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Nerd (disambiguation)

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A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual , obsessive , introverted , or lacking social skills . Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical, abstract, or relating to niche topics such as science fiction or fantasy , to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many so-called nerds are described as being shy , quirky , pedantic , and unattractive .

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48-401: A nerd is a person who is intellectually knowledgeable or bright, but socially inept. Nerd(s) or The Nerd(s) may also refer to: Nerd Originally derogatory , the term "nerd" was a stereotype, but as with other pejoratives, it has been reclaimed and redefined by some as a term of pride and group identity. The first documented appearance of the word nerd is as the name of

96-459: A $ 40 million offer from CBS for a 22-episode season for both Family Matters and Step By Step . CBS scheduled Family Matters along with Meego and Step By Step as a part of its new Friday lineup, branded as the CBS Block Party . The network scheduled the family-oriented block against ABC's TGIF lineup, where the two series originated. Jo Marie Payton's contract had just expired and she

144-539: A creature in Dr. Seuss 's book If I Ran the Zoo (1950), in which the narrator Gerald McGrew claims that he would collect "a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too" for his imaginary zoo. The slang meaning of the term dates to 1951. That year, Newsweek magazine reported on its popular use as a synonym for drip or square in Detroit , Michigan . By the early 1960s, usage of

192-604: A modest success on CBS, beating the show that replaced it, You Wish . Meego , however, was a ratings failure and was canceled after six weeks. After the holiday special season, CBS replaced Meego with Kids Say the Darndest Things , and with that show's child-centered focus, it was placed in Family Matters ' 8/7c time slot. Family Matters was pushed an hour later and paired with Step by Step . The ratings for Family Matters fell even further in this later slot, and

240-543: A nerd is someone that is not socially adept enough. Additionally, he says that the reason why many smart kids are unpopular is that they "don't have time for the activities required for popularity." Stereotypical nerd appearance, often lampooned in caricatures , can include very large glasses , dental braces , buck teeth , severe acne and pants worn high at the waist. Following suit of popular use in emoticons, Unicode released in 2015 its "Nerd Face" character, featuring some of those stereotypes: 🤓 (code point U+1F913). In

288-431: A nerd, and cause otherwise appealing people to be considered nerdy simply for their intellect. It was once thought that intellectuals were nerdy because they were envied. However, Paul Graham stated in his essay, "Why Nerds are Unpopular", that intellect is neutral, meaning that you are neither loved nor despised for it. He also states that it is only the correlation that makes smart teens automatically seem nerdy, and that

336-405: A ninth and tenth season of Family Matters . However, tensions had risen between Miller-Boyett Productions and ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company (which had bought ABC in 1996 as part of its merger with ABC's then-parent Capital Cities/ABC Inc. ). Miller-Boyett thought that it would not be a big player on ABC after ABC's recent purchase by Disney. Miller-Boyett Productions agreed to

384-450: A person who is intelligent, respectful, interesting, and able to earn a large salary. Stereotypical nerd qualities are evolving, going from awkwardness and social ostracism to an allegedly more widespread acceptance and sometimes even celebration of their differences. Johannes Grenzfurthner , researcher, self-proclaimed nerd and director of nerd documentary Traceroute , reflects on the emergence of nerds and nerd culture: I think that

432-412: A replacement program to receive corrected discs and reissuing the set with corrected broadcast copies on April 4, 2014. All episodes are the original broadcast form, except for the episode "Number One With a Bullet", disc 1, episode 6. The entire series is also available for digital download on Amazon.com and the iTunes Store , all but season 6 remastered in both SD and HD. A Complete Series DVD boxset

480-441: Is an alteration of the 1940s term " nert " (meaning "stupid or crazy person"), which is in itself an alteration of " nut " (nutcase). The term was popularized in the 1970s by its heavy use in the sitcom Happy Days . Because of the nerd stereotype, many intelligent people are often thought of as nerdy. This belief can be harmful, as it can cause high-school students to "switch off their lights" out of fear of being branded as

528-407: Is difference. The yearning to be understood, to find opportunities to share experiences, to not be left alone with one's bizarre interest. At the same time one derives an almost perverse pleasure from wallowing in this deficit. Nerds love deficiency: that of the other, but also their own. Nerds are eager explorers, who enjoy measuring themselves against one another and also compete aggressively. And yet

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576-558: The Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Warner Bros. Discovery instead released the film on digital on November 21, 2023. In 2022, a Christmas-themed movie titled A Family Matters Christmas was made and released direct-to-video on November 8, 2022. The plot focuses on a blended family in which the children switch bodies and learn about the others, and must work together to switch back. Jo Marie Payton and Kellie Shanygne Williams appear briefly. However, they play entirely new characters and

624-483: The pilot episode , " The Mama Who Came to Dinner ", the family had also opened their home to Carl's street-wise mother, Estelle ( Rosetta LeNoire ), usually known as "Mother Winslow". Prior to the start of the series, Harriette's sister, Rachel Crawford and her infant son, Richie, had moved into the Winslow household after the death of Rachel's husband. The Winslows' nerdy teenage next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel (Jaleel White),

672-562: The 1980s and lasts longer in continuous production is The Simpsons . The series was a spinoff from the ABC sitcom Perfect Strangers ; both shows aired Friday nights on ABC's primetime slot called "TGIF" . Jo Marie Payton played Harriette Winslow, the elevator operator at a newspaper where Larry Appleton and Balki Bartokomous also worked. Reginald VelJohnson , who was coming off of growing fame from his role in Die Hard , made an appearance on

720-591: The Hulu platform. In France, it aired as La Vie de famille ( Family Life ) as part of the show Club Dorothée on January 1, 1995, and on RTL9 (from August 28, 1995), France 2 & M6 (from June 1, 2000). In Germany, it premiered as Alle unter einem Dach ( All under one roof ) on ProSieben between September 4, 1995 and December 8, 1998. In Italy, it aired as Otto sotto un tetto ( Eight under one roof ) on Canale 5 , Italia 1 in 1992, with subsequent airings on Fox Retro & Sky Atlantic . In Croatia,

768-566: The Lorimar-produced episodes were shot at Lorimar Studios (later Sony Pictures Studios ) in Culver City, California , while the Warner Bros.-produced episodes were filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in nearby Burbank . The show's original theme was Louis Armstrong 's " What a Wonderful World "; it was scrapped after the fifth episode of season one ("Straight A's"), though it was heard only in

816-655: The United States, a 2010 study published in the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication indicated that Asian Americans are perceived as most likely to be nerds, followed by White Americans , while non-White Hispanics and African Americans were perceived as least likely to be nerds. These stereotypes stem from concepts of Orientalism and Primitivism , as discussed in Ron Eglash's essay "Race, Sex, and Nerds: From Black Geeks to Asian American Hipsters". Some of

864-560: The Winslow family, an African-American middle class family living in Chicago, Illinois . Midway through the first season, the show introduced the Winslows' nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel ( Jaleel White ), who was originally scripted to appear as a one-time character. However, he quickly became the show's breakout character (and eventually the main character), joining the main cast. Running for 215 episodes over nine seasons, Family Matters became

912-462: The entire block except for Kids Say the Darndest Things was canceled in spring 1998, with the remaining episodes burned off in the summer. Family Matters was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren (who also wrote for, and were producers of, parent series Perfect Strangers ) and developed by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett (who also served as executive producers on Perfect Strangers ); all four also served as executive producers of

960-520: The figure of the nerd provides a beautiful template for analyzing the transformation of the disciplinary society into the control society. The nerd, in his cliche form, first stepped out upon the world stage in the mid-1970s, when we were beginning to hear the first rumblings of what would become the Cambrian explosion of the information society. The nerd must serve as comic relief for the future-anxieties of Western society. ...The germ cell of burgeoning nerdism

1008-520: The first four seasons of Family Matters on DVD in Region 1 while the remaining five seasons were released by the Warner Archive Collection . On February 4, 2014, Warner Home Video released season 4 on DVD, but consumers complained when it was found that the season 4 set contained syndication edits rather than the original broadcast masters. Warner Bros. responded to the complaints, offered

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1056-658: The introduction of the Steve Urkel character on the television series Family Matters , nerds have been seen in all races and colors as well as more recently being a frequent young East Asian or Indian male stereotype in North America. Portrayal of "nerd girls", in films such as She's Out of Control , Welcome to the Dollhouse and She's All That depicts that smart but nerdy women might suffer later in life if they do not focus on improving their physical attractiveness . In

1104-465: The late 1990s. American Splendor regular Toby Radloff claims this was the movie that inspired him to become "The Genuine Nerd from Cleveland, Ohio ." In the American Splendor film, Toby's friend, American Splendor author Harvey Pekar , was less receptive to the movie, believing it to be hopelessly idealistic, explaining that Toby, an adult low income file clerk, had nothing in common with

