"Big Bang Theory", The Unfunniest Show On Television

How does this show get so many viewers? It must have hired the writers of "Full House". The dialogue is so embarrassing. It must be a family-friendly shitfest, which relies on test audiences.

• It's you, OP. We've been through this before.

• OP, you're an idiot.

• Couldn't disagree more, OP. Brilliant writing and the 4 guys are perfect. Maybe you can hunt up some old episodes of "My Mother the Car" or something.

• Or you are simply not intelligent enough to grasp the humor. That or you can't hear the dialogue very well with you head so far up your ass.

• OP is the creator of Cop Rock.

• It's ok. I think the thing you need to keep in mind is it's a sit-com, not the most challenging genre out there. It's not as bad as Full House or Two and a Half Men, but it doesn't come close to shows like 30 Rock, Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Arrested Development. Slowly, I am coming around to enjoying it. I have spent a lot of time around science geeks and Johnny Galecki's performance is pretty much spot on. The biggest stumbling block for me is Sheldon. His character is so annoying, so irritating, and so predictable, I think part of me watches it because I keep hoping someone will punch him in the nose.

• My money's on Penny punching Sheldon.

  Amy Farrah Fowler

• I'm with you, OP. Never watched this shit, never will.

• How old are you people? It is not funny. It's as funny as threes company

• Unwatchable because of the hideous cast.

• It's incredibly funny. One of the few shows that I actually laugh out loud to. Then again, I'm an engineer and have met people like those characters. Did you know that all the equations on the boards are real. They have a science advisor that provides them.

  Science geek and proud of it

• Sort of like that 70s show, which I never found funny. Pus on Bbb, all the actors are waaaaaay too in on the joke of playing a weirdo

• R9 you write like a miserable person at any age. You and OP are not the arbiters of what's funny. A sense of humour is relative. If you don't get the wit, the intelligence and charm of the show, you have different tastes. It doesn't make you right as to what's funny. Next thing you know you'll be rattling off what you see as hilarious, or you'll lie and throw up classics you think everyone will agree with just to make you feel better for not getting the jokes or being able to laugh at it. Critics love the show. t's an international hit, in multiple demographics. What does that tell you? It tells you it brings a lot of people laughs. Why is that so hard for you to take? The fact that you have to shit on what other people like says a lot about you.

• My dad is a math and science geek--to the point where he hated the JJ Abrams remake of Star Trek because of its plot holes regarding time and space travel. I don't care for TBBT, but my dad loves it. Among the praise he's heaped on the show: the writers clearly do their research when it comes to the science jargon.

• R13 needs to seek professional help. It's just a TV show, calm down.

• Op is just angry because of the Cougar Town debacle.

• I really enjoy this show, but now that it's in syndication it's getting stale for me. I've seen too much of it.

  I%20want%20Raj%20to%20get%20a%20boyfriend.

• It's lowest common denominator American tv,people

• It's a great show, deeply beloved by the nerds and others. My only criticism (and I've posted this before) is that poor Howard seems to be a character created by Hitler.

• It's just about the only current sitcom I watch. I find it hilarious.

• You people have no taste

• Like almost all TV show today, Big Bang Theory is targeted at heterosexual women. Few others will find this show of much interest.

• Family friendly??? I don't like any of Chuck Lorre's other shitcoms, but ever since this show changed its format to 3 guys/ 3 girls and dropped the tired Hot Girl & Nerds gimmick, it's been pretty damned funny. The actress who played Penny just wasn't cut out to be the sole female. The change in dynamic has allowed for the show to find more humor than "Penny is confused by the geeks".

• OP spends way to much time watching Keeping Up With the Kardasians

• DL shows its pretension. Oh so above it all faggalas who behave as if they've never enjoyed any so lowbrow before. You don't like it. Fine. Don't watch it. But with the tons of crap on television right now to suggest that this show ranks with the lowest of the low is ridiculous.

• I have the opposite reaction. I think the show jumped the shark years ago and is nowhere near as funny as it was BEFORE there were too many characters. Jim Parsons is phoning in his part, I think.

• I love when Blossom does a cameo.

  Whoa%21%20

• Blossom has been a regular the past two seasons.

• [quote]Like almost all TV show today, Big Bang Theory is targeted at heterosexual women. Come on, Parsons is playing it Gay for all it's worth. He hits every stereotypical note playing a prissy control freak gay male. Penny is clearly their hag, and the Indian guy and the Jewish guy are so obviously a couple that a blind man could spot it. Compared to most of the other crap out there (yes, I'm talking about Two Broke Girls), it's Masterpiece Theater.

• I hate Blalik's character. She adds nothing to the show. Just make Parson's character gay and be done with it.

• Those who dont find this a funny show could you please list shows that you consider funny.

• It's produced by the same guys who do Two & A Half Men, so it's a safe bet to assume its target audience is straight guys. This would also explain the presence of the hot blonde chick showing tits and nipples in every episode.

• This show is not bad or unfunny by any standard. In fact, its one of the best, most original sitcoms in the history of television. Go back to your FRIENDS DVDs, OP.

• Uh R15, who's angry? You're nuts. Which is why you can't reason.

• The show is funny and the characters are adorable.

• [quote]Never watched this shit, never will. How do you know it's shit, then?

• I don't get your post, OP. I find it hilarious, and I never found Full House funny. So I don't get your connection.

• [quote]it's a safe bet to assume its target audience is straight guys. [quote] Big Bang Theory is targeted at heterosexual women. Who are the advertisers? That will tell you what audience the show is targeted towards. There's a reason why Craftsman Tolls didn't advertise on Oprah.

• [quote]Those who dont find this a funny show could you please list shows that you consider funny. I usually enjoy shows that get canceled right away.

• Good thought, r38. I just fast forwarded through an online episode at the CBS site and these were the advertisers: Bank of America, Onstar, Verizon Android and Energizer. I'm sticking with straight men.

• [quote]Those who dont find this a funny show could you please list shows that you consider funny. I'll just start with shows currently airing that are much funnier: 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, Community, Louis, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Portlandia, Modern Family. I've watched a few episodes of Big Bang Theory over the years and never understood the appeal. It's nowhere near as smart or clever as it seems to think it is. Total hack work.

• [quote]Those who dont find this a funny show could you please list shows that you consider funny. Enlightened

• What about my show? It's quirky, offbeat, and hilariously edgy. The commercials even say so!

  Shitney

• They advertise maxi-pads and yogurt, during this show in Western NY State. So that is who watches it.

• That makes sense, r41. Those are all shows watched by people who fancy themselves clever, and generally demonstrate their attempt at cleverness by putting down things not deemed hip or trendy. On the other hand, The Big Bang Theory is enjoyed by people who don't have such a desperate need for acceptance, who lack pretension, and generally possess a bit more intellectual prowess.

