66 thoughts on “operation crazy idea presents: the criminal minds production diary – the audio version”

1. This is an awesome idea, and since I’ve never got to read the Criminal Minds Diary, I’m really psyched. I am currently watching the episode and forgot how just creepy you can play. It really makes me forget that you are likeable, because the “heebygebbies” just won’t stop!

2. Okay that was totally worth continually refreshing when I saw you would be posting something good. Now off to get this I go!!!

3. I know!!! I love that episode. Also, the diary from Sunken Treasure made me appreciate Criminal Minds more. I have loved the show since it started but to hear how awesome they are (they being both cast and crew) I can watch it with a new appreciation.
   BTW Wil, you definitely got across the feeling that you were mad you were running and had to start over instead of being scared. You mentioned in the diary you didn’t know if it would come across…it definitely did.

4. Thanks for doing this Will, there’s nothing I hate more than having to pay for shipping from the US to Canada. I’m more than happy to just give you money and cut the postal service out of the equation.

5. Would you please quit making people up? There are enough of us imaginary people here as it is.
   Unless you put the new ones into a book. Then it is okay. Plenty of room in a book.

6. Got it!
   It took me a couple tries though. Clicking the download link just played it in an embedded yahoo browser media player. I ended up having to switch over to IE and do a ‘save target as’ thing. Didnt see the equiv in Firefox.
   Listened to a couple minutes. Sounds great. Sticking it on my Zen for later. 😀

7. This is a great idea. Love Criminal Minds. It’s great work. Keep it up

8. I had the same issue, SandieK. I had to do a rightclick “save target as” in Firefox because the download button sent me to the embedded quicktime file.

9. I like Crazy… Crazy is original, and originalality is a VERY VERY good thing.
   x x x

10. I didnt even see the ‘save target’ in FIrefox. Looked a couple times. Maybe its because I have too much stuff in right-click-zone anyway. *shrugs*
    Edit that: Found it. Duh. *sigh*

11. FYI: when i clicked to download the excerpt, it says this:
    “503 – Service Unavailable”
    tried Save Target As, and it says it is no longer available. tried opening in new tab, made my connection fail. is it just me??

12. Second the crazy notion!
    Just ordered and in the process of downloading. As a Canadian this is a fantastic method of delivery and one I will continue to support.
    This will make for exactly 4 commutes worth of entertainment 🙂
    And to the poster above…Google Chrome DLs it just fine!

13. How about an audio commentary that we can sync to the episode? I’d love your observations about even the stuff that you’re not on screen for…
    For that matter, the same thing with the TV Squad reviews would be frakking brilliant!
    I’m vicariously pumped for you to catch up on BSG – there is some GREAT shit ahead…

14. I would love to do this, Jeff, but it’s a lot more difficult than performing an audio version of something I’ve written.
    As a proof of concept, I’m working on something similar right now, and it’s REALLY challenging.
    One day, though, I’ll totally do it.

15. …
    that sounds like fun.
    If all else fails, it can be on the Super SPECIAL DirectorsOMFSMyoumustgetthisandbeetehultimatecollectorTrekkie Edition of TNG Blu Ray.

16. I read the Criminal Minds Production Diary portion of Sunken Treasure today, which was perfect since the episode was on tonight. I had seen it before, but after reading the production diary I watched it from the perspective of your character, and it was great. I noticed things I hadn’t previously. (And as Voyeurangel said, you definitely look pissed while running.) Anyway getting the audio version is awesome and I look forward to being able to finish listening to it.

17. AH! Thanks so much!! me = dumbz

18. I know this isn’t about your post, but I wanted to remind people here that the 3rd installment of the D&D Podcasts went live today. If I’m not careful I might just blab on and on about it, so I’m gonna stop myself here. It’s definitely worthy of a blog post, in my opinion. People will love it.

