I'm at w00tstock right now, and I haven't even seen the show, but I thought it would be fun to write a post in advance so anyone who watched The Big Bang Theory tonight would have a place to talk about it. If everything goes according to plan, this should post right as the episode is finishing on in the Eastern time zone.
When I get home, and I have the time near the end of the week, I have a bunch of notes from the production to transcribe, to give a fuller behind-the-scenes picture for anyone who is interested. Until then, though, two things:
First of all, for anyone who is wondering, the show's art department made actual cards with actual graphics and rules on them, and we all spent a fair amount of time making up some logical rules to go with the Mystic Warlords of Ka'a. As far as I know, there aren't official rules or an official card set, but I'm sure someone will create one within a couple of weeks if the show doesn't. (Oh please, oh please.)
When he first talked to me about working on the show, Bill Prady told me that I'd be playing a "delightfully evil version" of myself. This sounded like a lot of fun to me, but it was more difficult to find that character than you'd think. When I'm playing Fawkes on The Guild it's easy to slip into his kilt and be a jerk, but wearing my own clothes and essentially playing a stylized version of myself made it a real challenge to hit "delightfully evil" without veering into "not committed to being delightfully evil" or "just plain evil." Keeping that twinkle in my eye, and knowing that Wil Wheaton (The Big Bang Version) is planning to scam Sheldon from the moment he sits down, was essential to this particular characterization working out, and I didn't completely find it until we'd run the episode a couple of times.
During one of the run throughs, when Jim did his Klingon bit, I turned to Kevin and asked him, "Did he just say 'revenge is a dish best served cold' in Klingon?" like I was trying to figure out if that's actually what happened, like maybe I misunderstood him. Chuck Lorre told me that it would be funnier if I was more exasperated. "You're just here to play this game, and now some guy is quoting Klingon at you. This happens everywhere you go," he said.
I sighed dramatically, and said, "Oh, it does." Everyone laughed, hard, and Chuck pointed his finger at me. "Yes. That is exactly the way to play that beat."
When Chuck gave me that note, I grokked how to play Evil Wil Wheaton (The Big Bang Theory version), and I could see the comedy in every beat I played for the rest of the show. I totally grew a level in comedy acting, and learned something about letting go of who I really am, so I could embrace the Delightfully Evil version of myself (who I seriously hope will return in the future, because OMG was it fun to play him.)
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That was amazing! Having been lucky to have met you (and I have to admit, you’re one of the few people I had nothing to say too! It was awkward, and I apologize), you were one of the nicest people I have ever met. And the time you take for everyone is simply stunning. Thank you for that, I hope to meet you again! In any rate, having that awesome experience made me laugh even harder tonight when I saw the way “Wil” treated Sheldon. You were in there, but there was a certain malice that made it all the more believable. That episode went by far too fast, amazing, you rock!
You’re awesome!
Oh yes… yes yes yes.
Absolutely perfect.
More, please!
Just finished watching it! You were awesome! I loved it all, but especially when you scammed on Sheldon and rocked his enchanted bunny XD Fabulous! And the PA FF shirt, I squeaked out loud when I noticed it.
Just watched my tivo of the show… twice. Loved the whole thing, although I had hoped for a little more interaction between you and Sheldon. I sincerely hope they bring you back so the two characters can get into some seriously lengthy banter.
Also, I love Stuart. He’s been excellent in every episode he’s appeared in and I sincerely hope to see more of him this season. Wil and Stuart would make a perfect tag-team foil for Sheldon.
I’m so glad you appeared on this show, because it inspired me to watch it for the first time, and it’s really funny! So, thanks!
P.S. You were great!
Brilliant show Mr. Wheaton. It is awesome to see you TV again.
WHEATON!!!!!!
How about Meemah/Sheldon vs. Nana/Wil for the next Mystic Warlords of Ka’a tourney or at Wootstock- either/or..Best TBBT yet! More, please.
Now there is a sentiment I can get behind!
Poker, too? The writers on that show totally get you, Mr. Wheaton.
