Nerd Torture: Which TV Network Hates You Most?

And which Star Wars actor wants to study their evil ways?

I asked twitpals which TV network is meanest to nerds. Today at MTV Geek, I take a good look at the specific network which more of you picked than any other (“Why Does FOX Like to Torture Geeks?”).

Actor Daniel Logan (Boba Fett in Stars Wars: The Clone Wars and Episode 2: Attack of the Clones) took note of this topic and got us to wondering about other forms of nerd torture, and that stirred up a whole new batch of responses. And of course, once people noticed who I was talking with, we got a few Star Wars jokes. P.S. Follow Daniel on Twitter – super nice guy: @Daniel_Logan.

Answers on twitter:
Abwon: spike tv
beano76: well, NBC gave us The Cape
BelieveInKnize: Fox. Family Guy (Twice), Undeclared, The Tick, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Firefly, Arrested Development, Futurama, Dark Angel…
Bigrobr20: @g4tv of course!!!!! RT @ActionChick: Which TV network is meanest to nerds?
Channel23hahaha: Ah man! i had a good answer now i can’t think of it!
deadAWESOME: MTV! Then again, with MTV, if you don’t look like a Kardashian, it’s fair game.
DevintheCool: G4 sometimes discovery channel.
DJShay12: RT: Which TV network is meanest to nerds? << FOX
DKelly40: Fox is the meanest TV Network ever.. Firefly cancellation.
DrSideSteppin: Fox. Anyone who gets Glee at #SDCC has done nerds a great disservice.
DRWhite8: Fox. They have canceled Tru Calling, Firefly and Futurama. F*** them
DSB_IV: I’m going to say the NFL network…It reminds me of high school
ebrown2112: NBC?
edibleeats: Fox.
GeekyGeekyWays: Syfy, no question.
Gregory9: All of them!!!
heddizeeze: Probably Lifetime. It makes the nerds’ skin crawl with fluffiness.
iambeelzebabee: ESPN
JediiRaccoon: Hmmm…..Not sure, maybe NBC for cancelling ‘The Event’ or Fox for cancelling ‘Firefly’ @ActionChick Which TV network is meanest to nerds?
jeymez: fox it cancels all the good genre shows
JimmyMcG: Are TV networks giving nerds wedgies and taking their lunch money? :O *walks away from the television*
joekinkopf: Fox is meanest to Joss, therefore all nerds. QED
jonathanhilluk: Which one has cancelled the most cool shows?
kallisti_x: I’d say Fox. Their best “nerd” program, Bones, is still often insulting, and they cancel Joss Wheedon regularly.
KnytFyre: I don’t know
Laneit360: does DirectTv count? Cause they don’t provide G4!
LordComet: G4
LPcomics: MTV
marcbernardin: fox. Without a doubt.
maryclevenger: According to my husband, @Scottclevenger, FOX’s motto should be: “We’re FOX. Your quality makes us uncomfortable.”
maryclevenger: I’m late to the party, but DUH! Fox! Firefly, Dollhouse (which was JUST getting good), Futurama, to name a few.
mattstacey69: It’s SyFy, oddly. They cancel great shows (Battlestar G) n’ fill it up w/ shite shows, a la Wharehouse 13. Bastards. seriously – they CANCELED Battlestar ?? What the frak, man?! (Frakkin’ douchebags).
mistolee: Whaaat!? Meanest? Nowai!RT @Bigrobr20: @g4tv of course!!!!! RT @ActionChick: Which TV network is meanest to nerds?
NESpiritSociety: We FULLY support the NERDS!!!
networks, but the meanest show has to be the Law and Order shows. Gamers there are always lazy, crazy,mean.
NeuroMan42: – Spike is an insult to nerds, geeks, and gamers.
notmikestark: RT @ActionChick: Which TV network is meanest to nerds? <- ESPN.
oscar_contreras: E! I can’t stand Talk Soup!!!
OverlordOf_Evil: NBC owns/runs SyFy, so not them. BBC gives us Who, so not them either. I’m going with any of the all-religion networks. 🙂
OverlordOf_Evil: Seeing a lot of hate for FOX, and I admit they’ve cancelled a lot of good shows, but at least they put them up to start with!
Pat_M514: “@ActionChick: Which TV network is meanest to nerds?” ESPN
Reilly4Sanity: fox news?
SaseavAtomeha: fox?
SempraFi: NBC. No doubt. Both in terms of how they treat ‘nerd’ material, and they’re ineptitude.
Sradcridhe: Syfy channel for stealing movie ideas from D&D monster manuals!
StJon: Gotta be Fox, they cancel the best shows w/out giving them enough time, ex:Breaking In.
tedsaliphoto: I would say fox, they like to stereotype
The_Flocco: ..everyone keeps knocking Fox… if it wasnt for Fox, THOSE SHOWS WOULDNT EXIST! like arrested development. thank god for dvds
The_Flocco: which tv network is kindest to nerds? 🙂
the_frontera: CBS. That show is the biggest insult to nerd culture
The_Mangaman: FOX
theRealmCast: probably Fox but I could be wrong.
TheUniblogger: G4, manipulation with hot “geek chicks”.
VaughnOnMovies: FOX!!! You can never forgive what happened to Firefly, Futurama, and to some extent Family Guy.

