Thoughts on the Current Season of the Big Bang Theory

[Andonagio]

This latest season of the Big Bang Theory feels a little disjointed than previous seasons. It's still a great show, but it's starting to feel a little fatigued, repetitive and predictable. I'd like to address the following questions:

- Why have so many episodes been increasingly Sheldon-centric since season 3?
- Why has Raj been relegated to the background lately?
- Why do many episodes focus on the dynamics of the various romantic pairs (as well as Penny/Amy and Leonard/Sheldon) instead of larger interactions between the ensemble cast?
- Does anybody else think the writers are starting to get a little burned out?

Thoughts?

 

[wissaboo]

my husband kept saying this season sucks and I didn't believe it. That is till one day I was in the other room while the kids were watching an early episode. All I could hear was the dialogue and it was so much better then any current episodes. Remember the one where Sheldon trained Penny with chocolates? nothing in the last couple years even comes close to that.

 

[Starbreaker]

This latest season of the Big Bang Theory feels a little disjointed than previous seasons. It's still a great show, but it's starting to feel a little fatigued, repetitive and predictable. I'd like to address the following questions:

- Why have so many episodes been increasingly Sheldon-centric since season 3?

Sheldon is the most popular character

- Why has Raj been relegated to the background lately?

I hadn't noticed. Raj has been featured in several episodes this season. He has to deal with (not) sleeping with Penny, he dates a deaf girl, has dreams about Bernadette, fell in love with Siri, etc.

- Why do many episodes focus on the dynamics of the various romantic pairs (as well as Penny/Amy and Leonard/Sheldon) instead of larger interactions between the ensemble cast?

Female viewers... also, it's what every sitcom ever does.

- Does anybody else think the writers are starting to get a little burned out?

No... the show is just evolving from something that was solely for nerds into a broader comedy.

 

[ALF]

I've read this before.
My little cousins got me hooked on the show. I'm ready to start season three but I've read later seasons dumb down the show for Joe Six Pack.
Sheldon not being as intellectual. He's barely socially competent in the first two seasons and that's what makes it brilliant.
Brief scenes I've seen of currently airing episodes have been disappointing to say the least. Sheldon seems to have been watered down to very low impact catch phrases.
I wonder when to stop watching this show then?

 

[firesoforion]

Another problem is that as they start doing their "standard sitcom" stuff, they also reduce the likability of the characters. I mean, once upon a time they were socially incompetent, but as the show has progressed, they haven't even been nice people. Like Leonard reiterating over and over that his interest was in sleeping with Penny, not that just being Sheldon's interpretation, but Leonard's as well, and other stuff like that.

 

[sojourner]

Remember the one where Sheldon trained Penny with chocolates? nothing in the last couple years even comes close to that.

Wasn't that just last season?

 

[Miss Lemon]

I haven't been able to catch the current season yet, so I can't judge. Ever since they brought Amy on the show, I have been gradually losing interest though.

Although I loved the Sheldon character, him being the sole focus of every other episode got tired after a while.

And I agree with firesoforion that the characters got less sympathetic as the show progressed.

 

[Andonagio]

I hadn't noticed. Raj has been featured in several episodes this season. He has to deal with (not) sleeping with Penny, he dates a deaf girl, has dreams about Bernadette, fell in love with Siri, etc.

Well, yes, we've had a few where Raj had his own arc, but there have been far more episodes this season where he only has one or two scenes. He seems to be getting the least amount of screen time of the seven characters, on average. I know some fans have suggested that his selected mutism is starting to become old, so it's harder to write for him. I also wonder if it's because he's currently the only character on the show who's not romantically involved, making him harder to write for on a show that's currently relying more heavily on romantic tension for its comedy.

 

[Sheep]

I agree the show's been a bit inconsistent this season but it's still entertaining. The Sheldon haircut episode ranks up there with the show's best IMO so I'm not too concerned about a decrease in quality. Yet.

