Sadtimes

One of my old spacesuits is being auctioned off on eBay. I’m not sure why, but it makes me feel a little sad.
I’m sitting here, about to write a little entry about it, when my phone rings. It’s a friend of mine, asking me if I’m going to the Star Trek X screening.
“Yeah, on Wednesday,” I tell him.
“No, it’s tonight,” he tells me.
“Tonight? At Paramount?”
“No, it’s in Westwood, tonight,” he tells me, “I just talked with Marina about it.”
Oh no.
That feeling I have gotten so many times before, when I was the only cast member not asked up on stage at the 25th anniversary party, when I was the only cast member not recognized at the screening of “All Good Things…” begins to well up. I feel a little sick.
He wouldn’t do this to me, right? Not now, not after the conversations we had when I was working on the movie, not since the phone call informing me of the cut. This must be a mistake. Past is the past, right? We’re cool now. There is no way he’d exclude me from this.
But he did.
He did it to me again.
I want to cry.
I tell my friend that I have to go, and hang up the phone.
I sit there alone and cold in the kitchen. I can hear Ryan watching Sabrina The Teenage Witch in the living room.
I can’t believe this is happening to me. When Rick told me that my scenes were cut, he assured me that I’d still be invited to the premiere, and that he’d see me there. I was excited to see all my friends again, and share in those moments with them. Be a part of what will really be the final mission.
It turns out that the screening I was invited to will be at Paramount on Wednesday, and pretty much anyone who works at Paramount can attend. It’s not the premiere, and none of the cast are going. There’s really nothing special about it.
I seriously, desperately hope that this was just an oversight. I desperately hope that this is totally out of Rick’s hands, and that he’ll tell me that he’s sorry if it ever comes up. I desperately hope this isn’t personal. I want so badly to believe that it isn’t. It sucks to be overlooked, but it sucks less than if I’d been intentionally not invited.
It sure fits a pattern though, huh?
I just — I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know how to feel anymore.
But I’ll go with hurt for now.
Really, really fucking hurt.

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533 thoughts on “Sadtimes”

  1. Does it surprise you? Berman and his monkey bitch boy Brannon Braga have totally ruined the franchise, all under the guise of trying to reach a “broader based audience” (which translates into white, straight males, by the way). They’ve kowtowed to the Paramount brass that think sex will save Enterprise (we don’t need any great writing. Just throw more sex into it, as long as it’s straight sex), who think the cast of DS9 cannot support a movie (which they can, if they get Ronald Moore, Ira Steven Behr and Rene Echevarria back- but they won’t because they produce quality work and think on there own, a commodity Paramount cannot deal with), who have screwed you like a whore, who think producing a bland film that Nemesis looks like, will bring in people who are not Trek fans. Berman has let the franchise and the fans down. He spouts Paramount propaganda in his sleep and has lost the ability to actually understand what fans want. He continues to ignore gays and slaps us again with the upcoming AIDS allegory Stigma (by giving T’Pol some obscure disease. I suppose it’s logical, but it’s another slap in face. And while AIDS is no longer considered a gay disease, it still seems that they want to ignore us queers) and claims why will never see a same-sex couple on Trek: ”That was really the wishful thinking of some people who were constantly at us,” Enterprise producer Rick Berman says. ”But we don’t see heterosexual couples holding hands on the show, so it would be somewhat dishonest of us to see two gay men or lesbians holding hands.” Fine, we don’t need them holding hands, but show us that gays actually live in the future. But, that won’t fit into that “broader audience” demo that Paramount wants. The UK website The Great Link has said it best: “If you take the most boring parts of Voyager’s 6th and 7th seasons, remove all the excitement and add re-hashes of as many old Trek plots as you can find, you have Brannon Braga’s foundation for Enterprise. This show is so safe, so middle of the road that it challenges nothing, asks no ‘great’ questions, upsets and insults no one. It’s a wonder why it’s even made. The franchise didn’t need to die, at the most it needed a bit of a hair cut, but now it’s deader than dead cow”
    So, Wil, I ask you again, are you surprised? We’ll always remember you. We will complain when Berman and Braga ignore you, but because you are intelligent and compassionate and honest, because you stand up for what you believe in, because you won’t compromise your values, the people at Paramount will never see as anything but a disruptive former employee.
    It’s their loss. You keep on doing what you’re doing.