• R40 You need to go a little further. All those advertisers offer something that is gender non-specific. Who were featured in those ads? Men or women? Is the Energizer ad one that shows how great their batteries are so mom can take lots of pictures at her daughters dance recital, or is it the one that shows firemen using them to keep their radios working, all the while explosions and fire balls screech across the screen? Same product, very different delivery. Also, on-line advertisers are not going to be the same as broadcast advertisers because on-line viewers are going to be a very different audience than those that only watch on television. Even more complicated is the local stations that run it in syndication will not have the same advertisers as the first run broadcast shows. I saw a Ram Truck ad with big burly he-men pulling lumber around run during an Ugly Betty re-run. It was then followed by a Clairol Nice and Easy spot. It makes no sense, other than the local stations will take money from anyone and run their ads anywhere they can.

• R45 = the definition of bitter.

• r46, they showed primarily large groups of what looked like college age men and women. They had the same feel as the movie The Social Network.

• Community is awful. Same with Parks & Rec.

• So, R45 is basically saying "No, you're dumb." That's about the level of humor displayed on Big Bang Theory.

  R41

• [quote]Critics love the show. It's an international hit, in multiple demographics. [quote]What does that tell you? I like BBT somewhat, but no, just no to this argument. DLers are the first ones to denounce critics and "hit" status if they DON'T like something that nevertheless is very popular. I read so often on DL how some popular music, movie, television show is just idiotic bullshit for the masses (of which, of course, DLers could NEVER be a part of). Yet, here the reason BBT is a good show is because "critics love it" and "it's a huge hit"? You're basically saying that mass popularity and critical acclaim is what makes something good, which goes against everything DL usually stands for.

• Very good, r50. Now back to the Parks and Recreation thread you go. I hear it's THE place to be this lovely Saturday afternoon.

• R41, good job. Now we get the level of your wit. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Louis? O-kay.... Yikes. And you think Parks & Recreation and 30 Rock are witty and not aimed at the masses...? Right.... Modern Family is the only one of the bunch I think is funny. Everyone has a different sense of humor. If only you could respect that, but no...

• The truth is, Big Bang Theory is for people with unsophisticated taste. Which is fine, except when people (like many on this thread) want to elevate the show to something more than it is. Here's a hint. If a show needs a laugh track to tell you when to giggle, it's a show made by and for idiots.

• R54, here's a test for you and your use of the word idiots. You're posting on a thread about a show you claim not to like. Where's the sophistication and genius in that? So kick back and watch Louis and enjoy yourself. Or can't you see how ridiculously you write, as if you have the credentials to be a snob?

• R12? Clearly you have no sense of humor. Glad I don't know.

• You.

• [quote]The truth is, Big Bang Theory is for people with unsophisticated taste. Best audition I've ever seen. I'm thinking of forwarding it to the producers. They could cast you as the pretentious, ascot wearing twat who lives downstairs.

• This thread seems word for word to be an exact replica of the other thread from a couple months back...yet the dates are current on the posts. I'm having brain freeze.

• [quote]I'm sticking with straight men. Okay, but just so you know, that way lies blue balls and heartbreak.

• Its one of the few shows that I bought every season of on DVD. I think the show is hilarious & I love it.

• It was funny until they brought the obnoxious, annoying, unfunny Amy on the show. I stopped watching it, because I just couldn't stomach her. I am okay with sexual jokes, but not overtly sexual, and all about Amy is sex, sex, sex. The show's first season constantly made sex jokes too, but not ALL THE TIME. Amy is all about sex. At least Penny had other jokes besides sex. Sorry, Amy is the most annoying character I have ever seen on the show. I just had to stop watching, because I basically didn't like her very much. I NEVER laughed of anything she did, the other characters on the other hand.. funny as hell. Amy was just incredibly awkward and painful to watch. Too bad she ruined it for me. Maybe I will start watching again if they give the actress playing Amy the boot. But now? No thanks. The show is dead to me since Amy became a part of the cast, and it will continue to be dead to me as long as she's a part of TBBT.

• Amy is the funniest.

• [quote]Those who dont find this a funny show could you please list shows that you consider funny. Beyond Scared Straight Hoarders

• Chuck Lorre is a hack and this show is middlebrow faux-intelligent pablum that makes stupid people think they're smart, kind of like Newt Gingrich.

• For the ridiculous fans of this abortion, head on over to Youtube and find us a hilarious clip from this show.

• Are you kidding? Amy Farafowler is one of the best comic inventions of this decade. The best since Sheldon! LOVE HER!

• See, R66, it's about the characters and history. I would guess you'd get that since you don't watch the show (clearly).

• [quote]For the ridiculous fans of this abortion, head on over to Youtube and find us a hilarious clip from this show. Here...

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D0DndWHW6pmc

• I find it a bit curious that in a thread filled with people patting themselves on the back for being so intelligent, some of those same people are bashing "Louie." Louis CK is one of the smartest and most thoughtful comics around today. Many episodes of "Louie" feel like minature Woody Allen films. To someone falling over themselves to praise a CBS laugh-track comedy, "Louie" might not be to their taste. But to just dismiss it outright doesn't seem very wise to me. Also, someone in this thread brought up the fallacy that "Big Bang Theory" is critically acclaimed. Could someone post some rave reviews of the show, from credible sources? I will post five rave "Louie" reviews for every one you can come up with.

  Louis CK Troll

• Penny? Penny? Penny?

• Metacritic reviews

  http://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-big-bang-theory/season-1

• If you don't know a nerd, or aren't a nerd, you probably dont "get" it. Most of the humor is "recognition humor" as well as "reference humor". If you can't recognize the characters in your own life, and don't know the references, then you probably cannot possibly find it funny.

• neil degrasse tyson named BBT as one of his favorite shows. i'd match his intellectual acumen with any of the naysayers here.

• I'm not certain why people like r70 et al are threatened by the success of a show like The Big Bang Theory, yet for them to show up on a thread about it and challenge people to a review-off against their favorite comedian/show tells me that they most assuredly are threatened. Why would anyone be threatened by a show about scientists? The only answer I can come up with is that they are either very much anti-intellectual or they are very religious, though often enough the two go hand in hand. Calm down, guys. Nobody's trying to poke holes in your Sky Fairy dreams. We just really enjoy the show.

• It is not an intellectual show, R75. It's a stupid person's idea of intellectual. The comedy is not smart, even if the characters are supposed to be.

• I like the show, but they're doing too many focused situation on Sheldon. I think this is costing viewers. Sheldon is a fine character, but he's not of primary interest. It is better when the show is more evenly written on all cast members.

• What is your education level and in what field do you currently work, r76? I'm genuinely curious.

• One of the best: Leonard Nimoy Napkin.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K02O02NqndE

• Bazinga!

  http://youtu.be/qH1VOy7HKRs

• Oh come on, laugh a little. It's not Puccini but it has its merits.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa9PFhdNW9U

• r. 74 But what does Mike Tyson think of "Big Bang Theory"?

• R77, how is it costing them viewers? Especially in the demo, it's one of the highest-rated shows on TV and scored a record fee in syndication.

• Internet kissing:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnPrU_9zf54

• Stoned in the desert:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R73yElC2BDc

• R76 nailed it. R75, I obviously signed my post the "Louis CK Troll" as a joke, but it WAS in response to one the drooling BBT people on here scoffing at someone watching "Louie." And if you'd like to see what actual rave reviews look like, see the link below.

  http://www.metacritic.com/tv/louie/season-2

  Louis CK Troll

• [quote]I'm not certain why people like [R70] et al are threatened by the success of a show like The Big Bang Theory, I'm not certain why people are so adamant about arguing their lack of taste.

  Louis CK Troll

• Wow I couldn't get a minute or two into those painful clips. If those are the best this thing's got to offer you'd best give up trying, that is some deeply unfunny business.

• Nobody cares about Louis CK on this thread r86, except for you. Please explain why you think The Big Bang Theory is for "stupid" people. I'm curious. Beyond declaringing "it's for dumb people!" nobody is willing to explain why they believe that to be true. Making a declaratory statement without bothering to offer any sort of explanation behind it, or at least an example illustrating such, is not exactly a convincing argument.

• Pardon me for appearing to veer off-topic for a moment but would you happen to be a very fat woman who makes very little money doing a job she hates, Louis troll? I'll explain why I think so after your reply. Please try and be honest (anything over 200 lbs is considered very fat unless you are over 6 ft tall).

• How can BBT be the "unfunniest show" when it's right before "Rules of Engagement" which is surely a candidate for that honor?

• Something doesn't have to be a groundbreaking work of art to be enjoyable.

  Casual%20BBT%20Watcher

• I didn't really dislike it or like it at first. In fact I never even saw it, until it starting running in syndication all the fucking time where I live. Not a nerd or a tech geek, so maybe I miss some references, but I'll casually watch it here and there and, though I don't love it and probably wouldn't buy DVDS, I generally think it's pretty funny and well written.

• Couldn't the trolls at least pick a topic that offers something fertile for shredding? This way, all we have is the gape in what should be their minds, and there's only so much you can say about the bad smell coming from a foul vent.

• [quote]Not a nerd or a tech geek, so maybe I miss some references Honey, everyone misses some references. That's the joke. The audience is Penny, who most of the time has absolutely no idea what they are talking about and it's hilarious.

• God, what an asswipe you are, R54. So you don't like it. Unless you're Charlie Sheen, fired by Chuck Lorre, what the fuck is your problem that you think it's important to denigrate those who do? You're just a pretentious twat who thinks what you like is better. Doesn't make it so. R60, your post is the only reason to read this thread.

• There are a LOT of shows that are "unfunnier" than BBT. American Horror Story for one.

• You BBT superfans here need to realize you are the ones here defending the honor of this show. People in this thread who think BBT is terrible aren't trolls, they are agreeing with OP. Here is why I can't stand this show. Most dreck I simply ignore, and that includes shows that would match several of my complaints below. It's just BBT hits them all. First off, it's the form. It's an old-fashioned, laugh-track sitcom. It's dead, people. In 10 years, it'll be as extinct from primetime as westerns. But even for an old-fashioned sitcom, this one isn't exceptional in any way. It's as boring and ordinary and unchallenging as they come. It's what's showing in the waiting room while you get your oil changed. Yes, perhaps it does accurately depict some sub-set of nerds. That's great, but beyond that, it's still just cartoon characters yelling one-liners at each other, with a laugh-track instructing people where the jokes are. It's all surface. And if people want to settle for that, fine. Someone like R93, that's totally cool. It's these insane people who want to proclaim that this is some ground-breaking, highly intellectual masterpiece - those are the ones I don't like. There are much better nerds on TV, too, even on network primetime. "Community" is hilarious and has some of the best nerds ever on TV (Abed, Troy and Annie). It's a weird, risk-taking show that struggles in the ratings, while BBT floats by recycling the same stories, delivered by dead-eyed actors who stopped caring years ago. I get the sense the people who are so passionate in their love for the show simply don't have the interest to dig any deeper than network primetime. They're the reason shows like BBT hang around.

• (Rolling eyes at R98) Jesus Christ, you put way more effort into hating this show than I do to simply enjoying it as it is for what it is.

• I had to be talked into watching it because I'd given up on sit-coms, but it's okay. I don't get upset if I miss it, but I watch it if I'm in the mood and it's on. It's a nice break from the "fat shlub with the shrew for a wife" sit-com formula.

• R98 perhaps you did not read the title of this thread "The unfunniest show on television". Now you better rethink what you just have written.

• OK, OCD kook at R98. Let's go ahead and review your supposed critique. Do you have the stomach for it? I ask because you didn't have the brain for a critique? Point by point then: 1. Declaring you don't like something because it has an "old-fashioned" form is just a declaration of opinion. Good for you. You have an opinion. But let's look closer. You don't like a show because its form so upsets you you can't see other value the show may have. Hmm. That's mere bias, dear. Also, not liking something because it will not be on in 10 years is ridiculous, whether you're talking about a show or a genre or a format. So what? 2. "It's as boring and ordinary and unchallenging as they come." Yes, identical to all the other university-plotted, geek-driven shows with STEM content wrapped around an Asberger's character that have very funny scripts and characters. You're arguing with unfounded adjectives. That's silly. 3. Blah blah blah and it's all surface. What? Again, you seem to be watching a show that is in your head and arguing for argument's sake, rather than paying attention to the characters, plots, story lines and very funny exchanges that occur. You don't like simple sitcoms? Great. This has more than the usual. Also, laugh tracks do not tell audiences where to laugh. You really have a thing about that, don't you? 4. So you don't like people who declare it a masterpiece. Well, honey, since you're their antithesis, you're the pepper to their salt. The great majority of us who just enjoy the show and don't feel the need to savage it with witless tripe that betrays our lack of critical skills feel fine with fans being silly. I've lived through Madonna for what feels like a century. But by overstepping you undermine your claims to being able to tell bad from good, because in the end you show you don't know how to describe anything in a substantive way. So take a pill and change YOUR channel. Or learn to think and write and come back some time.

• This is my all-time favorite scene:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=l8WWd19Ok1c

• Thanks R103 Wheaton!! I think TBBT is well written and executed. It's a throwback to older sitcoms in some respects, but the "laugh track" isn't canned, it's filmed before a studio audience. The laughs and other reactions are real.

