Posted: August 6th, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Ben Browder, Creation SG Chicago con, Farscape, Fed Con 2013, john crichton, PivotTV, SG1 | No Comments »
I found this short interview with Ben from Fedcon 22(May 2013)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfZqkuRdoCE
And U.S. viewers Farscape is now on Pivot cable channel and Ben did an interview with them :
http://www.pivot.tv/shows/farscape
I will hopefully be live tweeting from the Chicago SG con 17 August so look for @Action_John on Twitter
Posted: July 24th, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Ben Browder, Breast cancer research, Claudia Black, Farscape, SG1 | No Comments »
I have been tweaking the Breast Cancer Research Foundation fundraising page which got me to remembering that it is almost 13 years since I first saw Ben on stage at the first Farscape Convention. I “met” him via email several months later and in person Labor Day weekend 2001. My early impressions haven’t changed. He is proud of Farscape and the work he did on the show, truly respects Claudia Black as an actress, he “gets” fandom, is introspective and private, and basically is an all round good guy. Ben’s birthday is in December and the fundraising celebration will start 1 September. A special shout out to fellow CaScaper Arlo for the photos!
Posted: July 20th, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Ben Browder, Creation SG Chicago con, Dr Who, Farscape, john crichton, SG1 | No Comments »
IMDB has Ben in a family feature The Adventures of RoboRex. The medium of distribution has not been announced yet.
****Don’t forget Ben will be a guest at Creaion’s SG1 con in Chicago on 17 August****
Posted: July 9th, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Amanda Tapping, Ben Browder, Breast cancer research, Claudia Black, Creation SG Chicago con, Dr Who, Farscape, SG1 | 1 Comment »
CORRECTION : Start date is September 1
I know it is only July but I have been working on the birthday fundraiser. For this year I am sticking with Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This fandom is very international and the research will benefit people everywhere. New this year will be no minimum donation and Paypal. There will be two ways to donate—via the “cause page” (credit card) and via Paypal on this site. I plan to launch on September 1. That said I will have the change cup at the Chicago SG con for those going to see Ben. The money collected there will be the opening donation. There will be several auctions of signed (RDA,Claudia,Amanda Tapping with Ben) pictures and some surprise goodies! Several fans have items they are donating or auctioning themselves with the proceeds to be donated.
From last July :
Posted: June 15th, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Ben Browder, Farscape, Fed Con 2013, SG1, Starfest 2013 | No Comments »
Slowly starting work on the galleries —- check out the Appearances page! Also added Armageddon Auckland to the In Person schedule. Down under folks get ready!
Posted: May 29th, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Armageddon 2013, Ben Browder, Breast cancer research, Creation SG Chicago con, Dr Who, Farscape, Freeze Frame, john crichton, SG1 | No Comments »
I know it is early but I am working on choosing a charity for the birthday fundraiser. Ben Browder fans have raised over $12,000 in the last years. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is a great group and they have now added an option with no minimum and Paypal. I have been trying to find a national veterans suicide prevention/help charity. The VA Crisis center is helping me now find one that meets our needs. Many groups are local and most not set-up for what we have done in the past — they are focused on individual donations. Most of the regular donors I know well and then there are surprises which I love (as does whatever charity!). As has been the tradition the last few years the drive will start on September 1 and run until midnight on Ben’s birthday. If anyone has ideas please contact me or post a comment! Many of you have had your first Ben in person experience this year at Starfest and Fedcon or will at Armageddon or Creation’s SG con —- remember to celebrate and support a good cause (whatever it ends up!).
Posted: May 22nd, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Dr Who, Farscape, Fed Con 2013, john crichton, SG1 | No Comments »
There are some great Fedcon photos of Ben and others taken by Laurent de Groof here !
Posted: May 21st, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Dr Who, Farscape, Fed Con 2013, john crichton, SG1 | 3 Comments »
UPDATE : Same report with some awesome photos added courtesy of BrigitteD whom I met last summer in line for Ben’s talk at the London Film and Comic Con. Please be courteous and credit her or link to this site in regards to the photos — enjoy !
Ok here goes! I am creating this con report based on the tweets I did during the panels. As I said when I was tweeting Ben was on fire both nights! It has been a week and I have had a chance to look back and see if my reaction was based on the excitement of the crowd or the fun our group was having! It was one of Ben’s best on stage outings IMO. As I remember things or get feedback from others I will add them in a different color so you can find any updates easier . Here goes!
