Why Are 23.4 Million People Watching The Big Bang Theory

[Nutz]

I saw this on Facebook yesterday, don't know if it's posted anywhere yet.
Why Are 23.4 Million People Watching The Big Bang Theory?
http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/big-bang-...tings.html

Creating a new thread here since it was brought to my attention that it might get lost in the other one. I also brought Doctors comment over to get the ball rolling

The thing about syndication is that it changes how a show seems to you. I started watching Frasier in a random order, so I wasn't really affected by how much the characters/writing may have changed over the years. From the start I watched TBBT in order and THEN in syndication, and because I knew what episode was from what season (With less familiar episodes to me I can tell from Sheldon's hair, amount of Amy and whether or not I give a shit about what's happening) it struck me as odd that a s5 episode could be shown straight after the pilot. VERY jarring for me, but casual watchers who haven't grown used to the natural flow of the series in order probably don't pick up on the fact that they are watching a bit of a mess.

And I think you'll find there is a weak link, article critic. Mayim. And what are they talking about, catchphrases? They've erased all of them now.

“Setting a show in an apartment building gives you that French farce feel, with people popping in all the time,” says former Seinfeld producer and writer Peter Mehlman. “It eliminates any question in the audience’s mind about what a character is doing there—these people can just be there all the time. It’s especially great when you need somebody to come in at the exact wrong moment.” - I'm not a fan of the traditional sitcom format. I like the way things are filmed, and I tend to get sick of seeing people in clumps. Unless they're the cast of Community. I put up with the stageyness in some of the "traditional" sitcoms because they're still funny, though. TBBT has become so stagey they might as well pull back at the end of every episode, reveal the cameras, and have each actor take a bow while Mayim's face gets scratched by all the roses the audience is throwing at her.

(Also, I don't agree that Abed is one of those characters that is not labelled so that they can "poke fun without offending anyone." I'd say that can only really be applied to current Sheldon. We're not forced to snort and laugh when Abed has an "episode". It's funny and quite sad, but a good balance between the two.)