Now, I don’t understand it when people say this show is insulting geeks/nerds. I truly don’t find the show or its characters ‘insulting’ or hurtful. It pokes fun at everything geek culture at the same time of embracing it. Daniela’s last point is spot on for me: “The Big Bang Theory‘s caricatures aren’t meant to hurt, but to
let us laugh at ourselves, to shove aside the grown-up self who has
learned not to tell everyone about her Batman obsession, and revel with
that younger self who could unabashedly argue for hours with her father
about why Batman was (so clearly) superior to Superman. So jump in and
laugh. You’re with friends here, and we’ve been waiting for you.”

The difference is that I’m a full grown adult living in a foreign country still loving my geekdom.

While I respect that your opinion is your own I must say that your experience as a “nerd” is hardly typical. You hung out with jocks and were “using” them to look cooler. Most nerd did NOT have that.

I’d also like to point out that the one thing that you post in ALL CAPS is the worst things you could have said… I think it’s a fair assumption that you do NOT know the writers or actors or anyone involved with the show personally, therefore, you CANNOT make the statement that none of them are geeks or nerds. Hell, any nerd worth his salt knows there is a distinction between the two.

As far as how the characters are portrayed each of the main characters always seemed to be an aspect of nerd-dom, Sheldon is the Big Brain (who doesn’t realize that by acting so smart he’s actually pissing people off), Raj is a representation of how nerd typically have difficulty talking to the opposite sex and are outsiders to their culture. Howard is that “failure to launch” mama’s boy who doesn’t quite realize just how geeky he is (at least until later seasons), Leonard portrays that part of us who sometimes wishes he wasn’t as geeky as he is. Separately, none are really that funny but as a whole they form a larger picture of the culture and that forms a lot of the humor. As an “aspiring comedian” I would think that you would have asked yourself why people find the show funny (millions of viewers every week can’t be wrong). Try to remember that humor is subjective to the audience. If you don’t find it funny and millions of others do, remember that you are not wrong…. but then again.. neither are the millions of people who do.

He can’t have Autism… His mother had him tested LOL.

It’s pretty hard to argue that Mayim Bialik is not a geek.

Completely agreed. The show rubbed me the wrong way for the longest time, and I could never figure out why. I recognized aspects of a number of things I enjoy in the show, but you’re absolutely right in saying that it laughs at Sheldon et. al, not with them.

I love that you are teetering on the edge of a comic book debate.

I have not seen the episode, but if the Thor comic was the recent run of Journey Into Mystery, then the comic guy would have a customer for life, regardless of gender. Brilliant.