214 thoughts on “Wow, nice shirt . . . Moonpie.”

1. Want! Seriously, this shirt is awesome.
   Also? First! Whoa! A first for first! Cool!
   Oh, and a question, um…let’s see…
   Of the main cast, who is most like his or her character? Besides that Wil Wheaton guy, of course.

2. Question: was not getting to work with Kaley Cuoco as disappointing as it seems (no offense to Jim, Kunal and Kevin)?

3. Did you get to actually play any Magic or similar games?

4. ALSO: was it absolutely heartbreaking to step on Sheldon, the man who loved his Meemaw?

5. How nerdy is Jim Parsons in real life? From interviews I’ve seen, it seem like the answer would be “very.”

6. Did you get a feeling like things “had come full circle” when you participated in your role in BBT?

7. What was Jim like, how different is he from Sheldon? How much of a comedy genius is Chuck Lorre?

8. Any chance you could use your clout to get them to produce Mystic Warlords of Ka’a? I’d buy it. I’d buy twelve!

9. Oh, no doubt. Poor Moonpie!

10. Will you go back on the show again if you have the chance?

11. This totally reminded of his role in “Garden State” since he spoke Klingon in that role as well. It was a different line in the film, I wonder if he has made a serious study of the Klingon language . . .

12. I think TBBT has really made geek chic in some respects, which I’m all for! Do you think the show’s had an impact making geeks more mainstream and funny?

13. Were there any meetings of the Mutual Admiration Society?

14. Wil, you’re clearly a gifted writer and as you mentioned in RFB a week or two ago, you’ve come a long way over the last decade. I’m sure the majority of that was experience over time. My training when it comes to writing is very “traditional” in style (i.e. classroom taught). Is there a book or guide you could recommend that will help me improve my skills as a writer? Do you have any personal tips?
    Keep up the good work, my friend, and take care.
    John

15. How close were the actors to the characters they play? I suppose this is similar to what Scifi451 asked, but with the rest of them as well.

16. We didn't play Magic, but I'm not sure if that was a rights issue, or a deliberate choice by the producers.
    As it turned out, though, it was a good choice to have our own game, because the writers could make up rules and play styles that served the comedy, rather than the other way around.
    There were a lot of Mystic Warlords cards, with art, flavor text, and stats on them, but the actual rules of the game didn't exist when we played it on the show. It *was* important to us all, though, that there was some logic to the way the cards were played, because we knew the audience would be paying attention.

17. While we didn't have any scenes together, we spent a lot of time goofing off on the set. She's a lot geekier than her character, and a positively *brutal* ping pong player. We both have American Staffordshire Terriers, too, so we spent a lot of time showing off pictures of our dogs to each other.

18. Is there any chance of you doing another appearance on TBBT? I cackled quite loudly when you showed your evil face! 😀

19. He's not nerdy like we are, but he's a passionate actor and performer so I guess you could say that he's an acting nerd. It was absolutely wonderful to watch him find Sheldon's voice and mannerisms during rehearsal.

20. Yeah, it was pretty funny to me that Sheldon Cooper loves Wesley Crusher, but hates Wil Wheaton.

21. Excellent! I can’t blame them for creating their own game, it would be a lot easier, and funnier, to deal with a rule set that was totally under the control of the show.
    Did you guys get to hang out after shooting?
    My wife and I loved Evil Wil, we watch that episode often. 🙂

22. See above about Jim.
    Chuck was amazing. In fact, all of the writers were amazing. They gave us great notes, and were really fun to work with.

23. A non-zero number of people have come to me with their idea for a Ka'a game, but it's not something that I can act on. Personally, I'd love it if there was an actual game made, though.

24. I would break the sound barrier going to the studio, if they asked me back.

25. For starters, I want that shirt!!!That is like the definitive geek shirt!
    I can’t imagine how excited you must have been getting to work on such an awesome show, and I imagine they were equally excited having you on it. TBBT has to be one of the best shows in years to grace television.
    Did the actors, etc. know who you were before you came to work with them(TNG work and all)? Are any of them readers of your website?
    Big question is, do you think you will get to do more episodes??? I must say your episode was by far my favorite to date. You were a natural…of course. Jim Parsons must have been a blast to hang with! I am from Texas myself(Texarkana), so seeing a fellow Texan make it big is pretty neat. Oh, did you sit in Sheldon’s SPOT?? =]
    I am so glad you got to be part of TBBT. It is gonna become one of the classics. Cheers, Wil =]

26. I think it's part of the general uncloseting of geeks, if that makes sense.
    It's no secret that I originally thought BBT was making fun of us, and I couldn't get into it. It wasn't until late in the first season that I gave it a real chance and ended up seeing that it was laughing *with* us and not *at* us. I love that the show embraces its geekiness, refuses to dumb down its humor, and manages to find a balance between mainstream and nerd humor. That's a lot harder than it seems, and is sort of like playing Comedy Operation. If you touch the sides, the audience's red nose lights up and instead of laughing, there's a loud buzzing noise. It isn't pretty.

