‘King of the Nerds’ finale review: Who was crowned the ‘King of the Nerds’?
On the season finale of “King of the Nerds” the four remaining contestants, Ivan , Celeste, Genevieve and Danielle faced their first nerd challenge which required them to ride Segways through the “maze of terror”. Whoever came in last would be eliminated immediately – so who was the first one through the gate? Danielle made it first, Genevieve second, and Celeste was number three making the final three a girls battle at the Nerd Bowl. Ivan unfortunately fell while trying to get through the maze and lost a lot of time, so he came in last and was eliminated. It was really amazing to see that the final three were all women, showing nerds everywhere that nerd girls are just as strong as nerd boys.
The next nerd challenge was trivia (set up a lot like “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”) Danielle was allowed to go first since she won the last challenge, but it didn’t help her much and every gaming question she was given, she got wrong. Although the debate was a pretty close race Celeste and Genevieve ended up being the final two and Danielle got knocked out by just one point. The hosts revealed that all of the banished nerds would be returning as jury members to decide who would be crowned “King of the Nerds” (Virgil’s back YAY!)
Genevieve went to work right away trying to get votes by talking about how many challenges she won, but Celeste tried to focus on her growth throughout the competition as a reason to win. While most of the jury members listened to the finale two, Danielle was focused on being bitter about losing out by one point. After the vote gathering was over, the group met up in the Radio Shack lab to party (which involved drinking, and playing dice).
The next day Genevieve and Celeste faced off at the finale nerd off to see who was going to sit atop the throne of games. Genevieve and Celeste are both given final chances to address the nerd jury and Genevieve used her speech to butter people up and talk about her leadership, where Celeste focused on her self confidence issues and how she’s over come them and was able to accept and embrace her nerdiness. Once the final words were spoken, the jury was given the “tablets of power” to choose who they thought should be named the “King of the Nerds”. So who ended up with the title at the end of the day? It was a very close vote, but in the end Celeste won and was crowned “The King of the Nerds”.
Do you think the right person won “The King of the Nerds” or do you think the jury got it wrong? Leave us a comment and tell us if you were happy with the results.
Photo: TBS
wtf?
April 7, 2013 @ 7:56 pm
the dumb asian chick couldnt even do the simple math problem in the showdown. #FACEROLLKEYBOARDRAGGGGEEEEEEE. im just now commenting but i remember feeling really jaded back when i was watching and she won. someone above me said it best….is this the king of nerds or the king of mediocrity? the runner up wasnt a favorite of mine, but clearly was much more of a nerd. better judging of nerd-dom, less popularity contest, and a better system of elimination is the only thing that will save this show; as is evident if you look at any of the above comments.
Sparksirk
March 27, 2013 @ 6:15 pm
I was utterly disappointed….I mean I’m happy Genevieve didn’t win and all but I was a big fan of Ivan :(
notwatchingagain
March 14, 2013 @ 12:17 am
really liked this show until this awful ending. A popularity vote really?
It’s a nerd competition, and the nerd that won and beat all opponents lost due to a girl that literally flew under the radar and did NOTHING the whole show.
These ‘nerds’ weaseled out at the end and did exactly what were complaining about all seasons. Being picked on. They picked on Geniveve and picked the cool kid. They used their lost position of power to spite the the should be winner instead of showing respect to her, because she deserved it.
No way am I watching season 2.
Joe Chin
March 13, 2013 @ 3:06 pm
Looking back, I guess the biggest lesson King of the Nerds has to offer is never to trust 5×5 Media, the geniuses behind Car Lot Rescue, with anything that requires a modicum of original thought.
Evidently, it was TBS’s idea that the contestants be on Twitter, the best decision associated with King of the Nerds. So had it not been for the casting department, the rest of the crew could’ve easily sunk the show with their collective idiotic decisions, and especially the editors whose incompetence could have easily shot down any hope of a second season if some well-connected curmudgeon tuned in at the wrong time with an axe to grind.
Maybe 5×5 Media should stick to trying to defend car salespeople and ripping off Project Runway and leave the TV people might actually want to watch to the professionals.
