 September 22-24, 2000 Vancouver, British Columbia
  Don S. Davis, who plays Major General George Hammond on "Stargate SG-1," joined the GATECON festivities. |
A Major General
Despite some organizational hassles, the seemingly never-ending lines for autographs and photography sessions with the stars, and the desperate lack of merchandise available for immediate purchase by attendees, I have to say that GATECON 2000 was a tremendous success. The participation of "Stargate SG-1" cast and crew members, as well as MGM associates, was outstanding and kept attendees extremely well entertained.
Question and answer sessions and panel discussions were almost constantly underway, and quite successfully filled the void created by a tiny dealers' room.
While all of the sessions were entertaining, many prompting side-splitting laughter, the first session given by Don S. Davis was memorable for its poignancy. Mr. Davis is an artist, both in a visual and in a spiritual sense. He spoke of his art, and delved into the character of General Hammond. Mr. Davis commented that he saw the general as a poet, but it is clear he is bringing his own poetic nature into this character he so splendidly portrays.
Speaking as the accomplished artist he is, with successes demonstrated in painting, sculpting and wood-carving as well as acting, Davis noted that "television is the art of this age," and that "art is not static;" hence the changing nature of "Stargate SG-1's" fourth season should be seen as a normal progression. He also suggested that while the writers are finding fresh avenues to explore, they are also listening to feedback from fans and utilizing our voices to determine which avenues to continue.
 Don Davis at the GATECON charity auction. |
Mr. Davis was fortunate to have actually studied under an elderly student of Constantin Stanislavski, whose expertise in theater arts is renowned. Stanislavski's "An Actor Prepares" is a staple for actors and writers alike, and occupies a special place on my own bookshelf. His studies helped Mr. Davis to realize he must understand the life of the characters he portrays, from identifying the character's favorite food and color, even the car he drives, to the way he reacts. If the character does a lot of gesturing, for instance, he would surely wear loose clothing; whereas someone who is more introverted would go with more tight-fitting clothes.
Mr. Davis has utilized his training to develop an entire history, a complete identity for his character on "Stargate SG-1," General George Hammond. He stated that Hammond was a hands-on officer in the field who can identify quite well with the experiences of his SG teams. In the first episode it was noted that General Hammond had been ready to retire to write his memoirs, indicating that there is something of significance in the history of his military career to warrant documenting them for public consumption. As mentioned above, Mr. Davis also sees Hammond as something of a poet; and though his wife has been dead for some time, he still wears his wedding ring.
Further demonstrating Mr. Davis' own poetic soul, he listed his favorite episodes as the "emotional ones," such as "Show and Tell," in which Jack builds a relationship with a boy who chooses the name of Jack's dead son, Charlie.
 Teal'c must go to great lengths to save his son in "Bloodlines." |
Mr. Davis also mentioned "Bloodlines." In this episode, Teal'c tries to prevent his son from becoming a slave to the Goa'uld, but later is faced with the cruel choice of saving his son's life or completing the ritual of the prim'ta, and giving Ry'ac his own larval Goa'uld. Mr. Davis stated that Christopher Judge's acting in this episode deeply moved everyone on the set. The last episode Mr. Davis cited was "Secrets," in which Carter learns that her father is dying.
Poets thrive on emotion. Emotion is the heart and soul of all great art. And Mr. Don S. Davis is an artist, indeed. I was fortunate to meet briefly with Mr. Davis, both during the Friday night cocktail party and during the autograph sessions later in the weekend; however, time in such instances is extremely tight, and discussions must be limited to quick, small talk. How I would love to have a more detailed discussion with him about art, and the emotional representations of artists in general!
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