Thursday : Ben’s first stage appearance at Fedcon 2013 was with all of the other guests(except Colin Ferguson whose plane was late) at the opening ceremony on Thursday night. Actors were introduced by show so he , Claudia Black, and Gigi Edgley came out. Hell yeahs were done.
Friday : His next stage, or rather off stage appearance was Friday night during Claudia Black’s talk. Reviving something he first did in 2001. She mentioned that there was chemistry with Michael Shanks but not better than with Ben Browder. She said it was great when Ben joined SG1 as it is “always amazing to play with Ben Browder”. Ben was up on the balcony — he called out that she looked beautiful. The fan had asked why they didn’t do more scenes together on SG1(I think?) and she replied that they only got scenes when Daniel was dying. These were very emotional for Vala and after they finished the director asked for one more take just for the pleasure of watching. The crowd errupted with applause!
Emcee Garrett Wang first watched Farscape three months ago and watched it straight through. He introduced Ben as playing one of the two characters he would ever cosplay — John Crichton. Ben came out and they riffed a bit in German. It was funny that Garrett seemed to want to be part of the Farscape panels 😉 Ben asked the crowd if they got any sleep? He said he was woken up at 0430 (mentions his room is next to John Barrowman’s ) by some ritual that possibly involved a goat! He went to the window and looked out (for Americans screens not used as much in Europe even at a 4 star hotel ) and saw Barrowman’s head out the next window. Then he looked down and saw fans out partying—- said Dusseldorf rocks! The stage had large cardboard cutout letters F E D C O N . Ben rearranged them to spell D E F C O N . He said he was trying to spell something inappropriate but that was all he could come up with. He commented how nicely Claudia had answered her questions and that he was likely to keep talking(he had brought a 1 L bottle of water out because he talks a long time!). Looks at the audience and asks who is next anyway? Crowd laughing shouts Barrowman! Evil grin. He started “marking” the stage with water. He then proceeded to talk on several topics including parenting style ( in response to comments Claudia had made). The questions started. I was a bit startled at all the talks that many of the fans seemed more aggressive about getting answers than I was used to and as a side note long,rambling biographiphical non-questions apparently are international 😉 One woman (who also tore into Linda Park for her character’s terrible German accent AND terrible Klingon accent!) asked Ben why Crichton wasn’t Australian?Australia is a big country etc. Ben was gracious as he explained two main manned space programs are NASA and Russia. It was an American show and that was not the point. The woman argued, Ben tried humor well we all know evil space aliens speak with a British accent — “I know I’m married to one!”. Crowd laughed and was on Ben’s side. He went on to explain the choice to film in Australia was economic — it still was one of the most expensive dramas airing at the time. He then goes off on a tangent on Claudia’s video games and how he plays the one where she is bad all night….. alone. Next question is on the Continuum filming in the Arctic by a woman wearing Amanda Tapping’s actual Arctic outfit. Ben informs us of this ( I think the woman is a volunteer and many of you may have seen her at US/CA SG cons). Ben fans know to expect him to go off topic while answering a question and this woman knows so is enjoying Ben asking the crowd to let him know when Barrowman arrives. Meanwhile Claudia came out on stage and told Ben the staff was very nervous about all the water,wires etc on the stage and didn’t want to interrupt his fabulousness! She talked to him like a mom explaining she will punish him. He got down on his knees . She said first he will lose his water. Then he will lose his stage time. He looked at the audience (still on his knees) and said now you see how it really was! Claudia departed and Ben returned to the Arctic filming question. The ice on which they were shooting moved 50 miles during filming. 40 degrees below and at that temperature Fahrenheit and Celsius become the same ….. COLD. He told about going to the bathroom at night and having to look for eyes because so dark all you could see of the polar bears were the eyes. It was hard to aim as well ….he needed Claudia or maybe Barrowman. Meanwhile behind him Claudia had turned the “F” around so stage now says D E C O N. Ben continued saying during the long walk and talk on the ice the helicopter disappeared. For some reason they started giggling. Amanda Tapping wanted to do something special so they end up laying down on the Arctic snow and making snow angels! He ended the answer with a tease…I could tell you about sleeping in a box with RDA. The next question was what is his favorite scene. He countered by asking the woman what HER favorite scene is. She answered the birth scene in PK Wars. Ben is surprised (as is most of the audience). He said “everyone loves a good birth scene!”. At this point on Twitter I noted that Ben was on fire. Am I biased? Yes but I have seen him on stage many times and this rates as one of his best. He discussed how the actor is a wire delivering the product that many have worked on. He called out a quote and asks which episode. NOTE: this is something that always startles me about the Farscape actors —- they truly interact and come across truly interested. The next question involved Dr. Who and Ben discusses Matt Smith crying. Ben was really impressed then the scene ends and he realized he had hurt him! This of course included a short riff on Claudia crying and dripping snot and being amazing 🙂 He moved on to Arrow and he mocked how the Arrow shoots his bow. The last question was who is his favorite superhero. He said that it changes but today Superman …. and maybe tonight as well. As he left the stage he reminds people to ask Barrowman what was going on! Our group left to do our photo ops. When we all met up later at the bar we got the story from someone who had stayed for John Barrowman. Apparently John Barrowman had Eve Myles and a couple of others in his room for a party and was dancing naked like one does, he went over to the window and stuck his head out and there was Browder!
