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Television Sci-Fi

Wil Wheaton Announces New TV Show 167

Posted by Soulskill from the good-luck-CleverNickName dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Wil Wheaton just announced a new TV show he's hosting and producing. It'll air on SyFy this summer, starting May 27th. Here's how he describes it: 'The Wil Wheaton Project is a weekly roundup of the things I love on television and on the Internet, with commentary and jokes, and the occasional visit from interesting people who make those things happen. It's sort of like Talk Soup for geeks, with a heavy focus on those hilariously bad paranormal reality shows (in fact, that's where the whole thing started a year ago, but as we worked on the show more and more, we discovered that there were lots of scripted paranormal shows that provided a ton of comedic material. When we expanded to cover the scripted shows, we discovered that nobody was doing a show like this that was just focused on the genre shows that nerds like us love, and we decided that we'd make that show because of reasons.)' He adds, '... if I read correctly between the lines during our meetings with the Syfy executives, this is just the beginning of the network formerly known as Sci-Fi returning to its science fiction roots, which is awesome.'"
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Wil Wheaton Announces New TV Show More

Wil Wheaton Announces New TV Show

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  • Oh, it's on SyFy? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Minwee ( 522556 ) <dcr@neverwhen.org> on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @03:48PM (#46642931) Homepage

    Then it's either wrestling or it will be cancelled before the end of the season.

    As much as I would like to see WilW succeed with this, I just can't picture him doing this while wearing a luchador mask.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Altus ( 1034 )

      Thanks, now all I can picture is Wil Wheaton in a luchador mask

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Well, by Wil's blog post it seems new people might be in works for SyFy. Maybe there is still hope that it will change back to what it used to be: Better.

      • Re:Oh, it's on SyFy? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Marxist Hacker 42 ( 638312 ) * <seebert42@gmail.com> on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @04:11PM (#46643189) Homepage Journal

        Until it returns to actually showing science fiction shows, as opposed to paranormal, fantasy, horror and talk shows like Will Wheaton's show, it will still just be a pale pink version of itself.

        • Why not all of the above? (Score:4, Funny)

          by khasim ( 1285 ) <brandioch.conner@gmail.com> on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @04:32PM (#46643433)

          Until it returns to actually showing science fiction shows, as opposed to paranormal, fantasy, horror and talk shows...

          All of the above!

          Wheaton's Star Trek character takes on the role of Rod Serling/The Crypt Keeper and presents ghostly stories from alien races across the galaxy.

          Episode 1 - The Kowardly Klingon. A Klingon who hides from battle is tormented by the ghosts of those who died. Or is it just his conscience?

        • Re:Oh, it's on SyFy? (Score:4, Informative)

          by plover ( 150551 ) on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @04:32PM (#46643437) Homepage Journal

          Despite all the attraction that Sharknado and all the other jumping-the-carcharodon shows have received, they do have a few original sci-fi programs still on the air: Helix and Warehouse 13 come to mind; and while Haven may be a bit more paranormal, it kind of fits.

          But if I never see a wrestler, sparkly emo vampyre, or ghoti hunter again, it'll be way way too soon.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by lgw ( 121541 )

            Oh, is WH13 still on the air? I like that one; didn't realize there might be more coming. While it's definitely second tier TV (whatever the TV equivalent to a B movie is), it's like a good B movie: the cast and crew are clearly giving it their all on a limited budget, and it's endearing.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by ah.clem ( 147626 )

            ...Warehouse 13 come to mind....

            Unfortunately, it ends this season after only 6 eps. Fortunately, that means I'll be able to see the whole last season on Netflix or Amazon a lot sooner.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Quirkz ( 1206400 )

            ghoti hunter

            I'm genuinely curious if this is meant to be a joke about "fish hunter" or a tyop [sic] of "ghost hunter" or a fiendishly clever "ghost fish hunter"?

    • Is he really stating that we actually *love* these ghost hunter shows? Other than the believers out there, how can anyone like these shows?

      • Re: genre shows that nerds like us love (Score:4, Informative)

        by Lunix Nutcase ( 1092239 ) on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @04:15PM (#46643239)

        No, he's saying his show will mock them. Hence why they were referred to as "hilariously bad".

