MS: Hello! So
I guess you know I'm back on the show. [huge cheer from crowd at this wry
comment]
MS: I'm blind! I'm blind!
[cameras are flashing like crazy] We'll just wait until the photographs
are done, okay?
MS: [drawls] My name
is Richard Dean Anderson. [crowd cheers]
MS: Um, okay - they seem
to be just about done. So does anyone have any questions or anything?
Q: How long have you
been acting for?
MS: I've been
acting up since I was about three years old. I graduated in 1994 so I've
been acting for about eight and a half years.
ALP: I started acting
about nine years ago.
Q: You said you wanted a script
for a cross-dressing aromatherapist, you still interested?
MS: [laughs]
Have you got it? This is what I've been waiting all my life for!
Fan: Yes, yes I've got
one. [MS takes the script from her]
MS: "The tale of the
cross-dressing aromatherapist!" Woo!
ALP: I think we should
read something from this.
MS: Thank you.
[he places the script on the stage] I'll read that later.
Q: Do you still have
any ambitions in life?
ALP: Workwise?
Yes. On Stargate, I'm looking forward to coming back and doing some
more of that. Family life is important. To write. To fly an aeroplane.
MS: I've always wanted
to be an eighteen-year-old gymnast but I guess that's not going to happen.
Q: Hi, Michael. Welcome
back to London. I have a request rather than a question. Can you sing "Row,
Row, Row your boat" for us please?
MS: Okaaaay
[said with a long-suffering sigh] But I'm not going to sing it on my own.
You've all got to join in. And we need to stand up for this. [MS
gets to his feet] Everyone stand. [points to someone in the audience]
Hey, you, you're not standing! [looks around until he's satisfied]
Okay.
[Sings tunefully] Row,
row, row your boat [aims mic at audience] gently down the stream [leads
audience in singing] Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is
but a dream. [cuts off abruptly]
I think there's more but that's
all I know.
Q: In your Japanese interview
you said that Jack and Daniel's friendship had been left largely unspoken
and unacknowledged on the show. How would you like to see it acknowledged,
and is that something you tried to do in your own writing?
MS: I
don't think the relationship has gone unacknowledged. I think that
lost something in the Japanese translation. [smiles] Oh, I can't
imagine what you're fishing for! [teasing]
Fan: Oh, yes you can!
MS: [laughs in acknowledgement]
I've heard about that. The Jack and Daniel relationship has come
full circle. There's no need to argue and for animosity as each knows implicitly
where the other is coming from. It's kind of like the relationship with
Rick and I. We're on same page and we know where each other is coming from.
So I think you'll see a flowering of the relationship. That's as
far as I'm going to go. [speaks teasingly and laughs again]
Q: Would you like to
act on the stage in London's West End?
MS: Absolutely
Q: Which role would you
most like to play?
ALP: Pygmalion.
MS: I've always wanted
to play Blanche in "A Streetcar Named Desire".
ALP: And I'll play Stanley.
Q: Do you have any plans
for other conventions and to visit Australia again - particularly Queensland?
MS: Where are
*you* from? [drawls knowingly]
Fan: Um…Queensland.
MS: Ah-huh. Yes, I'll
be Australia, but not Queensland - not sure how long I'll be there - 15th
and 16th of November, I think. I'm also going to do Paris some time this
year.
Q: Can you pick one thing
in Stargate which you think was the best thing you've done? And can
you also tell us where you think you sucked?
MS: Where I
think I sucked? I think that would have to be an episode called "Into the
Fire". I was doing "Hamlet" at the same time, and I remember thinking 'what
am I doing?' It's really bad if the actor is thinking 'what am I doing?'.
So yeah, that sucked for sure.
MS: Best scene in Stargate?
The scenes in "Legacy" where I was in that little white room. [crowd cheers]
I'm also very happy with an episode we've just shot called "Lifeboat".
That's where, without giving away too much, the character isn't actually
himself. I get to play three other people.
Q: Anna, can you tell
us what it was like to attend the premier of "Die Another Day"?
