Hail to the Geeks
Dr. Daniel Jackson of Stargate SG-1: Although he uses weapons more and more as he helps an elite team save the world from aliens, he is still a geek. He is an archeologist and linguist, who can speak 23 languages, and counting (not all of them Earth languages) and who holds three PhD’s. In the early years of the show, he was the one most likely to want to communicate with aliens rather than see them as a threat. And, even though he has become more pragmatic and less idealistic, the geekiness I love. For example, in one of the first episodes of the 9th season, he was in a room surrounded by treasure, and paid no attention to any of it. Instead, he had his nose buried in a book. A humorous example of Daniel at his geekiest is in an episode called Upgrades. The team gets super powers -enhanced strength and speed. Daniel is most impressed by the fact that he can read really fast.
Dr. Charles (Charlie) Eppes of Numb3rs: I’ve just discovered this character. Math isn’t my favorite subject, so a tv show about a math genius wouldn’t seem to be of interest to me. But, someone described the character of Charlie, and I realized that the specialty he deals with may be one I hate, but the character has traits that I love. Charlie was a child prodigy. He graduated from high school the same day as his brother, Don. Don was 18 and Charlie was 13. He then attended Princeton and wrote a treatise at 14. He is now a professor of mathematics and uses his skills to help his brother, an FBI agent solve crimes. Charlie has some wonderful geeky qualities. He thinks in numbers. When he comes up with a solution, his explanation usually starts off way over the heads of the agents, and he has to illustrate by using examples. It doesn’t seem to occur to him not to phrase things as a mathematical equation. Although I’m just as the characters, I like that Charlie isn’t written as a normal character. I imagine someone like him would think differently from the average person. Charlie can also get completely caught up in his work, and truly loves equations.
Dr. Spencer Reid of Criminal Minds: Reid shares a lot in common with Charlie Eppes. He graduated high school at age 12, and he works for the FBI. Only not unofficially. He’s an FBI agent. He has 3 PhD’s, an ability to read fast and comprehend, and an uncanny fountain of knowledge that he can pull out to help solve a case. He can also figure out abstract patterns and see clues in scrambled messages. He is more known for using his brains than his gun, although he got a crucial shot in during one episode. At times he seems embarrassed by his intelligence. When someone asks if he’s a genius, he rambles a little about how intelligence can’t be measured before finally admitting that yes, he’s a genius. He does the same thing when someone questions if he can really read as fast as he seems to.
This is just a list of the characters currently on television. These characters have all have a fan following, and show that it’s okay to be smart, to enjoy learning, to be a geek even.
