The Big Bang Theory Review

Seeing as how uni is out for summer and I've had a buttload of free time dumped suddenly into my lap I have recently indulged myself with watching episode upon episode of the TV series The Big Bang Theory; an American sitcom to which I have recently become attached. So seeing as how this is a blog and I need something to talk about I decided I'd review and discuss this particular show as I have with many others in the past. Blah blah blah, wank wank wank, let's talk TV.

So anyway, in case you aren't familiar with The Big Bang Theory let me say that it stays fairly true to the sitcoms we've all seen before with the big difference being the nerd and science twist. If sitcoms were chips then geekiness would be the flavour. This may not sound particularly appealing because one might easily identify the word sitcom with the likes of 'Friends' or 'vomit' but one must remember that there exist sitcoms that surpass those "standards" and manage to enduce actually laughter and enjoyment beyond that which the laugh-track provides. So let's skip the sitcom stuff and dive right into what makes The Big Bang Theory stand out. First off I'm going to go with the accuracy to which the geekiness is portrayed. This isn't your average "beat up the guy with the retainer" nerd affair. The show references real comic books, real sci-fi and real video games and consoles. There's an authenticity on display here that shows dedication and respect on behalf of the writer. A physicist is actually employed to work with the writers to give scientific credibilty to the writing in the show. Granted, I'm not a big enough nerd myself to nitpick the aforementioned credibility but the feel of the show is genuine, which counts for a lot in regards to sitcoms.

Another strong aspect of the show are the characters. Leonard is a sympathetic character struggling for the affection of the attractive, 'average Jane' character Penny who lives across the hall. There's an Indian geek who goes mute in the presence of women unless intoxicated and there's the Jewish geek who lives with his mother and fancies himself a "ladies man" despite constantly repulsing them. But trumping them all in terms of both humour and holding interest is the character of Sheldon. Sheldon is almost beyond description as a character. He often fails to recognise sarcasm or irony. He is indifferent to and unaware of the feelings of others. Having been extremely gifted as a child Sheldon has seemingly grown up without developing the ability to socialise properly with other people. As mentioned before, it's hard to describe what kind of character he really is and that's what's so intruiging about him. In a genre that has quite the reputation for being stale and predictable in walks Sheldon obsessing and lecturing and shaking all expectations to the ground and stomping on them.

Now onto the murkier grounds where I admit that a show I like isn't perfect and identify areas of weakness. Now be warned, if you haven't yet watched up to season 3 and don't want it spoiled you may want to stop reading right now you pansy-motherfuckers. Anyway so in season 3 Leonard finally lucks out and wins the heart of Penny and for the season so far they have been a couple. Coming from a lonely, disillusioned single man with a certain level of geekiness I often felt sympathy for the Leonard character and was able to identify with him at times. Now that he has a hot girlfriend the romantic thrill from the show has died down a bit and Leonard has stopped being sympathetic. I can't sympathise so well with the man when I know that overall he's happy because he has someone and I don't. But personal issues aside the fact of the matter is that the show is running the risk of playing itself out and turning into a semi-soapie-comedy thing unless it takes a step back and really figures out where it wants to take the overarcing plot. The main story thread for the first two seasons was the friendship/unrequited romance between Penny and Leonard and now that the show has reached that goal it seems to be winging it a bit in trying to extend itself beyond that plot. But despite this the show is still good and still worth my precious, precious free time so at present I recommend it. Now if you're lucky I'll stumple across a TV show I dislike intensely and we can count how many times I curse in the review.

PS. I didn't know quite where to slot this in but the Big Bang Theory has one of the most bitchin' theme songs of all time.

