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Lazy, Crass Television Geekophobia

"Big Bang Theory" / Dustin Rowles

TV Reviews | November 3, 2009 | Comments (81)

I gave it an honest shot. I really did. But I don’t care how many references to Comic-Con “The Big Bang Theory” makes, it’s not a good show, geek, nerd, or otherwise. It’s a show that employs the same brand of crass stereotypes about nerds as Tyler Perry’s TBS show makes about blacks and “Two and a Half Men” makes about wasted carbon life forms. The jokes are broad; the laughter is canned; and the attempts at acting are feeble, at best. Just because “The Big Bang Theory” features nerdlingers doesn’t mean it actually speaks to nerds, not unless the nerds and geeks among you speak in arcane gibberish or made-up gibbly-gunk spoken in a nasal voice. I doubt very much, in fact, that the actors even known what they’re saying much of the time, and their delivery shows it.

“The Big Bang Theory” entered its third season last month, and over the course of the series, it has become the second highest rated sitcom on network television (following “Twoand a Half Men”), and it’s easy to see why: It plays into the sort of stereotypes about smart people that mainstreamers love. Your average walking ass-crack probably feels considerably better about the wrong choices he made in life when he’s under the impression that people who went to college are socially retarded and no more capable of winning the sexual advances of big-busted blonde women than he is.

For the unfamiliar, “The Big Bang Theory” concerns a couple of science geeks, Leonard Hofstadter (Jonny Galecki) and Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Cal Tech prodigies who lives across the hall from an attractive Cheesecake Factory waitress, because of course that’s the fate of all former cheerleaders (never mind that she lives by herself in the same building as two physicists who share an apartment, because obviously those Cheesecake Factory tips are the equivalent of two physicist salaries). The gimmick here is that the waitress, Penny (Kaley Cuoco) helps to bring the two socially awkward nerds out of their shell, and demonstrates to them the value of common sense (something that clearly isn’t taught at Cal Tech). The cast is rounded out by Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), a Jewish engineer who lives with his mother (ha!) and Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), an Indian astrophysicist crippled by shyness, unless he’s drunk. Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf also appear frequently as a love interest and Sheldon’s mom, respectively, if only to remind us of a considerably better and more realistic sitcom, “Roseanne” (“Big Bang” creator, Chuck Lorre, was an exec-producer on “Roseanne.”)

As someone who regularly mocks geeks, I nevertheless take offense to “Big Bang Theory” for depicting well-educated people as Urkels and lisping dorks. I understand it’s just a television show — and a bad, lazily written one, at that — but disparaging geeks should come from a place of love and knowledge. Stating the obvious: Rather than taking comfort in the fact that Comic Con is occasionally name-checked, “The Big Bang Theory” should be viewed from the perspective of its intended audience, which feels validated now for perceiving intelligent people as socially dysfunctional retards who play Klingon Boggle, obsess over LoTR and “Battlestar Galactica,” and hang out at Ren Faires. These things may all be true, to varying degrees, but fuck, man: the reality is, the better educated you are, the more likely you are to get laid. And geeks who watch “The Big Bang Theory” are not that dissimilar from the self-hating gays who obsess over Perez Hilton, a man who plays into the very gay stereotypes fostered by backwards America.


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Comments

Amen.

Posted by: ernestonesto at November 3, 2009 2:19 PM

I tried to watch it last night, too. I think I fell asleep. The whole nerd-watching-the-football-game gag got old fast. And why does he have to learn to like football? And why was the girlfriend embarrassed by him? If she loved him, she would have been laughing. But I guess that's too emotionally complex for those who just sat through "Two and a Half Men."

It's just ... blah. That's all Chuck Lorre is. Blah.

Although I wouldn't mind having that Cylon toaster ...

Posted by: Sarah C. at November 3, 2009 2:24 PM

yeah, this show pretty much blows. It's lazily written, but if one is going to shell a show for laziness: Kaley Cuoco and Laurie Metcalf

Posted by: Matches at November 3, 2009 2:24 PM

Sometimes it feels like there's genuine geeks writing for it but other times it has this distasteful vibe of a Geek Minstrel Show.

Posted by: Optimus Rhyme at November 3, 2009 2:28 PM

The reality is, the better educated you are, the more likely you are to get laid.

Great. Now you're calling me ugly AND dumb.

Posted by: Tracer Bullet at November 3, 2009 2:29 PM

I've watched "Big Bang" a couple of times. It's more amusing than most traditional laugh-track sitcoms but that's like saying I'd prefer my shit sandwich to not be cold. You're still eating shit.

We're not getting a review of "V" prior to the telecast are we? Oh well, I'm watching anyway. Nothing else on Tuesdays (other than the great "Sons of Anarchy") so hopefully it will at least be entertaining.