1152-529: The media, many nerds are males, portrayed as being physically unfit, either overweight or skinny due to lack of physical exercise. It has been suggested by some, such as linguist Mary Bucholtz , that being a nerd may be a state of being "hyperwhite" and rejecting African-American culture and slang that "cool" white children use. However, after the Revenge of the Nerds movie franchise (with multicultural nerds), and

1200-416: The mid-twentieth century. Family Matters Family Matters is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for eight seasons from September 22, 1989, to May 9, 1997, then moved to CBS for its ninth and final season from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers , the series was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren, and revolves around

1248-414: The middle class kids in the film who would eventually attain college degrees, success, and cease being perceived as nerds. Many, however, seem to share Radloff's view, as "nerd pride" has become more widespread in the years since. MIT professor Gerald Sussman , for example, seeks to instill pride in nerds: My idea is to present an image to children that it is good to be intellectual, and not to care about

1296-405: The nerd's existence also comprises an element of the occult, of mystery. The way in which this power is expressed or focused is very important. In the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds , Robert Carradine worked to embody the nerd stereotype; in doing so, he helped create a definitive image of nerds. Additionally, the storyline presaged, and may have helped inspire, the "nerd pride" that emerged in

1344-443: The peer pressures to be anti-intellectual. I want every child to turn into a nerd – where that means someone who prefers studying and learning to competing for social dominance, which can unfortunately cause the downward spiral into social rejection. Individuals who are labeled as "nerds" are often the target of bullying due to a range of reasons that may include physical appearance or social background. Paul Graham has suggested that

1392-404: The pilot episode in syndicated reruns. The second theme, "As Days Go By", written by Jesse Frederick , Bennett Salvay and Scott Roeme and performed by Frederick, was the theme for the majority of the series until 1995. The sixth season's opening credits was last used in the season seven episodes "Talk's Cheap" and "Fa La La La Laagghh", the only two episodes during the final three seasons to feature

1440-408: The point where Darius McCrary had to separate the two. Payton would appear in only one more episode after that—a Christmas episode that also brought back several former characters from the ABC run who had been written out on CBS—before Judyann Elder took over as Harriette for the remainder of the season. While Family Matters continued to lose viewership compared to previous years, it was initially

1488-477: The reason nerds are frequently singled out for bullying is their indifference to popularity or social context, in the face of a youth culture that views popularity as paramount. However, research findings suggest that bullies are often as socially inept as their academically better-performing victims, and that popularity fails to confer protection from bullying. Other commentators have pointed out that pervasive harassment of intellectually-oriented youth began only in

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1536-403: The second-longest-running live action American sitcom with a predominantly African American cast, behind The Jeffersons with 253 episodes over 11 seasons. Both have since been exceeded by Tyler Perry's House of Payne with 355 episodes as of 2023. Family Matters is the last live-action scripted primetime show that debuted in the 1980s to leave the air; the only scripted show that started in

1584-582: The series also aired on CTV , CBC and currently airs on Family Channel . On September 29, 2017, Family Matters became available for streaming on Hulu . In the UK it aired on Sky One whilst Perfect Strangers aired on BBC One . Reruns of the series aired on Cartoon Network 's ACME Night block in 2021. TruTV began airing reruns in 2023 as part of their "Comfort Food" block. On October 1, 2021, Family Matters began streaming on HBO Max after its streaming rights expired from Hulu , but has since returned to

1632-479: The series once per weekday typically playing in the early mornings. The series returned to TBS in 2020. From 1997 to 2003, reruns of the series aired on WGN America . In 2003, ABC Family picked up the series and aired it for five years until February 29, 2008. From 2004 to 2006, UPN aired the show for 2 years. BET aired reruns briefly in December 2009 and began airing the series on a regular basis on March 1, 2013;

1680-422: The series returned to BET in mid-February 2023. MTV2 also began airing reruns on September 7, 2013. The show aired on Nick at Nite from June 29, 2008, to December 31, 2012. ABC Family and Nick at Nite airings cut the tag scenes at the end of all episodes, despite the fact that many episodes during the series have tag scenes during the closing credits. The series also aired on TV One from 2019 to 2023. In Canada,

1728-399: The series. The series was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television who co-produced the show until 1993, when Warner Bros. Television absorbed Lorimar (a sister company under the co-ownership of Time Warner ). Starting with season three, the series was also produced by Bickley-Warren Productions. The series was filmed in front of a live studio audience;

