You can call them misfits and they would proudly agree, but that’s why we love them! Here are some of our favorite TV nerds and geeks from shows over the years.
Source: Warner Bros. Television
“Family Matter’s” Steve Urkel
Sure Steve Urkel was annoying with his high-pitched voice and coke bottle glasses but he certainly won viewers over fast. “Family Matters” started off as a spin-off from “Perfect Stranger” and followed Officer Carl and Henrietta Winslow and their family but soon their neighbor Urkel was stealing the show. He was totally infatuated with their daughter Laura but she couldn’t be bothered with him. That is until he used his DNA and cloned Stefan Urquelle, a cooler, more suave version of himself, and had all the young women going crazy.
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“Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s” Carlton Banks
Carlton Banks could groove with the best of him. Singing Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual” better than the legendary singer himself, Banks kept his nose clean and in his schoolbooks — until his fun, partying cousin Will Smith came to live with them. Smith did his best to corrupt his straight-laced cousin while Banks provided a more positive influence in Smith’s life, even if he didn’t want to admit it. But Banks did have a habit of running back to tell his parents about the shenanigans that his cousin was up to.
Source: 20th Century Fox
“The Simpson’s” Lisa Simpson
Being the middle child, Lisa Simpson sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Her older brother Bart is a rambunctious terror in the neighborhood and required more attention from their parents and who could compete with baby sister Maggie? But Lisa was content with keeping herself occupied with doing her schoolwork and playing the saxophone. Having little in common with the rest of her family anyway, she became a vegetarian in season seven and in season 13, she decided to switch religion and convert to Buddhism.
“The Office’s” Dwight Schrute
A self-proclaimed fascist nerd, Dwight Schrute ruled “The Office” as the assistant to the regional manager. Raised on a beet farm with no electricity, Schrute was a throwback to simpler times. He made himself in charge of all office emergency procedures and would routinely try to prove how much smarter he was than everyone else, no matter how stupid he looked. He lacked common sense and social skills and we loved him even more for that. Schrute wanted badly to be best friends with his boss Michael Scott but he was constantly overlooked for the more popular and easygoing Jim Halpert. But Scott surprised him by being his best man at his wedding in the last season.
Source: USA Network
“Modern Family’s” Alex Dunphy
On “Modern Family,” Alex Dunphy’s older sister Hailey is a bit of an airhead so boy crazy, she doesn’t have time for books. And her younger brother is too busy getting into hair-brained schemes with their father that no one knows how his future will turn out. But Alex is easily the most intelligent of the Dunphy offsprings and she doesn’t let anyone forget it. Even though she has struggled to make friends at school, a nerdy group of her classmates idolize Alex like she’s a rock star.
Source: Warner Bros Television
“The Big, Bang Theory”
If you ever wondered if people could relate to being a nerd, then “Big, Bang Theory” should remove all doubt. The massively popular show has been on for seven seasons so far and it shows no sign of stopping. Viewers love tuning in each week to watch Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard discuss physics, “Star Trek” and every geeky thing in between. After last season wrapped, several cast mates held out on signing contracts until they were offered more money and the ploy worked. CBS has extended the show for three more seasons.
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“Community’s” Abed Nadir
Getting through college, even community college, is no easy feat and sometimes students need to help each other to make it through to graduation. That’s the premise of “Community” in which several Greendale Community College students get together to form a study group. There was a cool kid, even though he was a lawyer who was forced to go back to school, a homemaker, an old guy, a brainiac, a jock, and a feminist. And then there was Abed Nadir who was obsessed with pop culture and used television and movie references to relate to everybody. Even though he was standoffish and showed none himself, he could pick up on everyone else’s human emotions and was often the smartest one in the group.
Source: DreamWorks Television
“Freaks and Geeks’” Sam Weir
With a title like “Freaks and Geeks,” it’s very obvious what this show was about. Just like there are levels of coolness, there are degrees to being a nerd or geek and this short-lived show had several of them. Neal Schweiber was a talented ventriloquist and Bill Haverchuck’s claim to fame was wearing his mother’s clothes for a Halloween costume. But Sam Weir stood out from the rest of his geeky friends. He’s friends with a lot of students from the “in” crowd but his love for all things sci-fi will forever make him a geek.
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“30 Rock’s” Kenneth Parcell
On “30 Rock,” Kenneth Parcell was overly cheery, polite to no end, and had the brightest outlook on life even when things were the darkest for him. Parcell grew up on a pig farm in Stone Mountain, GA so working in television in the Big Apple was a dream come true for him. Never mind the fact that he was a lowly page on an NBC show with extremely low ratings. Parcell did his best to be a gopher and all around friend to his co-workers, Liz Lemon, Tracy Jordan, Jenna Maroney and boss Jack Donaughy, who once said that Parcell was worth $5.
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“Saved By The Bell’s” Screech
His name was Samuel Powers but everybody called him Screech. “Saved By The Bell” was a popular teen show that depicted life in high school for a group of California teens that included a popular future ladies’ man and a jock. But no group would be complete without a nerd and that’s where Screech came in. Sure, he knew he was different from his other friends but he embraced his nerdiness and that’s what fans loved about him. He was madly in love with classmate Lisa Turtle, but she couldn’t care less about him.
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“Scrubs’” Dr. J.D.
Being a doctor automatically makes you smart but that’s not what made “Scrubs’” Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian a nerd. He had a way with the ladies but despite that he just couldn’t help nerding out with Christopher Turk whenever the two got together. Roommates since college and medical school, J.D. and Turk truly defined the term bromance. Add in the fact that J.D. would daydream at the drop of a dime and he was easily the geek of the show.
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“24’s” Chloe O’Brian
Sure, Jack Bauer swooped in and saved the day, well hour, on every episode of “24” but he could never be the man that he was without Chloe O’Brian. While Bauer was out in the trenches, he worked closely with O’Brian, who was constantly glued to a computer. There wasn’t a firewall she couldn’t get past, a building blueprint she couldn’t pull up or a security alarm she wasn’t able to disarm. Appearing in the most episodes besides Bauer himself, O’Brian was his most trusted colleague and confidant.
Source: NBCUniversal Television
“Heroes’” Hiro Nakamura
It isn’t everyday that a fan of superheroes and comic books is granted special powers of his very own. But that is exactly what happened to Hiro Nakamura. With perhaps the strongest power, Nakamura was able to manipulate time, which enabled him to teleport and time travel. The bespeckled nerd ended up saving the day by rescuing the cheerleader and thus saving the world and becoming a true super Hiro. And he had an affinity for waffles.