Posted by: TylerDFC at November 3, 2009 2:31 PM

To hell with you all. I love this show something fierce.

*knock knock*
Penny!
*knock knock*
Penny!
*knock knock*
Penny!

Yeah fuck you all.

Posted by: figgy at November 3, 2009 2:32 PM

...which feels validated now for perceiving intelligent people as socially dysfunctional retards who play Klingon Boggle, obsess over LoTR and “Battlestar Galactica,” and hang out at Ren Faires.

*whistling innocently*

Posted by: DarthCorleone at November 3, 2009 2:33 PM

Well, at least it's good to see that Moist from Dr. Horrible is getting work.

Posted by: TK at November 3, 2009 2:37 PM

THANK you. I've never understood why self-proclaimed geeks love this show.

It's mostly the socially unaware geeks who claim to love it, actually. Those are the ones who have the least luck with the ladies. Maybe this show gives them a strange and hollow hope.

Posted by: Jelinas at November 3, 2009 2:38 PM

This isn't intended as a hijack attempt or to rub Dustin's face in an issue he's already weighed in on, but rather as a testimonial.

I just installed Firefox and the associated ad blocking software today specifically because of this site. Not because the ads were so intrusive as to be a nuisance, but because they were so shittily coded that they continually ate up most of my available memory if I had more than one tab with Pajiba on it open.

I love this site and will continue to visit, but until you get your code sorted, you won't be making any money off of my clicks. Sorry.

Posted by: Roaddog at November 3, 2009 2:39 PM

I'm kinda with Figgy...aside from which, I don't watch the show for it's geek humor, which is, as you said, lacking, but for the interaction between Parsons and Cuoco. While she's not the greatest, anytime they're on screen together, it's awesome.

Posted by: Smokin at November 3, 2009 2:41 PM

So... there's plenty about this show that bugs me: The shit ton of stereotypes, the cheap not-funny jokes, the laugh track, blah blah. However, none of that matters in the face of one of the most goddamn funny characters EVER - Sheldon! I watch the show for Sheldon, I laugh at Sheldon, I love me some Sheldon. Absolutely makes the show worth watching.

And thank you figgy, for showing some love.

Posted by: Katers at November 3, 2009 2:50 PM

Sing it Dustin! I am tolerant of some bad, bad TV, but this show was such a waste of my time I was actually angry after watching it. The acting is terrible, and I wanted to punch that Sheldon guy in the face. He is not endearing, he is a borderline sociopath.

Someone needs to "take care" of Chuck Lorre. How many more mediocre to insulting shows do we have to be subjected to in the guise of humor?

Posted by: katy at November 3, 2009 2:54 PM

I'm with Katers-the writing can be extremely lazy, but there's some genuinely funny moments and Jim Parsons as Sheldon makes me laugh my ass off. I like it.

Posted by: Julie at November 3, 2009 2:56 PM

Well, OF COURSE she lives alone and makes more money than the physicists do. She's a HOOKER.

Posted by: BWeaves at November 3, 2009 3:01 PM

I agree with Dustin and would like to suggest that the real problem
here, as with most movies set at a university/just thereafter is that
they treat life like it's still high school. My reaction when I watch this
show (well, when I watched this show during its first season)
was that these guys would have found nice women in univerity and
at their work places. Women who love the same things as them. Girlnerds.
Womeeks. Gerds. Geemen.

Posted by: Supercomfypampertimefloatythrone at November 3, 2009 3:01 PM

I don't know about the 3rd season but the first two were pretty funny. There were a lot of little things (from Sheldon's t-shirts to calling the front passenger seat "chewbacca" instead of "shotgun") that made me laugh.

And did you consider the possibility that maybe some of the jokes are too subtle or nerdy for you? Admit it, how many of you got the joke about Sheldon dressed up as the Doppler Effect on Halloween? baa-UUUU-www. Look it up. It's funny.

Posted by: Kerim at November 3, 2009 3:04 PM

I hate two and a half men but I love this show, Sheldon rules! It's not pretending to be smart or making a statement. Its just a dumb sitcom, and is much less offensive than a lot of other shows.

I would rather watch a bunch of geeks than the other unhappy overweight men with bad jobs, nagging wife and annoying children bollocks thats out there......

Although the size of Penny's apartment vs her wage annoys me too, but she gets to run around in pajamas all day....

Has it occured to you that this may appeal to woman more then men? Most of us would love to have an apartment full of nerds to fix our computers and hang out with. I would much rather live beside nerds than jocks. Shouldn't Pajiba be supporting sitcoms that promote the idea that ladies will go for nice smart men over big dumb jocks? The episode with the xmas presents was fantastic. I am a huge HBO drama fan, but sometimes I just want to laugh at easy jokes while I do the dishes. Did I mention the lack of kids in this? Breeders may find that shit funny, but fuck that, geeks rule!

Also, Dustin, I question your science, studies have shown that smarter people have a harder time dating and maintaining relationships as they have much higher expectations going in. How many phyisicts have you seen on Jerry Springer or other trashy talk shows in love triangles and paternity desputes?

I work at an I.T school that has a large male Indain population, Rajesh is a total ladies man compared to some of the students here....

Posted by: whatever at November 3, 2009 3:05 PM

Ever since EW highlighted a quote from the show that was something along the lines of "I tried watching the new Doctor Who but it was more like Doctor Why Should I Care?" I knew that I could never like this show. Anyone who has watched Doctor Who would have either a violently negative or positive gushingly opinion of the new season. There would be no not caring about it.

Posted by: Claire at November 3, 2009 3:09 PM

I've seen this show once, and only because Summer Glau was guest starring.

Review is spot on from what I remember of that episode.

Posted by: Orser at November 3, 2009 3:10 PM

No, the show is not particularly well written. Yes, the stereotypes are worn out.
But, dammit, I laugh and laugh at Jim Parsons as Sheldon.

Posted by: JH at November 3, 2009 3:21 PM

i think it's hilarious. bite me.

Posted by: gem at November 3, 2009 3:29 PM

Smokin--spot on. Parsons and Cuoco are magical together.

Also, in defense of Penny having such a huge apartment, there was that episode she was having trouble making ends meet and so Sheldon loaned her some money. Hilariousness between them ensued.

Posted by: kelsy at November 3, 2009 3:32 PM

I'm siding with Figgy.

You clearly don't know what you are talking about, Rowles.

Posted by: Hipster Mongoose at November 3, 2009 3:44 PM

About time someone called this show out on being shit. And at the risk of suffering life-threatening injuries, I will go so far as to claim EVERY CBS SHOW IS HORRIBLE (except for Letterman and Ferguson).

Posted by: henchman for hire at November 3, 2009 3:45 PM

I like this show too. Sheldon is funny. It's a sitcom, and better than most. It is ridiculous to quibble with the reality in any sitcom, but I think it is plausible that physicists would have crippling education debt, requiring a roommate, whereas Penny, who did not finish community college would be less encumbered. It's more entertaining than any of the tired reality shows people get worked up about--let's be careful about looking down noses.

Posted by: kx2 at November 3, 2009 3:49 PM

I'm with Figgy and the rest - Parsons is fantastic and the entire show works if for no other reason than Wolowitz' belt buckles.

Posted by: courtney at November 3, 2009 3:58 PM

I enjoy this show immensely, but I don't expect it to reflect reality. It's TV, people.

/bazinga!

Posted by: greg at November 3, 2009 4:00 PM

Assuming they're academic physicists, and I'm guessing they're postdocs, not professsors (although I've only seen a couple episodes, so I'm not sure), then yeah...they probably don't make shit. Academic research doesn't actually pay very well. I could totally see a waitress beating out their salaries. I hate the lack of girl geeks on the show, and the fact that the main dude is so interested in a hot girl rather than going after a smart girl, but I gotta say I've known people like all the characters. Physicists especially tend to be pretty weird. And Sheldon clearly has Aspergers (He reminds me a lot of a particular former labmate of mine.)
Academic nerds are really a whole 'nother level of nerd. (Oh the stories I could tell....)

Posted by: s. pisaster at November 3, 2009 4:04 PM

Generally, your reviews are spot-fucking-on but you are way off-base in your analysis of the people who watch Big Bang Theory.

I'm a self-aware, non self-hating, female geek who has no trouble with the ladies (hello, ladies!) and I love this show.

Yes, the writing is often lazy. Yes, the show lacks realism in a number of areas.
(Were you expecting a Wild Kingdom style documentary series?
Geeks in their natural habitat narrated by Richard fucking Attenborough?)

But, the show is just as often funny and endearing as it is horrible crap. And for mainstream TV, that's saying something. Also? Sheldon rules.

Posted by: lunggwai at November 3, 2009 4:10 PM

The jokes are broad; the laughter is canned; and the attempts at acting are feeble, at best.

That's the impression that I got from the very first promo still. And yet I DO have friends who watch it. I don't get it at all. Who the hell would even want to TRY it?

Posted by: Jay at November 3, 2009 4:11 PM

@figgy

Still giggling over your comment. :)

Posted by: Stefien at November 3, 2009 4:14 PM

You do not like them. So you say.
Try them! Try them! And you may.
Try them and you may, I say.

Sheldon rules - aspergers and all.

