And now, a very special public service announcement from Captain Tight Pants...

July 15, 2011 8:17 AM

Two "Nerd PSA's": Kaley Cuoco addresses Slave Leia Fatigue. Nathan Fillion on Swamp Ass. (Both links YouTube, Via)
posted by zarq (111 comments total)

Good God, Nathan Fillion gained all the weight Jonah Hill lost!
posted by nathancaswell at 8:19 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

Not to derail, but interesting that Chrome blocks an "insecure script" ... on a Google site. :(

On topic, Swamp Ass also affects cubicle dwellers: Sitting is Killing You.

Most importantly, *30 minutes of activity a day is not enough*.
posted by mrgrimm at 8:23 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

Has Nathan Fillion always been that Jason Bateman-y? And I've just never noticed, somehow?
posted by penduluum at 8:23 AM on July 15, 2011

nathancaswell: "Good God, Nathan Fillion gained all the weight Jonah Hill lost!"

Not really what I meant by "Captain Tight Pants"...
posted by zarq at 8:24 AM on July 15, 2011

Man, Chewbacca needs a waxing.
posted by Legomancer at 8:26 AM on July 15, 2011

Somehow I didn't think the early offtopic remark about someone's weight and/or looks would be about a guy. Progress!
posted by ODiV at 8:26 AM on July 15, 2011 [8 favorites]

Good God, Nathan Fillion gained all the weight Jonah Hill lost!

Oh, thank God, it isn't just me. I have no idea where in the past few years Former Future Ex-Husband got beefy, but dang, he sure did. I mean, I still wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers, but I would say, "You sure you really want those crackers?"
posted by Kitteh at 8:26 AM on July 15, 2011 [7 favorites]

Yeah, Nathan's kinda beefed up. Guess not getting cast in the Uncharted movie meant he didn't feel like trying to stay at Captain Reynolds/Drake weight.
posted by dismas at 8:27 AM on July 15, 2011

"Oh hey, how you doing, Fat Nathan Fillion?"

"Well, you know. I'm tired of having a career, if that's what you're asking."

"Awesome! I've got just the script for you! It's about swamp ass."
posted by rusty at 8:30 AM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]

People get older, they gain weight. I'm not as svelte as I was 10 years ago, why should I expect Nathan Fillion to be?

but he's still a much better comic actor than I'll ever be.
posted by jb at 8:30 AM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]

//Has Nathan Fillion always been that Jason Bateman-y//

Yes. When my wife watched Dr Horrible with me I had to use IMDB to convince her that he wasn't Jason Bateman.
posted by COD at 8:31 AM on July 15, 2011

Nathan Filion always delivers the quirky and unexpected, and yet still I never quite expected to hear him say "moist taint."
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 8:31 AM on July 15, 2011 [17 favorites]

Good God, Nathan Fillion gained all the weight Jonah Hill lost!

**

I have no idea where in the past few years Former Future Ex-Husband got beefy, but dang, he sure did.

Snark all ya want, it just means more of him for me.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:32 AM on July 15, 2011 [10 favorites]

Loving "the more you nerd" tagline at the end.
posted by smirkette at 8:34 AM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]

Teaching first grade makes sitting during the work day a rare occurrence, and now when we have all-day inservices and they expect us to sit all day I come near to insanity. I have to get up and walk a bit every so often, and people stare.

I used to play WoW and sit for hours; I don't know what this swamp ass is, though. Now I play games that can be enjoyed in bursts.
posted by Huck500 at 8:36 AM on July 15, 2011

My friend was just telling me about how at a recent softball game a nerdy looking guy was completely drenched in sweat, and that his butt was completely soaked. Come on, it's softball... So maybe it was just an indication of what he was doing before showing up to the game. Now I get it.
posted by bread-eater at 8:40 AM on July 15, 2011

This is some pretty obvious pandering from some actors who do things geeks like and so therefore feel as though they should also "play" geeks in real life. This pushed the nerd buttons of many of their fans, but you've gotta know that this is just acting. This isn't Jamie and Adam being awkward, awesome dorks., it's a studly actor and a hot blond chick.
Let's all keep in mind "Think you're "nerdy" and "unconventional"? If those attributes have never made you feel incredibly lonely, you're not."
posted by mikoroshi at 8:40 AM on July 15, 2011 [8 favorites]

The Swamp Ass one with Nathan Fillion was actually mildly funny. Slave Leia with Kelly Cuoco not so much. This is at least in part due to my annoyance at The Big Bang Theory. Seriously, they aren't nerds, its Friends with pseudo-nerds.
posted by graxe at 8:42 AM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]

Has Nathan Fillion always been that Jason Bateman-y? And I've just never noticed, somehow?