Sultan
March 12, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
Seriously…Celeste wins? Now they know they messed up. Genevieve is clearly the winner. Won every nerd off and out performed Celeste. This is unfair. I mean Celeste was cool, but she dosen’t deserve that crown.
Joe Chin
March 12, 2013 @ 10:02 am
The one thing I haven’t heard anyone consider is that Genevieve might’ve lost by attempting to upsell her already strong case. This isn’t just based on the lame montage of Genevieve giving stump speeches followed by Celeste saying that her “strategy” was to be herself, which gave away the ending right there. If this was The Apprentice, Genevieve would’ve won hands-down. But no one likes being advertised to and certainly not condescended to — especially nerds who are capable of making up their own minds.
Ironically enough, that also seems to be the biggest criticism of the show itself, so the producers clearly didn’t learn that lesson either.
In any event, even if it makes for an interesting commentary on how much the subjective “right brain” plays in being perceived as a nerd as opposed to the usual “left-brain” standards, this was still a disappointingly anticlimactic finale. And I’d even argue that if the producers did put the trivia challenge as the final one (which I agree it should have been), the insulting editing job through this whole season probably would’ve made that a disappointment too.
Brian
March 11, 2013 @ 1:01 am
I enjoyed the series. I wonder if they maxed out the budget prior to the finale, which is why it was so lame. The maze of terror? It might have been more interesting if they had their former contestants firing at them as they made their way through on the segways. On the Jeopardy segment, I was amazed one of the contestants couldn’t figure out the decimal equivalent of 7/8. Doh! The popularity contest at the end was surreal, as no nerd wins one of those.
One contestant had a success story, which included taking out several of the losing contestants. She rocked 3 nerdoffs. The other contestant had been a weak player, and as a result, did not ruffle any of the delicate nerd egos. Kudos for her crying skills though! I’m sure the production was why she came across as such a whiner and backstabber, doubt she would be that bad in real life.
I thought there should have been an epic battle to end the contest. Since it was the throne of games that was the prize, a oneon one video challenge of one or more games should have been involved. Celeste since she was a gamer would have had the edge, but tended to crumble under pressure. Genevieve has the ability to rise to the occasion and to beat opponents who are stronger at the given challenge Instead, we got a weak version of the last 2 episodes of survivor.
Going forward, my suggestion is for a fan favorite award besides the King. Also, to improve the final challenge. Otherwise, the strategy going forward for contestants will be to fly low and come up with a great story. Then the strategy will be to vote out the weak contestants first.
Steve
March 9, 2013 @ 11:47 pm
So who got the 9th vote?
CJ
March 9, 2013 @ 11:12 pm
I will bet you that the “jocks” play more video games and participate in more comic book culture than the “nerds” of today.
CJ
March 9, 2013 @ 11:11 pm
Everyone knows Genevieve should have won. The losers have no right to be voting anybody out. Celeste’s sob story was such garbage. Its like feeling sorry for the runner up for prom queen. Yeah, she’s such a pretty outcast.
As far as the premise for the show, there is far too much emphasis on gaming and comic books that actual nerd culture. Geeks may read comic books and play video games, but it takes zero intelligence or creativity to do that. The smart nerds I knew rarely cared about any of that stuff.
Bing
March 9, 2013 @ 7:04 pm
Expect the 2nd season winner will be sexy anime fan chick… Genevieve can be annoying but I think she deserves it. I would rather see Ivan vs. Genevieve in final two with a challenge of course. any of those two who will win is deserves it. But popularity vote is soooo lame. I dont think hiding under the radar proves you have personal growth or overcome shyness. That is just being coward and afraid to face challenges. You can cry when you are facing challenges but to give up doesnt prove anything. And whats up with ” professional gamer “? how would you call yourself a “professional” gamer anyway? did she won national tournament or something or just played several hours of games and just won some of it. cause i play games too like a lot . Can i call myself professional gamer too ?… Its my first time to watch reality show since I got interested with the title “king of the nerds” turn out to be a complete joke more like ” king/queen of coward.Its an insult to all nerds that the last deciding factor of being a king/queen is through popularity which defies first episode of the show about what makes a nerd is not being voted. I wasted 8 weeks following that show but never again.
