Nerds or Hunks on the Tube

Wow...two days in a row, let's keep this going!

In last Friday's Wall Street Journal, Brooks Barnes wrote an article titled "I Wany My Nerd TV" about the supposed trend of networks hyping unhunky characters as the stars of new offerings. I call bull. It's close to what Jack Shafer of Slate would call a phony "trend" story.

Barnes explains how the main characters of "Four Kings," "What About Brian," and "Love Monkey" all feature dorky guys as the romantic leads. All are ostensibly light-hearted comedies. But Barnes makes this out to be something new. He refers to nameless "entertainment executives" who say that the popularity of reality TV has made viewers uninterested in "slick, unrealistic characters."
Who they are referring to is unclear...something along the lines of the Studly Dudely who doesn't really exist on TV comedies.
These same execs are also "hungry to court the legions of awkward, videogame-playing young men who advertisers covet." Barnes does quote a Starcom Entertainment exec...so that's one thing going for the article. But as far as I know, dorky video gamers want to see Jessica Alba in "Dark Angel," not Seth hooking up with Summer on "The O.C."

If this article were about dorky guys emerging on soaps like "The O.C.", that would make sense. But it's not. It's mostly about the supposedly new trend of dorks in comedies. This is the part I have the biggest problem with. Barnes mentions Gilligan, Urkel, and Doogie...but what about the entire cast of "Seinfeld"...Woody on "Cheers"...Archie Bunker and Meathead?

The successful comedies have always been about the normal guy succeeding. "Sex and the City" is the aberration in this trend, and thats because women are crazy. Even "Friends" had Joey, a supposed beefcake, but he was surrounded by Chandler and Ross, two dorks-- who had the lasting romantic relationships that Joey never attained.

Look at "Cheers," Ted Danson's bartender was a bigheaded jerk..and was frequently held up just to be beaten down for comedic effect. On "M.A.S.H," the cast was a group of wisecracking doctors...none of whom were hunks. "Frasier" had the two main characters fighting over wine and classical music.

The MacGuyvers and Magnums and assorted action heroes were all in the realm of one-hour dramas. It's been a very rare occurence where the hunk was the central character of a successful comedy...maybe Desi Arnaz is the only instance that currently comes to mind.

Losers are funny. See: Homer, Archie, Ralph Kramden, Peter Griffin...the list goes on. This is nothing new.