• OP, you're not the only one who finds this show unfunny. I think it sucks too. And that girl from that show "Blossom" is fugly to look at.

• [quote]the "laugh track" isn't canned, it's filmed before a studio audience. The laughs and other reactions are real. It's sweetened. You want to see how an actual audience reacts, watch SNL. The idea that people laugh uproariously every minute or two is ridiculous.

• TBBT is a lot more funny than SNL is now.

• Greek food.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DMt_CL4Mrcq0

• Here's BBT minus the laugh tracks... Thoughts?

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DEg4s2-zRAT4

• Here's another BBT video were they edit out the the Laughte Track and added a Faster Paced like those shows those current shows on tv.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DzS5a7RBB4vk

• [quote]Why would anyone be threatened by a show about scientists? The only answer I can come up with is that they are either very much anti-intellectual or they are very religious, though often enough the two go hand in hand. Bitch, please.

• r111's trite response just proved the point of the poster he quoted.

• Unfunny perhaps but unfunniest, really OP? R105 you too and others who agree with him/her did not read the title of this thread!

• [quote]Here's a hint. If a show needs a laugh track to tell you when to giggle, it's a show made by and for idiots. I'll inform the creators of M*A*S*H*.

• [quote]Never watched this shit, never will. Well that certainly makes YOU an expert on this particular show doesn't it? At least on DL it does.

  No knowledge of a subject makes ME a DL expert

• >>with STEM content wrapped around an Asberger's character Have they ever said outright that Parsons' character has Asperger's? He seems more OCD, to me.

• And I think he's adorable, fwiw.

  r116

• I could live without the Blossom character. She's tiresome.

• Best Theme song since The Nanny. An honest to goodness theme song, a dying art."They froze their asses off!"

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DREw5-_rpFDE

• @R29 "Come on, Parsons is playing it Gay for all it's worth. He hits every stereotypical note playing a prissy control freak gay male." The control-freakery is written into the script, it's not his doing. The campness comes from Jim's own personality and is actually reduced for the character, most viewers don't even notice it.

• @R116 It's very common to have both AS and OCD. Sheldon meets a higher proportion of the criteria for Asperger's than you actually need to meet to be diagnosed, in fact he has retained far more glaring traits than most non-learning disabled Aspies of his age do. Most without a comorbid learning disability might have conversations like his as children or adolescents, and manage to blend in much better than he does by his age. That's not to say there aren't any real autistic adults quite like him; there are some of genius-level IQ who lag behind less gifted Aspies in learning social skills, in fact a disproportionate number of Maths and Physics PHd holders are in this category and have worse social skills than some of the people I've interacted with in AS groups who are obviously learning disabled as well as autistic. The writers can never admit this because it would saddle them with increased responsibility and scrutiny in their writing. Lots of people with AS have OCD as well and he might do but his compulsions don't obviously have a negative impact on his life as it would have to for him to be diagnosed.

• It all started with Gore Vidal: By Katie Aberbach Posted on July 07, 2011 Bruce Alan Rauscher in a Visit to a Small PlanetGore Vidal’s 1956 play “A Visit to a Small Planet” might not be familiar, but its plot and characters have been ubiquitous in sci-fi pop culture for the past half-century. “I can name two ‘Star Trek’ episodes that are direct steals from this script, and there are [scenes] from ‘Alf’ and ‘Third Rock From the Sun’ that were also steals from this script,” says Rip Claassen, director of American Century Theater’s production of “Small Planet.” “The whole premise of ‘My Favorite Martian’ was a direct steal. It’s amazing that the script has been largely forgotten,” he says, “considering how major an influence it’s been on our culture.” Originally produced as a television play and reworked for Broadway in the mid 1950s, “Small Planet” is a familiar tale indeed: A creature in a UFO lands in suburban America and makes contact with humans in a hilarious culture clash — particularly when the alien tries to blend in. In this production, Kreton, an alien from an intellectually superior planet, lands in Manassas, Va., in 1958, dressed for and intending to watch the Battle of Bull Run. Disappointed by his error in time travel but still curious about 20th-century earthlings, Kreton (Bruce Alan Rauscher) stays and gets to know the bureaucratic General Tom Powers (John Tweel) and the average but accommodating Spelding family. Then, for his own enjoyment, he decides to trigger a war. Unlike many extraterrestrial characters in pop culture, Kreton is more funny than fearsome. And as a bona fide “alien observer,” he’s an apt critic of our culture. “It’s easier to laugh at someone else’s look at our society, pointing out the things that are so obnoxious, stupid and not thoughtful that we cling to,” says Claassen, who has been a fan of the play since he first read it at age 14 in 1976. “If an alien criticizes it, we can laugh. If we criticize it ourselves, it’s not so easy.” BACKSTORY “A Visit to a Small Planet” includes an important feline character: Rosemary Spelding. “Rosemary is Kreton’s confidant. Batman has his Robin; Kreton has his Rosemary,” director Rip Claassen says. (In the examples cited in the article, the alien was physically from another world. In TBBT, Sheldon is emotionally alien, with the same innocent literalness from which much of his humor stems.)

  http://www.expressnightout.com/2011/07/a-visit-to-a-small-planet-american-century-theater/

• So this is a show too cowardly to make one of its characters openly gay? Really?

• Big bang is merely a rather amusing lowest common denominator sitcom. Enjoy it for what it is and don't get your knickers in a knot cause it aint Arrested Development.

• "Arrested Development" wasn't lowbrow? Oh Dear. It was also a flop.

• R125 it wasnt a flop. It failed because Fox kept moving it around and never kept it in the same time slot, so it never developed a steady audience. It won a bunch of Emmys, some Golden Globes, the DVDs sold out in record time. Fox is bringing it back and making a feature film out of it as well. Doesn't sound like a flop to me. Now run along, I hear there are some reruns of Full House on and we know you don't want to miss that.

• Raj and Howard act like an old gay couple.

• [quote]t wasnt a flop. It failed because Fox kept moving it around and never kept it in the same time slot, so it never developed a steady audience. Well Dear, which is it? A flop or in your words a failure?

• R128, Arrested Development is one of the most critically acclaimed sitcoms of all time. It's coming back for a fourth season, with a feature film possibly to follow. That seems like a success to me.

