Category Archives: The Big Bang Theory

September 21, 2009 · 11:27 pm

Season Premiere: The Big Bang Theory – “The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation”

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“The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation”

September 21st, 2009

There are things about The Big Bang Theory that I would consider outstanding. Jim Parsons, without question, is one of them. And on occasion the nerd driven humour, when not operating in spite of the central nerds but rather celebrating them, is legitimately charming. But when the show ended last season, it was not even close to outstanding, settling for a solid “average” on a whole thanks to a mean streak that I honestly don’t understand. While the Television Critics’ Association quite illogically named it “Outstanding Comedy Series,” the show frustrated me even in its second season by turning on its star, Sheldon, in a split second. The finale, as everyone packed up to go to the Arctic, was filled with the other characters (who are supposed to be Sheldon’s friends) desiring to kill themselves as opposed to spending three months confined with Dr. Cooper.

And as it returns from the break, the show remains off course for my personal tastes, taking a step towards an ill-fated relationship between Leonard and Penny and (more dangerously) continuing to subject Sheldon to the kind of treatment usually reserved for lepers. The episode has Leonard, in particular, treat Sheldon in a reprehensible fashion and as a nuisance keeping him from hooking up with Penny, and while this results in some fun material for Jim Parsons and some always charming Penny/Sheldon scenes, it also brings out the worst in the show’s other characters and is resolved without once holding Leonard responsible for his terrible behaviour.

It’s just another example of why, for all my love for Jim Parsons and particular scenes featuring Jim Parsons, this is ultimately a show that in its focus for the future is out to anger me as much as humanly possible.

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June 30, 2009 · 9:01 am

Theories on The Big Bang Theory: Why I Hated the Pilot

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Why I Hated the Pilot

June 30th, 2009

[While I’ve blogged about some episodes of the show, and even covered the PaleyFest panel about the show in April, I haven’t actually watched The Big Bang Theory with any consistency. I’m watching the show as my thesis breaks over the next few weeks, and while I have no intentions of any indepth thoughts (not that kind of show), I do have a few things to say about the show, and will stop by with them on occasion.]

For a good year, the only thing on this blog on the subject of The Big Bang Theory was an article lumping it in with Cavemen, a problematic judgment that I knew needed to be addressed but didn’t really see any rush in fixing. The show just really turned me off with its pilot, and after watching it there was absolutely nothing that could convince me to keep watching…or so I told myself.

In my head, I had sworn off the show after the pilot, never to watch again after it had offended me so – watching the first season, however, I appear to have watched at least a few of the episodes that followed, whether randomly or purposefully but without much intention. Clearly, my experience with them didn’t override my disdain for the pilot, so going back to that first episode I was still very curious to see if I could pinpoint just what it was that resulted in such vitriol.

I think I’ve found the answer: the thing that made me hate this pilot is, rather than the existence of a laugh track, the execution of said sitcom device.

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May 12, 2009 · 12:04 am

Season Finale: The Big Bang Theory – “The Monopolar Expedition”

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“The Monopolar Expedition”

May 11th, 2009

Okay, so, admittedly I don’t actually watch The Big Bang Theory recently, but this is the second episode I’ve stopped in on after really enjoying their PaleyFest panel, and it’s the second episode where I feel like there’s something missing. That something, believe it or not, is an ounce of ingenuity in the series’ broader storylines: these characters stand out on their own, and when doing things that only they would do, but this episode was such a bland sitcom episode at its very core that I don’t really think that it ever elevated itself beyond cute.

This, of course, isn’t a cardinal sin: there’s plenty of room on television for a cute sitcom that, when it’s at its best, can actually be quite funny. But what bothers me about Big Bang Theory is that it often feels like one show is trapped within the other, that characters are being held hostage by a show that doesn’t allow them to branch out of their accepted roles to be actually liked, appreciated, or understood outside of “very special episodes” that only happen ever so often.

The result is a finale that lacked that special something that made it distinct from, well, any other episode of the series, but that went through the motions of a sitcom finale so blandly that I couldn’t help but feel bored by, if not the jokes themselves, then the plot unfolding.

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May 4, 2009 · 11:45 pm

The Big Bang Theory – “The Classified Materials Turbulence”

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“The Classified Materials Turbulence”

May 4th, 2009

I’ve been writing about sitcoms as part of my thesis work, and in doing so I’ve had to define the traditional sitcom in its more basic terms for an academic audience that won’t have quite my obsession with television. So I figured now would be another time to stop by with my new friends at The Big Bang Theory, a series that fits into the mold of actually being able to just “stop by” so to speak. I haven’t yet started catching up on the series, so I’ve still got thirty odd episode episodes to dig into.

This one, admittedly, didn’t do much for me outside of the elements that I find most engaging in the series; it’s clear to me that I’m going to have to spend a number of episodes wishing that the show is spending more time with Sheldon than Leonard, and that I’m going to expect more out of some of the storylines than the show is willing to offer.