Rocio
March 9, 2013 @ 4:35 pm
Valedictorian is earned through hard work!!! Prom Queen is a popularity vote from your peers. Genevieve EARNED that throne, even with everyone hating her and trying to eliminate her. TBS producers get the deciding factor corrected next season!!!! *steps off soap box*
glen
March 9, 2013 @ 10:16 am
i liked the show for the most part, sometimes i disagreed with some of the judges, like when josh won in the debate even though he misquoted in an important point of his, and the anthem, but it was ok, i wanted to see gen and ivan in an epic showdown considering all around they were the 2 best nerds, but then that farce happened
Matman
March 9, 2013 @ 12:38 am
Total farce. First off, most of these people were geeks, not nerds. Secondly, the producers were clearly neither and didn’t get the culture AT ALL. Dumb name too.
Oosi Oosi
March 9, 2013 @ 12:24 am
Really disappointed with the finale.. Although I’m not a fan of Genevieve, I do believe she should have won over Celeste. Genevieve worked hard for it, and she kicked butt in the nerd-offs. Celeste stayed under the radar the ENTIRE time, and only won because the last challenge became a popularity contest. I thought this competition was supposed to be to see who’s the better Nerd, not who had the better sob story.
Zzzoom
March 8, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
The King of the Nerds can’t divide 7 by 8…
Grant
March 8, 2013 @ 4:54 pm
Ok ending i suppose. Glad Genebieve did not win she was such a b**** the entre season only helping herself out. I think Ivan should have won better person, nerd, and leader compared to both of the finalists. No problem with Celeste but i just think that Ivan is a bigger nerd than her.
Colonel Angus
March 8, 2013 @ 3:18 pm
I’m sorry, what was that, Danielle?
I can’t understand you over all that blubbering and sour grapes.
Nicholas Taraska
March 8, 2013 @ 3:06 pm
This was not King of Becoming Less Shy. I liked Celeste more, but Genevieve clearly outperformed her and she was the objective winner. She deserved the crown.
Anonymous
March 8, 2013 @ 2:45 pm
Ending was lame. To vote for winner? Not right.
Tammy
March 8, 2013 @ 2:04 pm
I didnt want either one of them to win BUT I am glad it was Celeste over that annoying Geneive!! She was better yes. But she has the personality on a snake.
Sergio M
March 8, 2013 @ 12:59 pm
Why are there even people wanting that crybaby sore loser psycho Danielle to have won??? Are you all blind? Or just stupid?? What negative has Genevieve done to have lost your vote over Celeste?? bunch of sappy idiots. And how could people have been voting for Celeste?? WHO THE HELL IS CELESTE?? Gosh, when you fly under the radar and do NOTHING all season, and by sheer luck win, simply by not having people dislike you, you basically do it by default, not because you’re the best qualified. This show is a joke, I have lost all respect for it as it is an INSULT to nerd culture. This was a popularity contest from the beginning. OF COURSE they’ll vote off Genevieve; because she’s a leader, she intimidates people due to her skill and knowledge, and people don’t like leaders naturally, so they’ll choose the lowly nobody, and manipulate it to says he deserved it b/c she was shy. Gimme a break. Apparently passion, hard work, dedication, knowledge, skill, creativity, leadership, and drive (all of Genevieve’s qualities) are nothing compared to being shy and getting over a stupid low self esteem. I AM BOYCOTTING NEXT SEASON, and I suggest you all do the same. Let’s get this superficial fake garbage off the air. I expect this level of nonsense with the Bachelor, but the point of nerd culture is not being part of the preppy in-crowd. This show just wanted to tailor to the usual nonsense.
Steven
March 8, 2013 @ 12:29 pm
What a disappointment of an ending. Spent a couple of months watching this show for the worst ending I could’ve ever imagined. Celeste didn’t deserve to win., She never competed in a single nerd off. The only reason she got to the finale was because of Genvieve. What kind of inspiration will Celeste be?. Kid nerds if you stay under the radar and never come forward to face any challenges you will be crowned king. In any other competition the better man wins, the one who works harder than everyone else. I won’t be watching season 2 of this show if it ever comes. What a waste of time.