19. Gah! One irritating thing about living in Hawaii: The time you think programs are going to be on isn’t when they’ll be on.
    Different channels out here are either delayed from pacific time, kept the same, delayed by an hour or maybe two etc.
    When you were on as Blue Beetle it broadcast here at 5pm whereas it was something like 7pm on mainland.
    Heroes on ABC gets advertised as 8/9c, and sure enough it’s on at 8pm in the evening here.
    Each channel seems to do it’s own thing, I’m not sure whether it’s the channel itself or Time Warner that is making the decision on that one.
    Why rant here? Criminal minds was on at 4pm this afternoon for us rather than the evening like the rest of the mainland.
    Firstly, who on earth is home at that time to watch it?
    Secondly.. Gah I just missed it 🙁

20. Yeah, as soon as I clicked “post”, I realized what a full-time job that would be, but your tweets are so offhand and hilarious and pop-culture laden, I would still pay to hear you riff just totally off-the-cuff MST3K style.
    Gotta get back to watching The Prisoner while plastering Starbuck screen caps to my office wall… You da man.

21. But, uh, you *do* get to live in Hawaii.
    I mean, I’m just sayin’
    😀

22. There is a silver lining to every hassle 🙂

23. i just saw your ep of Criminal Minds tonight on CBS…dude creepy as fuck does not begin to cover it
    and i love the fact that u used GarageBand @ the beginning of the excerpt very cool

24. Bah, try living in Australia, where messing with TV programming is a national sport. You never know what day and time the show you like is going to be, or if they’re going to take it off for 4 weeks for all day/all night, mind-numbing, blood-vessel-burst-causing test cricket. This applies doubly for genre shows i.e. Sci-Fi. Although it’s kind of fun. When you catch a good show it’s like winning the lottery…
    Butttt, I digress. I love crazy ideas. I love jumping in on crazy ideas. Therefore I’m going to jump on the bandwagon again after enjoying your e-book so much.

25. Wil – as someone whom is thinking about distributing audio files on Lulu, I’m not impressed with the screen presented to the buyer for the download. What I’ve seen is something that looks like (to us) like a simple naked UNIX directory listing; I’m afraid that to the non-technical customers I will bring to Lulu it will be too long and scary looking for them to simply right-click and download.
    Or is the screen different for a not-free download? I’ve been cheap in my exploration so far . .

26. so i think your Operation is a brilliant idea and cant wait to hear it. Fantastic job also on the episode. I completely randomly thought of you being on the show, having no idea which episode was about to air, only to catch the somewhat bates motel-ish plot in the beginning and think “hey! wil’s a motel dude in his episode!” Suspicions were confirmed as your named came on the intro credits that this was in fact the infamous episode. very well done, i especially loved your running away scenes, and the tormenting the couple near the beginning, that shadowy face through the glass was just awesome. A perfect character choice for a guest spot.
    hope to see more crazy antics in the future! cheers!!

27. Oooh, I love this idea. Like Mike Nelson’s RiffTrax! And then you could do TNG episodes, and Stand By Me… wait, do I vaguely remember that you might have already done a SBM commentary? Or is that the crazy talking?
    – Christina
    P.S. My cat just squeaked in her sleep and it was adorable.
    P.P.S. I mention this because it’s preferable to thinking about the BAD BAD MAN that I saw you channeling on Criminal Minds tonight. Nice job.

28. Hi, Wil,
    We exchanged one or two emails about six years ago after you appeared on TechTV’s “The Screensavers” or “Call for Help.” I appreciated your tech savvy.
    I saw you on “Criminal Minds” tonight. Your character scared the hell out of me! Geez, Wil, you sure weren’t Super Geek tonight but a 21st Century Norman Bates!
    You worked with my online buddy Joe Mantegna. Joe and I have never met, but I hope to meet him soon. We graduated from the same high school, Morton in Cicero, Illinois. I’m seven years older than Joe. I graduated in 1958. Joe in 1965. We both hung out (at different times) at Betsy’s, a cool hamburger place with a great juke box a block from school.
    I just wrote Joe about how much I liked tonight’s “Criminal Minds” “Paradise” episode. It reminded me of the motels and cabins my parents and I often stayed in during our vacations in the 1950’s — before “Psycho” came out at the end of the decade!
    Please go back to playing a “good guy,” Wil. I know as an actor you like to play a variety of roles. But you really scared the hell out of me tonight!
    Your buddy,
    George Spink
    Los Angeles
    Tuxedo Junction – http://tuxjunction.net
    The Palomar – http://thepalomar.blogspot.com
    George’s Place – http://tuxjunction.net/george/
    George’s Blog – http://georgespink.blogspot.com