  2. I’ll keep this short. Everyone’s saying what a jerk Berman is, but it really could’ve been an oversight, like the post from “marco” above. Until you talk to some more people, it’s all speculation, colored by your sensitivity to be excluded and feeling like the odd man out in the past.
    And although crashing the premiere when you’re under the impression you were deliberately snubbed might be satisfying in some respects, that kind of spite wouldn’t reflect well on you, so I hope you took the high road.
    Go to the one you got the ticket for, the one for all the “little” people. Who knows, it might turn out to be really cool. Take some people with you who you know are good friends.

  4. have you mentioned this to any of your friends from the series…don’t underestimate them…they might be upset too if they knew what was going on…if i was one of them i’d like to think i’d do the same thing as a movie star as i would as i would as a non-movie star…i ‘d tell ’em to get you an invitation or i’m staying home…but maybe things really are different in showbizland…maybe brent, patrick, michael, levar, gates, martina and bill aren’t what they seem…why do i think maybe you’d be better off hanging out with shatner…i was planning to attend a couple of showings of “nemisis” opening weekend…now maybe i’ll have to be a no show until later…but if they don’t care enough about you to invite you to the premiere…i know they sure has hell won’t give a damn what i do…but i dammit…i wish i could ease the hurt…’cause i’ve been hurt like that before…and i know it feels awful…just try to get even by getting happy as soon as you can.

  5. dispensing with the sympathies, which have been well-indulged in (and which i do feel), i have but two questions:
    a) what did you wind up doing?
    and b) how are you feeling now?

  6. Ouch! at the “oversight.” I’m not shocked, but I am disappointed as a recovering Star Trek fan (the original and TNG) that you were excluded from the movie and from the premiere.
    Ouch! at the review linked by bluecav. Again, I’m not shocked. I think the Enterprise hit a big bump when Berman ‘n’ Co. took over the franchise… and the movies to date have yet to prove me wrong. It’s all rather unfortunate, but All Good Things must come to an end, I suppose.

  8. Don’t go. Just give it up, man. You should take your family out to a nice dinner, have a little red wine, and bask in the loveliness of life. It’s only a Star Trek movie, you know? I mean, come on. Go live your life.

  9. I’m not a Star Trek fan, but I was going to see this film because of you. Then you were cut…but I thought I still might see it, just because you spoke highly of it.
    Now, all bets are off.
    That sucks.

  10. Dear Wil
    Please don’t be sad.
    I can tell you this and mayby it will cheer you up a small bit 🙂 That Enterprise the new show bermans baby is not doing well (it SUCKS BIG TIME just go to trekBBS and you’ll se what trekkers think about it (and berman).
    Do you read trekBBS on http://www.trektoday.com ???????
    (i know you get TONS of these questions but please answer)
    stay cool 🙂
    and dont give “them” the enjoyment of you being sad
    Martina from sweden

  11. Wil,
    I’ve never dropped you a comment before, but your recent post has made me set digital pen to paper….
    I won’t comment on Berman, as I do not know him, suffice to say that all you are as a person rests on how well you keep your word and treat the world around you. This maybe neglect or an oversight, it may be deliberate, it may just be that his word is simply not good…I don’t know and in truth, you don’t either.
    Berman aside, Wil, bluntly, you need to let go of this crap. You cannot continue to define yourself by these things – auditions that don’t go your way, an old TV show whose legacy dogs you – these are NOT you, they may shape you, they may influence you, they may even be a part of your life but they DO NOT DEFINE WHO WIL WHEATON IS. You do that. Not Star Trek, not Berman, not 100 premieres…just you.
    Now you can take this event and embrace it and worry it like a dog with a bone, giving us more angst-filled posts to read, or you can let it go, dust yourself off and LIVE YOUR DAMN LIFE.
    I don’t mean to sound harsh, and I know how much personal hurt this event probably gives you but welcome to the world, everybody gets hurt. You can’t prevent the hurt, you can only control how you deal with it and what you learn from it.
    So don’t go to the Paramount showing. Either call them up and confront the premiere issue head-on (if you really want to go), or if you just don’t want to fight that war, then say to hell with it and go see the movie in the theatre with a real audience, enjoy watching your friends on screen and savor the fact that you were a part of something big, something special, that you helped contribute to something that gives great joy and fun to millions…then go home and build something for yourself, build your own life, your own path, your own way.
    I’ll shut up now…and go back to lurking.
    Best of luck Wil
    Sincerely,
    Dean

