05-23-2017, 08:40 AM
We've all mentioned the lack of hobbies in the later seasons, but I think what's closer is the lack of passion for ANYTHING. The emptiness is vast as the plucking out of interests from building robots to kite fighting, etc., and there has been nothing to fill the void. Molaro would have us believe that there is a filler--the 'grown up relationships'--but while this has come to dominate their lives, it lacks passion. That's why the show is now boring as fuck. There's no spark. No innovation.
This attack on passion has been relentless. The guys' interests have been ridiculed as being juvenile and a sign of immaturity. It is no coincidence, then, that as they 'progress' towards 'proper adulthood' that the hobbies are cast aside. (From a writing perspective, this turn has been fatal to the quality as it was the situations and vast interests which were comedic gold--and not for the cheap shots of 'they're playing D&D! HAHA!" rather than Isimov's law of robotics.) It's as if the guys are only playing D&D and Klingon Boggle and celebrating Columbus Day because they don't have a girl in their lives. That all of the 'nerdiness' and 'geekery' have no real meaning to them.
And that is complete bullshit.
Just take my D&D group--the guys are married, have kids, mortgages, jobs. Other friends take their kids to Comic Con and sci fi/fantasy conventions. My oldest brother took a 14 year old me to my first fantasy convention where I found myself in a hotel room full of drunk Klingons and a ferret discussing the merits of Friday the 13th movies as abstinence propaganda videos. It was awesome for me, a 'geek' from a small town coming to a place where there were 'people like me'. To see adults reveling in their passions for Star Trek and elves and Doctor Who absolutely thrilled me. People with passion for things which meant so much to them. To me. That is something which we all shared, young and old. Guys and gals.
Not that I'm saying the early years of BBT were perfect, but they did have moments when they captured the passion so perfectly. The only thing which was juvenile was how the guys were treated by others. Total high school. Not that I'm downplaying bullying by any means, but what the guys had to put up with--especially in the context of all the guys being extremely talented in their fields--was more of a 'Hollywood/mainstream' idea of how 'geeks grow up'. It's why they came up with that idiotic episode where the gang redo their high school prom. Like that time was the defining moment of their lives. Not building their first rocket. Or seeing Star Trek. Or getting their PHD. Or being in freakin' space!
Contrary to what people might think, the bullies in high school aren't as important long-term as they seem to think. Or perhaps need to think.
This attack on passion has been relentless. The guys' interests have been ridiculed as being juvenile and a sign of immaturity. It is no coincidence, then, that as they 'progress' towards 'proper adulthood' that the hobbies are cast aside. (From a writing perspective, this turn has been fatal to the quality as it was the situations and vast interests which were comedic gold--and not for the cheap shots of 'they're playing D&D! HAHA!" rather than Isimov's law of robotics.) It's as if the guys are only playing D&D and Klingon Boggle and celebrating Columbus Day because they don't have a girl in their lives. That all of the 'nerdiness' and 'geekery' have no real meaning to them.
And that is complete bullshit.
Just take my D&D group--the guys are married, have kids, mortgages, jobs. Other friends take their kids to Comic Con and sci fi/fantasy conventions. My oldest brother took a 14 year old me to my first fantasy convention where I found myself in a hotel room full of drunk Klingons and a ferret discussing the merits of Friday the 13th movies as abstinence propaganda videos. It was awesome for me, a 'geek' from a small town coming to a place where there were 'people like me'. To see adults reveling in their passions for Star Trek and elves and Doctor Who absolutely thrilled me. People with passion for things which meant so much to them. To me. That is something which we all shared, young and old. Guys and gals.
Not that I'm saying the early years of BBT were perfect, but they did have moments when they captured the passion so perfectly. The only thing which was juvenile was how the guys were treated by others. Total high school. Not that I'm downplaying bullying by any means, but what the guys had to put up with--especially in the context of all the guys being extremely talented in their fields--was more of a 'Hollywood/mainstream' idea of how 'geeks grow up'. It's why they came up with that idiotic episode where the gang redo their high school prom. Like that time was the defining moment of their lives. Not building their first rocket. Or seeing Star Trek. Or getting their PHD. Or being in freakin' space!
Contrary to what people might think, the bullies in high school aren't as important long-term as they seem to think. Or perhaps need to think.
Let's go exploring!