29. Looking forward to downloading this. I’m just finishing reading the digital edition of Sunken Treasure and am loving it.
    If you ever want to spend a day recording, I’m in Pasadena as well and have a studio.

30. Thanks for doing this Wil! I just pulled down my copy and I’ll be listening on the way to work tomorrow!
    =Shane

31. Cool idea brother! I hear you about just making enough to support the family. My family just consists of just my daughter and I but that’s what I’m looking for in my film and writing career (I wonder if a hand full of bad short films and a blog with one reader, me, counts as a career?) I don’t need to become Leo or Speilberg rich and famous. A little bit would be cool, but giveing my daughter her own room would be great. For BOTH of us! I’m definatly watching what you do and how you do it as guide.
    Peace Brotha!

32. Done. Thanks!!!!
    I totally love LULU, that was a great idea, Wil.
    And I also totally love Sunken Treasure, read it in one go. Awesome as ever 🙂
    Hooray from Germany
    Nicole

33. @Twirrim: at least you have a chance to get to see the episode – here in Germany: no chance :-((

34. Wil, you are the most radical man in the radical land.

35. Dear Wil. I missed your episode of Criminal Minds last night. 🙁 I blame CBS for airing it against a new episode of Lost. I still really want to see it, so can you announce the next time it airs, please?
    Thanks,
    Lamguin

36. I absolutely love having the opportunity to help support your family AND get something cool to add to my geek collection. Keep it up, Wil! Listening to Radio Free Burrito, interviews you have done, your audiobooks, and the Pax 07 Keynote help my job as a Mail Merge programmer FLY by.
    I think $5 is the sweet spot for pricing for a “mini-audiobook”. I would do it again in a second. Please to be releasing moar nao!

37. Wil, you don’t have to apologize for making money on these things 🙂 You create, people like, and it (hopefully) sells. Whether you make tens of dollars or tens of thousands, more power to you for putting work out there.
    My only note would be that I wouldn’t get carried away with frequent publishes. I love Penny Arcade and I’m happy to buy their compilations whereas it’d be annoying to buy mini-compilations every 30 days. I have no idea how to define where things cross from “Cool, stuff to get!” into “Meh, new item of the week being hocked.”

38. This is long, sorry. You can skip it if you want, but I thought I would share.
    So my little experience last night was kinda interesting. My puny and apparently very out of date DVR was busy last night (America’s Next Top Model season premiere and Lost) so I couldn’t program it to record criminal minds. However I had plans. I was joining a board game group and I had RSVP’d and it was my first night so I wasn’t about to bail on them and let them all think I was a flake from day one. I left as late as I possibly could to still get home in time for Criminal Minds, without conceding a forfeit (I was totally kicking ass).
    I pulled in at 9pm and my roomie was in the living room working on a project with a deadline. I rushed out some kind of explanation, took the TV and realized, not only can I not record more than two shows, I can’t watch another one (really I should have realized that, duh!). So I run to my bedroom and throw crap to the floor to jump on the bed.
    My roommate moseys in and over the beginning of the show I explain what is really going on and she stays and checks it out. She gets hooked before the first commercial break, however, her deadline! So she runs to the living room to work work work while she can and I run to the kitchen to put fish in the oven (I was playing games all night, not eating). I holler when the commercial is over and she comes running in and props herself on my bed. Every commercial break was like that. Scrambling to get stuff done and literally running back to my bedroom when we heard the show back on.
    When it got intense we were bouncing on my bed with excitement. We screamed at the agents ransacking the office “Is that really important right this second? All those cabins to check? Couldn’t they use the manpower right now? IDIOTS!” Thank goodness I didn’t get past the table reading in Sunken Treasure yet, or I would have known how it ended. However I didn’t and it came as a shock to both of us, though it was completely appropriate. Short of our regular Lost hysteria, it was the most into a show either of us have been in a long time and we loved it.
    I downloaded the audio “chapters” from you while I watched the show and will be listening to it in the car for the next few days (118 minutes! wow!). It was a really cool experience all around, the book, the blog, the show and the audiobook all at the same time were just perfect. My roomie is not the Wheaton “fangirl” I am, so her excitement was really cool as well.
    Thanks Wil! It’s a great experience.