Ok the very first and foremost thing I wanna say is that you’re freakin awesome and your interaction with Jim was really good. The whole show for me this episode was ehh…. I’m sorry if that makes me a bad guy in the eyes of everyone, but I have recalled episodes where me an my husband have to pause the tv to get over laughing so hard. I’m sorry I am going against the crowd, but truthfully you just happened to be on a episode that seemed to us to be just okay. Just to clarify: YOU WERE REALLY GOOD, it was the episode that wasn’t as great as it usually is. Just stating my opinion, don’t throw a shoe at me please. *ducks*
WHEEEEEEEEEAAAAAATONNNNNNNNNNN!! Excellent entry. Equally excellent episode. It lived up to all you described when you were working on it.
Wil, it’s clear that after this episode, having geeks quote “Revenge is a dish best served cold” to you is going to be a thing of the past. Welcome to 5-10 years of being greeted on the street with WHEEEEAAAATONNNN! Wonder if that sort of thing used to happen to Ricardo Montalban?
Also, a friend asked me if the beard was something added for the show, ala the Star Trek Mirror Universe eps. I quickly added that it’s really yours, as anyone who reads your blog would know. I got called out for being a geek since I knew that… but isn’t being able to cite “Mirror, Mirror” equally geeky?
So, our D&D group paused tonight to watch the show… and it was delightfully AWESOME!
MORE WIL WHEATON!!!!
When do we find out what sort of records this episode broke as far as viewing/ratings are concerned? I know it was my first episode, and I intend to continue doing so…
When do we find out what sort of records this episode broke as far as viewing/ratings are concerned? I know it was my first episode, and I intend to continue doing so…
I don’t know by what time, but definitely by later today.
I can’t imagine they wouldn’t have you back. They totally set it up for a sequel. I had expected to see “To Be Continued…” in that funky ST:TNG font in blue.
Excellent performance. Wil Wheaton the actor has succeeded where William Shatner failed on that opening SNL skit many moons ago. Wheaton taking on this role shows he is in tune with his fan base but still cool enough to mock we diehard fans who do silly things like memorize lines from the franchise and recite them at inopportune times. Shatner wasn’t able to get us to laugh at ourselves.
We *definitely* need to see Wil Wheaton the character on BBT again, but I disagree that it should be ‘evil Wil’ next time. I wouldn’t want to see Wheaton behave that way around Penny or Leonard. I notice the writers purposefully kept them and Howard on a totally different subplot for the episode, which focused the Sheldon versus Wheaton showdown while Raj & Stuart acted as comic foils. I hope it means there are plans for Wheaton to someday meet Leonard and learn through him that Sheldon’s not entirely bad, but still deserves being knocked down a few pegs.
Also, it’s SO cool you use the word ‘grok’ in proper context. When I do that, I get blank stares.
At first I was ticked off Wheaton didn’t have more screen time, but compare this to Summer Glau’s appearance. She got more screen time, but not as many good lines. From a writer’s standpoint it must be a delicate balancing act.
Brilliant. We watched it on the hub’s laptop, since who knows when it’ll air here.
Ab-so-freaking-lutely great. And I am not a role playing card girl, but I’d at least *try* to learn Ka’a.
Looking forward to the behind the scenes stuff. Hope you’re having fun at w00tstock.
This is the first episode I’ve ever seen of The Big Bang Theory and I loved it! I’ve no idea how I’ve never run across it before but now I have a season pass. Since you apparently live close by to that comic book/game store, one can only hope you’ll be making a regular appearance on the show!
Yes, PLEASE let us know if/when this CCG is created and released!
If you make any future appearances, they need to totally play off your recent podcasts (MOTF, PA/DnD, etc.) and use some of that material for jokes 🙂
I will definitely be taking steps to watch more of this series. I think the only episode I had seen before this one was the one where Penny and Leonard finally got together (God, I hope I got the character names right).
Oh, and I just had to say it again …
WHEATONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!
WHEATONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!
WHEATONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!
I just wanted to say that the episode was excellent. I have to know, why has everything I’ve seen you in recently (Criminal Minds, The Guild, and Big Bang Theory) had you as an evil character? Are you getting typecast as the anti-Weasley, or are you looking for roles to take you away from that character?
Hey Wil,
Just an FYI. You are #6 THIS HOUR on Google Trends, which is their most searched terms.
