It normalized an easy-to-digest parody of nerd culture, perhaps. Isn’t this true of almost all subcultures that get co-opted? This sort of thing reminds me of

It normalized an easy-to-digest parody of nerd culture, perhaps. Isn’t this true of almost all subcultures that get co-opted? This sort of thing reminds me of IFLScience. No one ever loved science. Certain parts of it just became popular.