The Delight of ‘The Wil Wheaton Project’

Under different circumstances, I would feel bad for Wil Wheaton. Twenty years (almost exactly!) after the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wheaton is still chiefly remembered by most, myself included, as Wesley Crusher, probably TNG‘s most polarizing character. (Personally, I found Wesley to be rather lovable, but the internet often disagrees.) A former child actor, still pigeon-holed by a decades-old role, could be rather a bummer; just look how most of the Stand By Me gang turned out.

But through a presence at conventions, online, and especially in memorable guest spots as a fictionalized version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, Wheaton has rewritten his story without ever running from the way he first became famous. If anyone has ever embraced his role in nerd culture, it’s him. In these days of big-budget, high-grossing superhero/sci-fi movies, big name actors can come and go into traditionally “nerdy” roles without ever having to live the lives of that franchise’s fans. So there is something inherently heartwarming about a celebrity (even a “minor” one) who truly gets it, who gets us:

And in the spirit of his role as the nerd ambassador, The Wil Wheaton Project debuted last night on Syfy. Sold as a weekly roundup on all things nerd, the debut episode played out as an almost exact replica of E!’s The Soup, but for sci-fi and fantasy shows instead of (mostly) reality TV, and with Wheaton in Joel McHale’s role. I love McHale, and Wheaton isn’t him, yet. But Wheaton does have an undeniable charm that carried this first episode.

I had only seen one fairly weak promo for the show, and while I was determined to give it a shot regardless, I felt a little nervous for it, not wanting Wheaton to crash and burn. When the opening joke was a mediocre ribbing on Hugh Jackman for various singing in interviews while promoting X-Men: Days of Future Past, I got a little more nervous. But thankfully, the show pulled itself out and began hitting a solid stride.

That clip, “The Ashmore You Know,” is fairly representative of the episode’s humor style (though not its best offering). It’s corny, and unapologetically big on puns. That’s where Wheaton’s charisma sells it. His smile lets you know it’s ok to groan, while his enthusiasm encourages you to laugh along anyway. It’s not intelligent high comedy, but it works in a wonderfully silly way.

Chris Hardwick joined Wheaton for a short guest spot in the debut episode, and Felicia Day will do the same next week, meaning even the guests are a part of nerd culture. The content certainly is, as well. Wheaton goes rapid-fire through a large number of sci-fi/fantasy movies and shows that are currently making the rounds; considering how many of the media he references have small-ish audiences, Wheaton’s own show isn’t exactly targeting the masses. Rather, it embraces the ideal of what he told the girl at the Denver Comic-Con in the first video of this post: we may be nerds, but there are a lot of us out there, and we can now connect like never before.

That ideal, and Wheaton’s laudable role in popularizing it, is plenty of reason for me to root for The Wil Wheaton Project. The actual success or failure of the show, however, will still likely fall on its humor. As charming as I found the corny moments, it probably needs more laugh-out-loud bits to really build a big enough loyal audience. In that area, it might surprisingly be best to see Wheaton turn up the snark. So much of Wheaton’s appeal comes from his sincerity, but the pilot’s two best moments were arguably when he was mocking the very mockable — John Malkovich’s lack of visible enthusiasm for Crossbones and the canceled CW show Starcrossed‘s lack of understanding about how a walkie-talkie works. I obviously love genre fiction, but there’s plenty more to make fun of it out there, and I think that’s where Wheaton can score a lot more points.

The show airs Tuesday nights on Syfy (10 EST), and it bears watching. The first episode was silly but a treat, and I think it could become great if it hits its stride. If nothing else, hopefully it gives us more drunk/stoned Neil DeGrasse Tyson: