Like most people my age or slightly older, I first remember seeing Chris Hardwick as the host of MTV’s Singled Out. Why I watched Singled Out, I’m not sure. I certainly wasn’t their target audience (I would later learn that I am part of Hardwick’s target audience or a Hard Target as I like to say as of this moment right now).
I was between the ages of 9-12 when the show ran. I think I watched it because it may have either come on before or after Beavis & Butt-Head, or maybe just because it was on MTV and MTV was cool. Eventually Singled Out and Hardwick had a guest spot of sorts on Boy Meets World, so maybe I was the target audience. The point is I did watch it and I specifically remember Hardwick.
Over the years the show ended and I got older. But I would still see Hardwick pop up every now and then. Terminator 3, House of a 1,000 Corpses, Chelsea Lately, Web Soup, lots of places. Eventually I started following him on Twitter (@Nerdist) and became familiar with Nerdist.com.
It was the launch of the Nerdist Podcast, however, that taught me who Chris Hardwick really is. After listening to a handful of podcast episodes I learned a lot more about a man who I had previously seen a countless number of times on television.
He’s a comedian, a musician, a writer, a voice actor and just an all around cool dude. Oh and a snazzy dresser.
Just like that Chris Hardwick went from being some guy I remember seeing on MTV when I was little, to one of the most interesting and influential people in my life. The Nerdist Podcast has become like a religion for me. If I’m not listening to it, I’m talking about it.
I was at dinner recently with some friends and I was talking about Nerdist. A friend took a picture of me and uploaded it to Instagram with the caption “blah blah Chris Hardwick blah blah Chris Hardwick blah blah.” This sums it up nicely.
What do you expect when someone introduces me to so many different great things and people? Because of Hardwick and the Nerdist Podcast I am now a fan of Jonah Ray, Matt Mira, Comedy Bang Bang and Paul F. Tompkins to name a few. Then there’s the countless number of people that I was already a fan of but now know so much more about thanks to the Nerdist Podcast.
Plus, it’s nice to know that someone else is constantly saying, “oh this is like that one Simpsons episode…” or “this reminds me of that one time on The Simpsons…”
Hardwick has built a nerd empire and it’s been amazing to witness. He is everywhere. He moderates all the coolest panels at comic conventions, he takes his podcast on the road, he has a network of podcasts, he has his own YouTube channel with original programming, he hosts a Walking Dead talk show. He even holds an important position with Legendary Entertainment!
At some point someone is going to make a movie about his life: Hardwick – the Rise of the Nerd King. I’m calling dibs.
He has shown that you can make something that is cool and creative and you can do it all on your own. Better yet, you can do it and people will like it, they’ll appreciate it, they’ll want more of it.
As someone who is trying to create cool and interesting things independently, like what we’re trying to do here at Dark of the Matinee or with the making of our first film entirely on our own with no budget (which we’ve recently submitted to our first couple of film festivals, fingers crossed that it gets into a few), I find all of what Chris Hardwick has done to be very inspiring. He entertains us, but he also gives us a lot of hope and shows us that it can be done. It’s incredibly encouraging.
That’s why this Saturday, November 10, 2012, I implore all of you to tune into Comedy Central and watch Chris Hardwick’s first ever hour-long comedy special, Mandroid. Check your local listings to see the exact time that it airs, but I’m guessing it’s around 10:00-11:00 PM, regardless of where you are.
For years now Hardwick has been giving us great, quality entertainment for free. This Saturday he is going to give us some more. The least we could do is check it out. And if you don’t like it or don’t care and don’t want to watch it or whatever, don’t go out of your way to be a dick about it.
Head on over to Nerdist.com to see a clip from the special – Hipster Nerds
-Christopher Coffel
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