Linda
March 8, 2013 @ 11:53 am
It actually looked fixed in the Segway race. Why was Ivan just standing still on his Segway. It looked like he was waiting there for Celeste to pass him. I think Celeste was the least deserving to win. She never competed in a nerd off, she would have lost if she had, per her own words she flew under the radar. Genevive deserved to win. Celeste used the “poor me” sympathy card. It definitely ended up being merely a popularity contest in the end.
Gene
March 8, 2013 @ 11:07 am
Extremely disappointed by the outcome. First, popularity contest was not the best way to pick a winner. Second, c’mon! Is it a celebration of nerdiness or celebration of mediocrity?
Hector
March 8, 2013 @ 10:46 am
Super Disappointed. Honestly wanted Ivan to win. Fell asleep shortly after he was eliminated. Only to wake up to find out Celeste won. Genevieve clearly deserved to win. I still dream of her in those shorts. Celeste was the worst pick and I hope TBS suffers for their mistake.
Joe Chin
March 8, 2013 @ 10:45 am
I really, really, really, really, really hope the editing improves in season 2. They could be in huge trouble with the FCC for airing that line of Danielle’s at the end of episode 7. But overall, they also made a really bad decision in going with typecasting everyone too broadly. These are nerds, not Snooki and J-Wow. They have dry wit full of obscure references that don’t translate easily to the general public. So typecasting them into the usual stereotypes of “hypocrite villain” or “goody-two-shoes” feels even more forced than usual. Hopefully next season will be more for the nerds and less for the crowd who just wants to gawk at them.
JCS
March 8, 2013 @ 10:36 am
If they got it right in the first episode, how could they screw it up in the finale? The very first episode, when selecting teams, Alana wasn’t picked. Instead of sending her home for losing the popularity contest, they did the right thing and gave her all the power. Nerds don’t typically win popularity contests… So how do they decide the winner during the finale? With a popularity contest… How did that make sense to anyone producing the show? Fail!
John
March 8, 2013 @ 10:08 am
This show was ultimately a disappointment. Many of the so-called nerds (Ivan, Moogegay, the pink haired girl) really did not seem like nerds to me. Ivan, for one, seemed like a bully. Additionally, the one that won, considering it was supposed to be a competition, was one of the weakest players who failed on numerous occasions until the herd was so thin that she could use luck to get to the end. Then they vote in a popularity deal where all the people except moogie (who showed some integrity!) Genevieve beat directly (pink hair, alana, virgil) voted against her. The set up of the show [ie how they selected the showdown finalists each week] is flawed in that it pitts the best against the best and people can be repeatedly nominated until they lose, or in the case of Genevieve, make the finals which then becomes a sore loser vote. It wasn’t fun watching the weak survive (and in the case of the so-called female “king”, win) without even having to compete, while the one who won he most comps was actually penalized for it. .
For the second show, I’d exempt winners from being in two nerd-offs in a row and I’d not let the winning team pick who goes to the nerd off. Not having to go should be reward enough.
Also some of the comps were shady, particularly the subjective ones where the team that did best always lost. The classic example was the anthem one. A rap song, aside from not really being nerdy by its nature, cannot also be an anthem. The other song was so much more an anthem but the judges were rappers!
ps. I was suprised that Alana was married. How did that guy miss being on the show? Bet he is on season 2!
Yoshi
March 8, 2013 @ 6:39 am
If Danielle wasn’t such a sore loser, I would’ve picked her.
But Genevieve clearly should have won. Celeste was just flying under the radar. Us nerds as you see are very upset at the way “King Of The Nerds” chose this. :-(
Avatari
March 8, 2013 @ 4:59 am
I was really disappointed with the finale. Why the hell did the show decide to vote for the King “Survivor” style? Celeste wasn’t deserving of it. She flew under the radar and failed on a lot of the challenges including the one that was supposedly her forte. One thing she was good at was soliciting her safety from eliminations time and time again by pleading her case. Poor Genevieve had some resentment votes cast by Danielle and Alana who were clearly sore losers. Genevieve should have won because she earned it..worked hard on every challenge and was clearly an all-rounder. Voting for a girl who played the emotional card and allowed everyone else to carry her is a pretty big fail in my book.