Posted by: mswas at November 3, 2009 4:17 PM

I am a huge fan of the show, but I have one big problem with it: It assumes geeks and nerds are the same. This is simply not true. I am a geek, not a nerd. I love science fiction, and I love The Big Bang Theory's constant references to scifi shows. But here's the thing, the characters in the show are nerds. I have hung out with nerds, and they don't talk about scifi. They talk about physics, or computer code, or... It is real on this planet at this time science, not the future hypothetical science of scifi. Yes, there is some overlap between nerds and geeks, but the degree to which this show intermingles them is like a pop corn kernel stuck in my teeth. Yes I enjoyed the popcorn, but that damn bit that got under my gum is driving me crazy.

Posted by: Morgan LaFai at November 3, 2009 4:17 PM

This season has been a bit lackluster, but when this show is on, it is on like donkey kong. The funniest moments come from character interaction, not the nerd jokes.

In fact, I think the nerd-show label is a bit misleading - this is no more about geek culture than Newsradio was about news radio. It's an excuse to put eccentric characters in the same room together.

To be fair, I think the writing is pretty inconsistent, ranging from lame to competent - but the performances are stellar.

As evidence, Sheldon Cooper is Batman. To me, that scene is up there with the best of 30 Rock or Scrubs.

Posted by: marya at November 3, 2009 4:18 PM

Dustin, I'm with you 99% of the time, but this falls in the 1%. It isn't MASH, Cheers, or Seinfeld, I give you that. But have you seen what passes for a sitcom these days (pre Modern Family, of course)? If you wanted a laugh for the past couple of years, and you didn't have cable, this was pretty much it. I like it, and I will continue to watch. Otherwise, Dustin, keep up the good work.

Posted by: Randal Stevens at November 3, 2009 4:18 PM

I had the horror of viewing the pilot as a test audience and it contained every geek/nerd stereotype imaginable and I ripped it to shreds. HOWEVER, they have done a lot to it in 3 years and made it a show worth watching.

Seriously, the characterizations are amped up to fit in sitcomland but these people do actually exist. Trust me! I grew up next to Caltech. I've seen them. Sheldon may seem a bit extreme but he also is perhaps the funniest character on TV right now.

As much as I love this site, I can't help but think some reviews are pre-conceived on idea, stars or directors alone. I get that. Heck, if Mike Bay had been associated with Inglorious Basterds, I would have run the other way. Chuck Lorre has filled the airwaves with dreck for years. However, BBT is so much better than most things network TV transmits, much less Lorre's other efforts.

Finally, are we really going to have the "so and so can't afford to live there" TV debate? Didn't we all kill that subject because of "Friends"?

Posted by: swingdude at November 3, 2009 4:25 PM

Posted by: marya at November 3, 2009 4:26 PM

Kudos to marya for the NewsRadio reference.

*sniff* I miss Phil Hartman!

Posted by: mswas at November 3, 2009 4:31 PM

I also agree with Figgy. I think the show--while not perfect--is funny and entertaining. Sheldon can sometimes make my day. And no, it's not realistic--just like most shows on TV aren't realistic. I am a proud nerd, and I also actually know people like this.

Posted by: Siege at November 3, 2009 4:32 PM

I blame the hatred directed at this show on the way CBS originally promoted it. The way it's described in the review was exactly what I thought about the show before I actually watched a whole episode with a halfway open mind. I've never gotten the impression from actually watching it that "the hot girl" taught the "geeks" anything, or that the writers thought she was in any way better than the guys because she was "normal." Maybe in the pilot, but since when are sitcoms judged on their pilots. And yeah, some jokes are absolute groaners, but I love the way the characters interact. There's nothing anti-nerd or anti-geek about it, and as far as the "gibberish" you say they are spouting, isn't there an actual physicist from Caltech on the writing staff?

My point is, if you really want to hate this show, you will. And given some of the press it's gotten in the past, it's really easy to want to hate it.

Posted by: Lois at November 3, 2009 4:35 PM

Well...I am a physicist (a theoretical one at that) currently doing a postdoc and I love the show. As does my wife. (Whoa! A wife? Yup...we both realize the show is just a show.) As far as the comic-con type stuff, it's not my thing, and not horribly common in my experience in physics...but I can name off the top of my head at least a half dozen friends that are into that stuff. So, I wouldn't call it an unfair stereotype to play around with as I know at least a few people that wouldn't call themselves Trekkers and yet speak a few Klingon words. (I can also name a half dozen non-physicists that are too comic-con type stuff too which, imo, is why it plays so heavily into the show). After all, how many viewers get the science jokes, which are really pretty funny and accurate for what it's worth. The equations on the wall are real, the "science collaboration" between Sheldon and Raj was real enough for TV, the posters on the wall are real, the posters on the wall where they eat lunch are real--and advertising up-coming physics conferences! Not past conferences. Upcoming conferences! Really? That kind of attention to detail is super rare for a sitcom. Oh, and if you think this is a stereotypical view of physicists...a minstel show? It's spot-on satire and I pretty much love it.