        • Hmm. That might actually be entertaining. A show that just mocks other shows :D

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by Quirkz ( 1206400 )

            Yeah, I'd actually take a gander at a show that was mocking the ghost shows. I've joked about doing a parody ghost hunter called "Ghost Hunger" for years, but life keeps getting in the way. Those shows, while being ridiculous, have a certain creepy charm, best served with a stiff drink and a pile of sarcasm. Hopefully the other stuff includes "aliens in ancient ruins" shows, too.

            Unrelated to anything I dreamed the other night I met Wil Wheaton (I think because I'd just watched an episode of The Guild that h

    • Just in time for me to drop satellite and not have to deal with syfy anymore anyway.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by pellik ( 193063 )
      He was pretty entertaining playing D&D at PAX some years ago. I like him a bit because of that.
    • Wheaton.0

      Fabulous, pass the seppuku blade please.

  • *Patrick Stewart facepalm* (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Seriously: WW must be stopped. By any means necessary.

  • "nerds like us" (Score:5, Interesting)

    by kruach aum ( 1934852 ) on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @03:53PM (#46642995)

    I don't know if I'm a nerd like us any more. I mean, I have an obsessive knowledge of trilobite fossils, and given a random sentence from any of the Harry Potter books I can tell what book and chapter it is from, but I don't feel like I belong with these kinds of people. What's left for me? What am I? How did pop-culture steal my identity?

    • Relevant - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]

      .

    • I don't know if I'm a nerd like us any more. I mean, I have an obsessive knowledge of trilobite fossils, and given a random sentence from any of the Harry Potter books I can tell what book and chapter it is from, but I don't feel like I belong with these kinds of people. What's left for me? What am I? How did pop-culture steal my identity?

      I think that WW comes from a part of nerd culture that enjoys markers of group identity, cons, trekkies, etc. And because they're organized it means they have a disproportionate impact on nerd culture.

      I think there's a lot of geeks who love genre stuff and love talking about it, but really rebel against group identification or any attempt to stereotype. I think I come from this latter grou^H^Hpersuation, I enjoy some decent SF but I'm not going to go to a con or lose myself over a celebrity. There's nothing

    • How did pop-culture steal my identity?

      Many people have bought into the cultural comodificiation of "nerd culture" or "geek culture" [youtube.com] -- Which is a largely fabricated phenomena constructed by corporations to sell you a product, just like "hipster culture", "hippie culture", "thug culture", "punk culture", "rave culture", etc, have been appropriated reshaped normailzed and sold to the ignorant masses at a mall near you.

      "Geek" and "nerd" wasn't initially desirable, much as "thug" wasn't a prestigious label for minority inner city youths, but it is arguably now desirable to be called "nigga", "thug", "geek" or "nerd" by peers. The rise of "geek" or "nerd" or "thug" or "punk" culture did not happen over night nor without the help of commercial interests. Contrast this with the similarities among hackers which emerged without the media's attention [catb.org] (whereafter their image was wrongly portrayed in the media). The thug, hippie, punk and other counter cultures began organically as well before they were appropriated and perverted by the corporate interests.

      Pay attention to the media's portrayals of sympathetic "nerds" and "geeks". Do you remember Urkel? Screech? Revenge of the Nerds? Weird Science? During much of the 80's and 90's the token 'nerd' sidekick and his persecution in media created an artificial Poindexter to be the target of shame, exploited for laughs, and sympathy. This construction of the Poindexter identity and subsequent transformation into cool-ness as a "child geniuses" to sell parents on "intelligence boosting" toys and videos is responsible for what you now call "nerd" or "geek" culture: Doogie Howser MD, Dexter's Lab, Jimmy Neutron, etc. The construction of "nerd/geek culture" is primarily artificial. Now it's "cool" to be a "nerd" or "geek", but those terms are as meaningless now as the term "nigga".

