Pop Verse Pop Culture Universe
I have been a long time Felicia Day fan. Since watching her in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as potential slayer, Vi, in season 7, I’ve followed her career eagerly. If you saw Day walking down the street, you would probably not guess that she was a successful actress (of course, unless you recognize her). She doesn’t have that traditional Hollywood look to her.
She’s awkward. She plays video games and the violin. She is a writer, an entrepreneur, and an actress. Felicia Day is the ultimate geek girl. Not only has she been very successful in her chosen field, she has increased exposure for geeks in a positive way, and is a favourite of Joss Whedon’s (the only stamp of approval really worth having).
Outside of geekdom she is less well known. So I wanted to throw some light on why I love this multi-talented girl.
Felicia the actress
Felicia has had a wide range of acting gigs in television, web series, and film. The quality also varies wildly – while most definitely fall into the ‘OMG you have to see this’ category, there have been a few misfires. Bring it On Again comes to mind immediately – but hey, it was a good stepping-stone, right? The Syfy channel also produced a vehicle just for Felicia – Red: Werewolf Hunter. I like stupid films just as much as the next person, but this is pretty poor. Fun to laugh at and I’m sure an enterprising individual could come up with a drinking game of some kind for it, but it isn’t something I would recommend.
But there are a lot of Felicia moments I would recommend. Here are just a few:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Felicia plays Vi, a cute, hat-wearing potential slayer in the final season (at least, the final television season). Her character pops up on occasion in the Buffy comics set after the show. Felicia showed us just how cute sweet innocence could be.
- The Guild: This was the first web series I ever got into – in fact, it was many people’s first. It really is that good, especially for those of us who enjoy online gaming. It was nice to see gamers portrayed in a positive way, where you could tell that the show’s creator loved the characters (rather than just poking fun at the weirdoes).
- The Legend of Neil: What gamer doesn’t know of The Legend of Zelda? Felicia’s The Guild co-star Sandeep Parikh created another gamin-inspired series. This time, however, it was set within the gaming world. This show is laugh out loud funny and completely outrageous. Felicia plays the annoying Fairy. I love to hate her in this web series.
- Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: During the 2008 writers’ strike in the US, Joss Whedon and a bunch of his mates got together to create something truly magical. This three-part web series blows my mind every time I watch it. Ok, that might be an exaggeration, but it really well made. And above all else – it is fun! I love to see a ‘villain’ as the protagonist. And Felicia manages to pull off the ‘goody-goody’ vibe without being too annoying (props to her – I hate goody-goody types).
- Dollhouse: The two ‘future’ episodes of this short-lived Whedon series featured Felicia. While I am a massive fan of Whedon’s, I never found this series all that compelling (although I do own it on Blu-ray anyway). The final episode of the first season, ‘Epitaph One’, was my favourite of the season. The DVD distributor required an extra episode to be produced, which is why ‘Epitaph One’ was not originally aired with the rest of the series. It is a shame, as it shows that the series really did have a lot of potential for interesting story lines.
- Dragon Age: Redemption: Ok, so by now you should probably have noticed a theme. A lot of the projects Felicia is involved in are related to the gaming community. This project was written and co-produced by Felicia, as well as starring her. For a game spin-off show, it is pretty good. It actually focuses on some character development rather than just trying to completely re-enact cool gameplay sequences.
- Eureka: I was a big Eureka fan from the beginning, but it only got better when Felicia joined the cast as Dr. Holly Marten. It is always nice to see good-looking women portray highly intelligent, fun, and desirable characters. Geeks and smart girls can be sexy too, stop making us out to look like Amy Farrah-Fowler!
Husbands: Back on a web series, even if only briefly… Felicia appeared as the ‘sexy pizza girl’ in a TV ad in the Jane Espenson and Brad Bell web series, Husbands. This is the best gay sitcom out there… or maybe it is the only one? Either way, watch it! It is great fun, and Felicia’s brief cameo is hilarious.
Felicia the multi-tasker
Many of Felicia’s acting projects have involved her in other ways as well. She was the writer and creator of The Guild and writer for Dragon Age: Redemption. Meanwhile, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog saw her stretch out her vocal chords (as did a musical episode of The Legend of Neil). But she doesn’t stop there. The Guild has allowed her to break into song writing (with the help of Jed Whedon) as well as writing comic books.
As if this weren’t enough (or she didn’t have enough to do!), Felicia (with Kim Evey and Sheri Bryant) also started the YouTube channel and web series production company, Geek & Sundry. More than that, Geek & Sundry is a community for like-minded people to hang out and talk about things that interest them. The channel featured (initially) The Guild, Tabletop (where Wil Wheaton hosts board games), Sword & Laser (a fantasy and sci-fi book review show), and The Flog (Felicia’s video blog). Now, the channel has 15 regular shows and counting. If all of that still isn’t enough for you, Felicia also runs a book club on genre romance novels with pals Veronica Belmont, Bonnie Burton and Kiala Kazebee, called Vaginal Fantasy.
If there’s one thing I hope to impart readers of this article, it’s this: Felicia Day is awesome. If you didn’t know who she was before this article, shame on you. But I’ve just given you an entire (totally awesome) list of good places to start. Life is short, but not so short you shouldn’t enjoy Felicia Day before the end!
You missed her run as Charlie on Supernatural. Awesomeness meets Awesome.
I’ve never watched Supernatural. Although I had heard that by the time Felicia is added to the cast, she’s the only thing worth watching.
Felicia certainly steals the show. Whether one enjoys Supernatural as a series by the time Felicia guest stars depends on what sort of fan you are. Felicia and Supernatural are like putting Peanut Butter and Chocolate together. If you’re a fan of both, having them together is heavenly. It’s an oversight not to list Supernatural among her acting accomplishments.