In which ... I think thoughts about Paul Gross?

[schmerica]

So in addition to showing fox1013 "Burning Down the House" earlier today (verdict: she liked it a lot), I have also been showing her a lot of random due South related crap on youtube. There's not actually that much there, but some of the stuff is important! Like showing her Fraser and Dief being woobie like in the cell in Wild Bunch. And showing her the clip that explains exactly WHY three-quarters of the con was singing "Barrett's Privateers" during the vid show. (Not to mention why many of are wont to explain our behavior in terms of "...See, I've been drinking.")

Anyway, just now I had to show her the music video of "32 Down on the Robert Mackenzie", because juleskicks had been mentioning it as one of the singalong songs for when she and Fox kidnap me and Roz and take us on the roadtrip across North America. So it was important, you see! Plus, omg, how can you NOT want to be in a fandom that contains THIS DUDE?





I think you all know you have to make a decision right now. It's hard, but a choice but be made: Emoting!Paul Gross (EMOTE, PAUL, EMOTE!), or Purely, Unbelievably Doofy!Paul Gross (seriously, at that point in the video, he's just ... I don't even know)?

Somewhat tangentially, this reminds me of a conversation I was having with katallison last Saturday at the con. Because between brooklinegirl showing me "Voodoo" and the Elvis debacle, and strangecobwebs PG vid on Friday night, and the panel on Paul Gross and F/K and Franklin's hand, I came to a very important conclusion which is this:

I don't think it's true, exactly, that Paul Gross really does think he's a ROCK STAR, or that he's especially vain, or essentially full of himself. I think all of his seemingly self-aggrandizing moments actually come from the same place as his most painfully dorky ones, which is -- Dude has NO SENSE OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS WHATSOEVER. It's not that he thinks he's the most gorgeous guy alive and gets caught by his reflection in the mirror, but it *is* that he's been told he's gorgeous since he was, you know, born. If you have no sense of shame or self-consciousness, there is nothing in your head to keep you from throwing youself one hundred percent into every single thing you ever do! Most of us have SOMETHING that would keep us from plastering our names a hundred different places on Men With Brooms, or doing the Elvis debacle, or giving any of the thousand interviews or performances or statements he's done. But it's not that we're more modest than he is, I don't think. I think Paul Gross is just TOTALLY INCAPABLE OF FEELING EMBARRASSMENT.

(For extra credit, please compare and contrast with CKR in the comments!)

Edited to add: discussing fox1013's sole due South icon, which you can see in the first comment to this entry here:

pearl_o: You know, if Ray really was a Cylon, that would make so much more sense out of the entire undercover plotline.
pearl_o: Because ... then they would look the same.
fox1013: heeeeee
pearl_o: Plus, Cylons! Good at undercover.
fox1013: THERE ARE MANY COPIES.
pearl_o: *giggles*
pearl_o: DO THEY HAVE A PLAN?
fox1013: ...At this point? Honestly?
pearl_o: heeeeeeee.
fox1013: I think Cylon Ray's plan is, roughly, "frak Kara Thrace".
pearl_o: mmmm.
fox1013: The more detailed plan includes notations like "often", and occasionally which positions.

Comments

[fox1013.livejournal.com]

You know what would have made that music video better?

Puppy.


*helps*

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

...The Voodoo video has a random panther?

[serialkarma.livejournal.com]

Paul Gross: Incapable of feeling shame or embarrassment.

CKR: Received all of Paul Gross's allotment of shame and embarrassment, along with his own, in some kind of voodoo ritual enacted by Paul Gross's mother, in which she cast a spell for fame and fortune for her son. In a complete coincidence, later in life CKR meets up with Paul Gross on a little show called Due South, and which Paul secretly thinks of as "the show that will make me A STAR."

the end.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

So ... Paul Gross's mom did some voodoo, baby?

*hates self*

[inmyriadbits.livejournal.com]

EMOTE, PAUL, EMOTE!

*falls over laughing*

What is the Elvis debacle? I've missed that one.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

I. I don't like to talk about it. I'm sure brooklinegirl or some other equally helpful fangirl will show up eventually with links, though!

[melpemone.livejournal.com]

DON'T. Please, save yourself the pain! I say this as a favour, really.

[shoemaster.livejournal.com]

IT BURNS IT DOES.

