Bookworms & Television: Can They Mix?

I was reading this post on EW.com about how there are relatively few intellectual, bookish characters on TV, which seems really strange given that TV shows are created and run by writers, who are, by and large, geeky intellectuals. But they rarely write about characters who are overtly bookish and intellectual.

I think the main reason is the fact that it's really hard to write a bookish, intellectual character without them coming off as pretentious or hopelessly nerdy. Not that TV writers shouldn't try, but it is hard to find the right balance between showing the characters' smarts and moving the story.

Because of the medium, TV can't stop and show the characters pondering the events and philosophical implications of a book they just read. The character's inner thoughts have to be externalized in actions and dialogue, which is really hard to to with intellectuals, without them coming off as arrogant or worse, boring. Literary references that a huge chunk of the audience doesn't get generally don't go over well.

Not that I wouldn't love to see more bookworm intellectuals on TV, but I think it is kind of stupid and arrogant to try to write characters and shows that are specifically designed to come across as really intellectual. It's something you either have or you don't, and when you don't, it shows.

I don't think a show's level of "intellectualness" is determined by how many Shakespeare references the characters make or how much time they spend standing around discussing differential calculus. I think it's determined by how well the stories work and how well the themes of the show are reflected in the characters, whether they be Kafka-quoting astrophysicists or Lauren Conrad wannabes.