• I've seen a few episodes and the humor is mediocre. It's standard sitcom stuff wrapped in science vernacular. The equations being real is nothing more than a nice detail. It adds nothing to the show's intelligence or humor as the mechanics of the equations never detail into the plot. The reason someone would call it the unfunniest show is because it's mediocre, but has a large following who love it for it's supposed intelligence. Anyone who champions Modern Family over this needs a hard look in the mirror. Both shows are average for television. Arrested Development wasn't lowbrow (maybe upper-middle brow?) and was incredibly scripted with some amazing performances. It didn't make it for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with the quality (except maybe that some jokes were too dense and required knowledge from other episodes, leaving new or distracted viewers out). Curb Your Enthusiasm is probably the only Great sitcom still producing episodes. I do like 30 rock and Parks and Rec, but they're just a few notches above the rest of the crap. Tl;dr: Quit pretending any of this shit isn't mediocre humor by committee meant to sell ad time.

• Arrested Development is one of the funniest all time sitcoms ever. Big Bang Theory is amusing, but it'll be a footnote in comedy history.

• Arrested Development was a brilliant television show. Unfortunately it was a little too smart and much of it went over the heads of R125 and many like him. The ratings suffered because of this. The majority of Americans don't want their entertainment to make them think.

• @R130 Many viewers are under no illusion that it's well written and don't watch it to make themselves feel more intelligent. If I needed to reassure myself I was smart I would in fact turn it off, it's a guilty pleasure for me. I watch it mainly because I find the characters endearing and more similar to some actual geniuses (not just ordinary nerds) than many people realise, because Sheldon and Howard are cute, for the occasional joke I find very funny, and because it's usually peppered with science facts and definitions I can learn or be reminded of and then investigate if interesting. I absolutely recognise the writing as lazy.

  R120, R121

• [quote]Raj and Howard act like an old gay couple. Duh. Why do you think Leonard's mother said they had "an ersatz homosexual relationship"? That's the joke...that they are a gay couple but don't know it. Did you see them kissing each other (with tongue) via that contraption Howard had invented?

• Totally disagree.....BBT is one of the few shows on television that still makes me laugh, now that Two and a Half Men has not only met the shark, but jumped over it with a resounding THUD!

• Does someone start these threads, simply because they want the fans to come out and praise them?

• R135 says a lot about the type of person who watches the Big Bang Theory. They're also the sort to watch Two and a Half Men. Low-brow entertainment for dolts.

• Oh Jesus Tapdancing Christ R137 - you and that tired Two & A half Men meme. I know you think it's a clever cut down, but it's as tired as your non-stop posts bitching about TV shows you think are beneath you. Run along now. There a new Real Housewives episode running somewhere and you're missing it.

• im a nerd and work in the arts and i want a one night stand with Sheldon, im pretty sure he is hung since he is tall and from Texas where everything is bigger!

  i%20live%20in%20los%20angeles%20so%20it%20just%20might%20happen

• R138, did you even read R135?

  R137

• R137, your indictment of the viewing audience of BBT wouldn't be any less obnoxious in a class of eltitist snobs in a reading circle, but it's pretty fucking ridiculous coming from someone dishing about sophistication in Datalounge, of all places. P.S. I'm not a fan of Two and a Half Men at all and love Big Bang. So apart from being a snob, you're also wrong.

• comedy by numbers

• I have always thought the term "haters" was lame and childish, mostly because it seemed aimed at me anytime I wrote something negative about someone's entertainment idol. But the people returning to this thread to dig up the horse, fuck it, and leave it out in the open to rot are best described that way. What's behind the need to put down something that many times just because you don't like it? It seems to stem from insecurity masquerading as disdain. If you know you're smart and have good taste, you don't worry about whether everyone likes the same thing you do. I would never suggest that DL be a fan site for any show. But people who just pile on to insult not only a show but also all the anonymous viewers who like it sound like, well, haters. Also like playground bullies. You want to pity them, but you wind up hating them.

• The show is frickin' A hilarious. Sheldon is my favorite.

• Alluding to smart things is not the same as being smart, as "Arrested Development" was.

• R145, do tell us how "smart" it is to come back to a thread to trash a show you don't like or find amusing. And by the way, "Arrested Development" by definition was not about anything intellgent. Do you even understand the title? Did you even watch the show? You need therapy, R145. Seriously.

• I like Big Bang Theory. When I don't like a show, I do not watch it, speak of it, or think of it.

• OP

  http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/121511/comment-man.gif

• It's full of gay guys, of course you idiots like it.

• I can't believe how they play "David" like he's so freaking irresistible to women. First he's dating the girl from across the hall, really? Then the, Indian (?) guy's sister sleeps with him? If I were in their make believe universe he'd be the last of the group that I'd choose.

• Listen, r145, you analrapist, what is your deal? I enjoyed Arrested Development and enjoy TBBT. I don't know that I would call either of the shows smart. I am an AD fan, but the show is pretty silly with great supporting players that elevate the material.

• I cannot stand the bloody canned laughter after every line spoken (and they are not even funny).

• There has never been anything on tv that was less funny than the current season of The Office and Community. Both are completely humor-free.

• I totally agree, r150. It seems more deranged than just about anything else in the show.

• It's the Writers, R150 and R154. They never dated comely blonde farm girls or sultry Indian gals, or cheerful WASP doctors, so Leonard has to date them. That is why they got their fathers to get them into The Writers' Guild.

• I assume this thread exists because the OP doesn't appreciate the depiction of comic store clerks in the show. It cuts too close to the bone.

• I think the comic book store guy is dead on -- an art major sadly trying to make a living...

• I think that people who want to think they're intelligent watch it and tell people that they do. I'm an astrophysics major and IMHO most of what they say is a) predictable an b) inaccurate because it has been put into layman's terms. Truly intelligent people don't vegetate in front of their television to watch lame faux sci-fi sitcoms with HORRIBLE laugh tracks. Get over yourselves and get some perspective.

  Chaddwic%20William%20Shay

• I like the show. It's nice entertainment and I like how it alludes that geeks are just as campy as gays (just replace Babs with Stephen Hawking).

• It was funny year one. It was funnier year two (Especially Leslie Winkle) then it declined in year three. By year four it became a caricature of itself. Sheldon went from being funny to the "Fonzie" Of the show. The on and off again of Penny and Leonard was done to death. It barely worked with Sam and Diane and it hasn't worked with anyone since.

  Chutney%20Austin

• I can't pick up CBS on my TV so have yet to see the current season, but I really enjoy the episodes in syndication.

• What do you like, Chutney? You're always bitching about something. Do you like anything? Or are we just supposed to worship at the Chutney Altar?

• Love Laurie Metcalf as Sheldon's mom. She does the impossible...makes me like a religious nut.

• Sheldon's relationship with food is something I've seen in many men of science, and in the spoiled sons of most cultures

• I watch it, but I'm in the UK, so it's that or nothing. It's OK. But there is no good comedy on TV, BBT is the best of a bad bunch. Family Guy & South Park are utter shit beyond total shit and The Simpsons is just embarrassing now. British comedy is fucked beyond rescue, I think all comedy is.