Answers on Facebook:
Bob Gooch: Abc took my lunch money
Carrie Kirkland: I’m not sure any network is “mean” to nerds…. I mean… They just all have they’re own format, you know? So you’re gonna watch or not. If you mean what has the fewest programs that nerds would want to watch though… I’d probably say the Style network. I’ve never seen Teefury or Ript featured there 😉
Christina Reichl: I’d say Fox and maybe, at times, SyFy. Both networks tend to cancel good shows but keep bad shows on the air.
Dave Maulding: FOX hasn’t been great in the past with the exception of The Simpsons. Seth McFarlane’s shows don’t really count as nerd friendly, just referential and mocking most of the time.
James Howell: Lifetime.
Jon Condit: Fox. Who the f*** plays a series out of sequence on purpose?
Joseph Williams: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZEdDMQZaCU
Mandy Stevenson: Syfy, because they’re the ones that built themselves based on scifi nerds and geeks and now they’re showing everything but that.
Michael Whitehead: Espn. Jim “Bitchass” Rome talks about fanboys and geeks almost every week. I hate him
Scott Roberts: Spike for sure… 1000 ways to die and Manswers
Veronica Dorkmaster: Fox or possibly E.

Daniel_Logan: @MTVGeek nerd torture!?! what kind of devices are used? anyone have suggestions? http://t.co/ynu0fen or http://t.co/vqcAK2z
NeuroMan42: – Sorry, but Buckaroo wins all. *wink* http://t.co/4FBw8xi
Daniel_Logan: @NeuroMan42 @ActionChick Well, I think A Clockwork Orange is a good competitor! What do you think @AdrianneCurry? http://t.co/u4kLclS
ActionChick: Adri herself may qualilfy as a nerd torture device. RT @Daniel_Logan What do you think @AdrianneCurry? http://t.co/u4kLclS
Daniel_Logan: @ActionChick @AdrianneCurry Very true! But she would be a torture worth enduring!
PubliiusClodius: Ja!………..
NeuroMan42: @Daniel_Logan @ActionChick @AdrianneCurry – DAMMMMN… oh, yeah. *shakes fist*
PubliiusClodius: @ActionChick @Daniel_Logan @AdrianneCurry …Nice!………i’am old fashioned myself…..i’d just clamp his balls up to my car battery……

Adrianne Curry, potential source of much nerd torture.

PubliiusClodius: @Daniel_Logan …The Iron Maiden is a personal fav of mine……..and i’am not talkin about the music band…….*door slam*…
ActionChick: takes my brain to Bill & Ted scene
Daniel_Logan: @PubliiusClodius Hey, @janewiedlin was in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure as Joan of Arc. Great film. http://t.co/994vyd2
bobaloo0: strange things are afoot at the Circle K

Gregory9: nerd torture… Almost every television program on network cable to date
icehawke: Anything involving sparkly vampires
gyakuzuki: Reading your tweets #OhSnap
gyakuzuki: I was just joking 🙂
DKelly40: A lord of the rings blue ray set that has the picture scramble and sound drop out intermittently throughout all the movies.

