Category: Television

a bit more about my episode of Family Guy

Posted on By Wil

So recording Family Guy yesterday ranks in the top five most awesome moments of my acting and geek lives.

Seth MacFarlane directed my session, and when I met him, I said, "Okay, I’m not even going to try to pretend to keep it cool. I am a huge fan, and this is more exciting for me than I can quantify."

Yeah, I said quantify. I say stupid shit like that when I’m giddy and excited.

"Well, if you’re going to do that," he said, "then I’ll have to tell you that Next Generation is my favorite of all the Star Treks, and I’ve seen every episode about a thousand times. The First Duty is just great, man."

I did my best not to faint.

We had a meeting of the mutual admiration society for a few minutes, and then I went into the booth to record my lines. It was incredibly fun and creatively fulfilling, and even though we only worked together for fifteen or twenty minutes, I instantly liked him. He reminded me of my friends from ACME, and I hoped I earned another bit on the show at some point in the future, because he was really fun to work with.

When I was finished recording, I asked him if I could talk a little bit about my episode on my blog, without giving away too many details, and he said that would be fine, so . . .

I play myself, in a story that you could call a tribute to Next Generation. Pretty much everyone from the cast is on board for the episode, and holy shit is it funny.

I can’t divulge any specific story details, or give away any jokes, but there’s a joke with me that, if it makes it to the final cut of the episode, could quite possibly be the funniest thing I’ve ever done on television.

The show will air in about a year, I guess, and I can’t wait to see it.

a preview trailer for the TNG box set special features is online

Posted on By Wil

The Really Super-Awesome Trust Us You Totally Need To Have This One Even If You’ve Already Bought All The Other Ones DVD box set for Star Trek: The Next Generation is about to hit stores, and I got a chance yesterday to see a preview of the special documentaries John de Lancie and I shot, in this preview trailer at Star Trek dot Com.

If you are totally into TNG and don’t already own any of the seasons on DVD, I suppose it’s competitively priced at $40 or so per season. Otherwise, I think it’s grossly overpriced.

If you already own the good seasons (3-5, IMHO) you’re pretty much looking at this for the special features disc, which according to TV Shows on DVD contains:

  • The Next Generation‘s Impact: 20 Years Later
  • The Next Generation‘s Legacy: 2007
  • Star Trek Visual Effects Magic: A Roundtable Discussion
  • Select Historical Data 1
  • Inside The Star Trek Archive
  • Intergalactic Guest Stars
  • Alien Speak
  • Select Historical Data 2
  • Inside Starfleet Academy Archives: Sets and Props
  • Special Profiles
  • Dressing The Future

So that looks pretty awesome to me, and I guess there are lots of specials added to each disc, including stuff that was once exclusive to Best Buy or something like that, but it still feels way too expensive to me with a suggested retail price of $440. I mean, WTF, CBS?

(Thanks to WWdN reader L.E.M. for the links!)

West Coast – I’m on WPT tonight

Posted on By Wil

Wil_wpti1_1
I just found out that I’m on the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel tonight. It’s the WPT Invitational from Commerce Casino, where I outlasted all the other celebrity players and finished 23rd to land $10,000 for City of Hope. I doubt I’ll get much screen time, but my friend Burns! just called Anne to tell her that he saw me.

So . . . now you know! If anyone gets an mpeg or something, let me know and I’ll link it up.

Update: WWdN:iX reader Andrew sent me the following captures:

XviD (9 MB)

mpeg2 (30MB)

It ‘s a great segment. I got a lot more camera time than I expected, and so did Darwin!  If anyone wants to seed .torrents, let me know and I’ll update again. Thanks, Andrew!

(image via Dr. Pauly)

broke the bonds and loosed the chains

Posted on By Wil

Pauly:

If more Americans read books every night instead of watching TV, we’d live in a more productive society. If more Americans watched the news and read real newspapers and magazines, instead of crappy programs like American Idol, then I’m confident that George Bush would not be our president. But heck, that’s what our leaders really want deep down… a mindless, uneducated populous that will work 40 hours a week so they can earn enough money to buy things to keep them distracted from the evil deeds that our leaders and suits in Fortune 500 companies are conducting everyday under your noses.

Amen. It’s interesting to think of turning off the television and being less of a consumer as an act of rebellion, but I think Pauly has a valid point, at the very least worthy of consideration if not action. I know how happy and free I feel after cleaning a bunch of needless stuff out my house (and life) recently, and since I’m not completely overwhelmed by stuff that is ultimately not that important, I feel like I can address various mental and spiritual aspects of my life that need attention, now that I’m not constantly battling with a huge pile of material bullshit on a daily basis.

I’ve been making an effort to turn off the TV, walk away from the Internets, turn on the radio, and read lots of books. It’s nothing heady — I just finished Monster Island, and I’m in the first third of Cell — but I agree with Pauly. Reading activates and nourishes a different part of my brain than watching TV, even if it’s not Hemmingway or Feynman or something weighty. It also makes me want to write more, which is something I sorely need.

I’ve also made an effort over the last few weeks to unplug, and get out of the house every day, even if it’s just out into my yard, or my patio garden. Anne and I have been getting out of the house and walking like crazy, in preparation for the marathon this weekend (you can still sponsor our team here), and though we’re down to the “easy” six mile walks this week (we’re just tuning up to walk a half marathon, instead of running a full one, remember), it’s still great to get out of the house and breathe deeply for a couple of hours every morning. All the flowers in our neighborhood are in bloom, too, so it’s almost like walking through the best flower shop in the world, but it’s also filled with birds and those really friendly people who get up early to walk during the week.

My soul still needs nourishment, and my life is still out of Balance, but I’m getting closer to finding it. I think all this physical pain in my hip and up my back and on my shoulders is a physical manifestation of my current disarray, and I’m glad my body finally forced me into tuning up my diet and getting more exercise, both physical and psychic.