Geek & Sundry

Geek & Sundry is a commercial YouTube Channel and multimedia production company. It was launched on April 2, 2012 by actress Felicia Day with Kim Evey and Sheri Bryant as part of YouTube's 100 million dollar original channel initiative. In June 2012, Forbes Magazine suggested that "if successful, it could help blaze a trail for the future of network television."

History

The channel was originally based around three unscripted programs produced by Day: The Flog (hosted by Day), Sword & Laser (hosted by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt) and Tabletop (hosted by actor Wil Wheaton).

Revenue for the company is undisclosed. Before the channel launch, they were given an advance payment by YouTube "against future advertising revenue to jumpstart production."

The channel's founders and hosts of some of its programs have attended a number of fan conventions since its startup in April 2012 including: ComicCon,Dragon*Con,VidCon, and WonderCon. They also attended Comic-Con in 2013.

In March 2013, the channel announced three new series: "Felicia's Ark" (featuring Felicia Day), "Fetch Quest" (created by Jordan Allen-Dutton) and "The Player One[s]". Two programs, "Tabletop" and "Space Janitors", were renewed for season 2 of the channel starting April 1, 2013.

Wil Wheaton

Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor, blogger, voice actor and writer. He is known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me, Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers, and for his recurring role as a fictionalized version of himself on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Early life

Wheaton was born July 29, 1972, in Burbank, California, the son of Debra Nordean "Debbie" (née O'Connor), an actress, and Richard William Wheaton, Jr., a medical specialist. He has a brother, Jeremy, and a sister, Amy. Both appeared uncredited in the episode "When the Bough Breaks" of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Amy also appeared alongside Wil in The Curse.

Career

Early work

Wheaton made his acting debut in the 1981 television film A Long Way Home, and his first cinema role was as Martin Brisby in the 1982 animated film The Secret of NIMH, the movie adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. He had a minor role in the 1984 movie The Last Starfighter as Louis' friend, but it was cut. He first gained widespread attention in 1986, for playing Gordie Lachance in Stand by Me, the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Body.

Geek

The word geek is a slang term originally used to describe eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast or a person obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit, with a general pejorative meaning of a "peculiar person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual, unfashionable, or socially awkward".

Although often considered as a pejorative, the term is also used self-referentially without malice or as a source of pride. Its meaning has evolved to refer to "someone who is interested in a subject (usually intellectual or complex) for its own sake".

Etymology

This word comes from English dialect geek or geck (meaning a "fool" or "freak"; from Middle Low German Geck). "Geck" is a standard term in modern German and means "fool" or "fop". The root also survives in the Dutch and Afrikaans adjective gek ("crazy"), as well as some German dialects, and in the Alsatian word Gickeleshut ("jester's hat"; used during carnival). In 18th century Austria-Hungary, Gecken were freaks on display in some circuses. In 19th century North America, the term geek referred to a performer in a geek show in a circus, traveling carnival or travelling funfair sideshows (see also freak show). The 1976 edition of the American Heritage Dictionary included only the definition regarding geek shows. This variation of the term was used to comic effect in an episode of popular 1970s TV show Sanford & Son. Professional wrestling manager "Classy" Freddie Blassie recorded a song in the 1970s called "Pencil-Necked Geek".

Critical Role (web series)

Critical Role is an American web series produced by Geek and Sundry in which a group of professional voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons. The series is broadcast live on Thursdays on the Geek and Sundry Twitch.tv, with episodes made available the following Monday on Geek and Sundry's official website. Matthew Mercer serves as the show's Dungeon Master, running the ongoing campaign that is the basis for the show. The campaign began two years prior to the series as a one-time Pathfinder game at a birthday party for Liam O'Brien, after Liam and Sam Riegel discussed the idea on their podcast AllWorkNoPlay. The group enjoyed this initial game so much that they continued to play privately until they were approached by Felicia Day's Geek and Sundry network. In order to streamline gameplay for the live show, the game's characters were converted from Pathfinder to Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition before the web series began airing on 13 March 2015. Each stream also serves as a donation drive to support nonprofit organizations such as St Jude's, 826LA, Extra Life, and Doctors Without Borders.

Felicia Day

Felicia Day (born Kathryn Felicia Day) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. On TV, she has played Vi in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dr. Holly Marten in Eureka, and had a recurring role as Charlie on Supernatural. She has acted in movies such as Bring It On Again and June, as well as the Internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. She is the star, writer, and producer of the original web series The Guild, a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred in the Dragon Age web series Dragon Age: Redemption. Day was a member of the board of directors of the International Academy of Web Television beginning December 2009 until the end of July 2012.

Early life

Day was born in Huntsville, Alabama. She began her acting career at the age of 8 when she starred as Scout in a local production of To Kill a Mockingbird. She studied operatic singing and ballet professionally, performing at concerts and competitions nationwide. Home-schooled throughout much of her childhood, she began college at the age of 16.