One could argue that Penny doesn't always treat the guys so great either. She constantly makes fun and belittles their interests in comics and sci-fi stuff.
How Do You Feel About The Big Bang Theroy(The Show)
- Thread starter elax92
- Start date
When it decends to absurb levels, which it always damn well does because of the show pushing one shallow cliche.
Okay. She does have her moments.
I love it. I see a lot of myself and my friends in the characters. (Though somewhat exaggerated).The writers seem to know their stuff when it comes to science, Science Fiction and general nerd/geek references. The science is from advisors. I assume the geek stuff might be to or they just lurk at TrekBBS. 
I don't like it. I can't stand most sitcoms that CBS has ever aired. The geeks on the show are obnoxious stereotypes and that were already totally played out when Urkel did them 20 years ago.
Admittedly, the geek stereotypes they use are often accurate. But Leonard bugs the crap out of me because he doesn't feel the least bit authentic. I suspect the other actors each have at least a tiny germ of genuine geekness within them that they use to inform their characters. Leonard doesn't seem to have that, and as a result, he just comes off as very shrill & pathetic. I think, had he played the role as more of a goth geek, he might have been able to pull it off. (But then he might have looked a bit too much like his Roseanne character.)
Come to think of that, why don't we ever see that geek archetype on TV? Why don't we ever see the big, burly guy with a beard, a black kilt, a wife, 2 kids, and at least 3 knives on his person at all times? (Nearly every geek-themed group I've been in IRL has had at least one guy exactly like that.)
Agreed. There are several other sitcoms out there that are much more geek friendly. Community is #1 on the list. (I keep hoping that Epic Rap Battles of History will do a Sheldon Cooper vs. Abed Nadir episode.) Frasier isn't SF/F geeks but it is opera & psychology geeks and it's one of the greatest sitcoms ever. I don't really watch Parks & Recreation but it did give us this...
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BBhNkywMJY[/yt]
OK, that is pretty funny.
Admittedly, the geek stereotypes they use are often accurate. But Leonard bugs the crap out of me because he doesn't feel the least bit authentic. I suspect the other actors each have at least a tiny germ of genuine geekness within them that they use to inform their characters. Leonard doesn't seem to have that, and as a result, he just comes off as very shrill & pathetic. I think, had he played the role as more of a goth geek, he might have been able to pull it off. (But then he might have looked a bit too much like his Roseanne character.)
Come to think of that, why don't we ever see that geek archetype on TV? Why don't we ever see the big, burly guy with a beard, a black kilt, a wife, 2 kids, and at least 3 knives on his person at all times? (Nearly every geek-themed group I've been in IRL has had at least one guy exactly like that.)
Agreed. There are several other sitcoms out there that are much more geek friendly. Community is #1 on the list. (I keep hoping that Epic Rap Battles of History will do a Sheldon Cooper vs. Abed Nadir episode.) Frasier isn't SF/F geeks but it is opera & psychology geeks and it's one of the greatest sitcoms ever. I don't really watch Parks & Recreation but it did give us this...
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BBhNkywMJY[/yt]
OK, that is pretty funny.
I'm a big fan of Community and Parks and Rec too. But their presentation of geeks is an idealized fantasy absurdist version of geekdom. Their characters are the geeks we'd like to be. The wacky OTT eccentrics that people love. Troy, Abed, Andy and Ben are every bit the man child the BBT characters are.
I've been a loyal fan since the beginning, and will stay with it to the end. As a fan, I will be the first to admit that it is running out of gas, as most sitcoms do in their final few seasons. Once the characters start marrying each other and having babies, the end is near.
Also, I've encountered a few real-life Sheldons in my academic and professional career, and have wanted to beat each and every one of them with a bag full of rocks after a while. No one likes a know-it-all, Spock and Data excepted.
Also, I've encountered a few real-life Sheldons in my academic and professional career, and have wanted to beat each and every one of them with a bag full of rocks after a while. No one likes a know-it-all, Spock and Data excepted.
^ Oh good! So it's not just me.
I've been a big fan of TBBT since it first started. As for it making fun of geeks, I don't really think it's any worse than show like Modern Family making of fun of family life, or The Office making fun of office workers. I will admit, it is not quite as good as it used to be, but I still love the characters, and they still come up with some pretty good stuff.
That was hilarious.
I also liked the time Sheldon named the three greatest traitors in human history: Judas, Benedict Arnold,and Rupert Murdoch.
Leonard: "Rupert Murdoch?"
Sheldon: "He canceled FIREFLY . . . "
I can think of some fans who would agree.
Penny: "How can Red Hulk be worthy!?"
Bernadette: "You don't know his LIFE!"
Or the time Sheldon hung out with James Earl Jones
After last season's cliffhanger (Sheldon's final dialogue) I am so excited to continue!
I love Sheldon, for all his strange mannerisms and behaviour, I love Shelly. And Stuart!
Bernadette: "You don't know his LIFE!"
Or the time Sheldon hung out with James Earl Jones
After last season's cliffhanger (Sheldon's final dialogue) I am so excited to continue!
I love Sheldon, for all his strange mannerisms and behaviour, I love Shelly. And Stuart!
That was hilarious.
I also liked the time Sheldon named the three greatest traitors in human history: Judas, Benedict Arnold,and Rupert Murdoch.
Leonard: "Rupert Murdoch?"
Sheldon: "He canceled FIREFLY . . . "
I can think of some fans who would agree.
Penny: "How can Red Hulk be worthy!?"
Bernadette: "You don't know his LIFE!"
Or the time Sheldon hung out with James Earl Jones
After last season's cliffhanger (Sheldon's final dialogue) I am so excited to continue!
I love Sheldon, for all his strange mannerisms and behaviour, I love Shelly. And Stuart!
This is why I think the writers use TrekBBS as source material.
I wonder if people have actually called about a show being cancelled.
I liked it in the beginning when the tone was a little more serious (it's only really visible in the first couple of episodes). At that point I felt it could be a worthy successor to Freaks and Geeks as the foremost rendition of what being a geek is like. Suffice to say that didn't last long...
I think if you're expecting BBT to a realistic and positive representation of geek culture, you're looking in the wrong place. It's a goofy sitcom, played for laughs, not a documentary, drama, or recruiting ad. Nor is it supposed to be some obscure, cult show that mainstream audiences won't get . . ..
Meanwhile: season premiere tonight. My DVR is set.
Meanwhile: season premiere tonight. My DVR is set.
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