Off On A Tangent

Wheaton's Trek to Respectability.

Wil Wheaton's years of torture appear to be at an end.

Wheaton has long been one of geekdom's favorite whipping boys, taking unending abuse for his role as Wesley Crusher, the whiny, know-it-all teenager on TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation.

But now, thanks to a self-coded, shamelessly dorky website, many of the same folks who loathed Wheaton on the show are finding out he's a whole lot like them in real life.

As many as 90,000 people per month have beaten a path to WilWheaton.net since it opened late last summer. Hollywood is showing renewed interest. And, after years of being shut out from the official Star Trek family, Wheaton's got a cameo role in the latest Star Trek film.

Hello Hollywood... I have a self-coded, shamelessly dorky website too!