Goodbye wikiDeeks…

Five years ago as a huge fan of NCIS:LA, I felt that Marty Deeks simply wasn’t getting his just rewards. This iconic character needed a special fan site where Deeks’ freaks could come together and discuss everything about their favorite television character. With a group of like-minded friends, I started wikiDeeks and with their help we were soon providing fans with show reviews and previews, feature stories, debates, fanfics and art all devoted to the wonderfulness that is Detective Marty Deeks.

It’s been an incredible ride in the past five years but unfortunately and for many reasons, we have decided that it’s time to close up shop and call it a day at the end of this season. I know a lot of our followers are going to be disappointed, but I think it’s time to move on. That’s the bad news. But the good news is we are going to keep the site up at least for another year, so fans can still peruse our library of posts and artwork for enthusiasts searching for information regarding Deeks.

For NCIS:LA, we hope that there will eventually be more movement in terms of Deeks’ and Kensi’s relationship and possibly that elusive feature episode we all have longed for, “Deeks, M.” And who knows, we may even return to comment on special Deeks moments if the spirit moves us.  We will keep our Instagram and Tumblr accounts active so if something important is happening in the world of Deeks we will be there!

But here’s more good news… The team will gather one last time to participate in one of our famous wikiDeeks Roundtables at the end of season 9. We will come together to celebrate all things Deeks, discuss the current season and talk about the experience of working on the site so we can thank our fans and say good-bye properly.

I want to thank the current Team wikiDeeks for all of their incredible work and devotion to the site. Always professional, this dedicated group of Deeks lovers met their deadlines week after week with enthusiasm and passion for the character we all loved. To all of the other wonderful contributors over the years, thank you as well. We couldn’t have done it without all of you!

I’m very proud of what we accomplished at wikiDeeks and I’m hoping that we made the showrunners proud. To Eric Christian Olsen, who has put his all into creating and developing this special character over the course of the last nine years, we say thank you. We will always love Marty Deeks and all the fans that have come to the site repeatedly in the past five years. We hope you loved wikiDeeks as much as we enjoyed working on it.  It was a blast!

Diane

WikiDeeks staff  also say goodbye……

“Fandom” wasn’t a word I was even familiar with when my obsession with Deeks began. I had never used twitter or Tumblr or Instagram. I went to a fan meet-up not to so much to see the cast or crew but to meet my favorite fan fiction writer, Sweet Lu. I also met Gayle and Diane, which started me on the path to becoming a contributor here.

I won’t begin to talk about the specific experiences I’ve had as the site’s resident “Los Angeles correspondent” because they’d sound like humble brags. Let’s just say that I’m very grateful to Diane for welcoming me onto the staff based off of a single essay about why Sam disliked Deeks. I had never before in my whole life written anything for fun. In fact, I had always hated writing. But by writing for the site, I learned how writing something down forces one to really think through a topic. I learned how verbose I am, although I still haven’t figured out how to fix that particular flaw. I improved my Photoshop and web design skills with help from the super-talented and ultra-patient DeeksFreak Colleen. I even learned about the ramifications of child abuse through research for a particular series of posts. I had so much fun “debating” with my co-contributors and working to raise money for a charity inspired by our favorite character. I met people from all over the world and became friends with quite a few, including Lindy AKA Sweet Lu, about whom I still secretly fangirl.

Thanks to everyone who visited our site, and especially to everyone who ever commented on my work. Your feedback made me think and made me laugh. I really appreciate how positive a space you helped us maintain, where disagreements were welcome but (mostly) friendly. Thanks also to my fellow contributors who were an absolute joy to work with, and thanks to Diane for being an unbelievably fantastic leader. Our site may become quiet in a few months, but I hope the show, and Marty Deeks, lives for a long time to come. Long live Team Deeks!

Karen P

WikiDeeks has been so much fun to work on, although I can’t really call it work. It was a joy, really, to be a contributor to this site from the very beginning. It became a place to celebrate the character we have all come to love…Detective Marty Deeks and the consummate actor who brought him to life, Eric Christian Olsen. Diane, Colleen, and Karen P, along with so many others, have made this the go to site for all things Deeks. They have become friends and as sad as I am to see it all end, I wouldn’t trade this experience for all the tea in Hetty’s tea caddy.

Lindy

“Don’t cry that’s it’s over; smile because it happened.”

What an incredible journey this has been, one that began with a personal blog, a place to just record my own thoughts. Luckily, the NCIS:LA fandom is a friendly and welcoming place for all to share enthusiastically and respectfully. Amazingly, this effort took on a life of its own, far beyond anything we could have imagined. It was flabbergasting that someone (as it would turn out our brave leader Diane) would randomly reach out to ask if I would be interested in contributing to an online magazine. This began the real adventure of blindly traveling to LA for my first “fan meet”, where I recall sitting in awe of writers and producers of the show, the people who craft the show that gripped so many of us. It’s also where Diane shared her dream of this site.

Like others, this show offered some of us a safe, needed escape with characters that were relatable. Their sense of family extended beyond our screens and drew us in as more than viewers, and more like members of the team. Both the cast and crew facilitated this by their open connections through social media, bringing some of us closer, in a surprising sincere (not “Hollywood”) way. Then, just as some crew have moved around and even beyond the show, similarly a new venture, wikiDeeks was born from Diane’s ambition and admiration. Her excitement drew many of us to follow to this creative venture where we could both retain our own individualism and collaborate for compelling features, series, and debates. This was truly a team effort.

As my blog grew to the point of burnout, wikiDeeks provided a more manageable outlet. Yet, taking over Deeks’ “Surf Log” was a challenge in itself of trying to get the “voice” right out of respect for the show and actor – as well as avoiding any potential flames from readers! These efforts sparked my imagination and aided my writing.

Finally, were the set visits. While stress-filled in preparation and getting around L.A., it was the equivalent of a kid going to Disney World. Quite literally the characters were before us in real life. Yet, the lasting takeaways are the fact these people are human just like me and you, celebrating successes and struggling with everyday challenges. Their efforts in entertainment make our world and life a better place to be. Even more these travel journeys served as lifelong memorable experiences that I was able to share with my best friend, Kara.

So words of “thanks” will never come close to expressing my appreciation to Diane for leading this effort, my wikiDeeks “partners-in-crime” (especially Colleen & Karen P.), for BFF Kara for coming along for the ride, all of the blog and site readers, and of course the cast and crew of NCIS:LA – especially Eric Christian Olsen & Daniela Ruah – for supporting these efforts and embracing us as part of the virtual family (not to mention making all of us part of NCIS:LA history with the DVD Commentary shout-out – LOL)! If these past few years have taught me anything, it’s in never knowing what might come next. So… stay tuned?

Love live NCISLA!
Gayle (DensiLand)