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Center for the Easily Amused

It was a slow day at work today, leading to random surfing.

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naye: Joe Flanigan answers the question "How do you get your hair to do that?" (His impression of his own hair killed me dead.)

(On a side note, is it just me, or has Flanigan relaxed a lot in his interviews and fan talks? It seems like he always used to be kind of ... reticent, or maybe shy, like he was a little intimidated by talking to the fans -- although, frankly, considering how some fans behave and some of the horror stories he'd no doubt heard, who can blame him? I really started noticing it in the Comicon video, how he seemed to be holding his own against more outgoing actors like Hewlett; it seems like he's gotten more used to speaking in front of the fans, and is more easily able to relax and just be his goofball self. Or something like that...)

This isn't remotely fan-related, but, being the grammar-stickler that I am, The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks absolutely cracks me up.

And I'm probably the last person on the planet to discover Demotivators (my husband, when I showed him the link, said they even had some of these at his last job), but I can't help being amused. I feel less motivated already!

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Lol, awesome video. And yeah, I think he really has relaxed a lot-- I saw him at Comic Con in... 2006? and although he was pretty funny, he mostly only talked when people asked him questions directly. Nice to see him come into his own. :)

(Speaking of grammar and being easily amused, I think the funniest thing I've read in a long time is this thread (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/1000167) in the NaNo forums... oh, the things people write)

Yeah, I remember in the early group interviews, he seemed really low-key and kind of awkward. I was surprised to see in this summer's Comicon video that he was relaxed and joking along with the others -- actually, he was probably the funniest one on the panel, and that's a panel that included Hewlett and Tapping! I remember earlier articles referring to Flanigan being uncomfortable with the intense-ness of sci-fi fandom. I'm glad to see that he seems have gotten into the fun of it; and presumably that means his fans have generally been nice to him and not sent him over the edge into skeeviness.

... and oh, that LINK! I cannot stop reading! THE HORROR! I wonder how many NaNo novels have failed because of time lost to that thread? The constant fourth-wall-breaking ... oh my.

Yeah, as much as I love sci-fi fandom, fans in real life can be kind of... scary. Wonder if he's been getting tips from Hewlett on how to deal with us? *g*

I KNOW, omg. My family has come to realize that any time I start giggling madly during this month, it's because I'm wasting time over there. And I think it's kind of contagious; I'm finding more and more hilariously bad stuff in my own writing... thankfully, the backspace key and I have a very good relationship.

I was at the con last weekend & saw Joe Flanigan - he seemed *really* comfortable, making jokes in this low-key, self-deprecating way, and not being afraid to address things he thought were serious issues. He was almost more comfortable than Michael Shanks, from whom I got much more of a sense of performance. MS seemed edgy, like he'd had a rougher time with audiences in the past, and I wonder if that's not part of how fans relate to Sheppard vs how they relate to Daniel...it was interesting, in any case. (What was sweet, too, was how much of an effort he was putting into making sure people enjoyed themselves - he was darn cute, too!)

As a long time Stargate fan and having attended a number of cons where Micheal has been a guest, I would say that yes - Micheal does have a stage performance - and a big part of it has to do with his past interactions with fans.

I don't know why, but Daniel seemed to attack the more extreme elements of the fan base. I am not saying that the other actors don't have problems with fans (there have been some issues with stalkers for the others) but even so - I can understand why MS has a stage persona. (I also think that MS is by nature much shyer then even Joe and that might have something to do with it)

Well, when you get up in front of an audience to do anything, even teach, you create a persona that lets you do whatever it is more effectively. I do a lot of public speaking so I was watching both of them from that perspective. MS was really funny, and incredibly good with the children in the audience, but I definitely got the sense that he knew he needed to maintain his boundaries *and* make a distinction between himself and Daniel Jackson. And it made me think that there might have been fans who didn't draw the line between actor and character too firmly in the past... I wonder if any of them - with the exception of David Hewlett, who just thrives on an audience - were prepared for SF fandom?

Yeah, there have been fans in the past who couldn't distinguish between Daniel and Michael.

David Hewlett seems to have been the most-prepared for SF fandom - possibly partly because he alone of any major actor in the series got to get 'eased in' via his couple of appearances on SG1 before they plunged him in the deep end of SGA.

Or possibly because the man is just a big fan himself. *snickers*

I think it's more that Hewlett's just a lot more comfortable with being a "public" person in general. His career was a lot more extensive than any of the other actors prior to SGA -- he'd done movies, he'd been a regular on a long-running series, he'd had experience on both sides of the camera ... but in addition to that, I get the impression that he's just not a person who is bothered by being in the public eye. (Plus, the fan thing. I can TOTALLY understand someone who hasn't had experience with fandom being startled by their first experience with a fan convention and having difficulty relating to the fans. Having spent some time on the creator side of the table at comic book conventions, I know that it is a difficult thing even for someone who's been in fandom, let alone someone who can't really relate to that mindset. Hewlett, I think, is able to relate to the fans as a fellow fan, which puts him at an advantage relative to the other actors.)

