From zero to heroine!

Geek Icon of the Week: Linda Hamilton

Geek Credits: Terminator, Beauty and the Beast, Batman Beyond


Notable for: for going from ingenue to butt-kicker in no time flat!


What geek doesn’t know about Linda Hamilton? She’s Sarah Conner! According to the Terminator mythology, she’s the mother of our future savior, and that’s what we’ll always remember her by. But Terminator isn’t all she’s known for! Though it gives her most of her geek points, Linda has been showing up on and off again in the geek world, making herself an icon we always look forward to seeing.


Terminator was her first step into geekdom, leading her to the TV show of Beauty and the Beast with Ron Perlman. She then returned to reprise her role of Sarah Conner in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Though she is not the first lady of sci-fi geekdom (that honor falls to Nichelle Nichols), she is the first woman to set the standard of sci-fi ladies being butt-kickers. With Terminator and Beauty and the Beast pegging her along the lines of the ingénue, Terminator 2 changed her completely into a commando mom who would make your life a living hell if you messed with her son.

After T2, she reprized the role once more for the Terminator experience at Universal Studios in Hollywood (which was a blast). She took a hiatus from geek roles after that, then returned as a voiceover for several Batman cartoon series. She continued with the voiceover work by appearing in a Terminator video games and adding her talents to Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and DC Showcase specials. Also, in case you were not aware, she was uncredited in Terminator: Salvation as she provided the opening voice credit.

Most recently, we saw her in the show Chuck as the title character's mom, causing much excitement amongst the geek forums. Though she doesn't do as many geek projects these, whenever she does it is always a big treat for geeks. She'll always be a favorite!


Geek Point Scorecard:

Terminator

Beauty and the Beast (TV Series)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (VG)

T2 3D: Battle Across Time Universal Studios Ride

The New Batman Adventures

Batman Beyond: The Movie

Batman Beyond (TV Series)

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

CR: Terminator 2 – Judgment Day (VG)

Terminator Salvation

DC Showcase: Jonah Hex

DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection

Chuck

Official Geek Score: 10

Film credits courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000157/
Picture courtesy of http://app.cheezburger.com/TemplateView.aspx?ciid=5298056

The Jar Jar Binks of Trek

Geek Icon of the Week: Wil Wheaton

Geek Credits: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Eureka, The Guild, Big Bang Theory

Notable for: being the geek of the geek world and the second most annoying character in sci-fi history

Ask Wil Wheaton if he knows that his character of Wesley Crusher is annoying. Not only will he admit it, but he will read you his version of a TNG episode explaining why! I am excited to report that this is one icon I have actually met and I have witnessed such an event. He’s a really nice guy in real life, and not nearly as full of hot air as he seems (unlike William Shatner, who, while he is also a nice guy, really is full of hot air).

Wil got an early start in the sci-fi world when he appeared in the film The Last Starfighter. From there, his next project was joining the cast of TNG as the boy genius Wesley, who had some extraordinary ability to save the ship when all the crewmembers who had proficient training in ships operations had failed. By the third season, it became a plot device that had been overdone so much that it left audiences groaning. Wil left the show in the fourth season but made several appearances over the next few seasons, including one episode where he romanced a then unknown Ashley Judd!

After TNG he took a hiatus from geek projects but began to make a name for himself on the internet. In fact, he became one of the very first bloggers. He also posted on several geek forums and websites and even launched his own website which he also monitors! Another project he worked on was as a writer, writing for The Onion. Some writing he did for fun was skewering TNG episodes (like the one I mentioned above). He takes the plot line of these episodes, particularly the bad ones (the one I witnessed was Datalore), and expands on them, adding the info of what's really going on, like how Lt. Yar can't help but be awkward around Data. 

In 2009 he became a regular on the web series The Guild and the Syfy series Eureka, but made his biggest splash on the series Big Bang Theory playing himself and becoming Sheldon Cooper’s arch nemesis until Brent Spiner came along (watch the episode, it’s awesome!). Though he has only appeared on only 5 episodes thus far, he has become a favorite recurring character. He was also a guest host on The Nerdist to celebrate geek pop culture!

