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.
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