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So I've survived the con through to the final Torchwood panel.
Got up this morning for panel #3 and eased into line around 9 AM. Chatted with some folks while we waited, drank coffee, generally enjoyed the waiting experience. The group seemed a little smaller than Friday (which technically this was sort of a rerun of as it was in the same room and with just Gareth and Anthony), but it also felt a lot looser and relaxed. Part of that probably has to do with fatigue and hangover, but probably also familiarity with the venue and the crowd.
They started out with another interview sort of thing, with the moderator talking to both Lewis and GDL. Some fairly basic stuff of interest, though Gareth did drop a bombshell about Barrowman early on. Apparently he's gay. I know, right? I was surprised, I can tell you.
He also said some things about how he anticipates TW going on past S3 as long as there's an audience, and how the BBC One/5 ep series thing is really exciting because it's one big story, etc.
There were some more good questions with interesting answers.
- Gareth responds, ah, viscerally to the idea of Gary Oldman guesting on Torchwood. Also, has the hots for Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson (though he's skeptical about the Tom Waits cover album as those are pretty huge shoes to fill.
- Talked briefly about the CERN radio play, though nothing that hasn't already gone out in press releases, etc.
- Doing the mission briefings was fun, though he'd have liked more preparation. Apparently they gave him his lines on dummy cards instead of giving him a script.
- He hasn't read the books (he cites not enough time), but he's re-reading Midnight's Children and A Million Little Pieces.
- Also likes Simon Pegg's work, would love to work with him. ("Cast me!")
- Gareth has to fill in a lot of gaps for Ianto, and to do that he has to take a lot of lines "in the moment" or figure out motivations without a lot of background. As there's more filled in, it's easier to play him.
- Anthony Lewis likes doing drama and comedy both, but comedy is difficult because of the timing, especially with someone who's really experienced and has a good sense of that.
- Gareth both broke into David Bowie and did a hilarious Trek slash dialogue moment. Awesome.
- Ianto is apparently "not as much as a tart and a whore" as Captain Jack.
- "Show me the sexy action!" - GDL
- Apparently you have to go through the TARDIS set to get to the Hub.
- On the question of Ianto originally being slated to die instead of Owen, Gareth thinks Owen was the better choice because of his physicality. Owen is "the tart, he's the shagger" and so the loss of is biological processes is more intense for Owen. He also likes the idea of the doctor, who deals with the body (and especially dead bodies) being dead/undead himself.
- In a Torchwood casting of Sweeney Todd, Ianto would definitely NOT be Mrs. Lovett.
- Gareth fell in love with the idea of acting because of Hammer Horror when he was little. He apparently dressed his cousin Rhiannon up in curtains.
- Is enthused about academics taking an interest in Torchwood (there's apparently a call for papers!)
- Ianto is apparently more steady than Gareth. "Where are my keys? Where the fuck are my keys? They're in your hand."
- Hilarious extemporaneous Trek slash dialogue from Gareth. I concur with others that his Kirk/Spock imitations are superb.
- I asked Gareth about "Fragments," and how it changed/affected the way he read the Jack/Ianto relationship. He thinks it confirmed his personal feelings about it more than anything else (though the pterodactyl was a surprise), and that Jack and Ianto were probably getting it on from the start. Ianto probably used that relationship initially, but it was likely the thing that kept Jack from killing him in "Cyberwoman." (Apparently, sustained eye contact from GDL eases the angst of having "Hatful" jossed. Who knew?)
- Apparently, camera phones go to good use on the Torchwood set. Huh.
A quick note about bad panel behavior: raunchy can be fine. Silly is fine. Putting people on the spot or being demanding is not fine. Seriously, there were like three people in a row who were really pushy. It's kind of a shame, because the TW cast are really gracious, open people who are kind to their fans and give us a lot of attention. We're absurdly privileged in that regard, and they're pretty nice about it when folks cross a line, but...yeah. *sigh*
Also, I got to shake GDL's hand. I squeed on the escalator. I feel like a total fanboy.