When not working, Wil makes appearances at Trek and other sci-fi conventions across the nation. If you have the opportunity, make sure you check him out as he reads his re-writes TNG scripts! And don't forget, as he's mentioned before on Big Bang Theory, he has an active Twitter account!

Geek Point Scorecard:

The Last Starfighter

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Star Trek: TNG

Tales from the Crypt

The Outer Limits

The Invisible Man (TV Series)

Star Trek: Nemesis

Neverland

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (VG)

EverQuest II (VG)

Ghost Recon 2 (VG)

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (VG)

Teen Titans

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (VG)

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (VG)

Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV Series)

Naturo (TV Series)

Legion of Superheroes (TV Series)

Grand Theft Auto 4 (VG)

Star Trek (2009)

Ben 10: Alien Force – Vilgax Attacks (VG)

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (TV Series)

Fallout: Las Vegas (VG)

Ben 10: Ultimate Alien

DC Universe Online (VG)

The Guild

Eureka

Big Bang Theory

Official Geek Score: 18

Film and miscellaneous credits courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000696/

Picture courtesy of me!

You can toss John Rhys-Davies!

Geek Icon of the Week: John Rhys-Davies

Geek Credits: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Sliders, Lord of the Rings Trilogy

 

Notable for: being a master of accents!

 

British-born actor John Rhys-Davies is no stranger to the geek world. We first met him entering the geek realm as Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark and he’s been with us ever since! A notable trait of John’s is that he is a master of accents. In reality, he has a Welsh accent, but we’ve heard him speak with accents from the middle-east, Italy, Scotland, America, and Middle-Earth.

 

With his powerful voice, John did many cartoon appearances, including geek related cartoons such as Pinky and the Brain, Gargoyles, Batman, Mortal Kombat and Freakazoid. At one point, he even made an appearance on the cartoon The Fantastic Four appearing as Thor! He later joined the cast of the FOX series Sliders and made an appearance as Leonardo da Vinci on Star Trek Voyager. But John earns an extra point due to his association with Disneyland; he provides his character voice of Sallah to the intro film on the Indiana Jones ride!

His most notable performance is as Gimli the dwarf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (he also pulled double duty by voicing Treebeard). While all the main characters stood out in the films, he was noted for being part of the comic relief team with Orlando Bloom’s Legolas. With that thick beard and shortened stature, he was almost unrecognizable to anyone who didn't know he was in the film in the first place. If you haven't seen him in much else, make sure you check out his pictures on his IMDb to make comparisons.

Sadly, since his appearance in the Lord of the Rings films, he's hasn't done much in terms of adding points to the geek realm. Considering how many points he's accumulated, I doubt we've seen the last of him, so keep your fingers crossed!

Geek Point Scorecard:

Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Trial of the Incredible Hulk

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Tales from the Crypt

The Lost World (TV Series)

Return to the Lost World

Batman (Cartoon)

Cyborg Cop

Wing Commander III: The Heart of the Tiger

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye

Gargoyles

The Incredible Hulk (TV Series)

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (TV Series)

Sliders

Freakazoid!

Star Trek Voyager

Dune 2000 (PC Game)

Pinky and the Brain

The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne

Forgotten Realms: Baldur’s Game (VG)

LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring

Justice League

LOTR: Two Towers

Lords of Everquest (PC)

LOTR: Return of the King

LOTR: The Third Age (VG)

LOTR: The Battle for Middle Earth II – Rise of the Witch King (VG)

LOTR: Aragorn’s Quest (VG)

Ferocious Planet

Official Geek Score: 18.5

Film credits courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0722636/

Picture courtesy of www.setphaserstolol.com

He's a doctor, and don't you forget it!

Geek Icon of the Week: Robert Picardo

Geek Credits: Star Trek: Voyager, Stargate SG1, Innerspace

Notable for: not being a voyeur, battery, peeping Tom, doorstop, engineer, decorator, bartender, counter insurgent, performer, database, zoo keeper, dragon slayer….

