David Greenwalt

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - It’s Oct. 13, Canadian Thanksgiving Day, and "Jake 2.0" star Christopher Gorham — in Los Angeles on a brief break from production in Vancouver — sits down to dinner with executive producers Silvio Horta and David Greenwalt at the Marie Callender’s restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard.

Having just finished an interview across the street at E !, Gorham is trying to remember what he said that inspired Greenwalt to call him "witty and fascinating."

"I’m all those things," he says, then laughs at himself. "I don’t remember. It’s all a blackout. But we were talking to the crew last week about the porn version of ’Jake 2.0,’ and I said it would be called ’Jake 10.0.’"

"Coming soon to a theater near you," Greenwalt adds.

While "Jake 2.0" definitely gives thanks that it’s still on the air on UPN, there’s no doubt it’s suffered from a time slot that also includes ABC’s "The Bachelor," NBC’s "The West Wing" and Greenwalt’s former show, The WB’s "Angel."

"We’re hanging on," Greenwalt says. "We are holding an audience in the face of an enormous onslaught."

Adding to the onslaught is FOX’s buzzworthy soaper "The O.C.," which returns from baseball hiatus on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 9 p.m. ET, right across from "Jake" (it was formerly skedded for Thursday, but FOX executives decided they didn’t want their show to face "CSI").

"That’s the scariest thing," Horta says. "I watch it, but I will forbid it from my TiVo. It is bad for my TiVo from now on. No more."

On "Jake 2.0," Gorham plays an NSA computer tech upgraded to field agent when he gets an accidental injection of nanites, tiny computers that enhance his body functions (hence the porn reference above).

Ironically, Gorham read for the role of geeky teen Seth Cohen on "The O.C.," a part now played by former "Gilmore Girls" star Adam Brody. "It was between me and him," Gorham says.

The characters of Seth, an outsider in tony Newport Beach, Calif., and Jake are not dissimilar, both nerdy guys with the courage to go toe-to-toe with the cool kids if necessary. Turns out Gorham falls in that category as well.

"I’ve always gone back and forth from being a nerd to being a cool guy," Gorham says. "In 7th grade, I was a nerd, but did not know it. In 8th grade, I was on a ski trip with the ski club, and one of the cool girls — there were two cool girls that everyone was in love with — leans over to my seat and says, ’Chris, remember last year when you were a nerd ?’ I was like, ’No. What are you talking about ?’

"I had the same friends, I just added new friends. Suddenly the tough, cool girl on the bus is inviting me to her house party. I said, ’Who’s coming ?’ ’All the cool kids.’"

"Jake is both cool, and he’s got a little geek in him," Greenwalt says. "Chris really embodies both those things. He’s innocent, but he’s also, ’I can kick your ass.’"

With both UPN and "Jake 2.0" struggling to find an audience in a crowded marketplace, the show’s creators hope for patience from all involved.

"We’re on a long, slow build," Greenwalt says. "People need to understand it’s a fun, entertaining show."

"Once people see the show," Horta says, "they really like it. They tune back in. It’s just a matter of getting them."

"You can tell it’s building," Gorham says, "because Howard Stern is talking about it every week on his show. Steve Harvey is now talking about it on his show. It’s building. It’s out there. Our biggest advertising is word of mouth, it just takes longer."

As he has since the beginning, Greenwalt considers Gorham his secret weapon. "It’s amazing to find a guy who can do both comedy and drama," he says, "who will not murder your joke in the pram. It’s a mixture of technique and honesty.

"I don’t know if Chris is a Method actor, but he’s very technical and extraordinarily natural. It’s my favorite thing."

"A broad range of people come up to me," Gorham says. "There are kids who used to watch me on ’Popular’ ; now their parents are coming up to me as well. There’s the guys at immigration at the airport, at customs, they’re like, ’Hey, Jake, what’s going on ?’"

But all this popularity doesn’t mean Gorham gets a free pass through security.

"Last week, they sent me in to get inspected because of this. They pulled everything out of my backpack, I think, because of the money. It was humiliating.

"They weren’t convinced that I didn’t have more than $10,000 on me. I was like, ’You’ve got to be kidding.’ I think I had $15 on me. They looked in my wallet and were very disappointed."