Sometimes being a nerd is hard. You get made fun of a lot, you’re usually kind of pasty and there are swirlies involved.

But if you’re lucky enough to land a hot wife who indulges your nerd tendencies? Well, you’ve just hit the jackpot, tiger. Just try not to be a jerk about it like Tom is in the most recent incentive sketch. To see what I’m talking about, vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics.

I like drawing the comics where Cami geeks out with Tom from time to time. I’ve done a few of them in the past and I think it helps to move their relationship beyond the loudmouth protagonist and the long-suffering wife. Not to say there isn’t some of that to be found in Theater Hopper, but that Everyone Loves Raymond dynamic gets a little tired after a while.

Hopefully it’s clear that Cami is dressed up as an Orion slave girl from the original Star Trek. I never know if I’m in safe territory when I’m making visual references from 40 years ago.

It was… interesting doing photo research for the Orion slave girl’s “look.” I found a bunch of images from when they made an appearance on Enterprise a few years ago. It was as if someone had sprayed them down with industrial strength whore. Guess I missed that episode.

Of course, there are the ubiquitous images of everyday fans dressed up as Orion slave girls. Ladies, I love you. But take my word for it when I suggest that there aren’t many of you who can pull off the green skin and tattered rags look. I’m just trying to be a friend.

So, as you know, Star Trek is in theaters today and it’s been really interesting getting e-mails and reading the feedback of people who’ve seen it. Pretty much all of them are saying it’s awesome. My expectations were already a little high, but I’m starting to worry that if I don’t see this movie soon, my expectations will be TOO high and it’s going to disappoint me in some way.

People keep saying that the film is like this year’s Iron Man. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, I think I might have seen a commercial for Star Trek that says the same thing. So who knows if that’s their real opinion or if they’re just parroting something they’ve heard elsewhere (like I have).

I assume people make the comparison for the fact that it sounds like Star Trek simply gets a lot of things right and puts the characters to the fore with a healthy dose of the science fiction elements that support them. I think the biggest thing Star Trek has going for it is that people are starting to remember that it was the characters – specifically the relationship between Kirk and Spock – that made the show so much fun to watch.

I mean, let’s be frank. By the time they got around to making Star Trek VI, it was more about the novelty of seeing these actors we had grown to love on screen together one. last. time. I mean, look at the way people treat Shatner these days. He’s like a Goofball Grandfather God. But I think audiences forgot why they fell in love with them in the first place.

I’m hoping to see the film tonight. Probably a late showing. Cami has no interest in it, of course. That’s okay. I can nerd it up all the more flying solo. I’ll let you know what I think on Monday. Or, if you want to know before then, I’m sure I’ll tweet about it at some point over the weekend. Maybe come back here for the more in depth review…

Anyone else ready to be beamed up? What are your expectations for the film? What elements do you think they have to include to keep the die-hard fans happy? What’s something new you’d like to see contributed to the franchise? Leave your thoughts below!