Hewlett, I think, is able to relate to the fans as a fellow fan, which puts him at an advantage relative to the other actors.

I think there is a lot to that. The actors that really understand the fans are the ones who are fans themselves. Not necessarily sci-fi or media, but fans of something...so they can relate to the passion or interest that we have towards their show/movie/project.

DH is shameless in playing up his "geekiness". He is very much a fan-boy done good if you will. He is one of the few actors I could have a real chat with about various Star Treks or other sci-fi shows and not worry that I was boring him. While I am sure the others would listen to me I get the impression that their reaction would pretty much the same as most of family - which listening politely but not sharing my interest.

That's really an interesting thing to think about -- I remember that back when I left SG1 fandom (in the early 'oughts) I had a fairly negative impression of Shanks from his interviews and appearances ... but I'm realizing now that a lot of his apparently negative attitude towards his fans back in those days was simply because his fans are insane. And I feel really bad for that, actually ... both for judging him on the basis of that, and for the way that some people can't separate fantasy from reality and act on it.

Well, to fair not all his fans were nuts. It was mostly a small number of people, but they were the ones with loudest voices so they tended to drown out the more sane fans. But it was bad enough that I pretty much dropped out of SG-1 fandom and was a bit nervous about jumping into Atlantis fandom. It just got to be to much for me, so I can imagine what it was like for the actors.

Edited 2007-11-26 22:26 (UTC)

Generally it seems like SGA fans are a pretty laid-back bunch -- at least, in the con videos I've seen, they seem to be polite and respectful and, even if the fringe element is still *there*, they don't act out (unlike Supernatural fans ... God ... I feel so bad for the actors, from some of the stories I've heard of inappropriate fan behavior). I remember how nuts SG1 fandom was when I left it in the early 'oughts -- and, yeah, MS's fans were among the worst of the bunch. I think that SG1 fandom has mellowed over the years too, matured as it were, but MS must have had to field some really crazy stuff, back in the day.

Anyway, I'm glad to see JoeF relaxing a bit -- it seems like his experiences with the fandom must have been fairly positive, if he's not as intimidated by speaking in front of an audience as he used to be.

SGA fans are a pretty laid-back bunch -- at least, in the con videos I've seen, they seem to be polite and respectful

The questions JF got were more, well, cognizant of the fact that it *wasn't* Sheppard up there, while MS took a couple of questions that made it seem like some folks weren't entirely clear about that...

Upon reading con reports coming out of Burbank, I had the same thought - wow, Joe is really relaxed and mellow, comfortable. I couldn't believe some of the things he discussed, especially his adoption. Really surprised me as in the past he seemed reticent to get too personal or handle the "out of left field" kind of questions. It is really cool to see him come into his own at appearances. Must have a grip on fandom now.

Got a kick out of the "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks blog, too. Hadn't seen that one before.

He's adopted? I didn't know that.

Yeah, I've always in the past gotten the impression that he's very private and isn't really comfortable with the intensely public nature of sci-fi fandom -- which is fine, I certainly think he's entitled to that, but I was really surprised to see at the Comicon videos from last summer that he was just as relaxed and silly as the others on the panel, and it seems like the trend's continuing. Which makes for fun viewing. *g*

I think he is a very private and reserved person by nature and the public forum was new and different to him. Unlike David Hewlett, he wasn't a fan boy growing up, wasn't into sci-fi, so the whole genre was new to him. Maybe by now with his experiences and those of his fellow actors, he has fandom figured out and isn't threatened by the fan devotion and questions. I understand his first convention he was groped by a female fan and had some strange questions that really threw him, ie a descendant of elves. (Really!) That is hearsay, but would explain a level of wariness.

In Burbank when responding to a question about parental support, he raved about his parents and said he was adopted by his stepfather when he was 4 or 5. His real name is Joseph Dunnigan or Dunnegan III. I was shocked that he revealed something so personal. Just glad that he is comfortable enough to reveal a little more of himself.

Do you remember the video interview form gateworld in 2005 and how uncomfortable and stiff he was?

http://www.gateworld.net/interviews/man_of_the_people.shtml

Kind of cool vid interview.

Not that I could blame him to go from normal acting to the world of science fiction, obsessed fandom. I'm glad he's found his way and is comfortable and how incredibly nice he is towards fans. Which is saying a lot since we all know there are so pretty intense fans out there.