Plus, my decidedly non-academic cousin likes it as much as I do and discovered it independently. The show must be doing something right.

Posted by: Maniklal at November 3, 2009 4:42 PM

Fight!Fight!Fight!Fight!!

Can we have a brawl over how good/bad this show is?

I'm on Figgy s side both because I think she is right and I'm sure she will win in a cage match against Dustin.

Posted by: Arib at November 3, 2009 4:53 PM

I like BBT, in spite of the geek/nerd stereotyping that takes place. I'm trying to think of a sitcom with realistic portrayals of any social group or profession, and most fall far short. If you want to work me into a foaming lather, (ignore how that sounds) talk to me about how architects are portrayed on TV or in movies. From Mike Brady to Richard Gere to that idiot bastard Ted from How I Met Your Mother. He may be the worst fictional architect ever, and I'm including Howard Roark and Charles Bronson-and Charles Bronson shot people while drafting.

Posted by: mrcreosote at November 3, 2009 4:54 PM

For the record, I was a waitress over the summer and made $150-$300 a night. Serving in a good restaurant is pretty profitable. I'm from Nova Scotia so I have absolutely no idea what The Cheesecake Factory serves but if the restaurant is busy then I'm sure a cute blonde would be doing just fine working there.

Posted by: becks at November 3, 2009 5:00 PM

As one of those socially awkward geeks...I don't get why this show is so popular. Perhaps I haven't given it enough of a chance, but every time I sit down to watch it it's just another slew of stereotypical geek jokes being thrown in my face, as if merely acknowledging geek culture is enough to win my viewership. Meh.

Posted by: HotMustard at November 3, 2009 5:07 PM

I can't explain it, and I probably can't justify it, but I disagree. I love this show. I know unfunny is still unfunny when it's communicated with more complicated words, but it just gets me. I'm not sorry.

Posted by: Mr. Tusks at November 3, 2009 5:12 PM

I saw my first episode about 3 weeks ago when Wil Wheaton was on. (yes, I am a fanboy, fuck you very much) Plot 1 - nerd and hot girlfriend have to set nerd's friend up with another hottie = absolutely crap boring. Plot 2 - Sheldon & Nerd 4 enter a Magic tournament so that Sheldon May Stab From Hell's Heart at Wheaton = fucking hysterical.

I think of this like How I Met Your Mother - people who watch regularly watch it because of the brilliant NPH, & occasionally for Alyson Hannigan, but not because of the inconsistent writing and stupid characterizations. I'm not one of them, and I'm frankly not going to bother tuning in or recording every week unless I know something is going be fun.

Posted by: idiosynchronic at November 3, 2009 5:17 PM

I'm with figgy here. Yes, it's not a great show by any stretch, but Sheldon cracks me up every time I watch it.

Posted by: ChickenStu at November 3, 2009 5:23 PM

I'm kinda with Figgy...aside from which, I don't watch the show for it's geek humor, which is, as you said, lacking, but for the interaction between Parsons and Cuoco.

Exactly. Their relationship is just priceless, and Sheldon is a hilarious character. Yes, the situations are stupid sometimes, and the laugh track annoying, and the whole thing is a tad predictable. But it's sweet, and somewhat geeky (sometimes the jokes are flat-out hilarious) and just about the only thing to watch on Mondays.

I've known people like the characters. My own fiance has spent hours and HOURS AND HOURS discussing Star Trek and new network setups and computers. Maybe it's not exactly reality, but I know people like it. And that's pretty damn likable.

I hope it sticks around for a long time. Long live Sheldon.

The episode where they help Penny make Penny Blossoms? Hilarious.

Face it, Rowles: My army just clobbered your army. So, there. Nyah.

Posted by: figgy at November 3, 2009 5:26 PM

While I agree with your first paragraph, especially about the goddamned laugh track, darned if I don't enjoy this show.

A co-worker kept insisting I try it: "It's about a bunch of really smart nerds--you'd really enjoy it!"...uhhh...thanks?? So I broke down and watched a few episodes, and found that it provided a few decent chuckles. I still cringe at some of the smart-person stereotyping (seriously, do they have to talk in "nerd voices"?), but it has its moments.

Posted by: meaux at November 3, 2009 5:26 PM

Iʻm lining up on Figgy's side as well. The show is sometimes slow and/or lame (last night's episode didn't do much for me) but so often it is wonderful. As others have noted the science is good, and that's such a refreshing thing to have on TV that I can overlook the flaws. And I think they look at geek culture fondly, which is also kind of nice.