  12. Oh, Wil, that hurts.
    I hope the word doth spread and the movie fizzles.
    I want to know who stood up for you. Did Spiner say “Why isn’t WIl here?” Did McFadden, Frakes, or Sirtis? Who else is in the movie? Any minor but beloved characters like Reg Barclay, or Chief O’Brien, or Quark, or Alexander, or The Doctor, or a Denise Crosby character — did those actors attend the premiere?
    Your friend, who chats with Marina, did your friend call to give you a heads up? To rub it in?
    Look how many blogger friends have stood up for you. They are ready to storm the Paramount castle. To give the studio the grief that befell Creation Cons. To tell them that the fans want Wesley to get some respect. To tell them that Wil Wheaton won’t just crumple beneath their wheels.
    Yeah, I hated Wesley because the writers who needed to make him look super genius couldn’t and then dumbed down the rest of the cast to make Wes look smarter. Then the whole episode sucked because I spent an hour with a TV concept I cared about, one that celebrated smart ideas, only to think that Starfleet must be manned by a buncha retards. I watched anyway.
    I like Wil, though. I think Wil is da man, and if his blog persona isn’t quite Wil’s real self (“Drakensykh” isn’t my real self either, ya know), I am still inspired every day when I come and read his posts.
    I have been at each Trek movie on opening night because its fun to go with the Trekkies who come in uniform. I’ll never forget seeing Sulu fire phasers at Reliant for the first time, and feeling the theatre erupt with huge cheers. (Trek movies are best when there’s a story, and a crew, and the freakin’ equipment works.)
    I’m skipping this one. I’m angry Wil was cut. I’m angry he wasn’t invited to the premiere. I’m angry the franchise is sucking so much. Star Trek has my support. Not Paramount or Berman. I’ll catch it on cable — when I get cable.
    Enuf rambling. I’m just angry.

  13. Damn, Wil. That sucks. A few thoughts, most of which overlap with what other people have said.
    1. You got screwed, and you should definitely feel hurt about it. Don’t pretend it doesn’t hurt, ’cause it does, and that’s okay.
    2. Right now there are tons of people sending you mojo. People who feel betrayed and hurt right alongside you, because we’ve come to know you as a stand-up guy, with real feelings, who deserves a hell of a lot better.
    3. Right now there is no one sending Rick Berman mojo. He’s proved time and again that he’s not worth our time.
    4. This may very well have lasting repercussions. I’m picturing all the hundreds of Star Trek conventions that will take place in the next few years. Rick Berman speaks, then takes questions from the audience.
    “Yes, you in the Klingon garb?”
    “Why did you lie to Wil Wheaton? You have no honor!”
    “Er… How about the Vulcan over there?”
    “Mr. Berman, it was illogical to tell Wil Wheaton that he was invited to the premiere of Nemesis if he was not. Why did you engage in such deception?”
    Similarly, the first question asked of anyone even remotely related to Star Trek should henceforth be “Why is Rick Berman such a tool?”.
    Take care, Wil. Just remember that you’re part of a huge-ass community that cares about you, and Berman’s all alone. So very, very alone.
    -Scrumpy Jack
    (long-time listener, first-time caller)

  14. Uncle Willie,
    Who loves ya baby? We do. Nothing more to say…it’s already been said here and then said again. By the way, Dean’s post said it well. All that’s left is for you to soak up all the good mojo me and my friend Manny are sending your way!
    Cheerio,
    Nephew Eric

  15. Total B.S. I’m so sorry Wil. There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said before, just throwing my support behind you, too. *HUGS* We love ya, Wil.

  19. I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again: Berman sucks. He sucked in the past. He sucks now. He will always suck.
    By the way, don’t feel too bad about Nemesis. It will be a ripoff of Khan, not a homage. Can’t even come up with a story to fit a 90 minute running time, which is why we need a crappy “B” story with Data. B-4?? Hahahaha, excuse me while I throw up from the “subtlety”. B-4…like “before”. Get it?? Haha..shall I hit you over the head with the irony?
    Wil… run away from Trek. They’re not worth it.

  20. I was hurt for you just reading your words, maybe tonight the national mojo focus will be on you huh? Buy the ticket, take the ride.

  21. You were always my favorite. I watched because of you. There you were, a star trek character around my age. Smart, funny, good looking. More interesting than anyone on the ship as far as I cared. (though I liked tasha yar too). I watched because of you.
    plus I had the biggest crush on you!
    I would have gone to see the movie if you were in it. I don’t know that I will bother now.
    anyway, it sucks. But people love you. They love the character you played and the person you are now.
    maybe you should have your own private screening full of people that love you. Invite the other cast members if you want.

