Chronicles 99
Part II
All photos by Ealasaid A. Haas (well, except the two I'm actually in. See below). Sorry they're not higher quality -- they were grainy to start with, and I don't have room to store high-resolution scans. But they ought to give you an idea of what things looked like...
Most are linked to larger versions.
indentAfter the complimentary breakfast buffet, Linda and I watched most of the two Horseman episodes, then went to the Opening Ceremonies. They weren’t very interesting, for the most part – just a reading of the rules (the one rule that caught my attention was that we couldn’t ask Slash-related questions, at the request of the guests. Apparently some of them weren’t comfortable with ‘em). It got interesting when the guests came out. Not only were we to be graced with the four Horsemen (Peter Wingfield, Valentine Pelka, Marcus Testory, and Richard Ridings), Richie (Stan Kirsch), and two writers (Donna Lettow and Maureen Russell, author of The Complete Watcher’s Guide), but also Michael J. Jackson, who played Sean Burns! WOW! We all cheered wildly. Peter Wingfield and Richard Ridings weren’t there yet, but were on there way, so we got started with the panels.
indentRather than try to go through each of the Q&A sessions in order, and account for my time hour by hour (which my memory isn’t quite up for), I’m going to give my impressions of each guest. If I get lucky enough to find someone willing to sell tapes of the Q&A sessions, I might redo the report, but until then….
indentStan Kirsch was only available for Saturday, but stayed until he’d signed everyone’s stuff – all 521 of us! I was really amazed by that. I was one of the last people, and he was very nice, even that late in the day! His Q&A sessions were great – he’s really funny, very confident, and nice. What’s strange is that there’s still something about him that puts my hackles up a little, I don’t know why. He was incredibly generous to the fans, talking about his fan club and how great the people running that were, etc. I guess I got the feeling he was giving us what he thought we wanted, rather than just being himself, and that bugged me a little. But I had a great time listening to him, and was thrilled to meet him over the autograph table. He actually thanked me for waiting! I said, "no, thank you for staying!" Heh. He also wished me a nice weekend, and I wished him the same. It was cool.
indentI’m sort of going in order of autographs, which puts Peter Wingfield next. Actually, I should talk a bit about the autographs setup. It was the only thing about the con that wasn’t perfect. The way it worked was fairly simple: Folks with badge numbers up to 300 were to get the guests’ autographs Saturday evening, and folks with badge numbers over 300 were to get them the next day. Stan had an extra session for the over #300 people earlier in the day, since he wasn’t going to be around Sunday, and any Saturday-only attendees went in with the #1-300 people. Well, that’s all fine and good, but not enough time was left for the #1-300 autographs, by a long shot! We stood in line for two and a half hours, then those of us left (I think there were about 50-75 of us, but could be wrong) found out that everyone but Stan was off to get dinner. So, we all got little tickets to show that we’d been the ones in line, and were told that we’d get a second chance tomorrow, in our own line (or at the front of the other people, or something) so we wouldn’t have to wait for hours and hours again. We muttered in irritation, but filed through to get Stan’s autograph anyway.
indentWell, Sunday, we found out that folks with tickets were to line up outside one room, where Peter would be signing things, and non-ticket people were to line up outside another one, where the others would be signing. After hitting one room, we were to line up for the other. That wasn’t too bad a set-up, actually, as it allowed two queues to run at once, and cut down on boredom a bit (so we stood in two semi-long queues instead of one really long one).
indentAnyway, on to Peter! He’s really worth several pages on his own. I can’t think of adequate superlatives to describe him! He really listens to questions, and gives very thoughtful answers. He also has a tendency to wander of onto delightful tangents, and required very little prompting to spill the beans on all sorts of stuff he said he wasn’t supposed to tell us (he complained quite a bit about that. 
We got some spoilers about Strange World, which I’ll put here so you non-spoiler folk don’t have to worry about reading ‘em by accident. When he first came on, everyone was taking photos like mad, and so many flashbulbs were going off that it looked almost like flashes of lightening... so of course Peter did a Quickening for us! (see right)
He had some interesting things to say about Methos. Methos, as we know, is a confusing and complex character – Peter said that even he isn’t always sure whether Methos meant it or not when he offered Mac his head. When asked about Methos’ motivation in the Horsemen episodes, Peter said that he thinks Methos is out of control for most of the story, hanging on for dear life, and just hoping to get out alive. He looks so completely calm when Kronos holds a sword to his throat at the end of "Comes a Horseman" because he doesn’t have anything to lose. Peter also had an interesting story about the leather thong that Methos was wearing around his neck for a couple of episodes. Now, this is all from memory, and I might have the details wrong – if so, please let me know!! Anyway, apparently when Linda and the first PWFCers decided to form the club, Linda picked up a rock she’d found and sent it to Peter. He was interested in its journey from the States to the UK to Paris where they were filming, and thought it was something Methos might like the idea of. So, he put it on a leather thong and wore it. Unfortunately, it looked bad – like his mike was showing, so he switched to just the thong, trying to keep the idea of it in his head as a bit of character depth. I think that’s cool!