Further proof the bald men rock! Robert Picardo has been dabbling in the geek realm for a very long time and is generally memorable by his quirky characters. Remember the movie Legend? He gets his head cut off by Tom Cruise!

Yes, Robert was Meg Knucklebones. How’s that for an entrance into geek realm? Pretty impressive, I say! He followed up the geek credit with appearances in Total Recall, Gremlins 2, and the Batman cartoon. One role he was noted for was as the Cowboy in Innerspace, playing not only that character but also Martin Short's for a few minutes. His quirky sense of humor and great facial expressions help to keep him memorable in his projects.

The role that he’s best known for in geek pop culture would be as The Doctor in Star Trek: Voyager. His character was a nameless hologram who didn’t have much of a personality in the first season, but by the end of the series, he was one of the most well-rounded characters Star Trek ever created. He transformed the character from being a medical tool into a lovelorn geek who was always looking for a new hobby for his personal subroutines. Some of the things we witnessed him doing was learn to use a mobile emitter, defeat macroviruses, turn into a “Mr. Hyde” of sorts, take up opera singing, golfing, photography, create the Emergency Command Hologram program, battle Romulans with Andy Dick, have a son (okay, we didn’t actually get to witness that but somehow it happened), and take over Seven of Nine’s body when she downloaded his program into her Borg systems. Not only did his character become one of the most liked in the Star Trek fanbase, he also “wrote” a book called The Hologram’s Handbook (illustrations were done by original V: The TV Series star Jeff Yagher). He also directed several episodes of the series.

Unlike many Star Trek alums who were unable to find immediate work after the show ended, Robert was able to continue working in Hollywood, although since then, he has been finding more geek related gigs. He joined the cast of Stargate: SG1 and continued making appearances in the spinoffs. He has also been doing voiceovers in video games. Did you know he was in Call of Duty: Black Ops? He makes the game that much cooler!

In the end, Robert has a very high amount of geek points that are tough to beat. Keep an eye on his projects, because he'll probably be raking in more!

Geek Point Scorecard: 

Legend

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Innerspace

Total Recall

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Batman (cartoon)

Tales from the Crypt

Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love

Star Trek Voyager

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek DS9

The Outer Limits

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (VG)

Stephen King’s Dead Zone

Roddenberry on Patrol

Star Trek: The Experience: Borg Invasion 4D

Justice League

The 4400

Stargate SG1

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (VG)

Smallville

Stargate: Atlantis

Chuck

Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (VG)

Call of Duty: Black Ops (VG)

Supernatural

SGU Stargate Universe

Official Geek Score: 20

Film credits courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000585/

Picture courtesy of 

Only Lena Headley gives birth to real men

Geek Icon of the Week: Lena Headley

Geek Credits: 300, The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Games of Thrones
Notable for: Being the kind of woman you'd better not cross!


Her geek credits may be few, but she has what counts: strong characters that don't take backtalk of any kind. Though she mostly dabbles in the fantasy side of geek culture rather than sci-fi, she still stands out in whatever geek project she takes. It was a bit of a shaky start, but she evolved in her geekiness as she staked the meatier roles.

The first time we saw her step into geek culture was in the mini-series Merlin as King Arthur's infamous wife, Guinevere. She returned in The Brothers Grimm as again the typical love interest. Pretty, but not quite memorable. It was when she took on the role of the historically notable Spartan queen Gorgo in 300. This is where she played a geek icon that was more remarkable than the previous roles.

Then she took on the iconic role of Sarah Conner, taking over for Linda Hamilton. Though no actress could ever live up to Hamilton's standard, Lena made geeks proud by being the next best actress to play the role. She kept up with the ferocity of Gorgo and shed more of the love interest standard we had seen before. Though the show was short-lived, it still remains prevalent in geek culture.

Most recently she's been featured in the HBO show Games of Thrones, which has been making quite the splash in both geek and regular entertainment circles. However, her role as the incestuous Cersei has also been the target of many geek jokes (see photo above). In terms of geek culture, she may never be able to live that role down.

Though her credits are few, she does have enough to make the list; at least in terms of points for women. It's not just the points she's accumulated, it's the fact that she has been able to grow as a geek icon and become more prevalent as her career continues. Who knows which credit she'll add to her list next? It'll be fun to find out!