I've never really seen the resemblance myself but apparently others have.
posted by kmz at 8:47 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

So Nathan gained a few pounds. He's got some time off. I'm sure he'll slim down for the next season of Castle. Relax, people.
posted by papercake at 8:47 AM on July 15, 2011

Actually, it was on a Castle episode where I noticed. Note that I don't really care; I understand that as we get older, there's no fighting gravity, etc. I was just sort of taken aback.
posted by Kitteh at 8:49 AM on July 15, 2011

My friend was just telling me about how at a recent softball game a nerdy looking guy was completely drenched in sweat, and that his butt was completely soaked

I would like to point out that in the midwest in the middle of the summer, when it's extremely humid and extremely hot, one can end up...um...quite sweaty on all parts of the body after walking a couple of miles or a little light bicycling, even if one is quite fit. Particularly if you're wearing regular pants rather than sports clothes.
posted by Frowner at 8:49 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

It actually looks like he got really, really buff. Like Sly Stallone HGH buff. His neck is enormous. His nose looks like it grew. That doesn't just happen, right?

Weird.
posted by nathancaswell at 8:52 AM on July 15, 2011

I was disappointed that the Slave Leia one didn't address the utter tackiness of wanting to be Slave Leia in the first place. Seriously. I hate that Leia iteration, why is it always that one and not her more bad-ass moments that people iconify? Rhetorical question, that last.
posted by atlatl at 8:53 AM on July 15, 2011 [11 favorites]

This is some pretty obvious pandering from some actors who do things geeks like and so therefore feel as though they should also "play" geeks in real life.

Uh, Zachary Levi and Nathan Fillion are both known to be huge into video games. Whether gamers are "proper" nerds or not (a stupid pointless debate), they're not faking that part. (No idea about Cuoco's nerd cred. I can't stand BBT.)
posted by kmz at 8:53 AM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]

Frowner, we're in the NE, but he was indeed wearing cargo shorts. I would give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not sure which way the benefit lies in this case.
posted by bread-eater at 9:00 AM on July 15, 2011

Loved the PSAs. The off-color commentary on "fat" Nathan Fillion, not so much. Just where the hell did you people learn the definition of "fat"? Oh wait . . . nevermind.
posted by IvoShandor at 9:09 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

I would give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not sure which way the benefit lies in this case.

Quiet, you, or I'll demonstrate how sweaty I can get just sitting here typing. And then I'll sit on you.
posted by loquacious at 9:09 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

>This is at least in part due to my annoyance at The Big Bang Theory. Seriously, they aren't nerds, its Friends with pseudo-nerds.

>(No idea about Cuoco's nerd cred. I can't stand BBT.)

I really, really hated BBT when it started. My first thought was, "Oh great. Now it's a nerd version of Two and a Half Men." The thing that particularly irritated me was the fact that they were getting laughs out of people being smart. Like, "Oh look. This person is smart! Isn't that hilarious?!" It just struck me as everything that is wrong with bad sitcoms; trying to dumb down everything and make anti-intellectualism the unifying theme.

But (and you knew there was a but), I actually enjoy it these days. I don't think it's one of the best shows on TV or anything, but they made a critical shift midway through the first season. Instead of making it an intelligence vs. "the rest of us" sort of comedy, it was turned into a show pointing out how silly and out-of-touch with the rest of society geeks can be. Not all of the show is great (the nominal central characters, including the one that Kelly Cuoco plays, can be boring), but certain peripheral characters are great. Jim Parsons didn't win the Emmy for nothing, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) is great, and Mayim Bialik's character is really well done.

Not saying that you can't still dislike it, but if you formed an opinion early on (as I did), you should at least watch a relatively current episode.
posted by Betelgeuse at 9:12 AM on July 15, 2011 [8 favorites]

why is it always that one and not her more bad-ass moments that people iconify?

I'm going to go with "boobs."
posted by chundo at 9:14 AM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]

The man who is tired of Slave Leia is tired of life.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 9:14 AM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]

The man who is tired of Slave Leia is tired of life.