Saturday : After an incredible costume show that never seemed to end we were ready for Ben and Claudia Black to take the stage! Ben suddenly popped up at one of the question microphones in the middle of the floor. Garrett Wang was on stage talking and Ben asked him for a hug 😉 GW answered he can have whatever he wants! Ben wanted to feed the crowd (it was getting late–not even sure when they actually started). Ben started doing piroettes at the mic. He announced he is a secret furry. Garrett Wang said Ben was the first guest to start a panel from the middle of the crowd. GW brought up the bunny suit and Ben told of doing a panel wearing it and how he found it liberating. Claudia walked out and said to GW you said we won’t start without you! Apparently Ben had said to GW watch Claudia’s purse and disappeared while she was using the loo. Claudia summoned Ben to the stage calling him liebchen. NOTE : The pair first posed and sat on the right side of the stage and talked a bit allowing fans plenty of chances for photos, then they got up and ” sashayed” to the opposite side(asking if sashayed translated, sitting down and talking, ending up in the center. Ben asked Claudia if she knows what a furry is.She replied she does. He said he is one and she discreetly slid away. She brought up that she will protect him from John Barrowman. They get a question on using guns on SG1. They compared set safety differences between Farscape and SG1. The next question was about cooking/favorite meals. Claudia mentions one of her husband’s favorite meal is Ben’s bbq ribs. She has learned to make Keftades after visiting Santorini ( personal note when I returned from Santorini so did I!). Ben then looked at her slyly and said they both have the same favorite restaurant……. In-N-Out (hamburger chain out of southern California and MY favorite). Claudia responded Yessssssssssssss. Ben pulled his phone out and had a text from his son asking if it is a good time to talk. Claudia said she will answer and took the phone. They discussed how they decided to play John and Aeryn. The producers had toyed with the idea of having John be a bit of a Kirk. Claudia knew her paycheck depended on Aeryn’s relationship with Crichton who was the main character. Ben posed the question to the producers If you were standing next to this (gesturing at Claudia) would you be looking elsewhere? The next question was about John Quioxte and Aeryn’s lisp. Ben said that was all Claudia’s idea. Claudia explained she only told Ben she had something she wanted to try. She didn’t tell the producers either until the actual run through. Claudia delivered the “sheathe your sword” line with the printheth lisp. The crowd went wild and Ben cracked up. The next question was about when the SG1 cast was on SGA . They were getting a little punchy by this time and Ben apologized saying they were tired. He said the SG1 set was very relaxed and fun but the SGA set much more serious and their (SG1) humor wasn’t appreciated. The next fan complimented Claudia on her voice work in Dragon Age. Ben asked her which did she like better the naughty or nice. Woman answered “both”. Next question is to Ben asking if he improvised the pop culture references inFarscape. Claudia started up in a sing-song voice “Ben always lies when he answers this question”. Ben shot her a look. Claudia explained Ben’s “tell” — he looks down at his shoes. Ben started his answer that they were scripted………….Claudia in sotto voce “Ben always lies when he answers this question…”. They were asked what they were working on. Ben replied going to see Iron Man 3. Claudia mentioned something in development. Ben then gave a very concise explanation of how development works. He ended by reminding people it took seven years to getFarscape on air. There was at some point a Pitch Black question for Claudia who talked about the shoot and the nickname the Australians gave Vin Diesel — “Vincenzo Gasolinni”. Something led to the comment that Stargate was a movie that became a TV show and Farscape a TV show that became a movie each week. The crowd errupted in applause. (NOTE : This is primarily a Trek/SG/SW con). Claudia looked down at a couple in the front row playing footsy and