Geek Point Scorecard:

Merlin (Mini-Series)

The Brothers Grimm

300

Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles

The Superhero Squad Show

Game of Thrones

Dredd

Official Geek Score: 6.5

Film credits courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372176/

Picture courtesy of www.setphaserstolol.com

The sad little king of the sad little hill

Geek Icon of the Week: Mark Sheppard

Geek Credits: Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural
Notable for: Being a slippery villain you find yourself rooting for


Whenever Mark Sheppard's sexy Cockney accent is heard, it echoes amongst geek forums. He took his first step into geek pop culture with an appearance on the X-Files and has been a staple ever since! For the most part, his credits are comprised of similar guest appearances on geek TV shows, but he is always memorable, particularly when he plays a villain, which is most of the time.

The role he's best known for was as Badger on Firefly, a crooked mercenary who always had an underlying agenda. His role was so well liked on the short-lived series that he also wound up making appearances in the Firefly graphic novel Those Left Behind that filled in the time frame between the finale of Firefly and Serenity (sadly, he did not appear in the latter). Having a guest appearance make an impact on a series is a big deal, but having such an impact on a short-lived series is quite an accomplishment!

He had a better run with Battlestar Galactica as Gaius Baltar's lawyer Romo Lampkin, and also on Supernatural for 2 years. In the meantime, he has stayed busy circulating through the geek world with appearances on shows like Warehouse 13, Dr. Who and Chuck. His villainous ways keep him memorable, even in entertainment that is not geek-related.

Ultimately, he reigns as a geek icon because no matter what he does, you know it's him. When he appears onscreen, you know you've seen him before. It's not just that amazing voice or the villains he plays that make you remember him, but it's his overall presence he has with his characters. Villain or not-quite-a-good-guy, he owns the screen with every line and shows you a strong character that you enjoy watching. On Firefly, River Tam referred to him as a "sad little king of a sad little hill." Badger may be just so, but we're certainly never sad with his royal status in geek pop culture!


Geek Point Scorecard:

The X-Files

Sliders

Star Trek: Voyager

The Invisible Man (TV Series)

The Chronicle

Charmed

Firefly

Jake 2.0

The Bionic Woman

Battlestar Galactica

Dollhouse

Mysterious Island

Chuck

Warehouse 13

Dr. Who

Supernatural

Official Geek Score: 11

Film credits courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0791968/

Picture courtesy of www.setphaserstolol.com

The gutsy geek who is John Hurt

Geek Icon of the Week: John Hurt

Geek Credits: Alien, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Hellboy, V for Vendetta
Notable for: Having an alien burst out of his chest not once, but twice!


First off, let's face the facts: John Hurt not only gains geek points but awesomeness points for reprising his world-renown scene with the alien bursting out of his chest in the movie Spaceballs with the added line of "oh no, not again!" It always gutsy (pun intended) to be so brutally killed by an alien, but to spoof it years later is just plain awesome!

But John got an early start with a huge geek character: Aragorn in the cartoon version of Lord of the Rings. His voicing of Aragorn set him on the path of geekiness with later projects of Alien and 1984. After a hiatus from the geek world, he returned in the year 2001 with a vengeance!

He returned with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, then joined in with the Hellboy and Merlin series. Since then, he also appeared in V for Vendetta and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Though with all of his credits, he will still never live down that scene from Alien.

John Hurt is particularly unique in the geek world due to his role in Alien. Ask any film critic and almost every one of them will say that one of the most memorable movie moments in all of history was John's scene. Geek icons don't always have memorable movies and shows, or even memorable scenes, that make an impact on movie history. Even 100 years from now his scene will still be echoing in infamy. For this, he receives a great honor in the geek world and as a geek icon.

Congratulations John on your geek intuition!


Geek Point Scorecard:

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Alien

1984

Spaceballs

Frankenstein Unbound

Contact

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Hellboy

V for Vendetta

Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Merlin

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: part 2

Official Geek Score: 15

Film credits courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000457/

Picture courtesy of www.setphaserstolol.com