Big Bang-Next Generation

[Trekker4747]

There's a difference in laughing at people and laughing at people.

Friends: We laugh at Monica for being neurotic, we laugh at Ross for being even more neurotic, we laugh at Chandler for being a socially awkward smart-ass, we laugh at Joey for being a complete dummy, we laugh at Phoebe for having her head in the clouds, we laugh at Rachel for being a rich girl trying to live in a working-class world. But none of them are really playing any real stereotypes. They just have broad, humorous, personalities.

Seinfeld: We laugh at Kramer for being a "hipster doofus", we and we laugh at George for being a loser. And, really, they're the only two characters who we "laugh at." Elaine and Jerry probably got more laughs out of their stories than their personalities. We laugh at all of their failures.

Frasier: We laugh at Frasier and Miles for being overly elite metrosexual snobs and the failures they bring upon themselves.

But, BBT, seems to put on display four stereotypes of the "nerd." And we laugh at them for acting awkward and being so different than all of us "normal people." I mean, look at the scene when they walk into the diner wearing their cosplay gear. I mean, isn't it so funny we see these guys in costumes walking into a room full of normal people?! I mean they've been walking in the desert, they're dying of thirst, one guy had his car stolen. And, gee, one man-child had to call his mom for help!

That's very, very, different than, say, laughing at George for losing a job for not realizing it's bad to sleep with the cleaning lady on your desk. Or laughing at Joey for becoming the dance director of a musical because he lied on his resume.

The characters in those other sitcoms are broad archetypes of personalities. It's funny when things happen to them because usually they end up in the situation they're in due to their own doing.

Here? We're laughing at four guys who just got kicked in the balls because they're nerds. The one guy wants to take a picture of him and his girlfriend because NO ONE will believe he has such a hot girlfriend! Because nerds, you see, don't get hot girlfriends!

Ha! Ha! Funny!

We're not supposed to be laughing at these guys because of the situations they get themselves into or because they're causing their own failures. We're supposed to be laughing at them because they're "not us" and the world just kicked them in the balls, again.

 

[22 Stars]

Community is the show to watch. BBT just doesn't do it for me.

 

[Triskelion]

I always took BBT to be nerds laughing at themselves. Yeah, the archetypes are a bit "on the nose" - but I wouldn't call it hostile to nerds any more than I would call Star Trek hostile to the races (real or fictional) or diversities it left out.

Don't read too much into sitcoms. They are little more than market-tested commercials with punch lines.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Friends: We laugh at Monica for being neurotic, we laugh at Ross for being even more neurotic, we laugh at Chandler for being a socially awkward smart-ass, we laugh at Joey for being a complete dummy, we laugh at Phoebe for having her head in the clouds, we laugh at Rachel for being a rich girl trying to live in a working-class world. But none of them are really playing any real stereotypes. They just have broad, humorous, personalities.

They're not playing stereotypes????? Seriously??

But, BBT, seems to put on display four stereotypes of the "nerd." And we laugh at them for acting awkward and being so different than all of us "normal people." I mean, look at the scene when they walk into the diner wearing their cosplay gear. I mean, isn't it so funny we see these guys in costumes walking into a room full of normal people?! I mean they've been walking in the desert, they're dying of thirst, one guy had his car stolen. And, gee, one man-child had to call his mom for help!

Yeah, it is funny to walk into a diner wearing Trek uniforms. Why wouldn't it be funny? Funny is pretty much 3/4 tragedy that happens to other people. The same reason its funny that Ross's wife left him for a woman.Or that he got mugged by a girl (Phoebe) who stole his comic book.

 

[marksound]

Seriously, if you think BBT is offensive you're much more of a nerd than the stereotypes on the show.

People are way too thin skinned these days. You have to laugh at yourself, or there's nothing left to do but cry.

 

[nightwind1]

It's what passes for humor on CBS. But since only senior citizens and chemically castrated sex offenders watch CBS, it's not really a representative audience.