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April 23, 2009 · 6:19 pm

PaleyFest 09: The Big Bang Theory – Report and Pictures

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PaleyFest 09: The Big Bang Theory

April 16th, 2009

[I got the chance to report on last Thursday’s The Big Bang Theory Panel for the good folks at HitFix while I was in California, so below is a bit of a teaser, a link to the story, and after the jump some photos from the event. Enjoy!]

In the interest of full disclosure, I had seen two complete episodes of “The Big Bang Theory” before attending Thursday’s panel discussion as part of PaleyFest 09; however, in the same interest, the panel was more than enough to convince me to rectify this particular injustice as soon as possible.

Most of the reason for this lies in Jim Parsons, whose Sheldon is pretty unanimously considered the show’s breakout character and who made a big splash as comic relief throughout both the early screening of the next new episode of the series, “The Vegas Renormalization,” and the panel discussion. Discussing the show’s key dynamic, co-creator Chuck Lorre was pretty clear on one of the writers’ key missions.

To read the rest of the article, head on over to HitFix – to see some pictures from the event, keep reading!

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July 31, 2007 · 9:00 am

Pilot Previews: How ‘Cavemen’, ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and ‘Aliens in America’ Confront Stereotypes

[Regardless of what I think about some of the fall pilots, there are three comedies that each deal with prominent cultural stereotypes to very different degrees. Rather than review them individually (I’d be overly mean to some of them if I did), I figure I’d run them down in relation to their ability to deal with these sensitive cultural issues.]

Cavemen (ABC)

Culture in Question: Prehistoric Man (Cavemen)

Yes, Cavemen deals with the stereotyping of a non-existent culture, and there is a distinct problem with this: the writers are not capable of forgetting real cultural stereotypes in the process. The entire series basically boils down to stealing every single African-American sitcom joke and just transferring it to these hairy neanderthals. The Cavemen feel out of place at a country club, they feel that their crime is more reporter than white crime, and they worry about interracial marriage.

Cultural Impact: Setting the clock back decades. By presenting a culture of exclusion to a level not seen since the 70s, it’s basically making North America out to be this cultural dead zone incapable of accepting other cultures. And while racism is still a serious issue, ignoring any of the past three decades of advancement is just insulting to the efforts of the civil rights movement.

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

Culture in Question: Geek Culture

While certainly not attempting to prescribe a moral to the state of geek culture, The Big Bang Theory does attempt to represent it. In the process, however, the geek turns into a complete sitcom stereotype: they play World of Warcraft, they watch Battlestar Galactica (w/ Commentary) and they don’t know how to talk to girls. This, in the mind of sitcom writers, is a geek in a nutshell.

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July 28, 2007 · 5:06 pm

A Lesson in Viral Marketing for CBS

So, CBS, I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but the critics don’t seem too happy about your new fall shows. If we would have to qualify which pilots are gathering “buzz,” I could downright guarantee that none of your shows are on the list. And really, you’re at a disadvantage: Moonlight went under massive retooling, Cane simply lacks any noteworthy attributes, and then you’ve got The Big Bang Theory and Viva Laughlin. These two shows are much-maligned with critics: some have stated their outright dislike with the latter, and I’ll chime in on the prior saying it is basically my most hated pilot of the season.

And yet, it appears that CBS really wants me to like them, because they’ve hired viral internet marketers to spread the word about these two shows. Now, I’d like to point out a few things here, things that perhaps CBS might like to listen to. Because if you’re going to do viral marketing, you need to be either entirely upfront or cunningly subtle about it. And the people you’ve hired? Are neither.

Take for instance Bill’s comment about The Big Bang Theory:

I am hearing some great things about the Fall show called The Big Bang Theory on Mondays on CBS. The critics love it and think it is very,very funny. Everyone who has seen the pilot loves it. It comes from Two and Half Men’s Chuck Lorre. This could be the next hit show.

[Deleted Link to Show’s CBS Website]

or see clips here :

[Deleted Link to YouTube clips]

This is clearly viral marketing and nothing more: no one actually talks like this, as far as I am aware, and there isn’t even an attempt to make things sound natural. It would be one thing if he wasn’t trying to pass himself off as just another guy named Bill, as opposed to a studio hire. Also, he says that critics and “everyone” loves it, without stating his own opinion. Likely because he hasn’t even seen the show, and doesn’t know any better.

Here’s an example of what might have worked in terms of marketing this show:

I watched The Big Bang Theory just last night, actually; the pilot really impressed me. I’m a fan of Two and a Half Men, and it seems like this show would fit right in. I actually think that it might work better in the slot after Two and a Half Men instead of on Mondays at 8:30 like they have it scheduled. Personally, I think Chuck Lorre (Who produces Two and a Half Men) has a hit on his hands.

See, I just wrote that in thirty seconds, and it sounds as if I actually watched and enjoyed the pilot. In reality, I bloody well hated the thing: it was horribly written, horribly acted, and failed to introduce a single fresh element to the sitcom formula (World of Warcraft does not cultural relevance make). But what I wrote there actually makes it seem like I did, and encourages people to give its pilot a shot. This would be smart viral marketing.

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