04-27-2015, 09:35 PM
(04-24-2015, 09:09 AM)wellplayedpenny Wrote: I make no apology that I prefer the first four seasons of the show and am appalled at the direction it has taken since Molaro became the showrunner in season five and turned my beloved program into his Nickelodeon version of 'Friends'.
Case in point, tonight's Leonard and Penny plotline, which could have been ripped off an after school special with its message to the high school graduates that things do get better after high school. You, too can be as cool as Leonard, you know, by sabotaging your best friend's experiment, stealing a friend's date or cheating on your overseas girlfriend. Hard to believe that a stellar guy like Leonard couldn't make friends.
Does anyone else find it funny that Leonard would come across with this 'high school was horrible' statement when what we've been watching over the past two seasons is a rewrite of adolescent milestones? Even if we put aside the quasi-paedophilic Sheldon and Amy relationship with her coaxing him towards sexual activity by way of toy forts, Tardis door to her bedroom and other childhood fantasies we're still left with the confusing mixed message that high school isn't the be-all and end-all but at the same time is important enough that thirty-something adults feel the need to remake their prom.
One of the bright spots about Lenny plots are their consistency and this one was no different—it was b-o-r-i-n-g beyond belief. Why they continue to make Leonard and Penny the pillar around which all else rotates is beyond me. What made it work in the early seasons was that it was secondary to the production of the episode plots. Or in other words, funny first, romance second. So either Molaro is employing 'new math' or else his direction is wrong.
I'm particularly critical of this episode because this was supposed to have the 'back to geek' feel that those of us who aren't too keen on the relationships were looking forward to. Sadly, the only thing that stole every scene it was in was the helicopter (I thought it was a small drone?) itself. This is surprising since, on paper at least, the idea of Howard, Raj and Sheldon working on a toy helicopter sounded like a winner—reminiscent of M.O.N.T.E. or the space toilet—yet what we got was something that fell flat.
The failure was all-round. For the cast, their delivery was lacklustre; Simon in particular looked bored of answering the same insults directed his way. While Jim was, (thankfully) less manic than earlier episodes, he didn't 'sound' like Sheldon. He sounded like Jim Parsons and the last time I looked 'Jim Parsons' didn't live at 2311 N. Los Robles Ave. As for Kunal, his overacting was painful to behold; perhaps he realized that the subplot with his parents was bad and therefore went over the top to sell it. The best way I could sum it up is by saying this had the feel of a pilot episode where the actors don't have a complete 'feel' for the characters so they come across as awkward.
Writing-wise, this was easily the weakest of the season. There was no dialogue-dependent humour—the only chuckle for me came when the helicopter 'attacked' the guys but that was a sight gag. When humour was used it was drawing from early seasons—particularly Howard's space toilet episode. Once this season is in the books and I have nothing else to do with my time I ought to look over the episodes and see how many jokes have been recycled from earlier seasons. This could be a poor attempt at continuity but it could also be laziness on the writers' part by taking advantage of their audiences' good will towards earlier episodes by linking them to these later atrocities in order to create jokes: 'See, it's LIKE the space toilet episode so you should love this one, too!'
Therefore, while this episode is the weakest of the season it is also the most dangerous. For those of us who fondly recall and celebrate the early seasons we can look at the episode and see it for the poorly written debacle that it is. But for those viewers who came later, or aren't as invested in the early seasons, this could be seen as a 'WTF is so funny about this geeky stuff?' Or more frightening, 'Thank goodness for the relationships or else this show would be so stupid and boring.'
This episode defaces the 'geek' moments from the early seasons. The only question I have is whether this was deliberate, the writers don't give a shit or else they've lost the 'IT' that made the earlier dialogue 'pop'. My feeling is the cruise control they've been on since season five has dulled the wit to the point where they've lost the comedic timing that is critical to any sitcom but especially to such a supposedly cerebral one like BBT used to be.
Therefore, I have no doubt that all is lost because even if Those That Be wanted to go back to the beginning, as it were, they lack the skills to do so. It's more than the crappy plots or the painful dialogue or phone-it-in acting we've seen this season. It's now embarrassing to watch, perhaps painful would be a better word. I feel like I'm seeing a hockey player past his prime still on the ice. He plays his position but he can't keep up, has less power in his shot, less accuracy. And I'm in a mix of wanting to support him because he is my idol and praying to Joe Pesci that he retires before he damages his legacy.
This is my worst fear, that people tuning into the show now will write off the entire series as light relationship pap with predictable plots and bad jokes. They won't get to experience the genius that is the early seasons. The genius that has me repeatedly watching them—and still laughing, still in awe at the sophistication of the humour and dialogue and the breathless acting of Jim Parsons.
By this review you might be hard-pressed to believe that I love this show, but I do.
That's why this episode broke my heart.
These reviews are so well written WPP and with such heart that the show does not even come close. How can this show think it's a good idea to keep these same Ships together forever just basically sitting around doing nothing?