I shudder to think what category I fall into!

Seriously, most of my Trekkie friends are hooked on the show. And, yes, I have laughed in recognition more than once . . . .

I've attended many local fan-run cons over the last 4 decades or so, and I've met people at every single one that either come close, match, or surpass the guys on TBBT.

I've been buying comics in comic shops for nearly as long, and recognize the same discussions as the guys on TBBT get into.

 

[LobsterAfternoon]

I don't think it's offensive, I just think it's not at all funny.

 

[The Wormhole]

I don't think it's offensive, I just think it's not at all funny.

Same here, it's not offensive, just annoying and unfunny.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I don't think it's offensive, I just think it's not at all funny.

Same here, it's not offensive, just annoying and unfunny.

And that's perfectly fair. What is funny or not is entirely subjective anyway.

 

[Anji]

C'mon guys! If you can't laugh at yourselves, who can you laugh at? BBT is funny.

However, they do have to work on their female geeks. We're a lot hotter and sexier than the ones they write about.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'd like to see a female geek added to the show. Amy and Bernie are nerds but not geeks. Perhaps they could bring back Alice, comic book artist Leonard dated.

 

[Nerys Myk]

They really need to do an episode where a writer friend of Penny invites them to the filming of a TV show about nerds. Penny of course will be upset that she didn't get the role of the neighbor. The guys will find it cruel, unfunny and demeaning. Leonard will claim the science and geek references are inaccurate. Sheldon will counter with "Actually they are surprisingly accurate" then add the inevitable "But I prefer Community, that Troy and Abed are a hoot in a holler" Since Community is toast, maybe Donald Glover can play "Leonard" and Danny Pudi can be "Sheldon"

 

[Anji]

I'd like to see a female geek added to the show. Amy and Bernie are nerds but not geeks. Perhaps they could bring back Alice, comic book artist Leonard dated.

Yeah, that's my one criticism of the show. They haven't gotten the female geek quite right. In "The Bakersfield
Expeditiion" I was very shocked that Amy didn't know about comic books. We real world female geeks do.

I'd like to see Sheldon get into it with a female Star Trek fan and see what happens. Usually anytime a guy fan tries to talk Trek with you he has a tendancy (not all guys) to try to show you he's the superior fan...and then you usually have to crush his ego.

 

[Greg Cox]

Here's the thing: BBT is a farce that makes fun of the foibles and ridiculous behavior of its characters, as comedies tend to do. It's not meant to be a fair and objective portrayal of us geeky types, nor is it morally obligated to present us in a positive light. Are all geeks on TV supposed to be positive role models--or are we just not supposed to poke fun at ourselves when the "mundanes" are watching?

And, speaking as someone who has stayed up to 3 AM in the morning arguing about the metaphysical implications of transporter beams, BBT seems pretty on-target to me!

 

[Keith1701]

I LIKED IT BEFORE IT WAS MAINSTREAM!



No, I didn't.

I think the show's funny....not always, but most of the times. And I'll never hand in my nerdcard!

Me too....

 

[Greg Cox]

I'd like to see a female geek added to the show. Amy and Bernie are nerds but not geeks. Perhaps they could bring back Alice, comic book artist Leonard dated.

Yeah, that's my one criticism of the show. They haven't gotten the female geek quite right. In "The Bakersfield
Expeditiion" I was very shocked that Amy didn't know about comic books. We real world female geeks do.

I guess the idea is supposed to be that Amy and Bernadette are into science, but not science fiction. Which is a valid distinction, I guess, but does leave an opening for a female character who's actually into the whole comic book/scifi thing as well.

 

[HansentheSwede]

It seems with BBT you either love it or hate it. I know it really relies on the gimmick of making fun of the characters' perceived flaws. However never once did I feel like the show was maliciously making fun of geeks. It actually looks a lot more fun than what people would consider "normal."