I've seen Slave Leia, a thousand times. Anyone who goes to a con has also. Why anyone wants to dress up as a cliche is beyond me. I'll all for T&A at times, but sweet jesus, put some thought into it, so we know there's a brain there too.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:17 AM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]

Betelgeuse: That's really interesting, I have almost the exact opposite opinion. I liked it when it started and find it pretty much unwatchable now. It could be that the novelty of the show made me overlook faults I'm just now annoyed by or if they were introduced or just brought to prominence with the "critical shift" you're talking about.
posted by ODiV at 9:18 AM on July 15, 2011

Has Nathan Fillion always been that Jason Bateman-y? And I've just never noticed, somehow?

You've just never noticed. I've never known his real name before today. I've always called him "Poor Man's Jason Bateman" (or, pre-Arrested Development, simply "Is that Jason Bateman?")

My friend was just telling me about how at a recent softball game a nerdy looking guy was completely drenched in sweat, and that his butt was completely soaked. Come on, it's softball...

Come play softball with me and my drag-queen friends in Louisville, KY in August. More than your butt will be drenched. ... um.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:23 AM on July 15, 2011

Instead of making it an intelligence vs. "the rest of us" sort of comedy, it was turned into a show pointing out how silly and out-of-touch with the rest of society geeks can be.

That's actually precisely why I don't like it. I watched a recent episode, in fact, at the suggestion of a friend who liked it -- but it just seemed to hit all the trite "ha ha nerds care way too much about Star Trek and don't know how to function at regular parties" jokes I hear way too much in real life anyway.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:23 AM on July 15, 2011

Oh atlatl, I totally went as white robed Leia in middle school for Halloween. I wore a choir robe from church that was a dead ringer for the one she wore, a gold chain belt belonging to my grandmother, and did the whole dougnut hair thing with my actual own uncontrollable long and nerdy hair. Did I mention I actually wore this to school? No one thought it was cool, but then again, no one thought I was cool anyway.
posted by Polyhymnia at 9:23 AM on July 15, 2011

Id like to see more girls in the foxy Leia on Bespin outfit, but it may just be simply impossible to get shower curtains like that after 1981.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 9:31 AM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]

I agree with ODiV. I watched the first two seasons of the Big Bang Theory and completely lost interest by the third season. I mostly don't think the topics they bring up are actually nerd focused. They argue about video games and extremely well known comic books. Last I knew there was a movie for every single one of those. This isn't something that is nerdy to me.

The last episode I watched was one that ended up introducing relationships to nearly every character. Thats in part why I think of it as Friends with pseudo-nerds, of course there are many other similarities. It just got ridiculous, there was no interesting point to the show, just the standard relationship melodrama that is in nearly every other show on tv. Quite frankly, there is life after junior high style interaction.
posted by graxe at 9:34 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

BTW as I get older I watch Jedi and see Mon Mothma and think ".......heyyyy, maybe yeah"
posted by Senor Cardgage at 9:42 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

it's a studly actor and a hot blond chick.

Because good looking people obviously can't be nerds. And nerds obviously can't be hot.
posted by cmgonzalez at 9:44 AM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]

All I have to add is that, two days ago, riding a SEPTA bus, this woman with groceries in both hands and no belt on her pants came running onto the bus, paid her fare, and as she did so her pants fell down completely, showing the entire bus a full view of two dangling, bare, ass cheeks. Between the ventilation and the fact that she stood up the entire ride, pulling her pants back up every time I'd say more than 50% of the butt was showing, I'd guess her ass wasn't so swampy.

And yet. And yet. I'd take the swamp ass option over her approach.
posted by angrycat at 9:45 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

That picture of thin Jonah Hill is the motivation I need to get to the gym.
posted by ColdChef at 9:48 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

Let's all keep in mind "Think you're "nerdy" and "unconventional"? If those attributes have never made you feel incredibly lonely, you're not."

I spent most of my childhood angry and scared (for reasons that I’ve previously discussed here). Until I was twelve years old, I never had more than one friend at any given time. One friend, of whom I was viciously possessive; no one was going to steal him from me, and I would go nuclear on anyone who tried.

When I was twelve years old, my one friend Noel introduced me to his older brother’s D&D collection, and I suddenly needed to play that game more than anyone had needed anything ever. It was what I was born to do, and it necessitated that I revise my worldview to accommodate as many as five friends. Shortly after my fifteenth birthday one of those five friends took me to my first LARP, and I again revised my social tolerance level to the point where I could allow upwards of thirty people to consider themselves my friends. Just before I turned twenty one of the people that I’d met at that LARP gave me my first hit of good E, which blew the fucking roof off the upper limits of how many people I could love and accept and with whom I wanted to spend time.