      Meanwhile, in reality, much as similarities among hackers appeared organically, commonalities among avid gamers and other passionate introverted hobbyists. [wikipedia.org] Most of these similarities appeared without mimicry, and cross culturally esp. in the case of hackers, thus are not socially constructed by nature. I have a hard time reconciling the identity of "nerd" and "geek" culture as sold in media as representative of the hobbyist subcultures given that the "nerd" and "geek" identities do not match the prevalent traits of the subcultures they are attributed to: [catb.org]

      Very few hackers actually fit the National Lampoon Nerd stereotype, though it lingers on at MIT and may have been more common before 1975. At least since the late Seventies backpacks have been more common than briefcases, and the hacker ‘look’ has been more whole-earth than whole-polyester.

      The actual introverted hobbyist subcultures that are branded "nerd" or "geek" have nothing to do with the actual "nerd" or "geek" identity. Hackers had more in common with the hippie subculture than "nerd" or "geek". Gamers had more in common with the skater subculture. Science fiction and comic book fans have more in common with the otaku (anime enthusiast) subculture. But comparatively the subcultures are as different from each other as "jocks" are from "kickers", or "preps" are from "goths". Yes, even these once organic identities have been appropriated reshaped and sold. There is a country-western song, "I'm sexier on the Internet"... See? Normalized and easier to digest.

      Congratulations. You are not a geek or nerd. Nigger, Nerd, and Geek are derogatory terms, which now have non-deragatory uses thanks to the commodification of culture. Though some are celebrating the mainstream interest and "coming out" of the enthusiast closet, I'd never call myself a "nerd" or "geek" except i

      • *ends meat

      • +1 for well thought out thought provoking essay. Thanks!

      • No, I don't think that's it. The image of a nerd I used to have was of someone who was really interested in a very specific topic, and became very knowledgeable about it*. It was a specific kind of knowledge, too; not so much the structured knowledge you would find in a scientific subject (otherwise everyone in grad school and afterwards would count as a nerd, and that's just not the case), but just an endless array of facts. A professor can tell you why a combustion engine is designed the way it is; a nerd

      • Re:Realize the truth: There is no "nerd". (Score:4, Insightful)

        by sootman ( 158191 ) on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @07:55PM (#46645233) Homepage Journal

        > Which is a largely fabricated phenomena constructed
        > by corporations to sell you a product

        Partly. These things always 1) start in a genuine way, then 2) others see the originators and want to be like them, and then 3) when there's enough demand, companies step in to supply it. No company created rock and roll, or hip-hop, or skaters, or surfers, or punk music. The first 2 steps are always natural and genuine.

        > Will Wheaton was never a "geek" or "nerd"

        You do know that he got his start on a little science-fiction show, right? Actors in nerdy roles are perceived as nerds. And perception is reality. He may not have thought himself a nerd, but everyone treated him as if he was.

        > He wasn't a persecuted Poindexter

        Oh really? [google.com] Do you think there's an appreciable difference between being picked on in school and the whole damn Internet picking on you?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by sootman ( 158191 )

        Also, watch this [youtube.com] before you try to speak for him. Unless you think he's just lying his ass off up there.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gTsiros ( 205624 )

        I don't have an identity or do i care for what i *am*.

        I only care about what i *do*

    • "How do you like that? Even among misfits you're a misfit." -Yukon Cornelius

    • Who cares? Does it really matter what label someone else gives or doesn't give you?

      Wheaton's own definition of nerd/geek seems broad enough to cover just about everything anyway (including explicitly those into sports): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]

  • ...but this is SyFy, it'll end up being some kind of wrestling show.

    Granted, probably with a bad paranormal twist.

  • Shameless promotion (Score:5, Funny)

    by tooslickvan ( 1061814 ) on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @03:57PM (#46643047)
    An "anonymous reader" submitted this? Yeah right. You're not fooling anybody, CleverNickName.

  • Anonymous? (Score:5, Funny)

    by amicusNYCL ( 1538833 ) on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @03:58PM (#46643061)

    An anonymous reader writes

    We know it's you, Wil.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by swv3752 ( 187722 )

      I wish I had mod points. The post above yours is much funnier though they say much the same thing.