39. I caught the last half of the show last night (was raiding, sorry).
    You were totally creepy. Like, had to turn the lights on and get one of the dogs to come sit on my bed with me creepy. And it wouldn’t have been half as effective if Robyn Lively and William Mapother’s performance hadn’t been just as awesome as yours.
    I honestly can’t remember the last time I was that freaked out by a television show, let alone a film (it might have been Blair Witch. I was cheering on the Cloverfield monster, those people were too stupid to live).
    Good job, man.

40. Speaking of Stand By Me, do you know that AMC has played it at least two times in the last couple of weeks? It’s funny to watch the scenes in town and go, “Hello, Brownsville!”
    Every time I recognize a different shot… It’s like, “Oh, they shot THAT one in town too!” (I grew up in the next town over from Brownsville, Lebanon…

41. Wil:
    My wife missed your Criminal Minds episode the first time around, so we were both pleased to see it re-run last night. She’s a big fan of the show and I happen to be a fan(boy) of yours. After noting surprise at the lack of an “L” in your name (the wifey didn’t know) we settled in to watch.
    The verdict? My wife said, “you were convincingly creepy and it was a good death at the end. I especially like the look of surprise on the character’s face as he realized he was about to die – the sheer disbelief of it.”
    We tend to be overly ctitical of acting performances in our family, having a couple of actors in the family (including a name you’d know). The performance was well done. Thank you.

42. Dude! Just watched Your episode and it was AWESOME! You creepy bastard! Also I just listened to your production diary excerpt. I’m just taking my first steps as an actor, doing short films with local film makers, and the way you told the story was like getting a really good acting lesson. When I get some money I plan on getting both print and audio versions. Good stuff man.
    -Cruz
    http://brainvomitdaily.blogspot.com/

43. Wil, Something like a wicked cool stand by me commentary? http://wilwheatondoesawickedcoolstandbymecommentary.com/ that you mentioned in the audio book extras for dancing barefoot? 😉

44. Sunken Treasures PDF, purchased. Production diary MP3, purchased. Beer, in fridge. I guess that’s my Thursday night taken care of, have fun with my $8.41, Wil!

45. You have very cool Crazy Ideas, sir. Keep having them.

46. Found a friend had DVR’d it.
    Wow.
    That is such a well put together episode, even ignoring your (superb) performance in it the team behind the show did such a great job building the atmosphere and mood of the scenes; even over the top of the crazy traffic noise I’ve got going on out there.
    I was a little surprised to find the FBI & police storming the place with lights shining. Did they really want to panic your character and run the risk of you killing them?
    My only criticism is that it was so well written it was such a shame the episode was so short. There was room for at least another half hour or so of build up.

47. Slight issue,
    It doesn’t look like anyone pointed this out yet, if they have I apologise, but the recording is 1hr18m (78m), not 118m. It’s not a huge difference, only a half hour or so.
    I’m greatly enjoying listening to the performance thus far, I feel that the asides alone are sufficient to warrant the purchase. There’s something inherently charming about an unguarded retelling of a fond memory.

48. Wait. Did I say it was 118 minutes? Because I thought I’d made it clear that it’s 78 minutes.
    If I got stupid and didn’t realize it, I need to correct that.

49. I actually enjoyed that at times I couldn’t tell when we were on a tangent until you said, “Okay… that has nothing to do with this though… back to the story.”

50. Oh. Wait. I found it and fixed it.
    Thanks, Greg!

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