As someone who got a physics degree and knows some shit, the first couple seasons are not too bad. The physics/math jokes are mostly fairly accurate, and those shows happened as nerd culture was getting mainstreamed. The first Avengers movie were several years away. I can't really say whether the series had a part in this mainstreaming, but at the least it was in the Zeitgeist.

I grew up in the north Italian province. Being a nerd didn't make you an outcast, but definitely an odd one.

The first couple seasons came out while I was doing my bachelor (i.e. the equivalent of undergrad) and with its caricature of some quirks I could recognize in many of my friends and colleagues, it made me feel at least acknowledged.

Then it got progressively worse as they kept looking for more and more ways to drag it on, lost those qualities I found positive, and I really gave up not too long after that.

Edit: I still need to point out that Star Trek TNG is peak comfort TV, together with maybe The West Wing or some Doctor Who.

[–] Glide@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Glad someone said it.

Season one or two are actually pretty decent. As the show continued, it doubled down on the minor stereotypical qualities of each character and made that feature their entire personality. It's a pretty normal outcome for any television show, particular across comedy and sitcoms, when the qualities in question are "has autism/aspbergers" and "doesn't know how to treat people like they're human", it quickly becomes a show focused on punching down. Before long, the plot breaks down to the more socially competent characters "fixing" nerds and nerd culture as it continually reinforces the stereotypes that the first couple seasons, sure, poked fun at, but in equal measure challenged the validity of.

At some point the show stopped being a comedy about nerd culture and shifted to actively mocking, not even nerd culture, but the entire culture around academics and intellectualism. It shifted to bullying, validated on your television screen, by showing you time and time again how horrible these socially awkward nerds are, and how difficult they make life for others.

[–] KeenFlame@feddit.nu 2 points 1 year ago

And after all that it is full circle back into no, they didn't challenge the validity, they abused the tropes so s thoroughly that it became known as one of the worst shows in history

[–] Underwaterbob@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

I'm honestly not sure what season of the show I've seen. I've only seen bits and pieces of an episode or two. Maybe it was a positive thing early on, and I think it could be a better show if it were a little more earnest, but the little exposure I had to it was decidedly negative.