noted it to all of us. Ben replied “what happens at con stays at con”. They exchanged a sly look, Ben took her hand they move to “sneak” of stage taking exaggerated mincing stealth steps. Garrett Wang has the audience trained to make the Star Trek door opening noise when guest enter/exit so we made the noise. Meanwhile Ben’s son has responded to Claudia’s message on his Dad’s phone. He asks How are you? Ben reminded Claudia he is 16. Claudia said yes and I first met him when he was wearing a diaper. Ben did a bit on his son “liking” one of Claudia’s game characters and how that was wrong as she was “his”. Eye roll from Claudia. Ben related a cute story of his work getting his son in trouble in kindergarten in Australia. He told the teacher his Dad was an astronaut and he had seen his rocketship. Teacher ended up calling them in because his son was so adamant. Ben went in and said yea he was an astronaut. 🙂 They discuss crying on demand and Tayln John’s death scene and the snot etc. Ben looked at her and said let’s do it again! The crowd responded ! One of the last questions to both is name their favorite SG1 actor. Not Missing a beat Claudia responded Ben Browder and Ben responded Claudia Black. As the panel is ending there was a question about working with Russell Davies (?) and Ben responded he had a Tardis signed by Russell Davies and is going to get “something” signed by John Barrowman later.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Sunday : What to say. As many of you know I do a charity fundraiser for Ben’s birthday each year and I usually auction some signed things. I prefer to obtain those signatures as a regular fan. So Sunday was autograph day. We walk in the hotel’s atrium concourse to see a table with a huge line and Ben Browder signing instead of in the auditorium. Our group went and got out other autographs. Later was the closing ceremony where once again they bring out all the guests to say something and pose for a last group photo. Gigi Edgley had to leave early so she spoke before the farewll started. Alot of very nice sentiments — I especially like Colin Ferguson’s—acting used to all be on stage with instant feedback then came movies and TV so coming to a con completes the process for TV/film actors. Farscape is next to last and when I remember what was said I will post it because what happened next is all I remember. Torchwood is called and Eve Myles and John Barrowman comes out they thank everyone and next Ben is kissing Barrowman. They take it up notch and the rest is Fedcon history.
Posted: May 17th, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Amanda Tapping, Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Dr Who, Farscape, Fed Con 2013, john crichton, SG1 | 2 Comments »
Ok here goes! I am creating this con report based on the tweets I did during the panels. As I said when I was tweeting Ben was on fire both nights! It has been a week and I have had a chance to look back and see if my reaction was based on the excitement of the crowd or the fun our group was having! It was one of Ben’s best on stage outings IMO. As I remember things or get feedback from others I will add them in a different color so you can find any updates easier . Here goes!
Thursday : Ben’s first stage appearance at Fedcon 2013 was with all of the other guests(except Colin Ferguson whose plane was late) at the opening ceremony on Thursday night. Actors were introduced by show so he , Claudia Black, and Gigi Edgley came out. Hell yeahs were done.
Friday : His next stage, or rather off stage appearance was Friday night during Claudia Black’s talk. Reviving something he first did in 2001. She mentioned that there was chemistry with Michael Shanks but not better than with Ben Browder. She said it was great when Ben joined SG1 as it is “always amazing to play with Ben Browder”. Ben was up on the balcony — he called out that she looked beautiful. The fan had asked why they didn’t do more scenes together on SG1(I think?) and she replied that they only got scenes when Daniel was dying. These were very emotional for Vala and after they finished the director asked for one more take just for the pleasure of watching. The crowd errupted with applause!