Now if you want to talk about lazy/poor writing, look no further than the past two episodes of Two and a Half Men, which really have been absolutely horrible. (Yeah, that show's a cesspool that appeals to the lowest common denominator, blah blah blah...)

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Oh, yeah...the last two episodes of Two and a Half Men have been terrible. Especially the one from last week involving all the characters vomiting incessantly. Just awful.

 

[wissaboo]

Remember the one where Sheldon trained Penny with chocolates? nothing in the last couple years even comes close to that.

Wasn't that just last season?

it's season 3. We're in season 5 now.

As to Raj, the mutism is the problem now I think. There is almost always a girl in the room.

 

[Lumi]

I agree with you... it has definitely gone downhill a bit.

I'm also sort of sick of Bernadette and Amy. Penny was enough woman for the entire series, imo.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I think the show is still great. Every season people start a thread here about how "this season just isn't as good as past seasons," so I've come to expect it now. Although the characters and stories have changed somewhat over time, I don't think the show has degraded in quality at all.

 

[Jax]

I adore the show and the ratings are strong as hell so it seemingly can't be too bad. I think its just the shine has gone but 5 seasons in so its to be expected.

 

[Venardhi]

It seems to me that they just can't seem to get a handle on having 7 lead characters. Especially since almost all of them are cartoonish and broad, breaking them away from Leonard and Penny reveals just how weak they are as characters. We can relate to Leonard in his interactions with Sheldon, or with Penny dealing with Amy, but Sheldon and Amy together is just painful.

 

[Andonagio]

I know that shows mature and change over time. Characters and situations that seem to be fresh and exciting early on become familiar and predictable. (I can cite countless examples of this, Trek and otherwise, and it's probably why we get threads like this every season on so many shows.) And I agree that it's still a great show. I'm glad that it's doing so well in the ratings.

I suppose my biggest frustration is that the show seems to be getting more and more imbalanced as time goes on. The episodes are becoming more Sheldon-heavy, while I prefer my shows to have an equitable balance of all cast members. And storylines that don't focus on Sheldon focus on a short list of specific pairings (Penny/Leonard, Penny/Amy, Howard/Bernadette, Leonard/Sheldon and Amy/Sheldon).

Now, to be fair, when I look over a list of episode summaries from this past season, I realize there's probably a better balance of characters and storylines than I'm giving the show credit for. Part of the problem may be that the Sheldon-heavy episodes loom large in my mind, as the character--whether good or bad--lately comes across as much more intense and obnoxious than the others. (I've just wanted to punch him on more than one occasion, and it's a wonder that the others still hang around him.) I'd like to see the writers tone Sheldon back down to his Season 1 levels, which I'm sure they can do without hurting the character's appeal. And poor Raj still deserves his turn in the center seat more often.

And as for the romantic pairings...I guess that's just how life works when you fall in love. However, I would like to see more interaction between the cast as a whole (a la "The Love Car Displacement").

 

[sojourner]

I do find Amy's bi-sexual hints entertaining.

 

[ClayinCA]

I do find Amy's bi-sexual hints entertaining.

I did at first, but I'm finding them increasingly labored and unfunny.

 

[Forbin]

Sheldon seems to be a victim of the Felix Unger Syndrome. Having watched The Odd Couple DVDs over a period of a few months, I couldn't help but notice that, in later seasons, the writers latched onto the notion that the show should be "what ridiculous and obnoxious OCD thing can we have Felix do THIS week," ad nauseum. It took a hysterical show and eventually made it, while still funny, somewhat tedious. I think BBT may be falling into the same trap with Sheldon.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I do find Amy's bi-sexual hints entertaining.

I did at first, but I'm finding them increasingly labored and unfunny.

This is probably my only complaint about the show recently. Although I'm glad they added the Amy character, I do feel that the sexual Penny jokes are getting a little tired. It was funny and cute at first, but now it's just kind of creepy the way she fawns over her. I wish they would focus more on Amy's interactions with Sheldon instead of Penny and Bernadette, because it was the bizarre similarities and connection between Amy and Sheldon that endeared me to her character in the first place.