I will Pepsi Challenge my nerd credentials against anyone on this site; even if I don’t win I’ll make a good showing. Being a nerd taught me how to be confident, how to accept people on their own terms and how to not give too much of a shit about what people thought of whatever it is that I want to do. I run two tabletop games a week (Pathfinder on Tuesdays and The Dresden Files on Wednesdays), I read more genre fiction than is probably healthy, I can tell you about Nar Shadaa and Risa, and I still get as much ass as any of the restrooms at Dodger Stadium on game night.

Being a nerd doesn’t have to be about feeling incredibly lonely. If you’re doing it right, it means that you never have to feel lonely ever again.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:59 AM on July 15, 2011 [15 favorites]

eh, i like big bang theory. i think it's one of those shows you can't just pick up and watch an episode - i think you have to be along for the character development. there's a lot of little touches that really bring the show together (although priya can go jump off a bridge). sure, it's just a sitcom where people play at being nerds, but i don't need all my entertainment to be super authentic and heralded by the critics. sometimes i like watching shows that might last for more than a season and be aired in the correct order. i do agree with the friends comparisons though (full disclosure, i loved early-mid friends) - i said to my husband last season "ah, looks like we're doing the ross/rachel/joey thing." i wish they wouldn't, but it's inevitable - i mean, even the office has had a wedding and (soon to be) two babies.

also - jim parsons, out of character, reminds me exactly of the southern gay nerds i knew in high school. the ones that always knew they were different so they became nerds and then figured out that they weren't staring at the seven of nine poster, but were instead staring at their DM.
posted by nadawi at 10:03 AM on July 15, 2011

why is it always that one and not her more bad-ass moments that people iconify?

So strangling Jabba to death with the very leash he used to keep her captive is not one of her more bad-ass moments?
posted by the_artificer at 10:07 AM on July 15, 2011 [6 favorites]

but it's inevitable

I wish someone would tell these people that it's not. Your show doesn't have to include a bunch of relationship drama to be interesting! There are other ways to introduce female characters than by having them become involved with your male characters! You don't have to "shake things up" by rearranging sexual relationships every few years!

Granted, I don't have a hit television show that has been renewed for however many seasons.
posted by ODiV at 10:10 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Perfect timing for our BBT discussion this morning.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 10:13 AM on July 15, 2011

Your show doesn't have to include a bunch of relationship drama to be interesting! There are other ways to introduce female characters than by having them become involved with your male characters! You don't have to "shake things up" by rearranging sexual relationships every few years!

And to provide the "nerd cred" Exhibit A to prove this: The X-Files went a whole 7 seasons before introducing the romantic element.

(EC nods firmly, ignoring the millions of shippers suddenly crying out in terror.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:17 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

So strangling Jabba to death with the very leash he used to keep her captive is not one of her more bad-ass moments?

I would say that strangling Jabba was kind of a bad-ass moment, sure. Is the costume bad-ass? No. Is that moment of triumph what people think of when they see that costume (or wear it)? Likely not. Are there many other, MORE bad-ass moments with less demeaning costumes associated with Leia? Yes, most definitely.
posted by atlatl at 10:19 AM on July 15, 2011

Has Nathan Fillion always been that Jason Bateman-y?

Yeah, dude. Fillion, Bateman and Jeremy Renner need to do a comedy where they play three brothers. That would be fantastic.
posted by adamdschneider at 10:37 AM on July 15, 2011

So, that first PSA wasn't, hey, ladies, you don't have to dress up as whatever character you want - it was, hey, keep it "sexy" but with a little more variety so that you don't risk boring the ogling con nerds!
posted by ignignokt at 10:41 AM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]

Not saying that you can't still dislike it, but if you formed an opinion early on (as I did), you should at least watch a relatively current episode.

Do they still have the evil nerd with the speech impediment? That was when I gave up on the show.
posted by the_artificer at 10:41 AM on July 15, 2011

Do they still have the evil nerd with the speech impediment? That was when I gave up on the show.

He doesn't show up very often (imdb says only once since 2009). These days when they need an evil nerd, they usually turn to Wil Wheaton.
posted by Gary at 10:49 AM on July 15, 2011

Fight Monkey Butt [swf]
posted by Eideteker at 10:50 AM on July 15, 2011

Yeah, dude. Fillion, Bateman and Jeremy Renner need to do a comedy where they play three brothers.

Batement and Renner are full brothers. Fillion is their half-brother -- same mother, but fathered by a camel.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:52 AM on July 15, 2011

So, that first PSA wasn't, hey, ladies, you don't have to dress up as whatever character you want - it was, hey, keep it "sexy" but with a little more variety so that you don't risk boring the ogling con nerds!

