They Are Women, Hear Them Dork

With the '06-'07 season drawing swiftly to a close, I'm ready to declare it the Season of the Nerdy Woman. In addition to the elevation of preexisting nerd Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie to the main credits of Veronica Mars, this season added two more female nerds to the roster: Betty Suarez and Liz Lemon. (One of the other members of the club, Chloe O'Brian, got a stupid never-ending ex storyline, but you can't have everything.) In fact, the two new geeks on the block are the stars of their respective shows, and while they ostensibly serve as the sane centers around which all the zaniness of Mode and TGS revolve, they're still able to dork out in their own unique ways. And it's a large part of what makes them interesting, engaging characters, and makes their shows even more fun to watch. 30 Rock allowed Liz to get geekier as time went on, and I don't think it's a coincidence that the show became more appealing at the same time. Anyone who can swear by the hammer of Thor in her everyday life is a) not someone you see on TV all the time, and b) someone you should be seeing more of. Besides, there's a huge, underrepresented group of nerdy women out there and, speaking as part of this group, I'm pleased that we're getting some serious role models on TV.