November 22, 2001

11:09 AM

Vote Wil Wheaton 'Entertainer of the Year'in Entertainment Weekly's poll. As one Farkster put it, "a vote for Wil Wheaton is a vote for messing with the normals." Won't Britney Spears be crushed? At the moment "Wil" is leading, but his evil twin "Will" is coming up fast.
posted by fleener (64 comments total)

Go wil!
posted by phatboy at 11:14 AM on November 22, 2001

I guess we can't vote for Hank this time, since he's dead. (Besides, if we're messing with the mundanes, we shouldn't split our votes.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 11:15 AM on November 22, 2001

Er, someone just told me they didn't know who Wil Wheaton is. I'm shocked. Just in case, you know him as Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: Next Generation, and 'Gordie' in the movie Stand By Me.

Some of us were taken aback to learn Wil is a semi-techie, after recent Slashdot and BBspot interviews.
posted by fleener at 11:25 AM on November 22, 2001

Go Wil Go! (screenshot)
posted by mathowie at 11:29 AM on November 22, 2001

also doing fairly well on the ol' poll is joss whedon (the ever-cool creator of buffy:the vampire slayer)... who i sent my vote to instead of wil. sorry, folks, but even if he is a weblogger, he still was on a star trek tv show.

hahaha, i hope i can turn this into a "STAR TREK SUXXORS" / "NUH UH IT RUULZ" flame war.
posted by onthestereo at 11:30 AM on November 22, 2001

Since some people are having spelling issues.. click the link on this page to vote for wil

(via a link in wil's comments)
posted by jheiz at 11:33 AM on November 22, 2001

It's disturbing how many people are voting for "Goatse" man.
posted by drgonzo at 11:54 AM on November 22, 2001

And Will falls behind again.

1. Joss Whedon (5274 votes)
2. Wil Wheaton (5260 votes)
posted by DBAPaul at 12:08 PM on November 22, 2001

Will weaton is off the list now.

But I wouldn't put to much creedence into this poll. www.goatse.cx is number 10 now :P
posted by delmoi at 12:11 PM on November 22, 2001

But a surprise dark horse: Goatse Guy!
posted by solistrato at 12:12 PM on November 22, 2001

The top vote-getters as of 3:13 Eastern Time:

1. Wil Wheaton (5474 votes)
2. Joss Whedon (4239 votes)
5. Goatse Man (1066 votes)
6. PT-Man (1062 votes)
10. www.goatse.cx (783 votes)

Who's PT-Man?
posted by melissa at 12:15 PM on November 22, 2001

I want to know who's pushing Steve Gibson.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 12:33 PM on November 22, 2001

It's just got to be SlashDot that's pushing Goatse.cx. It's just got to be.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 12:34 PM on November 22, 2001

Somehow, I don't think they're gonna publish the results of this poll in their magazine.
posted by signal at 1:09 PM on November 22, 2001

Wil's up by almost a thousand votes!!! WooHoo!!!!

1. Wil Wheaton (5743 votes)
2. Joss Whedon (4751 votes)
posted by Optamystic at 1:23 PM on November 22, 2001

I just voted three times in a row. vote early, vote often.
posted by rebeccablood at 1:38 PM on November 22, 2001

wil wheaton: we might like to tease him, but he's one of ours.
posted by rebeccablood at 1:39 PM on November 22, 2001

Who will count the chads?

1. Wil Wheaton (5911 votes)
2. Joss Whedon (4815 votes)
3. Janet Jackson (4030 votes)
4. Steve Gibson (2945 votes)
5. Goatse Man (1120 votes)
6. www.goatse.cx (1118 votes)
7. Christina Aguilera (1077 votes)
8. Madonna (1071 votes)
9. PT-Man (1062 votes)
10. Laura Innes (841 votes)
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 1:49 PM on November 22, 2001

I did my part. Wil's been chewing himself up inside after that "Weakest Link" producer ragged on him. He needs some warm fuzzies.
posted by RavinDave at 1:51 PM on November 22, 2001

1. Wil Wheaton (6303 votes)
2. Joss Whedon (5107 votes)
3. Janet Jackson (4070 votes)
4. Steve Gibson (3116 votes)
5. www.goatse.cx (1324 votes)
6. Christina Aguilera (1286 votes)
7. Goatse Man (1121 votes)
8. Madonna (1089 votes)
9. PT-Man (1062 votes)
10. Laura Innes (856 votes)

Wil Wheaton keeps gradually increasing his lead!
posted by guy_parsons at 2:50 PM on November 22, 2001

A vote for Wheaton is a vote for geekdom.
posted by owillis at 3:13 PM on November 22, 2001

I voted once for Wil, but I've spent the last five minutes doing my part for Joss Whedon's cause. C'mon, people.. Musical Buffy! Yeah! Hello?
posted by jess at 3:17 PM on November 22, 2001

Well, I have done my part for the cause.....

