On the Shanks disappointment, I'm of two minds.

I adore Daniel. Classic Daniel. He's WHY I became an SG-1 fan. I really wanted to say goodbye to him. That part of me is very sad. However, just like Jack became Not Jack to me, Daniel became Not Daniel. My own interpretation is that Shanks grew bored with the role and stopped trying. Most of the time, anyway.

Layered over that is a lot of opportunities to see Shanks so maybe I've become a bit jaded as a fangirl. He's never on time. He's frequently been scraped out of bed after a night of getting shit-faced. Maybe that's the only way he can face a hotel filled with people who have planned their family vacations and spent money to see him. I don't know. On top of that, a Shanks appearance at a Creation con means he's flown out that same afternoon so the photos and autographs are rushed beyond belief.

That is an experience I hoped would be different this time. We'd get photos with a non-hungover Shanks. He wouldn't be rushing through autographs to make a plane. He'd have a commitment to spend time with fans in the evening. I really hoped that freeing him from the standard Creation schedule would allow more of "him" to emerge.

So, I'm very sorry to lose the opportunity to have had a positive fan experience with him but since I secretly expected that it wouldn't really go down that way, I'm not crushed as I once would have been.

See, my experiences with MS have been positive. The first time I saw him he ran a little late and things were rushed, but he was nice. at that time, I didn't know he had a history of doing that, but it didn't matter since I had fun.

And then last year was even better. No rushing. No bad anything. No drinking. Nothing. He even stayed some extra time at the dessert thing to talk to people. It was a really great experience.

So, I'm not as jaded as you. I've had really good experiences with him. He's always been alert and nice the times I've seen him.

I would have liked to see him again, but since I've already seen him before and had really good experiences to walk away with, I don't really mind as much.

Luckily, I am one of the people that can put enough distance between myself and the actor. I know there are a lot of people that can't. I'm sure you know what I mean.

I do believe that you're right. I think MS got bored and stopped caring. I do believe he's back to being a little more invested in the character this season as I have seen a lot of classic Daniel returning to the series. But I seem to be the minority in that opinion. Ten years is an awful long time to play the same character. An actor should always be on their game, though, and I don't believe that has been true for RDA, MS, and even AT to a lesser extent. They all got very comfortable and for some maybe even lazy. It's my hope that tackling other projects will rejuvenate them so if/when they come back for the movies, they'll be more focused.

I think I'm a bit odd in that I don't like the "new" Daniel and I don't like "dumb" Jack, but I still am invested in the characters, if that makes sense. But it might only be because I write fanfic in my spare time. If I didn't write fanfic and I didn't use what I see and them interpret it in my own way, maybe I would see the characters differently. Who knows.

at that time, I didn't know he had a history of doing that
It got worse over time. The straw for me was Dallas. He and CJ were late, late, late. Like, breakfast was almost over late. Then they went to the other side of the room and just - didn't circulate. They had food fights. The hotel had to ask them to stop because flying butter is a Bad Thing. I actually had to choose between sitting and talking to MS when he FINALLY made it to the combined table of two (we were the last two and so many had already left in either disgust or to get in line for photos that we were only one table's worth of people) or go and use my non-refundable photo op with CJ.

Now, I've been more forgiving in the past. NJ is a mind-numbing 3 hours earlier than Vancouver. It's like going to eat with a roomful of eager beavers at 5 a.m. and I'd rather slit my throat than do that. I understand. On the other hand? There's a reason I don't drink on a work night. Dallas wasn't about difficulty in getting out of bed; I thought he and CJ were honestly trying to never be asked back.

And then last year was even better. No rushing. No bad anything. No drinking. Nothing. He even stayed some extra time at the dessert thing to talk to people. It was a really great experience.
See? That's EXACTLY what I was hoping this time around would be. Absolutely if I'd ever had an experience like that, I'd be far more disappointed by Michael's cancellation.

I know there are a lot of people that can't. I'm sure you know what I mean.
Oh yes, I have an inkling. Actually, I've been wondering if we might not have a more enjoyable con since some of the NJ regulars with that problem won't have a reason to come.

They all got very comfortable and for some maybe even lazy.
I'm not one for asking questions (that shy thing again) but before the cancellation of the series, I'd been planning to ask Michael what he did to keep Daniel fresh for himself and also, since I had liked some of the spunk I'd seen creeping back in, ask him how having Claudia Black to play off of made playing Daniel different. Oh well.

It's my hope that tackling other projects will rejuvenate them so if/when they come back for the movies, they'll be more focused.
That would be the ultimate gift to the fans and would make me happy for the cancellation.

I think I'm a bit odd in that I don't like the "new" Daniel and I don't like "dumb" Jack, but I still am invested in the characters, if that makes sense.
I'm a bit odd in exactly the same way. I realized, recently, that I like hardly anything done in several years but it hasn't diminished my love for the good stuff. They may have screwed with my team on the show but it doesn't change that there's a My Team or how much I love them.