My New Favorite Show!
I teach on Monday nights, so I didn’t know what I was missing until my wife and son started talking about The Big Bang Theory. The show is now in its second season and as part of the CBS comedy bloc on that night. At first their disjointed stories about the characters and situations didn’t really catch my attention. I could tell they were enjoying the program, though.
Eventually, the Monday night class ended. I began working those nights again, but Sherry and Chandler called me to watch the show. By the first commercial, I had a lot of questions for them. I didn’t know who the characters were or what exactly the romantic entanglement was. However, I was captured by the geekdom that runs rampant throughout the series.
The Big Bang Theory centers primarily on the relationship of Leonard and Sheldon, who have been friends for quite some time and now live together. Leonard is portrayed by Johnny Galecki of Rosanne fame. Jim Parsons brings Sheldon to life in a way I feel certain no other actor could do.
Their next door neighbor, and Leonard’s major crush, is Penny. Kaley Cuoco plays the blonde waitress of a local Cheesecake Factory restaurant perfectly. She’s simply stunning to look at, dresses sexily without even meaning to, and generally doesn’t have a clue during the geek conversations Leonard and children have. Sometimes the on again off again relationship between Penny and Leonard wears a little on the nerves, but the overall character mix is wonderful.
Every time I watch the show, I find something new to love about the ensemble. Leonard and Sheldon had me with the comic book trivia (the framed comic books and comic book t-shirts simply added to the love). These are the guys that I generally run into at science fiction conventions. They speak Klingon, know how to mix matter and anti-matter, yet don’t have a clue about how to understand girls.
I love the Halo combat sessions they play against each other and the many ways they have of getting on each other’s nerves. One of the best episodes in the first season was when Sheldon caught a cold. As soon as Leonard knew Sheldon was getting ill, he bailed. He also warned their two friends, Howard and Raj. The three of them already had emergency plans in place to stay away from Sheldon while he was sick. Unfortunately, Leonard reached out to Penny and managed to suck them all back into Sheldon’s needy clutches.
Although I don’t understand all of it, I really appreciate the science that is mentioned as well. My 11 year old has a touch of Aspergers and his IQ is higher than mine. We end up in really deep discussions about that science and comic books and television shows Leonard and Sheldon talk about. One result is that my son and I are now watching Star Trek: The Original Series together.
If you haven’t seen The Big Bang Theory, you really should. Even if you don’t appreciate all the geek trivia and pop culture that leavens the episodes, there’s a lot of comedy that goes on between the characters. Parsons is an excellent actor and his Sheldon portrayal deserves attention. I think Sheldon is going to become one of those iconic characters that will represent the best of television in the years to come.
The first season is available on DVD. That’s how I got caught up quickly. More than that, this is a series I know I will watch again and loan out to friends who haven’t seen it yet.
1 comment:
I absolutely agree, my husband and I rarely like the same shows and we both think Big Bang is great. I think the writing is very clever, and they play the characters off each other in a way that really works. Even the minor characters are quirky and important to the story.
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