ABB! (anybody but Britney....heheheh.....)
posted by bunnyfire at 4:05 PM on November 22, 2001

1. Wil Wheaton (6840 votes)
2. Joss Whedon (5425 votes)
3. Janet Jackson (4224 votes)
4. Steve Gibson (3207 votes)
5. Christina Aguilera (1433 votes)
6. Madonna (1116 votes)
7. PT-Man (1062 votes)
8. Laura Innes (871 votes)
9. Nicole Kidman (732 votes)
10. Britney Spears (726 votes)


Goatse Man is gone. Who is PT-Man?
posted by otherchaz at 4:07 PM on November 22, 2001

Okay, I did what you asked me to do.

Now vote for Beef Humper.

Yes, I know it's a self-link, but I don't know any easier way to explain it. Forgive me. You know I'm good for it.

I want one thing this year, dammit, and that's to be famous.
posted by tpoh.org at 4:11 PM on November 22, 2001

Shoot otherchaz, I was about to post that. I guess they didn't want to be criminally responsible for having goatse_cx on their site, think of the children. And where's Bruce Campbell?
posted by bobo123 at 4:13 PM on November 22, 2001

Up with Wheaton! Down with Whedon!
posted by jjg at 4:28 PM on November 22, 2001

Entertainment Weekly's review of Wil's appearance on Weakest Link:
Crusher Crushed

One of many comments about the EW poll on Wil's blog

Read this carefully people:

THE WINNER OF THIS DOES NOT WIN ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR.

Let me restate that for emphasis: EVEN IF POLLS CLOSED NOW, WIL WOULD NOT BE THE ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR.

This is just PHASE ONE. The top ten, (which Wil should stay in with zero prob, as long as we keep an eye on this until it ends on the 28th, just in case) will merely go on to phase two.

PHASE TWO will not be write in, but will list the top ten, and we have to choose from then. THAT WINNER will be the entertainer of the year. We will have to make sure that we play this out on phase two as well, so Wil gets the credit he deserves for keeping us entertained on Wilnet everyday.


And, in case you're really not paying attention:

THIS IS JUST PHASE ONE.
THE WINNER OF PHASE ONE IS NOT ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR.
LET'S MAKE SURE WE CARRY THIS THROUGH WHEN PHASE TWO COMES AROUND, AFTER THIS PART ENDS ON THE 28TH.

Clear?

Posted by John Kenneth Fisher @ 11/22/2001 11:54 AM PST
posted by otherchaz at 4:33 PM on November 22, 2001

I love this. I voted (2X) and added a link to the poll to my site -- I urge all MeFi'ers to do same. Thanks for the news, fleener; THIS is what makes me love the web so much.
posted by davidmsc at 4:56 PM on November 22, 2001

1. Wil Wheaton (7887 votes)
2. Joss Whedon (5998 votes)
3. Janet Jackson (4470 votes)
4. Steve Gibson (3257 votes)
5. Christina Aguilera (1801 votes)
6. Madonna (1142 votes)
7. PT-Man (1062 votes)
8. Britney Spears (1061 votes)
9. Laura Innes (881 votes)
10. Nicole Kidman (740 votes)

Way to go Wil! Like Fisher/Otherchaz said, let's keep this going.
posted by free2bme at 6:24 PM on November 22, 2001

BTW, what did people or whoever it was do when Hank the angry drunken dwarf made the most sexy list?
Does Wil Wheaton get anything cool if he wins?
posted by Charmian at 6:43 PM on November 22, 2001

damn that's funny. As of 10:43 p.m. EST:

1. Wil Wheaton (8292 votes)
2. Joss Whedon (6234 votes)
3. Janet Jackson (4537 votes)
4. Steve Gibson (3386 votes)
5. Christina Aguilera (1814 votes)
6. Madonna (1154 votes)
7. Britney Spears (1120 votes)
8. PT-Man (1062 votes)
9. Laura Innes (883 votes)
10. Nicole Kidman (742 votes)

The PT-Man mystery is a killer. A google search yielded nothing helpful. Someone's gotta know....
posted by mattpfeff at 7:47 PM on November 22, 2001

I've never personally culture-jammed before. It feels great.
posted by crasspastor at 7:57 PM on November 22, 2001

I wish goatse would have won. I'm sure there's an interesting story behind the site. Or maybe it's just a bunch of drunk frat kids. I've heard people claim his name really is Goatse and he died recently.... yeah right....