• I love the episode where Sheldon went back to his mom and (in order to get him to leave with his friends?) she mentions that from now on he is reduced to teach local children Creationism. That look on Sheldon's face was priceless (and afterward he couldn't get out of there fast enough).

• Curb your Enthusiasm? Really. ...I find it to be one of the most annoying bits of shit ever put on tv.

• I LOVE this show - tough titty, OP!

• I can't stand to watch even the previews of that show. That queenie character is not funny and perpetuating the very gay stereotype gay men are trying to get away from. Embarassing.

  Anonymous

• there is a part where sheldon says the bet number is 73 cause if you divide it by 3 you get 21 and if you divide that, it will be 7 and 3 which make up 73. but actually 73 divided by 3 is 24.33333333333333

• but what can i say. but as Rajesh would say "it's hilarious"

• Like any show it wears thin after four years.

• New episode in an hour!!

• I love this show!

• If there is a stereotype involved, it's far more about Aspergers.

• I know a 60 year old virgin who is a physicist. He likes women, but has never even gone on a date. He can sing the national anthem of every country on earth in that country's language. A friend's former husband was a physicist (that's how I got to meet a bunch of physicists) and he actually had marble composition notebooks in which he took notes during every episode of Star Trek in the 1960s. A lot of the "jokes" about physicists in this show are real.

• R170, he said no such thing. Here's the clip.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DTIYMmbHik08

• R176, How does the 60 year old virgin feel about that? Is he like a Sheldon where he doesn't care? Or is he super socially awkward?

• He's not socially awkward. He's what I would call weird. He is a very, very nice person. But weird. I don't see how anyone could date him.

• Who the fuck cares what you think, OP. If you have never watched the show how can you comment on it, r8? It's funny and original. It's also the highest rated show on TBS. Sheldon is as original a character as Lucy, Diane Chambers or Ralph Kramden. You know nothing about funny. Go back to watching the Kardashians, the lot of you.

• It used to be hilarious but it is starting to jump the shark. This should be its' last season but I bet it will continue.

  Anonymous

• Who the fuck cares what you think, OP. How can you comment on a television show you never watch, R8? The show is funny and origiinal. Sheldon is as iconic a character as Lucy, Diane Chambers or Ralph Kramden. You know nothing about funny. Go back to watching the Kardashians.

• I can't believe that so many people have such strong feelings about this show, either positive or negative.

• The Big Bang Theory is taped before a live audience, r54. Can you just shut up now?

• Thank you, OP. I thought it was just me.

• I like tonights episode :D

• First of all, nothing is worse than 2.5 Men. BBT is odd for me. I think it's terrible and unfunny, but at the same time, very watchable. I like the idea of a comedy about really smart people, I just wish it were funny.

• This is show is so UNfunny, that it is actually painful. I have no idea why it has a viewership, either.

• R180, you sound a thousand years old. And R184, sweetie, canned laughter is used all the time to augment those live studio audiences. Come on, now.

• Too much sex in this show for what it is. The boys can have a charming dynamic, but I can't tolerate it for more than one episode at a time, whilst doing something else.

• [quote]The Big Bang Theory is taped before a live audience, So what? ALL SHOW,and I mean ALL shows use laugh tracks, well those which have laugh tracks that is. Think about it, when the audience laughs and the take is messed up, the second time around the audience will not laugh as hard. So the crew simply takes the laughs from the first take and inserts it. Sometimes the audience will be distracted by cameramen and lighting crews doing advanced, yet interesting technical things, and they miss the jokes. So the shows editors put the laughs back in. So yes even live shows use laugh tracks to "sweeten" as Lucille Ball used to say, the comedy moments.

• I was in a taping for a pilot sitcom that was never picked up. The amount of audience coaching that goes on is crazy. They not only instruct you on the proper way to clap, but they instruct you on when and how to laugh and for how long....

• Horrible.

• I'm surprised all the brilliant people on this thread who know exactly what makes a hilariously funny sitcom haven't gotten out of their mother's basements yet to create them.

• [quote]ALL shows use laugh tracks, well those which have laugh tracks that is. OMG! You are like so smart R191.

  Everything%20that%20is%20green%20is%20green

• I wouldn't say it's unfunny at all. BUT GET RID OF THAT GODDAMN ANNOYING LAUGH TRACK!

• Watching It seems to give stupid people the illusion that they're smart.

• Sneering at it seems to give humorless people the illusion that they are the elite.

• America wants laugh-track sitcoms. Check the ratings if you don't believe me. Modern Family is the only hit sitcom without one and its nowhere near as successful as tbbt and the other Chuck Lorre shows on CBS. r197 no, that's NBC's entire comedy lineup.

• There are far worse sitcoms around but a little bit of it goes a long way. It suffers from the same thing that ails all Chuck Lorre sitcoms: variations of the same or similar joke get repeated for 22 minutes.

• [quote]It must be a family-friendly shitfest, which relies on test audiences. It's not family-friendly AT ALL, you dumbass.

• "ALL SHOW,and I mean ALL shows use laugh tracks, well those which have laugh tracks that is." This is a big bang theory fan. Oh, oh, and did you know the equations are real?! That's what makes good comedy: equations.

  math%20guy

• Omg! Nerds! They are hilarious!!! Not as bad as Broke Girls, but surprised this thing is a hit.

• [quote]Oh, oh, and did you know the equations are real?! But are they correct? Dumbass

  Leslie%20Winkle

• It's corny, stupid and not funny..kinda like the tweets that make it too the leader board.

  Sheeple

• *to

  before anyone 'oh dears' me

• The thing that's hilarious (or creepy) about the show is how often the nerds' show symptoms of ASPD (Antisocial personality disorder). Specifically, I'm always amazed how they can reference killing someone without even a hint of irony. I listen to a podcast and a screenwriter made a pretty good observation about this show. Take away the laugh track and it's like a show about serial killers. Think about it. For instance, Sheldon casually and seriously saying he could poison Kripke and that there are toxic chemicals that would be untraceable in an autopsy. I'm a fan btw.

• Utter shite.

• Only idiots and eldergays watch sitcoms with laugh tracks.

• R209 - almost all of the comedies from the 60s to 90s had laugh tracks.

• R209= moron who thinks "eldergay" is a clever insult. You sound like a bad sitcom. And I'm guessing you're around 43 years old, 300 pounds, and still waiting for "Green Acres" DVD boxsets to go on sale.

• R211, I have no idea what Green Acres is. I'm not 100 years old like most of you.

  R209

• No, only shitcoms did, r210. The only old laugh-track sitcom I still like is Bewitched, but it usually wasn't that funny, I like it for the childhood nostalgia. All the other old sitcoms I like, like MTM, had a live audience.