It's almost like people cosplay for their own reasons instead of at the behest of the crowd. Shocking, right?
posted by kafziel at 10:55 AM on July 15, 2011

Not saying that you can't still dislike it, but if you formed an opinion early on (as I did), you should at least watch a relatively current episode.

Does it still have the obnoxious laugh track?
posted by kafziel at 10:56 AM on July 15, 2011

two days ago, riding a SEPTA bus, this woman with groceries in both hands and no belt on her pants came running onto the bus, paid her fare, and as she did so her pants fell down completely, showing the entire bus a full view of two dangling, bare, ass cheeks.

Did she by any chance have celery in her grocery bag?

As far as Slave Leia not being one of her more "badass" iterations, it should be noted that she single-handedly killed Jabba the Hutt while wearing it, which is pretty darn badass.

(and a shoutout to my friend Christy, who was in the Slave Leia PSA as the "Starfleet" girl)
posted by ShutterBun at 11:10 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

What's that stripey thing in Kaley Cuoco hair in the close-ups?
posted by smackfu at 11:25 AM on July 15, 2011

it was, hey, keep it "sexy" but with a little more variety so that you don't risk boring the ogling con nerds!

Well, if you are going to a con as slave Leia, you are clearly going for sexy.
posted by smackfu at 11:26 AM on July 15, 2011

What's that stripey thing in Kaley Cuoco hair in the close-ups?

Probably a feather hair extension (for example).
posted by jedicus at 11:32 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

What's that stripey thing in Kaley Cuoco hair in the close-ups?

That is a feather. Spouse Of Everichon has several such. They seem to be everywhere, all of a sudden.
posted by everichon at 11:42 AM on July 15, 2011

This is some pretty obvious pandering from some actors who do things geeks like and so therefore feel as though they should also "play" geeks in real life.

You've never heard Fillion's light sabre battle story, then?

The guy's no wannabe. He's a full-on geek.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 11:44 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

>Betelgeuse: That's really interesting, I have almost the exact opposite opinion. I liked it when it started and find it pretty much unwatchable now. It could be that the novelty of the show made me overlook faults I'm just now annoyed by or if they were introduced or just brought to prominence with the "critical shift" you're talking about.

>That's actually precisely why I don't like it. I watched a recent episode, in fact, at the suggestion of a friend who liked it -- but it just seemed to hit all the trite "ha ha nerds care way too much about Star Trek and don't know how to function at regular parties" jokes I hear way too much in real life anyway.

Heh. Interesting. The thing I like about it is that, despite the joking about geekiness of the main characters and using that for laughs, the characters have a genuineness that I think is often missing in shows about smart people. They may be out of touch with society and obsessed with science fiction, science, and comic books, but it largely doesn't bother them and they think the rest of society is a little bit weird for being caught up in all of the stuff they're caught up in. It's a attitude I can sympathize with and see a lot among my friends and colleagues (as you can probably guess from my user name, I'm an Astronomer).

> Do they still have the evil nerd with the speech impediment? That was when I gave up on the show.

OK. So maybe I just have low standards, but I thought he was entertaining.

Plus, you have to appreciate a show that has cameos from Wil Wheaton and a bunch of professional astronomers (no matter how hard it is to watch the astronomers try to be funny).

I'm not going to be too strident in my defense of this show. I don't think it's up there with The Office or Modern Family or even 30 Rock (nevermind something like Arrested Development), but I think it's a cute little show that I enjoy as a diversion from time to time.
posted by Betelgeuse at 11:51 AM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

What's that stripey thing in Kaley Cuoco hair in the close-ups?

Probably a feather hair extension (for example).

That is a feather. Spouse Of Everichon has several such. They seem to be everywhere, all of a sudden.

And it's really pissing off the fly fishermen.
posted by Betelgeuse at 11:54 AM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]

Being a nerd doesn’t have to be about feeling incredibly lonely. If you’re doing it right, it means that you never have to feel lonely ever again.

The problem, though, is that you still end up having to hang out with nerds.

I've got so many board games that I had to dispose of my comic book collection to make room for them (I can read comics on my iPad; I don't need the longboxes anymore). I can recite HHGTTG reel to reel or cover to cover. I don't just know the episode titles from your favourite show, I know the draft title and what pages were edited out.

But I'll be damned if I'd ever go to another convention, and LARP is just one curve on the waterslide away from yiffing the under-13 set in your panda outfit with the zipper on the crotch.