Laxus
March 8, 2013 @ 4:03 am
A vote to decide who wins between the final 2 competitors? I thought it was fitting. Fitting in the sense that a disappointing competition yields a disappointing ending. Challenges were intervened with and/or fixed. Outcomes became predictable by the 2nd challenge at the latest. All in all, this is one of those situations in which I am happier seeing the loser lose, than I am seeing the winner win, but congratulations to Celeste. And as far as this talk about hot/cute nerds? Celeste or Moogega > Genevieve. Easily. Not expecting season 2 to be any different but the hope in me will force me to watch.
Denise coxon
March 8, 2013 @ 3:41 am
I was excited to watch this show but extremely disappointed with the finale. It should of been a nerd off like any other challenge of knocking someone off. I’m sure all these nerds at some point had to face being picked for something or being picked last, yet TBS had the crown be given by a popularity contest is just B.S to me and insulting to nerds. Genevieve was the well rounded nerd for sure. She won three nerd offs and probably would of beaten Celeste in the final nerd off if there was one. I really hope TBS does not have season 2 end this way because it would be based on who has the best sob story rather based on what they know. Sorry Genevieve I would of voted for you. :…..(
Anonymous
March 8, 2013 @ 3:34 am
The producers dictated this show horribly. It’s no secret that reality competitions aren’t tamper-free and King Of The Nerds had no problem in destroying any sort of truth, competition-wise. I was excited to watch before the season began but I’m not gonna go on a rant about my disappointment here. Would have liked to see Danielle or Ivan take it, although I did not dislike Celeste and was extremely happy to see Genevieve lose! Joshua said it best when he commented “Genevieve and Celeste…not the two I would have thought would be left.”
BobDole
March 8, 2013 @ 3:32 am
Yes TBS blew the show at the end for me. The finally should have been Genevieve vs. Celeste in a video game of some sort, and not a vote by the very people who were voted off by her. Weak sauce.
PS Genevieve is HOTTER than Celeste in every way.
raymond
March 8, 2013 @ 3:24 am
really dissapointed with the finale. Celeste is just a cry baby and made everyone feel sorry for her.It’s sad to have the obvious winner not be representing nerds everywhere :( I also feel the people watching the show should have been the ones to vote…..Celeste yuo didnt earn or deserve that crown!
Christy
March 8, 2013 @ 2:03 am
I think the finale was a total disappointment. Celeste said multiple times about how she was flying under the radar on purpose. She was playing up the whole shy thing and that shouldn’t be what determines if you win or not. If they wanted to leave it up to voting, they could have at least let America do the voting. Genevieve was the clear winner and by far the better role model for being a nerd. My brother is auditioning for the second show and I’m not even sure I would want to watch it after they way they ended this. But I’ll make damn sure to tell him to tell his saddest story to everyone( I mean if that’s who wins, all of us nerds have them). I really enjoyed this show being that I belong to the many nerds out there, but my boyfriend and I were just disgusted on how this went down. I hope TBS listens to all the disaapointed fans out there.
Mike
March 8, 2013 @ 1:55 am
I figured Celest won, when she was on Conan a few weeks ago.
Zelda
March 8, 2013 @ 1:28 am
Genevieve deserved it…Celeste came off as a stow-away to me… Like one of those unwanted olives you get when you bite into that rice mom makes on Christmas. Just kinda sneaks its way onto your spoon and into your mouth. She just rode silently to victory with out any proof of skill or knowledge on anything. :/
Kjeverud
March 8, 2013 @ 1:05 am
Pretty weak ending..
As John states, the people gen booted voted to boot her.. Something that was a positive very well could have been her demise..
It came off a bit too much like a popularity contest, not very nerd like..
Too many cuts crammed into the finale..
and no nerd gauntlet involved..
Dayshia
March 8, 2013 @ 12:41 am
im glad celeste won! finaly a hott nerd. and im not even a guy!
Cammie
March 8, 2013 @ 12:15 am
I really wanted Danielle to win. But in the end I was just glad Genevieve didn’t win. Go Celeste!!!
John
March 7, 2013 @ 11:18 pm
What a bunch of crap. Genevieve sent half of the competition home and then they get to vote who wins. What the ^%$%^&