Oh wow! I usually read the Gateworld episodes rather than watching/listening to them, so you do lose a lot of subtext that way. The contrast between that and the more recent videos is really amazing. I'm really happy to see that the whole sci-fi fan/convention experience obviously hasn't been unpleasant for him, since he's relaxing and enjoying it more and doing more conventions than he used to.

I haven't watched the vid, but I've read some reports. The part about his hair is hilarious. :)

Loved the "blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. :) Thanks.

Yes, I discovered Demotivators long ago, but they're awesome. :) I like to check back every so often for new ones. :)

I find it hilarious that his hair actually does have a life of its own, much as the fans portray it. Hee!

We were passing around the link to the "blog" at work; I work in the layout department at a newspaper, so needless to say, it happened to hit our grammar-geek sense of humor perfectly.

Oh. My. God.

Thanks for the link to the Joe Flanigan vid.

I was laughing so hard several people asked what the hell was wrong with me... :D

LOL! Happy to pass it on. I hate to use the word "adorable" for a grown man, but, well ... it is!

Oh man, I was laughing so hard about the hair bit that I was crying. (Boiiing. Doiing. Ping.)

The sound effects slayed me.

That video is totally Made of Win.

Particularly elegant are the sound effects.

(Also, the FX defying hair. :)

I know! The sound effects are just too much -- and it cracked me up that his gravity-defying hair is actually not a hairstyle but this ongoing problem that Flanigan actually has. *dies*

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! (I can't say LOL because when I laugh really hard I don't make much sound)

That is wonderful. And I was wondering if it were possible for Joe's hair to be smoothed down.(I was thinking of that for Mensa Sheppard) Looks like the only way we will get that would be in fanfic - as fanfic writers would not have to deal with Joe's hair.

It's too hilarious that his hair actually does have a life of its own, just as it's portrayed by the fans. The hair is canon! (And yeah, I'd love to see Mensa Sheppard with slicked-back hair ... but it might not be possible to do it with Flanigan's own hair!)

The video is great, and I'd say that yes, he's relaxed a lot more since he started doing cons. It takes a while to get used to dealing with fans. believe it or not, David was pretty shy at his first con (Kung Fu) back in the 90s, but he's definitely blossomed since!

And I'm sure there's at least one person out there who doesn't know about Demotivators. I love that site. MISTAKSE is my favorite demotivator :)

David H? Shy? That just does not compute.

Shy? Nervous? Yup, that was before he started really doing cons. He'd only done the Kung Fu one and that was 125 people but at the mixer things, fans could just walk up and say hi, which is when I had my conversation about mowing lawns with him. And sadly, that's all I truly remember!

Oh wow, you met him way back then? Crazy!

It was kind of funny, after getting hooked on SGA, discovering that DH had been in a ton of different things that I'd seen (Kung Fu, SG-1 of course -- but I didn't remember him in it!, Cube, a guest spot on an episode of Forever Knight that I'd just watched within a couple months of getting into SGA). I had no idea it was the same actor 'till looking him up on IMDB.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of a shy David Hewlett, though...

I think he was just very unused to being surrounded by fans :)

Having seen Joe at the first two Vancouver Creation cons, I also was thinking how much more relaxed he was when I saw him this weekend. Perhaps a bit TOO relaxed! At the breakfast where he sat at our table and talked for several minutes, while speaking of the Malibu fires, he told us enough about where he lives that I would have little problem finding it. It's a gated community, sure, but still we were ALL flabbergasted. From those who were at our table and did con reports, none of us have mentioned any of the pertinent details.

And you are totally right about Michael Shanks' stalkers. I am personnally acquainted with two of them (unfortunately) and it's not pretty.

glad the folks who were privy to the info have not spread it around. Glad he's also in a gated community so that's extra protection for him and his family. Fortunately I'm not acquainted with any of Michael Shanks stalkers (phew!) but have heard enough and I've run across enough nutty/whacko fans (not necesarily stalkers but people who really really need to get a reality adjustment) that it must be scary to be an actor these days..

Ouch! But I'm so glad that people haven't spread it around. See, I've heard a lot more stories like that in SGA fandom than stories about the other kind of fan. I know SGA fandom can get a little crazy sometimes, but it seems like mostly, it's good people. *g*

LOL! I loved the vid - Joe is much more relaxed than some I've seen on youtube - and the sound effects etc of his hair were hilarious! Poor Joe though!

The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks was fun, and the demotivators are excellent - I'd seen some before, but not all of them. So many to love (wishes, dare to slack, teamwork...) Thanks for the link!

I really can't get over how adorable the SGA actors are in their interviews. Every time I think they can't get any cuter, somehow, they manage.

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