  • First Episode (Score:3, Insightful)

    by msobkow ( 48369 ) on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @03:59PM (#46643063) Homepage Journal

    First Episode: My struggle to remain a relevant nerd, by Wil Wheaton.

  • Not quite Captain material, but perhaps a less sleazy Riker. Or more sleazy, depending on how he wants to play it. But unlike the 90s-early00s Star Trek, this one needs more humor in it (understated, mind you, like TOS), and a bit more world building. No longer hitting the reset button at the end of every show.

    Hell, if it's better than the braindead JJ Abrams stuff, I'd be happy.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Nothing sleazy about Riker, he simply misunderstood the mission statement - he thought they were out there to explore strange new whores.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by plover ( 150551 )

        Nothing sleazy about Riker, he simply misunderstood the mission statement - he thought they were out there to explore strange new whores.

        ...and eat all the food of every new civilization; to boldly go even when strapped into a nylon-web-reinforced-girdle.

        Computer: make me a sammich!

    • At least he and Riker were the only ones on the crew who knew how to climb a ladder properly...

  • Note to SyFy... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    If you're content is not available via the Internet, it will be available via the Internet without your involvement or ability to make a profit from it. Anyone else enjoying Season 4 of Game of Thrones without a HBO subscription?

  • Can this actually fill a timeslot? (Score:3)

    by TWX ( 665546 ) on Wednesday April 02, 2014 @04:09PM (#46643161)
    The most significant common thread on daytime pop-culture discussion shows on television is that they talk about people. It's fairly easy to fill 22 minutes of content in a half-hour timeslot if one talks about this or that celebrity and their antics, as opposed to actually presenting us with significant content. Additionally those programs tend to tell you, during an early segment, what they'll tell you in-detail about in a later segment, eating up time. You end up with a TV show that if condensed down to the actual information could probably be watched in less than ten minutes.

    Good luck to CleverNickName, but I don't see how he'll be able to fill enough time to keep the show running without resorting to these same tactics, or without the show being massively disjointed.

    That's one of the reasons why several people that make Youtube content make several different, mostly-unrelated shows. That's why John and Hank Green, as examples, run at least four distinct Youtube channels, with significant and discreet subjects acting as sub-channels between them. It's a lot easier to run five, ten, or 15 minutes of content than it is to run 20+, or 45+ for a half-hour or hour-long TV spot. The Green brothers have already invested in the equipment and studio space to make their programs, now they can produce enough diverse content to justify the expenses, and the viewer can choose to watch only one type of production if they don't have interests in the other subjects.

    We'll just have to see how it turns out.
  • why all the hate? Give the guy a chance.
  • Wheaton Soup? Will.0?
  • I'm sure they'll all feel silly when they look at the calender.....right?....guys?

  • If I want to see nerds talk, there's YouTube.

  • First I played the bunny because you lied to me about your memaw, then you beat my Crushers by breaking up a relationship, but I robbed you of the lost 21 seconds. Bazinga!!!!

  • That's all you have to say Wesley Crusher produces Sharknado II....

    Frankly SyFy is a network that should be avoided at all costs. When programs become overblown commercials, for example "Eureka" selling Degree antiperspirant in episodes a few years ago, it's time to move on. Sure, "Breaking Bad" was able to get away with it with Chrysler but still that show had a trifecta of writing, acting and overall plot line. SyFy produces drivel that's not even suitable for Hulu.

  • SyFy is the reason I cut the cord. Paying for television with commercials and crappy shows and realidumb tv and talks shows is an exercise in pissing your retirement away.

    I personally haven't seen any show that had WW as anything more than a bad actor. Who he might be and what he does outside of acting is as relevant to me as how Whoopi Goldberg spends her time (got no clue on her either).

    So good luck to WW on joining the sinking SyFy - hopefully it lands him some gig that shows up on Netflix where he chang

  • Unless they change their name back to SciFi, I will have nothing to do with that channel.

  • Why is the German ghost talking to you in English?

    Personally I can't sit through any of them, or those medium shows, makes me uncomfortable, but not because I am scared or amazed, but because they are so disturbingly bad.

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