Posted by: tob at November 3, 2009 5:39 PM

I think Big Bang Theory is a decent sitcom. Admittedly, it's got plenty of stereotypes, a laugh track, and occasionally really terrible jokes, but as a chemist who loves BSG, was once a Messier Object for Halloween, and has read all of the Dune books, I can attest to the fact that they actually make a lot of really funny jokes. Jokes that you wouldn't get if you weren't pretty well educated and dorky.
Sheldon dressed up as the Doppler Effect? Classic. Just sayin'.

Posted by: Zuzu at November 3, 2009 6:19 PM

THANK YOU DUSTIN. This show is awful. Sheldon is funny for an episode or two, but anymore than that and I can't take it. I don't see how this show is any better than Two and a Half Men. Yea, it has some good jokes here and there (I'll definitely give you the Doppler Effect thing- shit was funny), but so does Men if you can stomach watching it. Also, that chick who plays Penny is the most horrendous actress I have seen on network television in quite sometime. And I don't buy for a fucking second that she would date Leonard. Give me a freaking break.

You fail at life, Chuck Lorre.

Posted by: Cruise at November 3, 2009 7:28 PM

They need to drop the romantic sitcom crap because I cringe in a bad way when there are Leonard/Penny scenes. The other three guys are just gold and I swear they are straight from my math/science department friends. For all the awkwardly bad cringeworthy moments, there are a million hilarious Sheldon/Penny and Howard/Raj scenes.

P.S. My sister is a Sheldon, so maybe that's why the character is so hilarious to me.

Posted by: Amanda at November 3, 2009 7:33 PM

I gotcher back too, figgy! I love this show.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverpuppet at November 3, 2009 7:37 PM

Just wanted to point out, lunggwai, that Wild Kingdom was a fabricated "wildlife" show. Yes they made that shit up.
And it's David Attenborough, not Richard. I think David is still hot at 82, yep I'm hot for geeky naturalists. Rawr

Posted by: racahel at November 3, 2009 7:47 PM

Maybe this is like Napoleon Dynamite...funnier if you actually know people like that (AND I TOTALLY DO).

Also, SHELDON IS MY HERO.

Posted by: Hayden Tompkins at November 3, 2009 8:02 PM

You've obviously touched a nerve, given the comment volume.

I have to disagree with your whole premise. As a geek whose (hot) wife (so I obviously got laid) and tech-savvy but talented athlete 12yo daughter both enjoy the show, and swear that Sheldon is an extreme version of me (I see it too), I really enjoy BBT.

It touches on all the little things I treasure (even if I'm not as extreme as the characters) and pokes some fun at them, but it's far from as hateful as you seem to think. And it's comedy - basic, unrealistic, stereotype-centered - so we can hardly expect it to be The West Wing.

As for the low hanging fruit whose truck-owning, flannel-wearing lives are validated by it, I think not. They barely understand it.

And quite seriously... Evil Wil Wheaton!

Posted by: trib at November 3, 2009 8:48 PM

Re the Sheldon having Asperger's note above. Absolutely.

I have Asperger's at the high function end of the scale (diagnosed well after college when I had just about got it beat - still haven't). The reason my wife and daughter see me in Sheldon is that we both share many attributes - tendency to over focus or obsess, inability to take turns in conversation, lack of empathy, struggle to read body language.

It may be humorous and a touch extreme, but the portrayal is pretty bang on.

Posted by: trib at November 3, 2009 9:01 PM

Re the Sheldon having Asperger's note above. Absolutely.

I have Asperger's at the high function end of the scale (diagnosed well after college when I had just about got it beat - still haven't). The reason my wife and daughter see me in Sheldon is that we both share many attributes - tendency to over focus or obsess, inability to take turns in conversation, lack of empathy, struggle to read body language.

It may be humorous and a touch extreme, but the portrayal is pretty bang on.

Posted by: trib at November 3, 2009 9:02 PM

To all haters of BBT:

YOU FAIL AT LIFE

Some say that they don't know what they are talking about, and that they just take random theories and try to make them sound like they belong. They have a physicist on the staff.

One example: The whiteboards in the pilot. What was written on the whiteboard was what Sheldon explained. Even the joke. That was an actual math joke.

I don't know, maybe I'm biased. I am just a nerdy-high-school-band-playing-computer-techy type of person that laughs at little trivia tid-bits. Also, I am socially awkward(especially around females). But while laughing at BBT, I can also laugh at myself and maybe have something to talk about to people of the female variety.