Nerds socialize with nerds when they don't have any other choice. Those who claim that this is an unfair generalization and that they have this other circle of friends that they could totally hang out with...no. You really don't. Well, maybe one in a thousand of you. But probably not anyone reading this.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 11:56 AM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]

Nah, I have kind of annoyingly high standards for sitcoms, Betelgeuse. I've had to train myself out of going into Critic Mode in conversations like this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:58 AM on July 15, 2011

OK. So maybe I just have low standards, but I thought he was entertaining.

Nah, I have kind of annoyingly high standards for sitcoms, Betelgeuse. I've had to train myself out of going into Critic Mode in conversations like this.

I don't think these two statements are necessarily mutually exclusive. :)
posted by Betelgeuse at 12:02 PM on July 15, 2011

I realize this is an old, tired argument, but what are you if you're a smart person who doesn't obsess over comics and science fiction? Because fan-boys took "nerd" away.
posted by roll truck roll at 12:20 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

Grad student?
posted by smackfu at 12:33 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]

The problem, though, is that you still end up having to hang out with nerds.

Almost all of the nerds that I know are partnered with non-nerds. It turns out that for most people, once you get out of high school no one really cares whether you're a nerd or not.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 12:36 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]

but he's still a much better comic actor than I'll ever be.

He is a criminally underrated comedic actor. I first saw him on Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place where he was very funny, but it seems that most of his acting work has him in the role as straight man, which he's also good at, but it undermines how great he can be at delivery.

Happily the people producing Castle seem to understand what they've got in him and let him have some fun now and again.

As to the Swamp Ass thing? That part at the end, when he switches on the hair dryer and stares off into the middle-distance? That's the part that had me laughing. Simple and perfect.
posted by quin at 12:36 PM on July 15, 2011

Nathan Fillion is sneaky.
posted by homunculus at 12:48 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]

The heavier Fillion thing in this thread is weird. Christina Hendricks chunked way up after Firefly, but you didn't see me commenting on that. Until now.
posted by Justinian at 12:55 PM on July 15, 2011

ten pounds of inedita: what in hell? Maybe your definition of "nerd" is a little different than mine is, but I see my company as highly varied and interesting and more fun to hang out with than "non-nerds." I can get along fine with non-nerds but why would I want to for longer than necessary?
posted by Navelgazer at 1:12 PM on July 15, 2011

I realize this is an old, tired argument, but what are you if you're a smart person who doesn't obsess over comics and science fiction?

Dead inside.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:15 PM on July 15, 2011 [7 favorites]

That's some quality snark right there.
posted by Justinian at 1:17 PM on July 15, 2011

I've got so many board games that I had to dispose of my comic book collection to make room for them (I can read comics on my iPad; I don't need the longboxes anymore). I can recite HHGTTG reel to reel or cover to cover. I don't just know the episode titles from your favourite show, I know the draft title and what pages were edited out.

So you're a 'nerd'? But you dislike 'nerds'? Do you get up in the morning, look in the mirror and utter...."Best. Nerd. Ever."?

How's the weather on the mountaintop these days?
posted by howfar at 1:57 PM on July 15, 2011

ten pounds of inedita: what in hell? Maybe your definition of "nerd" is a little different than mine is, but I see my company as highly varied and interesting and more fun to hang out with than "non-nerds." I can get along fine with non-nerds but why would I want to for longer than necessary?

For me, it's because interesting and annoying go hand-in-hand and are so, so rarely separable. Ten minutes in the cleanest, best-lit comic shop is enough to fill that tank for a year or more. I could go the rest of my life without having to experience the Gamer Funk in the air at Origins. And, frankly, anyone who doesn't want to kick the autism out of any Camarilla member they see is, well, less than half a person, as far as I'm concerned.

I managed a game and comic shop for close to seven years. I was a flag officer in Starfleet. I haven't just eaten the cookie, I came up with the recipe. It's easy for the mundanes to dismiss the geeks. It's harder for you to accept when you're dismissed by those who've been in your shoes and found a better way.

Some have said that there is little difference between the kind of tribalism that dresses up in copies of Jayne Cobb's cunning cap and the kind of tribalism that wears a specific hockey jersey and paints their face for the game. There is a difference, and it's subtle; the latter may burn a couple of cars when their team loses. The former may waste the rest of their lives obsessing over how they lost the show after one season. I would argue that the Firefly fans do more harm.

But that's almost beside the point; I don't want to socialize with either of those groups.

How's the weather on the mountaintop these days?

