Fangasm, Season 1, Episode 1: “Beam Me Up, Stan”
Airs Tuesdays at 10 PM E.S.T. on SyFy
My first reaction to Fangasm was how much I related to the people on the show and how respectfully they were treated. Executive Producers SallyAnn Salsano and Joel Zimmer did a good job getting geeks with different interests and personalities on their show as interns for Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo. The cast range from Andrew Duvall, a hilarious Star Trek fan who ironically works for Enterprise Rent A Car to Dani Snow, a cosplayer who is interested in Lord of the Rings, comics, and special effects makeup. The other cast members are Kristin Hackett, a huge comics fan who wants to start her own fashion line; Mike Reed, an outgoing DC Comics fan who also cosplays; Molly McIsaac, an outspoken and hilarious comics fan and cosplayer; Paul Perkins, who loves Star Trek and comics and wants to move out of his parents’ basement; and Sal Fringo, a huge Marvel and Iron Man fan. The diverse cast helps keep the show entertaining and also provide insights into why people are so passionate about fictional characters, TV shows, and comics.
The cast of Fangasm seemed genuinely happy to be interning for Stan Lee and Comikaze. There wasn’t a prima donna in the group, just Grade A nerds. 
Their interactions were generally positive, and there was none of the complaining and pointless drama that characterize most reality shows. Having common interests led to a lot of camaraderie among the cast. Sal even lost a contest on purpose so that Paul, the bigger Star Trek fan could have dinner with George Takei. There were little touches that revealed the cast’s passion. For example, Kristin decorated her part of the apartment with a few of her 600+ graphic novel collection. The cast’s passion and budding friendships show that fandom can be celebrated on television and not just exploited.
As far as exploitation goes, Molly took a strong stance against geek exploitation when a Geek Pride Day event the group attended turned into basically a cosplay strip show. She articulated that she felt embarrassed and taken advantage of when the cosplayers acted liked this. Her speech about geeky women being seen as a sex objects did a great job of showing some of the problems with fan culture. Molly also talked about how cosplay and geek culture helped her with body image issues and basically saved her life. This scene showed the power of fandom to both help and harm. The producers let Molly voice her opinions about this subject and not demean her. Fangasm shows that geeks aren’t just horny men playing Magic: The Gathering and jerking off to a Power Girl statue, but can be of all shapes, sizes, genders, and ages.
However, the most emotional part of Fangasm was the ending when Mike went to dinner with George Takei and brought him back to the apartment to show the rest of the cast, especially Andrew. Andrew’s reaction to meeting George Takei can’t really be described in words. He talked about how Sulu was his great grandmother’s favorite character on Star Trek, and that her happiest moments were watching Star Trek with him. Andrew’s encounter with Takei just shows how powerful an effect fictional characters can have on fans. The episode which was full of sharing similar interests, awkward fun (trying to get a grill and hot tub to work), and celebrating fandom through cosplay and podcasts climaxed into a literal fangasm. (Pardon the innuendo.) The cast shared group hugs, and Andrew even cried. These closing moments also made me cry as he realized that finally there was a positive representation of nerd culture on a major television network. Problems that I cared about like the fetishization of cosplayers were being addressed on television. If you have ever been called a nerd, geek, dork, or dweeb, or got in a passionate debate about whether Han or Greedo shot first (Han did), Fangasm is the perfect show for a fun, yet multifaceted look at geek culture.
– Logan Dalton