And the video quality is terrible, which is probably because someone tried to destroy it, once.

[shoemaster.livejournal.com]

Re: Cylon!Ray. Either Ray Kowalski would have to be the orginal, or David Marciano plays one of the final five.

And come on, ONE of the robot!Ray Kowalski's must want to get it on with Fraser.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

CYLON/FRASER/KARA THRACE THREESOME!

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it be awesome if Fraser was the 12th Cylon?

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

Awww, I do not think Fraserwould approve at ALL of nuclear holocaust!

[china_shop]

I completely agree with your assessment. Paul just does what he does, and sometimes he stumbles and other times he hits it out of the park (um, gratuitous baseball metaphor, wtf?). I mean, the Elvis thing is excruciating, but Paul's ability to try stuff out fearlessly gave us DS and S&A, so on balance, he totally wins. \o/

(And even his embarrassing stuff gave us \o/, for that matter. *g*)

Poor Callum!

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

I loe the fact that I am not entirely sure what "poor callum!" is referring to, but I feel a need to agree with it anyway!

I think most people probably wish they could be as shameless as Paul, but most of us can't get the past the potential for mortification. I salute him!

[fspider.livejournal.com]

And even the incredibly dorky moments - he at least seems to be having fun. And if rockin' out on the acoustic makes him happy, more power to him. I mean, it's not like I'm in a position to throw stones!

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

Right, that's exactly it, he's having a ball. He's throwing himself into it all the way, with no little scruples hanging up at all to make it not fun for him.

[cesario.livejournal.com]

But does anyone actually *need* an excuse to sing Barrett's Privateers? How can anyone know joy in life who has not shouted "GOD DAMN THEM ALL" in time with the music?

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

But for many of us, DS provides an *introduction* to the song, and thus makes that joy possible! Fox was not familiar with it at all prior to the con.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

A long time ago a girl named caffieninni and I were trying to figure out exactly what people would do at a Due South con.

Our final consensus was that they would get drunk and mosh to the Ballad of the Robert MacKenzie.

We were... very nearly right?

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

p.s. You know that scene in s1 Slings & Arrows where Geoffrey falls asleep and dreams that he's on stage with no clothes on?

And instead of shrieking and hiding in the curtains like some other people I totally would, he gets this big stupid grin on his face and walks straight for the spotlight?

To me, that is Paul Gross, summarized.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

You were very, very right about the getting drunk part! Hee.

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

PAAAAAAAAAAAAAUL!

pearl! LOOK AT HOW GIDDILY HAPPY HE IS in that 2nd cap! All through that he's all, "LOOK I MADE A VID!"

Paul Gross is just TOTALLY INCAPABLE OF FEELING EMBARRASSMENT.

*beams happily* Oh, I just LOVE THAT. And it sort of brings him into focus for me - that's it exactly, he's willing to do ANYTHING.

(This also makes it ALL THE MORE AMUSING that even PAUL is ashamed of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. How bad did that have to suck for even PAUL to not like it? o.O)

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

TRACEY I HAVE A GRAND UNIFIED THEORY OF PAUL GROSS. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT.

But, um, yeah! It's not vanity, or self-centeredness, or fame whoring. He's just missing some important filters!

you're not wrong! ;)

[axiom_of_stripe]

fox1013: I think Cylon Ray's plan is, roughly, "frak Kara Thrace".
pearl_o: mmmm.
fox1013: The more detailed plan includes notations like "often", and occasionally which positions.

Re: you're not wrong! ;)

[fox1013.livejournal.com]

THAT IS A CROSSOVER WAITING TO BE WRITTEN.

Go ahead! I WILL WAIT RIGHT HERE.

[mondschein1.livejournal.com]

...okay, I probably have never explicitly stated this, but please do not ever decide that your conversations with Fox are entirely private matter that cannot be shared under any circumstances. I would cry very bitterly like a very small baby. It's just, I scroll down my flist in a fit of procrastination, and suddenly I see the words "Cylon Ray" and "frak Kara Thrace" hanging out in a line someplace together, and that just really, really makes my day. And that's not even including the part where I investigate the context.

*hearts you both*

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

*giggles* Luckily, I think Fox and I find ourselves too amusing to not share with others. So, uh, lucky you!