Watching TV might not make you smart, but unless you spend all your tube time keeping up with the Kardashians, chances are it’s at least broadened your view of what smart looks like.
For more than 20 million viewers a week, it looks like Abby Sciuto, the pigtailed Goth girl Pauley Perrette plays on CBS’ “NCIS.”
A forensic specialist who’s been known to narrow a list of suspects by analyzing the DNA in people’s poop – a dirty job that happily occurred offscreen – Abby has a different skill set, but she’s the glass-is-at-least-half-full version of Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub), the grumpy Counter Terrorist Unit worker whose computer wizardry on Fox’s “24″ helped Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) survive some of his worst days.
Abby’s so popular that when CBS was ready to spin off its No. 1 drama, it had Perrette help in the handoff to “NCIS: Los Angeles” with an early crossover.
Chloe’s so vital that including a woman who’s good with computers and other technology – think Penelope, the Caltech dropout Kirsten Vangsness plays on CBS’ “Criminal Minds,” Jasika Nicole’s Astrid on Fox’s “Fringe” or Angela, Michaela Conlin’s tech-savvy artist on Fox’s “Bones” – is now more the TV rule than the exception.
“Bones” is a geek-girl extravaganza, a romantic comedy (with corpses) built around a brilliant scientist/novelist named Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and her less cerebral FBI agent partner, Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz).
“I think that for years we saw one thing, which was men and technology and math and science and women being the heart and soul and spiritual person, and I think that all of us eventually – the people who make TV, networks, studios and TV writers – look at that and get tired of that,” said “Bones” creator Hart Hanson.
Conlin, whose character was initially less comfortable with science than most of her colleagues at Washington’s fictional Jeffersonian, has seen Angela evolve into a tech-savvy member of the team.
Sitcom’s universe expands
The lure of the lab has also been felt in comedy. One of TV’s most-watched sitcoms, CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory,” started out as a show about superbright male roommates (Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki) and their blond, less academically gifted female neighbor (Kaley Cuoco).
“Big Bang” has only gotten funnier as it’s expanded the guys’ universe to include female scientists, especially the two played by Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch.
If seeing is believing, some think having girls grow up seeing women on television with math and science backgrounds may lead to more women pursuing careers in those fields. It’s already happening, said Perrette, who has participated in a public-service campaign to promote careers in science and technology.
“They call it the Abby Effect, actually. We’ve been on the show nine seasons, and these girls started watching when they were young, and they’re in college now,” Perrette said.
“I get letters and stuff from people all the time, all over the world – parents, grandparents, kids themselves – that say this fictional character that I play” influenced them, “and now they’re pursuing math and science. … To be able to play this character that has literally made young girls think that it’s OK for them to pursue math and science is unbelievable,” she said.
Inspiration for viewers
In terms of response to her “Big Bang Theory” character, Bialik said she gets “a lot from the geek male culture, an appreciation for this kind of female being presented and represented. But I think also for females in sciences, I’ve heard a lot from women who are either wanting to be scientists or who, you know, find it inspiring to see someone in science.”
For her part, Rajskub, whose pre-”24″ background was mostly in comedy – she was a regular this season on CBS’ short-lived sitcom “How to Be a Gentlemen” – sees women like Chloe as just another expression of TV diversity.
“I think the whole climate of shows right now, in different aspects, for women is fantastic. Because it’s showing a lot of different angles and complexities,” she said, adding, “not that being a smart woman is complex.”
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