indentOne delightful moment – he commented during one of the Q&As that he was missing the Arsenal game (he's a big fan), and was a bit miffed. Well, after the session was over, he disappeared backstage, then bolted out, grabbed the mike from the gal announcing the next guest, and yelled "they just scored! YESS!!" then ran back off. Tee, hee!
indentPeter’s very intelligent, and came across as someone I’d be interested to know even if I hadn’t fallen in love with his work. He has some very firm opinions on "Highlander: The Raven," and not very flattering ones at that; but he was so tactful and compassionate in expressing them that he couldn’t offend. I’m now even more a fan of his than I was before. He’s not only a great actor, but seems like a great person, as well (although it’s admittedly hard to form a complete opinion of someone from a few hours of Q&A and a brief meeting over the autograph table).
indentWhen I got his autograph, I was petrified. I may have been in his fan club for over a year, but I’d never met him before. I managed to say so, and to tell him that I was thrilled to finally meet him. Then the fact that I was speaking to Peter Wingfield sank in, and I lost all hope of real coherence. He was really sweet, though, so I didn’t feel stupid. I had him sign a photo of Methos and Kronos I’d bought earlier in the day, and the April shot from this year’s PWFC calendar, which shows Methos, Silas, and Caspian… well, really, it’s Peter, Richard, and Marcus in costume, laughing. It’s a great shot. He personalised the signature on the photo (I was glad to have my PWFC badge on – it has my name on it in large, easy-to-read letters!), and signed the calendar "Have a great year!" Then he asked me what my birthday was – when I told him, he flipped to it, and wrote "Happy Birthday!" on the day! I was stoked.
indentI thanked him profusely, and moved on. I really wanted to get a photo taken of me with him, but didn’t want to hold up the line (I get so impatient myself that I feel bad if I take longer to do stuff like this than is absolutely necessary). Luckily, the gal ahead of me in line (whose name I’ve completely forgotten! It started with a C… uh… if you’re reading this, Oh Wonderful Woman, please write me so I can give you credit! I’m so embarassed to have forgotten your name! AUGH!) was incredibly nice, and agreed to take a shot of Peter and myself on either side of the table, as he signed my stuff. She said she took three shots, so with luck one of ‘em will come out well.
indentOne last thing I have to mention: Peter’s eyes. Yeow. Linda calls them The Eyes, and they deserve the title. They’re absolutely gorgeous – green and gold-brown-- and you can sense the intelligence and attention behind them. Wow.
indentMichael J. Jackson was the first of the others whose autograph I got. Lucky for us, he had a bunch of photos with him (the Highlander store apparently didn’t think Sean Burns was an important enough character to have pics of). I bought one, and he signed it for me. His Q&A sessions were wonderful – he told us about "Brookside," a soap opera he was on for three years, and apparently not too fond of. We got lots of gossip and dirt on that show, believe me!
indentHe also joked quite a bit about playing a psychologist on "Highlander." He said that he’d had to see so many shrinks because of "Brookside" that he didn’t need to do too much research. He seemed very flattered by our fan adoration, and was a blast to listen to.
indentChronicles 99 was Richard Ridings’s first ever convention, but he seemed pretty comfortable, and was a delight to listen to! He interacted with the fans as people, asking each questioner their name, and even, when the mike runners weren’t fast enough, coming down into the audience himself and having people speak into his mike so the rest of us could hear their questions.
indentHe talked at one point about his "love affair with axes." He said that it began with Eric the Viking, and that now, when he plays a character who uses a bladed weapon, he always asks directors if they’ve considered axes. That’s why Silas uses an axe, for example. In the upcoming Joan of Arc, though, the director insisted on a broadsword.
indentIn Joan of Arc, he’s playing La Hire, Joan’s good pal and one of her cadre in the battles. He said that he’d fractured a vertebra during the shooting – he has to wear huge armor for the part, and came off his horse. Apparently the combination did the trick. But he finished the filming anyway! Wow! I’m looking forward to the film – it sounds like he had a lot of fun doing it, in spite of his injury.
indentOne scary tidbit – he told us that the axe he used in the fight at the end of "Revelations 6:8" actually came apart at one point – when he swung it at the stuntman standing in as Methos, and the stunt guy was supposed to fall backwards down the stairs, the axe head came off, and hit the other guy in the head! Everyone was worried, but the guy picked himself up, and said (according to Richard), "I am a tough French stunt man, I’m fine," or something like that. Yeowch.
