BY ALEX ISRAEL

In print | Published April 16, 2009

If you were asked to name your favorite character from “The Office,” who would it be? If I were asked, I would briefly touch on the entertaining, cute Jim, flirt with the incompetent Michael Scott, and ultimately settle on the one, the only, the man with the glasses and the pocket protector: Dwight Kurt Schrute.

Now, you may not think of Dwight (as played by the endlessly entertaining Rainn Wilson) as the stereotypical nerd — if looking for a phrase that accurately describes the Assistant to the Regional Manager, “deranged beet-farming cat-killer” leaps more quickly to mind than “nerd.” Dwight, however, definitely falls into the category of nerd: his hair is neatly parted in the middle, he firmly believes in both vampires and zombies, and he knows everything there is to know about “Star Wars.” If all that doesn’t scream “nerd,” I really don’t know what does.

Dwight, however, is not the supreme television nerd, much as he may wish to be. That prize can be awarded to Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) of CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory.” Sheldon is a particle physicist at an unnamed (but clearly prestigious) California university, and his life consists of his research (which, according to him, is about to revolutionize the entire field), eating specific foods on specific nights (Thursday is pizza night, and it can NEVER be Thai food night) and knowing everything there is to know about comic books and Star Trek. Sheldon surrounds himself with the three people in the world who can tolerate his idiosyncrasies: his roommate, Leonard (Johnny Galecki), the cute, semi-attractive nerd; the Indian, paralyzed-around-women astronomer, Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar); and the unbelievably horny, still-lives-with-his-mother Jewish engineer, Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg). Koothrappali, Wolowitz and Leonard are entertaining characters in their own right, as is their hot blonde neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco, who plays an admirable straight woman), but “The Big Bang Theory” belongs to Sheldon and Sheldon alone.

Another show that, despite the charm of its other characters, has been hijacked by the nerds is a recent addition to the ABC lineup, “Better Off Ted.” The show may center on the life of Ted, Director of Research and Development for a corporate behemoth known by the wonderfully important-sounding yet meaningless name of Veridian Dynamics, and feature a truly impressive supporting cast (including “Arrested Development”’s sublime Portia de Rossi as Ted’s high-powered boss, Veronica), but it’s the resident lab geeks, Phil (Jonathan Slavin) and Lem (Malcolm Barrett), who steal the show. To see their sublimely loving, geeky and extremely codependent relationship at its best, check out episode three, “Through Rose Colored HAZMAT Suits,” in which Phil and Lem begin the episode by arguing about which of them is in charge, and end it by being squeezed, in the ultimate gesture of friendship and love, into a single HAZMAT suit. (On the non-nerd front, the episode also features the best example of a HAZMAT-suit make-out session I’ve ever seen. Forget that it’s the only one I’ve ever seen. Just sit back and laugh.)

By looking at Dwight, Leonard and Phil and Lem, it’s clear that nerds can steal a show, be they cuddly (Phil and Lem), bizarrely eccentric (Sheldon) or downright hostile (Dwight. Obviously.). But why are these characters so appealing? Do we sympathize with their plights? Do we see a little of ourselves in them? Or do we just like watching shows where we, as intellectual Swatties, can appreciate all the scientific in-jokes

I personally think that it’s a little bit of all three. I definitely sympathize with these nerds because I, like many Swatties, have had my identity as the stereotypical “nerd” defined for me in certain settings. I also secretly sympathize with Sheldon’s frustration when people don’t understand my intellectual (and, let’s face it, somewhat pretentious) references to all sorts of obscurity. I even sympathize, on rare occasions, with Dwight, like the time when … well, never mind. I mean, some people are beyond sympathy.

More than sympathize, however, I identify with Sheldon et al. I study episodes of “Lost” like they’re important historical artifacts and I laugh at jokes that hinge on the difference between cytoplasm and ooplasm. I even — and you have no idea how hard it is to admit this in a public forum — attended a midnight showing of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” On opening night. Dressed in full Elf-princess regalia. I am actually that much of a nerd.

The point that I am trying to make by sharing these embarrassing anecdotes about myself (and I promise, there is one) is this: we need TV nerds to identify with, because most of us aren’t the model-gorgeous teens of “Gossip Girl” or the action-hero bad asses of “Lost,” much as we might wish to be. Once or twice a week it’s nice to turn on “The Office” or “The Big Bang Theory” and laugh at people who are, if anything, less socially adjusted, well-dressed or in shape than we Swatties are. I know that, for me personally, my favorite TV nerds remind me that it could be a lot worse, and let me hold my head up high. That is, until I walk into Sharples and realize that everyone I know is snickering at the thought of me dressed as an Elf.

Alex is an immortal elf-princess from the realm of Middle Earth who is currently disguised as a sophomore. You can reach her at aisrael1@swarthmore.edu.

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