Got up this morning for panel #3 and eased into line around 9 AM. Chatted with some folks while we waited, drank coffee, generally enjoyed the waiting experience. The group seemed a little smaller than Friday (which technically this was sort of a rerun of as it was in the same room and with just Gareth and Anthony), but it also felt a lot looser and relaxed. Part of that probably has to do with fatigue and hangover, but probably also familiarity with the venue and the crowd.
They started out with another interview sort of thing, with the moderator talking to both Lewis and GDL. Some fairly basic stuff of interest, though Gareth did drop a bombshell about Barrowman early on. Apparently he's gay. I know, right? I was surprised, I can tell you.
He also said some things about how he anticipates TW going on past S3 as long as there's an audience, and how the BBC One/5 ep series thing is really exciting because it's one big story, etc.
There were some more good questions with interesting answers.
- Gareth responds, ah, viscerally to the idea of Gary Oldman guesting on Torchwood. Also, has the hots for Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson (though he's skeptical about the Tom Waits cover album as those are pretty huge shoes to fill.
- Talked briefly about the CERN radio play, though nothing that hasn't already gone out in press releases, etc.
- Doing the mission briefings was fun, though he'd have liked more preparation. Apparently they gave him his lines on dummy cards instead of giving him a script.
- He hasn't read the books (he cites not enough time), but he's re-reading Midnight's Children and A Million Little Pieces.
- Also likes Simon Pegg's work, would love to work with him. ("Cast me!")
- Gareth has to fill in a lot of gaps for Ianto, and to do that he has to take a lot of lines "in the moment" or figure out motivations without a lot of background. As there's more filled in, it's easier to play him.
- Anthony Lewis likes doing drama and comedy both, but comedy is difficult because of the timing, especially with someone who's really experienced and has a good sense of that.
- Gareth both broke into David Bowie and did a hilarious Trek slash dialogue moment. Awesome.
- Ianto is apparently "not as much as a tart and a whore" as Captain Jack.
- "Show me the sexy action!" - GDL
- Apparently you have to go through the TARDIS set to get to the Hub.
- On the question of Ianto originally being slated to die instead of Owen, Gareth thinks Owen was the better choice because of his physicality. Owen is "the tart, he's the shagger" and so the loss of is biological processes is more intense for Owen. He also likes the idea of the doctor, who deals with the body (and especially dead bodies) being dead/undead himself.
- In a Torchwood casting of Sweeney Todd, Ianto would definitely NOT be Mrs. Lovett.
- Gareth fell in love with the idea of acting because of Hammer Horror when he was little. He apparently dressed his cousin Rhiannon up in curtains.
- Is enthused about academics taking an interest in Torchwood (there's apparently a call for papers!)
- Ianto is apparently more steady than Gareth. "Where are my keys? Where the fuck are my keys? They're in your hand."
- Hilarious extemporaneous Trek slash dialogue from Gareth. I concur with others that his Kirk/Spock imitations are superb.
- I asked Gareth about "Fragments," and how it changed/affected the way he read the Jack/Ianto relationship. He thinks it confirmed his personal feelings about it more than anything else (though the pterodactyl was a surprise), and that Jack and Ianto were probably getting it on from the start. Ianto probably used that relationship initially, but it was likely the thing that kept Jack from killing him in "Cyberwoman." (Apparently, sustained eye contact from GDL eases the angst of having "Hatful" jossed. Who knew?)
- Apparently, camera phones go to good use on the Torchwood set. Huh.
A quick note about bad panel behavior: raunchy can be fine. Silly is fine. Putting people on the spot or being demanding is not fine. Seriously, there were like three people in a row who were really pushy. It's kind of a shame, because the TW cast are really gracious, open people who are kind to their fans and give us a lot of attention. We're absurdly privileged in that regard, and they're pretty nice about it when folks cross a line, but...yeah. *sigh*
Also, I got to shake GDL's hand. I squeed on the escalator. I feel like a total fanboy.
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