  22. Wil,what can I say that others haven’t already said more eloquently.I’m sorry man.Just don’t let it preoccupy you and prevent you from doing all the other really cool stuff you seem to be doing these days.And I must admit I’m actually looking forward to your book more than the movie!

  23. Hi Wil
    First time Poster!!!
    I got this link from the interview at the Force.net and thought that I’d give it a look.
    I was actually looking forward to seeing Wes back in a Next Gen movie as he was always a good character IMO, I like it.
    To find out you got cut and then dumped on by some trumped up exec like Berman sucks ass man.
    I’ve never thought that I’d ever write to a ‘star’ like this where I knew that they would read what I thought.
    Keep your head high bro, from looking at everything here you got heaps going right, family, friends, a new yard 😀 and to top it all, a lot of people who think that what has happened sucks.
    Ya can’t change the past but you can look to the future and know that someday it’s all gonna fall into place.
    I wish you all the best in the world dude, don’t get too down, there’s us lot who still think of you and don’t like it when you, or anyone else gets treated like crap.
    Peace Bro
    Mark

  25. Wil,
    What goes around, comes around. Berman will get his in the end…and you will go on to have a wonderful, fulfilling life surrounded by a family who loves you. That’s is just about the best any of us could ever hope for. He’ll be remember for his jerkiness.

  26. Once again, you hurt and your monkey are here to support you, Wil.
    I would be bidding on the Iron Maiden if I had the money – It’s a piece of ST:TNG history and YOU are a BIG part of it. At times like these concentrate on the positive and the wonderful time you had with your friends while shooting the scenes that later ended up on the cutting room floor. I know, easy to say, but do try – If you need a little reminder just read the interview you gave to theForce website (lined in your previous posting).

  27. I meant “your MONKEYS” (plural 😉
    And one more thing, Wil – I know that going to the premier was a big thing (as mentioned by you in the same interview), but your perspective on this will change with time (as it did with how and why you left the show).
    I’m ending my rant.

  28. Hi Wil,
    Sorry to hear about your bad news but you have so many good things going on in your life. You have been able to move on since Star Trek unlike Berman who is trying to think up more and more ways to keep it going until he eventually kills it. You have your family, you have your book and you even had an audition for a Tom Hanks movie. You also have a huge fan base who believe in you and know that you are a success. I know it hurts to be left out of something that at one time you were a huge part of but you have more than that now.

  29. Blame the secretary at Paramount. One thing, I suggest you do not attend tonight’s crew premiere. Look at it this way, Jonathan was not there…you might call yourself a Frakes no-show.

  30. Wil, everyone’s said everything already but I can tell you this:
    I know what it feels like to be left out at the last minute and to be lied to etc when dealing with projects and work that one really really cares about, and I’ve cried over variations of the same issue.
    People can be such horrible monsters…
    I guess I’m saying that I feel for you entirely because I know where you’re coming from…
    Hugs and all winging their way to you now from England…

  31. Screw Rick Berman. If it wasn’t for Gene Rodenberry, Rick would be a nobody. He has completely ruined Star Trek, and he should be stripped and beaten with a cane, until he calls you “DADDY”! He is a lying sack of shit, and he should be treated as so. The reigns of Star Trek should be taken away from him and given to Majel Rodenberry. This way Star Trek wont be ruined, and Gene can stop rolling in his urn.

  32. Hey Wil!
    That really sucks! You deserve a lot more than these big cheesy producers are willing to give. Don’t feel down about this. After all, you have a lot of fans here who think that you have a place in Star Trek, and all Rick Berman has is a lot of people who think he sucks.
    Matt

  33. I was so excited to hear that you were going to be in the upcoming movie. Then, like all true Wil Wheaton fans, was completely devastated to find out your scene was cut. WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING !!!!! CUT YOU!!!! FUCK THEM !!!!! You know, I think I’ll be too busy on the 13th to give them any of my money.

  34. Oh God, Wil, that really sucks! Rick Berman is a shithead, either way. Whether it was on purpose or by accident. I met the guy in person once and really got the feeling that he was full of himself but I had no idea he was such a dick! You deserved to be there and Berman deserves a swift kick in the balls. I am so sorry.
    I forever will be and always have been a Wil Wheaton fan,
    Tracey

  35. Hey Wil,
    I don’t really post to the blog much anymore, but I just wanted to throw in my support on this one. It’s just stunning to think Berman may have done this again after it seemed like things had been going better with him. I hoping that at this point that you’ve found something out about what happened and that the hurt has subsided a little bit. This will pass, and you still have all the great things going on now!

