Nerd, nerd, nerd, the nerd is the word

Maybe that’s why, in recent years, nerds have been called upon to save the world more and more without being pushed into a locker afterwards. “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” featured Rupert Giles, who, despite his (literally) hell-raising youth, not only settled into a life as a school librarian but made research a crucial tool in fighting the forces of darkness. Edgar Stiles' prodigious computer skills helped Jack Bauer keep the world save from terrorism on “24.” (Ironically, he actually was pushed into a locker at the end, in a way.) Heck, even “Numb3rs” is about to begin its fourth season of mathematically-enhanced crime solving.

There’s a difference in the new wave, however, and it’s this: in new shows like “Chuck” and “Reaper,” the nerd is not just a hero, he’s the hero, the central dude around which everything pivots. That’s a key distinction, and one that demarginalizes the nerd as a character type. Television has tried this before, with little success. The title character of “Jake 2.0,” for example, was a government supercomputer expert who gained superhuman powers when he was infected with tiny robots. (Pretty nerdy, that.) But the show, while not without its charms, never quite found its footing and was quickly cancelled.

The new Nerd Herd is hoping to pocket-protect itself from a similar fate. Notice that every one of their hero nerds has another, far bigger nerd standing right next to him. Chuck’s a dork, it’s true. But, his show seems to say, at least he’s not as pathetic as friend and coworker Morgan, whose constant leering and aggressiveness serve as a repellent counterpoint to Chuck’s simple shyness and cluelessness.

It’s the same with “Reaper,” where the loud and boorish Burt “Sock” Wysocki makes his buddy Sam look pretty good by comparison. Sheldon and Leonard, the protagonists of “The Big Bang Theory,” have the hardest job, as each appears to be just as nerdy as the other. But they come prepared with a larger group of research-scientist buddies who will no doubt provide the necessary contrast. Nanobot-powered Jake Foley, on the other hand, was a geek alone, outnerding everyone else, and it hurt the show.

“Chuck,” “Reaper” and “The Big Bang Theory” come at a time when San Diego’s Comic-Con is starting to be viewed as one of the key events on the calendar of the entire entertainment industry, when shows like “Heroes” and movies like the “Spider-Man” series are among the most popular in the land and when video games have gone mainstream enough for Roger Ebert and Clive Barker to engage in a lively public debate about whether they can be considered art.

In this environment, maybe it’s not that surprising to see brainy, socially inept men start to grab the spotlight. Whether viewers will see more of it will depend in part on whether these shows survive long enough to capture an audience and make it to a second season. But for now, at least, it’s hip to be square.

Marc Hirsh is a writer in Somerville, Mass.

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