Emcee Garrett Wang first watched Farscape three months ago and watched it straight through. He introduced Ben as playing one of the two characters he would ever cosplay — John Crichton. Ben came out and they riffed a bit in German. It was funny that Garrett seemed to want to be part of the Farscape panels 😉 Ben asked the crowd if they got any sleep? He said he was woken up at 0430 (mentions his room is next to John Barrowman’s ) by some ritual that possibly involved a goat! He went to the window and looked out (for Americans screens not used as much in Europe even at a 4 star hotel ) and saw Barrowman’s head out the next window. Then he looked down and saw fans out partying—- said Dusseldorf rocks! The stage had large cardboard cutout letters F E D C O N . Ben rearranged them to spell D E F C O N . He said he was trying to spell something inappropriate but that was all he could come up with. He commented how nicely Claudia had answered her questions and that he was likely to keep talking(he had brought a 1 L bottle of water out because he talks a long time!). Looks at the audience and asks who is next anyway? Crowd laughing shouts Barrowman! Evil grin. He started “marking” the stage with water. He then proceeded to talk on several topics including parenting style ( in response to comments Claudia had made). The questions started. I was a bit startled at all the talks that many of the fans seemed more aggressive about getting answers than I was used to and as a side note long,rambling biographiphical non-questions apparently are international 😉 One woman (who also tore into Linda Park for her character’s terrible German accent AND terrible Klingon accent!) asked Ben why Crichton wasn’t Australian?Australia is a big country etc. Ben was gracious as he explained two main manned space programs are NASA and Russia. It was an American show and that was not the point. The woman argued, Ben tried humor well we all know evil space aliens speak with a British accent — “I know I’m married to one!”. Crowd laughed and was on Ben’s side. He went on to explain the choice to film in Australia was economic — it still was one of the most expensive dramas airing at the time. He then goes off on a tangent on Claudia’s video games and how he plays the one where she is bad all night….. alone. Next question is on the Continuum filming in the Arctic by a woman wearing Amanda Tapping’s actual Arctic outfit. Ben informs us of this ( I think the woman is a volunteer and many of you may have seen her at US/CA SG cons). Ben fans know to expect him to go off topic while answering a question and this woman knows so is enjoying Ben asking the crowd to let him know when Barrowman arrives. Meanwhile Claudia came out on stage and told Ben the staff was very nervous about all the water,wires etc on the stage and didn’t want to interrupt his fabulousness! She talked to him like a mom explaining she will punish him. He got down on his knees . She said first he will lose his water. Then he will lose his stage time. He looked at the audience (still on his knees) and said now you see how it really was! Claudia departed and Ben returned to the Arctic filming question. The ice on which they were shooting moved 50 miles during filming. 40 degrees below and at that temperature Fahrenheit and Celsius become the same ….. COLD. He told about going to the bathroom at night and having to look for eyes because so dark all you could see of the polar bears were the eyes. It was hard to aim as well ….he needed Claudia or maybe Barrowman. Meanwhile behind him Claudia had turned the “F” around so stage now says D E C O N. Ben continued saying during the long walk and talk on the ice the helicopter disappeared. For some reason they started giggling. Amanda Tapping wanted to do something special so they end up laying down on the Arctic snow and making snow angels! He ended the answer with a tease…I could tell you about sleeping in a box with RDA. The next question was what is his favorite scene. He countered by asking the woman what HER favorite scene is. She answered the birth scene in PK Wars. Ben is surprised (as is most of the audience). He said “everyone loves a good birth scene!”. At this point on Twitter I noted that Ben was on fire. Am I biased? Yes but I have seen him on stage many times and this rates as one of his best. He discussed how the actor is a wire delivering the product that many have worked on. He called out a quote and asks which episode. NOTE: this is something that always startles me about the Farscape actors —- they truly interact and come across truly interested. The next question involved Dr. Who and Ben discusses Matt Smith crying. Ben was really impressed then the scene ends and he realized he had hurt him! This of course included a short riff on Claudia crying and dripping snot and being amazing 🙂 He moved on to Arrow and he mocked how the Arrow shoots his bow. The last question was who is his favorite superhero. He said that it changes but today Superman …. and maybe tonight as well. As he left the stage he reminds people to ask Barrowman what was going on! Our group left to do our photo ops. When we all met up later at the bar we got the story from someone who had stayed for John Barrowman. Apparently John Barrowman had Eve Myles and a couple of others in his room for a party and was dancing naked like one does, he went over to the window and stuck his head out and there was Browder!