  37. You _have_ to move on dude. Leave it behind.
    It’s rather like going to an office party after you have left the company.
    Throw yourself into new things and let trek go.

  38. Alright, that does it! Berman has stuck it into Wil’s butt for the LAST time as far as I’m concerned. I was thinking about catching Nemesis in this theater this weekend, but now I think I’ll just hold off until the DVD comes out (and it BETTER have the cut scene with Wesley in the “Deleted Scenes” section).

  39. This from an online chat transcript at http://www.startrek.com:
    Gates McFadden
    “Beverly Crusher”
    12.06.02
    Star Trek Host: Will you be at the “Nemesis” premiere?
    Gates McFadden: I will be at the Los Angeles premiere.

  40. Hey Wil,
    I’m so sorry they treated you that way. Has anyone from Paramount called to apologize/explain?
    Does anyone else find it bitterly ironic that someone creating tales about a sickeningly Utopian society (The Federation) can be so sickeningly petty and uncaring in real life?
    If it helps at all, you have 50,000 monkeys who would be more than happy to spread the word and make this a P.R. nightmare for the suits at Paramount.
    (((hugs)))
    Lara

  41. hey you were in that show i though i saw a big peice of poo rinning around no wonder they do not acknolodege you and oh by the way i need to reson my ass can you give me any tips

  42. Wil,
    I take it “Rick” is the Berman fella whose name features regularly on futuristic writing at the end of the ST shows, and who presumably pockets 30 cents for every ST dollar made.
    So let’s have the low-down. Does he have body odour? Bad teeth? Fart a lot? Come on, spill it.

  43. Mr Berman should have played it straight with you.
    Have any of the other people called you back? Mr Spiner, for example?
    I will say that Wesley Crusher was not my favorite character and I did not like some of the Wesley plots written into ST:TNG. That being said I respect what you did with what you had to work with, and that is the mark of a fine actor.
    You’ve had many people tell you their opinion of Mr Berman. Mine is that he is a manager warming the seat of a pioneer. A pioneer by definition does something new, a manager caretakes something established. Managers don’t expand horizons, they entrench current boundaries.
    Life is pain. Life is pleasure. The trick is remembering the pleasure when experiencing the pain.
    I may see Nemesis in the theatre, I may not. That said, if the DVD restores the parts you are in I am quite likely to watch that.
    Be well, Wil.

  44. Oh Honey, I’m so sorry! You sure got a lot of hits on this one, everyone of us feels like your actual friend and I bet none of us would do that to you. You’ve come a long way since TNG, you were getting to be ok with who you were post TNG & moving on, don’t let an asshole like Rick the Dick take that growth away from you. If the other cast members are truly your friends they would contact you, hell I know more about whats going on in your personal life than those people. Burn the suit in effigy and make the T-shirts, then move on and know we love ya.

  45. Concentrate on things that are really important…like your wife and children. Trust me, there is no better attention out there in the world.
    Star Trek is/was just a job; you can still see all you co-stars; get together; whatever. Don’t let the Rick Berman thing get you down!

  47. You probably have something that man my husband refers to as …. well those things shouldn’t be repeated. Anyway, look at these comments. We’re here for you, Wil. If a person does not keep his word, then he generally does not get much empathy or a lot of friends available to him to cry on the virtual shoulders of or otherwise, but YOU DO. We’re here. We listen.
    At least I do.
    WS

  48. I was actually going to go see “Nemesis” in the theater and now I am so NOT inspired to do so…
    friggin’ jerk
    mucho mojo for Uncle Willy

  49. Karma. Do no evil for it shall be returned unto you three-fold. Remember that the ill done to you shall return to ole Rick three fold. Not much comfort I am sure right now, but don’t let this mar your string of sucess you have recently enjoyed.
    JT

  50. I have to wonder who your “friend” that called to inform you of this was…
    Shit has happened before. Shit will happen again.
    Right now, time is your friend.
    For what it’s worth, I’d leave your house, sit in the middle of that beautiful lawn, and think about what I’d write to my friends on the cast and crew… “Dear (Whoever), Just wanted to say ‘Hi’ now, because though I thought I was going to be able to see you at the premiere, I wasn’t invited. So I’m saying ‘Hi’ to you now, anyway, because you really *do* mean a lot to me…” Then, I’d go inside and write the letters/make the calls/emails.
    Burbank Mojo!

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