When I was a kid my dad and I used to watch scary afternoon movies. We’d study zombies, mad scientists, and bad guys doing what bad guys do, pondering their makeup and their motivations. In short, dad made sure I knew it wasn’t real. As a result, scary movies and psychological thrillers have been a love of my life. I appreciate the creativity and vision that goes into scaring the audience but, with the exception of The Wizard of Oz (flippin monkeys!), I just don’t buy into it.

One show I currently enjoy is Criminal Minds. The psychological profiling fascinates me and the characters are all kinds of interesting. Penelope the pc guru especially cracks me up and I appreciate how the writers use her character to bring balance. I actually laughed out loud when one of the agents, Hodge, commented that he needed to have her tested for drugs after a phone conversation. I know, only funny if you watch the show and “know” the characters.

Anyhoo, tonight Wil Wheaton played the evil psycho dude. His performance was incredible. He scared the heck outta me even when I kept repeating, “It’s just show. He’s the guy from Next Generation. He’s Gordie in Stand By Me…”  In the end, Wil Wheaton’s portrayal of Floyd Hansen has made Jack Torrence of The Shining look like a nice guy. If there is an award for “Evil Scary Psycho Dude” he’ll win!

Tonight’s show traumatized me and I’m relatively certain I need therapy. I wonder if Wesley Crusher can hook me up with Whoopie Goldberg’s therapist character on Next Generation. Also, I hope he changes he blog photo … it scares me now!