Saturday : After an incredible costume show that never seemed to end we were ready for Ben and Claudia Black to take the stage! Ben suddenly popped up at one of the question microphones in the middle of the floor. Garrett Wang was on stage talking and Ben asked him for a hug 😉 GW answered he can have whatever he wants! Ben wanted to feed the crowd (it was getting late–not even sure when they actually started). Ben started doing piroettes at the mic. He announced he is a secret furry. Garrett Wang said Ben was the first guest to start a panel from the middle of the crowd. GW brought up the bunny suit and Ben told of doing a panel wearing it and how he found it liberating. Claudia walked out and said to GW you said we won’t start without you! Apparently Ben had said to GW watch Claudia’s purse and disappeared while she was using the loo. Claudia summoned Ben to the stage calling him liebchen. NOTE : The pair first posed and sat on the right side of the stage and talked a bit allowing fans plenty of chances for photos, then they got up and ” sashayed” to the opposite side(asking if sashayed translated, sitting down and talking, ending up in the center. Ben asked Claudia if she knows what a furry is.She replied she does. He said he is one and she discreetly slid away. She brought up that she will protect him from John Barrowman. They get a question on using guns on SG1. They compared set safety differences between Farscape and SG1. The next question was about cooking/favorite meals. Claudia mentions one of her husband’s favorite meal is Ben’s bbq ribs. She has learned to make Keftades after visiting Santorini ( personal note when I returned from Santorini so did I!). Ben then looked at her slyly and said they both have the same favorite restaurant……. In-N-Out (hamburger chain out of southern California and MY favorite). Claudia responded Yessssssssssssss. Ben pulled his phone out and had a text from his son asking if it is a good time to talk. Claudia said she will answer and took the phone. They discussed how they decided to play John and Aeryn. The producers had toyed with the idea of having John be a bit of a Kirk. Claudia knew her paycheck depended on Aeryn’s relationship with Crichton who was the main character. Ben posed the question to the producers If you were standing next to this (gesturing at Claudia) would you be looking elsewhere? The next question was about John Quioxte and Aeryn’s lisp. Ben said that was all Claudia’s idea. Claudia explained she only told Ben she had something she wanted to try. She didn’t tell the producers either until the actual run through. Claudia delivered the “sheathe your sword” line with the printheth lisp. The crowd went wild and Ben cracked up. The next question was about when the SG1 cast was on SGA . They were getting a little punchy by this time and Ben apologized saying they were tired. He said the SG1 set was very relaxed and fun but the SGA set much more serious and their (SG1) humor wasn’t appreciated. The next fan complimented Claudia on her voice work in Dragon Age. Ben asked her which did she like better the naughty or nice. Woman answered “both”. Next question is to Ben asking if he improvised the pop culture references in Farscape. Claudia started up in a sing-song voice “Ben always lies when he answers this question”. Ben shot her a look. Claudia explained Ben’s “tell” — he looks down at his shoes. Ben started his answer that they were scripted………….Claudia in sotto voce “Ben always lies when he answers this question…”. They were asked what they were working on. Ben replied going to see Iron Man 3. Claudia mentioned something in development. Ben then gave a very concise explanation of how development works. He ended by reminding people it took seven years to get Farscape on air. There was at some point a Pitch Black question for Claudia who talked about the shoot and the nickname the Australians gave Vin Diesel — “Vincenzo Gasolinni”. Something led to the comment that Stargate was a movie that became a TV show and Farscape a TV show that became a movie each week. The crowd errupted in applause. (NOTE : This is primarily a Trek/SG/SW con). Claudia looked down at a couple in the front row playing footsy and noted it to all of us. Ben replied “what happens at con stays at con”. They exchanged a sly look, Ben took her hand they move to “sneak” of stage taking exaggerated mincing stealth steps. Garrett Wang has the audience trained to make the Star Trek door opening noise when guest enter/exit so we made the noise. Meanwhile Ben’s son has responded to Claudia’s message on his Dad’s phone. He asks How are you? Ben reminded Claudia he is 16. Claudia said yes and I first met him when he was wearing a diaper. Ben did a bit on his son “liking” one of Claudia’s game characters and how that was wrong as she was “his”. Eye roll from Claudia. Ben related a cute story of his work getting his son in trouble in kindergarten in Australia. He told the teacher his Dad was an astronaut and he had seen his rocketship. Teacher ended up calling them in because his son was so adamant. Ben went in and said yea he was an astronaut. 🙂 They discuss crying on demand and Tayln John’s death scene and the snot etc. Ben looked at her and said let’s do it again! The crowd responded ! One of the last questions to both is name their favorite SG1 actor. Not Missing a beat Claudia responded Ben Browder and Ben responded Claudia Black. As the panel is ending there was a question about working with Russell Davies (?) and Ben responded he had a Tardis signed by Russell Davies and is going to get “something” signed by John Barrowman later.
