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.

[inmyriadbits.livejournal.com]

EMOTE, PAUL, EMOTE!

*falls over laughing*

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

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

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

*hates self*

[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!

[hobbledehoy.livejournal.com]

i think what you need to do is take every episode of due south and then paste a tiny dancing puppy over the bottom corner of the episode.

or you could just make her put a sticker on her computer screen. but then it might get in the way of... other things.

[melpemone.livejournal.com]

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

[serialkarma.livejournal.com]

THAT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL, PEARL.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

But that would be CHEATING!

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

*cries*

Do you think his lack of shame is CONTAGIOUS?

[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!

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaha, you win at comments. *gives you a sticker*

[shoemaster.livejournal.com]

Well why not go all out and have it be cylon/fraser/kara/cylon? Add as many cylons to taste!

I really need to work on the 6 Leobens in a circle jerk... some more. Oh the many incarnations of Callum make me happy.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

CYLON RAYS FOR EVERYBODY!!!

[xanphibian.livejournal.com]

*falls over laughing hysterically*

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

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

[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!

[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!

[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?

[kerrypolka.livejournal.com]

...oh my God, Erica, as if I was not having issues suppressing my INTENSE FEELINGS OF LOVE FOR YOU ALREADY.

[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.