Book Review: "The Guild - The Official Companion"
But I also finished reading the behind-the-scenes look book that recently came out, captivated by how this world came to life. I personally haven’t seen so many geek web series, let alone TV shows or movies as so closely written to my sense of humor and what I look for in a geek-centric show. I love the Big Bang Theory but sometimes the characters act more like jerks to one another than a big family, even 6 seasons into the show. But also 6 seasons of the Guild every character becomes a big family that just oozes happy emotions all over me. The Official Companion actually takes that sense of family a step further in showing us not only the real people behind the characters of the show but also the technical support and the big names behind the screen that made everything in this show possible. The thing that caught my attention the most about this book is that everyone speaks in this weird formal/natural hybrid pattern, as if they’re trying very hard to talk as if they’ve had extensive PR and public speaking training, but really they’re normal humans and say normal human things and get excited in normal human ways and that, to me, is the coolest thing. I hate it when something sounds rehearsed, even if it is, and for those trained in the art of making what is rehearsed sound natural (or if you’re in improv, as a lot of these people are, then it’s all made up on the spot) it is always unnatural for me to hear them sound like drones, saying the same stuff over again.
I was in the thick of it, and I know how it feels to be persecuted for the type of entertainment I enjoy, so it’s amazing to learn of how big of an impact this series had on making the geek culture much more socially acceptable by inspiring those who are of this culture to scream it loud and proud, eventually giving a voice to the masses and helping places like Hollywood take a bigger chance on us. Now, that’s to say they did this single handily, not at all, but it’s nice to know of the Pioneers that helped modern geekdom begin to walk that long road.
There’s not really a lot of bad I can say about this book, it does a great job at giving us a good behind the scenes look at the show, some of the stuff these people do and how they landed the roles really surprised me. I guess one complaint I could have is that some of the photos in this book are blurry or pixelated, as if taken from a camera phone, which is possible they were and there is only so much you can do with those kinds of images in blowing them up. It does drop the quality of a few pages and takes me out of the page when I see them. I would’ve also liked to have heard more from Robin Thorsen, who played Clara in the show. She’s one of the main characters, but doesn’t really seem to have a huge presence in the book. In a nutshell, if you’re a fan of The Guild and would love to check out more about these crazy kids after the show ended earlier this year, then go out and get this book. It’s pretty cheap, not too long and it’s an enjoyable read. I will say this is one of the first behind the scenes books I’ve ever read in full and that’s because it was genuinely entertaining. If you’ve never seen the show, go watch it. It’s a lot of fun and worth the time (plus season 5 is where it’s freaking AT!), then come back to this book and thank yourself for taking my advice. Final Score: 5 Guildies out of 6 You can buy "The Guild - The Official Companion" on the Titan Books website! |
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