ALP: It was
absolutely terrifying. There were a lot of people there and a huge red
carpet. It was very overwhelming and unbelievable. I got to meet the Queen
and I got to meet Madonna. The funny thing was that I'd borrowed a dress
that was so fitted I couldn't actually go to the loo. The whole evening,
I was thinking, "Oh my God!"
Q: Can you tell us about Sumuru?
MS: Sumuru -
I shot that in South Africa last year. I believe there is a plan for RTL
to show it in the fall in Germany, after that I'm not sure, but hopefully
other stations in Europe. It was a lot of fun. The plot is a bit like a
B movie but we treated it as campy fun.
Q: Which song sums up
your career and can you sing it?
MS: I think
for me "Row, row, row your boat". [smiles cheekily] And I've already
sung that one.
ALP: I know it'll sound
really strange but [laughs] 'You're so vain'. And I can't sing, so no -
sorry.
Q: Some of us saw you
on "The Test". What was that all about?
MS: The Test
is a politically incorrect show for morons. The thing about it is you're
supposed to put as much sexual innuendo in as possible. They have all these
different tests - I think the one I did was The Fitness Test, where they
ask lots of questions like 'If you were a piece of gym equipment what would
you be?'
ALP: Really? So what
would you be?
MS: I said I'd be a weight
bench. Make of that what you will.
Q: Has your mother-in-law
seen you as Osiris and what does she make of Stargate? [ALP's mother-in-law
is revered British actress Dame Maggie Smith]
ALP: [laughs]
Oh, thanks! Yes, she knows I'm on it, but she hasn't watched it. I might
make her one day.
MS: I'd pay *money* to
see that!
Q: We've heard you're
writing a script, Michael. Have you thought about who might direct?
MS: No, I don't
get to choose the director. In television the writing process is very collaborative.
It goes through a whole process and then the director gets it and they
may do something different than what you had in mind. If it comes out the
way you intended it's a miracle of nature, but I'm happy to just see how
it comes out.
Q: Wood or composite?
MS: [queries
this in confusion] Hockey sticks? [he turns to the audience] Do you guys
get hockey here? [a chorus of agreement sounds, MS perks up and gets into
full, confiding hockey fan mode] Okay! Composites are a fibreglass
and wood mixture that apparently gives much more strength to the shot than
wood. Unfortunately they also have a habit of exploding. There's been a
lot of controversy about that this season.
Q: Which are you?
MS: I'm a wood
man. A *big* wood man. [a double entendre and proud of it]
Q: Can you tell us about
any of the practical jokes that you and Chris Judge have played on each
other?
MS: No, there's
too many cameras around. [laughs] I've already told you the bear story,
right? Have you heard of the Chris character - the Turd Burglar?
Sometimes when you get back to your trailer you'll find there's something
in your toilet that you know you didn't leave there. That's when you've
been visited by the Turd Burglar. [audience groans and laughs]
At various points, MS
was given gifts, to which he responded, "I love coming to London.
You guys always give me presents." The gift which got the best reaction
was that of a cute little teddy. MS stooped to put it down on stage,
commenting, "My daughter has more stuffed animals than I know what to do
with." Someone in the audience yelled out that he should hold the
teddy. MS responded, "Hold the teddy," in an eye-rolling, complaining
sort of voice. He held the teddy ;) It remains with Michael
and then with Anna for most of the Q & A session!
Q: How did you get the part
of Thor and why didn't you want anyone to know it was you?
MS: I am Thor.
[then switches to Thor's voice] I am Thor. Get some cream. [jokingly rubbing
his bum with the teddy he was given.] Michael Greenburg came to me
one day and asked if I'd do the voice. I was a bit reluctant because I
didn't want to put my own personality on to the puppet, but then it came
out it was me. That's okay. He's a lot of fun to play.
Q: Anna, do you like
being a bad guy or would you rather be a goodie? [question hesitantly
asked by a little boy]
ALP: Oh, it's
lots of fun being a bad guy. I get to have my way and I get to zat people.
[ALP smiles to the boy] Can I have a hug? [She comes down off the
stage, hunkers down and hugs the little boy, then returns to the stage
to much appreciation from the audience]. His name's Daniel! [everyone
laughs]
Q: What are your favourite
episodes?