Oct 20, 2009 –
Updated 48 minutes ago
1. leah ignagni
2. jimmy rollins
3. house braveheart ful…
4. vito and nicks pizza
5. jasper howard girlfr…
6. wil wheaton
7. monday night footbal…
8. fugacious
9. nome alaska abductio…
10. chuck mangione
11. dj am overdose
12. howard unruh
13. house season 6 episo…
14. eddie royal
15. jennifer schipsi
16. kimbella
17. broncos vs chargers
18. canon 1d mark iv
19. vic mizzy
20. arcata ca
Showing 1 – 20
It will change every hour. You can follow with this link:
http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?q=wil+wheaton&date=2009-10-20&sa=X
OMG Wil that was an AWESOME episode and a brilliant performance! I’d like to add my vote to all those hoping this isn’t the last time we’ll see you on the show!! 🙂
You rocked. I’m hoping for many more revenge episodes to come. Your performance convinced me you could own the Hellmuth role in the movie version of “Check-Raising the Devil.” Email me and I’ll send you a copy.
Seeing you tilt Sheldon reminded me of the time(s) I’ve tilted you at the poker tables. Isn’t “delighfully evil” fun?
Congrats!
And “Delightfully Evil” you truly were. You cracked us up. It’s about damn time you showed up on BBT.
Wil,
Researched the Google hourly posts and you were #3 at 11 p.m. Eastern on October 19th. Note – you beat Monday Night Football last night and you are still beating it this morning! One of the many news articles on Examiner.com calls you “a God among Geeks.” Well, there is no denying that. You are a legend.
Oct 19, 2009 – change date
1. apple earnings
2. seregon o dassey
3. wil wheaton
4. aapl
5. jeff mathis
6. alcs game 3
7. monday night footbal…
8. vito and nicks pizza
9. eddie royal
10. living to 100
11. malthus demon
12. leah ignagni
13. angels baseball
14. nate berkus
15. dante wesley hit on …
16. fugacious
17. marty jannetty
18. lord monckton
19. estes park fire
20. butterfly world flor…
Showing 1 – 20
Here is the link for the above:
http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?q=wil+wheaton&date=2009-10-19&sa=X
I am quite sure that the real Wil would not lie about his MeeMaw being dead to win a CCG but it was exactly what an evil Wil would do. Good job playing your evil twin:)
The Klingon line was awesome on two levels. First… the look of incredulity on your face that such a geek as he exists. Second, the fact that not only did you know that he was speaking Klingon, you knew exactly what he said! Classic!
I liked when “nice Wil” emerged, and although you over-acted it just a bit, giving away the fact that you were going to yank the rug out from under Sheldon, it was still fun to watch.
I, too, would love to hear your thoughts on this episode now that it has aired. I am curious to know how you feel about playing yourself, yet as a parallel-universe, evil version. When someone like you says “don’t be a dick,” and you play yourself as a dick on TV, don’t you worry about people (read: idiots who believe everything they see on TV) perceiving you as a dick?
Excellent job on the show. Hope to see more… it would be cool to see you return as a regular “arch-villain” of Sheldon’s!
First I gotta say I love BBT and you on it was the best thing to happen to Monday night in a long time! That was wickedly funny!! I gotta say at the start of the show, I was kinda surprised to hear Sheldon say he was a huge Wesley Crusher fan since…well…I think we all know how many Trekkies felt about the charater. But when he explained how he and Wesley shared common traits like the “photographic memory” (for lack of the term he used) I thought “That’s brilliant!” I just have one question…is the comic book store set as totally awesome as it looks on TV?
Yes…i think a returning role for evil Wheaton vs. Sheldon is a must…i think I saw Raj almost crack-up near one of the scene cuts after you say “What is WRONG with him?” Brill!!
Without a doubt, the best episode of the season 🙂 My girlfriend thought I would die from it since everytime I laughed, I became red as a tomatoe.
and another thing…
I loved the reference to “DieWilWheatonDie,” an obvious nod (nose-thumbing?) to the old alt newsgroup 🙂
I, too, liked the fruit fucker shirt, but it would have been SO cool to see the “That’s How I Roll” t-shirt. Any chance you tried to get them to let you wear it? Incidentally, I wore that shirt to the RenFest here in Ohio, and I got no less than FIVE cast members to break character and tell me how much they loved my t-shirt. +5 Geek Cred to Wil Wheaton (non-evil).
Overall a very funny episode…I wish there was more of you in it though, Wil. I feel like you should have had a bigger part. Some pre-tourny words would have made for a funny scene.
Still, great job! Oh, and LOVED the fruit fucker shirt!
http://www.livingwithanerd.com
Thank you so much for that link! Finally, I find a video site that doesn’t exclude people for not being American.