By exploiting Wil like this you're just making him more of a pop icon that will die fast. Remember mullets, all your base, Gary Coleman's comeback? Please don't vote, if not for yourself, but for Wil's dignity.
posted by geoff. at 7:59 PM on November 22, 2001

Wheaton is in favor of this.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 8:07 PM on November 22, 2001

Yeah I don't think its a dignity issue for Wheaton. If you've ever read his blog, you'd find he is soooooo down to earth and a refreshment at that. I think that he along with the rest of us enjoy seeing him figurehead the rise of the geeks. His new found popularity exists web-only. A vote for Wil is a vote for all of us Web-Only types.

Vote Wil Wheaton!
posted by crasspastor at 8:21 PM on November 22, 2001

Whats goin on here...huh, some stat stacking?
posted by clavdivs at 8:25 PM on November 22, 2001

I just voted three times in a row. vote early, vote often.

I voted (2X)

why wouldn't EW add some ip checking at least to the code? surely it isn't b/c of lack of tech-kno-how. do they really care that little about the integrity of the poll?

anyway i just pumped in a couple of dozen for wil. i still don't get what i was supposed to hate about little wesley crusher.
posted by danOstuporStar at 9:09 PM on November 22, 2001

Here's a direct link to vote for Wil. Vote early and often, kids!
posted by RylandDotNet at 9:42 PM on November 22, 2001

The best part is that Wil isn't even a television figure currently. I consider this a nice slap in the face of most of the other top tenners.
posted by trioperative at 9:45 PM on November 22, 2001

what's odd about this is that if you type nothing it says :

You answered: Jack Black

at least it did for me
posted by mrben at 10:04 PM on November 22, 2001

I hope Googlebot follows that link.
Heh heh heh.
posted by Catch at 10:08 PM on November 22, 2001

Yo, RylandDotNet -- excellent link - works great. Just keep clicking Refresh and watch the count rise!

Um...did anyone notice the top of the screen -- it says "College Entertainment Poll." Huh?
posted by davidmsc at 10:16 PM on November 22, 2001

I understand Joss Whedon, I understand Janet Jackson, Madonna and even Nicole Kidman, to an extent. I don't know who Steve Gibson is or PT-Man is. Sadly, I understand Aguilera and Britney.

But what is up with Laura Innes on the top 10? Is there some militant Dr. Weaver fan club out there or has she done something exceptional this year and I'm blissfully oblivious?
posted by jerseygirl at 10:26 PM on November 22, 2001

Now Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka from Something Awful is at number 5. How is a culture jammer to choose?
posted by krisjohn at 10:48 PM on November 22, 2001

Yo, RylandDotNet -- excellent link - works great. Just keep clicking Refresh and watch the count rise!

or, if you use opera, just set it to reload every 5 seconds. And leave it running all night.
posted by signal at 11:09 PM on November 22, 2001

Steve Gibson.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 12:06 AM on November 23, 2001

Well.. SOMEBODY's stuffing the ballot box!!! Low, cheating bastard. This Lowtax guy got 6,000 votes between my first vote and my sec....
uh...

nevermind.
posted by Perigee at 12:45 AM on November 23, 2001

Wait a minute, who's Steve Gibson? Does this guy have a Web site?
posted by jjg at 12:46 AM on November 23, 2001

Just to clarify, unless there's some "Cult Of The grc.com Steve Gibson" doing this, the Steve Gibson on that list is the one who runs www.shacknews.com. Just check the comments (but for the love of God, don't click any of their links ;).
posted by pnevares at 1:14 AM on November 23, 2001

Right now Lowtax, Steve Gibson, and Wil Wheaton are top three. Wonderful.
posted by DyRE at 1:14 AM on November 23, 2001

For the even more lazy, here's my contribution. Will automatically reload w/ the magic of frames.
posted by toastcowboy at 1:20 AM on November 23, 2001

just like mr. ben said i think it's really odd that if you don't enter a name then jack black of tenacious D is automatically entered for you. i wonder if this is an inside joke by the EW programmer.
posted by suprfli at 1:36 AM on November 23, 2001

I think it's been hacked. I took another look to see where the polls were at, and the page read "You Voted for OvERbuRn" (I voted for Crusher earlier today).