Job Hunt Round 4

Now that exams are over and uni is finished for the year my once chocablock timetable has become a free time overload. So before I swing back into the blog scene brandishing clever observations and insightful opinions I thought I'd serve up a slice of my life and watch as you politely but begrudgingly eat it up. So anyway, after several days of lounging around and catching up with my good old friends (video games) my father expressed a certain desire to see my brothers and I pick up some work for over the 3 month break. I hate these times in my life. I hate job hunting, especially in my town. I have no fucking idea how to get my foot in the door. I dish out my resume and apply all over and I never seem to get anywhere. If I have an interview I can guarantee I'll be chasing them up a week after they were supposed to be calling me. I don't know quite what it is. I am certain that my resume is well presented and clearly identifies my previous work experiences which display a great variety of skills. I have prepared food, cut down trees, poisoned weeds, built fences, planted trees, painted fences, stacked shelves, constructed shop displays and worked registers. All of these tasks I took quite seriously and employers seemed to appreciate a certain level of commitment in me. Then there's my various qualifications such as a Cert. II in Conservation and Land Management and my Responsible Service of Alcohol. Nothing I put on my resume ever seems to improve it and I just don't get it. So it is with a certain low level of expectation that I resign myself to the disheartening task of finding myself my fourth job. It's not that I don't want the work or that I don't try very hard to get it, it's just I hate the slim opportunities and not being given the chance to prove myself a valuable employee.

Yes I realise there's nothing funny or interesting in this post.

Wuthering Heights (The 2009 Two Part Series)

Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is probably the best thing I've ever been forced to read. After reading it the compulsory one time in year 11 at high school I immediately set out and bought my own spiffy copy of it so that I may read it again. It goes up there amongst The Catcher in the Rye, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Catch-22 in my favourites of all time list. There's a delicate interplay of opposing forces in this book that I really love. Love and revenge. Tenderness and brutality. Religion and the supernatural. Sophisticated man and wild nature. At it's very core Wuthering Heights is a gothic romance that goes unrequited and is destined to destroy all those around it. So when I saw the ads on ABC for a television adaptation I immediately stamped it down in my mental diary and waited with curiousity to see how one of my favourite books of all time would be treated.

If you are unfamiliar with the general plot of Wuthering Heights let me fill you in. One day the wealthy owner of an estate called Wuthering Heights goes into town and brings home an orphaned child of possible gypsy decent into his home for adoption for some reason. He calls the boy Heathcliff and raises him as one of his own alongside the initially perplexed biological children Hindley and Catherine. Catherine eventaully warms to the boy and they become really close while Hindley acts like a complete cunt, treating him like a servant or slave. Things only get worse years later when their father dies and Hindley inherits the estate, treating Heathcliff in a most cruel manner for winning the affections of his father and sister. So romances and bitter rivalries are set up. More characters are introduced. Misunderstandings and selfish mistakes ensue. Hearts are broken left right and centre and more bitter rivalries are set up. Then finally the tensions are built into a beautiful crecendo of brutal revenge, passion and cruelty. Then the whole thing ends with cousines marrying each other but that's really not important. The narrative itself spans almost 50 years and it can get a bit hard to follow the different characters within the different time periods (the fact that there is a Catherine Earnshaw and a Catherine Linton is particularly confusing). But the plot is pretty solid and well played out even if I do make it sound like an amature drama, Bold and the Beautiful style dog's breakfast.

'But what of the actual production?' I hear you cry out like the well educated and sophisticated fanbase that you are. Well let me first say that I had some very real reservations about this series. Wuthering Heights is a classic in English literature and many attempts have been made in the past to adapt it to either movie or tv. They range from somewhat lacking to an absolutely souless, abomination made by MTV that took the text out of the isolated, turbulent moors of the novel and into a horrible teen drama world with Heathcliff being renamed Heath. But I am happy to say that this adaptation does the original text justice. It knew which angles to take at which points. It knew how to make each and every character so horribly flawed but yet sympathetic and human. It did everything really well. The cast was unfamiliar to me but I'm sure there is some epic bonnet drama enthusiest who'll know who they are but let me tell you that they were spot on. Sure, I had my initial doubts about the actor playing Heathcliff, something about his voice didn't immediately gel. Sure it sounds fussy but Heathcliff is like the most complex and excellent character in the book and if they fucked him up that would be game over in my books. But the man knew what he was doing and I became really immersed in the drama. That said, the first half of the series is definately the weaker of the two. If this adaptation was a disaster movie, the first part would be the annoying character developing stuff at the start where the hero works a dead end job and has 2 kids that his ex-wife won't let him see. Part 2 is the nice beefy intense stuff that I found myself completely drawn into. I came away from the whole production remembering exactly why I loved the book so much and in my eyes if an adaptation makes you do that then it's definately a success.