TBBT was great and Wil, I think you can go down in TVTropes as a Magnificent Bastard today for how you played Sheldon for a fool.
Khan had a comeback, maybe evil Wil shall too.
I like the idea mentioned in other posts of Wil being Sheldon’s “Newman”.
The only thing more evil in that episode was them not telling us the thing that Leonard googled. I wanna know…..
Because the Sheldon character is clearly not going to let go a snub of this magnitude and Comic Store Owner earned his exposition merit badge with, “Oh yeah, Wil lives in the area,” I think there’s wide open window for recurring delightfully evil Wil as Sheldon’s Nemesis. (Oh, and now I’ve brought Star Trek back into it.)
Ah! use of grok! Oh Heinlein delicious.
Wil, both you and the episode were fantastic. I left your appearance as a surprise for my 12 year old and he totally geeked out when you came on. We both thought you were completely hilarious.
Very good episode. It is interesting that my two favorite episodes of BBT involve Trek, this one and “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis”. The final scene of TBIGH is one of the best scenes ever in a comedy.
Also, great shot of the PA logo in the over the shoulder shots of Sheldon in the finals match. Unusual that a real brand would get shown like that…..
Ken revealed the same conclusions I had come to, robbing me of a chance to seem brilliant to so many…
Well played, sir.
Not all that odd. They show Marvel and DC trademarks all the time, and every shot of the comic store shows the City of Heroes/City of Villains stand-ups. (Even though no one plays it anymore because Champions Online is so much better)
Wil, it was great to see you on T.V. again! It was a most spectacularly fabulous episode and you made it all the better. Or to quote my my tweet from last nite:
“Tonite: #HowIMetYourMother = Good. Wil Wheaton (@wilw) on #BigBangTheory = Gooder! Much gooder! I’m giddy as a somethin’ or other…”
Made my wife (who puts up with my geeky self) watch it and she loved it! Thanks Wil & Big Bang Theory peeps!!! More Wil please!
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been four pages into the comments to get my two cents in:
I know “Wil Wheaton says don’t be a dick’ t-shirt would have been too on the nose. But it would have been nice to all be in uniform with the How We Roll shirt. Just sayin’
Way to Rock the Mirror Wil. May I say in response to earlier comment: not overplayed at all. Sheldon was so immersed in his yet-to-be-experienced grief he didn’t even notice that evil glint in your eye. That was the “watch this” cue for us. The moment was, primarily, a zing to Sheldon we shouldn’t miss. Not a fan squee “OMG did he do that?” moment for us.
Oh, and just to clarify for the poor jewish geek. Girls do count Klingon as spoken languages. You just have to know which girls it impresses and which ones are gonna pull a phaser on you 😉 That bit of foreshadowing was a nice touch.
There is such na enormous amount of quoteable BBT. “Game over, Moonpie” is going right into the lexicon.
And I am so going to learn to say that in Klingon. I have a maintenance guy at work I love to make pull his hair out with the geek stuff since he is such a Horta. “Ich moechte lieber ein kuss wookie” really tweaked his gizzard. Can’t wait to see what this does.
Uhmmmm.., I guess I’m done gushing now.
I knew there would be evil Wil and it made me giggle with glee. That’s how the game is played.
Big Bang show down at Comic Con? WHEATON!
CNN liked it too…found this link from the frontpage.
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/20/wheaton-takes-on-big-bang-theory/
It was a great show! For not having a lot of experience in comedy acting, you pulled it off very well. There is a huge amount of talent on that show, it must have been very rewarding to step up and do such a great job. I liked the way they used you on the show.
You are so going to be back on BBT.
Now I know you have been sporting the facial hair for a while, but somehow it seemed perfect for the show and the EVIL Wil. Laugh.
WHEATON!
Checked with a few friends, since the DixieTrek reference caught my curiosity…. there *wasn’t* a DixieTrek in 1995 – the 1994 con with Christopher Reeve was the last one…
I usually wind up watching these shows in brief spurts – as there’s too much black for this kettle to stand sometimes – but I did watch last night, and it was great. Only thing I thought it lacked was a facial tic – if you’d just developed a twitch while delivering the ‘Did he just say..’ line about speaking Klingon…
Everyone’s evil version should have some sort of subtle facial tic or other mannerism – subtle though, nothing so obvious as the Sarah Palin wink, for example…