Posted in: Movies | Tagged: chris hardwick, Comics, nerdist, wondercon

Nerdist Uber Alles

Siike Donnelly writes for Bleeding Cool from WonderCon. He has just drunk the Nerdist Kool-Aid.

Finally a channel for nerds!

Walking the floors at WonderCon yesterday reminded me, much as MegaCon did in Orlando a month ago, just why I was put on this planet. I'm here to absorb and be a part of this very unique world. Not only that, but I'm here to find kindred spirits in said world. Besides walking the Exhibit Hall and seeing my fellow nerds doing their thing, one panel brought it all home – The Nerdist Industries Panel with Chris Hardwick.

Before I get into what the panel was about, it's important to define what it is to be a nerd. Being a nerd means passion, devotion, love/hate relationships when things we love get "revitalized" for new audiences, and at times, social awkwardness. A person in the crowd asked why being a nerd is cool today. Chris pointed out the obvious, which I'm paraphrasing a bit to cut out curse words. "In my day, there was no real term for what I was, I felt, until Revenge of the Nerds came out. I watched that movie and was like, oh right, that's what I am. The reason it's a bit more mainstreamed today is because those nerds of my generation grew up to invent all the tech things of this generation. Even the mouth breathiest of rednecks has a laptop or a smart phone, and because of that broad range that's affected by technology, nerds kind of gained the power in a way."

With an opening video at the panel that featured Muppets, a lot of well written humor, and Weird Al Yankovic, the panel immediately set the tone for what was to come. Though it's been talked about for a while now, Chris unveiled their lineup of original programming for Youtube, on a channel called Nerdist. Weird Al, Neil Patrick Harris, Kids in the Hall, and so many more insanely talented and nerdy people will bring us great, short, and fun original concepts on Youtube. Not only that, but the panelists encouraged us to comment (with something other than 'first') and let them know what we like and don't like, so that each episode can constantly evolve for the better.

Speaking of the panelists, here they are along with the name of the shows they'll be affiliated with.

Alison Haislip and, Alex Albrecht – Four Points, a roundtable show that takes a single topic and dissects it from four point of views; such as an expert in technology, a music aficionado, a comic book geek, and a film maker give their perspective on who would win in a fight, Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark, starting with the amount of money each have, and ending with, as one panelist said, "If you take away the suit, Bruce Wayne was still trained by assassins and Liam Neeson, Tony Stark is just an alcoholic.

Matt Mira and Chloe Dykstra – Just Cos, a show 100% dedicated to Cosplay, having filmed at New York Comic Con and the Doctor Who convention in Los Angeles, as well as the The Nerdist Podcast, which is pretty self explanatory.

Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Gordon, and Steve Agee – Indoor Kids, a show about gaming, nerd rants, movies, TV, and all the fun things one can do inside near the humidifier; far from the scary sports related things outdoors.

Chris made a point in saying that this channel will feature something for every facet of nerd culture. Programs will include Ain't It Cool News, The Awkward Family Show, Cute Things Exploding, Gif Gif City and so many more that you can see at the "Press Conference" video :

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwSBxMmetXU[/youtube]

This panel, along with their affiliation with Los Angeles comic book store, Meltdown Comics, has combined my two all-time favorite elements in this world; comedians and comic books. Comics and comics if you will. It's the best of all worlds that matter and this channel isn't going to be some corporate suits saying "Hey, nerds love this stuff. Let's do a show about this and get this person involved," then we get crap like Kevin Smith's new show. This is something far more entertaining and showcases the things we love in a respectful way.

For more information, check out www.nerdist.com or www.meltcomics.com/blog/, unless you are a hipster, who as Chris Hardwick stated at the panel, we nerds hate. "A hipster will wear a Captain Picard shirt, and say, Hey look, I'm funny and ironic. If I wear a Captain Picard shirt, it's cause I want someone to make it so!"

As my friend Jake pointed out, "Hipsters have taken beards, funny t-shirts, and now are trying to take Anime, because that's what hipsters do when they don't sit around and play the one Dave Matthews song they know or shop for stupid hats."

So from my first day at WonderCon, I share the greatest bit of nerd news I could get my hands on… a channel for all of us. Don't let the mouth breathing hipsters know.

Siike Donnelly @ExplodingBullet www.blogtalkradio.com/nerdnation

We would also like to remind Bleeding Cool readers of our own favourite Chris Hardwick moment when he interviewed the young Scott Synder and Jeff Lemire for MTV under the belief that they were the founders of Vertigo, which would have been when Jeff was a young child. MTV deleted this bit from the video, but not the constant snickering from Scott and Jeff… – Rich

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