I'm not on a mountaintop. It's just that you can't see the sky from your basement.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 2:04 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

I don't just know the episode titles from your favourite show, I know the draft title and what pages were edited out... I haven't just eaten the cookie, I came up with the recipe... I'm not on a mountaintop. It's just that you can't see the sky from your basement.

You sound like you're trying to be the guy from the your business card is crap video.
posted by nathancaswell at 2:08 PM on July 15, 2011

Gary writes "These days when they need an evil nerd, they usually turn to Wil Wheaton."

And evil Wil Wheaton is awesome. may he never turn his powers on me
posted by Mitheral at 2:10 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

I realize this is an old, tired argument, but what are you if you're a smart person who doesn't obsess over comics and science fiction?

Normal. Or Norm. One of those.

Pretty much all of my friends are smart people who don't like comics or science fiction (OK, a few of them really like sci-fi, and 1-2 really love comics, but). There is a whole world out there, my friend.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:21 PM on July 15, 2011

The original term was "mundane", but that has been co-opted by those.. those... newcomers.
posted by Justinian at 2:26 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Damn, now I've got the theme to Alien Nation stuck in my head.
posted by khaibit at 2:47 PM on July 15, 2011

Fillion, Bateman and Jeremy Renner need to do a comedy where they play three brothers.

With James Read as the dad.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:48 PM on July 15, 2011

No, "Big Bang Theory" fails one level more than any other: it simply isn't funny. At all. It leans on "wacky nerd" humor so much but is essentially trite as can be. "Oh, aren't geeks weird?" No, not all of them. And that boring "Revenge of the Nerds"-level stereotyping is just lazy writing. I've given it an honest shot; many of my friends (and even my mother) have all recommended it. It just isn't funny.
posted by eoden at 2:50 PM on July 15, 2011 [6 favorites]

So ten pounds of inedita what you're saying is that you're an overnerd?
posted by philcliff at 2:57 PM on July 15, 2011

graxe wrote: it's Friends with pseudo-nerds.

And funny t-shirts. Which I almost never watch, but almost everyone else I know does.

That said, Garrett Wang likes it, so it can't be all bad.
posted by wierdo at 4:23 PM on July 15, 2011

I hang out with nerds because I can.
posted by Zed at 4:36 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nerdt Undt Ubernerdt.
posted by jenkinsEar at 6:55 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

ten pounds of inedita, your strong feelings on this subject are making you sound like a really unpleasant ass. Just thought I'd throw that out there to help in case that wasn't your intention.
posted by Glinn at 7:18 PM on July 15, 2011

I'm not on a mountaintop. It's just that you can't see the sky from your basement.

Dude. Just....dude.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:06 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

I think Big Bang Theory gets geek social dynamics right. Every group of geeks has the 'can function in society' geeks and the Sheldon-esque 'oh, that's why they make fun of us' geeks.
I had a bunch of geeky friends, and then I thought I was too good for them and hung out with flaky hipsters. Now I haven't seen X-Men, Thor, or Harry Potter because I have nobody to see them with and realized most cool people are half-geek. There's a lesson there.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:53 PM on July 15, 2011

is there a way for a hipster fangirl to dress as Slave Leia ironically? would that work?
posted by Bwithh at 10:13 PM on July 15, 2011

your strong feelings on this subject are making you sound like a really unpleasant ass.

Go figure; I was thinking the same thing about those commenters who've been reacting as if my opinion of a subculture is some kind of personal assault. And then I forgot all about it while I was out this evening with people who've never heard of Settlers of Catan and who don't get bent out of shape when someone doesn't like their favourite TV show.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 10:29 PM on July 15, 2011

is there a way for a hipster fangirl to dress as Slave Leia ironically? would that work?

Let's see!

Hipster, not slave... (scroll all the way down)

Trying again...

Closer...

What's this?

What's this now?!? No no no no no no!

Last try....

Close enough
posted by Several Unnamed Sources at 10:55 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Go figure; I was thinking the same thing about those commenters who've been reacting as if my opinion of a subculture is some kind of personal assault.

Um... you may not realise this, but your comments very much read as: "I am more fortunate and accomplished than you, for I have transcended hanging out with nerds like yourselves, and have managed to socialise with people who do not share your interests!"

Nerds socialize with nerds when they don't have any other choice. Those who claim that this is an unfair generalization and that they have this other circle of friends that they could totally hang out with...no. You really don't. Well, maybe one in a thousand of you. But probably not anyone reading this.

