How Did You First Discover 'The Guild'?

torontogal · July 2012

Hey G&S'ers! So here's a topic for the sake of satisfying my curiosity. As we know, a cool thing about The Guild is how its growth came out of independent grassroots efforts, rather than slick marketing campaigns, etc. As such, I'm sure there are a lot of different ways that fans originally discovered the show. Maybe you heard it mentioned on a forum, or maybe it was recommended by a friend, or maybe you learned of it by checking out Felicia's other work.

So the question of the day is this - how did you first discover the rich creamery goodness of The Guild?

I'll go first! I'm a big Joss Whedon fan, so I first saw Felicia via Buffy in her role as one of the Potentials. Despite the fact that it was a smaller role, I thought she really shone within it. Then I saw her in the amazing Dr Horrible, and was similarly impressed by her performance. Flash-forward some time, and she did a fantastic job yet again in two episodes of Dollhouse...

Despite all this, I remained in the dark about the fact that she had been making her own awesome content for like years on end. I'm not sure what strange bubble-world I was living in, but I remained woefully oblivious - until the fortuitous day when I purchased the Dr Horrible DVD and listened to the hilarious 'Commentary: The Musical' feature. Within Felicia's song (click for link), there was some hilarious banter about The Guild...

And based on that, I finally learned of it, looked it up, and instantly fell in love with it! Plus it also opened my eyes to just how much of a creative dynamo that Felicia herself actually is. Especially, after viewing all the behind-the-scenes stuff on the Guild DVDs, etc. Alas, I wish I had learned about the show earlier - it would have been cool to be around back in the day, when loyal fans were keeping the show alive via PayPal donations.

Anyhoo - enough long-windedness out of me. What was your entry point into The Guild? How did you learn about it and when did you get hooked? :)

Tacamam · July 2012

For me, it all started twenty years ago when a man named Joss wrote a
flick called Buffy. Donald Sutherland, Seth Green, Rutger Hauer, Pee
Wee Herman, Stephen Root, Kristi Swanson, all good! So when he moved on
to Buffy the TV series I followed that. Perhaps surprisingly,
Felicia's appearance there didn't lead me to The Guild. That comes
later...

I followed Joss from Buffy, through Angel, and when I saw he was doing
some space western called Firefly, I checked it out. I really enjoyed
Buffy, I entirely loved Firefly, which is where I "met" the embodied
awesomeness that is Nathan Fillion. When the show was canceled a little
part of perfection was smote.

Flash forward, and things are a might scarce for original entertainment
on TV because of a writer's strike. The "Reality Show," while existing
previously, grows, bloats and corpsifies the airways. THAT's when we
hear of a really little thing called Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog,
with Joss Whedon at the helm, love interest, Nathan Fillion ;), Doogie
Howser (yeah, he was still Doogie to me, aside from his amazing
Broadway-ness; I hadn't seen How I Met Your Mother yet,) and this other
leading lady person, Felicia.

Thoroughly enjoying Dr Horrible, I watched it over and over (and over)
then moved on. When it was released on DVD, I bought it and
re-delighted in it and its fantastic extras. It was THEN that I
thought, "ok, who is she? GOT to know." I YouTube'd Felicia and up
comes Legend of Neil (when it was still available by someone on
YouTube...) Thought "um, that was different. How about something else?"

Clicked on Episode 1 of this thing called "The Guild," saw the "little
red-haired girl" (re: Charlie Brown, here...) remark pensively into her
webcam, "It's Friday night and still jobless. Yay. Haven't left the
house in a
week. My therapist uh broke up with me. Oh yeah! There's a gnome warlock
in my living room, sleeping on my couch."

Hooked.

THEN life is like the wrapup of "Usual Suspects...." "Wait, she was
that girl in the commercial for the thing! House, Monk.. Is Vork
standing in line on 'That 70's Show?!" etc...

The beginning.

Ayelet · July 2012

ok as I suspected I wasn't the only one who came from the Dr. Horrible commentary!

I'm not gonna tell the whole story because it's similar to both of the previous ones but I will mention that I watched a random episode of The Guild on youtube somewhere in 2008 because a friend who wanted to start a vlog linked it to me, said it's very successful but she doesn't get it and I watched and I so did not get it.:D I'm like "who are they? why are they sitting in front of the computer, talking to each other? what's with the weird names?" :D

I think it was the combination of a random episode, me not being a gamer and not understanding that it's an actual scripted show.

Anyway, years later - Buffy, Dr. Horrible, Commentary! The musical.