MS: The two-part
episode that was shot this year called "Heroes". Another favourite is "Changeling",
which was written by Chris Judge.
ALP: I think "The Curse"
because I got to be Sarah and Osiris.
Q: Is Richard Dean Anderson
a sweetie or is he scary?
MS: It depends
on what time of day it is. Richard is a very down to earth guy, but when
he's tired he turns into that character from "Brief Candle" and is curmudgeonly.
[teasing the audience, who remembered curmudgeonly Jack very well] Most
of the time though he's just really down to earth.
ALP: I haven't actually
had much to do with Richard, but whenever I have, he's been absolutely
charming.
Q: Will we be seeing
the Unas this season? And can you do the chocolate bar scene for us?
MS: Yes, there's
an episode called Hallowed Ground that features the Unas. [does the chocolate
bar 'mmmmm' scene much to everyone's delight, including ALP]
Q: Anna, what is it like
hearing yourself on screen with a Goa'uld voice?
ALP: It's very
strange. I keep wondering whether Osiris is King or Queen of the Nile!
There's this whole gender thing going on there. Yes, it's very odd to watch
myself.
Q: Is there going to
be a movie and will you be in it?
MS: We don't
know what the hell is going on. There's talk about the possibility of an
eighth season of the show [a *huge* cheer goes up from the audience] Might
be. [MS emphasises carefully] Might be. [emphasises again] There
might be a spin-off. There might be a feature film at some point
down the road, though that's the least likely. These are all possibilities.
Q: Has Daniel got over Sha're
and will we see Daniel fall in love again on the show?
MS: [amused]
Daniel falls in love every week!
Q: Most people in this
hall would like to see Sam and Jack get together. [audience groans
in protest]
MS: Sci Fi Channel
seems to get a lot of mail about the O'Neill-Carter romance. There's
talk about interjecting some sort of kiss into episode fifteen or sixteen
this year. [crowd gives mixed response, some cheers, some booing, to which
MS reacts] I think there's a bit of a split over it.
MS: What do you think
about that? [Gets to his feet] Let's take a show of hands.
How many of you guys want Carter and O'Neill to kiss? [MS walks across
the stage, looking out at the audience, counting] A smattering of
hands.
MS: And how many don't?
[a sea of hands is promptly raised, the number against vastly outnumbering
those for] Wow! [MS reacts to the sea of hands against a kiss
in some surprise, then he laughs and points at the centre section of the
audience, near the front] I know what *you* people want!
MS: SciFi gets
a lot of mail - more pro than con. They're contemplating maybe doing a
poll on their website. I don't know when but you might want to keep eye
out if you have any interest in that.
Q: Who is your favourite
person to work with on the show?
MS: Richard
Dean Anderson. He has such style. He changes the script around - he tends
to lead and I follow - which is a lot of fun.
Q: Anna, did you experience
the puff and ruffle when you were on set?
ALP: What is
the puff and ruffle? [turns to] Michael?
MS: You didn't get that?
ALP: I've never heard
of it.
MS: You don't notice
it if it's done well. [preens]
[crowd yells enthusiastically
- show her!]
MS: Okay, I'm going to
be the actor. The male actor. [to ALP] You have to pretend to come on set.
[ALP walks across the stage
- MS pretends to be busy reading a script, then as she walks towards him,
he notices ALP is there. Looking out at the audience, he makes preparations,
shooting sidelong glances at ALP while he unbuttons his shirt and slips
it down to bare some skin. [audience reacts appreciatively] Then
he gets up and goes to greet ALP.]
MS: Hi, how are you?
[he schmoozes ALP blatantly, being all sweet and attentive and nicely touchy-feely]
ALP: [startled and laughing]
I did get this! I didn’t notice! [everyone laughs]
[MS puts his hand above his
head like a rooster's comb and struts towards Anna, both of them laughing]
The
following transcript is verbatim where possible, but in parts is a synopsis
of what was said. As recording equipment was not permitted in the
hall, this record was compiled from the notes of a number of those who
attended. We've done our level best to give a flavour of the event
for those who were unable to attend.