Anyone Here Like The Big Bang Theory Televison Show?

[theenglish]

I think I've mentioned it here before, but my wife was watching some "romantic" movie involving time travel and caught herself explaining to her friends how the movie violated basic concepts of time travel and ignored an obvious "temporal paradox". She was angry with ME that she actually used that phrase in conversation.

There you go! An excellent example of the show's humor ringing true for at least some of us.

BTW, that wasn't Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, was it? I love that film.

No, but I should watch that movie again. It was something like The Lake House or Kate and Leopald--that was a ladies night at the movies.

 

[Greg Cox]

I think I've mentioned it here before, but my wife was watching some "romantic" movie involving time travel and caught herself explaining to her friends how the movie violated basic concepts of time travel and ignored an obvious "temporal paradox". She was angry with ME that she actually used that phrase in conversation.

There you go! An excellent example of the show's humor ringing true for at least some of us.

BTW, that wasn't Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, was it? I love that film.

Based on the novel by Richard Matheson, of course.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I not sure why being "mainstream" or having "mass appeal" should be negative qualities.

They're not inherently negative qualities, but in BBT's case I find it bland. It's a generic sitcom with geeks as main characters as the gimmick. That's it.

I don't think anyone is calling TBBT an innovative, groundbreaking show that has changed the face of television. It's basically just Friends with 50% more nerd. Friends, family or co-workers are the basic building blocks of most sitcoms. So perhaps it is "generic". But it's also well written, with interesting characters and most importantly ( to me at least) it gets the nerd, geek, science stuff right. The characters are somewhat "grounded" ( for a sitcom) especially when compared something like Community which seems to exist in a surreal, absurd version of life. Abed and to a lesser extent Troy are much more broadly drawn nerd characters. I don't think I've ever encountered an Abed in real life. In fact he might be pretty scary in real life. Yet I know fellow nerds who just love Abed. Perhaps the more bizarre aspects makes it more palatable.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I think that when BBT started, it had a bit of a novel twist on the typical sitcom going on. Whereas a typical sitcom usually features a bunch of "normal" characters with one "wacky neighbor" character, BBT gave us a group of "wacky" characters with a "normal neighbor" to play off of. The dynamic changed as the show progressed, with Sheldon being played up as a whole different level of wacky from the rest, Penny becoming more integrated into the group, and a couple of scientist love interests being added to the cast.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Penny was a lot "dumber" in the earlier episodes. A Joey Tribbiani level of dumb.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

My wife is not interested really at all in science fiction, but she has been around me far too long to not have soaked up some of the fallout of my interest. She does love TBBT, though, I think even more than I do. We talked about this very thread yesterday, and she feels that the characters are not demeaned in the way that they are portrayed as 'science geeks' or 'nerds'. She really likes the characters, and not because she sees them as 'laughing stocks'. She enjoys the quirkiness, just as she (we) enjoy the quirky characters on other favorite shows that include M*A*S*H, Cheers, and Friends. [She also loves How I met Your Mother, BUT that program really annoys me... I can hardly sit and watch that sit-com, even if a Buffy alumna is in it!]

When we got married, I knew I was getting a groom's cake at the reception, but she surprised me in that she had the baker make a TARDIS cake. She kids me about Trek and I kid her about her obsession of watching the Green Bay Packers. What we see on TBBT resonates a bit with our own relationship.

It does make me sad to think that some folks feel that what we see on TBBT is somewhat of an attack on them and their interests. While I was never made to feel too badly about my own science & sci-fi interests, I know some people have been given quite a rough time about it, and that was -and is- not acceptable treatment. Most everyone I know is a big fan of some team or obsessed with some hobby.

Another point, I don't think folks working in the field of science and education like Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ira Flatow, and Bill Nye would agree to appear on the program if they thought it was showing science types and science fiction fans in a bad light.

 

[sidious618]

I not sure why being "mainstream" or having "mass appeal" should be negative qualities.

They're not inherently negative qualities, but in BBT's case I find it bland. It's a generic sitcom with geeks as main characters as the gimmick. That's it.

That's how I feel, although I've never enjoyed Chuck Lorre's humor so it sinks even lower for me.

 

[Velocity]

The show always makes the point that these guys work at a University and are very intelligent. They also are good at their jobs, which they really love. Howard's skills were needed at the Int'l Space Station, so his intelligence had real world application. These guys aren't really portrayed as dreamer/super hero-wannabe parents'-basement-living losers. Penny said that being around them so often raised her standards for boyfriends. She couldn't put up with dullard Zack because he's pretty dumb, although he was physically attractive. Attractive alone isn't enough for her now.
My husband likes the show even though he gets NONE of the sf or comic book references. I had to explain what a TARDIS is, among other things, but it doesn't stop him from enjoying the characters.

