It's geek to me — New fall TV season is dominated by nerds

It's not exactly "Revenge of the Nerds," but there do seem to be a lot of them on TV this fall. Nerds, that is. Geeks. Socially inept young men who aren't exactly the prototypical lead characters for network series.

CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" is all about four card-carrying nerds/geeks.

One of the four moguls on "Big Shots" may have a lot of money but he's a definite nerd.

As is one — OK, maybe two — of the four "Carpoolers."

And one of the doctors in "Private Practice," as well.

The boss in the fictional "Back to You" newsroom is a geek. (Hey, he came over from the online department.)

The "Cavemen" are sort of nerds.

So is the main character in "Pushing Daisies" — albeit in an entirely different way.

"Aliens in America" revolves around a pair of high school geeks — one from the Midwest and one from Pakistan.

They're not exactly nerds, but the guys who rebuild the "Bionic Woman" are certainly science geeks.

The nice high school kids on "Gossip Girl" are at least a bit on the nerdy side — certainly in comparison to the rich, pampered, spoiled bad kids.

Over at "Kid Nation," the cast of 40 8- to 15-year-olds is replete with nerds and geeks.

And in one of those coincidences that only seems possible in "Hollywood," NBC's "Chuck" and The CW's "Reaper" feature some startling similarities:

• On "Chuck," Chuck is an underachiever who works at a big-box store (a slightly reconfigured version of Best Buy).

• On "Reaper," Sam is an underachiever who works at a big-box store (a slightly reconfigured Home Depot).

• Chuck has more than his share of problems in relationships with the opposite sex.

• Sam has more than his share of problems in relationships with the opposite sex.

• Members of Chuck's family are worried about him.

• Members of Sam's family are worried about him.

• Chuck is suddenly imbued with, well, superpowers and has to save the world (or, at least, part of it) every week.

• Sam is suddenly imbued with, well, superpowers and has to save the world (or, at least, part of it) every week.

And if you have any reason to question whether these guys are really geeks, hey, Chuck even works for the Nerd Herd — a slightly reconfigured Geek Squad that is "vetted legally to be different enough," said "Chuck" creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz.

Whether you call them "geeks" or "nerds," they're everywhere. Although maybe they don't want to be called by either of those names.

"Everyone is throwing around 'geek' and 'nerd' and all this," said Zachary Levi, who plays the title role in "Chuck." "I would say they're 'cool-challenged,' maybe, if we can coin that phrase."

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