So in conclusion and in summary:

*knock knock*
fuck you
*knock knock*
fuck you
*knock knock*
fuck you

Posted by: JohnnyT at November 3, 2009 10:58 PM

I don't think something is really stereotyping when I live inside it. I mean, as a part of my job, I actually go to ComiCon on a regular basis. I am a massive geek, and hang out with plenty of them. They are more annoyingly stereotypical than the cast of this show, because the characters on the show are funny while they talk about the same shit over and over. I will agree however that they have smashed geeks and nerds together for ease of market base. But this is an accurate show by my account. No one I hang out with gets laid easily. Everyone I know in their late 20s and early 30s, no matter how educated or what job path, is pretty much in the same financial sitch until their careers really get going.

I think Dustin has a case of the "privileged upper middle class white liberal"-paradoxes (read: non-geeky trying to start a protest against something geeks actually like). This ain't the 60s man. "Revenge of the Nerds" is our "Uncle Tom's Cabin", but this is our Foxy Brown, dude. We like it, because even though it's a broad generalization, it's just because they're combining 50 different types into 5 and including us all, giving all of us a voice. We're disenfranchised and it's refreshing that the physics work and the references to Green Lantern Blackest Night are current and correct even though most couldn't possibly be getting the jokes, mein Freund.

Posted by: puppetDoug at November 3, 2009 11:01 PM

I saw the title and lo! and behold - Rowles HATES BBT.

Duh. Amazing how obvious you were going to be on this.

Well, as you can see, it works just fine for Pajibans and as you wrote:

“The Big Bang Theory” entered its third season last month, and over the course of the series, it has become the second highest rated sitcom on network television (following “Two and a Half Men”)...

It works pretty well for everyone else, too.
~

Posted by: Meander at November 3, 2009 11:58 PM

Thank you, Dustin! THIS is why I watch Chuck.

Posted by: bonnie at November 4, 2009 12:10 AM

Who cares!!! My boyfriend also agrees with me. He is 10 years older than me, lol. We met online at age-gap club -- http://AgelessMeet.COM/. Maybe you wanna check out or tell your friends.

Posted by: Kyra at November 4, 2009 1:20 AM

It's funnier than Modern Family.

Posted by: smellslikeshit at November 4, 2009 8:28 AM

I haven't seen the show and I don't intend to. I refuse to watch base solely on the fact that its associated with Chuck fucking Lorre.

He doesn't just kill comedy, he drags it behind a chemical shed, shoots in the back of the head before Comedy can even finish the Lord's Prayer, and then buries it in a shallow, unmarked grave.

Posted by: chenry at November 4, 2009 11:09 AM

Sorry Dustin, but figgy and the others are right. Hell I lived this show.

I was a geek, a black guy in the 1980's into science fiction. I was more like the jewish guy b/c I was always trying to make it with women. My roommate and I lived next door to 2 sorority babes: blonde and strawberry blonde: Marketing and Wanna be dancer (The dancer liked to wear bikinis that zipped front to back)

Our group had a lot of geeks and one nerd and we were always gaming, discussing comics or Robotech. The girls were friends and we lusted after them and put each other down for having no chance...(we even had a Sheldon) in short the show.

It is spot-on! My wife doesn't get it at all. I would say that outsiders to the geek/nerd the group never will. One question is this, are you really a geek/nered?

If you consider 3 days of gaming Gamma World inside on a sunny day in beautiful location fun. You may be a geek/nerd

If when you are gaming Traveller, the GM's hot girlfriend shows up in a sexy outfit and you don't understand why the session is ending, you may be a geek/nerd.

If you can make a cogent argument between the ship designs of Captain Scarlet and Star Wars, while also understanding how Captain Scaralet is connected to UFO and Space 1999, then you maybe a geek/nerd.

If you understand not only where the term bladerunner came from, but why the book is relelvant today, you maybe a geek/nerd.

If you can enjoy sitting in your apartment and spending hours discussing dice point conversions between Star Frontiers, Traveller, and Cyberpunk, you may be a geek/nerd.

If you can not only talk about Tom Baker as Dr. Who, but would love to see Craig Charles back on Red Dwarf while also dreaming of the BBC restarting Blake's 7, then you may be a geek/nerd.

Finally, if you understood all these references, then YOU ARE a geek/nerd. (all these actually happened in our group and we were the less geeky ones)

Posted by: Chuck B. at November 4, 2009 12:56 PM

I love this show. It is my favorite comedy on TV at this time. I love all the characters on the show. I do agree that Sheldon can grate on you after awhile. His anal neurotic behavior can be annoying but also really funny at times. The cast is a pretty good ensemble; and as long as the show stays balanced among them, I think it is at its best.

So those who don't like it, watch something else. Your railing isn't going to change my opinion one bit.

Posted by: Cindy at November 4, 2009 2:20 PM

BBT is awesome. I live near CalTech (where this show "doesn't" take place), and its not wrong. At all. These are the guys I love and hang out with (maybe not Howard, but the rest totally).

