places with you when you were removed from the stage by Paul LOL
Thanks for taking the time to share some thoughts on here.
Vicky
-x-
Hi again Gary,
good to hear from you once again.
I just this last day purchased the Stargate SG-1 Season 8 DVD. I was pressured into it by a good friend of mine.
In any case, I'm hoping to hear more of your commentary on it, as I've seen some in Season 7's DVD.
The only REAL reason why people buy those DVDs is to hear from you, and you should know it! To hell with being able to see every episode at whenever time. All WE want is you!
Get your own talk-show I say. Then no more people will have to buy the DVDs to listen to you!
As a member of the Harriman fanclub in one of my Stargate Guilds, I'm obligated to say, "OH MY GOD GARY, I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!"
And so I've said it, and I'm off.
Hi, Gary, welcome to the blogosphere!
We met at both DC and NJ Creation cons last year. You may recall noticing my Don S Davis Fans "raise hell and chew bubble gum" badge?
I'd like to hear who's responsible for the "secret messages" on the prop keyboards in the control room. You? Directors? Prop masters?
Gilder from Texas
Thanks for doing this blog. Harriman is a great character. We've been seeing him so much this season though that I wonder what he did to all the other gate technicians. "That gate's mine! Hands off!" :) What do you think?
Jonsey is likeable...technologically backwards and self-deprecating, but likeable, nonetheless.
Hi Gary
Welcome to Gateworld blogging!!! Its great to see a new face and know that we the fans will be getting lots more juicy BTS info!!!
Thanks for taking up your time to join us!!
Can't wait for your next blog!!!
Hugs
Erin
OMG! That was hilarious. I always enjoy your tidbits and stories! And when I finally do get to a con I will try and go to the one where you will be!
Me again!!
You poor poor man, going to Bognor! Nah, only kidding, but when I was a Guide leader we did have a lot of bognor jokes. We used to go to a horrible campsite down there.
I find it really confusing when you guys say restroom and bathroom and stuff. Bloody hell, it's a TOILET!!!!! Seriously though, toilet is polite. We could refer to it as the loo, the bog, the johnny, the throne or the crapper if you prefer, but for us, toilet is normal.
*Shakes Head* You're a funny lot you people over the pond. Doesn't help that you grew up in Wales, either ;)
Thanks for entertaining me yet again. Maybe this Blog will keep me going til Feb 26th or whenever it is.
Tracy xxxx
We call it a toilet here in Australia too. Sounds like you had lots of fun. I hope you had a good birthday!
Your character should be in more episodes too, I love him!!
Keep blogging,
newtrekker
Hi, another Aussie. Maybe I grew up with too much American Tv or something, but I use the term 'bathroom' and always get funny looks, meh!
Ick, I'm pretty new to this stuff (this is my first comment on a blog so if it works woohoo!)lol.
Where are my manners! Welcome Gary, this is a wonderful blog and I'll certainly be coming back for more. :)
Mag :)
Welcome on the blog scene, Mr Jones.
Just to let you know how loyal a fanbase sci fi fans really are, I was a great fan of yours in 'Sliders' already. If only you could have a word with Universal, to let them release the Sliders DVDs faster ? One season a year is an open door to illegal download... how can the majors expect the fans to wait A YEAR before they see the end of their show ? I don't see the point with old shows like 'Sliders'.
Oh, and now that we know you spent some time in Cardiff, can we expect to see you in Doctor Who 2006 or Torchwood ??
Hi Gary, great blog! I saw you at Bognor Regis then followed you to Germany for German City Con. I loved your show at L3, although I expected it to be a bit more like stand up in that you might have more fun with the audience - but then you did that in your panel the next day (embarrassed the heck out of me but it was immensely funny!). I loved your double act on stage with Corin at GCC, that was one of the highlights of the weekend - you acting out his childhood story!
Gipsy
Welcome Gary, I look forward to reading more of your stories. Funny "toilet" humor there as I am an American, lol
Would love to hear more about the Deluise encounter at the German con.
Have fun here and ignore any trolls that give you a hard time!
Jonesy!
Sounds like you've been busy. Yesterday's new episode was totally sweet! I can't wait until next week already! Keep on rocking in the free world and don't let any giants get you down!
--Marsh
P.S. - The toilet thing is really fun to hear about. I know a few people who are also from that part of Europe. Its always fun to hear about what life is like there!
Hey Gary:)
Glad to see you are getting into
the blogs thing!!!
I alway enjoy seeing you at gatecon and I never get tired og your storie or anything else that
you do on stage or off. ;)
I saw Connie and Carla the other
day and saw you were in. Cool!!
to bad you weren't on longer but
it was nice to see you in it.
On the subject of Toilets I remember in the 60's and 70's you
couldn't even show a toilet on tv in the states not even for a toilet
cleaner add. Now we have adds where the toilet talks..
Well nice to hear from you
Gary can't wait for your next
blog.
Have fun and Stay Cool!!
Shortea
Hi, Gary! Great blog!
I enjoyed meeting you at the Burbank convention in July, and look forward to seeing you again in Vancouver.
Keep on bein' your groovy self!
Lucy
God bless you Jonesy.
There is someone who says "bog" up there in tv-land. Truely it's the slang you got to love in here. And I'm talking about the classic slang not really new words that came outta text messaging.
/shudder
By the way, you rule!
Fantastic stuff.
Some dude from Yorkshire.