This post is in response to a blog post at Newsarama, but there was an error preventing me from commenting. Most of the original post is about a DC Comics character, and guest casting for this character on an upcoming episode.
For those of you who don’t know what a redshirt is, it’s Star Trek lingo for easily expendable cannon fodder, usually ones who bite the bullet ahead of icons like Picard and Kirk.
And perhaps the most famous redshirt was Wesley Crusher, played by Wil Wheaton, possibly the most annoying role in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Well, Comics Continuum has reported that Mr. Crusher will be playing Ted Kord, the superhero and professional bullet swallower known as the Blue Beetle, in the January 23rd episode of “The Brave and the Bold.†The episode will have young Jaime Reyes examining the legacy of his heroic predecessor.
A number of people commented on how stale and inaccurate this “Wesley Crusher, red shirt” quip is, mostly because they were pointed in that direction by Wil Wheaton himself, or @Wilw as he’s known on Twitter. He’s become a well-known blogger and Internets Tubes guy, and recently his acting career went into a higher gear. Which is great, because he’s documented both success and disappointment over the years on his blog, and it’s nice when he gets to chalk up more WIN than FAIL.
Here’s what I would have posted as a comment if Javascript/cookies had been enabled:
Ah, the late Eighties. The joke in the title is actually *20* years out of date.
I spent a lot of time then grousing then about “Wesley saves the universe. Again.” Star Trek: TNG was my favorite teevee show at the time. “Mr. Crusher” wasn’t my favorite, as I was more into alt.sexy.bald.captains at the time. But as TNG ended its run, I liked the Wesley character much better, because he had matured – and in the context of the Trek universe, he was shaping up to be a fine young officer.
Guess what? I changed my mind about Wil Wheaton years ago. You should, too. He’s now a respected Internets-Tubes blogger and poker maven. Have you SEEN his recent performances on cop-procedural shows? I bet you didn’t recognize him… he was scary as hell on a recent “Criminal Minds.”
Via Blog@Newsarama » Blog Archive » It’s confirmed: Ted Kord is a redshirt
The article seems to be throwing up a 404 error.
The comments that did make it in were criticised for calling David (the article “writer”) a “dick”, and further, David accused Wil of making a death threat via Twitter (which, in fact, was actually a Simpsons reference).
Here’s the comment I submitted for moderation, before the article disappeared:
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Kind of wondering how out of touch with popular culture you can be to….
a.] not know the definition of a “red shirt” (which you can easily google for a definition)
b.] miss a Simpsons reference and assume it’s a death threat
….and still have a Newsrama article. Really, Newsrama? Are you that desperate?
..and Troy? Gotta say buddy, it’s admirable that you’d stick up for David, but I would point out that a reader calling David a “dick” is also a reference– to Wheaton’s blog, which has the caption, “Don’t Be a Dick!”. If David is going to take the cheap “Comics! WHAM! POW! ZOOM!” way out by calling out Wheaton’s history as a Star Trek character (and not as a voice actor), which is a DICK move, then he can’t really be offended when someone tells him, “don’t be a dick”.
It’s a garbage article, and the authour should be embarrassed.
For those looking for the real scoop (as in, real information) on this story, I’d suggest the article JENNIFER M. CONTINO (of Sequential Tart) did on Comicon.com
http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=531436
Enjoy.
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Ee-eee-eeeexcellent. I had in fact not realized that Wil’s comment was a Simpsons reference, although I’d seen that particular episode. D’oh, etc.
I had applied the Internets discount to Wil’s tweet, which at the current day’s conversion rates puts a death threat at about the same value as “Your very existence is irksome, sirrah.” So I could only roll my eyes at how quickly it was getting blown out of all proportion because David applied face value to it.
Quel dummage, non? Wii!
I was simply incredulous at the idea that one would be selected to do a column about popular culture, only to EPIC FAIL on a geek reference (“redshirt”), a nerd/interwebs reference (“don’t be a dickl!”), and a mainstream reference like the Simpsons, all in one column.
I mean, if someone said, “urge to kill rising” to me, particularly in the context of a geek/nerd argument dispute or topic, I’d google it as “quote urge to kill rising” to figure out where it was coming from. Now, if I didn’t *find* any quote or cultural reference, I’d begin to wonder if it was a thought of ill intent. But like you said, I’d just assume that person found my existence irksome and move on with my life.
However, if the intent was to drive traffic to a popular-culture website, there’s no better way to do it than to go after someone well-known with a large number of online fans. And if so:
Succeeded.
However, as the post has been taken down or moved (can’t be arsed to search for it) it’s likely this tempest in an Internets tubepot is about done. But then…
What the hell? I just looked at the Live Feed widget. It’s driving traffic here, too. Maybe I should re-think the “no GoogleAds” thing?
The amazing thing is that Newsarama writer doesn’t even know what a redshirt is. He writes, “And perhaps the most famous redshirt was Wesley Crusher.” Uh…no, not even remotely. A redshirt is what fans call generic security guards who show up for one episode, then are summarily killed, often without a single line of dialog. Wesley was a regular starring character on a TV show for four years–there was NOTHING redshirt-ish about it. Honestly, Newsarama, where the heck do you get your writers?
I wondered if the writer conflated the sports term with the SF-Trek fan jargon? It sure seemed that although he may have passing familiarity with the character, he referenced him almost like a third-string junior varsity bit player.
On a related note, spotted @donttrythis (Mythbusters’ Adam Savage) mischievously tweeting that some fans were eavesdropping on a taping of the show with “Urge to prank… rising.”
Heh.
Hey! People are still reading this post! That’s pretty awesome. Please do comment as long as you’re human. Non-humans can post too, as long as they’re NOT spammers.