Dustin, you've already shown in the past that you admire geeks, but you don't really understand our people or culture. Can't you give this review to the guy who does the comicbook movie reviews?

Posted by: Kat at November 4, 2009 2:41 PM

What are you talking about? It's a GREAT show!

Posted by: Agnes at November 4, 2009 2:47 PM

And with Cindy on my side, Dustin is obliterated.

VICTORY.

Posted by: figgy at November 4, 2009 9:26 PM

Anyone who can't appreciate the erstwhile connubial bliss between Martin and Barbara needs a good slap.

Same goes for Captain Scarlet. I'd like to know what all of those anti colour-spectrum commies have done for their country today. No thanks, I would NOT like to supersize that for .39 Mysterons more, you walking abortion, you.

In any case, it's all about HERE COMES TOBOR, so tell Catherine Schell.

***

Also, I don't feel sorry for losers. All this weepy-weep with the hand-wringing for everything under the sun is enervating, isn't it? Come on, embrace the hatred: it's fun!

I'll start:

No, I will not cry for the pinatas, I'm not taking up treacle rights, I'm not protesting against The Stranglers' misuse of summer fruits, I don't care if Husker Du has feelings too or am I going to take a journey into the centre of Gwar. I don't know who thought it would be such an awesome idea to get Paul Hogan to host the Oscars in '87, but let's not find out. I'm not going to ask Elizabeth Fraser what the hell she's saying on...everything, actually. She'll just have a nervous breakdown and run away, fragile wuss with the brogue. Do I care that The Venerable Bede invented footnotes? NO, plagiarism is sexier! I could give a shit about that dude who was always swallowing and regurgitating fish and light bulbs in the '80s, I assume that his colon prolapsed ages ago and he met an Arius-style death by now, or got a library card or something. I don't know, I'm not his biographer--he probably sold that card for drugs, I don't know. I take no stance on an all-marmoset production of MARCH OF THE PENGUINS and I'm not going to 'Take Back the Crepescule', either.

I'm going to sit here and eat an appalling amount of candy because I like it, and it's tastes good. Or maybe I should waitress in Nova Scotia. Fuck Ontario! Where's all of this money we're supposed to have, I haven't seen a thin dime of it. Poverty keeps me thin...ish.

And then I'm going to go to bed and not watch 500 WANKS OF SUMMER-TUDE or whatever-the-shit. Eat candy and make noise!

Posted by: Jo 'Mama' Besser at November 5, 2009 12:58 AM

i dont blame you,the new season's been disappointing save for that one raj-oriented episode (something about pirates,and eye of the tiger going off randomly)-i suggest you give up on the third season altogether (its future seems bleak at best),and get the second season dvd ASAP

no,seriously,get it.

Posted by: daveunderdone at November 5, 2009 6:44 AM

Claire, about Dr Who, Sheldon did not say, "Dr Why Should I Care?". He said "although at this point, it's more like Dr Why Bother?" He said this because he had been interrupted and missed the first 5 minutes of the old Dr Who. He was mad at the interruption, not making a statement about the show.

I'm a female geek with Asperger's who loves this show. I really don't feel others need to speak for me and tell me that I must be self-hating because I'm an "it-getter" when it comes to this show. Comedy is subjective and if you don't like it, then move on. But there's no need to insult others who understand and/or live the humor of TBBT.

That's my opinion...not that anyone cares...


Posted by: Atsila at November 5, 2009 9:21 AM

Just to clarify:

Penny´s Apartment is much smaller than Sheldon and Lennard´s. Her livingroom/kitchen is smaller , she has only one bedroom instead of two etc.

So maybe her rent is just cheaper.

And also behind Sheldon´s couch there is a wardrobe, big enough for three Geeks to get stuck in, those things can probably command a hefty premium in today´s apartment market.

Posted by: Geekme at November 5, 2009 10:03 AM

SHALOM
I READ YOUR COMMENTS WITH GREAT INTEREST.
PLEASE VIEW MY VIDEO, CHAIM PADDAMAN SUPPORTS THE BIG BANG THEORY PART 2 - CHAIM DOESNT PAY.
IT IS A JEWISH RESPONSE TO THE BIG BANG THEORY ON CBS. AVAILABLE ON YOU TUBE.
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KINDEST REGARDS
CHAIM PADDAMAN

Posted by: chaim paddaman at November 10, 2009 3:46 AM

i REALLY love this show. one more vote for figgy.

Posted by: KatAud at November 11, 2009 10:06 AM

This show is awesome. I really couldn't disagree more with this review. Other people have already responded to the review's incorrect points so I don't see any need to do so further, but I should say one thing: It's not canned laughter or a laugh track. The show is filmed in front of a studio audience. Get your facts straight before you write a review.

Posted by: Lord Seth at November 20, 2009 4:14 PM





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