Worth Watching: 'The Guild' mixes dorkdom with humor and cute chicks

A rare jewel in the Web TV world is "The Guild," written and produced by Felicia Day, a graduate of the Joss Whedon School for Gorgeous Nerd Actresses.

This show is an absolute, no-holds-barred dorkfest -- a soap opera about a group of social isolates who, having met and played together in the World of Warcraft (WoW for short -- that's the hugely successful fantasy MMORPG world with 10 million players), decide to see what it's like to . . . gulp . . . meet in real life. 

Day plays CodEx, the group's "Healer" -- a type of video game character who is too weak to fight monsters, and so is forced to weenily stand in the background and use her healing magic to help the stronger players. It's a video game nurse, basically. CodEx's in-game diffidence bleeds into her real life, where she's unable to rid herself of Zaboo (Sandeep Parikh), a hyper-geek from WoW world who shows up at her doorstep after she gives him too many in-game "winkies" -- (; (;. 

Another great character is Clara, the hefty mommy with a baby and two toddlers who is so obsessed with the game that she sometimes forgets to feed her kids.

The show makes heavy use of WoW jargon -- gold farming, rezzing, wizard staffs, manna pools, loot -- the show is funnier if you've ever actually --- er . . . journalistically investigated the game.  But non-players should be able to enjoy it too.

"The Guild" is one of several geek-oriented Web TV shows -- MyDamnChannel's You Suck at Photoshop being another -- that are capturing wide audiences and further hastening the demise of the geek stigma (a process always aided by the presence of good-looking women).

The Guild - Episode 1: Wake-Up Call

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Comments

[Lani Teshima]

LA Times staff:

Might I suggest that you at least find a reporter who avoids pejorative phrases in the articles? First off, I suspect the character's name is "Codex" (such as a manual or scripture, indicating knowledge) and some version of a shipping company.

Felicia Day has stated that they were careful not to ever mention the World of Warcraft by name, because they wanted to keep it generic and avoid any copyright issues.

Finally, a healer is not necessarily too weeny to fight monsters, but referring to them as a nurse is just plain insulting.

Don't assume that all your readers are too old or educated to play MMOs, and I'm pretty offended at this article -- it stinks of faint praise.

[David Sarno]

Lani - You're right, I misspelled Codex. Apologies to the show's creators and to my readers.

However, I've got to object to your categorization of my characterization as "faint praise." Indeed, I like the show a lot, otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered writing about it. It's funny, original and engaging, and I only wish there were more of them.

I don't think it's scandalous to invoke the name of Warcraft when writing about this particular show. It's not a trademark issue for a reporter to note the similarities that link the game and the show. You make it sound like I was making an accusation rather than an observation.

And as for whether healers are nurses or not--that's purely a matter of one's POV.

[Felicia Day]

Thanks so much for the mention of the show, we really appreciate it! Even though we try to keep the "game" the characters play neutral, it does lean towards WOW because that's what I played most of.

I'd also like to mention that our episodes are solely funded by fan donations through paypal. I suspect that we're the only show on the internet like this, and with over 4,000,000 views we have hits comparable to what the more publicized/financed shows get, with fewer episodes.
I'll step away from the "nurse" argument :)
Thanks again!
Felicia

[Bob]

I can tell you I have NEVER played WoW, but am familiar with it. As you suspect, David, I enjoy "The Guild" completely. Despite the hi-tech geek factor, the appeal of the characters is universal. Another part of the appeal, at least for me, is the fact that recent episodes have been viewer sponsored. This is a production that is anit-big media -- sort of an alternative universe for very talented actors that dont fit in with mainstream big media expectations. And, of course, it helps that the star of the show is easy on the eyes!

[C-Tate]

Wow, I mean Awesome. The Guild has the potential to be a main stream hit. I am shocked that the WoW creators have not embraced and invested. One does not need experience with the game to enjoy the show. The show is written well. Those of us who have never seen Massively multiplayer online role playing games, the show outlines the basics fairly nicely. I wonder how many people watch "The Office" but never worked in one? ( I can't watch it because the flippin camera moves to much :o) But the story line is creative enough to capture a variety of audience. Keep up the good work Felicia and I applaud all of the actors on "The Guild".

[Russ]

I enjoy the show, but I feel the actress who plays Tink is not up to par with the others. To point out an example, she recently got into an argument with Vork over an opportunity to make some real life money, and her face merely registered a look of paralyzed constipation rather than the typical range of emotions a person feels during an argument. It often appears as if she keeps her emotions in a strait jacket during her scenes.

[Erald Coil]

I love the show and enjoyed your piece on it David. Thanks for bringing The Guild to even more public attention! I also appreciate the 'viewer-funded' aspect of the show and happily paypal-donate a few bucks at the site every time a new episode posts -- which is often enough but ALWAYS leaves me wanting more... :)

[Glen]

It's nice to see Felicia getting the recognition she deserves for creating such an entertaining series. It takes a lot of talent and smarts to put something like this togeather. I look forward to the release of each new Guild episode. I only wish each episode could be released on a weekly basis, however since "The Guild" is so entertaining it's well worth the wait.

[jennifer robbins-mullin]

I stumbled on The Guild a few months ago and I think it's one of the funniest, most clever sitcoms out there - broadcast, cable, or internet. Why hasn't somebody (Sci Fi Channel, Comedy Central, the cavemen at ABC) picked this up? The entire cast is pitch perfect, the writing is snappy, and the direction is tight.

[Mike L]

Great job on the latest episode.....we long for each new installment!! It's too bad the show as a whole is for a niched audience....... similar to Office Space. I guess we will just have to continue with the word of mouth to expand the audience.....after all....how can you drop a line or two from The Guild, if nobody you know has seen it before?

[Jim]

I watched all 7 episodes back to back and totally enjoyed them even though I haven't played video games for years. I was left wanting more! I patiently await a new episode.

[Kathy]

I think that all the actors are talented and do a really great job of bringing the characters to life without relying heavily on easy stereotypes. And to comment on what Russ said, I think that the actress who plays Tink does a great job playing such a cold-hearted, muted character--she isn't supposed to show the "typical range of emotions a person feels," whatever that may be. Great job every one! Keep them coming!

[Mia]

I played WoW only briefly, but The Guild also plays really well to the EverQuest 1/2 crowd as well. Game play, guild dynamics, and jargon from one MMORPG to another are pretty similar, anyway. Even if you don't really know too much about the games and don't really grasp the jargon, the person-to-person interaction between the characters is the real story. IMO.

I played a cleric (healer) in EQ1 for a while, and "a type of video game character who is too weak to fight monsters, and so is forced to weenily stand in the background and use her healing magic to help the stronger players" fit perfectly for that class in that game. (LOL)

[ROFL]

Lani Teshima is a perfect example of why you virgins get laughed at in real life. The article is directed at people who don't play the game and you go into minute details that no one really cares about it just made you look like a pathetic basement dweller. My main is a disc priest and I could care less if the author refers to it as a nurse. The only reason i am even bother to responding is because I noticed you got all nerd raged over something so small. This is why you get laughed at in public by everyone else.