1776-541: The show aired as Pod istim krovom ( Under The Same Roof ) starting in September 2005 on RTL , and later on its sister channels RTL 2 and RTL Kockica . In Spain it was known as "Cosas de Casa" ( Home Things ), broadcast on Antena 3 during the 90s, and is one of the most remembered dubbings. When Jaleel White participated in the program "Sorpresa Sorpresa" ( Surprise Surprise ) he praised Pilar Coronado for her way of giving voice to Urkel. Warner Home Video has released

1824-407: The show as Harriette's husband Carl Winslow, a Chicago police officer. ABC and the producers loved the character Harriette for her great morale and quick-witted humor and decided to create a show that would focus on her and her family, husband Carl, son Eddie, elder daughter Laura, and younger daughter Judy (who appeared until the character was retconned after season four as having not existed). In

1872-469: The show by around 2002, though some stations in larger markets such as WTOG in Tampa , Florida continued to air Family Matters until as recently as 2005 and New York's WPIX as 2006. In 1995, reruns of the series began airing on TBS Superstation , where it ran until 2003. TBS would air two episodes of Family Matters each weekday afternoon from October 1995 to September 1999. From 1999 to 2003, TBS only aired

1920-487: The show progressed, episodes began to center increasingly on Steve Urkel, and other original characters also played by White, including Steve's suave alter-ego, Stefan Urquelle (who is similar to Jaleel White 's real-life self), and his female cousin, Myrtle Urkel. In early 1997, CBS picked up Family Matters and Step by Step in a $ 40 million deal to acquire the rights to the programs from ABC. ABC then promised to pay Miller-Boyett Productions $ 1.5 million per episode for

1968-625: The stereotypical behaviors associated with the "nerd" stereotype have correlations with the traits of Asperger syndrome or other autism spectrum conditions. The rise of Silicon Valley and the American computer industry at large has allowed many so-called "nerdy people" to accumulate large fortunes and influence media culture. Many stereotypically nerdy interests, such as superhero , fantasy and science fiction works, are now international popular culture hits. Some measures of nerdiness are now allegedly considered desirable, as, to some, it suggests

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2016-491: The term had spread throughout the United States, and even as far as Scotland. At some point, the word took on connotations of bookishness and social ineptitude. An alternate spelling, as nurd or gnurd , also began to appear in the mid-1960s, or early 1970s. Author Philip K. Dick claimed to have coined the "nurd" spelling in 1973, but its first recorded use appeared in a 1965 student publication at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Oral tradition there holds that

2064-618: The theme song (this was heard in season one episodes in ABC Family and syndicated airings). A longer version of "As Days Go By" was used during the first three seasons, though in syndicated reruns the short version is heard (in ABC Family airings, the long theme was used for all of the episodes during the first three seasons). Family Matters is set in the same fictional universe as several other TV shows related to ABC's TGIF or CBS 's Block Party . Before Family Matters, Harriette Winslow

2112-537: The word is derived from knurd ( drunk spelled backwards), which was used to describe people who studied rather than partied. The term gnurd (spelled with the "g") was in use at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by the year 1965. The term "nurd" was also in use at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as early as 1971. According to Online Etymology Dictionary , the word

2160-602: Was introduced early in the first season, given a significant role midway through the season in the episode "Laura’s First Date", and quickly became the focus of the show. The popular sitcom was a mainstay of ABC's TGIF lineup from 1989 until 1997, at which point it became part of the CBS Block Party lineup for its final season. Family Matters was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions (1991–1998) and Miller-Boyett Productions , in association with Lorimar Television (1989–1993) and later Warner Bros. Television (1993–1998). As

2208-584: Was originally the elevator operator at the Chicago Chronicle newspaper office in the third and fourth seasons of Perfect Strangers. Family Matters was a spin-off series given to this character in 1989. Characters from Family Matters appeared on other shows, including Full House , Boy Meets World , Step by Step and Meego . In September 1993, Warner Bros. Television Distribution began distributing Family Matters for broadcast in off-network syndication; most television stations stopped carrying

2256-505: Was released on September 26, 2023 On September 1, 2021, it was announced an animated Christmas film Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie! (originally Did I Do That to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story ) was planned to air on Cartoon Network as part of the block ACME Night in 2022. It was set to be released on HBO Max . However, on August 22, 2022, it was announced the film will not be moving forward on HBO Max and would be shopped elsewhere due to

2304-464: Was reluctant to continue, feeling the show had jumped the shark years prior. She agreed to stay to keep continuity but left midseason shortly after nearly getting into a physical altercation with White in what would be her last regular episode; in that episode, White (playing a gangster instead of his usual Urkel) was attempting to insert material that violated Broadcast Standards and Practices . The resulting dispute between White and Payton escalated to

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