 

[TRON JA307020]

I not sure why being "mainstream" or having "mass appeal" should be negative qualities.

They're not inherently negative qualities, but in BBT's case I find it bland. It's a generic sitcom with geeks as main characters as the gimmick. That's it.

That's how I feel, although I've never enjoyed Chuck Lorre's humor so it sinks even lower for me.

Lorres two and a half men stunk but TBBT is actually good. Its probably good because he had a co creator on the show. Two and a half men stunk bad especially after sheen was removed.

 

[FPAlpha]

Penny was a lot "dumber" in the earlier episodes. A Joey Tribbiani level of dumb.

Absolutely not.. while it is likely she'd never get a PhD she was not Joey dumb. She just didn't care for science, politics and such but was more interested in entertainment news (so pretty much like half of western civilization) but being surrounded by a child genius and PhD's (and one Masters in Engineering from MIT) put her intellectual level in a rather harsh light. Most of us would struggle to even grasp the meaning of one of Leonard's or Sheldon's math boards.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Anyone else kind of wonder how Leonard and Penny work as a couple? I do like them together but they seem to have nothing in common.

 

[Velocity]

I think they sort of complement each other. Leonard works in theoretical science and tends to live mostly in his head whereas Penny has many social skills and is tough from her Nebraska roots. Leonard has been rather abused by his emotionally cold mother in particular but he is kind and empathetic. Penny has had boyfriends but they weren't really interested in her for much more than sex. Where they come together is through their friends and Shelton. He is written as their mutant child.

 

[Marc]

Anyone else kind of wonder how Leonard and Penny work as a couple? I do like them together but they seem to have nothing in common.

Not really.

In terms of intersts I can't say I have much in common with my wife, my in-laws don't seem to have much in common but have been married for 44 years. (which would be a suprise to the priest who refused to marry them saying it would never last).

 

[Greg Cox]

Penny was a lot "dumber" in the earlier episodes. A Joey Tribbiani level of dumb.

Absolutely not.. while it is likely she'd never get a PhD she was not Joey dumb. She just didn't care for science, politics and such but was more interested in entertainment news (so pretty much like half of western civilization) but being surrounded by a child genius and PhD's (and one Masters in Engineering from MIT) put her intellectual level in a rather harsh light. Most of us would struggle to even grasp the meaning of one of Leonard's or Sheldon's math boards.

Agreed. She was uneducated and didn't know anything about the stuff the guys considered important, but she wasn't dumb. She had plenty of practical, real-world smarts.

Remember the time she trounced Leonard at chess (even though she didn't know the "correct" names of pieces)? Or the time she assembled an entire piece of Ikea furniture while the guys were still poring over the instructions . . . .

 

[TRON JA307020]

Waiting for other shoe to.....fall....

Ok I am at the 7th season now Martok. I haven't seen the shoe episode you have referred to twice. Let me guess Sheldon does a experiment dropping a shoe from the apartment and hits someone on the head. Right?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Waiting for other shoe to.....fall....

Ok I am at the 7th season now Martok. I haven't seen the shoe episode you have referred to twice. Let me guess Sheldon does a experiment dropping a shoe from the apartment and hits someone on the head. Right?

You've never heard the expression "waiting for the other shoe to drop"?

 

[martok2112]

Just give it....time.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Ah, TBBT: Seven nerds sitting at a coffee table pushing food around their plates.

I absolutely love it.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Waiting for other shoe to.....fall....

Ok I am at the 7th season now Martok. I haven't seen the shoe episode you have referred to twice. Let me guess Sheldon does a experiment dropping a shoe from the apartment and hits someone on the head. Right?

You've never heard the expression "waiting for the other shoe to drop"?

Yeah I have heard that expression. Matok said "fall" instead of drop. I guess he must thing something is going to happen? Darned if I know. Maybe hes waiting for TBBT to be canceled?

 

[FPAlpha]

They're not inherently negative qualities, but in BBT's case I find it bland. It's a generic sitcom with geeks as main characters as the gimmick. That's it.

That's how I feel, although I've never enjoyed Chuck Lorre's humor so it sinks even lower for me.

Lorres two and a half men stunk but TBBT is actually good. Its probably good because he had a co creator on the show. Two and a half men stunk bad especially after sheen was removed.

It wasn't so bad, i liked Kutcher as a replacement because he was something different and had some funny storylines. What got on my nerves at one point was Alan Harper who ot progressively weirder and more unlikeable, they really exaggerated his character even more to a point where he tipped from weirdo to freak (not a good development).

The character got very stale and one note.