Wait. The Guild? that sounds familiar...oh. it's that weird internet thing!

so yeah, gave it another try and the first webcam is just brilliant. :D It still took me a while to get everything being said and I still don't get it all - being a non-gamer but it still made me crack up. :D

Now I'm a lost cause - addicted and a huge Felicia Day fan.

btw a lot of my fascination with the show and Felicia was actually hearing how she started, why the internet and how the show has evolved. because a lot of people are still unaware of scripted content made for the web and..well..she's been doing it for 5 years now. :P

thisothereden · July 2012

I had seen felicia in a number of things like buffy and dollhouse but not really realised she had done anything but acting until I heard her interview on the nerdist podcast and then mad it a point to check out the guild and then managed to watch the entire series the next day at work on my iPhone.

Scarlett · July 2012

Somehow The Guild managed to escape my radar for a long time, and the way I found out about it was in a very random, but ultimately wonderful, way.

I was reading an article somewhere - I think it might have been Jezebel.com - about Robin Thorsen's "Clara", and how her character is one of those very rare instances where a curvier lady is not portrayed in a negative manner.Sure, she's lovably clueless and nutty, but her size has nothing to do with it and in fact is almost never referenced at all. When I read that Felicia Day had written the series - and having enjoyed Dr. Horrible - I knew I had to give it a watch. Have been head over heels in love ever since.

Felicia writes characters that are so memorable, unique, and fun. Can't wait to see what the future holds! <3

Diaji · July 2012

Tom told me. Most of the best things I'm aware of were introduced to me by Tom.

dagrdagaz · July 2012

Like many other TV shows, or in this case a web show, my brother recommended it to me.
Must have been when season 2 just started on Xbox live.

Danie_Gee · July 2012

I was watching a show called EpicFu with Zadi and she had Felicia on and they talked about how it was available on XBox. It was going into season 2 I think and when I showed the page to my bf to download he was like "isn't that a cartoon?" When I told him about the clip I saw he immeadiately hit download and the rest is history. We were dying of laughter by the end of that short first episode.

Athlon · July 2012

I was watching The Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising on Netflix. It's a pretty awesome movie if you've never seen it.

Anyways, so after that movie finished like around 1am, Netflix recommended the Guild. I've never heard of it so i figured why not. It showed Season 1 and 2 and I'm like why isn't it showing me episodes? I didnt know what a web series was at the time so it confused me that Season 1 was only an hour or so and Season 2 as well.

So I watched it, got hooked, watched Season 2 and 3 all nonstop.

After that, Netflix recommended Dr. Horrible and well I decided to go watch that as well. Ended up going to bed at 5am, but I consider it a good night.

Trienco · July 2012

I wish I'd remember the details. Not even sure when I discovered it. Definitely before season 2, but I don't know if it was during or after season 1. While I'm not sure how I found it, I probably have whedonesque to blame.

From the timing, I think there was talk about Dr. Horrible, which I didn't care about. The Guild probably came up at some point. I DO remember that something I watched made me excited about Dr. Horrible and there is a good chance it was The Guild.

Another random memory is that by the time I wanted to donate, the button was gone... sometimes it's just really hard to throw your money at something you like.

blairbeveridge · July 2012

For me it was during season 2 when a member of my WoW guild linked an episode in our forums. I had followed different webseries in the past and was a big fan of ./shutdown, but sadly that show didn't make it to season 2. I hoped to find another webseries that portrayed something I did, and The Guild fit perfectly, as not only did it tap into a world I knew, but it was funny as hell, and I love to laugh.

I am a huge How I Met Your Mother fan, and it was NPH that lead me to Dr. Horrible (had no idea Felicia was even in it until I watched). After that I tracked down everything I could find that the actors had done. Which ironically lead me back to Wil Wheaton, who I loved in Stand By Me and ST:TNG.

Then they all formed a cult, and stuck a green logo on it, and asked me to drink the kool-aid.

And I keg standed that shit.

Truth be told Felicia has a very infectious personality (at least what I have seen in her press) and she appears like she genuinely cares about not just her work, but those who love it as she does. Personally I am drawn to that positivity, as it is something I strive for in my own life. She is putting herself out there like many artists here at Geek and Sundry and elsewhere, just wishing to make us laugh, smile and enjoy their work. How can you not love these guys for that?

Cheers team G&S, may the best day of your past, be the worst day of your future

Ayelet · July 2012

@blairbeveridge - lol. "They formed a cult". Loved what you said about Felicia and the G&S team. :)

mcmaenza · July 2012

While I knew Felicia from her appearances on Buffy and Dr. Horrible, I was not aware of the Guild videos until late in June of this year. It started when Wil Wheaton tweeted a link about the Flog. I watched that, found out all about the Geek & Sundry youtube channel and from there discovered the Guild. Since that time I have devoured all the seasons and extras online and have ordered the five season DVDs (they should be here by the end of next week).

I am now a huge fan of all things Geek & Sundry.