• R209 - what comedies are there other than sitcoms?

• R214, there are plenty of sitcoms without laugh tracks. The Simpsons, for one.

• "Car Wars" was one of the best episodes of the entire series.

• My dad initially didn't get it. My dad initially had the same opinion as OP. Last time he visited, he talked about how much he loved the show now. For some people, it just takes a while to 'get it' I guess. It's a great show.

• Hisssss!

  The Hissing Eldergay (THE)

• Car Wars aka The One Where Amy Shows Sheldon Her Newly Waxed and Brutalized Beaver.

• "They don't usually have to go out and get more wax".

• OMFG Sheldon and Amy finally out-did their famous tiara scene. That was one of the funniest things I've seen on Merican TV.

  Ciaran

• Amy as Maid of Honor.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DTo2ypSg5F38

• God-awful show with insuferable canned laughs every 5 seconds.

• I'm uncomfortable with Amy's sexual exploitation of someone with Aspergers. It was like watching the molestation of a child.

• You have issues, R224.

• I'm an aspie, R224, and I thought it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

• R224: are you not getting that Amy doesn't exactly have much in the way of social skills either? She's in no position to make fun of anyone else and..................she knows it. PS: Was Xmas shopping this past weekend and saw rhinestone tiaras in a store and could only thing of Amy.

• I have to say this season seems to be jumpining the shark. We need less Amy and Bernadette and more of the original leads.

• Melissa and Mayim add a great deal to the show.

• Amy was better when she was disinterested in human contact like Sheldon or oddly hitting on Penny. Her sexual desire for Sheldon is just repulsive since Mayim is a gross jewess that nobody wants to see in heat.

• "Are you saying you want to spank me?" and the look on her face (and clueless Sheldon) was pretty funny.

• Whoever first said big bang theory is not funny. your a cunt nugget. lighten the fuck up cuz no matter what you say people still find it hilarious. You think you can do better, write your own sitcom. If not then shut the fuck up.

  http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html%3Ft%3D11128716%23page:postReply%2C11128716%2Cundefined

  peachy

• but the gay Indian guy is hot!

• [quote]Whoever first said big bang theory is not funny. your a Oh, dear.

• They destroyed the show, in my opinion, by bringing in that unfunny, irritating Blossom chick because of course Sheldon just HAD to have a female counterpart.

• what kind of sad lives do people have to have to hate a show and watch it so that they can piss on it... just stop watching .... Howard in space has been hilarious.... and if you didn't find Leonard wooing Penny with science well done, you're beyond not getting it.

• Like the universe the show expands. No show would survive by staying the same, having the same jokes over and over again, and having the same characters do the same thing over and over again. In my opinion the addition of the women like Bernadette and Amy works.

  Oh%2C%20my%20...%20oh%2C%20my%20...%20oh%20my%2C%20...%20%28on%20the%20loop%29

• I've never watched this show, so I don't really give a shit about it either way; but I must say, this shows most ardent defenders come off as whiny and incredibly insecure.

• LOVE people who start a comment with "I've never seen this, but..." and then pass judgment.

• Oh my, R232 proves that BBT attracts the sharpest, wittiest folks out there.

• R207, those statements look to me less like symptoms of a personality disorder than like hyperbole. On bad days, I can make statements or have thoughts like that and it is sheer exaggeration. Plus, Sheldon is on the autism spectrum anyway, so social appropriateness has never been his strong suit.

• R217, I'm like your father. I don't watch comedies and was turned off when surfing and landed on a monologue of Sheldon's. But then I watched a few shows, for some reason, and loved it. It makes me laugh out loud at times. It is still the only comedy I watch.

• Totally agree R239 but I dont love them!

• Yes it is unfunny sadly though becase they have an immigrant comedian a gay comedian a female comedian a funny comedian. So because of this line up and the fact that theres only 1 of each except for the female type the show is natrally unfunny.

  Anonymous

• Referencing science does not a witty show make. I find out tedious and overwrought and cannot stand Sheldon...it's not a character it is a caricature.

• I liked it briefly when it was new. Then everyone became even MORE of a caricature and Sheldon became the "star" and it lost all its luster. I quit watching it years ago and cannot even believe it is still on. I caught a few minutes of it the other night...is one of the characters now married?

• Given what passes for comedy in sit-com ville, BBT is actually pretty consistently amusing, in my opinion. Of course, it is formulaic, all sit comes are. Some episodes are lousy, fueled by ideas that sounded better in the writers' room than they turned out on screen, this happens in all long running sit-coms. They took a risk in adding and expanding Amy and Bernadette; sometimes they are funny, but a lot of what they do is obvious and predictable, but after say, two years, it does become necessary to expand a show and worse choices have been made in other popular sit-coms. I do think the first two seasons were consistently funny and the cast had a great chemistry that could make so-so situations and iffy lines work. Of course, it's become more hit or miss since then. Comedy is a personal taste, not everyone finds the same things funny, or sees the humor in a given situation. I love Seinfeld, I know people who hate it, I love Fraser, ditto. I usually find something to laugh at in episodes of those shows even when I've seen that episode several times. There are many sit-coms I can't get through (How I Met your Mother, Two and a half Men are two) and others for which two minutes were enough to last several life times (George Lopez, Jim Belushi, Everyone Loves Raymond -- though the last had a skillful cast). But there's so much worse out there than BBT (Malibu? Last Man Standing? The New Normal -- right idea, unbearable realization? Two Broke Girls? Mike and Molley --as talented as Melissa McCarthy is) -- that even though Chuck Lorre's typical coarseness and contrivance hurts BBT -- BBT seems pretty enjoyable to me. Now back to Proust.

• The two comedies I watch consistently - "Big Bang Theory" and "Raising Hope".

• best show on television

• Amy Farrah Fowler gets on my nerves sometimes. But I like Bernadette.

• I'm not a big fan, but I have to say that the writing can be clever and smart. This is a show for smart folks and nerds, not lowest common denominator humor for Cletus and Buford. I'm just not a fan of the Chuck Lorre comedies on the air now. Two and a Half Men wore out its welcome four and a half seasons ago.

• I used to watch it all the time, but, like all Chuck Lorre shows, the reliance on sexual humor just became overbearing. I think the last straw for me was Wolowitz's bachelor party where Bernadette had a fit because of his sleeping with prostitutes.

• [quote]It's lowest common denominator American tv,people Wow, so not true. I think you're just not getting it. Sure some episodes are better than others but the writing can be very smart. Smarter than any other comedy on network TV.

• I'm friends with a physicist. She says that "they must have a real physicist on staff", and that all the scientific stuff is accurate. Definitely one of the smarter shows on TV.

• This show went down the drain when Blossom came on.