Yeah, I'm a nerd, I'm married to a nerd and I have lots of nerdy friends. My life, for all that, is rich and full. Today I talked to an economic historian about gender politics, to a priest about natural law, psychopaths and urban planning, and to a sociology professor about technical aspects of intelligence analysis, Clausewitzian conceptions of interstate conflict and the Nintendo Wii. Today I hung out in a park, petted a nice old dog, ate falafel at lunch and sausage at dinner, and raced against the clock to help a friend catch an intercity bus.

It is, perhaps, best to judge your relationships with other people on the basis of the depth and quality of your shared experiences. Otherwise, you risk ranking them against some arbitrary scale, and that would be a real pity, wouldn't it?
posted by Dreadnought at 11:55 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

Nerd seems to be a self-defined term. Someone might think you are a nerd, but you are not. You might think you are a nerd, and you are. ... ... ...
posted by mrgrimm at 12:33 AM on July 16, 2011

I completely agree that nerd is a self defined term. I can see lots of possible definitions, some could involve stereotypes on social behavior, or particular types of interests e.g. video games or programmers, or even ones based on intelligence or odd habits.

I tend to think of a wide definition of a nerd as a person significant interest with a hobby or activity that might not be known at a wide level. (Obviously revise or replace with your own definition) This is something of a popularity based definition, which is something consistent with my own experiences.
posted by graxe at 1:23 AM on July 16, 2011

That clip made me lol, homonculus.
posted by chmmr at 1:56 AM on July 16, 2011

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't one of those women dressed as 'Market fight/hiding in a basket' scene Marion from Raiders?

And, that being the case, do I win a prize for spotting it?
posted by Jofus at 3:31 AM on July 16, 2011

I was thinking the same thing about those commenters who've been reacting as if my opinion of a subculture is some kind of personal assault.

What about the whole "living in a basement" snark? wasn't that personal?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:47 AM on July 16, 2011

Fillion's light sabre story.
posted by deborah at 5:58 AM on July 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

And then I forgot all about it while I was out this evening with people who've never heard of Settlers of Catan

You are so, so much better than me. Please, may I fawn over you for a bit? I promise no one will see us together!
posted by adamdschneider at 6:41 AM on July 16, 2011

ten pounds of inedita: I can't tell if you're acting like a raging asshole on purpose or because you don't realize you are doing so. In any case; you are acting like a giant asshole here. The reason why people are taking your comments as a personal assault is because your comments are a personal assault.
posted by Justinian at 9:58 AM on July 16, 2011

What about the whole "living in a basement" snark? wasn't that personal?

Not sure. I couldn't tell from my mountaintop.

Justinian: no, they aren't; saying something about a group says next to nothing about the individuals in it. I make no apologies for any offense that any individual may take if they self-identify with any group in question. That's their problem. I'd sooner hang out with Democrats than Republicans, and consider the former to be overall better people, to which the latter should aspire. is this a personal assault on any individual Republican? No, of course not. Give your head a shake.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 10:57 AM on July 16, 2011

no, they aren't; saying something about a group says next to nothing about the individuals in it.

Hm. Except this part?

Those who claim that this is an unfair generalization and that they have this other circle of friends that they could totally hang out with...no. You really don't. Well, maybe one in a thousand of you. But probably not anyone reading this.

I haven't taken anything you've said personally. And I'm not sure anyone else has. We're just letting you know you're coming off really, really poorly. Perhaps when this nerd-button issue isn't on the table, you are a nice person. If you prefer to be a nice person, you might consider that though you may have dealt with many jerks who were also nerds, your ugly generalizations do not mesh with the valid experiences of others.
posted by Glinn at 1:59 PM on July 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

Um... you may not realise this, but your comments very much read as: "I am more fortunate and accomplished than you, for I have transcended hanging out with nerds like yourselves, and have managed to socialise with people who do not share your interests!"

Where are you going? Is it to the top? If not, why not? Go to the bloody top!

I would also like, while I'm here, to enter the above clip into evidence in the case of Nerds vs. The Big Bang Theory. We can do better; we have done better. Get it right.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 2:05 PM on July 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

who don't get bent out of shape when someone doesn't like their favourite TV show.

Well that was a weird derail. I didn't know we were doing primal scream therapy on here nowadays. Live and learn.
posted by howfar at 8:09 PM on July 16, 2011

ten pounds, whatever cool kids you're trying to impress by busting on nerds, I don't think they're looking right now. And cool kids tend to not be impressed by people who try quite that hard anyway.

Just sayin'.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:52 AM on July 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

Aw, don't be so hard on the socially awkward guy.
posted by ODiV at 1:33 PM on July 17, 2011