SaviorMachine: What exactly qualifies for a “nerd torture device?”
NickBungay: Dodgeball launcher: once those glasses break your f***ed.
rmberkobien: is it to use on Nerds or be used by Nerds. Cause it makes a difference.
NEgeekExpo_ohio: Amazing Spider-Man Issue #545 Brand New Day. That will piss off any Marvel comics fan.
ocularnervosa: Tie them to a chair, gag them and play a video game badly while they watch.
Sinicus_Maquive: re toture devices why spend money nerds love the wedgie, a taser TimelordATX: making someone listen to nickelback on repeat would be torture
SandyZimmerman: Wouldn’t a nerd torture device be a computer that bluescreened every time you saved or closed a folder. With no error message.
GaryHamrick: Nerd Torture? Being forced to hang out with Jillian Michaels?
Daniel_Logan: @GaryHamrick @ActionChick don’t know, hanging out with @JillianMichaels she could probably teach me a thing or 2 about training I don’t know
GaryHamrick: but seriously http://t.co/DCjZHWo might be effective, it’s called a gym gym chair apparently. and you said a device for torturing nerds. so @JillianMichaels wins it though I have seen harsher. i’d think @JillianMichaels would be pretty stone cold ruthless toward the stereotypical nerd.

MisfitsTamara: The Oubliette
NoesAttic: as in, to torture nerds? http://myloc.me/laSe5
utenzil: junior high school ..shudder..
wyldride: The Wedgie Gun. RT @ActionChick Daniel Logan (Boba Fett) wants suggestions for nerd torture devices.42 minutes agovia webin reply to ActionChick
DaveMaulding: @Daniel_Logan @ActionChick Intense searing pain probably. Or worse. An itch that can’t be scratched for the rest of your life!
hulksmash02: Bring the nerd into light and take away their cheetos and mt Dew. LOL

Arturo R. Garcia: ‎[insert Michael Bay joke here]
Ashley Prester: ‎9600 baud modem downloading bit torrent videos.
Greg Lemons: What like slow internet?
Nick Cappello: ‎300 Baud Dial Up Modem, AOL is the only ISP available, chat rooms are only available to 5 people at a time AND its not a dedicated phone line. Also the only nude pictures are of Bea Arthur.

ActionChick: Daniel Logan (Boba Fett) wants suggestions for nerd torture devices. (Be afraid to ask why.)
TheCloudyWolf: Uhhhh… why?
ImpInMyHead: Headset attached 2 head Saw-style. But only has iPod hooked up… Playing all of Jarjar’s lines on an infinite loop
DaveMaulding: @Daniel_Logan Something right up your alley. Only partial freezing by carbonite. Ouch. @ActionChick
Daniel_Logan: @DaveMaulding @ActionChick ouch is right. I could not image only being partially frozen in carbonite!
SteveOfDestruct: Phantom Menace. Just that.
NEgeekExpo_ohio: A healthy dose of Jar Jar Binks is fine too.
UltimateWraith: Watching Star Wars Christmas (Life Day) Special
luisbermudez: Tie somebody up, prop open their eyelids, and force them to watch the entirety of the Star Wars Holiday Special.
Bret Cotton: Forcing them to watch the Star Wars Christmas Special
Coop Cooper: How about a machine that forces you to watch while it automatically opens mint-condition 1977 STAR WARS action figure boxes and spills hot coffee on issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1. Worst nerd torture device ever.
ImpInMyHead: A lightsaber that plays Rebecca Black’s “Friday”, the only way 2 stop it… U cut off yer hand Vader-Luke style #NerdTorture
sliceofscifi: that’s easy. marathons of worthless reality shows like Real Housewives of Sarlacc Pit East or The World According to Jabba

Left: Jeremy Bulloch (not in this conversation). Right: Daniel Logan (very much in this conversation). Daniel's standing me up at San Diego Comic-Con to hang out with his fellow Boba Fett.