Corbin_Dallas · July 2012

Just stumbled on The Guild online. Sorry, no cool story.

torontogal · July 2012

A bunch of really cool replies from everyone! - I love hearing of the diverse ways that we found our way to the show...

@Tacamam - I enjoyed reading the details within your story, especially the creative verbiage - "The "Reality Show," while existing previously, grows, bloats and corpsifies the airways". Too funny!

@Ayelet - I was also originally worried that I wouldn't get all the MMO-specific gaming lingo, when watching the show, as I haven't delved into that style of RPG - but it's quite cool how the show is written in a way where people can enjoy it even if they're not necessarily gamers (oh, and the 'cheat-sheet' of terminology in the DVDs is helpful as well!)

@ThisOtherEden - I loved that Nerdist Podcast - it was almost like a full-blown biography of Felicia, herself :)

@Scarlett - that sounds like a cool article! One of the things I love about The Guild is that it features a mix of people from different ethnic backgrounds, different age groups, and different body-types but it does this in such a natural matter-of-fact way, rather than drawing attention to it :)

@Diaji - I'm not familiar with Tom, but if he introduced you to the Guild he sounds like a king amongst men :)

@Dagrdagaz - that's cool that you've been a viewer since back in S2 - also very cool to be able to share the experience with siblings :)

@Danie_Gee - hehe - now I'm imagining what The Guild would be like if it actually were a cartoon! The closest we've seen, is that little April Fools' video for 'Lil Guildies'

@Athlon - Guild Marathon and Dr Horrible? That indeed sounds like a great reason for sleep deprivation :)

@Trienco - I'm surprised I also didn't learn about the Guild via Whedonesque, as I tend to keep an eye on that site fairly regularly. It's always cool hearing from folks who were watching during those early days - I'm sure the video comments for newly aired episodes must have been fun to see :)

@Blairbeveridge - very cool that you found the show via a genuine WoW background - also, I love that phrase you used in your last sentence - 'may the best day of your past, be the worst day of your future'. I find it a lot more applicable than people telling me to 'live every day like it's your last' - because seriously, if I did that, I'd blow through all my life-savings, tell my boss that I quit, and maybe go ride a pony... only to wake up the next day with no money, no job, and pony-stench all over me.

@mcmaenza - I think you'll really enjoy the Guild DVDs - the extras, and interviews, and behind-the-scenes stuff really show what a sense of camaraderie the cast and crew have with one another. Always nice seeing creative people working together to do something that they love!

@Corbin_Dallas - I dig the zen-like brevity of your answer! Especially since I tend to drone on and on whenever I post anything :)

Tacamam · July 2012

@diaji.....is that Tom like MySpace Tom, everyone's first best social friend, Tom?

@Torontogal I really appreciate your post there, but I fell out laughing as I read because I could only hear Inigo Montoya repeating in my head "Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

torontogal · July 2012

@Tacamam - LOL - I think my new goal for myself is to be more like Inigo Montoya - I love his ability to condense things down, as well as his high-caliber father-avenging skills - plus his hair is amazingly lustrous, and full-bodied :)

Vespa · July 2012

I have Whedonesque to thank. Info about the guild kept coming up in the feed when it first started, so I checked it out and fell in love.

I met my current boyfriend the summer between Seasons 1 and 2, and when he told me he played WoW I got all excited to tell him about 'The Guild', but as luck would have it he already knew about it. I am not sure how many people watched that first season, but the fact that both of us knew of and loved an obscure web-series about online gamers let me know I was on to a good guy for me. I have enjoyed watching every season with him since :)

Eithne · July 2012

Everyday for at least 5 of the years that my dad drove me and my siblings school we listened to a radio news show. And every morning they played what they called the "Wake-up call." I can't remember at all how it goes. But that little jingle was one of the best things about the morning drive. And I remember they only changed the tune once in the many years they played it.

Well, one day I decided if I could find the song online. After Google didn't turn up anything, I decided to specifically try Youtube. One of the results was the first episode of The Guild: "Wake-up call". I don't remember why I even clicked on the thumbnail. I'm guessing it was a combination of high view count and the fact that it's called The Guild and I had been playing Guild Wars. That's how I discovered The Guild. I could go on about my reaction and all my excitement over the show, but that's praise of which you'd never hear the end.

The Guild fills me with the same honest joy and enthusiasm as all those mornings listening to that radio tune with the family. And it makes it just a little easier to face the day.

Alex · July 2012

Netflix. Then YouTube. Followed by Netflix. Then it was all over, and I slept a satisfied sleep.

RoyalLance · July 2012

For me it was Xbox Live. The over-censorship was kind of a turn-off ("Boobs" a bad word? Kids say much worse in a Ranked Halo match!") and then turned to the less-censored YouTube version. I love everything about the series.

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