Sunday : What to say. As many of you know I do a charity fundraiser for Ben’s birthday each year and I usually auction some signed things. I prefer to obtain those signatures as a regular fan. So Sunday was autograph day. We walk in the hotel’s atrium concourse to see a table with a huge line and Ben Browder signing instead of in the auditorium. Our group went and got out other autographs. Later was the closing ceremony where once again they bring out all the guests to say something and pose for a last group photo. Gigi Edgley had to leave early so she spoke before the farewll started. Alot of very nice sentiments — I especially like Colin Ferguson’s—acting used to all be on stage with instant feedback then came movies and TV so coming to a con completes the process for TV/film actors. Farscape is next to last and when I remember what was said I will post it because what happened next is all I remember. Torchwood is called and Eve Myles and John Barrowman comes out they thank everyone and next Ben is kissing Barrowman. They take it up notch and the rest is Fedcon history.
Posted: May 15th, 2013 | Author: ath389 | Filed under: News | Tags: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Farscape, Fed Con 2013, SG1 | 1 Comment »
Some thoughts with special thanks to Crystal Moon for editing!
Ben Browder on stage at a fan convention is something to experience. Fans have a myriad of expectations, often totally unrealistic. One that is shared by all fans, me included, is that the actor shares their love of the character(s) and story. The versions of Ben seen by fans include amazing actor, devoted husband and father, sexy leading man (who can carry off a 70’s ’stache), funny raconteur, father confessor, and the guy we want to write episodes of our show because he “gets” the characters.
I first saw Ben on stage at the first Farscape convention in 2000. I had been to other conventions and had never been disappointed because I usually was only hoping for some “how did the story get from script to screen” bits. Plus, most of my life, especially as an adult, has been spent in southern California where many people work in the entertainment industry, so I grew up knowing that acting is work and that actors are people. I was especially curious about Farscape as it was filmed in Australia and had incredible production values and a great cast.
The enthusiasm of the cast blew most of us away, and over the years, Ben’s enthusiasm when speaking about Farscape has not diminished. This tells me that that he has real love and pride for his work on this project. I’ve heard or read many of the same Farscape facts before, but Ben talks about them with subtle variations, allowing that what he says is the truth. But his performance keeps it from becoming stale. The difference with Farscape as compared to other shows is that many fans just want Ben to be a friend, a fellow fan. Not surprisingly he accomplishes this as well.
This past weekend at FedCon Ben demonstrated this by ensuring that he had adequate time to not just sign his autograph and collect his Euros, but actually look up and “connect” with each fan. And there were hundreds of fans over two days. I always enjoy asking people if the experience was what they hoped. When it is Ben we are talking about the answer is, “YES!”
Most fans I hang out with understand how grueling the con schedule can be for an actor and they cut guests the necessary slack. This past Sunday, Ben made fans out of some who were in line because he was a guest and they like to “meet” all the actors so they get the autographs. There are many new Ben Browder, Claudia Black, and Farscape fans this week.
One of the downsides to the instant access world of the Internet and convention appearances is that actors are constantly being queried about what they are working on, what’s next for them. Rumors abound and most fans are unaware that at any time only about 5 percent of professional actors are working as actors at any given time. The grace with which most of the guests handle this question while onstage always impresses me. Ben is especially good at explaining the development process — reminding fans that it took Farscape seven years to get on the air. I hope that producers begin to see that there is more to acting than a great set of abs and an emo haircut. Mark Harmon is much older than Ben and his show draws fans of both sexes and from all age groups, from teenagers to seniors. Nathan Fillion is another older actor who draws fans of all ages.
After Ben and Claudia Black’s panel the consensus was: Give these two a show of any genre and they could sell it. People who had never seen Farscape were ordering it as soon as they returned home.
The highlight of FedCon was Ben Browder and John Barrowman. They stole the show all weekend long. Both had young girls swooning, boys laughing, and the whole crowd wanting more. I think Ben and John Barrowman gave FedCon a show that won’t soon be forgotten!
