3, 2, 1 Blastoff...

We've fled the country!

That's right - your faithful entertainment bloggers have left the States and headed to Polaris Convention, a fan-run scifi/fantasy gathering in Toronto, Canada. We packed our bags and left Ohio Friday for some Canadian geek love all weekend long.

We got ourselves checked in and spotted the con regulars - Indiana Jones, a few Ghostbusters, aliens aplenty and, of course, vampires.

The first item on our agenda was the Blast-Off Party, an exclusive event where a limited number of attendees get to mingle with all the multi-day guests.

The Blast-Off Party was like being a band geek waiting for the prom queen to do the rounds, if the prom was a smoking hot scifi actor or two. It was fun and everyone was amazingly nice, but I was definitely feeling the high school vibe.

We stood around a cocktail table waiting for the forced social interactions with Jason Dohring (Josef on "Moonlight") and Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto on "Torchwood"). And stood. And stood. And stood.

I wandered off to flirt with some Stargate fans in hopes of free drinks, but nothing. And still the boys kept to the far side of the room with the more rabid fans.

Fortunately Chandra knows how to get things done and managed to accidentally whine to the right people (Monique, the head of autographs, and Monique, the convention chair), who then made it their mission to drag Gareth and Jason over for our obligatory expensive moment of interaction with stars.

Gareth David-Lloyd, who is just stunning enough to make my heart go pitter-patter, wandered by first. From this British import, we learned:
- An accent will forgive nearly any sin and takes men from cute to swoon-worthy
- Everyone wants to know what it was like to kiss John Barrowman
- He hasn't seen "Bruce Almighty"
- He'll be guesting at San Diego Comic Con and meeting up with friends during the appearance. We gave him the skinny on New York Comic Con and plenty of warnings about how not to get killed by crazy fans or mobbed by comic book geeks, but he may still be in trouble

Things I Learned in six minutes about Jason Dohring:
- He's as not tall as I thought he was (seriously, I had him at 6'5" or so in my head, but he only towered over me a little)
- He's heading a little more mainstream. Apparently getting beloved projects canceled over and over again is less than fun and he's hoping to reach a wider audience
- What a levy is and how that's not going to save the world
- Chandra doesn't shut up (kidding!). But she did get Jason talking about social issues and the plight of Northwest Ohio (for those not in the know, Jason was born in Toledo - though he moved away at age 3) and how Jason could fix things. Don't think I'm not writing your manager, man.
- Rich people are weird. Okay, not weird, but very different from you and me. Jason was planning to visit the nanny who helped raise him while in Toronto. Very sweet that he would go see her, but I believe he's the first person I've met who had a nanny and told me about it.
- I'm not as fangirl as I thought I was and Chandra is not a fangirl at all (despite all efforts to the contrary). Of our little group, we were the only ones who talked (one of us more than the other, but) and it was a serious conversation with no squeeing.

Things I learned from the two second drive-by by Ellen Muth:
- She drinks fast
- She runs faster

Today we have press conferences, photos, Q&As and all sorts of fun stuff with the above celebs, as well as authors Tanya Huff and Kelley Armstrong.

More later...

- Mariah (with comic assistance from Chandra)

Comments

[Nina]

So?...Did Gareth SAY what it was like to kiss John Barrowman? (I need to pare down my list of possible Comic-Con questions.) ;-)

[sarah]

That pic of Gareth David-Lloyd is making me... well, swoon! :)

[Josephine McCall]

That picture of Jason D. looks like he's being taken to jail... all that's missing are the handcuffs he's apparently waiting on.

[Caroline]

How was Klingon Karaoke? Come on, I *know* you went!

I'm a bit happy that Jason's heading mainstream and a bit sad. I'm so tired of mainstream - it's boring. I guess being a actor is about as glamarous as being a reporter - you keep waiting for that big break, but in the meantime you still have to pay the bills. Plus it means no more 'Moonlight.' *cries*