Steven Helmer Publications

After being off the air for seven years, The Big Bang Theory will be getting a spin-off series that isn't a prequel and will be centered around characters from the original series, albeit not the main cast members. I haven't decided if I am going to watch Stuart Fails to Save the Universe because, not unlike TBBT's Sheldon Cooper ( Jim Parsons ), I do have to consider if it will be worth the time commitment. Plus, while the plot does sound intriguing, I'm not convinced it wouldn't have been better as a movie rather than a television series. One thing the new show does do for me, however, is remind me of the missed opportunity for another TBBT spinoff that probably wasn't even considered but, if done correctly, could have been a success, at least in my opinion. The spin-off series I am referring to is Professor Proton, starring Wil Wheaton . Let me give you a quick recap in case you need a refresher or haven't seen the series yet (sorry for the spoilers if i...

Synopsis: During Labor Day weekend in 1959, four 12-year-old boys lie to their parents and begin a trek to see the dead body of a missing boy. Along the way, the four friends discuss their feelings, face their fears and find their lives occasionally at risk, including from a group of bullies who are also looking for the body. Who's in it? The movie stars River Phoenix , Wil Wheaton , Jerry O'Connell , Corey Feldman and Kiefer Sutherland. Review: It had been ages since I last watched Stand by Me , to the point the only things I could even recall about the film were the train bridge scene and the scene with the leeches. I came across the film on one of our movie channels yesterday and since my wife and I had some free time, we ended up re-watching it. Overall, the film was surprisingly better than I remembered. This isn't your typical movie based off a Stephen King book. It's not a horror movie. There isn't any sort of weird twist. It's just a very simple comin...

Like a lot of Star Trek: The Next Generation fans, the introduction of Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur ) in season 2, was an unexpected surprise that didn't go over well and other than maybe Wesley Crusher (sorry, Wil Wheaton ), I always thought of her as my least-liked character. I recently began re-watching the series on Paramount Plus and as I make my way through this infamous second season, I'm starting to realize maybe she isn't as bad of a character as I remember. If anything, the series' writers didn't do her justice. For those of you not familiar with this series, Muldaur was added to the cast after Dr. Beverly Crusher actress Gates McFadden was fired at the end of the first season. McFadden/Dr. Crusher would return in season 3, in part because of Patrick Stewart (who played Capt. Picard) wanted her back and partially because Pulaski wasn't a fan favorite. In many ways, Pulaski was actually a better character than Crusher was. She was an experien...

Synopsis: In the late 1980s, Wil Wheaton rose to fame as a teenager after starring in the film Stand by Me and being cast as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation . He decided to leave the latter to pursue a movie career only to discover it was a mistake as he struggled to get cast in even a commercial. His autobiography talks about his life after STNG, his struggles as an actor and his blog. Review: To tell you the truth, like a lot of people, Wesley Crusher was always my least favorite character on STNG. This wasn't so much because I didn't think Wil Wheaton did an OK job as much as the writers never seemed to figure out a way to make him less annoying. And as part of that, I wasn't really a big Wil Wheaton fan until much later, when he started making guest appearances as a fictionalized version of himself on The Big Bang Theory and I had an opportunity to see just how funny he was. My decision to check this book out from the library was based more on TBBT...

Synopsis: Despite doubts about his credibility, the Enterprise crew follows orders and allows a Federation scientist ( Stanley Kamel ) to run propulsion experiment using the ship's warp drive. The experiment has an unexpected result and the ship is sent to the far edge of the universe. However, Wesley ( Wil Wheaton ) doesn't believe the experiment was the cause and, instead, believes an alien assistant ( Eric Menyuk ) is behind it. You can read my review here:  https://wizzley.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-episode-review-where-no-one-has-gone-before/