• Amy Farrah Fowler was an excellent addition.

• I came to the show late but really love it now and have caught up on all the episodes from the previous seasons. Used to only watch it sporadically but now never miss it. The only thing I must say I'm mildly disappointed by (but hardly surprised) is the fact they've now found Raj a potential new gf, only because I was sorta hoping against hope that they were actually going to be bold and explore an attraction between him and Stuart (the video store guy). I know they were only supposed to be friends, but there was just something kind of, I don't know, sexual about it in a way (or maybe I was just projecting). But in any case, now that the new gf is in the picture, it's obvious they never had any intention of going there (darn it). Reminds me of the similar disappointment I felt years ago with the Chandler/Joey relationship on "Friends."

• I only watch Seinfeld reruns, ROE, and TBBT. HIMYM is the show that's not funny.

• Couldn't agree more. I love how any time I mention how much I hate the big bang theory people say the jokes are "beyond me" in a very condescending way. The jokes are actually very easy to understand and in addition incredibly predictible. Honestly I could have written an episode of it in 8th grade. The laugh track is incredibly obnoxious, and the nerd sterotypes established annoy the shit out of me. Everything about this show is pure shit and yet it has millions of viewers. Its beyond me, but then again if two and a half men is as popular as it is then I guess humanity is just collectively moronic.

  Ben%20VanDusen

• This is the new Friends in the UK with the number of times its on and in reruns. I didn't expect to like it as I'm so not a generic sitcom guy, but it's actually decent. It's maybe not funny all the time, but all I care about is if it's watchable. There are plenty of sitcoms I can't watch. If it annoys me when it's on in the background it's out. Compare this to that POS 2 Broke Girls and it's Richard Pryor. I suspect they sneak in jokes for the science graduates as well. I kinda like that Blossom is in it, more aggressively fug than ever (no wonder she played the young Bette) and she's a real life supergeek. I'm not keen on the fug from Roseanne. But this is totally the Jim Parsons Show, he has these long complex lines of dialogue which he always delivers brilliantly, so no wonder he won Emmys.

• I enjoy immensely. Sorry for your Real Housewives fans who find this show confusing.

• i don't like it/get it either. Is it entertaining to make fun of a character w/Asperger's?

• Yes, r261. I'm sure that's it.

  Sarcastic%20Cunt

• Bob Newhart was brilliant on last week's episode!

• Bob Newhart was good but the subplot with Raj's dog and Bernadette's dressing him down which leads Howard to realize she'd be a great mom was sitcom 101 writing. Really by the books. And why is Penny looking so raggedy?

• They're beginning to ruin this once cute show with stunt casting. Why is it that every male lead on this show has been forced into some sort of relationship with a female, as if men can't function or survive beyond early adulthood unless there's a female in their lives? It's just sexist, tiresome writing and casting and the ruining of a concept that was unique and fun and provided laughs. I realize they have to evolve the show somehow, but why this way? I like Bob Newhart too, but they've already reported that he will be a recurring character. The Blossom chick (Amy Farafowler) is irritating enough, though I'll admit she's made me laugh sometimes, but they're quickly headed toward her and Sheldon having sex. WHY does the Sheldon character HAVE to have sex? Why isn't he allowed to be a sexless nerd or even *gasp* gay?? I get the impression people will stop watching in huge numbers soon and that the show will finally die within the next 2-3 seasons, if that long.

• I doubt it R 266. The ratings keep climbing.

  Jim%20Parsons

• [quote]They're beginning to ruin this once cute show with stunt casting. This is what made "Will & Grace" get tiresome - all the "celebrity guest of the week" crap.

• True R267, for the most part, but if you follow some of the ratings sites, you'll see the BBT's ratings fluctuate more now than they did back two seasons ago, which may (or may not) indicate lagging viewer loyalty. I still love the show and my boyfriend and I watch it, but it's taken a while for the Amy character to grow on me. I finally accept it now that she's not going away. But I DO wish they'll leave it there as far as growing the cast. But they likely won't. The addition of Newhart only indicates they're losing steam in the writer's room and future episodes will likely continue to rely on this type of casting... They couldn't expand the role of the geeky comic shop guy? People seem to love him. We don't need and likely few would want to see Raj continue to be oddly, stereotypically effeminized or Wallowhitz and Bernadette have a baby or Sheldon becoming sexual, but that's clearly where they intend to go from the looks of it.

• These stunt casting accusations are obviously being made by people who do not watch the show regularly. TBBT brings in these big name guests maybe two or three times a year, at most. It certainly does not happen every week like the recently cancelled 30 Rock used to do. The supporting roles on this show are almost always actors with either sci fi credentials or very low name recognition. Actual scientists appear more frequently than big name guest stars.

• R267 - they fluctuate, but have been pushing higher overall. When it moved to Thursdays last season, it's high water mark was a 4.8 in adults for the season premiere. That's around its season low this year. CBS has a knack for creating these sitcoms that stay really popular for a long time, something which NBC and ABC haven't done in quite a while. Even Modern Family has taken a bit of a beating in the second half of this season.

• Sheldon Cooper, as a product of the Texas schools, has way too sophisticated a vocabulary. Most of the time he would be confused by eighth grade level words, genius or no, because they simply would never have been part of his education.

• [quote]I get the impression people will stop watching in huge numbers soon and that the show will finally die within the next 2-3 seasons, if that long. Be serious, CBS just gave 3 and a Half Men another season, and even the cast needs a map to figure out wtf is happening there. BBT has years to run.

• When are TV writers going to learn that as soon as everyone is paired up and happy, the show starts to suck. There is no comedy in marital bliss and harmony, or at least any that hasn't been mined a billion times before. It happened with Moonlighting, it happened with The Office, it happened with Friends and its happening with TBBT. One of the reasons Seinfeld kept its edge was no one ever got married.

• They may be "paired up" but they're hardly happy! Sheldon and Amy? Please! Howard and Bernadette, not hardly. Even Leonard and Penny don't really qualify. And that's one of the many reasons why the show still works.

• r272, Sheldon is an autodidact with an eidetic memory. You lose.

  And%20he%20conveniently%20forgets%20all%20the%20time

• [quote]Bob Newhart was brilliant on last week's episode! Agree, agree, agree. Bob Newhart's timing was great. His readings of the single word, "no" was brilliant.

• Agree with R227. Plus, when Penny asked if they could use the potato for his pacemaker, I laughed out loud. This show, like any other, has to grow on you. I am as far from being a science/math geek as anyone and don't get 1/2 those references but its still funny. Loved the episode with the Leonard Nimoy figurines and the game competition. Sheldon explaining his drawing in pictionary was hysterical!

  BrownEyedGirl

• The one with the Leonard Nimoy napkin was great too.