I've friended WilWheaton, aka Star Trek's Wesley, since it seems I've been watching him in TNG in situations I'd like to be in if I lived in a Star Trek future since TOS hit the airwaves.
Now, call me an Old Trekkie (shudder) but yes, I am old enough that I started watching TOS in first run when on a Saturday night in 1966 they showed Mudd's Women one of the local TV stations. (We had 3 local TV channels - no Cable back then silly!) I took heat from the parents because I ate indoors when everyone else in the family was enjoying an exceptionally warm October's day. I remember that event clearly, even now 41 years later.
From that first episode on, (Season 1, Episode 6) I've seen every single episode and movie; even the Animated Series where James Doohan did almost all the voices. Even though I've never been to a Trek Con, worn Spock Ears or used a Phaser TV Remote, I have enjoyed the stories, characters and the core idea of the possibilities that a future Trek could offer.
Now, back to Wil and Wesley. With the production of TOS long over; Wesley has spread himself into the higher plains of existence with the Traveler, and Wil now a family man, we come to the present. I'm no longer the slacker student with the Mensa Mind and the easy answers without prep and study time. As a veteran Computer Geek/Nerd/Dork who started with punch cards in the 1970s and started selling PCs with the original IBM PCs, I still enjoy SF in Print, TV and Movies. Like many smart youth growing up wiser than their peers, I enjoyed Wesley's experiences as the Uber Child, like Ender in his Games...
To my surprise in the twenty first century, I randomly find Wil Wheaton here at SG (someone ask Mr. Spock to calculate those odds!). Even better, I find him strangely untainted by Hollywood, he still goes to Cons for fun. Even better still, to find that he writes with clarity and precision on events that I enjoy is very, well... Cool!
All this SF closeness through Geek In Review makes me feel attached to it's writer, the same way reading the Giants Novels does for me to James P. Hogan, or the many excellent novels by the Killer B's, Will McCarthy or Kim Stanley Robinson...
Wil's personal stories about William Fucking Shatner, The Great Bird in the Sky, and other Trek and SF related topics give me a taste of the SF scene down there in the US that Canadians like me who don't often travel across the border won't see first hand.
Now, if only Wil friends me back...
(God is it this hard to write a regular column here every time? sheesh! lol)
Now, call me an Old Trekkie (shudder) but yes, I am old enough that I started watching TOS in first run when on a Saturday night in 1966 they showed Mudd's Women one of the local TV stations. (We had 3 local TV channels - no Cable back then silly!) I took heat from the parents because I ate indoors when everyone else in the family was enjoying an exceptionally warm October's day. I remember that event clearly, even now 41 years later.
From that first episode on, (Season 1, Episode 6) I've seen every single episode and movie; even the Animated Series where James Doohan did almost all the voices. Even though I've never been to a Trek Con, worn Spock Ears or used a Phaser TV Remote, I have enjoyed the stories, characters and the core idea of the possibilities that a future Trek could offer.
Now, back to Wil and Wesley. With the production of TOS long over; Wesley has spread himself into the higher plains of existence with the Traveler, and Wil now a family man, we come to the present. I'm no longer the slacker student with the Mensa Mind and the easy answers without prep and study time. As a veteran Computer Geek/Nerd/Dork who started with punch cards in the 1970s and started selling PCs with the original IBM PCs, I still enjoy SF in Print, TV and Movies. Like many smart youth growing up wiser than their peers, I enjoyed Wesley's experiences as the Uber Child, like Ender in his Games...
To my surprise in the twenty first century, I randomly find Wil Wheaton here at SG (someone ask Mr. Spock to calculate those odds!). Even better, I find him strangely untainted by Hollywood, he still goes to Cons for fun. Even better still, to find that he writes with clarity and precision on events that I enjoy is very, well... Cool!
All this SF closeness through Geek In Review makes me feel attached to it's writer, the same way reading the Giants Novels does for me to James P. Hogan, or the many excellent novels by the Killer B's, Will McCarthy or Kim Stanley Robinson...
Wil's personal stories about William Fucking Shatner, The Great Bird in the Sky, and other Trek and SF related topics give me a taste of the SF scene down there in the US that Canadians like me who don't often travel across the border won't see first hand.
Now, if only Wil friends me back...
(God is it this hard to write a regular column here every time? sheesh! lol)
Here's one reason why I don't travel to the US much: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/02/AR2006110201810.html?nav=hcmoduletmv