Tom Chick
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television and movie actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and independent journalist. His most prominent TV roles were as Oscar's lover Gil in the US version of The Office
The Office (US TV series)
The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
, and the hard-hitting reporter Gordon in The West Wing
The West Wing (TV series)
The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
. As a writer, Tom has contributed to many current and past video game publications. He recently ended his role as editor-in-chief for the now closed Fidgit gaming blog to move on to other opportunities.
Biography
Chick attended Harvard Divinity SchoolHarvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
and received a Masters of Theological Studies with a focus on the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
. Deciding not to pursue the ministry, he later moved to Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where he currently resides and pursues a career in writing about video games and occasionally acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
roles. He is also the co-founder and administrator of a web-based site for games discussion, Quarter To Three.
Writing career
Chick is an independent journalist whose columns on video games have appeared online and in print. As a freelance columnist, he has written for a number of sites, including Firing Squad, Yahoo Games, GamespyGameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
, GameSpot, Xtreme Gamer, 1Up, Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and others. His articles have also appeared in magazines such as the "Tom vs. Bruce" series in Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
, and he was listed as "one of the field's rare American practitioners" in an article on "New Games Journalism" in the New York Times.
In May 2008, He partnered with the Sci-Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
as Editor in chief
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
of a new co-branded gaming blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, entitled Fidgit.
Chick's reviews are no stranger to controversy as he has been an outspoken critic of what he calls the "7–9 rating scale" at some game review sites, and due to occasional game reviews which were widely considered to be different from the main, such as his harshly critical review of Deus Ex
Deus Ex
Deus Ex is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing video games...
of which he said "I'd say it's only 90% bad." in a June 2000 review.
He has also collaborated on other games journalism projects, such as a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
with independent games developer Brad Wardell
Brad Wardell
Bradley R. Wardell , commonly known as Brad Wardell, is an American businessman, programmer and author residing in Michigan...
hosted at the now-defunct PowerUser.TV. He is now a regular panelist on the strategy game themed podcast Three Moves Ahead with colleagues Troy Goodfellow, Julian Murdoch, Rob Zacny and old collaborator Bruce Geryk. He also appeared in Joystiq Podcast number 114 which was released on October 23, 2009. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/23/joystiq-podcast-114-funny-last-names-edition/
Acting career
The West Wing (TV series)
The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
. He also played Oscar's homosexual lover Gil in The Office
The Office (US TV series)
The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
, and Mario in The Nine
The Nine (TV series)
The Nine is an American television serial drama that premiered October 4, 2006 on ABC and aired only one season. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Television.- Plot :...
.
Selected filmography
- Frank & Jesse (1994) ... Detective Whitcher
- Beverly Hills, 90210Beverly Hills, 90210Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
(1994) ... Joe (single episode) - ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(1997) ... Weissbroot (single episode) - FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
(1997) ... Waiter (two episodes) - The King of QueensThe King of QueensThe King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
(2001) ... Guy (one episode) - The West WingThe West Wing (TV series)The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
(2003–2005) ... Gordon (nine episodes) - The Office (US)The Office (US TV series)The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
(2006–2007) ... Gil (four episodes) - The NineThe Nine (TV series)The Nine is an American television serial drama that premiered October 4, 2006 on ABC and aired only one season. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Television.- Plot :...
(2006) ... Mario (two episodes)
External links
- Quarter To Three - Home Page
- Shoot Club and other columns
- 60 second reviews
- Fidgit Gaming Blog