Revenge of the nerds

Natalie Pool

Hi, my name is Natalie and I’m a TV addict. Name an obscure episode of a random show and I’ve probably seen it. Twice. My Friends boxset is the most valuable thing I own and I’ve worked my way through all ten seasons – including extras and bloopers, at least four times. When most people are out clubbing, I’m at Look & Listen looking for series on sale. Take2.co.za is my preferred porn site and where I’ve spent hours trawling for discounts, special offers and imported series. Some might see this as a problem but I like to think of it as my passion – like horse riding, painting or poker.

This year alone I have worked my way through 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Chuck, Scrubs (for the third time), The IT Crowd, Mad Men, Glee and Modern Family to name a few. I often have to stop myself from talking about the characters as real people lest my friends stage an intervention. And I’ve had many a dream where I walk the halls of Seattle Grace as a member of Grey’s Anatomy or am the next long lost sibling in Brothers & Sisters.
Lately I’ve found myself drawn to the geeky guys (gee, what a shocker) so thought I’d share some of my most lovable TV nerds with you (if you know of any others, please let me know so I can add to my addiction).

Chuck Bartowski from Chuck
A member of The Nerd Herd by day and a super spy by night, Chuck (Zach Levi) has all the Clark Kent/Superman qualities a girl is looking for: floppy brown hair, a big heart and the love of a shoe named Converse.

Ross from Friends
Everyone’s favourite paleontologist has his whiny moments but by the end of the series Ross (David Schwimmer) has found a haircut that suits him (and doesn’t require bucket-loads of gel) and has manned up enough to fight for the one he loves. And what girl doesn’t want that?

Roy & Moss from the IT Crowd
My love for the IT guys (Chris O'Dowd and Richard Ayoade)of Reynholm Industries doesn’t stem from any kind of lust but rather from the fact that I’ve known guys just like them and the fact that they’re so terminally uncool actually makes them awesome. Thanks to them, geek-speak slogan tees, Dungeons and Dragons and bumper stickers are back in the game.

JD from Scrubs
Not a lot of guys would be so open about their love of Appletinis, onsie pajamas and a best bal named Brown Bear (a.k.a. Turk) but John Dorian (Zach Braff) is in touch with his sensitive side which makes for a great doctor and bestie (as for a boyfriend, he’d probably drive us insane).

George Michael from Arrested Development
Going through puberty is hard enough. Doing it when you share the name of singer who gained fame for being in Wham! and bathroom cubicles is even harder. Add that to being a part of America’s most dysfunctional family and in love with his cousin, George Michael (Michael Cera) is so nerdy he’ll probably grow up to be the smart, rich guy who gets all the girls.