Yes, I hear you. My cross to bear is Phillip K. Dick. Yes, he's written some interesting books, no, he's not the greatest author ever. I don't even put him in the top ten. His books are weird just to be weird and rarely have any sort of satisfactory ending. I don't mean happy ending, I just mean his books end without any sort of explanation for what happened and/or why the protagonist acted the way he/she did.

In fact, a lot of fiction from the fifties and sixties (and before) I don't care for. Yes, I enjoy some Heinlein and some Asimov and some Wyndham etc. But just because you slap one of those names on the cover doesn't mean it's an instant hit to me. A lot of time it's the language and the culture. It's like watching Star Trek: TOS and thinking "really? hundreds of years in the future and all the women barely cover their thighs and have beehives?" I'm sure future generations will laugh at fiction to come out of the ninties and the oughts, but I guess I'm just a kid showing my age (which is the unkid age of 27).

As for Dollhouse... if they had just put Alan Tudyk in every episode it would have been a hit from the start. Did you people see the last episode? That man has become my hero.

I'm a geek. No question about it. And I've never read Dune either.

Dune is OK.

But, honestly, I don't think y ou're missing alot by not reading it - or any of the 10 baillionjillion 'gotta make money on dad's name' sequels there are out there.

altho my reading tastes are suspect anyway, I got my start on EESmith, and he's still in my top 10

Spot on. The checkboxes next to names of authors or the works they've produced might *add* to Geek Cred, but should by no means be a litmus test for who has or hasn't the right to carry the Geek title. Isn't hive-mind by definition "un-Geek"?

I didn't like Firefly, not even a little. But that was a masterpiece compared to Dollhouse. 99.99% of science fiction on television is terrible, and 'geeks' like it because there just isn't that much of it around (see: Heroes).

I do like Dune, at least the first book.

The "geek hive mind" is something that turns me off completely from geek culture. It's too much like a religion. I didn't expect that aspect of being an adult geek.

I don't think your opinion on Dollhouse is too unusual, that's what I've noticed others saying (but I normally stay away from the "In Joss we Trust" type fansites because they creep me out, so I could be wrong). That said, despite Echo being barely a character (clearly the weakest link of the show), the other characters are interesting enough that I am a pretty big fan.

I'm pretty sure that while this "hive mind" might seem strong on the surface, you could go to any Star Wars website and see huge flame wars over if the prequels do suck, and I'm sure there's plenty of people on Star Trek forums who hate "Voyager", much to the chargin of a whole slew of others.

I have to completely agree.
I am most definitely a geek, but I think there is a difference between being a geek and being someone who just has to like everything geeky as if it's some contest who has read/seen and knows more about all things that belong in the geek world.

I like Dollhouse and I like Fringe. If either get canceled, I won't shed a single tear. They're both decent shows, but Fringe is no X-Files and Dollhouse... while interesting, I feel there is a bunch missing in comparison of some of Joss's other vehicles. I wouldn't pass my judgment onto others so I hope they feel free to enjoy what they enjoy and offer the same openness towards me.

People just let their culture consume them. Enjoy what you enjoy. No one is any less of a geek for not liking things that are classic or massively popular. Where would individuality come in if everyone had to fit some specific geek mold? Hell, I work at a horror convention and even started some horror scripts, but in comparison to the people who show up I'm 5% horror fan. I don't really care, but they don't ostracize me. As long as there is an understanding and everyone is cool, I'm cool. It's the obsessed ones that creep me out and put shame to any culture they supposedly follow. There is no reason to throw hate around because someone isn't on their "level". It's all in good fun, not something to get hostile about.

The X-Men movies are turds, and Jackman is merely passable as Wolverine... don't get me started on Deadpool. God dammit, now I'm thinking about it. Seriously, Ryan Reynolds? Why?

::deep breath::

There are so many geek sacred cows that I have failed to bow to, Neil Gaiman and They Might be Giants, just to name two that were mentioned. I have a bedroom dedicated to books and comics, but I never got the big deal with Gaiman... don't ask me why. Douglas Adams? Same thing. I read HGttG once, shrugged, and went back to Heinlein. Everyone likes different things, even in a geek hive mind.

I'm honestly not that into serious sci-fi , but I did enjoy the first two Dune books . I enjoyed Dan Simmon's Hyperion books even more though . Hopefully you've taken a chance on them .

I consider myself a bit of a geek, but I dont really read sci-fi, I prefer my sci-fi in movie format...I have never read any of the "classic" sci-fi reading...and yes, I thing Hugh Jackman is hot!

Watched Dollhouse only because it was in between Sarah Connor: Chronicles and Battlestar Galatica. But since BSG ended I don't watch anything on the tube friday night. Moonlight maybe. Dollhouse was just to shallow. My other thing is that I love Dr. Who but I don't have all the episodes memorized, read all the books, or have it as a ring tone. But whenever I mention it it's like so blah blah blah 27 book had this going on blah blah blah so and so they might come back, I can't do that. I love still the show.

confession: i'm not into Dr. Who. i've seen a few episodes here and there, but it just didn't attract my attention. i've read a bunch of the Dune books, but i was ten or twelve at the time and didn't get enough out of them to even remember which ones i've read.

and you know what? i don't really like Star Trek all that much. unlike Dr. Who, i've seen more than enough of it to have an informed opinion (all my friends in high school were trekkies). aside from a few characters--well, just Sisko, really--it just didn't do much for me. also, that whole "imzadi" thing made geek romance really really really creepy for several years.

Dr. Who gives me the hives. Maybe it was the irritating fanboys in college. Actually, that's exactly what it was.

You know, for as much geek-media as I consume, I don't identify as a geek because of my fanboy-ness. I identify as a geek because I make things that require geeky skills in my free time (and my pay time too). Maybe hacker is a better word (hacker in the original sense of the term. I generally avoid criminality.) Doing open-source software, getting involved in a local hackerspace, building a 3d printer... that makes me a real geek.

Anybody can watch TV. The TV shows are cool, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather make the future happen than watch fantasies about it in a movie.