When is Cliff Yablonski going to get in the running?
posted by mb01 at 2:39 AM on November 23, 2001

Someone's probably already reported this and I missed it, but looks like Wesley's gonna get a cameo in the last STNG movie. It's about damn time.
posted by ZachsMind at 4:54 AM on November 23, 2001

But what is up with Laura Innes on the top 10? Is there some militant Dr. Weaver fan club out there or has she done something exceptional this year and I'm blissfully oblivious?

There is a huge Laura Innes/Kerry Weaver fan base, and they are heavily mobilised on the internet -- most of this came about thanks to her "Kerry realises that she's a lesbian" storyline which began last season. There are websites and highly active fan fora committed to discussion of nothing but the 'Dr. Weaver as a lesbian' issue and how important it is for the lesbian community that a leading character on the #1 tv show is now a semi-out, dating (as of last night) gay woman. (Links copped from the ER Daily blog, which considers these sites as cutting edge 'spoiler' factories -- these women put serious research into this!) From that perspective, I can certainly see why there would be a move to fuel Laura into the Top 10.
posted by Dreama at 8:16 AM on November 23, 2001

wow.

1. Steve Gibson (73968 votes)
2. Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka (69514 votes)
3. Maarten Goldstein (30228 votes)
4. David Ratana (28044 votes)
5. Wil Wheaton (16944 votes)
6. dognose (16111 votes)
7. Joss Whedon (9299 votes)
8. Janet Jackson (4783 votes)
9. Michael "Pedarist" Jackson (2753 votes)
10. Wil "Lowtax" Wheaton (2375 votes)
posted by jerseygirl at 8:41 AM on November 23, 2001

WTF, i selected "Click Here To See The Results So Far", and I was told that I had voted for Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka. Hacked perhaps?
posted by bobo123 at 10:14 AM on November 23, 2001

not to burst any bubbles here, but i don't think EW will really care about the results of the poll beyond a 'oh, isn't that crazy internet so funny' blurb somewhere. do none of you remember hank the angry drunken dwarf?
posted by maura at 10:34 AM on November 23, 2001

EW won't even take my vote. No response from the server... I suspect that it's being hammered by a bazillion auto-voters.
posted by shinybeast at 12:14 PM on November 23, 2001

Bastards...no matter what the results are, their declared winner will be either: one of the Jacksons, a boy-band, Spears, or some other of that ilk.
posted by davidmsc at 12:17 PM on November 23, 2001

(sorry, no screenshot. So this could be fake, unlike a screenshot)

The top vote-getters:
1. Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka (561613 votes)
2. Steve Gibson (154012 votes)
3. Zack "Geist Editor" Parsons (81238 votes)
4. Mos (81200 votes)
5. Wil Wheaton (56733 votes)
6. David Ratana (45386 votes)
7. Maarten Goldstein (43297 votes)
8. L. Ron Hubbard (27953 votes)
9. Frank Stevens (21586 votes)
10. Chas 'n' Dave (20180 votes)
posted by holloway at 12:46 PM on November 25, 2001

update:

now, when you submit, you don't get a list, only this text:

Thanks for voting in the nomination phase of our 2001 poll. We'll tally all the nominations and post the winners list on EW.com on Friday, Nov. 30.

Then, from Saturday, Dec. 1, till Thursday, Dec. 6, AOL will post the final poll where you can pick one winner from a list of 10 top nominees. To vote in the final round, log on to AOL and go to AOL Keyword: EWPoll.

so only AOL members can pick the "Entertainer of the Year"? hmmmmm. maybe that will be a good week to convert some coasters back to CDs....
posted by epersonae at 5:53 PM on November 26, 2001

Wait, but using my page I'm still able to vote and I'm getting the following totals:

Here are the results:


Entertainer of the Year 2001

You answered: Wil Wheaton


The top vote-getters:
1. The gord (2929 votes)
2. James Marsters (2919 votes)
3. Britney Spears (2302 votes)
4. d-rock allstar express (2289 votes)
5. Madonna (2183 votes)
6. Christina Aguilera (2081 votes)
7. Chris McElroy (2009 votes)
8. Oobiedoob (2003 votes)
9. Dave Grohl (1979 votes)
10. Les Claypool (1973 votes)
posted by toastcowboy at 2:39 AM on November 27, 2001