indentRichard also talked about a record label he’s setting up – he composes and performs his own songs! He favored us with some singing, too, and was fantastic. His voice is much more smooth and liquid than I expected. I’m looking forward to the release of his albums! Speaking of his voice, someone asked him to do the "Silas rumble," that deeeeeeep laugh Silas has. He obliged, and commented that he rather likes doing it.
indentDuring the Q&A session he mentioned that he didn’t have a website for the label yet, because he’s an internet virgin. Well, after the Q&A, he was signing even more autographs (all the actors were terrific about making sure that we all got our stuff signed), so I headed for that line, ostensibly to return the surveys he’d given out for his label when I got his autograph earlier. I was second in line! Anyway, I told him that I had his signature already, but that I design and build websites, and would be happy to help out if he was interested. The surveys asked for addys (both snail and email), so I just jotted my offer on there as well, and asked him to drop me a line. He seemed pretty excited by the offer, so I’m hoping he’ll get in touch.
indentAfter talking to Richard, I bolted up to the Highlander store (which was separate from the Dealers’ room), where Valentine Pelka was signing autographs. See, by the time I reached the second batch of autographs after Peter’s, Val had headed for lunch, leaving word that he’d be in the Highlander store in the afternoon. Sigh. Lots of running around. Anyway, he was very nice, and not only signed the shot of Methos and Kronos Peter signed, but also another one I got for a friend of mine who couldn’t make it to the con.
indentI have to admit, I’m an even bigger fan of Val’s now that I’ve met him. He seems like a great guy. He talked quite happily in the Q&A about his son, and how having a child completely changees your view of life. He even played a tape of the kid’s burblings for us (his son is about 4 months old, if I remember correctly). It was adorable!!
indentVal has an air of the scholar about him, and is a lot nicer than Kronos (good thing!). He’s also got a great sense of humour – for his Q&A session on Sunday morning (he was up first), the Committee had set out a tea service for him, and he came in with a newspaper – which he sat down and proceeded to read! In the middle of turning a page, he suddenly saw us, and dropped the paper in "surprise." It was hilarious.
indentHe gives thoughtful answers to questions, as well, which is always a delight. Someone asked about the differences between Kronos and the character he played on Highlander: The Raven, and he summed it up quite neatly: The Raven guy (ack, what was his name??) wouldn’t have any problem attacking someone from behind, when they couldn’t defend themselves; Kronos would say, ‘Hey, turn around,’ and then whack him. He said that Kronos isn’t so much evil as amoral: when he wants to do something, he does it; whether it’s right or wrong wouldn’t even enter his mind. I thought that was a great insight into the character. He also said at one point that Kronos isn’t an intellectual (like Methos is), he’s cunning. That’s an interesting differentiation, and makes perfect sense to me.
indentAfter getting Val’s autograph, I got Maureen Russell’s as well (she and Donna Lettow were also in the Highlander store signing autographs). I had picked up a copy of her book, The Complete Watcher’s Guide earlier, and she signed it for me. Unfortunately, because of all the running around with the autographs, I missed her Q&A session. But the book is great, and I was thrilled to meet her (if only briefly) and get her signature on it.
indentOh! I’ve left Marcus Testory to the end. He’s an absolute wonder: he speaks three languages fluently, writes and performs songs with two groups now (M.E.L.T. and a new Chamber Orchestra of sorts), has started acting, and is also a qualified paramedic! WOW. His accent is interesting – it’s mostly Austrian, but also has undercurrents of English, French, and even American. It’s as if someone threw the accents into a blender, and hit puree for just a moment. He was delightfully mischevious, and at times almost maniacal, even devilish (which fits perfectly – when asked what role he’d like to play, he immediately responded with "Mephistopheles!").
indentHe’s a bit of a joker, too – during Richard Ridings’ Q&A, he snuck in the back, and got the mike without being spotted. So when we were expecting another fan question, an eerily familiar voice came over the sound system (he was hiding where nobody could see him) and asked, "Tell me, what goes best with rodent? Red or white?" Then he prowled up to the stage, said "hi" to Richard, and left. Richard griped that he ought to stay after an entrance like that!
indentHe had come prepared for photographers, too – he had dark glasses with him, and put them on until everyone stopped taking photos. Very stylish.
indentI wish I could remember more of his talk! What I mostly remember is that the audience was awfully shy, and didn’t ask a whole lot of questions. Wait, one funny thing – he told us that in Austria, you have to do either a year of civil service or a year in the army, so he did civil service as a paramedic (which has since led to his getting certified and doing it professionally). Well, apparently an old lady propositioned him in the back of an ambulance once! He told the story wonderfully, and we all howled. He’s also going to start training to be a helicopter paramedic next month! Highlander seems to attract multi-talented actors!
