Big Bang Theory

I saw a random episode of “The Big Bang Theory” last night when I was moping and thinking I might be sick. It’s been an astonishingly long time since I’ve seen a standard sitcom — you know, limited sets, obvious jokes, contrived interchangeable plots, contrived interchangeable characters, frequent pauses for uproarious studio laughter, everybody lives in southern California. It wasn’t absolutely one hundred percent unfunny, but the whole format felt so… over. You know, stale, played out, predictable beyond belief.

But I watched it anyway, which I guess is the magic of sitcoms.

The premise: a hot blonde chick moves into the same apartment building as a cadre of super-nerds. Hijinks ensue!

It wasn’t the *worst* pop-culture portrayal of nerds I’ve ever seen, but it was incredibly lazy. Nerds are awkward with girls, ha-ha! Nerds still live with their mother, ha-ha! Nerds are Jewish, ha-ha! Nerds are obsessed with video games and science fiction ha-ha! Sometimes nerds have serious OCD and autism-spectrum disorders, which are funny if you don’t think too much about it, ha-ha!

But, seriously, if they were looking for a fresh premise, I’ve got one: a hot blonde chick moves into the same apartment building as a cadre of super-nerds AND SHE’S ALSO A NERD!

There are female nerds, you know. And sometimes they’re even hot. Or, at least, normally attractive.

Sometimes male nerds are hot, too.

Nerds mate successfully all the time.

So, whaddya think? Are you a nerd? Does this keep you from dating?

10 Comments

  1. They actually do have a couple of secondary nerd females in the show (and one of them is cute). This is actually one of the only sitcoms I watch (that and how I meet your mother), normally I tend to avoid them like the plague.

  2. We need to make that a shirt with various illustrations:

    “Nerds mate successfully all the time.”

    Maybe just a sexy graph would do, though.

      1. Author

        Hmmm….

        I’ll let you know when they’re available.

  3. Wait, this one was done already, in the mid-nineties. It was called “Dweebs”, and it was about the “normal” admin hired on by a trio of software nerds after they struck it rich. It had the predictable no-girls-are-nerds sexism, but IIRC it was otherwise a reasonably sympathetic picture of smart, creative, introverted people rubbing up against “normalcy”.

  4. I figure my nerdiness to have been a significant dating advantage.

    Of course my dating history goes something like this: Gary, literature geek, rocket scientist, Unix system administrator, Mac programmer, Unix system administrator, Mac/Unix specialist. So, y’know.

  5. James and I were watching one of the XMen movies in the theater a few years back, and in front of us was a young couple on a date – arms around each other, etc. The young man was required to explain nearly everything to his girlfriend. (During a bout of mono in college, I read every graphic novel Wolverine was ever in, via Tony.)

    I turned to James and said, “Wow. I guess I’m the girl comic book geeks dream of taking to the movies.” He agreed.

    I’ll agree with Cam. Being a nerd has helped me date the men I was interested in dating.

  6. nerd, geek, dweeb, anorak, etc.

    I’ll cop to any of the various labels for data/pattern-obsessed introvert, but it isn’t what keeps me from dating. What keeps me from dating is the remarkably small pool of potential candidates worth the expenditure of energy my particular depth of introversion requires to initiate the expected cultural rituals.

    1. Author

      Re: nerd, geek, dweeb, anorak, etc.

      Anorak!
      That’s one I haven’t heard before. Similar to Trainspotter, I guess?

      Although The Station Agent actually made trainspotting seem pretty cool.

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