When the book is written on the history of web TV (good idea that – note to self: write book on history of web TV), Felicia Day better get at least her own chapter. Or maybe two chapters. Or maybe – (note to self: pitch idea to Felicia Day of ghosting her autobiography). She has done more for web TV than any other three people combined (this is not necessarily a literal fact). Not only has she starred in the epic Joss Whedon production Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, but she has also created, written, starred in, etc etc one of the longest running webseries currently online (long live The Guild!). And now, as if all of the other regular TV stuff and webseries stuff she has been doing isn’t enough, she has created an entire geek related web channel where viewers can get their fix of reviews, table games, book clubs, and more. I’m talking about Geek and Sundry, Youtube’s weekly lineup of original programming made especially for fangeeks on the web.
Each day of the week brings a new webisode of one of Geek and Sundry’s shows. On Monday its Flog, Felicia’s own video weblog. Here she chats about her fave things of the week, answers reader letters, plays retro games, and goes on adventures to learn things like forging fireplace pokers, modeling steampunk outfits, and crocheting with Eureka’s Colin Fergusen. Felicia Day is one of the most adorable nerd girls, like, ever, and watching her show is a delightfully adorable treat (I especially love when she can’t stop giggling hysterically over fishing for “crappies” on the Sega Genesis – which by the way Felicia, are in fact a real fish).
On Tuesday episodes of The Guild are loaded to the channel. Right now they are on Season 5, which all of us super fans watched months ago through iTunes or more recently through Netlix/HuluPlus. I’m hoping when a new season of The Guild premieres it will appear here as well. If you haven’t seen Season 5 yet you should get on that. It was their epic not-ComicCon adventure with a slew of guest stars, a flying steampunk dirigible, and even a little furry romance.
Wednesday is Dark Horse Motion Comic Day. Currently they are working through Hellboy: The Fury, and past webisodes have included Usagi Yojimbo, The Umbrella Academy (one of my favorites, both in regular and motion comic form), and House of Night. Motion comics aren’t for everybody, but I enjoy playing them while doing other stuff (like an audio book I need to glance at every once in a while) or because I haven’t gotten to the comic store recently.
On Thursdays viewers are treated to Behind the Scenes and Extras content, which can include interviews with guests on the other shows or behind-the-scenes looks at elements of The Guild. It’s interesting to see how they got cosplaying Master Chiefs for The Guild Season 5, or what really happened the night Wil Wheaton invited Grant Imahara to play a table top game. I haven’t watched through all of the Extras content available (I DO have a life off of my computer, people) but the clips I have clicked on have all been worth my time.
This brings us to Friday and its alternating shows Sword and Laser and Tabletop with Wil Wheaton. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to hang out playing board games with Wil Wheaton and his friends while they discuss things in a very Dinner for Five fashion, than Tabletop is the webseries for you. Guests have included Grant Imahara, Craig Fergusen (that guy gets around! but it’s cool cause he is so charming and nice to look at), and even the lovely Mrs. Wil Wheaton (Anne, another awesome and adorable nerd girl). I’m not a big board game/table top game player (cause I’m awful at everything, my current wins on Words with Friends is 10 out of 257 games and not because I don’t know words but because I don’t play the high scoring tiles well), but I like to watch other people play games (hence the nine out of 12 hours I watched TheBoyfriend play Gears of War 3 – brilliant graphics, sad backstories, obvious UST between Baird and Sam), and I like talking, so I’m a fan of this show.
Sword and Laser airs on the Fridays Tabletop doesn’t. Originally a podcast, this webseries discusses all things fantasy and science fiction related. It has lots of extra clips of extended interviews too, an the webisodes are around 30 minutes, which is quite a bit longer than most series. It reminds me of early days Attack of the Show, with with a scifi/fantasy slant.
Geek and Sundry takes web TV to the next level, providing daily, new, specialized content for viewers eager to watch it. I hope other creators and producers will pick up on this idea in the future (which it looks like Stan Lee already kind of has) and look forward to what will premiere on this channel next.
You can find all of the Geek and Sundry webshows on their YouTube channel. Registered users can subscribe and be updated when new content is loaded, or you can just check daily for new stuff. You can also find more information about it at its very own website GeekandSundry.com.
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Melissa loves geeky things. Fanfiction, Dr. Who, cosplay, comic book tattoos, skinny guys with a penchant for historical LARPing - these are all a few of her favorite things. She spends her days pretending to work diligently at her writing, when really she plays epic games of Flash Battleship and fake knife fights around the livingroom. When she finally tires of that, she manages to bang out reviews and articles about all of the awesome fangeeky things she's thought about that day. She kinda wishes she could make tons of money at it, but knows she would just spend it all on super hero capes for her cat and a herd of Aldabra tortoises for her yard. 
Please don’t buy games ’cause Wil Wheaton says so. Playtest them first at your local game shop, and decide for yourself if it’s worth paying for. IMHO, Zombie Dice is a bore of a game and not worth buying. Small World is only sorta fun, it’s just way too hyped for its own good.
Of course, these are my opinions, which aren’t any worse or better than Wheaton’s. But I’m not Jedi mind tricking you into spending your money willy nilly
I mainly watch Tabletop because I enjoy other people playing games as well as listening to Wil Wheaton nerd out with friends. I think the game with the trains was the only one I’ve seen so far that looked like something I’d want to play and/or possibly buy.
I don’t think anyone should just run out and buy a game because Wil Wheaton says so, but I like the idea that you can see him discuss them and play them and maybe become interested in looking into games yourself.