27. Hey Wil, what’s your take on Sheldon’s sexuality? Michael Aussiello had a piece on the character this morning, you’ve been on the show, any insight? Not that it matters, but I think that Sheldon is one of the best characters on TV, and I relish another round between Evil Wil and Sheldon.
    Oh and that comic book store set, is it as geeky as it truly appears? Do you think they truck in new comics each week? Do they have a Diamond account I wonder?

28. A little, yeah. It was so weird to me that everyone was genuinely excited to have me on the show, because I was just as excited to be there with them. Kunal and Kevin are both gamers, so it was *super* awesome to sit in the comic shop set and geek out about the different games we play.

29. Read Stephen King's On Writing, and when you're finished, read it again.

30. None of them are as geeky as their characters, but they all seemed to understand exactly who their characters are and *why* they are that way, so their performances and their humor feels very real when we see it.

31. I sure hope so!

32. There’s really no describing the amount of laughter this show gives me on a weekly (and sometimes daily if I watch my copies of it) basis.
    I loved the episode with you in it and hope we get to see you on the show again in the future.
    I guess my biggest question is.. just how hard did you have to work not to laugh? I’m no actor..but I would have such a hard time not belly laughing around Jim Parsons.

33. Yeah, after we taped our show we all hung out and played ping pong.
    The camaraderie on the set of BBT is incredible. It reminded me of the TNG set, actually.

34. Thanks, Wil!

35. I don't know if any of the actors read my blog, but some of the writers did. In fact, I've just remembered that Bill Prady told me he was looking forward to reading my account of working on the show, which I never wrote because I left for w00tstock right after we wrapped.
    …it looks like I have something to add to my TODO list this week. I hope I can remember all of it.

36. There's a chance, sure. We talked about Evil Wil Wheaton as a recurring nemesis for Sheldon, which I'd love to do, but it's ultimately up to the producers.

37. “I could embrace the Delightfully Evil version of myself.”
    Now you know how NPH feels every day.

38. I think Sheldon is asexual.
    Yes. The comic book shop set is incredible, and the attention to detail is unbelievable. Because BBT is produced at Warners, and Warners is affiliated with DC, they have tons of DC books (including archival editions that I wanted to, uh, borrow, like you wouldn't believe), tons of sculpted minis and action figures, and posters all over the shop that are actually part of current storylines in comics. Their set dressing people change those posters and stuff to reflect what's happening in the DCU, which I thought was awesome.

39. I know, right?

40. The Evil Wil episode is always my fav episode to watch. You clearly enjoyed your experience and are a fan yourself so, my question is. Which is your fav episode?

41. Wil, I have been following you on your blog and podcasts for a while now, and I really admire how you have grown. I hope that someday I get to meet you, and I hope that if I start doing Narrative non-fiction like you, that it turns out half as honest and gut-bustingly funny as you.
    As for the show, what other character choices do you wish you had made? No regrets, but additions. Like if they made an episode where one of the guys is assigned to be your gofer one day on the show, what would you do additionally to make Evil Wil more “Cruella De”-Wil?

42. I love them all, but I'm pretty partial to the Xmas show with the Leonard Nimoy napkin. And anything with Leonard's mother is always brilliant.

43. I have been reading your blog for quite a long time but have never commented before. I did get to play poker with you for tsunami relief.
    I know a few Women that are/were turned off by the show because of Penny’s character.
    Do you have any thoughts about that?

44. That is such an awesome shirt! I wish they had it in a girly cut.
    BBT is one of my favorite shows and I was really excited about your last guest spot. I hope to see you make another appearance!

45. Long time listener, first time caller.
    I know there are some amazing geek treasures on the set of TBBT; most recently, the Green Lantern’s lantern. If you’d been able to swipe something and it go without being missed, what would it have been?

46. First off, love love love Just A Geek. It really spoke to me on a personal level. I’ve been career job searching since I graduated in Spring ’08, and I felt a real empathy with your story in regard to rejection on the acting front. I’m hoping you’ll be at PAX east so I can get my copy signed.
    Now for my question: Was “moonpie” scripted or something you improved? I really hope they bring you back. Best ep of the season!

47. Wil, as well as appearing in the show, has it ever been discussed you writing for it? Surely, who better to cast a wry eye over geek culture…

48. I was in the audience the day they filmed the episode after Nimoy napkin show. (“The Killer Robot Instability”) We got to see “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis” before the shoot. Both are still up there in my top favorites.
    BTW Are you a ping pong player? I hear they can get pretty fierce when it comes to the game. They even had a bracket up on a white board.

49. Some of the best advice I’ve heard. That and “The Elements of Style,” which King refers to.

50. I’ve always been afraid that if I ever met an actor from one of my favorite shows, I’d act like a blabbering idiot, like quoting Klingon at them. Does that really happen to you a lot?

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